Chapter Summaries

Summary

• The balance of power turns against Taikang. As the black-armored soldiers lose their restraints and turn on him, Yi, lord of the Youqiong Clan, advances with a swelling coalition of divine descendants, court officials, and soldiers. Yi declares Taikang defeated, though Taikang insists he has not lost to Yi’s kind.
• Former loyalists join the victors. Eunuch Yang Shi shoots Taikang and denounces him in the name of justice. Grand Tutor Ji and other court officials then reveal themselves as supposed secret opponents of the king, claiming they served him only to protect the people and await a chance to overthrow him. Their ranks grow as more officials and soldiers join, presenting the uprising as a righteous movement.
• History is being shaped as events unfold. Elders celebrate the uprising as the “Righteous Way of the Mortal World,” imagining its participants honored by later generations. Watching from above, Chen Cuo recognizes how the victor’s side attracts support and how scholars and powerful figures can recast political change as the triumph of the righteous. A force called the Mark of History begins to form, rewriting how past, present, and future will be understood.
• Taikang refuses to scapegoat his consort. The Demon Consort steps between Taikang and the advancing crowd, disrupting the righteous momentum. The elders blame her for the realm’s troubles and urge Taikang to condemn her. Instead, he embraces her and accepts responsibility for his own failures as Human King, accusing his former officials of hypocrisy. The crowd rejects his defense and intensifies its condemnation of him.
• The Demon Consort appeals to Chen Cuo. Sensing she is under the pressure of history’s judgment, she calls to Chen Cuo and offers him a treasure. He invites her to explain, and the crowd falls silent.

Character developments and interactions

• Yi becomes the visible leader of the anti-Taikang coalition, gaining strength as others rally behind him.
• Taikang, though defeated and wounded, shows a final measure of dignity: he owns his failures and refuses to blame the woman beside him.
• Yang Shi and Grand Tutor Ji portray themselves as long-suffering patriots, though their sudden declarations also expose how readily former insiders reposition themselves when power shifts.
• The Demon Consort moves from being a target of blame to actively seeking a way to intervene, appealing directly to Chen Cuo.
• Chen Cuo observes both the political realignment and the supernatural process by which history can legitimize the winning side.

Significant themes

• Victors shape history: political success attracts allies and enables later generations to portray the winners as righteous.
• Opportunism and shifting loyalty: officials and soldiers quickly change sides when Taikang’s authority collapses.
• Scapegoating versus responsibility: the crowd blames the Demon Consort, while Taikang insists that his own rule—and his officials’ conduct—caused the crisis.
• The power of historical narrative: collective belief can influence not only how events are remembered, but the supernatural course of history itself.

Key plot points and events

• Taikang’s consort reveals an incomplete Divine Spirit Talisman and offers it to Chen Cuo in exchange for a peaceful end for herself and Taikang.
• The Talisman disrupts Chen Cuo’s senses and briefly seems to undo his Divine Sense, suggesting a connection to time. He questions the consort about its origin, but she cannot—or is not permitted to—explain.
• When officials denounce the consort and try to dictate what she should give Chen Cuo, he removes the noisy crowd from the city so he can speak with her privately.
• Chen Cuo judges that Taikang is responsible for the world’s disorder, though the Dynasty’s broader corruption also enabled it. He grants the couple their request while declaring that Taikang must make amends and others will face consequences.
• Taikang and his consort return to the Palace, where it burns. Chen Cuo accepts the Talisman, then turns toward Broken Mountain, intending to confront the true nature of the Divine Treasury’s Great Wilderness.
• Outside the capital, Little Pig and Little Turtle encounter a bruised boy. Little Pig promises to ask Chen Cuo to spare him; the boy then notices fleeing Xia officials and the State Preceptor.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo shifts from investigating the mysterious Talisman to acting as judge: he rejects the officials’ uproar, considers the causes of the Dynasty’s collapse, and balances mercy with accountability.
• Taikang’s consort shows resolve and devotion, calmly negotiating for a peaceful end while protecting Taikang from speaking impulsively.
• Taikang remains defiant but accepts Chen Cuo’s judgment and salutes him, suggesting a willingness to face responsibility.
• The officials reveal their fear and self-interest: they condemn the consort publicly, then recognize their helplessness once Chen Cuo removes them.
• Little Pig boasts of his closeness to Chen Cuo to reassure the boy, while Little Turtle accompanies him. Their comic exchange contrasts with the solemn events in the capital.

Significant themes

• Shared responsibility and political collapse: One ruler may bear blame, but systemic disorder and the failure of the Dynasty as a whole also produce catastrophe.
• Justice tempered by mercy: Taikang is not absolved; he must make amends, while the couple are granted the peaceful end they seek.
• Time, history, and cycles: The Talisman’s strange effects and the passing star evoke temporal power and the recurring rise and fall of Dynasties.
• Power and helplessness: The officials’ words carry little weight before Chen Cuo, while the Talisman hints at forces even he does not yet understand.

Plot points and events

• On Broken Mountain’s summit, the mist and gate tower disappear, revealing the Palace ruins. Chen Cuo finds a clean patch of ground and steps onto it.
• A surge of Fortune gives him insight into the Great Wilderness: its apparent ancient society has been distorted by an outside influence. Cities, clothing, and other features contradict what the people of that age could realistically have created.
• The Northern Borderlands begin dissolving, along with their inhabitants. Chen Cuo realizes the world is a near-self-contained Dreamscape whose reality is shaped by thoughts brought in from outside. He captures several escaping thoughts and crushes them into a point of Starlight, which activates a pattern on the ground and transports him away.
• A gale sweeps across the world, draining people and divine beings. Taixuanzi’s body turns translucent as his power leaks away. Chen Dragon and Xu Dog appear, their Divine Seats stripped and their godhood ended. Chen Dragon suggests that becoming mortal may spare them the fleeting, unreal existence of a dream.
• Chen Cuo reaches a vast, ruined temple and recognizes the Black-Winged Roc’s true body inside; the Roc he encountered in the Great Wilderness was only a stray thought. He infers that the true body was sealed and wounded by an emperor’s attack across worlds.
• Looking back, Chen Cuo discovers that the “mountains” are the body of a colossal dragon, with Broken Mountain merely one of its horns.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo moves from investigating the ruins to understanding the Dreamscape’s structure and acting on its source. He shows restraint around the Black-Winged Roc’s body, choosing to observe rather than rush in.
• Chen Dragon accepts the loss of his divine status with surprising optimism, seeing mortality as potentially liberating. Xu Dog reacts with visible displeasure, while Taixuanzi is shaken by the loss of his power and the transparency of his body.
• Chen Dragon confronts Taixuanzi, implying that he already knows why the world and its gods are fading but refuses to face it.

