Chapter Summaries

The Three Cloud Sisters opened the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation against the Twelve Golden Immortals, revealing a formation that could disrupt cultivation as well as trap its enemies. After the first Golden Immortal emerged shaken, Guangchengzi decided the Twelve Golden Immortals would enter together.

• Lin Yuan and the Ten Heavenly Lords recognized the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation as a seamless, seemingly endless whole that could grind away immortal aura.
• The Three Cloud Sisters invited the Twelve Golden Immortals into the open formation, and Guangchengzi accepted the challenge after the Elucidation Sect failed to inspect it from outside.
• The first Elucidation Sect Golden Immortal entered the formation, where shifting space, inverted directions, and yellow sand obstructed him.
• The Golden Immortal escaped after about half an hour and reported that the formation could stir the three flowers and five energies, alarming the Twelve Golden Immortals.
• Guangchengzi said the Twelve Golden Immortals would enter together rather than send another person in alone.

The Twelve Golden Immortals entered the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation together, and Lin Yuan secretly helped the Three Cloud Sisters stabilize it from outside. As the formation began stripping away the Golden Immortals’ cultivation, Yunxiao committed to deciding the contest, leaving Lin Yuan to consider how the Intercepting Sect could withdraw safely afterward.

• Guangchengzi led all Twelve Golden Immortals into the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation, where they stayed together and used their treasures to resist its distortions and attacks.
• Lin Yuan sensed the formation’s outer patterns faltering under the Golden Immortals’ combined assaults and reinforced them with Formation-Stabilizing Talismans, allowing Yunxiao to restore the formation’s flow.
• Taiyi accused Yunxiao of using methods that stripped cultivation, and Yunxiao reminded him that the Golden Immortals had entered the formation voluntarily, just as they had once challenged the Ten Heavenly Lords.
• As the formation wore down the Golden Immortals’ Three Flowers and Five Qi, Guangchengzi ordered everyone to attack with all their strength.
• Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao intensified the formation while Lin Yuan reinforced it from outside, and the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation began stripping the Golden Immortals’ cultivation in earnest.

Yunxiao used the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation to strip away much of the Twelve Golden Immortals’ cultivation, then began opening the formation after securing victory. Before the captives could escape, a Jade Clarity Saint’s overwhelming presence descended, and Lin Yuan recognized that the true death tribulation had begun.

• Guangchengzi failed to break through the formation, and Yunxiao used the Primordial Golden Dipper to weaken the Twelve Golden Immortals and scatter their Five Qi.
• Bixiao rebuked Taiyi and Guangchengzi for their past actions against the Intercepting Sect as the formation continued stripping away the immortals’ cultivation.
• Yunxiao stopped the attack and ordered Qiongxiao to open the formation after the Twelve Golden Immortals had suffered severe losses.
• Lin Yuan sensed the formation opening and prepared to retreat to Golden Turtle Island, but his Innate Spiritual Perception suddenly detected an overwhelming presence.
• A Jade Clarity Saint’s pressure descended over the battlefield, silencing the gathered Intercepting Sect members as Lin Yuan gripped the Supreme Purity Guardian Sword Token and recognized the true death tribulation.

Yuanshi Tianzun intervened after the Three Cloud Sisters defeated the Twelve Golden Immortals, and Lin Yuan’s system identified Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao as nearing their death tribulation. As Yuanshi moved to break the formation, Lin Yuan challenged his intervention and left the confrontation unresolved.

• Yuanshi Tianzun arrived and told Yunxiao that the Three Cloud Sisters had to be punished for stripping the Twelve Golden Immortals of their cultivation.
• Zhao Gongming defended his sisters and questioned why Yuanshi intervened after the Twelve Golden Immortals had entered the formation willingly.
• Yuanshi began breaking the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation, and Lin Yuan’s system marked Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao as approaching their predetermined death node.
• Lin Yuan asked Yuanshi why a Saint should enter a contest between disciples after the Elucidation Sect had lost.
• Yuanshi warned Lin Yuan that he had great nerve, and Lin Yuan admitted he was afraid of dying and accustomed to calling for help.

Lin Yuan broke Tongtian’s Dao-Guarding Sword Token to summon him when Yuanshi’s pressure threatened the Three Cloud Sisters. Tongtian arrived to confront Yuanshi, leaving the two Saints facing each other over the trapped disciples.

