Chapter Summaries

Ji Hao and Yan Wuwo tracked Qu Jiuniang to a Mythology hideout in Tanhan and attacked to rescue her. Ji Hao fought Ziwei Star Lord, disrupting his attempt to escape with a domain that interfered with the starry sky.

• Ji Hao told Heavenly Venerable Lingbao and Yan Wuwo that Han Guang was likely the Heavenly Emperor in disguise as Kongwen, and they planned to free the real Abbot Kongwen and rescue Qu Jiuniang.
• Ji Hao and Yan Wuwo searched Fish Sea using Qu Jiuniang’s Soul Lamp, but Ji Hao’s mirror shattered while tracing an illusion array, revealing a dangerous Mythology ambush.
• Ji Hao used the Soul Lamp’s blood essence to locate Qu Jiuniang in Tanhan, where he saw Ziwei Star Lord guarding her.
• Yan Wuwo shook the earth to break into the courtyard while Ji Hao rescued Qu Jiuniang and struck down the Blessing Heavenly Official.
• Ji Hao stayed behind to fight Ziwei Star Lord, overwhelmed him with the Golden Pill Seal and a barrage of attacks, and disrupted his attempt to shift away.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ji Hao defeats Ziwei Star Lord in a devastating battle. Ziwei uses the power of countless stars and a Glazed Lamp to resist Ji Hao’s Divine Soul Sword Germ, but Ji Hao’s Diamond Vajra absorbs and destroys the lamp’s True Spirit.
• Ji Hao unleashes his signature killing technique, “Heavenly Emperor Treading on Time.” The blade’s power accelerates the passage of time, overwhelming Ziwei’s defenses. Ziwei attempts to self-destruct and take Ji Hao with him, but Ji Hao easily survives.
• Ziwei Star Lord dies, leaving behind only his mask. Ji Hao collects his Mustard Seed Ring and recites the Scripture of Deliverance, mockingly but also meaningfully granting Ziwei merit for his future reincarnation.
• Xi, wearing the Solar God Lord mask, arrives afterward and discovers the destroyed courtyard, Zhou Qiushan’s corpse, and Ziwei’s remains. From the traces of sword intent, fire, and star power, he deduces that Lingbao Heavenly Venerable and Taiyi Zhenren were likely involved.
• Ji Hao and Yan Wuwo rescue the real Qu Jiuniang, who had been sealed and abducted. Qu Jiuniang confirms that her attackers were probably not members of Mythology and immediately mourns the loss of her possessions.
• In the underground river at Fish Sea, the fake Qu Jiuniang reveals herself as a disguised man wearing the “Heavenly Emperor” mask. He concludes that the people from Traces of Immortals will not arrive.
• The Mysterious Lady’s main body arrives at Fish Sea City. She intends to confront Mad Saber Su Meng, the inheritor of the Thunder God, as well as pursue the General Outline of the Tathagata Palm.
• At Yumen Pass, the disguised Kongwen sends Kong Jian and Wu Jing away to investigate Buddhist traces, then encounters the Life and Death Impermanence Sect’s Three Paths Array.
• Kongwen reveals overwhelming strength by killing three supreme elders of the sect simultaneously. The sect master realizes that Kongwen had never truly fallen in rank after fighting the Demonic Master; his apparent weakness was a long-term deception.
• At Biyou Palace, Ji Hao reports the events to Chonghe. In recognition of killing Ziwei and rescuing Qu Jiuniang, Chonghe offers him a choice between the Eight-Nine Xuan Gong and the Zhuxian Sword Array diagram.
• Bixia reports that she was attacked by an unidentified, extremely powerful woman whose only remembered feature was a palm surrounded by earthen-yellow light, suggesting another hidden enemy.
• The Life and Death Impermanence Sect suffers a catastrophic blow: three ancient supreme elders and major sect foundations are lost, leaving the sect master enraged and alarmed.

Character Developments

• Ji Hao demonstrates a dramatic increase in power. He combines sword intent, time manipulation, the Heavenly Emperor Dharma Body, and the Diamond Vajra to defeat one of the strongest figures beneath the Heavenly Emperor.
• Ji Hao’s attitude remains confident, irreverent, and playful. He taunts Ziwei over his treasures and jokes about accepting his belongings, yet his recitation of the Scripture of Deliverance shows his growing status and connection to higher Daoist authority.
• Ziwei Star Lord is portrayed as powerful but ultimately unable to resist Ji Hao’s mastery of time. His desperate attempt to die alongside Ji Hao emphasizes both his pride and his recognition that defeat is unavoidable.
• Xi becomes more cautious and analytical. By examining the battlefield, he identifies the likely participants and begins questioning Ji Hao’s true identity and allegiance.
• Qu Jiuniang returns to her familiar greedy, foul-mouthed personality. Her immediate concern for her lost Mustard Seed Ring confirms that she is the real Qu Jiuniang.
• Kongwen is revealed as far more formidable and calculating than previously believed. His weakened condition was a deliberate disguise, and he is capable of destroying multiple peak Exterior experts at once.
• The Life and Death Impermanence Sect’s master shifts from confidence to fury and fear after discovering the scale of the disaster.
• Mysterious Lady escalates her pursuit of Su Meng by personally entering the conflict rather than relying on a manifestation.

Significant Themes

• The inevitability of time and death: Ji Hao’s Heavenly Emperor Treading on Time embodies the unstoppable erosion of all things. Even stars, immortals, and seemingly eternal powers ultimately perish.
• Hidden identities and deception: Multiple characters use masks, disguises, false identities, or deliberately concealed cultivation levels. The fake Qu Jiuniang, Xi’s deductions, and Kongwen’s hidden strength all reinforce the uncertainty surrounding everyone’s true allegiance.
• Power and hierarchy: The defeat of Ziwei, the arrival of the Mysterious Lady’s main body, and Kongwen’s destruction of the Three Paths Array demonstrate the rapidly escalating power struggles among Dharma Body and Half-Step Dharma Body experts.
• Treasure and loss: Qu Jiuniang’s grief over her Mustard Seed Ring provides comic relief but also highlights how cultivation resources and artifacts determine power and status.
• The consequences of underestimating enemies: Ziwei underestimates Ji Hao’s weapons, the Life and Death Impermanence Sect underestimates Kongwen, and Xi realizes that even his prior assessment of Ji Hao was insufficient.
• The contrast between impartial Dao and personal emotion: Ji Hao’s Heavenly Emperor manifestation represents an impartial Great Dao, while characters such as Ziwei, Qu Jiuniang, and the Life and Death Impermanence Sect react through pride, greed, rage, and grief.

Important Character Interactions

• Ji Hao and Ziwei Star Lord: Their battle progresses from artifact clashes to a decisive confrontation between star power and the passage of time. Ji Hao defeats and mocks Ziwei, then recites a deliverance scripture for him.
• Xi and Ziwei’s remains: Xi investigates the battlefield, recognizes the traces of Lingbao Heavenly Venerable’s sword, and begins wondering who Ji Hao truly is.
• Ji Hao, Yan Wuwo, and Qu Jiuniang: After rescuing Qu Jiuniang, they verify her identity through her characteristic obsession with money and possessions.
• Ji Hao and Chonghe: Chonghe acknowledges Ji Hao’s contribution and offers him a valuable choice of divine arts.
• Mysterious Lady and Su Meng: The Mysterious Lady openly declares her intention to hunt the Thunder God’s inheritor, setting up a future confrontation.
• Kongwen and the Life and Death Impermanence Sect: Kongwen’s encounter turns into a crushing ambush, exposing the sect’s mistaken assumptions and destroying a large part of its upper ranks.