Significant themes

• Dream and reality: The Great Wilderness is almost a world, yet remains shaped by an external source and vulnerable to dissolution.
• Power and impermanence: Divine authority and grandeur prove temporary; mortal life may be more enduring than dreamlike godhood.
• Distorted history and constructed worlds: The world’s apparent customs and structures conceal contradictions imposed by outside forces.
• Scale and hidden truth: What seemed like a landscape is revealed to be the body of a dragon, while the Roc’s apparent presence was only a fragment of its true self.

Plot points and events

• Chen Cuo enters a dark, vast Dreamscape formed within an immense corpse. The oppressive stillness stirs unsettling thoughts, but his Mind Monkey consumes them and restores his clarity.
• The Black-Winged Roc breaks free from its chains in the temple and attacks. Its power initially seems overwhelming, but its aura soon collapses, revealing that it has been badly weakened by its ancient imprisonment and Thearch Gaoyang’s earlier attack.
• Chen Cuo identifies the Roc’s scheme: it had arranged for the Black Chains to reach Erzhu Rong and the Northern Lands, hoping their destruction would free it. Though the Roc dismisses Chen Cuo’s thought-based attacks, Chen uses gray mist to summon the intact chains and bind it.
• Chen explains that the chains suppress Divine Abilities and that the Roc’s immense body is mostly an empty shell. He combines the chains with the Sea-Calming Star to bring it crashing down, cracking the corpse’s petrified surface.
• Drawing on the Fortune of the Great Wilderness and Southern Chen, Chen empowers Gaoyang’s insight, turning the star violet. He then repeatedly lifts and slams the Roc, further weakening it.
• The Roc sheds feathers that become Black-Armored Soldiers. Chen’s summoned allies—the Black Banner, Mind Monkey, Mind Horse, and others—fight them, exposing and destroying the spirits animating many of them.
• As the Roc’s struggle damages the corpse and its Dragon Horn, it shrinks and launches blood-made human figures at Chen, vowing to kill him even at the cost of its remaining strength. Chen raises a mirror; far away, Qiongfa Zi senses it and sees a vortex form on its surface.

Character developments

• Chen Cuo demonstrates sharp strategic judgment: he recognizes the Roc’s weakened state, uncovers its long-term plan, and uses the chains, star, Fortune, and his allies rather than relying on strength alone.
• The Black-Winged Roc shifts from apparent dominance to desperate resistance. Its confidence gives way to rage as its hidden injuries and long imprisonment leave it vulnerable.
• Qiongfa Zi is drawn into events through the mirror, suggesting Chen’s next move—or the Roc’s attack—may reach beyond the Dreamscape.
• Chen’s summoned companions show distinct strengths: the Black Banner counters spirit-bound soldiers, while the Mind Monkey and Mind Horse destroy them directly.

Significant themes

• Strategy over raw power: Chen succeeds because he understands the Roc’s limitations and combines several tools and sources of power.
• The lingering cost of imprisonment: The Roc’s dramatic escape cannot restore what the chains and Gaoyang’s attack have taken from it.
• Fortune and legitimacy: Chen channels the Great Wilderness’s and Southern Chen’s Fortune into Gaoyang’s insight, linking political power to supernatural strength.
• Perception, memory, and spirit: The battle repeatedly turns on hidden histories and spiritual forces—Chen’s insight, the Roc’s scheme, and the souls animating its soldiers.

Character interactions

• Chen and the Roc exchange accusations and explanations: the Roc credits Chen with enabling its escape, while Chen reveals that he understands its plan and the extent of its weakness.
• Chen commands the battle while his companions independently engage the Black-Armored Soldiers, with the Black Banner reacting angrily when the Mind Monkey steals its credit.
• The chapter ends by connecting Chen’s confrontation to Qiongfa Zi through the mirror, leaving the outcome of the Roc’s final attack unresolved.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Chen Cuo continues wearing down the Black Roc, reflecting and destroying a bloodlight attack with the Yin-Yang Mirror. He seals the remaining bloodlight in the Little Gourd, leaving it as a powerful but mindless demon beast.
• The Roc tries to recover his strength, then reveals his true plan: his weakened body is failing, so he intends to possess Chen Cuo, whom he considers a suitable reincarnated vessel.
• The Roc enters Chen Cuo’s Mind Palace and attacks its inner defenses. Chen Cuo’s Mind Monkey and Mind Horse, Human Dao Golden Book, and other treasures delay him, while Auspicious Clouds and stars injure him.
• Though the Little Gourd cannot immediately contain the Roc’s powerful Primordial Spirit, Chen Cuo binds him with Black Chains and prepares to drag him into the Sacred Hall—now revealed as a black Palace formed from Chen Cuo’s own thoughts and connected to the Roc’s past attempt to rule it.
• The Roc fights back by turning his spirit into flesh and blood within Chen Cuo’s mind, flooding it with his vitality and chaotic thoughts. Chen Cuo holds to his purpose and counters with a Divine Spirit Talisman and a purple star. The star enlarges the Palace, which swallows the Roc; a Dragon King idol follows him inside.
• Elsewhere, Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran question an old woman about a family named Yuan. Xi Ran’s life energy stirs in response to someone inside the farmhouse, causing plants to grow wildly. The excerpt leaves this thread unresolved.
• The chapter also notes that the Great Wilderness has changed: Taikang has fallen, Youqiong has taken the city, the Xu Tribe has risen, and the Sacred Hall’s influence is collapsing. It then reassembles and vanishes into the sky.

Character developments

• Chen Cuo proves increasingly resourceful under pressure. He recognizes the Roc’s possession attempt, uses layered defenses and timing to counter it, and accepts the risk of confronting a much stronger enemy while weakened.
• The Black Roc shifts from attacker to desperate survivor. Years of imprisonment and repeated losses have damaged his body and foundation, but he remains cunning and dangerous. His obsession with Chen Cuo and the Sacred Hall drives him to risk his Primordial Spirit in a final gambit.
• The Black Banner assesses the Roc’s decline and predicts Chen Cuo still has another move. The Bian’s defiant response offers a brief contrast to the Banner’s grim analysis.
• Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran begin investigating the Yuan family; Xi Ran’s unexplained response suggests a significant connection at the farmhouse.

Significant themes

• Preparation and opportunity: Chen Cuo cannot match the Roc at full strength, but exploits the accumulated damage and the Roc’s mistakes.
• Cause, effect, and responsibility: Chen Cuo argues that because the Sacred Hall arose from his thoughts and the Roc sought to rule it, their conflict must be settled between them.
• Will against invasion: Chen Cuo’s focus helps him withstand the Roc’s attempt to overwhelm his mind and identity.
• The cost of ambition and conflict: The Roc’s long cultivation is undone by imprisonment, repeated defeat, and his own desperate choices.

