Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Chen Cuo’s crimson attack shatters the illusory palace above the Imperial Palace, releasing waves of force that disrupt the cultivators and have severe consequences in the Netherworld.
• Five Paths loses control of the Southern Dynasty’s Dragon Aura when the palace projection is destroyed. He steadies himself with his Five-Colored Smoke, but the palace’s awakening presence soon overwhelms him.
• Chen Baxian breaks free of his Underworld Office shackles. Seeing Chen Cuo’s strength, he recognizes him as a powerful asset to the Chen Clan and prepares to help.
• Chen Cuo defeats the Five Poisons Elder by concealing Dream Marsh mist within poisonous thoughts. The mist makes an illusory Mysterious Pearl real inside the elder; Chen Cuo detonates it, unleashing Buddha Light that counters the elder’s poison-based power.
• When Jing Jianzi tries to seize Chen Cuo and the Pure Qi, Chen Cuo turns the Five Poisons Elder into a weapon. A second projected pearl releases Human Thought, which combines with the other forces to destroy the elder and unleash a torrent of destruction.
• The torrent damages Jing Jianzi and drives the other cultivators back. Yan Yin Zi holds back from using his Sword Art, while Qiuyuzi marvels at how far Chen Cuo has come.
• As the chapter ends, Sengyuan—bloodied and fading—points at Chen Cuo, setting up a new threat.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo demonstrates increasingly refined control over Dream Marsh mist, projected objects, and the power of heaven and earth. He outmaneuvers opponents rather than relying on brute force, and refuses to surrender the Pure Qi.
• Chen Baxian is freed from his long-standing supernatural bondage and feels pride in Chen Cuo, while considering how to support him.
• Five Paths is badly injured and loses control of the forces he had been using, underscoring the danger of the palace’s destruction.
• The Five Poisons Elder is exposed as a power-hungry threat and is killed through the collision of his own poisonous thoughts with Buddha Light and Human Thought.
• Jing Jianzi reveals his true aim—claiming Chen Cuo’s opportunity—and is caught in the destructive blast. Yan Yin Zi considers intervening but ultimately hesitates.
• Qiuyuzi expresses regret that he never had the chance to guide Chen Cuo, highlighting Chen Cuo’s remarkable rise.

Significant themes

• Power and consequence: Chen Cuo’s strength alters events far beyond the immediate battle, freeing Chen Baxian while destabilizing Five Paths.
• Deception and ingenuity: Chen Cuo’s victory depends on hiding Dream Marsh mist inside the poisonous thoughts his enemy eagerly absorbs.
• Greed and hypocrisy: Jing Jianzi’s noble-sounding warning is undercut by his attempt to seize the Pure Qi.
• Freedom and legacy: Chen Baxian’s release and pride in Chen Cuo connect personal liberation with the fortunes of the Chen Clan.

Key plot points and events

• Sengyuan attacks Chen Cuo, but Chen and the Bronze Man turn his mist barrier against him. Using the Five-Zhu Coin, the Court Gavel, and the Bronze Man’s abilities, Chen transforms the mist into an attack and binds Sengyuan with Black Chains.
• Three of nine immensely powerful hidden wills intervene to seize Sengyuan. Chen responds by using Nine Songs and the power of the surrounding heaven and earth to expose and sever every probing will in the area. Their remnants are absorbed into the book, where they appear as lights, figures, and characters.
• The attack reveals that Chen has been watched by powerful figures from beyond the Mortal World. Several confront him with theories about his identity and warn that his use of the era’s restrictions to control the Great Calamity’s fortunes will create enemies.
• Chen realizes that the mist-wreathed figure was connected to Tan Xun’s earlier Ascension. He also concludes that, despite his limited cultivation, careful planning can influence possible futures.
• Deprived of much of his Essence Origin and rejected by heaven and earth, Sengyuan’s cultivation collapses from Beyond the Mundane to the Longevity Realm. He thanks Chen for saving him from delusion.
• As Chen’s temporary union with heaven and earth nears its end, he takes up the Violet Star and a damaged mirror. The Star stirs the Southern Dynasty’s Dragon Vein, while the mirror reflects the Earth Veins and sets the Netherworld Chill surging.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo demonstrates overwhelming strategic and supernatural power, turning an attempted intervention into a trap that exposes and punishes watchers across the region. He remains calm and focused, even as others react with terror, and shifts quickly to make use of his remaining connection to heaven and earth.
• Sengyuan goes from attacker to captive and then to a humbled survivor. Though his cultivation is severely damaged, he recognizes Chen as his rescuer and bows in gratitude.
• The hidden powers move from covert observation to open intervention, but Chen’s counterattack reveals and disables their probing wills. Their remarks suggest they recognize his importance—and fear the consequences of his growing influence.
• The witnesses, including Yan Yin Zi, Chen Baxian, Chen Cuo’s mother, Chen Luan, and others, watch the falling lights and are struck by Chen’s astonishing power. Awe spreads among the wider population and strengthens his reputation.