Ji Hao watched the factions gather at Fish Sea while preparing a Slaying Immortal formation, as the Diamond Temple, Snow Mountain Sect, Asura Temple, and Demon Race revealed their Dharma Body-level forces. The chapter ended with the Demon Kings facing their human and Buddhist enemies, poised for battle, while Ji Hao readied a destructive gift for Lord Sect Master.

• Kongwen used the Dao of time to kill three members of the Life and Death Impermanence Sect, and Ji Hao learned that Taili and Han Guang had joined forces against him.
• Taili changed the Demon Race's plan and sent three great Demon Kings to attack Fish Sea, while the Diamond Temple activated a barrier that drained nearby Exterior experts and summoned a golden Vajra.
• Two Snow Mountain Sect Grandmasters opened an ancient tomb, releasing a Feather-Robed Star-Crowned Person who crossed to Fish Sea, while Luohou summoned a monstrous being from the Endless Abyssal Sea for Mengnan.
• Taili, the White Tiger Demon King, and the Kui Niu Demon King advanced on Fish Sea as Chonghe, Kongwen, Master Lu Da, and other powerful figures gathered to oppose them.
• Ji Hao left the battlefield to activate a formation platform and forge a Slaying Immortal banner, while the assembled factions prepared for a Dharma Body battle.

Chapter Summary: “The Tathagata Palm’s General Outline Appears”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Daoist Shoujing confirms that the current Abbot Kongwen is an impostor—Demonic Master Han Guang—and suspects that the Heavenly Emperor of Mythology may appear. The conflict is therefore not merely over the Tathagata Palm, but also over the orthodox Heavenly Emperor and control of the martial world.
• Meng Qi informs Master Lu Da of the situation. Together, they infiltrate Shaolin’s rear mountain during Divine Monk Konghui’s daily period of weakness.
• Master Lu Da effortlessly bypasses Shaolin’s defenses, puts a guarding elder to sleep, and cuts through the powerful seals and formations imprisoning the real Kongwen. His overwhelming swordsmanship shocks Meng Qi.
• The genuine Kongwen is rescued. The group immediately heads toward Fish Sea to support the other Human Race Dharma Bodies.
• At Fish Sea, the Bodhi Buddha Tree—half flourishing and half withered—rises from the formation. It represents the general outline of the Tathagata Palm and triggers a massive battle among humans, demons, Buddhist forces, Mythology, the Luo Sect, and other factions.
• The appearance of the Bodhi Tree causes every major expert to fight for possession of it. Divine Weapons, formations, magnetic powers, Five-Colored Divine Light, thunder, and Buddhist techniques are deployed simultaneously.
• Han Guang realizes that his impersonation of Kongwen has been exposed. He abandons all restraint and reveals his true identity as the Demonic Master, attacking Chonghe from behind.
• Han Guang and Peacock Demon King Taili attempt to kill Chonghe through a coordinated ambush, but Chonghe reveals that he has mastered the Pure Yang Sect’s supreme art, One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
• Chonghe creates three powerful sword-wielding incarnations and forms the Zhuxian Sword Array by himself, trapping and suppressing both Han Guang and Taili.
• Great Asura Mengnan reveals the Heaven-Extinguishing Sect’s Divine Weapon, the Hand of Yama, and attempts to seize the Bodhi Tree.
• Daoist Shoujing arrives with the Saber of Time, severely restraining the White Tiger Demon King by slowing its thoughts and draining its lifespan.
• The Luo Sect’s Dharma King of Crossing the World launches a surprise attack on the Four-Footed Three-Armed Monster, weakening it while reaching for the Bodhi Tree.

Character Developments

• Meng Qi demonstrates initiative and strategic judgment by recognizing that Kongwen must be rescued secretly and identifying Konghui’s daily weakness as the opportunity.
• Master Lu Da is shown to possess extraordinary mastery and composure. He crosses Shaolin’s defenses almost effortlessly and destroys multiple layers of formations with a single sword strike.
• Kongwen is confirmed to be genuine and is freed from Han Guang’s imprisonment. His weakened, aged appearance contrasts sharply with the false Kongwen impersonating him.
• Han Guang fully abandons his disguise and openly reveals himself as the Demonic Master. His ambitions, hatred of Chonghe, and desire to protect his own organization’s prestige become clear.
• Chonghe overturns everyone’s assumptions about him. Though regarded as aged and declining, he reveals a hidden supreme technique and proves capable of confronting two powerful enemies simultaneously.
• Daoist Shoujing displays the terrifying strength of a peerless Divine Weapon, nearly overwhelming the White Tiger Demon King.
• Mengnan, Taili, and the other major combatants reveal increasingly powerful Divine Weapons and ultimate techniques, emphasizing the escalation of the conflict.

Significant Themes

• Orthodoxy and legitimacy: The struggle involves determining the true Heavenly Emperor and the rightful inheritor of Buddhist and martial traditions.
• Deception and hidden identities: Han Guang’s impersonation of Kongwen demonstrates how deeply concealment and infiltration shape the conflict.
• Accumulated strength versus apparent decline: Chonghe’s reveal shows that age and outward weakness can conceal extraordinary preparation and mastery.
• Competition amid unstable alliances: Humans, demons, Buddhist factions, and secret organizations fight simultaneously, forming temporary alliances that collapse as soon as the Tathagata Palm becomes available.
• Power and destruction: The Zhuxian Sword Array, the Hand of Yama, and the Saber of Time embody different forms of annihilation—destroying matter, life, time, or the foundations of reality.
• The Buddhist symbolism of life and death: The Withered-Flourishing Bodhi represents both decay and renewal, embodying enlightenment, Nirvana, and the duality of existence.

Character Interactions

• Meng Qi and Master Lu Da cooperate closely, with Lu Da acting as both protector and rescuer.
• Lu Da and Kongwen establish a respectful alliance based on mutual assistance.
• Han Guang manipulates the situation by pretending to cooperate with Chonghe and the Human Race before betraying them.
• Han Guang and Taili coordinate a surprise attack against Chonghe, but Chonghe turns their ambush against them.
• Chonghe’s Zhuxian Sword Array forces Han Guang and Taili into a desperate struggle for survival.
• Cui Qinghe battles Fierce-Eyed Vajra while also trying to contain the White Tiger Demon King.
• Shoujing intervenes to support Cui Qinghe and engages the White Tiger Demon King directly.
• Mengnan and Taili compete for the Bodhi Tree while also clashing with one another.
• The two inheritors of Guanyin use opposing magnetic powers to pull the Bodhi Tree toward themselves.
• The Luo Sect’s Dharma King attacks the Four-Footed Three-Armed Monster from behind, weakening it and attempting to claim the Bodhi Tree.

