Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “The So-Called Painting Realm”

Key Plot Points and Events

• White Elephant recounts his humble origins as an ordinary, unintelligent wild elephant with little hope of surviving beyond a normal lifespan.
• While fleeing a stronger demon beast, he accidentally enters a ruined temple and encounters the young Daoist Mo Yang True Person.
• Rather than killing him, Mo Yang gives him tea and gradually accepts him as a companion. He teaches White Elephant language, breathing techniques, and the principles of cultivation.
• White Elephant eventually gains intelligence and the ability to speak. His first request is not for power or immortality, but for a name. Mo Yang names him Formless, inspired by the phrase “the great elephant is Formless.”
• White Elephant explains that despite having countless opportunities to become Mo Yang’s disciple or inherit his Dao Orthodoxy, he never asked. His loyalty was directed toward Mo Yang personally, not toward the institution or his teachings.
• When the man in white claims that Mo Yang’s “final will” should compel White Elephant to support Xuan Yang, White Elephant angrily rejects the idea, accusing Xuan Yang of betraying his master and ancestors.
• White Elephant declares that he bows to Mo Yang alone, not to the Dao Orthodoxy. His outburst reveals the depth of his filial-like devotion.
• The man in white argues that White Elephant’s attachment to the past cannot change the world. He warns that Xuan Yang is close to achieving the Painting Realm, after which the Star Palace True Map White Elephant protects will become useless.
• After the man in white leaves, White Elephant reflects on why powerful cultivators continue struggling for the Painting Realm despite having surpassed worldly desires.
• He recalls Mo Yang’s warning that controlling the entire world would make its inhabitants dependent on the ruler’s own flesh and blood. White Elephant now understands this as a warning about the immense cost of reaching the Painting Realm.

Character Developments

• White Elephant/Formless: His past reveals that his strength and status came from Mo Yang’s compassion and teaching, not from an inherently extraordinary lineage. He is deeply loyal, emotionally attached, and motivated by gratitude rather than ambition. His refusal to join the Dao Orthodoxy reflects personal devotion and moral independence. He also demonstrates a mature understanding of the dangers and sacrifices associated with ultimate power.
• Mo Yang True Person: Though absent from the present events, Mo Yang is portrayed as compassionate, patient, and wise. He treats White Elephant kindly, recognizes his potential, and gives him both cultivation and an identity. His seemingly casual remarks contain profound insight.
• Man in White: Initially confident and doctrinaire, he defends Xuan Yang and the concept of Heaven’s will. However, White Elephant’s emotional argument unsettles him, briefly forcing him to question why White Elephant never sought formal recognition from Mo Yang. He ultimately retreats to ideological certainty, dismissing White Elephant’s loyalty as sentimental attachment.

Significant Themes

• Personal loyalty versus institutional allegiance: White Elephant distinguishes between devotion to an individual benefactor and obedience to the Dao Orthodoxy that claims to represent him.
• Gratitude and chosen family: Mo Yang gives White Elephant more than cultivation; he gives him dignity, companionship, education, and a name. White Elephant’s loyalty resembles filial love.
• The cost of power: The Painting Realm is presented not merely as a higher level of cultivation but as a state with frightening consequences. Ultimate authority may require sacrificing one’s humanity or becoming responsible for the lives of the entire world.
• Compassion transforming destiny: A simple act of kindness—offering tea instead of killing—changes White Elephant’s life and allows an ordinary beast to become a powerful Demon Emperor.
• The limits of ambition: The powerful continue to compete for transcendence even after worldly desires should have lost meaning, raising questions about whether “carefree immortality” is worth the price.
• Understanding through experience: White Elephant only grasps Mo Yang’s metaphor about the world and the “fleas and lice” years later, after witnessing the corruption and suffering caused by the pursuit of ultimate power.

Character Interactions

• White Elephant and Mo Yang: Their relationship develops from fear and dependence into trust, affection, and profound loyalty. Mo Yang treats him with gentle humor and respect, while White Elephant views him as the one person who truly saved and valued him.
• White Elephant and the man in white: Their confrontation centers on whether White Elephant should follow the Dao Orthodoxy and support Xuan Yang. The man in white appeals to doctrine and inevitability; White Elephant responds with personal history, emotion, and defiance.
• White Elephant and Xuan Yang: Although they do not meet directly, White Elephant regards Xuan Yang as a betrayer who has violated Mo Yang’s legacy. Xuan Yang’s pursuit of the Painting Realm also embodies the dangerous ambition White Elephant fears.

