Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• In the Primordial Battlefield, Lu Feiming and the headless Ancient God fight the Truth Monster but cannot overpower it. The monster is especially threatened by the prospect of another monster returning to the Three Realms.
• The Ancient God offers to let Lu Feiming kill him, explaining that doing so would greatly increase Lu Feiming’s strength. Lu Feiming recognizes the opportunity but hesitates; the Truth Monster repeatedly interrupts his attempts, and the two attackers fall into a chaotic, unstable three-way battle.
• Elsewhere in the Mist Sea, Xu Yuan faces the second Truth Monster. He creates a vast, strangely arranged maze of buildings, but the monster destroys it with one strike.
• Xu Yuan admits the tactic was ineffective and reveals that he has run out of Spiritual Power. He activates Ghost-Eye Shadow, but the monster dispels it effortlessly.
• Xu Yuan then uses Heaven-Stealing to disappear, leaving behind a trophy. Its “Temporary Award” power forces the monster to accept it and gives it a choice: draw an ability from Xu Yuan or sacrifice the prize to draw from its own power system.
• Xu Yuan chooses to draw from his own system. As the monster catches up, Xu Yuan makes a hand seal and says, “Freeze.”

Character developments

• Lu Feiming realizes that killing the Three Realms’ native Ancient God could give him a far greater boost than killing the other, weakened Ancient Gods. He chooses to pursue that power, even though it means turning against a potential ally.
• The headless Ancient God is willing to sacrifice himself for the chance to strengthen Lu Feiming, and faces death without defending himself.
• Xu Yuan shifts from a failed defensive strategy to a calculated gamble, using the trophy’s unusual rules to access his own power system rather than claim an ability from the monster.
• The Truth Monsters show both dominance and vulnerability: one is powerful enough to halt Lu Feiming and the Ancient God, yet anxious about the other monster’s return; the second dismisses Xu Yuan’s abilities but is caught by the trophy’s forced-award effect.

Significant themes

• Power and sacrifice: The Ancient God is prepared to die if his death can change the balance of the battle.
• Unstable alliances: Lu Feiming and the Ancient God cooperate against the monster, but Lu Feiming’s desire for power makes him a threat to the Ancient God as well.
• Ingenuity against overwhelming force: Xu Yuan’s initial plan fails, but he turns an odd, seemingly trivial trophy into a strategic opportunity.
• Fate and choice: Characters make consequential choices under extreme pressure, while the trophy’s rules remove the monster’s choice to refuse it.

Character interactions

• Lu Feiming and the Ancient God alternate between attacking together and acting against each other, while the Truth Monster intervenes to prevent Lu Feiming from killing the Ancient God.
• The second Truth Monster mocks Xu Yuan’s maze and dismissed ability, but Xu Yuan uses its confidence against it by forcing it to accept the trophy.
• The chapter ends on a cliffhanger: Xu Yuan’s “Freeze” may reveal what power he has drawn, just as the monster closes in.

Summary

Xu Yuan uses a newly drawn, one-time Immobilization Art to freeze the Truth Monster mid-attack. The monster, still locked in its attacking stance, asks what has happened. Xu Yuan catches his breath, recognizing how nearly impossible it is for a human to fight the monster directly. The excerpt ends before he can explain or act further.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows resourcefulness by using the rare Art at a critical moment, but is exhausted and aware of his limits.
• The Truth Monster is temporarily stopped and reacts with confusion, questioning Xu Yuan.

Themes

Human vulnerability against overwhelming power

Tactical ingenuity and the value of limited resources

A momentary opening in an otherwise desperate battle

Plot points

• After the monster of Truth is cut in half, Xu Yuan and Li Bai survive its attack. Li Bai, who had watched events from the sea, decides the moment has come to undo the Seal known as Severing Heaven and Earth.
• Li Bai explains that the Seal kept people from becoming immortals or ghosts. With it lifted, anyone may earn a divine station through Merit Fruit.
• Xu Yuan’s revelation about the Four Aspects has shown the Ancient Gods that their wills have been manipulated by Truth. Li Bai hopes they will resist, giving universes and their inhabitants a chance to survive.
• As the Ancient Gods join the Black Coffin Ancient God in attacking the weakened monster, Li Bai tries to promote Xu Yuan for his role in the battle. The deed is not yet complete, however, because only half the monster has been killed.
• Xu Yuan retrieves the remaining half from the Three Realms Universe and gives it to the Ancient Gods. After they destroy it, Li Bai’s register confirms Xu Yuan’s promotion.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Bai moves from hesitation to decisive action, lifting the Seal and using his authority to begin the investiture of gods. He recognizes Xu Yuan’s achievement but follows the register’s requirement that the monster be fully slain.
• Xu Yuan recovers from the attack, understands the broader stakes of Li Bai’s decision, and calmly lets the Ancient Gods finish the fight. He also supplies the monster’s remaining half so his achievement can qualify for promotion.
• The Ancient Gods learn that Truth has been controlling them. Their shared anger and desire for revenge bring them together to attack the monster, despite their history of persecuting universes.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai discuss why the Seal was lifted and what the Ancient Gods might do; their conversation is quickly answered by the gods’ arrival and assault.

Significant themes

• Truth and liberation: Exposing the hidden workings of life and death gives the Ancient Gods grounds to challenge their manipulation.
• Merit and earned authority: Divine rank depends on verified deeds, and Xu Yuan’s promotion is granted only once the task is complete.
• A fragile chance for cooperation: The Ancient Gods’ common enemy temporarily aligns them with Xu Yuan, creating hope that living beings may one day fight back against Truth.

This chapter is a brief author’s note rather than a story scene. The writer says they haven’t taken time off in a while and are taking half a day to work out the plot, then affectionately signs off to their readers.

• Key events: The writer announces a half-day break for plotting.
• Character development: No fictional characters appear or change.
• Themes: Rest, creative work, and affection for the audience.
• Interactions: The writer speaks directly and warmly to readers.