• Yuanshi pressed his Jade Clarity giant hand down on the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation, bringing the Three Cloud Sisters’ Death Nodes close.
• Zhao Gongming and the others prepared to intervene, but Lin Yuan stopped them and revealed Tongtian’s Dao-Guarding Sword Token.
• Lin Yuan shattered the token, and Tongtian’s Sword Qi halted Yuanshi’s giant hand.
• Tongtian arrived from the Eastern Sea, confirmed the Intercepting Sect disciples were safe, and asked Yuanshi whether he had been bullying his disciple.

Tongtian arrived to stop Yuanshi from punishing Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao after they defeated the Twelve Golden Immortals in the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation. He escorted the confrontation to a close, told Lin Yuan to contact him if trouble arose again, and summoned the group back to Golden Turtle Island, where Lin Yuan’s system showed that the three sisters’ Death Nodes were dissipating.

• Tongtian challenged Yuanshi’s claim that Yunxiao and her sisters had crossed a line, arguing that the Twelve Golden Immortals had entered the formation willingly and lost.
• Yuanshi and Tongtian exchanged threats but avoided fighting, and Yuanshi departed with the Twelve Golden Immortals after Yunxiao opened the formation.
• Tongtian praised Yunxiao’s formation, encouraged her not to hesitate when fighting, and told Lin Yuan to send for him if trouble arose again.
• Tongtian ordered Lin Yuan, Zhao Gongming, the Three Cloud Sisters, the Ten Heavenly Lords, and the Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island to return to Golden Turtle Island after the matter ended.
• Lin Yuan’s system showed that Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao’s Death Nodes had begun to dissipate.

Tongtian ordered the Three Cloud Sisters, Zhao Gongming, and the Ten Heavenly Lords to withdraw from the West Qi battlefield, changing how the Interception Sect would respond to the Investiture of the Gods calamity. As they left the battle region, Lin Yuan received confirmation that the Three Cloud Sisters had escaped their designated death nodes.

• After Yuanshi left, Tongtian stayed until his aura vanished, then told Yunxiao to dismiss the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation and return.
• Bixiao praised Lin Yuan for questioning Yuanshi, while Qiongxiao and Yunxiao agreed the group should return to Three Immortal Island.
• Tongtian ordered Zhao Gongming and the Ten Heavenly Lords to leave the front lines, and told Wen Zhong to rely on mortal methods unless the Elucidation Sect sent Immortals into battle.
• Tongtian summoned Lin Yuan to return with the group to Golden Turtle Island, and Yunxiao thanked him for helping the Three Cloud Sisters.
• As the group traveled away from West Qi, Lin Yuan received successive system notifications confirming that Yunxiao and the other two sisters had escaped their designated death nodes.

After Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao underwent successful Fate Reversals, Lin Yuan gained three powerful abilities that unified and strengthened his existing skills. He returned to Golden Turtle Island with his Early Golden Immortal bottleneck beginning to crack and prepared to enter seclusion.

• Lin Yuan inherited Yunxiao's Innate Formation Core, which organized his formation knowledge and let him partially understand the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation.
• Lin Yuan inherited Qiongxiao's Nine-Heavens Qi Mastery, improving his control of wind and cloud currents and reducing the cost of his movement technique.
• Lin Yuan inherited Bixiao's Primal Battle Intuition, which resonated with his other combat abilities and made him feel capable of fighting Nezha more effectively.
• Yunxiao invited Lin Yuan to study the Nine-Twist Yellow River Formation's diagram on Three Immortal Island, while Bixiao offered to teach him to use the Primordial Golden Dipper.
• Lin Yuan traveled to the Eastern Sea using his improved movement technique, then arrived at Golden Turtle Island as his cultivation bottleneck began to loosen.
• The system reported that the three consecutive Fate Reversals had fed back into Lin Yuan's fate, and he decided to enter seclusion.

Lin Yuan broke through to the Early Taiyi Golden Immortal realm and was summoned with the Interception Sect’s surviving core disciples to discuss the sect’s next move. On Blue Star, monitoring stones reported a 17.3% historical deviation and lowered the Interception Sect’s destruction probability from 100% to 63%, while Tongtian asked how the sect should proceed.