Jiang Yuechu killed the White-Eyed Demon Emperor and pursued the fleeing Old Flood Dragon while Zhou Xuan and Niu Ben searched Azure Luan Mountain for the Elixir Cauldron Sect’s imprisoned pill refiners. Zhou Xuan and Niu Ben reached a restricted pill-refining site and killed the fox demons guarding it.

• The Old Flood Dragon and White-Eyed Demon Emperor fled in opposite directions, and Jiang Yuechu chased the White-Eyed Demon Emperor.
• The White-Eyed Demon Emperor attacked Jiang Yuechu with beams of light and a giant hoof, but she shattered his leg and hurled him into a crater.
• Jiang Yuechu pierced the White-Eyed Demon Emperor’s primordial spirit with a silver spear, killing him and gaining 903,944 years of Dao cultivation.
• Jiang Yuechu catalogued the demon, returned to her body, and sped toward the eastern horizon after the fleeing Old Flood Dragon.
• Zhou Xuan and Niu Ben reached the restricted pill-refining site on Azure Luan Mountain, where Niu Ben killed the fox-demon guards.

Summary

Zhou Xuan and Niu Ben enter the ruined Elixir Cauldron Sect, discovering its surviving disciples and elders reduced to exhausted, despairing laborers forced to work beside pill furnaces. Zhou Xuan is recognized by an old elder, and he kneels in shame for returning too late. The elders reveal that the Sect Master died over a century earlier after enduring prolonged torture to protect the sect. Grieving but determined, Zhou Xuan declares that he will take responsibility for the sect and lead everyone away.
When the elders explain that they fear leaving Azure Luan Mountain because of the powerful demons ruling the surrounding Spirit Mountain territory, Niu Ben announces that the Blue Fox Demon Emperor has been killed by “His Highness.” Zhou Xuan confirms the news, giving the sect its first genuine hope in centuries. However, he explains that their rescue comes with a condition: the Elixir Cauldron Sect must submit permanently to Great Tang and never betray it.
The elders are outraged when they learn that Great Tang is not a powerful immortal sect or hidden cultivation force, but a mortal dynasty. They believe submitting to mortals would disgrace their ancient legacy and cannot understand how a mortal kingdom could protect them from the Tower-Climbing Demon Emperors of Spirit Mountain. Niu Ben harshly rebukes their pride, pointing out that they already endured five hundred years as enslaved servants to the fox demons. His words expose the contradiction between their claimed dignity and their willingness to survive under humiliation.
The leading elder acknowledges that Niu Ben’s criticism is painful but valid, while still questioning what power Great Tang possesses to challenge the demons. The chapter ends on this central doubt: how can seemingly insignificant mortals—“ants”—protect or shelter an immortal sect likened to an elephant?

Character Developments and Interactions

• Zhou Xuan: Returns as a powerful cultivator but remains humble and emotionally connected to his former sect. He mourns the Sect Master, accepts leadership, and prioritizes the sect’s survival over its pride.
• Niu Ben: Provides blunt, irreverent commentary and forces the elders to confront their hypocrisy. His confidence in Great Tang and its ruler contrasts sharply with the elders’ fear and skepticism.
• The elders: Shift from despair to cautious hope after hearing of Blue Fox’s death, then revert to indignation and doubt when asked to submit to a mortal dynasty. Their shame over years of enslavement is exposed.
• The Sect Master: Though already dead, his sacrifice remains important; he endured oppression and ultimately died protecting the sect.
• Zhou Xuan and the elders: Their reunion is emotional but complicated by grief, responsibility, and the controversial terms of their salvation.
• Niu Ben and the elders: Their confrontation strips away the elders’ self-important rhetoric and emphasizes their compromised situation.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus pride: The elders must choose between preserving the appearance of sectarian dignity and accepting salvation under unfamiliar authority.
• The cost of oppression: Centuries of enslavement have destroyed the sect’s vitality and left its survivors psychologically numb.
• Leadership and responsibility: Zhou Xuan steps forward to lead when the old order has collapsed.
• Mortals challenging cultivators: The chapter questions the traditional hierarchy that treats mortals as insignificant “ants,” setting up Great Tang as a potentially revolutionary power.
• Hope after ruin: The Blue Fox Demon Emperor’s death transforms the sect’s despair into the possibility of rebuilding, even though the path forward remains uncertain.