Key plot points and events

• The Ice Wall breaks open, revealing Biluotian Heaven, one of the Nine Heavens. A vast heavenly palace rises from it and disappears into the sky, while the Wall mysteriously restores itself.
• Li Bai promotes Xu Yuan to Great Fortune Star Official, a position in the Twelve Zodiacal Officers. Xu Yuan chooses it partly because it may eventually lead to the Golden Virtue Star Lord, who can bring people from other universes to Earth.
• The promotion restores Xu Yuan’s spent strength and upgrades his “Safe Zone” ability into the Earthly Fiend Forbidden Art Protective Barrier, which creates a small sanctuary that evil cannot invade.
• Li Bai warns that the Origin of Truth is taking over Azurefall Heavenly Palace, likely bringing a wave of Evil Spirits and chaos. He sends failed universes to be reborn so their people can learn Earth’s cultivation methods and join the coming struggle.
• The Ancient Gods, except the Black Coffin Ancient God, have chosen to perish while containing the Truth Monsters within themselves. Li Bai prepares to guide them into rebirth.
• Xu Yuan realizes that Lu Feiming and the Ancient God of the Three Realms are fighting a Truth Monster. Although Li Bai says it is too late to save them, Xu Yuan asks the Black Coffin Ancient God for help. The god agrees, and Xu Yuan spends all his remaining Merit to take him to the Three Realms Universe.
• There, the Truth Monster senses the newly arrived Ancient God and realizes it cannot win against two Ancient Gods and Lu Feiming. Rather than fight, it makes a desperate move: it rushes the Ancient God of the Three Realms and grabs him, seemingly intent on completing its Mission at any cost.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan gains a formal divine rank and a powerful defensive art. His ambition to bring people from other universes to Earth remains important, but he also acts urgently to rescue allies.
• Li Bai serves as Xu Yuan’s mentor, explaining the Celestial Court’s hierarchy and the consequences of Biluotian Heaven’s return. His composure gives way to concern as he mobilizes reinforcements and honors the Ancient Gods’ sacrifice.
• The Black Coffin Ancient God chooses to help Xu Yuan, despite the cost and danger, and reveals fierce hostility toward the Truth Monsters.
• Lu Feiming continues fighting with unwavering determination, but the Truth Monster’s final action shifts the danger toward the Ancient God of the Three Realms.

Significant themes

• A looming age of chaos: The heavenly palace’s awakening signals that the Origin of Truth will unleash more Evil Spirits and destabilize the worlds.
• Sacrifice and rebirth: The Ancient Gods accept death to contain the threat, while Li Bai offers fallen universes and gods a chance to be reborn and fight again.
• Power and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s promotion brings new abilities, but also places him amid larger conflicts and forces him to act quickly for others.
• Desperation in the face of defeat: The Truth Monster abandons ordinary combat and attempts to fulfill its mission even if it means sacrificing itself.

Chapter Summary: “Coordination Across Life and Death”

Key plot points and events

• The Truth Monster and the Three Realms Ancient God destroy one another in a final, catastrophic explosion. The blast devastates the Primordial Battlefield and threatens to erase the wider world.
• Xu Yuan, Lu Feiming, and the Black Coffin Ancient God survive. The Black Coffin Ancient God explains that the three universes depend on the Three Realms Universe’s Ascension—but Ascension requires both the aspects of Life and Death. With the Three Realms Ancient God dead, the Death aspect seems to be gone, leaving all three universes without hope of Ascension.
• Xu Yuan recalls that the Three Realms Ancient God threw a blood-red spear just before dying. Using his Cycle Field, he realizes the Ancient God looked directly at him as it did so. The spear contains a drop of the Ancient God’s blood.
• Lu Feiming and the Black Coffin Ancient God doubt the blood can help: without the Ancient God, its organs cannot preserve the Death aspect. Xu Yuan, however, interprets the gift differently. He says the dead Ancient God is “working with” him.
• Xu Yuan asks the others to guard him, then absorbs the blood. A system prompt reveals that his core ability, Fate Position, lets him occupy the role of someone who has died and acquire what was theirs. The Ancient God’s remaining will grants permission; Xu Yuan receives its bloodline and unoccupied body parts and successfully occupies the Three Realms Ancient God Position.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan moves from apparent despair to insight and decisive action. His ability to reconstruct the final moments exposes the significance of the Ancient God’s last gesture, and he turns its death into a possible way to restore the missing role.
• Lu Feiming remains pragmatic and protective. He doubts the spear can change the outcome, then joins the Black Coffin Ancient God in guarding Xu Yuan. He also tries to comfort Xu Yuan, though the situation—and the Ancient God’s blunt remarks—makes this difficult.
• The Black Coffin Ancient God provides crucial information about the universes’ dependence on Ascension and the Life-and-Death partnership. It initially dismisses the blood’s usefulness, then is astonished when Xu Yuan’s ability succeeds.
• The Three Realms Ancient God, though dead, appears to have anticipated the final outcome and deliberately left Xu Yuan a means to claim its position.