Significant themes

• Power through strategy: Chen compensates for limited cultivation by anticipating his opponents and shaping events to his advantage.
• Surveillance and exposure: Hidden observers are not beyond reach; Chen turns their act of watching into a vulnerability.
• Fate and agency: His reflections on possible futures raise the question of how much the future can be changed through planning.
• The cost of power: Sengyuan’s failed attack and Chen’s temporary union with heaven and earth both show that extraordinary abilities carry serious risks and limits.
• Fear, reputation, and influence: Chen’s public display of power inspires awe and dread, while that response itself becomes a source of spiritual force.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Cuo reconstructs the shattered Palace around the Violet Star and sends its light into the Earth Veins. Across the Southern Dynasty, members of the imperial clan feel their blood stir, and violet qi rises from them toward the star.
• Chen Baxian and the Black-and-White Elders discuss the dynasty’s dependence on the Underworld Office. The elders warn that severing the bond may bring down Great Chen—and perhaps end the Southern Dynasty itself.
• Chen Baxian accepts that risk, arguing that his own dynasty was founded without the Underworld Office’s help and that uncertain times demand a willingness to fight. His purple qi joins the star.
• The star absorbs the Southern Dynasty’s history, displaying it in luminous reliefs. Chen Cuo identifies it as the Purple Tenuity Emperor Star: not the symbol of one ruler, but a record of dynasties past. He rejects a vision of the future River of Time, scattering it into fragments of historical memory.
• Chen Cuo repairs the cracked mirror that connects him to the Underworld Office, then reflects on his cultivation. His strength is exceptional, but he must refine and merge his Dharma Form with his Heart God before advancing further.
• A mysterious young girl, addressed by the Five Paths as his superior, watches Chen Cuo and requests a meeting. Elsewhere, a voice from Mount Tai worries that Chen Fangqing could overturn everyone’s plans.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Baxian openly chooses independence over the security of the Underworld Office’s protection, even if that choice endangers his descendants and dynasty.
• Chen Cuo gains a deeper understanding of Southern Chen’s history and strengthens the Purple Tenuity Emperor Star, while recognizing that his cultivation still has an important gap to close.
• The Black-and-White Elders explain the historical cost of the dynasty’s pact and warn Chen Baxian of its consequences.
• The Five Paths, formerly arrogant, is now visibly frightened and deferential before the mysterious girl. She is intrigued by Chen Cuo and orders him invited to meet her.

Significant themes

• Political freedom versus survival: Breaking the Underworld Office’s hold may liberate the dynasty but also threaten its existence.
• History and legitimacy: The Purple Tenuity Emperor Star embodies the accumulated past of rulers and dynasties, rather than representing a single emperor.
• Fate versus choice: Chen Baxian argues that history is not fixed, while the unseen conspirators fear Chen Cuo will disrupt their plans.
• Power and discipline: Chen Cuo’s formidable strength does not erase the need for sound cultivation and a stable foundation.

Key plot points and events

• In Chang’an, Qi-Observing True Person tells his disciples that the Dao Debate Assembly has drawn Buddhist and Daoist sects into the capital, where factional disputes are already flaring. He believes Emperor Yuwen Yong is using the gathering as cover to crush the sects and seize their lands and influence.
• A mysterious Supreme Venerable contacts Qi-Observing through mist. The Divine Treasury’s disruption has exposed an unexpected enemy: the Marquis of Linru County, whose growing power and foothold in the Huai Region make him difficult to reach. Unable to act directly, the Supreme Venerable orders Qi-Observing to eliminate him; Qi-Observing claims he has a plan.
• Qi-Observing obtains a Tiger Tally from the emperor and leads Zhou troops to Great Hua Mountain. The court calls the deployment a campaign against bandits, but its true purpose remains unclear.
• Ghost god Dugu Xin confronts Yuwen Yong about the army’s movements. The emperor declares that he will dismantle the Buddhist, Daoist, aristocratic, and local powers within Zhou, then unite the realm while rival kingdoms are weak.
• Yuwen Yong privately admits that he has little time left and intends to pay the cost of his campaign himself, leaving peace for those who follow. The White-Haired Woman arrives, warning him of upheaval in the Netherworld and a changed situation in Southern Chen.
• That night, Great Hua Mountain erupts in supernatural flames, and Hanging Peaks appear within the fire.
• At the Prince of Nankang’s residence, Yan Yin Zi jokes that Chen Luan can invoke his protection, while Chen Cuo cautions against using freedom as an excuse to harm others. Both men sense a disturbance and draw their jade pendants.

Character developments and interactions

• Qi-Observing True Person shifts from calm observer to covert operative: he reports on the Zhou court’s plans, meets his superior, and takes command of a military expedition.
• Yuwen Yong reveals both his ambition and his awareness of its personal cost. He remains resolute despite Dugu Xin’s concerns, while showing trust in him by explaining his intentions.
• Dugu Xin grows suspicious of the emperor’s apparent cultivation and the unseen power influencing events, but chooses caution so he can continue protecting and advising Yuwen Yong.
• The White-Haired Woman acts as a messenger of urgent supernatural developments, pressing the emperor to move quickly.
• Yan Yin Zi and Chen Cuo represent contrasting approaches to mentorship: Yan offers Chen Luan blunt, permissive protection, while Chen Cuo stresses restraint and moral responsibility. Their shared reaction to the disturbance suggests it affects more than one faction.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Zhou’s rulers seek to break the influence of religious institutions and local elites, while hidden forces manipulate events from behind the scenes.
• The cost of ambition: Yuwen Yong believes unifying the realm will require a personal sacrifice.
• Responsibility versus freedom: Chen Cuo challenges Yan Yin Zi’s indulgent advice, insisting that personal liberty must not justify harming others.
• Uncertainty and escalation: Secret schemes, military movements, supernatural warnings, and the fiery apparition at Great Hua Mountain all signal that political and spiritual conflicts are converging.