Chapter Summary: Ji Hao’s Zhuxian Sword Array

Key Plot Points and Events

• Han Guang realizes he has been trapped. Inside Chonghe’s Zhuxian Sword Array, Han Guang recognizes that Kongwen’s escape was likely part of Chonghe’s preparations and that reinforcements—especially Lu Da or Lanke Temple experts—may soon arrive. He decides he and Taili must escape immediately, regardless of the cost.
• Chonghe’s sword array overwhelms Han Guang and Taili. Taili reveals his Five Elements Peacock True Body and uses the Five-Colored Divine Palm, while Han Guang employs the Heaven-Extinguishing Sect’s Hand of Yama. Nevertheless, the array’s four-colored Sword Qi destroys, reshapes, and distorts matter, space, and time, leaving both Dharma Bodies badly pressured.
• The Buddhist faction begins drawing upon the Tathagata Palm. Nine Buddhist Grandmasters surround Zhao Qian, the former crown prince and current Prince of Liang, in a ritual array. Zhao Qian adopts a monk’s identity and invokes a future Buddha’s vow, receiving an immense Buddhist power from an unknown higher realm. This appears to summon or manifest the general outline of the Tathagata Palm.
• The Withered-Flourishing Bodhi changes hands repeatedly. The Asura Temple monster and the Dharma King of Crossing the World fight over it. The Dharma King drains much of its essence, forcing it to sacrifice one of its heads, but later seizes it himself. Daoist Shoujing attacks him with the Azure Emperor Extinguishing Longevity technique, aging and decaying the surrounding space and preventing the Dharma King from escaping through it. The Bodhi ultimately breaks free under an external summons.
• Han Guang and Taili discover a weakness in the array. Han Guang identifies that Chonghe’s formation is incomplete: it is exceptionally powerful in destruction but imperfect in its handling of time and space, and its four swords together are only equivalent to one Divine Weapon. Using a time-based saber technique, he slows the array and opens a flaw.
• The pair escapes at great cost. Taili shields them with his Five-Colored Divine Light while Han Guang uses a black river-like force and a replica of the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda to resist Daoist Shoujing. Chonghe injures Han Guang by sending Sword Qi through the escape gap, severing one of his arms, but Han Guang and Taili still vanish. They are left gravely wounded, their lifespans shortened, and most of their accumulated treasures and gains exhausted.
• The major forces converge. Master Lu Da, Abbot Kongwen, and Meng Qi arrive, confirming that the Tathagata Palm’s general outline has effectively been secured. Several enemies retreat, including the Dharma King of Crossing the World, the Bodhisattva from Maiden Su Dao, and Mengnan of Asura Temple.
• Other Dharma Bodies attempt to flee. The White Tiger Demon King abandons a paw to escape Daoist Shoujing’s aging saber attack, while the Kui Niu Demon King endures severe injuries from He Qi and uses Lightning Release to break away. Chonghe’s attempt to trap both demons is disrupted when the Three Pure Ones Dao bodies return to Unity.
• Ji Hao activates his own Zhuxian Sword Array. The array, empowered by the Diamond Vajra’s Origin Essence Qi and the inheritance of Lingbao, expands beyond its original location and forcibly draws distant targets into it. Ji Hao appears as the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable and declares that he intends to hunt Dharma Bodies for materials to forge Divine Weapons.
• Ji Hao selects his prey. He releases most of those trapped in the array but keeps the White Tiger Demon King and the Great Asura, intending to use them as materials for a Tiger Soul Saber and an Asura Sword. The chapter ends as Ji Hao’s nearly flawless sword array begins an overwhelming assault, twisting space-time, matter, energy, and the laws of Heaven and Earth.

Character Developments

• Han Guang demonstrates exceptional decisiveness and strategic insight. Despite his injuries and the destruction of his replica pagoda, he remains focused and exploits the sword array’s structural weakness to escape. His willingness to sacrifice nearly everything emphasizes his ruthless, iron-willed nature.
• Taili is shown struggling against a formation specifically capable of countering his Five Elements abilities. He nevertheless plays a crucial defensive role by using his Five-Colored Divine Light to protect Han Guang during their escape.
• Chonghe is established as overwhelmingly powerful, even while fighting two Dharma Bodies. His imperfect array still nearly kills Han Guang and Taili, and his ability to injure Han Guang during the escape shows his control and precision.
• Daoist Shoujing displays mastery over time and aging techniques, using them to suppress both enemies and the surrounding environment. His combat strength is portrayed as superior to Han Guang’s imitation of the same Heavenly Emperor technique.
• Zhao Qian undergoes a major transformation, abandoning his princely image and taking on the appearance and spiritual bearing of a monk. Through his vow, he becomes a conduit for profound Buddhist power and the Tathagata Palm inheritance.
• Ji Hao reveals extraordinary arrogance, confidence, and ambition. He treats Dharma Bodies as raw materials rather than equals and demonstrates that his Zhuxian Sword Array is more complete and dangerous than Chonghe’s.
• The White Tiger Demon King and Great Asura shift from powerful pursuers or combatants to Ji Hao’s chosen prey, although both remain extremely dangerous.

Significant Themes

• Decisiveness and sacrifice: Han Guang’s escape succeeds because he acts without hesitation and accepts immense personal losses. The chapter presents survival as dependent on the willingness to sacrifice treasures, limbs, lifespan, and accumulated advantages.
• The incompleteness of power: Even terrifying formations have structural weaknesses. Chonghe’s array is devastating but incomplete, while Ji Hao’s version benefits from a purer inheritance and better integration with the laws of existence.
• Transformation and transcendence: Zhao Qian’s conversion from prince to monk symbolizes a shift from worldly authority to spiritual destiny. His ritual suggests that great power can be accessed through vows, faith, and alignment with a higher principle.
• Dharma Bodies as both rulers and prey: The chapter repeatedly overturns the hierarchy of power. While ordinary Grandmasters are dismissed as insignificant, Ji Hao reverses expectations by treating Dharma Bodies themselves as hunting targets and forging materials.
• Time, decay, and destruction: Aging, extinction, deathly stillness, and the collapse of matter recur throughout the battles. The various sword arrays and saber techniques reduce color, vitality, space, and energy toward black-and-white annihilation.
• The danger of grand formations: The Zhuxian Sword Arrays do not merely confine opponents; they reshape the environment and laws around them. Escape becomes nearly impossible because the array can extend outward and bring fleeing targets back inside.

Character Interactions

• Han Guang and Taili cooperate under extreme pressure, combining Han Guang’s strategic understanding and time techniques with Taili’s Five Elements defenses.
• Han Guang clashes with Chonghe and Daoist Shoujing, using the former’s array weakness to escape while enduring the latter’s aging saber technique.
• The Buddhist Grandmasters and Zhao Qian perform a unified ritual, combining their Dharma Seals, Buddhist artifacts, and vows to invoke the Tathagata Palm’s power.
• The Dharma King of Crossing the World, the Asura Temple monster, and Daoist Shoujing contend over the Withered-Flourishing Bodhi, turning its possession into a series of ambushes and reversals.
• Master Lu Da, Kongwen, and Meng Qi’s arrival forces several opposing factions to withdraw, changing the battlefield’s balance.
• Ji Hao and Chonghe stand together briefly, with Chonghe silently observing Ji Hao’s display despite the strange identity Ji Hao adopts as the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable.
• Ji Hao confronts the White Tiger Demon King and Great Asura, openly declaring his intention to kill them and use their bodies to forge Divine Weapons.