Significant themes

• Life, death, and succession: The chapter’s central problem is whether the role of Death can survive its bearer. Xu Yuan’s power suggests that a dead being’s position—and what it held—may be inherited.
• Hope hidden in sacrifice: The blood relic initially seems useless, but the Ancient God’s final action becomes a potential path forward.
• Fate and identity: Xu Yuan does not merely inherit power; he occupies the Ancient God’s position, raising the possibility that roles can outlast individuals.
• Partnership across opposing forces: The title’s “coordination” points toward the necessary union of Life and Death—and Xu Yuan’s unexpected attempt to make that union possible across the boundary between life and death.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan returns to Earth after claiming the Ancient God Position in the Three Realms Universe. He senses a new connection to that universe but, with his Merit at zero, cannot return.
• On Antarctica, the Ancient God of the Black Coffin remains the sole survivor of his kind. The other Ancient Gods discovered that Monsters of Truth had infested their minds and chose mutual destruction rather than let the threat continue.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai skip an emergency meeting, preferring food and wine. Olifia arrives to confront them, but Li Bai dismisses the value of the meeting, while Xu Yuan jokingly complains that his contribution went unrewarded. She gives up and leaves.
• Li Bai explains the team’s different rewards: Xu Yuan’s captain and Marcelo earned Heavenly Soldier Fruit Positions, while Callerose and Andrei received Minor Merit Fruit. Xu Yuan’s new Crown reveals that Callerose had been tasked with watching him and that Andrei’s injuries limited his contribution.
• Azurefall Heavenly Palace’s ascent has disastrous consequences for the Floating City: Returners tried to approach it, were incinerated by its Barrier, and the palace knocked the city from the sky. The damaged city makes an emergency landing on the Icefield, whose thin surface begins cracking beneath its weight.
• Li Bai tells Xu Yuan that his new position is making him absorb the Power of Truth, changing his body toward an Ancient God’s. Xu Yuan immediately tests his newfound strength and lifts the entire Floating City with one hand.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan returns more powerful and perceptive, but remains relaxed and wry. He chooses not to rely on his Crown for every answer and acts decisively once he realizes the Floating City is in danger.
• Li Bai serves as Xu Yuan’s amused, knowledgeable guide. He dismisses formal meetings, explains the rewards and the palace’s impact, and encourages Xu Yuan to use his power to help the stranded city.
• Olifia tries to hold the men accountable for skipping the meeting, but their irreverence and refusal to engage leave her exasperated and defeated.
• The surviving Black Coffin Ancient God is left alone amid the aftermath, raising the question of whether he feels isolated.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai celebrate Xu Yuan’s achievement with wine, share information about the others’ rewards, and end the scene watching the crisis unfold.

Significant themes

• Consequences and merit: Rewards reflect individual duties and circumstances, not simply shared team membership.
• Power and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s new abilities arrive alongside an immediate opportunity—and implied obligation—to save others.
• The limits of discussion: Li Bai mocks meetings as futile when events demand action.
• Isolation and survival: The Black Coffin Ancient God’s solitude contrasts with the camaraderie between Xu Yuan and Li Bai.
• Transformation: Xu Yuan’s Ancient God Position is beginning to alter his body, hinting at further changes to come.

Key plot points and events

• Having become an Ancient God, Xu Yuan discovers that his new power lets him lift and carry the Floating City. Messages from the Origin of Truth explain that it is gradually infusing and tempering his body.
• Olifia expels the Black Coffin Ancient God from Earth under orders from the Returners’ Alliance. Xu Yuan is furious, since the Ancient God could have been a powerful ally, but Li Bai argues that fear has made the Alliance cautious.
• Li Bai explains that Demonic Beasts released from Biluotian intend to reclaim their lands and drag Earth into the Origin of Truth.
• A Monster disguised as Olifia lures Xu Yuan and Li Bai into Biluotian Heaven, where they are trapped near the Azurefall Heavenly Palace. They fend off threats inside a Heavenly Realm–blessed Protective Barrier.
• Xu Yuan uses Heaven-Stealing to teleport lesser Demonic Beasts into the Barrier, where he and Li Bai kill them together. Li Bai awards Xu Yuan a Demon Extermination Merit Fruit for each kill.
• An armored, powerful Demonic Beast challenges them but cannot get them to leave the Barrier. Xu Yuan repeatedly exploits this stalemate to kill lesser enemies and earn merit.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan embraces his extraordinary new strength but remains frustrated by the political decisions of the Alliance. He quickly shifts from anger to practical action when danger arrives.
• Li Bai acts as a calm, strategic adviser and partner. He understands the Alliance’s fear and helps Xu Yuan turn the Barrier into a defensive advantage.
• Olifia is shown carrying out Alliance orders, though the figure who appears at the door is revealed to be a Monster impersonating her.
• Xu Yuan’s confidence and irreverent humor show through even under threat, particularly when he insists the armored enemy is a “Minotaur.”

Significant themes

• Fear and political judgment: The Alliance sacrifices a valuable ally because its members fear the risks of keeping the Ancient God nearby.
• Adaptation and cooperation: Xu Yuan and Li Bai survive by combining their abilities rather than accepting the enemy’s terms.
• Power and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s new Ancient God status brings immense strength, but the conflict still demands patience, judgment, and teamwork.
• Humor amid danger: Their deadpan banter and Xu Yuan’s taunts offset the looming threat of Biluotian’s forces.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan confronts Olifia over expelling the Black Coffin Ancient God, then discusses the Alliance’s motives with Li Bai over wine.
• Li Bai warns Xu Yuan about the threat from Biluotian and guides him once they are trapped in the Heavenly Realm.
• The two coordinate sword strikes to kill the beasts Xu Yuan teleports into their Barrier, while Li Bai formally awards him merit.
• Xu Yuan and the armored Demonic Beast trade challenges; Xu Yuan refuses to fight on its terms and instead mocks it as a Minotaur.