• Lin Yuan integrated his formation and combat insights, broke through to the Early Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, and Jin Ling told him to attend Tongtian’s gathering at Biyou Palace.
• Blue Star’s monitoring stones reported a 17.3% historical deviation and recalculated the Interception Sect’s destruction probability, which fell from 100% to 63%.
• Lin Yuan followed Jin Ling to Biyou Palace, where he found Tongtian, Duobao, Wu Dang, Gui Ling, Zhao Gongming, the Three Cloud Sisters, the Ten Heavenly Lords, and others gathered.
• Tongtian seated Lin Yuan beside the Core Disciples and asked how the Interception Sect should proceed as the Investiture of the Gods continued.

Lin Yuan persuaded Tongtian and the Interception Sect leaders to adopt rules against going alone, refusing to retreat, and neglecting fellow disciples during the Investiture of the Gods. When an urgent report arrived that the Four Demon Generals were fighting at Jiameng Pass, Lin Yuan asked to leave the mountain with others.

• Lin Yuan explained how Interception Sect disciples had repeatedly been endangered by acting alone and being drawn into successive rescues.
• Lin Yuan proposed three rules: important disciples should not go down the mountain alone, should retreat when they could not win, and should prioritize rescuing fellow disciples over pride.
• Yunxiao and Zhao Gongming supported the rules, and Tongtian established them as sect-wide instructions for the Karmic Tribulation.
• Tongtian’s decree spread across Golden Turtle Island and to Interception Sect disciples throughout the Primordial World, while Lin Yuan sensed a subtle change in the sect’s fortune.
• Duobao received an urgent report that West Qi’s army was nearing Jiameng Pass and that the Four Demon Generals were fighting there.
• Lin Yuan asked Tongtian for permission to leave the mountain and added that he would bring others with him.

After the Intercepting Sect adopted new rules requiring disciples to work in groups, Lin Yuan recruited two companions and traveled to Jiameng Pass. He arrived to find the Four Demon Generals battling West Qi, and the story left off as Mo Lihong taunted his opponents.

• Zhao Gongming warned outer disciples against fighting alone by recounting how he had nearly been killed despite being a Daluo Golden Immortal.
• Qin Wan required the Ten Heavenly Lords to travel in groups of three, or all ten together when facing Elucidation Sect core disciples, while other disciples also began teaming up.
• Lin Yuan refused Zhao Gongming as a companion and asked Jin Ling for two suitable disciples to accompany him to Jiameng Pass.
• Lin Yuan traveled with the two disciples and reached Jiameng Pass, where the Four Demon Generals were fighting West Qi's Qi Practitioners.
• The system identified Mo Liqing, Mo Lihong, Mo Lihai, and Mo Lishou as predetermined mortal-calamity targets, and Mo Lihong taunted West Qi after his black umbrella swallowed an enemy treasure.

Lin Yuan watched the Four Demon Generals repel West Qi at Jiameng Pass and urged them to fight together while investigating why West Qi was watching Mo Lihong’s Mixed Element Umbrella. The next morning, he confirmed that three hidden auras moved when Mo Lihong began to open the umbrella.

• Mo Lihong used the Mixed Element Umbrella to absorb a West Qi cultivator’s flying sword while the other Demon Generals fought with their own treasures and abilities.
• Lin Yuan met the Four Demon Generals and encouraged them to follow the Intercepting Sect’s new rules and stay within support range during battles.
• Mo Liqing reported that West Qi seemed to be targeting the Mixed Element Umbrella, so Lin Yuan advised Mo Lihong to open it cautiously in the next fight.
• Lin Yuan used his Mystic Thunder Eyes to track strange auras lingering around the battlefield and found that they focused on Mo Lihong’s umbrella.
• When West Qi challenged Jiameng Pass again, three hidden auras moved as Mo Lihong began to open the umbrella, confirming Lin Yuan’s suspicion.

Lin Yuan helped Mo Lishou foil West Qi’s attempt to cripple the Mixed Element Umbrella, turning the ambush into a counterattack that captured several enemy treasures. After the attackers retreated, Lin Yuan warned the Four Demon Generals that West Qi would target whoever became isolated and proposed they coordinate their positions and abilities in future battles.