Character interactions

• Chen Cuo and the Roc exchange threats and arguments as their fight moves from the physical realm into Chen Cuo’s mind.
• Chen Cuo’s inner powers and artifacts—especially the Mind Monkey, Mind Horse, Black Chains, and Sacred Hall—work together to contain the Roc.
• The Black Banner comments to the Bian on the Roc’s weakening and Chen Cuo’s likely counterattack.
• Chuiyunzi questions the farmhouse’s elderly resident while Xi Ran’s energy reacts to someone inside.

Key plot points and events

• Inside the black Palace, the White-Bone Roc realizes that Chen Fangqing’s Temple Dragon King idol was a trap. A mysterious dark-robed man appears, overwhelms the Roc, sends its True Spirit to reincarnation, and turns the remaining power into a pill. He also destroys a gate opening onto the Yin-Yang Road, then vanishes.
• In the Divine Treasury, Chen Cuo suppresses the Black Roc’s will and seals the Palace within his mind, reflecting that his own thoughts helped reshape the Great Wilderness and create the Sacred Hall.
• The Roc’s vast vital-blood essence threatens to taint Chen Cuo. He decides to gather and contain it, but an unseen force purifies away its demonic and fiendish impurities. The remaining essence strengthens his body and raises his power.
• The dark-robed man emerges into the Great Wilderness and briefly alters the order of heaven and earth. Divine Dragons rise, treasures and ancestral portraits react, and thunder spreads across the Four Continents and beyond. The disturbance ends abruptly; a Kunlun cultivator concludes that the mortal world has been sealed for eighty-one years.
• After a year in the darkness, Chen Cuo destroys a demonic ghost formed from the Roc’s discarded impurities. He wonders about the Roc’s past, the mysterious helper, and the purpose behind the intervention, but cannot divine the answers.
• Before leaving, Chen Cuo tries to collect the broken dragon horn with Little Gourd. The Gourd suddenly draws strange light from the mountain range, though the change is not visibly apparent. Chen Cuo enters Dream Marsh to investigate.
• Outside the Divine Treasury, a year later, Lord Chen arrives with a Daoist at the dangerous Yunqiu Mountain formation. The Daoist offers to perform a rite to send word inside.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo shows caution and discipline: rather than recklessly absorb the Roc’s blood, he tries to contain it, accepts the costs of strengthening himself, and investigates the dragon-horn reaction before acting further. His power grows substantially.
• The dark-robed man is revealed as an immensely powerful, enigmatic figure. He treats the Roc as a useful but sinful creature, rewards its service only in part, and intervenes to assist Chen Cuo—though his motives remain unclear.
• The White-Bone/Black-Winged Roc shifts from fury and confidence to terror and submission. Its True Spirit is sent to reincarnation, while its remaining foundation is preserved in pill form.
• The Kunlun diviner first fears a cosmic attempt to sever heaven and earth, then rejoices after discerning that the mortal world has been sealed for eighty-one years.
• Lord Chen and the Daoist arrive at the Divine Treasury entrance, setting up contact with Chen Cuo.

Significant themes

• Power carries risk and cost: The Roc’s essence can make Chen Cuo stronger, but uncontrolled power could also corrupt or damage him.
• Fate, reincarnation, and repayment: The Roc is punished despite its service, yet its remaining fortune is preserved; the story balances justice with the continuation of potential.
• Unseen forces and altered reality: Thoughts reshape the Great Wilderness, while mysterious interventions affect both Chen Cuo’s body and the wider world.
• Limits of knowledge: Chen Cuo and the diviner can sense major events, but their understanding remains incomplete; the chapter leaves the helper’s identity and the dragon-horn effect unresolved.

Plot points and events

• Lord Chen Fanghua and Zhou Youzi reach the Natural Grand Formation near Yunqiu Mountain to seek Chen Fanghua’s elder siblings. Zhou suspects the surrounding desolation comes from baleful energy left by cultivators’ battles and deaths, not the formation itself.
• Lingya of Kongtong emerges from the formation. She recognizes Chen Fanghua as Lord Chen’s younger half-brother but says Lord Chen cannot currently be reached—even Kunlun’s True Persons cannot see him—and visiting his junior martial uncle would require going to Kunlun.
• In Dream Marsh, the Black Banner watches the captured cultivation of a Black-Winged Roc struggle in the form of a mindless “Primitive Roc.” A vast eye then appears overhead, bringing oppressive heat and sudden cold. The Peach Paradise Land God protects the townspeople from the chill; Chen Cuo conceals the eye and investigates it.
• Chen Cuo identifies the eye as belonging to a legendary primordial desolate god. It is connected to the god’s enormous remains and can serve as a passage into them, but Chen’s mind is not strong enough to control that vast body safely. He also realizes that claiming the eye has cut off his former direct entry into the Great Wilderness, though Incense smoke still links him to it.
• Chen Cuo draws Little Pig from the Great Wilderness and asks for news. Little Pig shares a disorganized account: the Youqiong Clan has rebuilt its capital, restoration movements have formed, the Xu Tribe worships Little Pig, Chen Dragon and Xu Dog seek the Dao, the Sacred Hall’s gods have lost their forms, and Shao Kang has appeared amid the realm’s confused chronology.
• Chen Cuo plans to leave the Divine Treasury with Little Pig, but first intends to prepare and stabilize his cultivation.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fanghua reveals that his family’s past has made him attentive to political events, and his admiration for his powerful elder brother motivates his journey. Lingya’s news leaves him unable to reach the relatives he seeks.
• Chen Cuo gains a powerful new connection to the primordial remains but recognizes its danger and limits. Rather than risk his mind again, he carefully explores his altered connection to the Great Wilderness.
• Little Pig has spent a year among mortals, where he has been treated as a divine figure, but he is bored and eager to return to the Mortal World. His comic boasting contrasts with the useful knowledge he gives Chen Cuo.
• The Black Banner hopes to tame the Primitive Roc and use it to subdue Bian, but the sudden eye frightens him and the others.
• The Peach Paradise Land God acts protectively toward the townspeople, using her authority to shelter them from the supernatural cold.

Significant themes

• Power and its limits: The eye grants access to immense primordial power, yet Chen Cuo’s mind cannot safely control it.
• Connection and separation: Chen Cuo remains linked to the Great Wilderness through followers and Incense, but possession of the eye prevents him from entering directly.
• The consequences of conflict: Zhou Youzi connects the barren landscape to lingering baleful energy from cultivator deaths and battles.
• Divinity and dependence: Mortals worship Little Pig and rely on divine protection, while even powerful beings can be disrupted or frightened by forces beyond their control.