• Li Bai’s aid upgrades Xu Yuan’s Primordial Chaos Umbrella. After receiving Li Bai’s blessing and accumulating enough Merit Fruits, the umbrella gains Demon Subduing: it can imprison a target and halve its power, or release a captive under a strike of defense-ignoring Heavenly Tribulation lightning. Xu Yuan also earns Merit for exterminating demons.
• Li Bai leaves Xu Yuan to distract the enemy. When the Fiendish Monster guarding the Azurefall Heavenly Palace approaches with a treasure, Li Bai vanishes to retrieve something from the palace. He tells Xu Yuan to take the protective Barrier and run. Xu Yuan discovers he can carry the Barrier like a golden ring, using it to fend off pursuing demons while teleporting across the Square.
• Xu Yuan fights back while waiting. As demons swarm him and the Barrier weakens, he summons the Youhuang Sword and uses Night Rain Sealed Cage. Its Flying Swords cannot pierce the demons’ armor, and the enemy mocks him. Xu Yuan realizes that Earth’s battles hinge on both Mystical Arts and powerful “treasures.” He then turns the Barrier into a level-one Earthly Fiend Forbidden Art that reflects attacks, knocking the demons away.
• Xu Yuan chooses deception over a risky direct attack. Unsure whether the Fiendish Monster can resist his two-second Overlord Body, Xu Yuan decides not to gamble. Instead, he pretends to reveal a mighty treasure, sending out a golden sword beam to provoke the enemy. The monster responds with a gigantic Iron-Ring Saber strike that threatens to shatter the Barrier.
• Xu Yuan captures the enemy’s weapon. Just before the attack lands, he opens the Primordial Chaos Umbrella and uses Collect to swallow the enormous blade. Li Bai returns, having retrieved his prize, and takes Xu Yuan back to the fortress with a teleportation spell.
• The Shop may adapt to Earth. Back in the room, Xu Yuan receives a prompt asking whether he wants to contribute the captured treasure to his Shop, which could help it adapt to the local world.
  Character developments and interactions: Xu Yuan grows more cautious and strategic, recognizing the limits of his powers and using bluff, timing, and the Barrier rather than risking an uncertain confrontation. Li Bai acts as an experienced guide, advising Xu Yuan and coordinating his escape, though he leaves him to hold off the enemy alone while pursuing his own objective. The Fiendish Monster’s mockery and sudden escalation turn the encounter into a battle of intimidation and counterplay.
  Significant themes: Adaptation to an unfamiliar power system; the importance of strategy over raw strength; the uncertain risks of relying on powerful abilities; and the value of treasures in determining the outcome of combat.

Key plot points and events

• Li Bai explains that weapons created after the world’s Dimensional Ascension are far more powerful than older Mortal Weapons. He shows Xu Yuan the Taiji Carefree Fan, a guide that opens a route to Azurefall Heavenly Palace. He also clarifies that the lost guide to the Peach Blossom Immortal Source was a wooden stick, so finding the passage again would not restore access.
• Xu Yuan reveals a gray saber given to him by a Demon. It is the Lord of Pale Cloud Mountain, a Mystic Yellow Divine Weapon. After contributing it to his Shop, he gains access to Xuanhuang-tier treasures.
• Xu Yuan checks his Primordial Chaos Umbrella and learns it is a Heaven and Earth Dao Artifact that might be upgraded. He keeps it rather than selling it.
• Unable to find a sword in the Shop, Xu Yuan refreshes its stock twice, paying a costly share of his Gold Coins. He finally finds the Azure Heights Sword, but it costs nearly all his wealth. He buys it anyway, leaving his balance at zero.
• Li Bai finishes clearing traps from the route to Azurefall Heavenly Palace. The two enter a seemingly endless Jade staircase, where a boulder enchanted with demonic runes rolls toward them.
• Xu Yuan tests the new sword with a light swing. Its wind power instantly destroys the boulder and surrounding debris, impressing both him and Li Bai.
• When Li Bai asks how Xu Yuan obtained such a rare weapon, Xu Yuan claims a monster lost it in a Mahjong game. Li Bai plainly does not believe him.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan becomes more resourceful and decisive: he uses the Shop to obtain a weapon suited to his needs, despite its enormous cost. His first test confirms the sword’s overwhelming power, though he conceals how he acquired it.
• Li Bai acts as Xu Yuan’s guide, explaining the world’s weapon hierarchy and operating the fan to maintain the route. His surprise at the Azure Heights Sword highlights just how exceptional Xu Yuan’s purchase is.

Significant themes

• Changing eras and power: The world’s ascension has transformed the value and strength of weapons.
• Rarity, cost, and power: Mystic Yellow Divine Weapons are among only seventy-two in existence, making Xu Yuan’s purchase both extraordinary and ruinously expensive.
• Luck and deception: Xu Yuan’s sudden access to legendary treasures strains credibility, and he covers the truth with a flimsy, humorous story.
• Exploration and danger: The route to Azurefall Heavenly Palace promises progress but is protected by demonic traps.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan questions Li Bai about older weapons, treasure ranks, and the Shop’s offerings; Li Bai patiently explains their significance.
• Li Bai maintains the magical passage while Xu Yuan takes the lead, putting Xu Yuan’s new sword to practical use.
• After witnessing the sword’s power, Li Bai interrogates Xu Yuan about it. Xu Yuan improvises an absurd explanation, and Li Bai dismisses it with amused skepticism.

Key plot points and events

• After clearing the road to Heaven, Xu Yuan sleeps while Li Bai shields him from the surrounding battle with a Tranquility Array. The Demon Kings have sent an army after losing a Mystic Yellow Divine Weapon, but Li Bai tells Xu Yuan to leave the fighting—and the Merit it offers—to the other Returners.
• Xu Yuan earns three Merit, bringing his total to seven, and returns briefly to the Three Realms Universe to discuss its Ascension with the Universe itself.
• The Universe suggests helping the Core Spirit of Yanmen ascend, but Xu Yuan learns his most useful role is elsewhere: the Sacred Land can transfer enemies from Earth into the Three Realms. However, Earth is a higher realm undergoing Ascension, so people from the Three Realms cannot yet travel there.
• Xu Yuan reads Yang Xiaobing’s message promising to catch up and fight beside him. He hopes that, if the Three Realms ascends, the two Universes’ people may one day travel freely between them.
• Xu Yuan returns to the Antarctic battlefield to find the Returner Rampart in ruins and many dead. Li Bai admits he misjudged the enemy’s strength: they possess the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, a Dao Artifact that threatens immortals but has little effect on mortals. Since Li Bai is the only immortal official able to grant divine titles, he cannot risk fighting. He gives Xu Yuan an Invisibility Talisman, and both disappear from view.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan thinks strategically about his responsibilities across the two Universes. He accepts that he cannot bring Three Realms allies to Earth yet, but discovers a way to redirect Earth’s enemies into the Three Realms. Yang Xiaobing’s message strengthens his resolve to keep progressing.
• Li Bai protects Xu Yuan while he rests, then prioritizes preserving his role over joining the battle. His confession that he miscalculated reveals that the conflict is more dangerous than he had expected.
• The Three Realms Universe communicates with Xu Yuan through shifting light, wind, and objects, guiding him toward a practical role in its cooperation with Earth.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai end the chapter together in hiding, forced to observe the battle rather than intervene.