Key plot points and events

• Qiongfa Zi alerts Chen Cuo and Yan Yin Zi that Zhou soldiers have surrounded and set fire to Great Hua Mountain. Yan Yin Zi leaves to investigate, reassuring Chen Cuo that the elders will handle the danger.
• Chen Cuo remains uneasy: his visions of possible futures repeatedly show the sect facing disaster. He sends Chen Luan away, arranges to return to the Marquis’s Residence, and gently reminds the aging steward Chen Hai to rest.
• Chen Cuo’s departure draws close attention from political and supernatural factions across Jiankang. The Attendant Tower, minor sects, the City God, and the Sacred Church all consider how to respond. The White-Haired Deity and the Woman in Black urge caution and respect, recognizing Chen Cuo’s overwhelming power.
• At the residence, Chen Cuo meets his ancestor Chen Baxian, the founding emperor of Southern Chen. Newly freed from his Shackles, Chen Baxian warns that the Netherworld’s Underworld Office is likely to retaliate after Chen Cuo disrupted its plans.
• Chen Baxian explains that the Underworld Office grew powerful by modeling itself on the ancient Five Emperors’ methods, using the “Dream of the Ten Hall Kings” to reshape the Netherworld. As he begins to share what he knows, a messenger from the Underworld Office arrives, requesting an audience.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo stays focused on both the mountain sect’s danger and the Underworld Office’s threat. He is considerate toward Chen Hai, but openly ready to confront the Underworld Office rather than keep avoiding conflict.
• Yan Yin Zi sets aside his pride and takes responsibility for investigating the threat to Great Hua Mountain, while encouraging Chen Cuo to continue cultivating.
• Chen Hai remains devoted to serving Chen Cuo despite his age and exhaustion.
• Chen Baxian shifts from a constrained guardian to a more active ally, offering Chen Cuo his knowledge and support.
• Various powers—including the City God, the Sacred Church, and local sects—react to Chen Cuo’s reputation with wariness, deference, or hopes of winning his favor.

Significant themes

• Power and political influence: Chen Cuo’s abilities affect the balance among mortal rulers, sects, and supernatural forces.
• Family duty and loyalty: Chen Hai’s service and Chen Baxian’s support reflect enduring bonds within the Chen household.
• Ancient schemes and historical cycles: The Underworld Office’s rise echoes the methods of the ancient Five Emperors.
• Unavoidable conflict: Chen Cuo’s visions and the Office’s renewed approach suggest that threats cannot be evaded indefinitely.

Plot and key events

• Chen Cuo and Chen Baxian learn that the Five Paths has arrived again, now claiming to represent his sovereign. Baxian explains that the Five Paths is a high-ranking official in the Underworld Office—effectively a chief steward—and that his master may be a Dreamscape incarnation of one of the sleeping Yama Kings.
• Baxian warns that such incarnations are unstable, but also urges caution. He then withdraws, admitting that he might attack the Five Paths if he stayed.
• Chen Cuo meets the visitor and notices that this incarnation of the Five Paths is strikingly different from the arrogant one he knew: restrained, solemn, and formally dressed. The Five Paths says his sovereign wishes to meet Chen Cuo.
• The sovereign is a young girl called Tingyi. She recognizes Chen Cuo as “Chen Fangqing” and says he, like her, has “descended to the mortal realm.” Her words suggest that descending and reincarnation are distinct processes.
• Tingyi enters Chen Cuo’s home and speaks freely about his choice of a relatively obscure foothold, his earlier disguise as a Reincarnated Immortal, and the Divine Treasury. She also reveals that the Netherworld was modeled on Emperor Zhuanxu’s Great Wilderness, created after the Five Paths and other ministers betrayed their side.
• When the Five Paths tries to stop her from divulging secrets, Tingyi silences him and hints that she has unresolved grievances against him.
• Tingyi then asks Chen Cuo which “heaven” he belonged to before descending, putting him at risk of being exposed.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo remains composed and strategic, using silence to encourage Tingyi to reveal information. However, her recognition of him and direct question leave him inwardly alarmed and uncertain about how much she knows.
• Chen Baxian shows lingering anger toward the Five Paths, but tempers it with practical knowledge of the Underworld Office. His humor and eccentric explanations contrast with the serious threat they face.
• The Five Paths presents a more disciplined, respectful incarnation than before, yet his deference to Tingyi reveals her superior authority. His anxious attempt to restrain her suggests both fear and concern over the secrets she exposes.
• Tingyi appears youthful but speaks and acts with the authority of an ancient, high-ranking figure. She is observant, confident, and unusually candid, while her warning that she has not yet settled accounts with the Five Paths hints at a complicated history.
• Chen Cuo and Tingyi engage in a cautious exchange of recognition and probing: she identifies him first, while he deliberately withholds information and lets her talk.

Significant themes

• Hidden identities and self-invention: Chen Cuo’s assumed identity as a Reincarnated Immortal and Tingyi’s recognition of him underscore the uncertainty surrounding who has descended, reincarnated, or concealed their origins.
• Power and hierarchy: The Five Paths’ submission to Tingyi reveals that apparent age and status can be misleading, while Chen Cuo must navigate an unfamiliar supernatural chain of authority.
• Betrayal and unresolved history: The origins of the Netherworld and Tingyi’s resentment toward the Five Paths point to old political betrayals whose consequences remain active.
• Information as power: Chen Cuo’s calculated silence, Baxian’s accumulated knowledge, and Tingyi’s free disclosure all show how knowledge can shape future conflicts.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Cuo’s tense meeting with Tingyi and the Underworld Office general Five Paths nearly turns violent. Five Paths tries to attack, but Tingyi orders him to kneel; her command crushes him to the ground and cracks the floor.
• Tingyi insists Chen Cuo is no impostor: she recognizes the Bright Moon and Pure Qi within him and calls him a Venerable who once “opened the heavens.” She silences Five Paths with an apparently effortless command that seems to alter reality without using detectable Magic Power or Incense.
• Chen Cuo probes Tingyi but cannot discern her nature. He agrees to host her, while pointedly refusing to share his home with Five Paths. Tingyi dismisses the general into Five-Colored Smoke and takes him away, then settles in to sleep.
• Trying to interpret Tingyi’s hints triggers a powerful force that distorts Chen Cuo’s thoughts and memories. He seals the relevant recollections and stops investigating the secret for now.
• Chen Cuo turns his attention to the attack on Great Hua Mountain. He considers contacting his senior brothers and sisters, possibly through his Golden Lotus Incarnation, and plans to act quickly while there is still time before the strange Soldiers threaten the sect.
• At Great Hua Mountain, the Qi-Observing True Person reports to a higher authority. He had favored delaying conflict with the Central Plains Daoist Order, but accepts the Supreme Venerable’s command. He then orders two captured Great Hua disciples brought to him, seeing a use for them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo remains cautious and outwardly courteous, but recognizes Tingyi as a formidable and potentially dangerous presence. He balances curiosity about her revelations with practical concern for Great Hua Mountain.
• Tingyi displays overwhelming authority, unusual knowledge, and a casual, self-assured manner. She treats Chen Cuo as an ally, rebukes Five Paths, and appears to know more about his identity than he does.
• Five Paths is humiliated and silenced by Tingyi, revealing his limited influence despite his status and strength. He remains hostile toward Chen Cuo but cannot challenge his master.
• Chen Hai smoothly handles the awkward scene for the household, calming the guards with a confident explanation.
• The Qi-Observing True Person shifts from strategic caution to obedience after speaking with the Supreme Venerable, then moves to exploit the captured disciples.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: Tingyi’s word alone appears capable of compelling reality, unsettling even Chen Cuo.
• Hidden identity and buried history: Her references to the Bright Moon, Pure Qi, and Chen Cuo’s past point toward a larger mystery.
• Knowledge has a cost: Attempting to understand the secret brings mental interference, suggesting powerful truths are actively concealed or protected.
• Urgency and competing plans: Chen Cuo must protect Great Hua Mountain while navigating the political and supernatural upheaval around him.