Plot points and events

• Chen Cuo considers the Divine Treasury’s deeper mysteries but decides not to investigate further. His earlier discoveries have already brought gains beyond his current cultivation, and probing the ancient corpse or Heavenly Eye connection could be dangerous.
• He focuses instead on absorbing and refining the Roc’s essence, which has left his body extraordinarily powerful and disrupted the balance between his nature and life.
• Little Pig explains that progress on the Longevity path requires a stable foundation and balance. Chen Cuo takes this advice to heart, meditates, and settles his vitality.
• Chen Cuo concludes that improving his combat abilities can be pursued separately from the more complicated Path-Seeking journey, which is tied to his standing in the mortal world.
• He warns Little Pig that returning to the Divine Treasury may be difficult, then takes Little Pig and Little Turtle and leaves.
• At dawn, Chen Fanghua wakes with a painful black qi mark on his forehead and a blood-red mark on his wrist. He suspects Chen Fangtai has made another dangerous bargain. Zhou Youzi arrives with news that Chen Cuo has returned.

Character developments

• Chen Cuo shows restraint, recognizing that curiosity and ambition must be tempered by his current limits. He turns from further exploration toward consolidating his gains and clarifying his cultivation path.
• Little Pig acts as a knowledgeable adviser, explaining the need for balance and a firm foundation on the Longevity road.
• Chen Fanghua is troubled by a mysterious mark and distrustful of Chen Fangtai’s recent dealings.

Significant themes

• Restraint versus greed: Chen Cuo chooses patient preparation over risky exploration.
• Balance and foundations: Lasting progress requires harmonizing nature and life rather than relying on raw power.
• Power brings responsibility and risk: The Roc’s essence strengthens Chen Cuo but makes cultivation harder to control.
• The unknown: The Divine Treasury’s true nature remains vast and dangerous, beyond Chen Cuo’s present understanding.

Character interactions

• Chen Cuo invites Little Pig’s guidance and acknowledges that their cultivation paths may ultimately share principles.
• Before leaving, Chen Cuo cautions Little Pig about the difficulty of returning to the Divine Treasury; Little Pig readily agrees to go.
• Zhou Youzi informs Chen Fanghua of Chen Cuo’s return, while Chen Fanghua’s suspicion of Chen Fangtai hints at trouble involving the latter’s bargains.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Cuo emerges from the Divine Treasury and immediately senses a hidden Evil Thought targeting the bloodline—and possibly the fortune—of Prince of Nankang’s Residence and the Southern Chen imperial clan. He identifies its corruptive nature and keeps it for further investigation.
• Ziyu, a True Person from Kunlun, invites Chen Cuo to visit. Chen declines because mundane affairs require his attention, and Ziyu leaves without confrontation.
• The cultivators discuss Ziyu’s departure and whether Kunlun’s elders will intervene. Lingya and Ling Mei decide to wait because Chen Cuo first needs to speak with his relative, Chen Fanghua.
• Chen Fanghua tells Chen Cuo that their eldest brother, Chen Fangtai, befriended a Demonic Daoist after returning from the South.
• The scene shifts to Jiankang, where Chen Fangtai agrees to support the Daoist’s secret rite. He hopes to strengthen his position and alter the political destiny of the South, believing he can help Great Chen resist Northern rule.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo appears more detached and formidable after leaving the Divine Treasury. His knowledge lets him quickly recognize the Evil Thought’s target, and his focus turns from Kunlun’s invitation to the danger facing his family.
• Ziyu remains proud and reserved, but accepts Chen Cuo’s refusal without pressing him.
• Lingya is protective of Chen Cuo and rebukes Ling Mei for seeming to hope for a fight. Ling Mei clarifies that she was merely curious and suggests they approach Chen Cuo once his family matter is settled.
• Chen Fanghua initially feels intimidated by Chen Cuo’s presence, then gains confidence and relief from their bond as brothers.
• Chen Fangtai is ambitious and politically anxious. The Daoist flatters his desire to defy fate and preserve Southern rule, securing his cooperation.

Significant themes

• Hidden corruption and family peril: The Evil Thought suggests that occult forces are attacking an imperial bloodline and its fortune.
• Ambition versus fate: Chen Fangtai is drawn to the promise of changing the political order, though his alliance with a Demonic Daoist may carry serious consequences.
• Kinship and reliance: Chen Fanghua’s reunion with Chen Cuo offers a personal source of support amid supernatural and political threats.
• Power and restraint: Chen Cuo’s quiet refusal of Kunlun and calm handling of the Evil Thought contrast with the escalating schemes elsewhere.

Plot and key events

• Chen Fanghua meets Chen Cuo in a military tent and explains the political situation: after Northern Qi moved troops north, Wu Mingche retook Huainan and received a string of honors. The Emperor plans to place Chen Fangtai, Chen Cuo’s elder brother, in charge of the region.
• Chen Fanghua reveals that Chen Fangtai has become entangled with Jing Huannian, a Daoist who encouraged his past misconduct and now promotes sinister rites. Jing claims the three kingdoms have less than fifty years of Fortune remaining and says the Chen clan can be used to prop up the dynasty. Chen Fanghua bears bloody marks from these rites and asks Chen Cuo for help.
• Zhou Youzi warns that Jing’s scheme to gather the Chen clan’s Dragon Aura must have powerful backing. He urges Chen Cuo to involve the Immortal Sects, but Chen Cuo refuses to drag his fellow cultivators into court politics and argues that the Chen kingdom’s Attendant Tower should handle the threat.
• Zhou admits the Tower is faction-ridden, ineffective, and possibly infiltrated. Chen Cuo criticizes its structure and suggests it may be better abolished than left as a danger.
• Langhao and Zhang Jingbei enter after Chen Cuo reveals he knew they were listening. Both volunteer to pursue Jing Huannian—Zhang with his Dao Foundation Peak companions, the Hedong Five. Chen Cuo accepts their help, directing them south even if Chen Fangtai has already moved to Huainan.
• After they leave, Chen Cuo reveals he allowed them to hear the conversation. He gives Zhou Youzi a gift of insight that advances his cultivation, repaying Zhou for once sacrificing a Mindfield Seed to help him.
• Chen Cuo then draws the chilling Evil Thought from Chen Fanghua and prepares to confront the forces behind the plot.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo is calm, strategic, and increasingly powerful. He avoids direct entanglement in imperial affairs but turns the threat into an opportunity to explore the relationship between cultivation and dynastic Fortune. He also shows gratitude toward Zhou and concern for his family.
• Chen Fanghua has matured into a cautious, perceptive messenger. Though troubled by his elder brother’s actions and frightened by the Evil Thought affecting him, he trusts Chen Cuo and brings him the warning.
• Zhou Youzi is politically cautious and hopes to preserve the Attendant Tower, especially his faction’s influence within it. Chen Cuo challenges his assumptions, then repays him with a cultivation breakthrough.
• Langhao and Zhang Jingbei compete to prove their loyalty and closeness to Chen Cuo, each eagerly volunteering for the dangerous mission. Their rivalry adds a lighter note to the tense discussion.
• The Chen brothers’ conversation is interrupted and shaped by the presence of outsiders: Chen Fanghua waits to speak privately, while Chen Cuo deliberately lets Langhao and Zhang overhear so they will act.