Significant themes

• Cooperation across worlds: The Three Universes can work together, though strict rules limit movement between realms.
• Duty and sacrifice: Xu Yuan pursues Ascension to protect and connect people, while Li Bai stays out of combat to preserve his ability to empower the Returners.
• Progress through adversity: Yang Xiaobing’s promise and Xu Yuan’s determination to continue frame advancement as a shared, long-term struggle.
• The limits of power: Even powerful figures must adapt when confronted by an artifact that exploits their specific vulnerabilities.

Key plot points

• As the Immortal-Slaying Gourd circles the Icefield, Xu Yuan and Li Bai hide under invisibility talismans. Li Bai explains that the gourd can destroy only one immortal at a time, making it a serious but specialized threat.
• Rather than flee and leave the gourd free to hunt them later, Xu Yuan studies its flight pattern and uses Heaven-Stealing to open his Sacred Land, trapping the gourd inside its endless rooms.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai escape to China, splitting up to avoid being caught together. Xu Yuan returns to the Sacred Land and uses its Temporary Award ability to draw an ability from the gourd.
• He chooses the gourd’s own power, Into My Mouth, and swallows it. He then opens his Shop and places the Azure Heights Sword and the gourd on its shelf, meeting the requirement to unlock the Heaven and Earth Dao Artifact tier.
• The Sacred Land’s abilities and the three universes’ power surge into the Shop. The Azure Heights Sword and Immortal-Slaying Gourd vanish from the shelf, suggesting Xu Yuan’s plan has succeeded.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shifts from considering retreat to taking a calculated risk. He relies on observation, timing, and his unusual abilities rather than confronting the Demon King directly.
• Li Bai remains cautious and practical, urging escape and lending Xu Yuan one of his last invisibility talismans. He follows Xu Yuan’s plan, then separates from him for safety.
• Their banter about the talismans’ supposed praise—“Shameless”—provides comic relief amid the danger. Their cooperation is central to their escape, though Xu Yuan ultimately acts alone to contain and exploit the gourd.

Significant themes

• Cunning over direct strength: Xu Yuan avoids a dangerous contest of power by turning the gourd’s own ability against it.
• Adaptation and ingenuity: New, unfamiliar abilities and systems shape the conflict, as the gourd itself observes.
• Risk balanced with survival: Xu Yuan chooses not merely to flee but to address the threat, while keeping an escape plan ready.
• Cooperation across realms: The Sacred Land’s combined origins—and the three universes’ hidden support—enable Xu Yuan’s success.

Key plot points and events

• The Shop completes an upgrade using a Primordial Yellow Divine Weapon and a Heaven-and-Earth Dao Artifact. These treasures can now be purchased, though unlocking shelves for the Primordial Desolation tier requires contributing a Dao Treasure.
• Xu Yuan examines a powerful blade, the Soul-Piercing Starflying Blade, but its price— the head of the Blood Soul Demon Saint—makes it inaccessible for now.
• Returning to Earth, Xu Yuan finds Li Bai drinking tea in the Sahara with Li Baiyue, the Chaos Demon King whose Gourd Xu Yuan had just consumed.
• Li Baiyue calmly asks for the Gourd back, accepts that it is gone, and urges Xu Yuan and Li Bai to fight his demon subordinates. He claims the demons are outdated and useless, but Li Bai suspects he wants them to serve as his weapon against the demons while he keeps the Origin of Truth Power.
• Xu Yuan uses his power to glimpse Li Baiyue’s past: the Demon King and his eight Demon Generals are absorbing a steady supply of Origin of Truth Power in the Azurefall Heavenly Palace.
• Li Bai explains that the Palace awakens dormant divine weapons and Magic Treasures. Seizing it would bring those artifacts into the world—and ignite a full-scale war over them.
• After Li Bai leaves, Xu Yuan tries to attract the Origin of Truth’s attention by declaring he will destroy the Palace and offering to eliminate Li Baiyue’s forces. The Origin examines him but does not trust him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan is increasingly resourceful but remains uncertain about wielding his Ancient God power. He recognizes Li Baiyue’s sophistication and attempts to bargain directly with the Origin of Truth.
• Li Bai stays cautious, keeping a hand near his sword during the meeting. He interprets Li Baiyue’s offer as a self-serving attempt to make them do the fighting and explains the stakes of the Azurefall Heavenly Palace.
• Li Baiyue appears composed and worldly, treating the lost Gourd as expendable. His apparent cooperation masks a strategy to benefit from the conflict and monopolize the Origin’s power.
• The meeting between Xu Yuan, Li Bai, and Li Baiyue is outwardly civil but defined by distrust and competing interests.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and self-interest: Li Baiyue frames his proposal as help, while likely using Xu Yuan and Li Bai to remove rivals.
• Power and trust: Xu Yuan wants the Origin of Truth’s strength, but merely claiming allegiance is not enough to earn its confidence.
• Escalation and consequences: Capturing the Azurefall Heavenly Palace could awaken powerful artifacts, but would also trigger a wider war.
• Adapting to a changing world: Li Baiyue’s modern persona contrasts with the outdated demons he dismisses, making him more dangerous than brute force alone.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan realizes the Origin of Truth has not fully trusted him, but accepts that this was expected. Seeing Lu Feiming grow stronger inspires him to seek a faster way to advance.
• He uses Heaven-Stealing to move Demonic Beasts into his Sacred Land, where its endlessly expanding rooms trap them. A crown-related power lets him earn Experience Points by killing enemies there.
• After ambushing and killing several trapped Beasts, Xu Yuan spends his Experience Points to advance from Mid to Late Void Meditation. He senses that Spirit Quiescence and its Heavenly Tribulation may eventually await him, but decides not to risk attempting it during the ongoing war.
• The battle on the Antarctic Icefield worsens when eight heavily armored Demon Generals arrive. Their superior equipment and Truth-infused power make them devastating against the Returners.
• Olifia tries to summon the Black Coffin Ancient God, but it refuses to return, reminding her that she had previously sent it away.
• Xu Yuan takes matters into his own hands. He weakens a Demon General with the Primordial Chaos Umbrella’s Heavenly Tribulation lightning, traps it in the Sacred Land, and kills it for five Experience Points.
• Rather than risk another cultivation breakthrough, Xu Yuan spends those points to upgrade his Ghost-Eye Shadow ability. It can now turn a target’s greatest fear into a real combatant for thirty seconds.
• Xu Yuan uses the ability on a Demon General, creating a duplicate of Li Baiyue. The real Li Baiyue recognizes the impostor and enters the fight. Meanwhile, Li Bai tells Xu Yuan to keep the combatants occupied while he goes after the Azurefall Heavenly Palace.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan becomes more resourceful and proactive, turning his Sacred Land into a controlled arena for farming Experience Points. He also shows caution by postponing a dangerous breakthrough and investing in a more immediately useful combat skill.
• Olifia is shown under pressure: her attempt to bring back the Black Coffin Ancient God fails, leaving the fighters without the powerful ally she hoped for.
• Li Baiyue is revealed as the Demon General’s greatest fear—or at least the figure manifested by Xu Yuan’s ability. The real Li Baiyue then joins the battle to confront his double.
• Li Bai spots an opportunity amid the chaos and pursues the Azurefall Heavenly Palace.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan ambushes and traps Demonic Beasts, then methodically kills them to strengthen himself.
• Olifia appeals to the Black Coffin Ancient God, but it rebuffs her with a pointed reminder of their past disagreement.
• Xu Yuan summons a fear-made Li Baiyue and orders him to attack the Demon General; the summoned figure agrees.
• The real Li Baiyue publicly identifies the duplicate as an impostor and attacks it.
• Li Bai asks Xu Yuan to hold the enemy’s attention while he moves toward the Azurefall Heavenly Palace.