• Lin Yuan warned Mo Lishou not to gather treasures, and Mo Lishou folded the Mixed Element Umbrella to evade West Qi’s three attacks aimed at damaging it.
• Mo Lihou’s Flower-Fox Marten struck the concealed grey awl, exposing the hidden weapon and foiling West Qi’s plan.
• Lin Yuan directed Mo Liqing and Mo Lihai to counter the attackers, while Mo Lishou reopened the umbrella and pulled several enemy treasures inside.
• West Qi’s attackers retreated, and Mo Lishou checked the umbrella with Lin Yuan before sharing the captured silver chain with Mo Lishou.
• Lin Yuan warned the Four Demon Generals that West Qi would target whoever was isolated and proposed fixed positions so they could support one another; Mo Liqing stepped forward to begin practicing the formation.

Lin Yuan helped the Four Demon Generals stay together during West Qi’s attempts to isolate them, and they repelled the attacks without pursuing. The death-calamity warnings remained, and Lin Yuan sensed West Qi preparing a stronger attack aimed at one of the four.

• Lin Yuan kept Mo Lihai from accepting a one-on-one challenge, and the Four Demon Generals stood together until the young Daoist retreated.
• A West Qi cultivator lured the Flower-Fox Marten away, but Mo Lihong, Mo Lihai, and Lin Yuan helped bring it safely back to Mo Lishou.
• When West Qi tried to push Mo Liqing away from the group, he fought within the range of Mo Lihai’s pipa while the others supported him, and the four stayed together through the battle.
• West Qi changed tactics three times before retreating, and the Four Demon Generals agreed that fighting together worked well.
• That night, Lin Yuan sensed stronger Dharmic power gathering in West Qi and told Mo Lihai he was waiting to learn which of the four their next attack would target.

Lin Yuan predicted that Mo Lihai would be targeted and helped him turn the West Qi attackers' sound-suppression plan against them, breaking his death tribulation and gaining Celestial Sound Soul-Shaking. Afterward, Lin Yuan sensed that Mo Lihong's danger was growing and prepared to investigate a tempting magic treasure expected the next day.

• Lin Yuan deduced that West Qi would target Mo Lihai by suppressing the Jasper Pipa's sound, and he and Mo Lihai planned to lure an attacker close.
• A Silence-Suppressing Pearl blocked battlefield sounds as a Black-Robed Taoist attacked Mo Lihai, but Mo Lihai snapped his pipa strings and shook the attacker's Primordial Spirit at close range.
• Mo Liqing and Mo Lishou helped drive back the Black-Robed Taoist, who escaped with a talisman, and Lin Yuan's system announced that Mo Lihai's death trajectory had been changed.
• Lin Yuan gained Celestial Sound Soul-Shaking and accidentally made a nearby Jin Ling Lineage senior brother's Primordial Spirit shake by flicking the Qingxuan Sword.
• Lin Yuan sensed that Mo Lihong's death tribulation had grown stronger and asked whether he would accept a very tempting magic treasure offered the next day.
• Mo Lihong said he would accept it, and Lin Yuan asked to borrow Mo Lishou's Flower-Fox Marten before he did.

Lin Yuan and the Four Demon Generals baited West Qi into using a Treasure-Locking Rope against Mo Lihong, then turned the trap around and captured both the rope and its Purple Gold Bead. Mo Lihong survived his destined tribulation, granting Lin Yuan Treasure-Mastering Telepathy, while West Qi began planning a simultaneous attack on all four generals.

• Lin Yuan arranged for Flower-Fox Marten to hide inside Mo Lihong's Mixed Element Umbrella so it could ambush whoever maintained a treasure-locking artifact.
• West Qi baited Mo Lihong with a Purple Gold Bead and used a Treasure-Locking Rope to immobilize the Mixed Element Umbrella, while its Gray-Robe Immortal advanced to seize it.
• At Lin Yuan's signal, Mo Lihong swallowed the Purple Gold Bead and released Flower-Fox Marten, which wounded the Gray-Robe Immortal as the other generals attacked.
• Mo Lihong regained control of the umbrella and pulled in the Treasure-Locking Rope and Purple Gold Bead, forcing the Gray-Robe Immortal and West Qi's forces to retreat.
• Lin Yuan gained Treasure-Mastering Telepathy after Mo Lihong's destined death trajectory was severed, and he demonstrated smoother control of his Qingxuan Sword and Thick Earth Sword.
• In the West Qi camp, their leaders abandoned testing the generals one by one and planned to target Mo Liqing and Mo Lishou simultaneously.

Lin Yuan helped the Four Demon Generals withstand West Qi’s coordinated ambushes and severed Mo Lishou’s and Mo Liqing’s death trajectories. With all four generals alive and fighting together, the West Qi forces retreated, and Lin Yuan gained Cooperative Combat Spiritual Perception and Four Symbols Sword Intent.