Zhou Xuan and the former pill slaves witnessed a dark-robed woman overpowering the Great Demon Emperors, convincing them that the Great Tang dynasty had formidable backing. The woman then caught up with the fleeing Old Flood Dragon after apparently killing White-Eye, leaving him to realize she intended to defeat every pursuer.

• A terrifying aura shook the pill hall, and Zhou Xuan led the frightened elders and pill slaves outside to see three Great Demon Emperors confronting a dark-robed woman.
• The woman seized a Demon Emperor by the foot and violently yanked him, raining blood from the sky as Niu Ben boasted about the mortal dynasty's backing.
• The elder leading the pill slaves admitted that the backing was solid after Niu Ben demanded a louder answer.
• The Old Flood Dragon fled toward the Deep-Sea Marsh, reasoning that the woman would target White-Eye instead of him.
• Golden light caught up with the Old Flood Dragon, and he realized the woman had already killed White-Eye and was coming for him too.

Jiang Yuechu killed the Old Flood Dragon, absorbed its power, and advanced to the ninth layer of the Tower-Climbing Realm. She discovered her Dao cultivation had unexpectedly risen to more than 4.7 million years, unaware that her Golden Body Dharma Form had also slain Demon Emperor Taiyuan in Chang'an.

• The Old Flood Dragon begged Jiang Yuechu to spare its life, but she killed it with a red beam that destroyed its primordial spirit.
• Jiang Yuechu absorbed the Old Flood Dragon's remnant soul and primordial spirit fragments, gaining its lightning power and breaking through to the ninth layer of the Tower-Climbing Realm.
• Jiang Yuechu calculated her gains and expenses, then found that her Dao cultivation totaled 4,723,540 years.
• Jiang Yuechu wondered where the extra cultivation came from, not knowing her Golden Body Dharma Form had killed Demon Emperor Taiyuan in Chang'an and credited her with his cultivation.
• Jiang Yuechu stopped investigating the unexpected gain and looked forward to spending her newfound fortune.

After the Princess Royal of Great Tang defeated Spirit Mountain’s Demon Emperors, Zhou Xuan persuaded the Elixir Cauldron Sect elders to submit to Great Tang and prepare to relocate. As the sect began packing, Zhou Xuan reminded Niu Ben that he had come to rescue his big sister, and Niu Ben realized he had forgotten her.

• After the black-robed figure departed, the Elixir Cauldron Sect elders eagerly agreed to submit to Great Tang and praised Zhou Xuan for his foresight.
• Zhou Xuan told the elders that the Princess Royal was Great Tang’s pillar of strength and that serving the dynasty would not disgrace their sect.
• An elder asked whether the Princess Royal liked handsome men, but Zhou Xuan rebuked him and urged the elders to repay her by refining pills.
• Zhou Xuan ordered the elders to gather their people, pill furnaces, and medicinal ingredients, and to clean themselves before meeting the Princess Royal.
• Zhou Xuan asked Niu Ben about his own business, reminding him that he had come to rescue his big sister.
• Niu Ben suddenly realized he had forgotten his big sister and cried out in alarm.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After killing the Old Flood Dragon, Jiang Yuechu immediately returns to Azure Luan Mountain to absorb the remaining essence blood and Primordial Spirit fragments of the defeated Great Demon Emperors.
• She attempts to use this energy to break through the Ninth Layer of the Tower-Climbing Realm and reach its state of completion. However, the energy cannot be retained and disperses through her body, revealing that completion requires more than simply accumulating power.
• As a self-taught cultivator with no orthodox teacher or inherited tradition, Jiang Yuechu has no idea what principle governs the final breakthrough. She decides to ask Wu Shisan after returning to Chang’an.
• Sensing that Spirit Mountain has been largely abandoned by its powerful demons, Jiang Yuechu captures and suppresses the remaining demon souls of the Nine-Headed Serpent and White-Eye. She postpones fully clearing Spirit Mountain and heads to Azure Luan Mountain’s rear mountain.
• There, she meets Zhou Xuan and the surviving members of the Elixir Cauldron Sect. Only 842 disciples remain after five hundred years of torture under the demons; the rest were killed and used as blood sacrifices or food.
• Jiang Yuechu orders Zhou Xuan to lead the survivors and their remaining pill furnaces and medicinal ingredients back to Great Tang. She tells them to repay her by refining pills rather than offering exaggerated personal pledges.
• Zhou Xuan and the sect depart in stolen flying vessels taken from various Grotto-Heaven True Persons, leaving Jiang Yuechu alone with Niu Ben.
• Niu Ben suddenly remembers an “important matter,” ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Demonstrates both overwhelming strength and practical restraint. She recognizes the limits of brute-force cultivation, chooses not to obsess over the failed breakthrough, and prioritizes securing useful resources and allies for Great Tang. Her concern for efficiency is shown by her impatience with waste and her relief at no longer having to escort the weakened sect herself.
• Zhou Xuan: Acts as a capable organizer and loyal subordinate, carefully accounting for the Elixir Cauldron Sect’s survivors and resources. He understands Jiang Yuechu’s temperament and accepts her decision without complaint.
• Elixir Cauldron Sect survivors: Their physical and emotional devastation reflects the brutality of their captivity, but they regain a future through Jiang Yuechu’s intervention. They are expected to rebuild their value through alchemy.
• Niu Ben: Remains distracted and emotionally shaken, repeatedly muttering about his “Big Sis.” His sudden realization that he forgot something important suggests another unresolved issue.