Plot points

• Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran return to Great Hua Mountain after years of searching for the truth of Xi Ran’s origins. Near the mountain, they are ambushed by two Daoists and a growing force of seemingly ordinary soldiers whose blood-charged attacks suppress magic and wound even transcendent cultivators.
• The pair struggle to defend themselves. Xi Ran manages to heal their ordinary cuts, but the soldiers’ blood-mist continues weakening them. She believes the sect will protect them, though Chuiyunzi suspects the attackers have planned for the sect’s response.
• Qi-Observing True Person appears and asks them to stop fighting, claiming they belong to the same sect and that he wants to talk. Before they can learn more, he senses a powerful presence on the mountain.
• Back at the Bamboo Abode, Yan Yin Zi tells Daoyinzi about their disciple’s victories in the south and explains that he rushed back after hearing that Taihua was under attack. Daoyinzi reveals that the troops are supposedly pursuing an overseas Longevity Realm cultivator who sought refuge at Great Hua Mountain.
• The explanation proves false: Qiongfa Zi never returned, and the troops’ story was fabricated by a Great Divine Ability User who has twisted the past. Yan Yin Zi, who came from outside the affected area, noticed the inconsistency and alerted Daoyinzi.
• Daoyinzi reaches out to help Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran, but a surge of resentment erupts from the mountain’s Quiet Chamber and spreads through much of the Secret Realm. Echoes of frustrated cultivators appear, lamenting their inability to transcend.
• Daoyinzi suffers the Five Declines of Heaven and Man. Yan Yin Zi cuts away the three streams of black qi above him, but Daoyinzi’s power then stirs the Secret Realm, causing it to tremble.

Character developments and interactions

• Chuiyunzi is more cautious after years of travel and responsibility for Xi Ran; he recognizes that the ambush and its timing may be part of a larger scheme.
• Xi Ran remains resolute and protective, healing both herself and Chuiyunzi despite the blood-mist’s interference.
• Yan Yin Zi returns energized by his disciple’s accomplishments, but his excitement gives way to alarm when he realizes the mountain is in danger.
• Daoyinzi moves from calm discussion to horror as he uncovers the altered past, then is struck by the supernatural decline.
• The chapter’s key interactions reveal how outsiders’ observations can expose a deception: Yan Yin Zi’s unfamiliarity with the fabricated history enables him to warn Daoyinzi.

Significant themes

• Reality and manipulation: A powerful ability can rewrite the past and impose a convincing false explanation.
• Decline and frustrated transcendence: The echoes of failed ascension and Daoyinzi’s affliction suggest that Great Hua Mountain faces a spiritual crisis.
• Vulnerability beneath appearances: Ordinary-looking soldiers can suppress powerful cultivators, while a seemingly reassuring sect explanation hides a trap.
• Sect loyalty and uncertainty: Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran trust their home, but the events show that even a sect’s own territory may not be safe.

Plot and events

• The Qi-Observing True Person restrains Taihua disciples Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran, then explains that Taihua’s decline stems from its ancient Secret Realm nearing collapse. Daoyinzi has sacrificed his own Blessed Land and much of his power to keep it from failing.
• The True Person argues that Daoyinzi is resisting the natural rise and fall of sects, and that defying this order may ultimately destroy him. Xi Ran rejects the claim, while Chuiyunzi respectfully asks questions to stall for time.
• Once the power sustaining Great Hua Mountain begins to weaken, the True Person concludes that his scheme has worked. He has agents and uses an Eight Trigrams Jade Plate and talismans to further his plan, then consults a mysterious figure in the void.
• The two conspirators plan to restore a Supreme Venerable’s power and secretly spread news of Taihua’s danger to lure a powerful man into a trap. They also prepare to use the Zhou Kingdom’s soldiers, anticipating that Chen Cuo could upset their plans.
• Two days later, Northern Qi orders Gao Changgong to lead 100,000 troops to Mount Tai. Chen Cuo hears of the movement and suspects it relates to a vision he saw in the River of Time. He senses a trap closing around him and expects his own preparations to be tested. His Jade Pendant then receives a message from Fourth Senior Brother Nanmingzi.

Character developments and interactions

• Qi-Observing True Person reveals himself as a calculating conspirator: he uses apparent concern for Taihua’s history to keep Chuiyunzi and Xi Ran occupied while his plan takes effect.
• Chuiyunzi remains composed and respectful despite being bound, using conversation to buy time.
• Xi Ran is defiant and protective of Daoyinzi, angrily challenging the True Person’s claims.
• Daoyinzi is described as extraordinarily powerful but burdened by his effort to preserve Taihua and its Secret Realm.
• Chen Cuo appears cautious and prepared, connecting the troop movement to his foreknowledge and recognizing that he may be the conspiracy’s real target.
• The exchange between the True Person and the hidden voice establishes a partnership built on careful planning and a shared goal: luring and defeating their intended target.