Chapter Summary: “Tathagata Palm Acquired”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ji Hao activates the Zhuxian Sword Array, using the Diamond Vajra’s authority over the Basis of Existence to manipulate Heaven and Earth’s Origin Qi.
• The array creates a chaotic apocalypse-like domain of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. Its power reaches the threshold of the Celestial Immortal realm.
• The attack destroys the Divine Souls of the White Tiger Demon King and the Great Asura, leaving only their undamaged Dharma Bodies. Ji Hao captures both bodies.
• The Withered-Flourishing Bodhi, containing the general outline of the Tathagata Palm, suddenly attempts to fly away after a powerful summoning force appears.
• Ji Hao intercepts it and claims the divine inheritance, declaring that the Tathagata Palm is his.
• After the battle, the remaining righteous Dharma Bodies discuss how to share access to the inheritance without causing conflict.
• Abbot Kongwen proposes placing the Bodhi within Lanke Temple, a Buddhist Pure Land overseen by a trustworthy Bodhisattva of the Embodiment lineage.
• Lanke Temple accepts custody of the Withered-Flourishing Bodhi, allowing everyone to visit and comprehend its true meaning.
• The Bodhisattva grants them a method to summon Lanke Temple by silently reciting “Namo Moon Mani Light King Bodhisattva” three times. This functions both as a means of returning to the temple and potentially as a lifesaving escape technique.
• The group agrees that the younger generation should comprehend the inheritance first. Meng Qi goes before Ji Hao and achieves an unusually long and profound state of enlightenment.
• Ji Hao then begins his own comprehension, resonating with the First Form of the Tathagata Palm, “Only I Am Supreme.” His vision culminates in the manifestation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas paying homage beneath the Bodhi Tree.

Character Developments

• Ji Hao demonstrates exceptional tactical skill and control. Although his array only reaches the Celestial Immortal threshold, he uses preparation, the Zhuxian Sword Array, and the Diamond Vajra to defeat two powerful Human Immortals.
• His mastery over the array is so precise that he destroys the enemies’ Divine Souls while leaving their Dharma Bodies and internal Heavens intact.
• Ji Hao becomes the official holder of the Withered-Flourishing Bodhi but chooses to cooperate with the righteous factions rather than monopolize it.
• He continues acting as a teasing yet protective elder brother toward Meng Qi, deliberately encouraging him to comprehend the inheritance first while joking about his “Buddhist affinity.”
• Meng Qi displays extraordinary Buddhist talent. His prolonged enlightenment astonishes the Dharma Body experts and suggests that he has a powerful karmic connection with the Tathagata Palm.
• Meng Qi remains uncomfortable with the idea of becoming overly associated with Buddhism, especially after Ji Hao jokes that his hair has fallen out and that he may become a Buddha.
• Daoist Chonghe reveals that he is actually the leader of the Traces of Immortals, the Daoist Celestial Worthy, but maintains his reputation for fairness by refusing to claim the inheritance alone.
• Abbot Kongwen acts as a mediator, offering a practical and trustworthy solution to prevent disputes.
• The Bodhisattva of Lanke Temple is established as reliable because the Embodiment path requires strict adherence to vows and cosmic principles.

Significant Themes

• The weak overcoming the strong through strategy: Ji Hao’s array succeeds because of preparation, environmental manipulation, and the principle that formations can allow the weak to defeat stronger opponents.
• Power balanced by restraint: Despite possessing the Bodhi inheritance, Ji Hao and Chonghe avoid direct conflict and agree to share access.
• Trust and righteous cooperation: The group relies on Lanke Temple’s reputation and the moral constraints of the Embodiment lineage to safeguard the inheritance.
• Buddhist enlightenment and transformation: The Withered-Flourishing Bodhi symbolizes life and death, transcendence and descent, and the harmony of opposing states.
• The dangers and benefits of inheritance: The Bodhi can only sustain a limited number of direct transmissions, so understanding its true meaning is safer and more sustainable than simply receiving the inheritance.
• Fate, karmic affinity, and spiritual destiny: Meng Qi’s natural resonance with the Tathagata Palm suggests an important connection to Buddhism, even though he resists the implications.
• The relationship between escape and refuge: Lanke Temple’s summoning method represents both spiritual sanctuary and a practical survival technique.

Character Interactions

• Ji Hao and Chonghe cooperate closely, with Chonghe publicly supporting the negotiations while Ji Hao provides the decisive combat power.
• Ji Hao interacts playfully with Meng Qi, pushing him forward to comprehend the inheritance and teasing him about becoming a Buddhist monk.
• Meng Qi responds with embarrassment and mock resentment, revealing the affectionate but combative nature of their brotherly relationship.
• Abbot Kongwen negotiates with Chonghe, Cui Qinghe, He Qi, Daoist Shoujing, and Master Lu Da, persuading them to trust Lanke Temple.
• Cui Qinghe remains cautious because of earlier impostors, showing that recent deception has made the group wary even of apparent allies.
• The Lanke Bodhisattva communicates calmly and compassionately with the group, establishing a neutral arrangement acceptable to all.
• The chapter ends with Ji Hao entering deep meditation. The Tathagata Palm responds to his existing understanding of “Only I Am Supreme,” revealing a majestic Buddhist vision in which countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas honor him as the supreme Buddha of the world.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Beneath the Withered-Flourishing Bodhi, Ji Hao comprehends the Buddhist principles of the Tathagata Palm’s general outline. Inspired by the Buddha’s declaration, “Above Heaven and below earth, only I am supreme,” he perfects a powerful Supernatural Power with the same name.
• Ji Hao gathers the remains and materials left behind after the battle at Fish Sea, including the White Tiger Demon King’s blood, the Kui Niu Demon King’s thunder hide, and Taili Peacock’s feathers. He plans to use them in the creation of Divine Weapons.
• While collecting an Artifact fragment, Ji Hao unexpectedly encounters Jiuniang and Xiao Meng. They accuse him of competing with weaker Exterior experts despite already possessing two Dharma Body remains. Unable to defeat him, they later complain to Daoist Celestial Worthy.
• As a reward for killing a Mythology member, Ji Hao receives the Dharma Body portion of the Eight-Nine Xuan Gong. He comprehends the technique “Flesh and Blood Have Spirit,” causing his Divine Soul and martial intent to permeate every acupoint and inch of his body. This grants his flesh independent spirituality and allows him to create up to nine supporting incarnations.
• News of Ji Hao’s achievements spreads throughout the martial world. The new Earth Ranking places him third, under Su Wuming and Daoist Shoujing. His title becomes “Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, Evil King,” and his record—killing two Dharma Bodies with the Zhuxian Sword Array—shocks the world.
• Returning to the Sea of Sand, Ji Hao begins refining two Divine Weapons from the remains of Great Asura and the White Tiger Demon King. Using arrays, Heaven and earth’s laws, Stellar Essence, Chaos Qi, and the wills contained in the Dharma Bodies, he transforms them into the Tiger Soul Saber and Asura Sword.
• The refining process lasts nine days, with Ji Hao imposing his own killing-oriented Great Dao upon both weapons.

Character Development

• Ji Hao: His Buddhist comprehension deepens, allowing him to perfect “Only I Am Supreme.” He also expands his physical and martial potential through the Eight-Nine Xuan Gong. His reputation rises dramatically, and the martial world begins treating him as a Half-Step Dharma Body despite his Exterior cultivation.
• Jiuniang and Xiao Meng: Their encounter with Ji Hao shows their practical, thrift-minded personalities. Though resentful of his looting, they recognize that they cannot challenge him directly and resort to complaining to Daoist Celestial Worthy.
• Daoist Chonghe and other Dharma Body masters: They continue digesting the Tathagata Palm’s teachings, while Chonghe recognizes the unusual depth and breadth of Ji Hao’s combined Buddhist, Daoist, and demonic cultivation.
• The fallen Dharma Bodies: Though dead, the White Tiger Demon King and Great Asura retain remnants of martial intent and instinctive will. These remnants become raw materials and spiritual foundations for Ji Hao’s new weapons.