Significant themes

• Power gained through adaptation: Xu Yuan turns new circumstances—and the influx of enemies—into opportunities to grow.
• Risk versus responsibility: He avoids a potentially dangerous Heavenly Tribulation while the battlefield remains unstable.
• Trust, pride, and consequences: The Ancient God’s refusal highlights how past choices shape present alliances.
• Appearance and authenticity: A convincing copy of Li Baiyue enters the fight, but the real one asserts the distinction between the feared image and the person himself.

Key plot points and events

• Li Bai, acting as an official of the Palace of Lingxiao, orders Great Fortune Star Official Xu Yuan to hold off the enemy while he completes a crucial mission. The assignment could earn Xu Yuan a major Merit Fruit.
• Xu Yuan enters the battlefield and uses Night Rain Sealed Cage and his ability Peerless. For one second, his attacks ignore magical protections and deal true damage, letting him kill large numbers of heavily armored lesser monsters and turn the battle in the humans’ favor.
• Xu Yuan and Chaos Demon King Li Baiyue stage a duel to keep the Demon King occupied while the Human Returners attack his Demon Generals. They privately agree to fight at thirty percent strength, but each fears the other may be hiding power and secretly strikes harder than agreed.
• The fight continues as the humans defeat more Demon Generals. Li Baiyue asks where Li Bai has gone; Xu Yuan protects Li Bai’s whereabouts with a plausible appeal to privacy.
• Li Baiyue realizes Li Bai may be doing something important elsewhere and tries to leave. Xu Yuan blocks him, insisting their fight is not over.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan shows battlefield resourcefulness and courage, using his new status and abilities effectively. He is also shrewd: he plays along with Li Baiyue’s deception, negotiates compensation, and guards Li Bai’s secret.
• Li Baiyue is revealed as a calculating, self-interested opponent. He welcomes the deaths of his own Demon Generals because he wants the Origin of Truth Power for himself, while maintaining the appearance of a loyal leader.
• Li Bai remains offstage, but his mission and absence drive the chapter’s tension; Xu Yuan’s actions buy him time.

Significant themes

• Deception and mutual suspicion: Both duelists pretend to limit their strength while fearing the other will exploit the agreement.
• Cooperation through self-interest: Xu Yuan, Li Baiyue, and the human fighters pursue different goals, yet their actions temporarily align.
• Merit and ambition: The battle offers Merit Fruits, while Li Baiyue covets power for himself.
• Loyalty and discretion: Xu Yuan refuses to expose Li Bai’s whereabouts, framing secrecy as a matter of trust and privacy.