Significant Themes

• Limits of power and cultivation: Raw energy and accumulated cultivation are insufficient to achieve the highest stage; deeper principles or insight are necessary.
• Self-reliance versus inherited knowledge: Jiang Yuechu’s lack of formal instruction has made her powerful through experience and violence, but it also leaves her ignorant of advanced cultivation secrets.
• Pragmatism over sentiment: Jiang Yuechu acknowledges the Elixir Cauldron Sect’s losses without dwelling on grief, focusing instead on their future usefulness to Great Tang.
• Survival and reconstruction: The 842 survivors symbolize the remnants of a destroyed organization being given a chance to rebuild.
• Exploitation and the aftermath of tyranny: The sect’s five centuries of abuse and the demons’ flight highlight the cruelty of Spirit Mountain and the collapse of its former order.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and the Elixir Cauldron Sect: She saves them but makes clear that they must contribute to Great Tang by producing pills. Her relationship with them is protective but practical rather than sentimental.
• Jiang Yuechu and Zhou Xuan: Zhou Xuan reports the sect’s condition and obeys her instructions immediately, showing trust and loyalty. He understands why she chooses not to accompany them personally.
• Jiang Yuechu and Niu Ben: After the sect departs, Jiang Yuechu notices Niu Ben’s strange distraction and kicks him back to awareness. His anxious declaration that he forgot an important matter sets up the next development.

Jiang Yuechu and Niu Ben searched Redblood Mountain for Niu Ben’s sister Nishang, but found no trace of her. After concluding she may be in danger, Jiang Yuechu captured a tiger demon hiding nearby.

• Niu Ben told Jiang Yuechu that his sister Nishang was a Phoenix-blooded demon with the ability to rebuild her body and Primordial Spirit from flames.
• Jiang Yuechu and Niu Ben reached Redblood Mountain, the former lair of the Crimson-Blood Demon Emperor.
• Niu Ben searched the mountain with his spiritual sense but found neither Nishang nor any trace of her Phoenix Bloodline.
• Niu Ben explained that Nishang had not answered his secret messages and was too proud to hide using an aura-concealment technique.
• Jiang Yuechu spotted a tiger demon skulking near a cliff and dragged him out with black mist.

Jiang Yuechu and Niu Ben interrogated a Tiger Demon on Redblood Mountain about a captured bird demon. They learned that Demon Emperor Hunyuan may have taken her away, and realized he was likely the black-robed figure who escaped when Demon Emperor Qianyu and the Crimson-Blood Demon Emperor died.