Significant Themes

• Synthesis of different cultivation paths: Ji Hao combines Buddhism, Daoism, martial arts, demonic techniques, arrays, and artifact refining into a unified path.
• Self-sovereignty and transcendence: The phrase “Above Heaven and below earth, only I am supreme” symbolizes Ji Hao’s growing confidence and his determination to establish an independent Dao.
• The potential of the physical body: “Flesh and Blood Have Spirit” presents the body as a vast divine treasury whose acupoints and flesh may eventually contain entire worlds.
• Power and reputation: Ji Hao’s single battle reshapes the Earth Ranking and changes how every major force views him.
• Death transformed into creation: The remains of defeated enemies are not merely trophies; Ji Hao converts them into Divine Weapons, turning destruction into new power.
• The relationship between weapons and the Dao: The Tiger Soul Saber and Asura Sword are designed to embody and reinforce Ji Hao’s killing-oriented Great Dao.

Character Interactions

• Ji Hao spiritually resonates with the Buddha and reproduces the Buddha’s gesture and declaration during enlightenment.
• Jiuniang and Xiao Meng confront Ji Hao over his appropriation of battlefield treasures, but quickly realize that his superior strength makes resistance impossible.
• The pair later appeal to Daoist Celestial Worthy, claiming that Ji Hao is unfairly exploiting his strength while pretending to be merely another Exterior expert.
• Daoist Chonghe explains the Eight-Nine Xuan Gong’s Dharma Body teachings to Ji Hao and gives him the jade slip containing “Flesh and Blood Have Spirit.”
• Across the martial world, storytellers and experts debate Ji Hao’s battle record, his position on the Earth Ranking, and whether he should already be considered comparable to a Dharma Body.
• During the weapon-refining process, Ji Hao suppresses the lingering wills of Great Asura and the White Tiger Demon King, absorbs their Dao principles, and reshapes them into weapons aligned with his own path.

Ji Hao forged the Tiger Soul saber and a blood-colored longsword, then joined Meng Qi at Old Master Yun’s funeral, where he recognized Meng Qi’s monk disguise and discovered a Blue-Blood watching the Yun Family. The Blue-Blood attacked Ji Hao, who remained in control of the surrounding water and treated his assailant as prey.

• Ji Hao used the remnants of Dharma Bodies, Dao Patterns, and divine materials to forge the Tiger Soul saber and a blood-colored longsword.
• Meng Qi, disguised as Master Fazheng, entered the Yun Family mourning hall with Madam Baihua and Yingning to investigate Old Master Yun’s suspiciously unusual karma.
• He Jiu arrived with Pei Ju, Qi Zhengyan, Luo Shengyi, Huang Taichong, and He Xiu, and Ji Hao entered with them, recognizing Meng Qi beneath his disguise.
• Ji Hao teased Meng Qi, photographed him with a Nokia, and noticed a hidden presence with a trace of divine kin outside the courtyard.
• Ji Hao waited by a stream until a Blue-Blood of the Water Ancestor’s kin revealed himself and challenged Ji Hao with powers over water.
• The Blue-Blood tried to control Ji Hao, but Ji Hao subdued the surrounding water and regarded him as prey.

Meng Qi and Ji Hao uncovered the Blue-Bloods’ involvement in events surrounding the Yun Family and defeated two of them. He Jiu revealed that a former branch of the East Sea Sword Manor had transformed itself into Blue-Bloods, leaving Meng Qi to suspect the Yun Family’s troubles were connected to that faction.

• Meng Qi used Yuxu Divine Calculation in the mourning hall and identified “Blue blood,” alarming He Jiu, He Xiu, and Huang Taichong.
• Ji Hao defeated a Blue-Blood overseer, reversed his transformation into a Blue Blood Stone, and uncovered a memory of a strange tower bearing the Water Ancestor’s image.
• Ji Hao returned to the mourning hall and gave He Jiu the stone as another Blue-Blood arrived nearby; Meng Qi entered with a second stone of his own.
• He Jiu explained that Blue-Bloods lived beneath the sea and revealed that a former East Sea Sword Manor branch had transformed itself into Blue-Bloods and later been expelled.
• Meng Qi wondered whether the Yun Family’s troubles were connected to the expelled branch.

After a Blue-Blood traitor was exposed in the Yun Family, the Ruan Family and East Sea Sword Manor rallied powerful allies to find and attack the Blue-Bloods’ underwater stronghold. Ji Hao forged a red Huntian Ling and began sensing the seabed as the assembled experts prepared to strike.

• Third Master Ruan played music that exposed Uncle Yan as a Blue-Blood, and Uncle Yan confessed to killing Old Master Yun before a nine-fingered Blue-Blood killed him and fled.
• He Jiu named Sixth Master Yun the new patriarch, while the Ruan Family and East Sea Sword Manor called on experts to confront the Blue-Bloods.
• Wu Jizhen arrived but chose to observe the gathered heroes before joining the campaign against the Blue-Bloods.
• The Wang Family Patriarch used the Luo River Diagram to help locate the Blue-Bloods’ base, while Ji Hao and the other experts assembled over an Eastern Sea trench.
• Ji Hao forged the supreme-grade precious weapon Huntian Ling from a blue-blood gemstone, then used the Yuanxin Seal to sense the depths below.

Chapter Summary: Immortal-Severing Sword VS Sword Gu Lineage

Key Plot Points and Events

• He Qi, representing the East Sea Sword Manor’s main branch, confronts the Blue-Blood and Sword Gu Lineages, declaring that their old grievances will be settled.
• He transforms into invisible, formless Sword Light and attacks from beneath the sea while the others hide using the Luo River Diagram.
• The Blue-Blood High Priest activates a vast ocean-based defensive formation, drawing power from the sea and nearby Origin Qi.
• Ji Hao uses his Heavenly Eye Insight to perceive the formation’s structure. He then unleashes a combined sword-and-saber attack using the Asura Sword, Jiemie Sword, and Tiger Soul Saber.
• Ji Hao’s strike contains profound Dao principles, the power of destruction, and the suppression of time and space. It tears apart the sea, destroys the Blue-Blood formation, and exposes the underwater stronghold.
• The stronghold contains countless awakening Blue-Bloods and a towering dark-blue pagoda depicting the ancient Water Ancestor.
• Third Master Ruan attacks the Blue-Blood forces with a Phoenix manifested through his ancient zither, causing their blood and Divine Souls to boil.
• Two Half-Step Dharma Body experts appear: the Blue-Blood High Priest and a white-haired human elder.
• He Qi confronts the white-haired elder, who has an old grudge against He Qi’s father. Because He Qi is reluctant to kill someone of the elder’s generation, Ji Hao steps in to fight him instead.
• The elder transforms his body and blood into countless Sword Gu that merge with the surrounding Origin Qi. This makes them nearly invisible and allows them to invade an opponent through breathing, pores, and the Nine Apertures.
• Ji Hao counters with the Immortal-Severing Sword’s spatial Killing Sword. By cutting space itself, he destroys the Sword Gu regardless of their invisibility or number.
• Ji Hao then activates the sword’s destruction-based Zhuxian Sword Formula, causing the Origin Qi, Sword Gu, and the elder himself to decay.
• As the elder struggles, Ji Hao studies the principles of the Formless Sword Gu and begins incorporating their mysteries into his own understanding.
• The chapter ends as Ji Hao prepares to unleash another supreme saber strike, invoking the River of Time and the technique “Heavenly Emperor Treading on Time, Suppressing This Lifetime.”