Significant themes

• The natural cycle of decline and renewal: The True Person frames the fall of sects as part of the Heavenly Dao, while Daoyinzi’s resistance raises the cost of preserving a legacy.
• Sacrifice and the burden of leadership: Daoyinzi’s efforts protect Taihua but may consume him.
• Destiny versus preparation: Chen Cuo’s visions suggest events are unfolding along known paths, yet his countermeasures may still change their outcome.
• Deception and layered strategy: The conspirators use misinformation, hidden agents, military movements, and calculated delays to construct a trap.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Nanmingzi leaves the Great River after asking a black-clad Daoist to keep its evil spirits in check. Though warned that returning to Taihua may bring disaster, Nanmingzi insists he will go because his path to Longevity came through his sect. He believes his junior brother can eventually restore Taihua.
• Chen Cuo reassesses the coming crisis. His visions suggest that Taihua’s calamity is arriving earlier than expected and hinges less on the disciples’ strength than on whether their Master is caught in a plot. Since rushing back could mean walking into a trap, Chen decides to open a “second battlefield” against those behind the scheme—especially the Underworld Office or the mysterious master of Beyond-Mundane Finger.
• Chen identifies a new lead: someone has sent people from Northern Qi toward Mount Tai, matching events in one of his projections. He decides to investigate.
• Chen’s White Lotus Avatar reaches Ye City, traveling under the protection of the Gao imperial party. He leaves the procession and says he will go alone to Qi-Lu, while assuring Gao Maode that their agreements still stand.
• Northern Qi has been watching the avatar’s unusual journey. The court had even assembled ten thousand troops outside Ye City, but Prince Gao Jie reveals that Chen Fangqing has already departed; another version of him remains with the procession.
• Emperor Gao Wei questions Gao Jie and Gao Maode about Chen Fangqing’s power. After hearing of his extraordinary abilities, Gao Wei first considers recruiting him, then—prompted by a Fortune Virtue Sect elder—recasts him as an offender who should be captured.
• A second Daoist realizes Chen’s avatar is headed to Qi-Lu and warns that he may disrupt the sacrifice at Mount Tai, which is central to reversing Northern Qi’s fortunes. Gao Wei orders the Daoists to pursue Chen. The unfamiliar Daoist asks for more Dragon Blood to make talismans and improve the chances of capturing him.

Character developments and interactions

• Nanmingzi shows unwavering devotion to Taihua, placing loyalty to his sect above caution and even the Great Dao. The black-clad Daoist considers this attachment foolish and doubts one person could restore a fallen sect.
• Chen Cuo moves from interpreting future projections to taking preventative action. Rather than directly returning to Taihua, he chooses to target the forces that may be plotting against his Master.
• Gao Maode remains composed despite his exhausting and dangerous journey, and answers the emperor carefully about Chen’s abilities and destination.
• Gao Jie has lost much of his earlier arrogance and bluntly informs the general that Chen has already left.
• Gao Wei is fickle and politically opportunistic: he shifts quickly from wanting to recruit Chen to demanding his capture once the threat to the Mount Tai ceremony is raised.
• The Fortune Virtue Sect elder tries to diminish Chen’s reputation and steer the emperor toward relying on the sect. The unfamiliar Daoist instead focuses on the immediate danger and seeks resources to prepare for a confrontation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty versus pragmatism: Nanmingzi’s devotion to Taihua contrasts with the black-clad Daoist’s detached view of sects and fortune.
• Preventing fate rather than reacting to it: Chen uses his visions to anticipate danger and deliberately avoids walking into a likely trap.
• The fragility of political power: Gao Wei’s abrupt reversals and dependence on Daoists reveal how unstable the court’s decisions are.
• Appearance versus reality: Chen’s avatar looks like a worn farmer yet carries an unmistakable, otherworldly presence; his humble appearance belies his power and importance.