Significant themes

• Dynastic decline and Fortune: The prophecy that the kingdoms will soon fall links political instability to supernatural forces.
• Power and institutional failure: The Attendant Tower’s infighting and infiltration show how organizations meant to protect a realm can become liabilities.
• The boundary between cultivation and politics: Chen Cuo resists involving the Immortal Sects in mortal affairs, yet recognizes that dynastic Fortune and Dao cultivation are intertwined.
• Loyalty, reciprocity, and family: Chen Cuo accepts help from old companions, repays Zhou’s past sacrifice, and acts to protect Chen Fanghua despite having left worldly ties behind.

Key plot points and events

• As Chen Fangtai’s convoy leaves Jiankang for Huainan, two hidden men discuss using him in a sacrificial array. They plan to exploit his ambitions, turn him into a puppet, and possibly use him to gain control over his younger brother—the powerful “anomaly.”
• Their scheme suddenly backfires: the Seeded Thought Method is broken, and backlash injures both men. They realize the disruption may threaten Daoist Jing Huannian, the chief officiant manipulating Chen Fangtai.
• In the carriage, Chen Fangtai complains that people fear and condemn him, while Daoist Jing reframes his reputation as a sacrifice for the greater good. Chen admits he is eager to take up the Huainan post, partly because he expects opportunities to raise money.
• Chen asks why his younger brother has become so celebrated—praised by scholars as the “Dream Immortal”—while Chen himself is criticized and overlooked, including by their mother. He resents the contrast and believes his brother’s success came from luck.
• Daoist Jing tells Chen that a great sacrifice will revive the Chen dynasty and allow Chen to absorb its fortune, complete his cultivation of the Nation-Passing Precious Mirror, and ascend. He further suggests that Chen could seize divine abilities from his blood relatives.
• As Chen becomes increasingly captivated by this promise, Jing secretly works to control his emotions using a blood-infused ball of light. But the backlash from the broken method reaches the carriage and hurtles toward Jing, interrupting his plan.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Fangtai reveals himself as vain, resentful, and power-hungry. He presents his schemes as patriotic sacrifice, but openly admits he wants freedom, wealth, status, and immortality. His envy of his younger brother is sharpened by the family’s admiration for him.
• Daoist Jing Huannian plays the role of loyal adviser, flattering and soothing Chen while steering him toward the sacrifice. Privately, he intends to make Chen his puppet and exploit the dynasty’s fortune.
• The two hidden men are collaborators in the larger scheme. Their confidence collapses when the method breaks, exposing the danger their manipulation has created.
• Chen and Jing’s conversation is an alliance built on deception: Chen believes Jing is validating his ambitions, while Jing is cultivating those ambitions to control him.

Significant themes

• Manipulation through desire: Chen’s hunger for recognition and power makes him vulnerable to Jing’s influence.
• Appearance versus reality: Chen casts himself as a misunderstood patriot, though his motives are openly self-serving; Jing’s apparent devotion conceals a plan to enslave him.
• Envy and family favoritism: Chen’s resentment toward his younger brother and mother reveals a personal wound beneath his political ambitions.
• Power, sacrifice, and moral corruption: The promised rebirth of the dynasty is tied to a “great sacrifice” and the exploitation of blood relatives, blurring public duty with ruthless self-interest.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• After discussing the Nation-Passing Precious Mirror with Chen Fangtai, the Daoist suffers a violent backlash from a cultivation technique. His eyes turn red and slit-pupiled, fur briefly erupts beneath his robes, and he flees into the forest, where strange roars and colored smoke reveal the force of the episode.
• The Daoist realizes his sacrificial art has backfired. He suspects Chen Cuo—whom he believes has emerged from the Divine Treasury—caused it, and concludes that the Imperial Clan’s bloodline is involved. He resolves to hurry preparations for a “great sacrifice” before Chen Cuo can focus on the south.
• A bloodred bird reports that others have also suffered the backlash. The Daoist swallows it, recovering his strength, and decides the setback is useful: it has warned him of the danger and may help him track Chen Cuo. He plans to speed up his scheme before his opponent can interfere.
• Elsewhere, Chen Cuo uses his Heart Fire to extract fragments of the Daoist’s thoughts. He identifies the group as the Deriving Dharma Sect, apparently one of the Creation Dao’s three sects, and learns that its plans involve the Dynasty’s fortunes and the condition of the realm.
• Chen Cuo decides to investigate and intervene, both to thwart the sect and because understanding the realm’s governing principles may help him form a Dao Intent and advance in cultivation. He recognizes that this path is already connected to the seven Dao trees.
• The chapter ends with two Daoists fishing by the Great River. A burly, bearded man complains that he has been left responsible for persuading someone to come, despite lacking the influence for the task.

Character developments

• The secretive Daoist shifts from apparent confidence to alarm after his art backfires. He quickly regains control, reframes the failure as a useful warning, and recommits to accelerating his plans. His conversation with the bird suggests he is more uncertain than he lets Chen Fangtai believe.
• Chen Fangtai sees the Daoist’s disturbing transformation and becomes frightened and doubtful, though he reassures himself that his own cultivation method is more upright.
• Chen Cuo emerges as a deliberate strategist: he uses Heart Fire to gather intelligence, connects the sect’s plans to his own cultivation goals, and resolves to act.
• The burly Daoist is introduced as reluctant and frustrated, apparently burdened with a recruitment or invitation task he considers unfair.

Significant themes

• Backlash and risk in cultivation: Unorthodox arts can empower their users but also expose them to severe consequences.
• Deception and concealed intentions: The Daoist hides the truth from Chen Fangtai and even admits that some of his own reassurances were meant to deceive.
• Knowledge as both weapon and opportunity: Chen Cuo turns the enemy’s fragmented thoughts into intelligence and a possible route to further advancement.
• Personal ambition and public stakes: Chen Cuo’s desire to progress in cultivation aligns with his concern about the Dynasty and the realm, while the sect’s plans appear to threaten both.

Character interactions

• Chen Fangtai and the Daoist: Chen Fangtai asks about the precious mirror, then witnesses the Daoist’s crisis. The Daoist offers a brief excuse and leaves, while Chen Fangtai’s trust is shaken.
• The Daoist and the bloodred bird: The bird conveys news about the backlash and Chen Cuo. The Daoist responds by swallowing it and deciding to use the situation to his advantage.
• Chen Cuo and the Deriving Dharma Sect: Though they do not meet directly, Chen Cuo probes the Daoist’s thoughts and concludes he must oppose the sect’s plans.
• The two Daoists by the river: One voices resentment at being assigned to persuade someone to come, setting up a new thread at the chapter’s close.