Character Developments

• Ji Hao demonstrates that he has reached an extraordinary level as both a swordsman and saber wielder. His Immortal-Severing Sword directly counters the Sword Gu Lineage’s invisible assassination techniques, while his saber strike displays power approaching or possibly exceeding the threshold of a Dharma Body.
• Ji Hao also shows increasing confidence and dominance. He deliberately limits the traits revealed by his sword, suggesting that he has even greater abilities in reserve.
• He Qi is portrayed as an orthodox and highly accomplished Dharma Body swordsman. His Formless Sword technique is powerful and refined, but Ji Hao’s spatial swordsmanship reveals its limitations.
• He Qi retains a sense of honor and restraint. Although he has a personal history with the white-haired elder, he hesitates to suppress or kill him because of their complicated relationship and the elder’s connection to his father.
• The white-haired elder is revealed as an expert of the Sword Gu Lineage and an old enemy of the East Sea Sword Manor. His confidence collapses as his supposedly formless Sword Gu are completely countered by Ji Hao’s control over space.
• The Blue-Blood High Priest is shown to be dangerous and well prepared, but he is shocked by Ji Hao’s overwhelming sword-and-saber attack and must rely on the Water Ancestor’s pagoda and defensive forces.
• Third Master Ruan reinforces the allied assault with a powerful Phoenix technique, efficiently exterminating many Blue-Bloods.
• The surrounding Exterior experts recognize that Ji Hao’s emergence may reshape the balance of power throughout the entire world.

Significant Themes

• The pinnacle of swordsmanship: The chapter contrasts He Qi’s perfected “invisible and formless” sword with Ji Hao’s higher-level spatial Killing Sword.
• Countering invisibility with absolute principles: The Sword Gu can hide within Origin Qi, but space itself cannot be escaped. Ji Hao’s sword demonstrates that profound principles can overcome numerical or deceptive advantages.
• Dao supremacy and cosmic destruction: Ji Hao’s attacks embody the Dao’s impartiality, the cycles of creation and destruction, and the return of all things to emptiness.
• Honor versus vengeance: He Qi’s reluctance to kill the white-haired elder reflects the burden of old grudges, filial ties, and moral restraint.
• Learning through combat: Ji Hao does not merely defeat the Sword Gu elder; he studies the enemy’s technique and extracts its underlying principles for his own cultivation.
• The rise of a new supreme expert: The reactions of the surrounding factions show that Ji Hao’s strength and title are beginning to alter the world’s political and martial landscape.
• Impartial destruction: Ji Hao’s techniques treat friend and foe alike, reflecting the Dao’s lack of favoritism and the terrifying neutrality of ultimate power.

Character Interactions

• Ji Hao and He Qi: They cooperate closely, with He Qi opening the assault and Ji Hao breaking the defensive formation. He Qi recognizes Ji Hao’s swordsmanship and becomes excited rather than jealous when witnessing the Immortal-Severing Sword.
• He Qi and the white-haired elder: Their confrontation is rooted in an old feud involving He Qi’s father. He Qi wishes to avoid needless killing, but the elder insists on fighting.
• Ji Hao and the white-haired elder: Ji Hao takes He Qi’s place and dominates the duel. He dismisses the elder’s desperate resistance and uses the battle to understand and absorb the Sword Gu Lineage’s principles.
• Ji Hao and the Blue-Blood forces: Ji Hao’s attack shatters their formation and leaves the High Priest and his followers exposed before the allied assault.
• Third Master Ruan and the Blue-Bloods: Ruan’s Phoenix technique burns and destroys the Blue-Blood forces within the sea trench.
• The watching experts and Ji Hao: The major factions observe Ji Hao’s overwhelming attack with shock, recognizing him as a potential peer to the greatest sword and saber masters of the age.

Ji Hao and He Qi defeated the Blue-Blood High Priest and recovered the Ruan Family’s Salvation Guqin, which returned to Langya City amid a scramble by opportunists. Ruan Yushu broke through into the Exterior realm and awakened the guqin, while the Water Ancestor’s pagoda escaped into the blue heavens.

• Ji Hao defeated the white-haired elder with the River of Time, while the elder revealed that Qianyuan held the Sword Gu command token before fading away.
• The Blue-Blood High Priest tried to flee in the pagoda, but Ji Hao and He Qi attacked it as Old Master Ruan and Third Master Ruan called the Salvation Guqin back.
• Ji Hao killed the grievously wounded High Priest, and the guqin flew toward Langya City while Nine Fingers and other experts raced to seize it.
• Ruan Bogao fought to protect the guqin as the Canon-Worshipping Divine Envoy and other fiends moved to claim it; Ji Hao arrived and drove off the attackers.
• Ruan Yushu entered the Exterior realm and awakened the Salvation Guqin, which overwhelmed the Ancestor God’s aura and settled into Ruan Bogao’s arms.
• The Water Ancestor’s pagoda escaped into the blue heavens, and Ji Hao, He Qi, and the Wang Family Patriarch accepted that the Blue-Bloods could not threaten them for now.

Ji Hao took Meng Qi to the Su Nü Immortal Realm so Meng Qi could contemplate the Overlord's Peerless Saber, while Ji Hao pursued his own goal. Their arrival roused the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden's true incarnation, and Ji Hao clashed with her mortal remains as the chapter ended.

• Ji Hao promised to take Meng Qi to the Su Nü Immortal Realm and opened a way there by invoking the Fruit of All Causes.
• Ji Hao and Meng Qi entered the realm, bypassed its arrays, and reached Su Nü Palace, where Ji Hao broke through the forbidden wards with the Asura Sword and Tiger Soul Saber.
• The Mysterious Lady's true incarnation appeared and revealed herself as the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, a being at Fortune Perfection whose power extended across worlds.
• Ji Hao produced the Diamond Jade and warned that Meng Qi had come to contemplate the Overlord's Peerless Saber, but the Mysterious Lady's true incarnation invoked her founder's remains and attacked.
• Ji Hao's Sumeru Mustard Seed Arrays failed to stop the jade fist, so he unleashed the Four Swords and Wuji Seal against it.

Ji Hao used the Su Nü Immortal Realm to prepare for and attain the Formless Lingbao Dharma Body, uniting creation and destruction and gathering his past and future into himself. He survived the heavenly human tribulation and emerged with a Dharma Body that embodied countless powers and possibilities.

• Ji Hao defeated the Mysterious Lady's remains, and she agreed to lend him the Su Nü Immortal Realm until he attained a Dharma Body.
• Meng Qi reached the Overlord's Peerless Saber and received insights from the lightning realm within it as he began to inherit the Overlord's Six Slashes.
• Ji Hao spent months combining Buddhist, Daoist, and demonic legacies, awakening other selves and unifying the Great Daos of creation and destruction.
• Ji Hao gathered his past and future into himself, attained the Legend traits of omnipresence and control of the minute, and formed his Dharma Body.
• Ji Hao endured the heavenly human tribulation and emerged with the Formless Lingbao Dharma Body, merging the Formless Dao Body with the Lingbao Dharma Body.

Ji Hao attained the Wuxiang Lingbao Dharma Body and joined Meng Qi and Daoist Chonghe to seek the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords at Earth Immortal Lake. They found the likely location inside the Cao Clan’s forbidden grounds but decided to approach True Monarch Qingyuan Miaodao without revealing the legacy’s identity.