Character interactions

• Li Bai formally assigns Xu Yuan his mission, signaling both the mission’s importance and Li Bai’s support for the newly ascended immortal.
• Xu Yuan and Li Baiyue exchange public threats while privately coordinating a staged fight; their agreement is undermined by each man’s fear of being outmaneuvered.
• Xu Yuan deflects Li Baiyue’s probing questions about Li Bai, then physically prevents him from leaving, keeping the diversion in place.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan battles the Ancient God Li Baiyue on the icefield. Though Li Baiyue’s strength and defenses make him difficult to defeat, Xu Yuan repeatedly uses the Youhuang Sword’s teleporting movement to knock him back and prevent his escape to the Azurefall Heavenly Palace.
• Just as Li Baiyue prepares a lethal attack, Li Bai tells Xu Yuan that he has succeeded. Xu Yuan withdraws, allowing Li Baiyue to escape into the Outer Heavens.
• Li Bai appoints the Returners who earned Merit Fruit to Celestial Court positions, then meets Xu Yuan in W City and promotes him to Golden Virtue Star Lord. Xu Yuan grows substantially stronger and gains a new ability: Protective Barrier, which creates a small area that repels evil and reflects attacks.
• The promotion also grants Xu Yuan the duty Recruit Worthy Talents, allowing him to bring people from other worlds and universes into Earth’s universe once every seven days.
• Li Bai explains why Xu Yuan earned so much Merit Fruit: the Azurefall Heavenly Palace is not merely one of many surviving heavens—it is the last heavenly palace, and saving it preserved Earth’s Divine Realm.
• Li Bai reveals that the other thirty-two heavens were destroyed during Earth’s second Dimensional Ascension, when the gods and Buddhas vanished. The cause and aftermath remain unknown.
• Li Bai activates the Azurefall Heavenly Palace’s travel ability. The pair set out for Bright Cloud Heaven to investigate what remains.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan demonstrates tactical resourcefulness and restraint against a powerful foe. His promotion greatly expands both his power and his ability to reunite people from the Three Realms.
• Li Bai reveals the true scale of the crisis and the importance of the palace he had previously been too cautious to risk. He now takes the initiative to explore the ruined heavens.
• Li Baiyue is frustrated by Xu Yuan’s unconventional swordsmanship but survives the encounter and escapes.

Themes

• Hidden stakes and revelation: The heavenly palace’s importance proves far greater than Xu Yuan understood.
• Merit and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s reward reflects not just combat achievement but his role in preserving an entire divine realm.
• Loss and uncertainty: The vanished gods and destroyed heavens leave a profound mystery at the heart of Earth’s history.
• Hope through exploration: Though the heavens may be ruined, traveling to them offers a chance to discover what happened and what might still be saved.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Li Baiyue engage in a tense contest of strength and technique, with Xu Yuan’s sword-based tactics countering Li Baiyue’s superior endurance.
• Li Bai intervenes at the decisive moment, then rewards Xu Yuan and explains the significance of his achievement.
• Xu Yuan questions Li Bai about the promotion and the heavenly realms; Li Bai answers by showing him the restored palace and inviting him to investigate the other heavens together.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan and Li Bai travel slowly through the Void in a flying palace toward the Bright Cloud Heaven Realm, which is rumored to have been destroyed along with the other Heavens.
• Xu Yuan decides to recruit a powerful ally using his new Golden Virtue Star Lord office. He briefly returns to the Three Realms Universe to seek Lu Feiming.
• Lu cannot leave: he is holding back a dangerous fragment of Truth’s Third Aspect, which threatens to erase the universe. Instead, he points Xu Yuan toward Jiang Xueyao, whose “Helper” Law could aid him.
• Xu Yuan finds Jiang recovering on Riverheart Island. He invites her to accompany him, and she agrees.
• Using Recruiting the Worthy, Xu Yuan summons a golden scroll that begins transforming Jiang’s aura as she is selected to receive the Immortal Register.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan is more relaxed during the journey, but remains proactive about assembling support for the dangers ahead. He trusts Lu’s judgment and chooses Jiang as his companion.
• Li Bai pilots the palace despite struggling with its complex controls and warns that their destination may be dangerous.
• Lu Feiming stays behind to protect the Three Realms from the Truth fragment. He has faith in the progress of the Yanmen Vanguard Team and recommends Jiang.
• Jiang Xueyao has reached Mahayana after surviving a Heavenly Tribulation and has advanced her Law. Though injured and discouraged by how far Xu Yuan has advanced beyond her, she resolves to return to battle—and readily accepts his call.

Significant themes

• Duty and sacrifice: Lu remains behind to protect the universe, while Xu Yuan and Jiang prepare to face dangers elsewhere.
• Perseverance and growth: Jiang refuses to abandon her cultivation or her goal of catching up with Xu Yuan.
• Trust and cooperation: Xu Yuan relies on Lu’s assessment and recruits someone he knows personally and trusts.
• Uncertainty and danger: The destruction of the Heavens and the threat of Truth’s fragment foreshadow peril in both realms.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Li Bai share a casual meal and discuss the Bright Cloud Heaven Realm, balancing humor and comfort with concern about what awaits them.
• Xu Yuan asks Lu to come with him, but Lu explains why he cannot leave and instead directs him to Jiang.
• Xu Yuan’s sudden return surprises Jiang; she is visibly delighted, agrees to help, and quickly informs her father before leaving with him.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan explains that golden light is adapting Jiang Xueyao’s spiritual power to the Upper Realm, allowing her to ascend safely. He suspects crossing over requires personal recognition and guidance from an immortal.
• They arrive at the first heaven of the Upper Realm in the Azurefall Heavenly Palace. Li Bai greets them and pilots the palace toward a cloud passage, but its entrance is blocked by debris.
• Unsure whether dangerous monsters remain beyond the blockage, Xu Yuan and Li Bai hesitate. Jiang asks to borrow Xu Yuan’s Time Prison Crown so she can seek help in another era. Xu agrees, with the gains to be shared equally.
• Traveling through Earth’s past, Jiang encounters several mysterious figures and receives a wooden box from a Daoist attendant, who directs her to go back to the beginning of time.
• In the primordial void, Jiang nearly loses her strength but is protected by a talisman made by Li Bai. She witnesses a giant split chaos into heaven and earth; he leaves a shard of cold iron for her.
• Jiang returns to the palace carrying the box and iron shard, then collapses from the overwhelming power she has witnessed. Li Bai assures Xu Yuan that she will recover.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Xueyao moves from quiet anxiety about ascending to decisive action. Her caution is evident in her extensive defenses, while her courtesy and composure help her navigate unfamiliar encounters. She shows initiative and resourcefulness by using Xu Yuan’s time ability to find assistance.
• Xu Yuan reassures Jiang and supports her plan, but worries that her unfamiliarity with Earth’s history could leave her vulnerable. His trust in her is balanced by concern for her safety.
• Li Bai serves as guide and ally. He helps protect Jiang indirectly with a time-limited talisman and remains calm when she returns unconscious.
• Jiang briefly meets a mischievous monkey at Mount Lingtai Fangcun, then a Daoist attendant who gives her a box and instructions. Two woodcutters confirm that she must continue onward rather than seek out the mountain’s immortal.