Key plot points and events

• Qiuyuzi and Nanmingzi discuss Chen Cuo’s return and the Creation Dao cultivator sealed in the Great River. Nanmingzi believes Chen has grown powerful enough to rival—or surpass—him. Qiuyuzi leaves to answer Kunlun’s summons, asking Nanmingzi to keep watch.
• Nanmingzi senses someone nearby, but finds no one. Elsewhere, Chen Cuo is concealed in the woods, watching events in the form of a small monkey.
• Zhou Youzi visits Chen Cuo after making progress in cultivation. Chen congratulates him but warns that worldly concerns may be pulling him away from his Dao.
• Zhou argues that the Mind-Calming Gate’s practice requires engagement with mortal affairs. He is also anxious that investigating Huainan could alert the Creation Demon Path. Chen urges him not to be ruled by fear: the enemy is exposed while Chen can act freely and withdraw if necessary.
• Chen presses Zhou more directly, warning him not to become so absorbed in his assigned role that he loses his original purpose. Zhou is briefly shaken, and his Mindfield shows signs of awakening, but a mysterious black fog suppresses the light.
• Zhou says his sect has ordered him to act and that Chen cannot understand his position. Chen accepts his decision. Before Zhou can continue, Qiuyuzi arrives and bluntly asks what it will take to get Chen to go to Kunlun.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo appears more powerful and confident after his return. He favors patience, adaptability, and acting from a position of advantage, while also perceptively challenging Zhou’s spiritual stagnation.
• Zhou Youzi / Daoist Half-Heart has advanced in cultivation, but remains burdened by worldly attachments and sect obligations. Chen’s words momentarily stir his inner cultivation, suggesting a conflict between his original Dao and the role he now inhabits; the black fog hints that something is suppressing or obstructing him.
• Nanmingzi recognizes Chen’s remarkable growth and remains at the river to guard the sealed cultivator.
• Qiuyuzi reluctantly leaves his post at Kunlun’s request, then confronts Chen directly about the journey.
• Chen Fanghua brings news of Kunlun’s visitor, though Qiuyuzi interrupts before he can finish.

Significant themes

• Identity versus role: Zhou risks becoming absorbed in worldly duties and forgetting who he was before them.
• Engagement with the mortal world: The chapter contrasts worldly experience as a tool for cultivating the Dao with the danger of becoming trapped in it.
• Patience and strategic freedom: Chen refuses to let fear dictate his actions, trusting that he can choose when to fight and when to retreat.
• Hidden obstruction: The black fog over Zhou’s Mindfield suggests an unseen force interfering with his spiritual progress.

Plot points

• In Kunlun, a long-haired patriarch explains that the rising Great Calamity is part of his attempt to attain the Dao. He identifies nine possible Daos: seven have already appeared, and the eighth is tied to the world itself.
• The patriarch believes Chen Fangqing—also known as Master Soaring—is a reincarnated great power. Though Chen’s imperial birth and political position exposed clues, the patriarch sees him as a potential ally against the Beyond-Mundane Heavens.
• Qiuyuzi visits Chen Cuo to invite him to Kunlun. Chen declines for now, saying he must resolve matters involving the Southern Dynasty, its Imperial Clan Bloodline, and the north–south war—conflicts connected to his own pursuit of Dao Thought.
• Qiuyuzi refuses to join Chen’s mortal-world affairs, preferring to avoid trouble. Chen persuades him to return to the Great River and keep watch over a sealed Creation Dao cultivator, framing the duty as both useful and a chance to honor Qiuyuzi’s promise and strengthen his Dao Heart.
• After Qiuyuzi leaves, Chen says he will head south soon. Sensing another visitor approaching, he disappears.

Character developments and interactions

• The Kunlun patriarch reveals his ambition and strategic view of Chen: despite recognizing him as a rival power, he regards them as allies against a greater threat.
• Chen displays growing confidence and insight, redirecting Qiuyuzi’s reluctance into willing service by appealing to duty, cultivation, and self-interest.
• Qiuyuzi remains wary of worldly complications, but Chen’s reasoning convinces him that guarding the river is a welcome assignment.
• Chen Fanghua observes how Chen motivates people and recognizes it as a skill he hopes to learn. Zhou Youzi listens quietly, visibly affected by the conversation.

Significant themes

• The pursuit of the Dao: Trials and disruptions can strengthen cultivation rather than merely obstruct it.
• Fate, reincarnation, and hidden identity: Great powers may return in new lives, but traces of their plans can remain.
• Power and cooperation: Rivals may become allies when facing a greater common enemy.
• Persuasion and responsibility: Chen turns reluctant duty into willing action by aligning it with personal purpose.

Key plot points and events

• After leaving the Natural Grand Formation, Chen Cuo is crushed by a strange force linked to the formation. He realizes that the Divine Spirit Talisman he received from the Human King’s consort carries Time Authority and may also be connected to the formation—and perhaps to the legendary Torch Dragon.
• Unsure whether to refine the dangerous Talisman, Chen instead tries to stabilize and control it. Beside the Great River, he casts in several of his powers and possessions: the Five-Zhu Coin, the Bronze Man’s weapons, and a golden Talisman associated with wealth and goods.
• He reasons that wealth, warfare, and the Great River can together give time a form. His attempt works unexpectedly: he perceives an immense, turbulent stream flowing from the past toward the future, filled with visions of commerce and conflict.
• Meanwhile, the Cloud Hill Mountain God and Pingyang City God arrive to invite the Great River Water Lord on behalf of the Heavenly Palace. They enter the formation after receiving no reply and find Nan Lishou of the Sword Sect questioning Chen Cuo’s younger half-brother, Chen Fanghua.
• Chen Fanghua explains that Chen Cuo has gone to help with a crisis at the Chen court. The cultivators criticize Chen Cuo for entangling himself in mortal affairs and assume his royal background will keep him bound to worldly concerns. Chen Fanghua weakly but indignantly defends his brother.
• Just as Nan Lishou presses him for more information, he senses something in the south. At the same time, Qiuyuzi and the fisherman Nanmingzi react in alarm: the Great River has risen from its bed.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo shows caution and strategic ingenuity. Rather than recklessly refining an unfamiliar power, he uses the river and his other Authorities to contain it. His experiment appears to connect him to time on a vast scale.
• Chen Fanghua is outnumbered and intimidated by the cultivators, but his anger breaks through when they dismiss Chen Cuo’s motives and judgment. His loyalty contrasts with their detached assumptions.
• Nan Lishou is courteous and composed, yet his questions and explanation of the cultivators’ remarks reinforce their belief that Chen Cuo may be misguided by worldly ties.
• The two local gods fear the coming calamity and hope to deliver their invitation without becoming involved in the Divine Treasury’s dangers.
• The cultivators’ condescending discussion of Chen Cuo further alienates Chen Fanghua and highlights the gap between immortal practitioners and mortal concerns.