• Ji Hao attained the Wuxiang Lingbao Dharma Body, glimpsed Jianmu through the river of time, and discovered his new powers of time envelopment and being.
• Ji Hao met Meng Qi and Daoist Chonghe, learned the locations of several Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords legacies, and identified Earth Immortal Lake as the site of one treasury.
• Ji Hao, Meng Qi, and Daoist Chonghe traveled to Earth Immortal Lake and followed Emperor Zhenwu’s clues to an island within the Cao Clan’s guarded forbidden grounds.
• The group withdrew after a Cao Clan guard ordered them away, and Daoist Chonghe advised approaching True Monarch Qingyuan Miaodao without telling him what the hidden treasure was.
• Ji Hao and Meng Qi agreed to summon True Monarch Qingyuan Miaodao and sound him out, while Ji Hao teased Meng Qi about cultivating.

Chapter Summary: True Monarch Qingyuan Miaodao and the Zhenwu Treasure

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ji Hao and Meng Qi decide to pursue the hidden treasure beneath the Cao Clan’s territory. To prevent Cao Xianzhi from feeling betrayed, they formally inform him of their intentions rather than acting secretly.
• At Fengxiao Pavilion, they meet Cao Xianzhi, who refuses to aid them directly but promises neutrality. He will not reveal their plans to the Cao Clan, manipulate the defensive array against them, or interfere when they act.
• Cao Xianzhi warns them that the secret realm contains two Earth Immortal corpses, not one, and that powerful figures from both the righteous and demonic paths have recently arrived.
• Ji Hao realizes these newcomers are likely part of the coming righteous-demonic conflict, including Mad King Gao Lan and Demonic Master Han Guang.
• The following day, a Dharma Body attacks the Cao Clan’s auxiliary capital. The attack triggers the clan’s defensive array and creates an opening for Ji Hao and Meng Qi to infiltrate the forbidden area.
• Ji Hao uses a hair transformed into a false Cao Tai to deceive the guards, while Meng Qi takes advantage of the chaos and disguises himself through the Eight-Nine Mystic Art.
• Ji Hao and Meng Qi penetrate the ice spring beneath the Cao Clan’s ancestral grounds. They discover the two Earth Immortal corpses preserved within the spring, along with an exterior-level Cao Clan grandmaster cultivating nearby.
• Ji Hao seals one of the corpses with the Sumeru Mustard Seed Array, using countless layered worlds, divine manifestations, and faith power. He leaves the second corpse untouched to avoid unnecessarily provoking Cao Xianzhi and the Cao Clan.
• The sealed Purple Thunder Earth Immortal suddenly awakens, driven by an ancient obsession with entering the “door.” It unleashes power comparable to a Dharma Body but remains trapped within Ji Hao’s array.
• Beyond the ice spring, Ji Hao and Meng Qi enter a mysterious hidden realm. They find the ruins of a destroyed complex and a single intact black palace—the Divine Treasury of Emperor Zhenwu.
• Meng Qi uses the Black Tortoise Water-Control Flag to sense the information left behind by Emperor Zhenwu. The treasury is believed to contain the legendary Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords.
• Meanwhile, Han Guang detects Ji Hao’s unusual aura of the power of time and begins considering whether to investigate personally. His interest hints at a possible confrontation.

Character Developments

• Cao Xianzhi demonstrates loyalty to both his organization and his family. Unable to openly assist either side, he chooses neutrality, showing maturity and moral restraint. His warning proves crucial to Ji Hao and Meng Qi’s survival.
• Ji Hao acts with increasing confidence as a newly advanced Dharma Body expert. He combines deception, temporal powers, arrays, and careful planning to infiltrate the Cao Clan. Despite his greed for powerful materials, he deliberately refuses to seize both Earth Immortal corpses, recognizing the political consequences.
• Meng Qi functions as Ji Hao’s capable partner, using the Eight-Nine Mystic Art, the Tiger Soul Saber, and the Black Tortoise Water-Control Flag. His excitement over the Zhenwu Treasury reveals his deep interest in obtaining the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords.
• Han Guang maintains his composed, carefree exterior while concealing strong ambition and murderous intent. He immediately recognizes the significance of Ji Hao’s power of time and begins balancing his identities as Heavenly Emperor and demonic master.
• Gao Lan remains calm, disciplined, and focused on broader strategic objectives. He refuses to risk exposing the Cao Clan’s alliance prematurely, emphasizing the importance of the larger righteous-demonic conflict.
• The Purple Thunder Earth Immortal is shown to possess a lingering obsession from the distant past. His awakening introduces a new threat within the Cao Clan’s forbidden area.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and neutrality: Cao Xianzhi’s decision reflects the difficulty of serving both one’s organization and one’s family. The chapter emphasizes that forcing members to choose sides can destroy trust.
• Virtue and rightful possession: Ji Hao repeatedly invokes the principle that treasures belong to the virtuous, while also questioning whether those who possess treasures without recognizing their value deserve them.
• Restraint versus greed: Ji Hao has the opportunity to seize both Earth Immortal corpses but restrains himself to avoid damaging his relationship with Cao Xianzhi and creating unnecessary enemies.
• Deception and strategy: The infiltration relies on disguises, false identities, temporal concealment, and exploiting distractions rather than brute force alone.
• Hidden agendas and political tension: The attack on the Cao Clan is connected to the brewing righteous-demonic war. Gao Lan, Han Guang, and the Cao Clan all conceal their true objectives.
• The persistence of ancient will: The Earth Immortal corpse’s awakening shows that even death cannot completely erase obsession, purpose, or the power of ancient figures.
• The allure of legendary inheritance: The Zhenwu Divine Treasury and the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords represent a major opportunity that may reshape the balance of power.

Character Interactions

• Ji Hao and Meng Qi deliberately consult Cao Xianzhi before acting, preserving their alliance and demonstrating respect.
• Cao Xianzhi gives them indirect assistance by promising neutrality and warning them about the two corpses and arriving Dharma Body experts.
• Ji Hao and Meng Qi coordinate closely during the assault: Ji Hao disrupts the array and controls the infiltration, while Meng Qi uses his techniques to follow him into the forbidden region.
• Ji Hao teases Meng Qi after the latter complains about being shaken by the Tiger Soul Saber’s power, revealing their familiar, brotherly rapport.
• Gao Lan and Han Guang debate whether to attack the external Dharma Body. Gao Lan prioritizes the larger plan, while Han Guang is tempted by the possibility of eliminating a dangerous rival.
• Han Guang’s growing suspicion of Ji Hao creates the expectation of future conflict.
• The chapter ends with Ji Hao and Meng Qi standing before the Zhenwu Treasury, while the awakened Earth Immortal struggles against Ji Hao’s seal and the surrounding political tensions continue to escalate.