• Chen Cuo enters the mortal world: On his way toward Mount Tai, Chen Cuo stops at a village tea stall and hears that a mysterious “Rising Sun” healed villagers after an earthquake. The villagers built a temple with a blank-faced idol. Chen suspects the story may connect to the forces gathering around Mount Tai, but also sees the journey as a chance to study ordinary cultivators and martial-world people—groups he has rarely encountered.
• Travelers converge: A young cultivator pair arrives, apparently connected to Kunlun, and privately discusses pursuing a “thief” and the immortal traces on Mount Tai. Two monks follow: the elderly Monk Xinren, a respected Second-Step cultivator, and his young novice disciple. A formidable martial artist, the Tiger of North Mountain, arrives next and warns the others that the summit is dangerous and dominated by powerful figures.
• Identities and dangers are revealed: Gong Cheng identifies herself as a member of a prominent Guanzhong clan with Kunlun roots. The monks and others recognize her background, while the Tiger of North Mountain and Monk Xinren are also revealed to be renowned figures. A hidden observer, Ghost Crane Dai Jie, drops from a tree after being exposed by the Tiger’s palm strike. Xinren identifies him and warns that he is a mysterious, dangerous figure rumored to be a spirit creature in human form.
• Different attitudes toward the expedition: The Tiger urges the young cultivators—and Chen—to turn back, though his bluntness conceals genuine concern. Gong Cheng accepts the warning but insists she and her senior brother have reasons to continue. Chen politely acknowledges the advice without revealing his own strength or intentions. The Tiger later asks whether Xinren has encountered true immortal cultivators; Xinren avoids discussing them, but his novice boasts of his master’s lineage and claims that the famed Greenedge Immortal once debated the Dao with Xinren.
• Cliffhanger: As the group reacts to the novice’s claims, an unseen or newly arrived speaker asks whether they have met Dianyunzi, interrupting the conversation.
  Character developments and interactions: Chen remains observant and discreet, treating the gathering as an opportunity to learn. The Tiger emerges as more than a blustering fighter: he is protective toward inexperienced travelers, despite his abrasive manner. Gong Cheng is respectful but determined, while her senior brother is more easily intimidated. Xinren is modest and guarded; his novice is eager to defend his master and show off what he knows. The Tiger and Xinren exchange recognition and respect, while their conversation draws the others into the gathering’s web of reputations and rumors.
  Themes: The chapter contrasts immortal and mortal worlds, asking what can be learned by moving among ordinary people. It also explores the power of reputation and lineage, the uncertainty between rumor and truth, and the dangers of ambition: Mount Tai’s “immortal traces” are attracting people of vastly different strengths and backgrounds, likely as part of a larger scheme.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• At a tea stall below Mount Tai, Chen Cuo—disguised as the White Lotus Avatar—mentions Dianyunzi, also known as the Greenedge Immortal. Monk Xinren is startled that Chen Cuo knows the name and asks about his connection to the immortal, making the others suspect Chen Cuo has a hidden background.
• A sudden explosion and strange, nine-colored smoke erupt on the mountain. The group rushes toward the disturbance, while Chen Cuo remains long enough to recognize a lethal formation built around Mount Tai’s Earth Veins. He suspects it is connected to the mysterious Beyond-Mundane Finger and warns the tea-stall proprietor to flee.
• A troop led by the masked Prince of Lanling arrives with the Daoist Ding Menzi. Chen Cuo’s lotus-petal magic quietly influences them, but Ding Menzi breaks free of the mental interference and realizes someone has been manipulating them. The prince questions the real purpose of their mission; Ding Menzi insists it follows the emperor’s orders and was planned by an immortal.
• Chen Cuo observes that the Prince of Lanling’s mind differs sharply from those of the Gao family and wonders whether he is truly related to them. Before he can investigate further, Ghost Crane Dai Jie ambushes him, hoping to drink his blood. Chen Cuo kills Dai Jie, revealing that the “man” is actually a bat that had cultivated a human form.
• Dai Jie’s remains dissolve into mist and fly toward the summit. Chen Cuo lets the mist go, suspecting the mountain’s formation is a blood sacrifice meant to gather power and break the restraints holding the finger. He resolves to strengthen his avatar and prepare help from his Golden Lotus Incarnation.
• As battles spread through the woods, Chen Cuo continues up the mountain. On the summit, a crowd from the six great sects confronts a teenage swordsman, Young Hero Song, who is protecting an injured woman in green whom they call a demoness.

Character developments

• Chen Cuo uses his assumed identity to study the martial world and refine his human-Dao incarnation. His investigation shifts from observation to urgent intervention once he recognizes the scale of the danger.
• Monk Xinren shows unusual respect toward Chen Cuo, though he cannot identify him. His reaction raises the other travelers’ suspicions.
• The Tiger of North Mountain and Gong Cheng revise their view of Chen Cuo after seeing Xinren’s deference, now suspecting he is far more powerful or important than he appears.
• Ding Menzi is revealed to have been under mental influence, but he breaks it and becomes alert to hidden interference.
• The Prince of Lanling questions his mission and displays a mind that Chen Cuo finds strikingly clear and unlike the Gao family’s.
• Ghost Crane Dai Jie is exposed as a predatory, human-form bat. His attack confirms his brutality, and Chen Cuo kills him without mercy.
• Young Hero Song stands by the wounded woman despite threats from the assembled sects, suggesting courage and loyalty.

Significant themes

• Appearances and hidden identities: Chen Cuo looks like an ordinary wanderer, Dai Jie appears human, and the Prince of Lanling’s identity and lineage are uncertain.
• Observation and self-cultivation: Chen Cuo learns from people across social and martial ranks, treating the world as a means to complete his own path.
• Power, sacrifice, and moral danger: The suspected formation uses blood and souls to challenge supernatural restraints, turning ambition into a threat to everyone nearby.
• Choice versus authority: The prince doubts the orders he is expected to obey, while Young Hero Song risks the condemnation of powerful sects to protect the woman.
• Justice and consequence: Chen Cuo judges Dai Jie by his accumulated blood guilt and treats the attempted attack as the moment to end him.

Character interactions

• Chen Cuo’s mention of Dianyunzi prompts a respectful exchange with Monk Xinren and makes the others reassess him.
• Chen Cuo warns the tea-stall proprietor, whose family acts on the advice and leaves before the danger arrives.
• The Prince of Lanling challenges Ding Menzi about the purpose of the expedition; Ding Menzi’s sudden recovery from mental interference turns the exchange into a confrontation with whoever is manipulating events.
• Dai Jie ambushes Chen Cuo, but Chen Cuo overwhelms and kills him.
• At the summit, the six sects threaten Young Hero Song for defending the wounded woman, forcing him to choose between his principles and his standing in the martial world.

Key plot points and events

• Amid an ambush on Mount Tai, the Tiger of North Mountain, Monk Xinren, Gong Cheng, her senior brother, and a young novice are attacked by poisonous snakes and needles from the Yin-Yang Poison Maidens.
• Chen Cuo arrives, scatters the deadly needles, and kills the two women, judging them responsible for too many deaths. He also knocks out the other attackers.
• Chen Cuo offers to travel with the group and learn about events on Mount Tai. A stone staircase and bridge appear at his command, allowing them to cross a sheer ravine safely.
• Monk Xinren explains that six major sects have gathered on the mountain, chiefly seeking a way to extend their cultivation and attain Longevity. Chen Cuo says the prize they are pursuing is not an Immortal Opportunity.
• Near the summit, the group secretly observes a young man named Song defeat the Bright Tower Way’s leader. Song demands safe passage for himself and the woman he protects, insisting he wants no share of the supposed opportunity.
• The Fortune Virtue Sect arrives on immortal cranes and declares that no one on the summit may leave.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo reveals overwhelming power but presents himself as a cultivator rather than an immortal or Buddha. He teaches that seemingly miraculous feats—like building roads through mountains and across ravines—can be achieved by human effort.
• Monk Xinren proves exceptionally informed about sect affairs. Chen Cuo gently challenges his relentless curiosity, suggesting it may hinder his Buddhist practice; Xinren accepts the rebuke and stops questioning him.
• The Tiger of North Mountain shifts from wary awe to practical acceptance, concluding that the gathering may yield nothing for him.
• Gong Cheng remains focused on recovering her family’s stolen martial art and spirit pill from Song, but Chen Cuo prevents her from rushing into a dangerous confrontation.
• Song displays formidable strength and defiance, challenging the six sects’ authority to protect his companion. The sect leader warns him that he has made powerful enemies.