Significant themes

• Time as an unseen force: Like the river, time moves continuously and may be most dangerous when its power goes unnoticed.
• The intersection of the mundane and the divine: Chen Cuo’s royal duties and family ties are treated by cultivators as obstacles, while Chen Fanghua sees them as meaningful responsibilities.
• Power and restraint: Chen Cuo seeks to contain the Time Authority before attempting to master it, suggesting that understanding and control matter as much as raw power.
• Impending upheaval: The gods’ fears of a Great Calamity and the river’s sudden rising signal that the wider world is entering a dangerous, unstable age.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Cuo raises the Great River into the air, revealing scenes of life, migration, and warfare from different eras. The visions spread across both banks and draw nearby cultivators into separate historical scenes.
• Qiuyuzi realizes the visions are projections of the past rather than ordinary illusions. Nan Lishou likewise senses a chance to glimpse history, but breaks free before he can fully benefit. Most other cultivators mistake the scenes for an attack and struggle unsuccessfully to escape.
• From a hill, Chen Cuo explains that he was investigating the authority over time and unintentionally stirred the river’s historical depths. The projections will fade in three days; what anyone gains from them depends on their insight.
• Chen Cuo reflects that avoiding the mortal world out of fear is no wiser than becoming ensnared by it: worldly turmoil tests the heart, not merely one’s cultivation.
• Nan Lishou recognizes Chen Cuo, joins him on his journey, and admits that he and other Sword Sect elders wrongly assumed Chen Cuo’s rapid advancement would leave him spiritually unsteady.
• As they travel toward the Southeast, Nan Lishou says the Sword Sect’s concerns involve both the Divine Treasury and Beyond the Mundane. Chen Cuo connects this to two people who had posed as Sword Sect members. They agree to discuss the matter after Chen captures the Fortune-Making Fiend.
• They encounter a fleet carrying people with waning fortune, escorted by seven black-robed Daoists. The Daoists mistake Chen and Nan Lishou for pursuers from the Southern Kingdom and prepare to retaliate.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo demonstrates control over the river’s temporal power and a clear understanding of how worldly experience affects the heart. He remains modest about his spiritual state and focused on his mission.
• Nan Lishou moves from suspicion to respect, recognizing Chen Cuo’s clarity and choosing to accompany him. His sword heart responds to Chen’s insight.
• Qiuyuzi and Nanmingzi quickly recognize the historical nature of the visions, while less perceptive cultivators misread them as hostile illusions.
• Chen and Nan Lishou form a practical partnership: Nan Lishou shares the Sword Sect’s concerns, and Chen agrees to hear more once his immediate pursuit is complete.

Significant themes

• The mortal world as a test: Engaging with worldly troubles can cloud the heart, but reflexively fleeing them is also a failure; discernment matters more than avoidance.
• Insight and foundations: The same supernatural event offers different lessons depending on each observer’s experience and understanding.
• History and time: The Great River holds traces of the lives and conflicts shaped along its banks, allowing cultivators to glimpse the past—though probing too deeply risks mental disorder.
• Gain and loss: What seems like danger or distraction may become an opportunity, while escaping an apparent threat may mean missing a chance to learn.

Key plot points and events

• The seven Crow Mountain Sect Daoists form a protective array around the ships, alarming the passengers. Stewards calm them by saying the magic is routine.
• Gao Jie, a prince of Qi, remains lavish and unconcerned, even throwing away exceptionally rare tea after deciding that his distracted thoughts had spoiled it.
• His nephew Gao Maode criticizes his complacency and warns that a powerful cultivator may be attacking. Gao Jie insists the Immortal Adepts can protect them.
• Chen Cuo attacks the ship. One of the Daoists crashes through the cabin roof, revealing that the defenders have been defeated.
• Chen Cuo identifies himself as Marquis Chen Fangqing of Southern Chen and declares that no one on the river can escape. Nan Lishou arrives with the captured Daoists and notes their connection to the Crow Mountain Sect and Creation Dao.
• Chen Cuo says he needs the ships and their people as guides to Huainan. Faced with his power and the crew’s fear, Gao Jie orders the fleet to turn back.
• In a separate scene, Zhang Jingbei and his companions travel among starving refugees. After one companion gives food to two children, an old man kneels in gratitude. Langhao argues that the strong naturally prey on the weak; Zhang challenges the point of centuries of dynastic conflict. Langhao then points out that armed men are approaching the children.

Character developments and interactions

• Gao Jie is proud of his imperial status and believes rank, luxury, and political order must be maintained. His confidence in the Daoists collapses when Chen Cuo defeats them, and he reluctantly submits.
• Gao Maode is alert and skeptical, correctly recognizing the danger before his uncle does. Though briefly immobilized by Chen Cuo, he understands the threat and intends to get his sister, Gao Ying, off the ship.
• Chen Cuo is calm and authoritative, using his river-domain power to seize control of the fleet. His exchange with Gao Maode also reveals that the Gao clan has closely studied him.
• Nan Lishou supports Chen Cuo, bringing the defeated Daoists and identifying their sect affiliations.
• Zhang Jingbei shows compassion for ordinary people and questions whether war and dynastic struggle have any purpose if the weak always suffer.
• Langhao takes a cynical view of power and human nature, challenging Zhang’s sympathy by suggesting people are no different from predators.
• Gao Jie and Gao Maode clash over luxury, danger, and the role of the imperial family. Their argument sharpens when Gao Maode questions which “late emperor” Gao Jie means.

Significant themes

• The suffering of ordinary people: The starving refugees and vulnerable children bear the costs of conflict between powerful groups.
• Power and hierarchy: Gao Jie relies on imperial status and protected privilege, but Chen Cuo’s superior supernatural power overrides them.
• The limits of complacency: Gao Jie’s faith in his defenses proves misplaced, while Gao Maode’s caution is vindicated.
• Competing views of human nature: Zhang hopes history can mean more than the strong preying on the weak; Langhao sees that pattern as inevitable.

Key plot points and events

• Gao Jie, Prince of Rencheng, and Gao Maode fear that their capture by Chen Cuo could expose a secret with consequences for the Qi royal family and the kingdom’s stability.
• Nan Lishou tells Chen Cuo that a woman aboard the ship has extraordinary Fate, likely tied to two emperors and an empress. Chen declines to investigate her, saying he is focused on choosing a Dao Thought.
• Chen explains that he is weighing two broad cultivation paths: understanding and shaping the world from above, or rising through conflict from below. Nan asks him to release the two captives, warning that their case concerns “Beyond the Mundane.” Chen rejects the pressure and sends Nan back to report that anyone with demands should make them openly.
• Over several days, Chen questions Gao Maode about the cities and conditions along the river. The captives grow anxious, especially when he asks about the many refugees.
• Gao Jie blames refugees for abandoning their duties and burdening the state. Gao Maode rebukes him: as a sheltered aristocrat, Gao Jie fails to understand ordinary people’s suffering.
• Chen confronts the pair about the causes of displacement. He argues that Wu Mingche’s recent campaign could not account for the scale of the refugee crisis, implying that the Qi rulers’ policies are responsible.
• Chen uses his Vertical Eye and Myriad Manifestation Thought to expose the matter. Gao Jie screams as a court tablet is drawn from him, bearing the words: “Regulate Yin-Yang; govern and guide the people.”
• At the Sword Sect, Nan reports back. His master says there is no time to delay, but directs that the Underworld Office be informed rather than confronting Chen personally.