Chapter Summary: “Tathagata Palm Suppresses the Evil Demon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Meng Qi and Ji Hao discover the remains of shattered Divine Weapons outside Emperor Zhenwu’s sealed treasure vault. The weapons belonged to ancient Dharma Bodies who had exhausted themselves trying to break the seal.
• Ji Hao collects the fragments for future use, artifact refinement, or exchange for Karma Points.
• Meng Qi opens the black hall using Emperor Zhenwu’s incantation and Xuanwu seal technique.
• Inside, they discover several priceless treasures:
  • A Dao Tree containing the fifth form of the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords, “Dao Spreading Across the Universe.”
  • Materials capable of refining Divine Weapons, including the Great Sun Flame Core and Ice Eye Crystal Soul.
  • A Space-Breaking Talisman.
  • A mysterious gourd, a valuable sword, and other sealed treasures.
• An ancient Earth Immortal Corpse enters the hall. Although driven only by a lingering obsession, it retains terrifying Dharma Body-level power and attempts to seize the treasures.
• Ji Hao blocks its attack. Hidden curse power within the treasure cases then strikes and destroys the corpse’s remaining consciousness. Ji Hao and Meng Qi collect the treasures and escape.
• Outside, they encounter Demonic Master Han Guang, who has been tracking them. Han Guang reveals that he has fused his Heavenly Emperor and Yanmo aspects into the Yanmo Emperor Body.
• Ji Hao reveals that he has already attained the Dharma Body, shocking Han Guang, who had not known of his advancement.
• The chapter ends as Ji Hao and Han Guang prepare for a major Dharma Body battle. Ji Hao manifests the Wuxiang Lingbao Dharma Body, while Han Guang unleashes his demonic Emperor form and the Six Destructions Heavenly Demon technique.
• Ji Hao counters with the Buddhist transformation “Above and below Heaven, only I am supreme,” manifesting a vast Pure Land and a colossal golden Buddha.

Character Developments

• Ji Hao: Demonstrates his growing confidence and ambition. He gathers Divine Weapon fragments, studies artifact refinement, and reveals that he has secretly reached the Dharma Body realm. His power and composure now place him on equal footing with major figures such as Han Guang.
• Meng Qi: Gains access to extraordinary treasures and witnesses the power of the Dharma Body firsthand. His understanding of the gap between the Exterior realm and Dharma Body deepens, reinforcing his determination to grow stronger.
• Han Guang: Appears as a calculating but proud enemy. He is surprised by Ji Hao’s advancement but remains fearless, relying on his extensive experience and nearly completed fusion of two powerful Dharma Bodies.
• The Earth Immortal Corpse: Represents the remnants of an ancient powerhouse. Despite retaining immense strength, it is reduced to a mindless obsession and is ultimately destroyed by the curse hidden within the vault.

Significant Themes

• The divide between immortals and mortals: Meng Qi’s reaction emphasizes that Dharma Bodies exist on an entirely different level from ordinary Exterior cultivators.
• The value and danger of ancient inheritances: The vault contains supreme techniques, Divine Weapon materials, and treasures, but also deadly remnants and hidden curses.
• Preparation versus raw power: Ji Hao’s collection of weapons and interest in artifact refining show the importance of building a foundation beyond direct combat.
• Hidden strength and strategic concealment: Ji Hao’s secret attainment of the Dharma Body gives him a crucial advantage over Han Guang.
• Conflicting paths of enlightenment: The battle contrasts Ji Hao’s chaotic, Lingbao, and Buddhist manifestations with Han Guang’s demonic, destructive power.
• The persistence of obsession: The Earth Immortal Corpse retains overwhelming strength but no longer possesses a true will, showing how ancient power can survive after identity and reason have faded.

Character Interactions

• Ji Hao and Meng Qi cooperate closely in opening the vault, claiming its treasures, and escaping the Earth Immortal Corpse.
• Ji Hao protects Meng Qi during the confrontation with Han Guang, positioning himself between them and preventing the Dharma Body clash from immediately killing his younger companion.
• Han Guang taunts Ji Hao about being newly advanced and questions whether Meng Qi can survive the battle’s shockwaves.
• Ji Hao responds with confidence, expressing faith in Meng Qi’s resilience while challenging Han Guang directly.
• The chapter culminates in a confrontation between Ji Hao’s newly revealed Dharma Body and Han Guang’s more experienced Yanmo Emperor Body, setting up a decisive clash between Buddhist, chaotic, and demonic powers.

Ji Hao and Daoist Chonghe destroyed Han Guang’s avatar after Ji Hao unleashed the Slaying Immortal Sword and One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones. Back at the Traces of Immortals, the group examined the hidden-treasury treasures and began dividing their gains, while Han Guang’s true body suffered the avatar’s destruction.

• Ji Hao struck Han Guang with two Tathagata Palms, but Han Guang survived and counterattacked with the Six Extinctions Fallen God Palm.
• Daoist Chonghe arrived and trapped Han Guang with his sword, while Ji Hao used the Slaying Immortal Sword and three avatars to destroy Han Guang’s avatar.
• Han Guang’s true body, hidden at the Cao Clan’s Ancestral Residence with Gao Lan, showed signs of damage and concealed his pain.
• Cao Xianzhi learned that the clan head had returned and was summoned to the Ancestral Residence.
• Ji Hao, Meng Qi, and Daoist Chonghe returned to the Traces of Immortals with the treasury’s treasures, including the Emerald Little Tree, which Heavenly Venerable Lingbao identified as a significant Dao Tree.
• Meng Qi arranged for the Traces of Immortals members to contemplate the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords in exchange for the Eight-Nine Xuan Gong move Myriad Things Return to Void, then the group began dividing the treasures and Heavenly Venerable Lingbao chose the Xuanming Creation Pill.

Ji Hao claimed divine-weapon materials and used the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords to refine his Dharma Body, while Meng Qi considered the path toward Legend. Two months later, Sima Shi learned that Gu Erduo had reached Earth Immortal and the Nine Demonic Paths were allying with the Golden Tent, bringing war closer.

• Chonghe chose a pill and a chance to study the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords, while Ji Hao took the Tianhe Sword and Black Turtle Sword for their divine-weapon essences.
• Meng Qi accepted the Great Sun Flame Core and Ice Soul Cold Crystal, and Heavenly Venerable Lingbao proposed rules for members to contemplate Dao Spreading Across the Universe.
• Ji Hao resisted the sword art, uncovered flaws in his Dharma Body, and used his powers to repair them and unify its Buddhist, Daoist, and demonic aspects.
• Ji Hao told Meng Qi that he would need the general outline of the Heaven-Intercepting Seven Swords, while Meng Qi reflected on the steps required to become a Legend.
• Two months later, Yuan Lihuo reported to Sima Shi that Gu Erduo had become an Earth Immortal and the Nine Demonic Paths were seeking an alliance with the Golden Tent.
• Sima Shi warned that the alliance could bring together demonic forces and Grassland armies powerful enough to rival the righteous sects and imperial courts.

Ji Hao received a Six Paths death mission to kill a righteous Dharma Body master during the battle between righteousness and evil, then intervened in the Grassland clash between Gu Erduo, Master Lu Da, and Daoist Chonghe. He struck Gu Erduo with the Godspeed Slash, but Gu Erduo counterattacked with the Heaven-Punishing Axe as the battle continued.

• Han Guang learned that Heavenly Venerable Lingbao had appeared near the Grassland border and ordered the Polar Night Heavenly Demon to return with the Six Extinctions Relic.
• The Netherworld Emperor Lord agreed to cooperate with Han Guang and prepared a Dharma Body corpse for a mission, while the Dharma King of Crossing the World sent the Void Divine Envoy with a weapon to join the alliance.
• Master Lu Da and Daoist Chonghe attacked the Golden Tent, where Gu Erduo wielded the Heaven-Punishing Axe, which had awakened to the Celestial Immortal level; news of the battle and the factions' shifting allegiances spread across the world.
• Ji Hao received a mission to kill a righteous Dharma Body master and dismissed it before attacking Gu Erduo with the Wuxiang Lingbao Dharma Body and Tiger Soul Saber.
• Gu Erduo was hurled a thousand miles by Ji Hao's Godspeed Slash, then struck back with the Heaven-Punishing Axe and opened a dark vortex that began pulling in the landscape below.