Significant themes

• Human potential and progress: Chen Cuo argues that feats that seem supernatural may eventually be accomplished through human ingenuity and perseverance.
• Knowledge and spiritual discipline: Xinren’s learning is valuable, but his attachment to answers may conflict with his Buddhist path.
• Power, ambition, and consequence: The sects’ pursuit of advancement drives their gathering, while Song’s strength and defiance bring him into conflict with them.
• Appearance versus reality: The mountain’s “Immortal Opportunity” may be a false premise, and Chen Cuo’s extraordinary abilities complicate the group’s assumptions about immortals.

Plot points and events

• Chen Cuo and Monk Xinren discuss Jingtongzi, a powerful Fortune Virtue Sect disciple who rose from the outer ranks to become the sect leader’s personal disciple. Jingtongzi and his followers arrive, claiming they now serve in the Qi Kingdom’s Attendant Tower rather than the sect.
• Chen Cuo suspects this change of allegiance is a calculated move to evade restrictions, but doubts Jingtongzi can truly shed the Fortune Virtue Sect’s influence.
• When Bright Tower Way’s leader asks about Song Zifan, Jingtongzi reveals his real purpose: no one on the summit may leave. He opens a magical umbrella that seals off Mount Tai, then silences the crowd with a single, overwhelming display of power.
• Jingtongzi’s Daoists treat the martial artists as mere pieces in a larger political performance. Jingtongzi also explains that the Fortune Virtue Sect faces a growing threat from overseas cultivators who have gained influence at court.
• Chen Cuo and his companions remain concealed, and Jingtongzi fails to detect them. Their immunity to his power deepens their awe of Chen Cuo. Chen warns that the conflict is becoming a much larger game.
• When Prince of Lanling’s troops approach, Jingtongzi tries to leave. His Immortal Cranes collapse, and a strange mist swallows the summit, suppressing spiritual power and escape techniques.
• An overseas cultivator, Lü Boming, reveals that the Qi ruler sent Jingtongzi and the others to be sacrificed to an array. Jingtongzi realizes that he, too, has been manipulated. The chapter ends with Gong Cheng fearing Chen Cuo’s group may also be trapped.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo shows perceptive political judgment, recognizing Jingtongzi’s apparent defection as a strategic maneuver. His concealment remains beyond Jingtongzi’s detection.
• Jingtongzi first appears commanding and untouchable, but his confidence collapses when he learns that his own actions were part of a larger scheme.
• Song Zifan is humbled by the gap between his abilities and Jingtongzi’s, but the experience strengthens his resolve; the woman beside him takes his hand in support.
• Monk Xinren and Tiger of North Mountain are impressed by Chen Cuo’s insight and concealment, then stunned as the seemingly dominant Daoists are trapped.
• Jingtongzi and Bright Tower Way’s leader clash over the reason for the court’s presence, while Jingtongzi refuses to let the leader use him against Song Zifan.

Significant themes

• Power and hidden hierarchies: Those who seem dominant may themselves be subordinate to greater forces.
• Manipulation and performance: Political identities, sect loyalties, and the martial world’s status may be masks in a larger game.
• Limits of confidence: Jingtongzi dismisses others as pawns, only to discover he is one himself.
• Ambition and perseverance: Song Zifan’s resolve grows when confronted with how much more powerful others can be.

Key plot points and events

• Dense white mist suddenly engulfs Mount Tai, blocking Chen Cuo’s White Lotus Avatar’s vision and Divine Sense. Though he senses a threat capable of destroying the avatar, he decides to stay: the danger may help it form a Dharma Form and gain Return-to-Truth traits.
• A hundred thousand Northern Qi troops surrounding the mountain chant in unison as columns of blood-and-vitality Smoke Aura rise from all four directions. Chen Cuo recognizes that a supernatural force is controlling the soldiers and using their vitality to prepare a massive formation.
• The troops become frenzied and begin repeating strange syllables. Prince of Lanling tries to stop them, but they cannot be roused; many are visibly weakening.
• At the command tent, Prince of Lanling confronts Ding Menzi. Ding reveals that the troop deployment was planned with the emperor’s knowledge and was never merely a garrison mission.
• Soldiers begin bursting apart, greatly intensifying the blood mist. Chen Cuo realizes the plot involves sacrificing the hundred thousand troops and waits for the hidden force behind it to reveal itself.
• Incense Smoke Aura rises around Mount Tai, and a colossal formation traps both the troops and the cultivators who arranged the sacrifice. An ancient presence declares that it will turn one captive into its Mortal World avatar and use everyone else as nourishment.
• In the Netherworld, the enormous finger that pierced the sky trembles, spilling mist as the nine Palaces shake.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo weighs the risk to his White Lotus Avatar against the chance to strengthen it. He also remains troubled by the fate of the hundred thousand people, but holds back until the true danger emerges.
• Prince of Lanling shifts from desperate alarm to eerie composure after witnessing the soldiers’ deaths, suggesting that the shock has triggered a profound change—or something more unusual.
• Ding Menzi, Lü Boming, and their allies are revealed as participants in a scheme to exploit the army’s blood and vitality, apparently under imperial authorization. Their confidence collapses when the formation traps them too.
• The soldiers lose their free will, chanting until their vitality is exhausted and they die.