• Jiang Yuechu had Niu Ben pin down the Tiger Demon and question him about captives brought to Redblood Mountain.
• The Tiger Demon recalled that Lord Tiger One and Lord Tiger Two had brought back a bird demon on the Crimson-Blood Demon Emperor's orders.
• The Tiger Demon guessed that Demon Emperor Hunyuan had taken the captive away after the Crimson-Blood Demon Emperor died.
• The Tiger Demon explained that Hunyuan was a black-skinned dog demon who served the Formless Lineage and had gone on an errand with the Crimson-Blood Demon Emperor and Demon Emperor Qianyu.
• Jiang Yuechu and Niu Ben realized Hunyuan was likely the black-robed figure who had escaped using a secret technique.

Hanxian True Person gathered Formless Mountain’s elders after Cangxuan’s death, but they doubted reports that Great Tang’s eldest princess had slain more than ten True Persons and hesitated to retaliate. Their debate was interrupted when Demon Emperor Hunyuan arrived to request an audience.

• Hanxian True Person told the elders that Cangxuan was dead and cited rumors that Great Tang’s eldest princess had slain more than ten True Persons.
• The elders dismissed the rumors and argued that Great Tang must have used a scheme or had help from another Dao Orthodoxy.
• The white-bearded elder urged Hanxian True Person not to risk Formless Mountain’s legacy and proposed secretly investigating Great Tang first.
• A blue-robed disciple reported that Demon Emperor Hunyuan was outside Formless Mountain requesting an audience.

Demon Emperor Hunyuan brought the captured phoenix-blooded Nishang to Formless Mountain to win Hanxian True Person’s protection, but accidentally revealed that a True Dragon had appeared. Hanxian forced Hunyuan to explain how he learned the news, and Hunyuan began recounting the investigation that led him to the dragon.

• Hanxian True Person summoned Demon Emperor Hunyuan, who offered him the chained, unconscious Nishang, a demon with phoenix blood.
• Hunyuan asked Hanxian to shelter him on Formless Mountain, explaining that a dangerous woman threatened Spirit Mountain after killing Demon Emperors Qianyu and Redblood.
• When Hunyuan mentioned a True Dragon, Hanxian and the elders demanded to know more, and Hunyuan tried to pass the claim off as hearsay.
• Hanxian threatened to skin Hunyuan unless he told the truth, so Hunyuan explained that Crimson Silk Demon Emperor had sent Spirit Mountain the message “A True Dragon Emerges” before dying.
• Hunyuan said the Demon Emperor of the Third Cave had secretly ordered him to investigate, and that he had tortured a minor demon for information before setting out with Qianyu and Redblood.

Demon Emperor Hunyuan warned Formless Mountain that the True Dragon had slaughtered powerful demons, then revealed that she was Great Tang’s eldest princess. Hanxian True Person ordered the mountain sealed until her background was known and assigned Hunyuan to guard the back mountain.

• Demon Emperor Hunyuan described the True Dragon’s strength and urged the Formless Mountain elders to fear her.
• Hanxian True Person became eager to capture the True Dragon for her resources and possible Dao Orthodoxy inheritance.
• Demon Emperor Hunyuan revealed that the True Dragon was Great Tang’s eldest princess, stunning Hanxian True Person and the elders.
• The elders warned Hanxian True Person against confronting her, citing Cangxuan’s fate and the deaths of more than ten True Persons.
• Hanxian True Person ordered everyone to remain on Formless Mountain until they uncovered the princess’s background.
• Hanxian True Person spared Demon Emperor Hunyuan and ordered him to guard the back mountain, which Hunyuan accepted as a safe refuge.

Jiang Yuechu learned that Niu Ben’s big sister had been taken to Formless Mountain and set out to rescue her despite the mountain’s Chessmaster-level Supreme Seat. While traveling, Jiang Yuechu upgraded several Demon Scrolls, gaining new healing, disruption, and soul-attack abilities, and arrived near Formless Mountain.

• Jiang Yuechu learned from the Tiger Demon that Formless Mountain’s Supreme Seat had reached the two-piece Chessmaster realm, but she decided to go there and rescue Niu Ben’s big sister anyway.
• Jiang Yuechu forced the Tiger Demon to guide her to Formless Mountain and took Niu Ben along as they flew from the cliff.
• Jiang Yuechu upgraded the Void Spirit Great Sage’s Demon Scroll, gaining Toxin Immunity and the Withered Wood Rejuvenation Divine Ability.
• Jiang Yuechu upgraded the Crimson Silk Demon Emperor’s Demon Scroll, gained Three-Burner Disarray, and tested it on Niu Ben before withdrawing the effect.
• Jiang Yuechu upgraded the White-Eyed Demon Emperor’s Demon Scroll and gained the Rare Seven-White Body-Shattering Method, a powerful soul-attack art that could break illusions.
• Niu Ben spotted Formless Mountain ahead as Jiang Yuechu finished examining her new ability.