Character developments

• Chen Cuo is shown as patient, strategic, and committed to developing his own Dao Thought. He refuses both Nan’s indirect persuasion and the captives’ appeals, and turns his investigation toward the moral and political causes of suffering.
• Gao Maode displays greater awareness of common people’s hardship than Gao Jie, openly challenging his uncle’s complacency.
• Gao Jie reveals the distance between aristocratic rule and ordinary life, dismissing refugees as a nuisance before Chen’s inquiry exposes his responsibility.
• Nan Lishou is candid about his mission but ultimately recognizes that Chen cannot be persuaded. His concern for the consequences tempers his willingness to oppose him.
• Nan’s master treats the matter as urgent but prefers to have another authority intervene.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Officials who shape laws and policy are accountable for the lives affected by their decisions.
• Class blindness: Gao Jie’s attitude contrasts sharply with the suffering of displaced people.
• Dao and political order: Chen sees governing from above and upheaval from below as possible paths toward understanding the world.
• Manipulation and candor: Nan’s appeals mix genuine concern with strategic pressure, while Chen insists that others speak plainly.
• Cultivation and survival: Chen believes greater cultivation is essential as he becomes entangled in forces beyond his understanding.

Character interactions

• Chen and Nan discuss cultivation before negotiating over the captives; Chen sees through Nan’s attempt to influence him and refuses to release them.
• Gao Maode challenges Gao Jie’s contempt for refugees, turning their family conversation into a confrontation over privilege and empathy.
• Chen presses both captives for an honest account of displacement, then directs his accusation at the governing order they represent.
• Nan’s report to his master leads to a decision to involve the Underworld Office rather than confront Chen directly.

Plot and events

• Chen Cuo examines a court tablet taken from two members of the Qi imperial clan. Recognizing that it channels authority through incense offerings, he decides to absorb it into his Golden Lotus Incarnation.
• The incarnation transforms into a solemn, court-robed figure holding a tablet and seal. Its new power lets Chen Cuo perceive and influence threads of cause and effect: small interventions can spread outward, but the cost in spirit light and magic power grows with their reach.
• Chen tests this power along the river. His influence calms the water and improves the fishermen’s catches, easing the fears of people aboard his ships and on both banks. In one village, better fortune helps fishermen survive an encounter with hungry routed soldiers. Their leader, though taking part of the catch, keeps his promise not to harm them and considers how villages might help his scattered force.
• Chen also sees an alternate outcome in which the villagers are slaughtered. The contrast shows how modest changes can alter people’s fates. He concludes that developing this Dao Thought will draw him into the affairs of mortal states, a difficult prospect for a cultivator of imperial blood.
• Seeking advice, Chen looks toward seven captured Immortal Adepts. Meanwhile, Zhang Jingbei and Langhao, now aged and battered, hurry toward their “big brother” to warn him—only to hear a cold voice ask what they are warning him about.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo moves from studying the tablet to actively testing its power. He recognizes both its potential and its limits, and begins thinking strategically about the political complications ahead.
• The Golden Lotus Incarnation gains a new, more authoritative aspect, reflecting the tablet’s courtly and fate-governing power.
• The routed soldiers’ leader is shown as forceful but principled: he accepts food from the villagers yet honors his promise not to hurt them. His scholar-like companion encourages him to see frontier villages as valuable allies or resources.
• The villagers respond to their improved fortunes with gratitude toward the River Lord, while remaining cautious and powerless before armed soldiers.
• Zhang Jingbei and Langhao appear in a new, weakened state and are trying to warn someone important, setting up a confrontation.

Significant themes

• Cause, effect, and responsibility: A small intervention can change lives, but broader influence demands greater power and carries wider consequences.
• Compassion and authority: Chen’s power eases ordinary people’s suffering, while its courtly form suggests that guiding fate may require engagement with political rule.
• Fortune amid chaos: The villagers’ brief relief contrasts with war, hunger, and the arbitrary violence of the soldiers.
• The cost of involvement: Chen’s cultivation may force him into mortal political struggles, despite his desire to pursue the Dao.

Plot points and events

• Langhao and Zhang Jingbei flee with their companions as a white-haired man pursues them. Langhao uses a thunder talisman to slow him, while Zhang struggles to activate a powerful golden talisman.
• The pursuer breaks through the lightning and uses a formation to drain the group’s strength. He demands to know who sent them to Huainan and offers to spare their lives if they abandon cultivation.
• Langhao rejects the offer, declaring that those who seek the Immortal Dao must either succeed or die. The pursuer crushes Langhao’s attempt to unleash his power and prepares to kill the group.
• Zhang finally activates the talisman, teleporting everyone away. The pursuer reveals that he deliberately let them escape so he can track them back to whoever sent them, then uses a jade-green spell and throws a Black Iron Nail after them.
• High above the clouds, Langhao and Zhang lament the years of cultivation and lifespan they lost. They argue over Zhang’s claim that the revered god is his “big brother” and discuss their failed mission.
• The nail closes in on Zhang, and the group cannot intervene because the pursuer’s power causes them intense pain. Just before it strikes, a golden-lit hand catches it.

Character developments and interactions

• Langhao remains defiant despite being badly weakened, valuing the pursuit of immortality above a long life without cultivation. He and Zhang bicker, especially over Zhang’s relationship with their superior and how to interpret the mission’s failure.
• Zhang Jingbei shows the skill and effort needed to activate the escape talisman, but he is also worn down by the encounter. He admits guilt over failing the assignment and takes pride in his bond with the “big brother” he serves.
• The white-haired pursuer is calm, formidable, and calculating. His apparent mercy is a ruse: he intends to use the escapees to uncover and eliminate their backers.
• The mysterious rescuer appears at the last moment, catching the nail before it can hit Zhang.

Significant themes

• Immortality and sacrifice: The fugitives accept severe losses rather than surrender their cultivation.
• Deception and strategy: The pursuer turns the escape into a tracking opportunity, while the talisman provides the fugitives a narrow means of survival.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Zhang’s affection for his superior and his guilt over the failed mission contrast with Langhao’s pragmatic view that suffering proves the task was difficult.
• Power and vulnerability: Even experienced cultivators are rapidly overwhelmed when facing a much stronger opponent.