Significant themes

• Time and interconnectedness: Jiang’s journey through the past connects the present crisis to powerful figures and events at the origin of the universe.
• Trust and cooperation: Xu Yuan lends Jiang a dangerous, valuable ability, while their agreement to share any gains underscores mutual reliance.
• Humility before the unknown: Even accomplished cultivators are overwhelmed by the Upper Realm’s power and the vastness of creation.
• Destiny and guidance: Jiang’s path appears arranged by forces that anticipate her arrival, guiding her toward the primordial event and the tools she needs.

Key events

• Xu Yuan lets Jiang Xueyao choose between two treasures. She takes a Rainbow Robe that grants the Primordial Dao Treasure technique Heaven and Earth in the Sleeve, capable of capturing opponents regardless of their state or defenses.
• Xu Yuan takes a fragment of Pangu’s axe. It shatters, triggering a vision in which he learns how Pangu enabled Earth’s first Dimensional Ascension: Pangu froze himself to resist a mind-parasitizing Monster of Truth, then combined his prepared power of Annihilation with the Universe’s Creation at the moment of ascension. He later sacrificed himself so the monster could not control him, returning his flesh to the Universe.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai conclude that Earth’s second ascension failed because Pangu was gone, leaving Creation without Annihilation to complete the process. Xu Yuan opens a breach in the sky, releasing Primordial Divine Light from that failed ascension.
• The light empowers all three travelers. Xu Yuan begins mastering Pangu’s ancient attack technique; Li Bai senses a breakthrough; Jiang Xueyao advances two major realms and gains a deeper understanding of her robe.
• Xu Yuan warns that the higher heavens contain more divine light and potentially other treasures—but its appearance has awakened the sealed memories of ancient gods’ descendants. The chapter ends as celestial palaces emerge and ancient beings awaken beneath Antarctica’s ice.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Xueyao chooses a treasure suited to her needs and gains a formidable means of defending herself. Her rapid breakthroughs mark a major step forward in strength.
• Xu Yuan receives Pangu’s legacy, learns the hidden history behind the ascensions, and begins integrating an Ancient God technique with his sword power.
• Li Bai protects Xu Yuan during his vision, secures the palace, and helps interpret the stakes. He also benefits from the divine light and anticipates advancement.
• Xu Yuan shows concern for Jiang Xueyao’s safety, while she accepts that she must become more than a companion he protects. Li Bai and Xu Yuan share the realization that Pangu’s sacrifice explains the second ascension’s failure.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and balance: Ascension requires Creation and Annihilation to work together, while Pangu’s self-sacrifice preserves the world from corruption.
• Inheritance and awakening: Pangu’s legacy and the divine light unlock new powers—and revive ancient memories.
• Power and responsibility: The treasures and breakthroughs bring opportunity, but also attract dangerous rivals.
• Uncertainty: The gods’ disappearance and the identity of the second kind of divine descendant remain unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan, Li Bai, and Jiang Xueyao absorb the remaining Primordial Divine Light. Jiang Xueyao begins her Heavenly Tribulation, confident that the Rainbow Robe and her other treasures will protect her.
• Joaquin arrives with newly awakened past-life memories and a Flying Boat. He warns that Earth is entering preparations for another Dimensional Ascension: the “interplay of Life and Death,” when the Origin of Truth will launch a devastating attack.
• A man boasting about his ancestor is struck down by Jiang Xueyao’s redirected Tribulation Lightning.
• Six young women attack Jiang Xueyao, claiming the Rainbow Robe belonged to their ancestor and demanding it back. Xu Yuan intercepts the assault with the Primordial Chaos Umbrella, while Li Bai blocks the spells it cannot contain.
• When the women continue their attack, Xu Yuan kills three of them, using his Ancient God Body, the Youhuang Sword, and his newly mastered Pangu technique, Annihilate Heaven and Earth. Li Bai persuades him to spare the remaining three because their ancestor once helped him.
• A golden-armored man arrives in a Mighty City. Though the women appeal to him, he declines to intervene and continues toward the Cloud Cavern, leaving them behind.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan reveals a dramatic increase in power after absorbing the divine light and mastering Pangu’s annihilation technique. He is fiercely protective of Jiang Xueyao and merciless toward those who threaten her, but respects Li Bai’s personal favor.
• Jiang Xueyao initially becomes distracted by the attack, then regains focus and trusts Xu Yuan to protect her as she completes her tribulation.
• Li Bai remains watchful and acts as both defender and mediator, stopping attacks and preventing Xu Yuan from killing the last three women.
• Joaquin gains past-life memories and a method of control, but keeps his ancestral identity private and sets out to seek treasures for the coming calamity.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: Xu Yuan’s response demonstrates his commitment to Jiang Xueyao, who has helped him and Earth.
• Power and arrogance: The attackers’ confidence in their lineage cannot protect them from stronger opponents; the boasting man likewise falls to the tribulation.
• The coming catastrophe: The reopening of the Thirty-Three Heavens signals a new Dimensional Ascension and a looming assault by the Origin of Truth.
• Restraint and obligation: Xu Yuan’s willingness to spare the remaining women shows that Li Bai’s past connection carries weight, even amid his anger.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Li Bai discuss how to divide the divine light; Xu Yuan seeks Annihilation-aspected light to master Pangu’s move.
• Xu Yuan, Li Bai, and Joaquin exchange information about awakened memories and the coming calamity.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai coordinate to shield Jiang Xueyao from the six women’s magic.
• Li Bai’s appeal restrains Xu Yuan, while the women’s appeal to the golden-armored man is ignored, leaving them exposed.