• West Qi attacked Mo Liqing directly and baited Mo Lishou’s Flower-Fox Marten into a silver net, but Lin Yuan warned Mo Lishou not to break formation.
• Mo Lihong and Mo Lihai disrupted the attackers’ follow-up, while Lin Yuan used Celestial Sound Soul-Shaking to deflect a scimitar that would have struck Mo Liqing.
• The Four Demon Generals worked together to free the Flower-Fox Marten, severing Mo Lishou’s death trajectory and granting Lin Yuan Cooperative Combat Spiritual Perception.
• Lin Yuan coordinated the four generals’ counterattack, joined the battle, and helped Mo Liqing drive back the Golden Immortal attacker.
• Mo Liqing’s death trajectory was severed, granting Lin Yuan Four Symbols Sword Intent, and the West Qi forces retreated as the death auras around all four generals vanished.

After helping the Four Demon Generals survive repeated attacks at Jiameng Pass, Lin Yuan saw them commit to fighting together and confirmed that all four had escaped their destined deaths. He left to handle new military intelligence, while the tribulation aura vanished and Primordial Secret Realm Monitoring Stones began trembling on Blue Star.

• Mo Lihong, Mo Lihai, and Mo Lishou thanked Lin Yuan for warning them not to fight separately, and Mo Liqing vowed the four would face future battles together.
• The Four Demon Generals divided the magical treasures Mo Lihong had collected, while Lin Yuan tested how his new abilities improved his swords and teamwork awareness.
• Mo Liqing promised that the Four Demon Generals would come to Lin Yuan's aid if he ever sent word.
• After seven days without another major attack, the system confirmed that Mo Liqing, Mo Lihong, Mo Lihai, and Mo Lishou had all escaped their original death trajectories.
• Wen Zhong sent new military intelligence, so Lin Yuan left Jiameng Pass with two fellow disciples as the tribulation aura dispersed and Primordial Secret Realm Monitoring Stones began trembling on Blue Star.

The Primordial Secret Realm’s Historical Deviation Rate rose to 23.8% as more key events deviated, and observers increasingly suspected Lin Yuan was behind the changes. At the Shang army’s camp, Lin Yuan learned Wen Zhong planned to cover the retreat at Dragon-Severing Ridge and asked whether he had to go there.

• The Monitoring Stone reported that the Historical Deviation Rate had climbed from 17.3% to 23.8% and listed further deviations, including Jiameng Pass.
• Chen Qingshan and the other teachers suspected Lin Yuan was causing the changes after learning that several Interception Sect figures might still be alive.
• Chen Yue overheard Elucidation Sect disciples say Lin Yuan had reached Taiyi Golden Immortal and that the Four Demon Generals were now acting together, then reflected on his choice of the Elucidation Sect.
• Lin Yuan reached Wen Zhong’s camp and learned that the Great Shang army was retreating because West Qi had grown stronger.
• Wen Zhong said he would stay at Dragon-Severing Ridge to cover the retreat, and Lin Yuan asked whether he had to go there.

Lin Yuan warned Wen Zhong that Dragon-Severing Ridge felt dangerous, but Wen Zhong chose to lead the rearguard there, and Lin Yuan went with him. After Lin Yuan discovered the earth veins had been tampered with, the pair ordered a withdrawal, but a dormant fire force awakened beneath the ridge and the system warned that Wen Zhong’s death calamity was imminent.

• Lin Yuan urged Wen Zhong to choose another rearguard position, but Wen Zhong insisted Dragon-Severing Ridge was the best place to hold back West Qi’s army.
• Lin Yuan decided to accompany Wen Zhong, and Wen Zhong agreed on the condition that Lin Yuan follow his military orders.
• The Shang army withdrew in stages, and Wen Zhong led the rearguard to Dragon-Severing Ridge as West Qi’s pursuers followed at a distance.
• Lin Yuan examined the terrain and discovered that someone had altered the underground earth veins to draw Earthfire toward the ridge.
• Wen Zhong ordered the rearguard to withdraw, but a dormant surge of fire qi awakened beneath them and shook Dragon-Severing Ridge.
• The system identified Wen Zhong as a high-value target of a predetermined death calamity and warned that its designated death node was rapidly approaching.