Jiang Yuechu reached Formless Mountain and struck at the mist concealing its flight-forbidding formation. In the rear mountains, Demon Emperor Hunyuan enjoyed his comfortable post and assumed the mountain would keep him safe from her, until the water began to tremble and he recognized an alarming presence.

• Jiang Yuechu assessed that she still had more than two million years of Dao Cultivation before stepping toward the mist around Formless Mountain.
• Demon Emperor Hunyuan lounged in the Sinking Abyss, enjoying the deference and offerings he received from Formless Mountain's disciples.
• Liu Cui'er visited Hunyuan to seek his guidance, and he gave her a bloodstreaked jade slip.
• Hunyuan reassured himself that Jiang Yuechu would not dare breach Formless Mountain's defenses and smugly called his approach "steady as an old dog."
• The water in the rear mountains began trembling, and Hunyuan froze as he realized who might be approaching.

Jiang Yuechu shattered Formless Mountain’s illusion-filled protective mist and demanded to know where Demon Emperor Hunyuan was. A blue-robed disciple confronted her and ordered her to leave, setting up a clash at the mountain’s gates.

• Jiang Yuechu entered Formless Mountain’s white mist while Niu Ben trembled in fear and the Tiger Demon fainted.
• Jiang Yuechu unleashed the Seven-White Body-Shattering Method and cleared the mist for dozens of miles.
• Formless Mountain’s disciples stared in shock after Jiang Yuechu broke their protective formation with a single word.
• Jiang Yuechu asked the blue-robed disciple where Demon Emperor Hunyuan was.
• The blue-robed disciple drew his sword and ordered Jiang Yuechu to leave Formless Mountain.

Jiang Yuechu stormed Formless Mountain and demanded that the Hunyuan Black Dog appear, threatening to destroy the sect. Hanxian True Person recognized her as the eldest princess of Great Tang and prepared to confront the reason she had come.

• Jiang Yuechu grabbed a blue-robed disciple and slammed him into the lake, then gave Formless Mountain three counts to produce the Hunyuan Black Dog.
• A Formless Mountain disciple secretly flew to the main peak to report the intruder, while two elders decided to leave the danger to Hanxian True Person.
• Hanxian True Person watched Jiang Yuechu through a water mirror as Demon Emperor Hunyuan confirmed her identity in terror.
• Formless Mountain's elders gathered in the grand hall and wondered why Jiang Yuechu had come to their doorstep after killing Cangxuan.

Jiang Yuechu confronted Formless Mountain and demanded that Demon Emperor Hunyuan appear, while its elders dismissed her threat and Hanxian True Person plotted to use the attack to capture her. After her countdown ended, she seized Formless Mountain’s spiritual energy and gathered it into a colossal scarlet moon, leaving the mountain shaken and its elders stunned.

• Formless Mountain’s elders speculated about why Jiang Yuechu had come and concluded that Demon Emperor Hunyuan was only a pretext for a show of force.
• Hanxian True Person secretly hoped to capture Jiang Yuechu, provoke the elders into uniting against her, and claim her True Dragon fortune.
• Jiang Yuechu finished counting down, but Demon Emperor Hunyuan did not appear.
• Jiang Yuechu raised her hand and forcibly drew spiritual energy from Formless Mountain, causing the mountain range to shake and its disciples to lose control of their power.
• Hanxian True Person recognized that the feat surpassed the Tower-Climbing Realm as Jiang Yuechu formed an enormous scarlet moon above her palm.

Jiang Yuechu’s blood moon attack nearly destroyed Formless Mountain, but a blue-robed Supreme Seat emerged from the Azure Sea Palace and stopped it with an azure statue. The chapter ends with Jiang Yuechu recognizing that the old Daoist had reached the Chessmaster Realm.

• Jiang Yuechu brought the blood moon down on Formless Mountain, devastating its peaks and threatening to erase the sect.
• The blue-robed Supreme Seat appeared in the Azure Sea Palace and sent an azure statue to block the attack.
• The statue’s body cracked under the blood moon’s force, but the moon eventually shattered and Formless Mountain survived.
• The elders bowed to welcome the Supreme Seat out of seclusion, while Niu Ben explained the authority behind the title.
• Jiang Yuechu realized that the old Daoist had surpassed the Tower-Climbing Realm and reached the Chessmaster Realm.

Chapter Summary: “Three Moves”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Formless Mountain lies devastated after Jiang Yuechu’s attack, with its gate and peaks shattered and crimson rain falling over the ruins. The mountain’s disciples and elders kneel in fear before the Azure Sea Palace.
• The old Daoist, Formless Mountain’s master and a powerful Chessmaster Realm cultivator, finally confronts Jiang Yuechu. He reveals that he had the power to kill her earlier but deliberately chose not to.
• He praises her first attack for its overwhelming strength and its ability to borrow the momentum of heaven and earth, recognizing in it qualities reminiscent of his own younger self.
• The old Daoist explains that the Eastern Region has become stagnant under the control of the twenty-five Dao Orthodoxies. He views Jiang Yuechu’s rebelliousness as a force capable of disrupting the world’s rigid “chessboard.”
• Despite admiring her talent and defiant nature, he condemns her for destroying Formless Mountain’s gate and challenging his authority. As the mountain’s rightful master and a Chessmaster, he insists that she must obey the rules of the game.
• He offers Jiang Yuechu a trial: she must survive three of his attacks. If she succeeds, he will forgive the destruction of Formless Mountain and even grant her compensation, including the life of the Hunyuan Demon Emperor or heavenly treasures.
• He then reveals the real stakes: if she fails, she will die, and he will also destroy the mortal dynasty and its million inhabitants that she protects.
• Jiang Yuechu does not submit or negotiate. She reflects on the inevitability of conflict, recalling that Formless Mountain’s involvement in the earlier invasion of Great Tang had already created the underlying grievance.
• Holding drops of crimson rain in her palm, she declares that spring has already arrived. Her cultivation scroll reveals a current Dao cultivation of 2,359,432 years, suggesting that she is preparing to unleash all her strength rather than merely endure the three moves.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Remains composed, fearless, and contemptuous of authority. Rather than being intimidated by the old Daoist’s status, she sees his talk of rules as predictable intimidation. Her resolve hardens as she decides to seize control of her own fate and protect the people dependent on her. Her final statement hints at a major power release.
• The Old Daoist: Reveals himself as more complex than a detached immortal. He admires talent, values change, and is frustrated by the stagnation of the world, yet he remains attached to his authority and reputation as Formless Mountain’s master. His willingness to threaten Jiang Yuechu’s entire dynasty shows that his appreciation for her does not override his pride or obligations.
• Hanxian True Person: Reacts with unease to the old Daoist’s praise and later becomes alarmed by the severe terms of the challenge. His restrained behavior demonstrates the overwhelming authority the old Daoist holds over Formless Mountain.
• Formless Mountain’s disciples and elders: Their kneeling and fear show that the attack has completely broken their confidence and reduced them to helpless spectators.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus imposed rules: Jiang Yuechu rejects the idea that powerful figures can force others to accept predetermined roles as “chess pieces.”
• Stagnation versus disruption: The old Daoist believes the world has become dull because everyone follows established power structures. Jiang Yuechu represents the chaos and rebellion needed to awaken it.
• Power and responsibility: The old Daoist claims he must defend Formless Mountain because of his position, while Jiang Yuechu believes she must act decisively to protect her dynasty and prevent future threats.
• Pride and face: Although the old Daoist admires Jiang Yuechu, he cannot tolerate her assault on his mountain and reputation. His desire to preserve authority turns admiration into confrontation.
• The meaning of immortality: The old Daoist argues that abandoning all emotions would make eternal life meaningless, suggesting that attachment, desire, and emotion are essential parts of existence.
• Control of the future: Jiang Yuechu refuses to gamble on mercy. Her image of trapping spring in her hand symbolizes her determination to hold her future—and the future of those she protects—in her own grasp.

Character Interactions

• The old Daoist and Jiang Yuechu engage in a tense exchange defined by mutual recognition and opposition. He acknowledges her talent and rebellious spirit, while she dismisses his warnings and refuses to accept his authority.
• The old Daoist treats Jiang Yuechu partly as a promising junior and partly as an enemy who has insulted him. This contradiction culminates in his three-move challenge.
• Hanxian True Person silently witnesses the confrontation, visibly disturbed by the old Daoist’s shifting praise and hostility but too afraid to intervene.
• The chapter ends with Jiang Yuechu accepting the confrontation in spirit, not by agreeing to passively withstand three attacks, but by preparing to go “all-in” from the beginning.

Chapter Summary: “Battle Against a Chessmaster”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu unleashes more than two million years of accumulated Dao cultivation, transforming the Formless Marsh into a vast sea of black mist filled with terrifying demon phantoms.
• Her display of power shocks the blue-robed old Daoist in the Azure Sea Palace, who realizes that her strength far exceeds what a Tower-Climbing Realm cultivator should possess.
• The old Daoist becomes enraged, interpreting Jiang Yuechu’s killing intent and refusal to submit as insolence toward a Chessmaster Realm expert.
• Abandoning his previous restraint, he opens a rift to the Nine Netherworlds and summons celestial waters, expanding the Azure Sea Palace into a massive water curtain that covers the sky.
• He activates two dark-blue giant Dao Chess pieces, revealing them from their stone coverings, and commands them to use “Formless: Heavenfall.”
• The giants unleash overwhelming waves of Weak Water, an attack that should easily crush any cultivator below the Chessmaster Realm.
• Instead of being destroyed, Jiang Yuechu’s demon phantoms swarm the giants. Though repeatedly crushed into black qi, they constantly reform and return to the attack.
• The endless demon horde gradually wears down the two Dao Chess pieces, causing their spiritual radiance to fade and their bodies to begin collapsing.
• The old Daoist senses the unexpected damage through his connection to the pieces and opens his eyes in shock, realizing Jiang Yuechu’s power is far beyond his expectations.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Reveals the terrifying depth of her cultivation and demonstrates remarkable control over the accumulated baleful power of countless demons. Her calm, emotionless demeanor contrasts with the destructive force she commands. She takes the initiative against a Chessmaster rather than passively accepting his supposed mercy.
• The Blue-Robed Old Daoist: His initial confidence and disdain develop into anger, then shock. He assumes his Chessmaster-level power guarantees victory, but Jiang Yuechu’s resistance challenges his understanding of her strength.
• Hanxian True Person: His ambitions collapse as he witnesses the Chessmaster’s overwhelming power. He recognizes that his previous thoughts of replacing the old Daoist were foolish and that those below the Chessmaster Realm are essentially powerless before such an expert.
• Formless Mountain’s Cultivators: They are initially overwhelmed by the old Daoist’s display of power, but their fear turns into astonishment as Jiang Yuechu’s demon army withstands and gradually counters the attack.

Significant Themes

• The vastness of cultivation and accumulated power: Jiang Yuechu’s more than two million years of cultivation are presented as an almost unimaginable foundation, allowing her to challenge an opponent from a higher realm.
• Overconfidence versus reality: The old Daoist believes the battle’s outcome is obvious, but his assumptions are overturned when Jiang Yuechu’s power exceeds conventional realm limitations.
• Persistence and inexhaustibility: The demon phantoms cannot feel pain, fatigue, or fear of death. Their ability to reform after destruction allows them to win through relentless attrition.
• The hierarchy of power: The chapter emphasizes the enormous gap between the Chessmaster Realm and lower realms, while also suggesting that extraordinary foundations and techniques can partially overcome that gap.
• Suppression and defiance: The old Daoist expects gratitude and submission for offering Jiang Yuechu a chance to survive, while Jiang Yuechu responds with silent resistance and direct hostility.

Character Interactions

• The old Daoist publicly condemns Jiang Yuechu for showing killing intent and refusing to respect his status, framing her defiance as an offense against Heaven’s order.
• Jiang Yuechu does not verbally answer him; her response is the black mist and demon horde surrounding her, which directly challenges his authority and attack.
• The old Daoist’s Dao Chess pieces act as extensions of his will, creating a direct contest between his Chessmaster-controlled forces and Jiang Yuechu’s accumulated demonic power.
• Hanxian True Person’s reaction provides an internal contrast: while he once contemplated challenging the old Daoist, witnessing the battle forces him to acknowledge the overwhelming dominance of the Chessmaster Realm.