Significant themes

• Power and sacrifice: The plotters treat ordinary soldiers as expendable resources, while the ancient entity likewise views all captives as fuel.
• Danger as opportunity: Chen Cuo accepts the possibility of losing his avatar because the crisis may advance his cultivation.
• Cause and effect: Chen Cuo recognizes that sacrificing a hundred thousand lives creates an immense burden of karmic consequence.
• Hidden forces and shifting loyalties: What appears to be a military operation conceals a supernatural scheme, and the schemers themselves become victims of a greater power.

Key plot points and events

• An ancient, untamed aura spreads across the Netherworld and the mortal world. The White-Haired Woman senses that one of the Ten Halls has awakened and that the Supreme Venerable’s Dream is becoming harder to maintain.
• In Jiankang, Tingyi recognizes the disturbance as an old acquaintance’s work. Chen Cuo carefully questions her, pretending to understand the Mount Tai crisis while using the conversation to uncover its origins.
• Tingyi explains that the plot may involve restoring a primordial path tied to bloodlines and establishing a new Heavenly Dao. She suggests the conspirators may need the remains of an Ancient God. Chen Cuo identifies their intended route as the Pangu Path.
• Tingyi reveals that other ancient figures have concealed themselves in the mortal world and plan to meet about the crisis. She invites Chen Cuo to accompany her.
• At Mount Tai, the mist turns red and a gigantic ancient figure becomes solid around the mountain. Soldiers and practitioners are drained of their blood, vitality, and magic, becoming fuel for the formation.
• The trapped Daoists, including Ding Menzi, try to reach the formation’s core, but Lü Boming says escape is impossible. Song Zifan dies in despair, and the mist consumes him.
• Chen Cuo’s White Lotus Avatar senses that the barrier can no longer block the ancient aura. As those around him weaken, he realizes the enemy has finally acted and moves to seize the opportunity.

Character developments

• Chen Cuo proves increasingly skilled at concealing his knowledge and extracting information, though he recognizes that playing along with Tingyi risks exposure and karmic entanglement. Tingyi’s words also give him a sudden, profound insight into the nature of the Heavenly Dao.
• Tingyi reveals extensive knowledge of ancient history and the plot’s possible motives. She appears to trust Chen Cuo as an equal and invites him into a gathering of powerful, hidden figures.
• Ding Menzi and the other trapped practitioners shift from confidence to panic as their powers fail and they realize they are being sacrificed.
• Song Zifan meets his end in furious refusal, clinging to a vision of the life and glory he wanted.
• The White-Haired Woman recognizes that the world is approaching a turning point and that the forces sustaining the Supreme Venerable’s Dream are under strain.

Significant themes

• The cost of ambition: The conspirators’ attempt to restore ancient power turns people into expendable fuel.
• Change and renewal: Tingyi’s reflection that one thing’s decline may nourish another frames transformation itself as a kind of Heavenly Dao.
• Knowledge and risk: Chen Cuo’s pursuit of hidden truths brings insight, but also threatens to expose him and bind him to dangerous causes.
• Human vulnerability amid divine schemes: Ordinary people and powerful practitioners alike are caught in events beyond their control.

Character interactions

• Chen Cuo and Tingyi conduct a tense, carefully staged conversation: he probes for information while she reads his apparent recovery and shares ancient lore.
• Tingyi’s invitation draws Chen Cuo toward a meeting of hidden powers, even as he worries about the consequences.
• The trapped Daoists argue over escape and whether to protect the Prince of Lanling, before Ding Menzi leads them toward the summit.
• The tea-stall owner and his family flee the spreading disaster, lamenting that ordinary people suffer both from supernatural calamities and cruel authorities.

Key plot points and events

• Yuan Liuzi arrives in the Secret Realm seeking guidance about the crisis at Eastern Peak. Master Soaring’s avatar says the outcome there is already settled and suggests the crisis may be a “blessing hidden within disaster.”
• On Mount Tai, the Blood Mist selects Song Zifan as the vessel for a powerful being’s avatar. The mist overwhelms him, while its influence traps and weakens everyone nearby.
• Jingtongzi rallies the Fortune Virtue Sect cultivators to attack Song Zifan before the transformation is complete. Their weapons cannot breach the protective mist; Jingtongzi’s life-bound sword shatters, and despair spreads through the assembled cultivators.
• As Song Zifan’s new presence offers the others a chance to become its “fuel,” Chen Cuo’s White Lotus Avatar intervenes. His dart pierces Song Zifan’s palm, and he catches and disperses the Blood Mist with his bare hand.
• Chen Cuo advances through the mist’s barriers, which prove ineffective against him, and punches Song Zifan. Realizing that knocking the mist out of its vessel could disrupt the scheme, he pins Song Zifan down and rains blows on him, forcing mist from his body.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo moves from uncertainty about the larger plot to decisive action. His confidence in common sense contrasts with the supernatural force’s reliance on overwhelming, reality-bending power.
• Jingtongzi shifts from grim determination to despair when his attack fails, then regains hope when Chen Cuo wounds Song Zifan.
• Lü Boming believes resistance is futile and urges acceptance of fate. Chen Cuo’s successful attack begins to undermine that certainty.
• Master Soaring’s avatar remains cryptic, implying that the crisis may serve a larger plan.
• Song Zifan, increasingly overtaken by the avatar, recognizes Chen Cuo and reacts with anger and confusion when his powers fail.

Significant themes

• Common sense versus the impossible: Chen Cuo’s plain logic and direct physical attacks defeat powers that seem to defy reason.
• Hope and despair: The cultivators’ collective hope collapses after their failed assault, then flickers back when Chen Cuo proves the enemy can be hurt.
• Fate versus resistance: Lü Boming accepts the crisis as inevitable, while Jingtongzi and Chen Cuo choose to fight.
• Hidden schemes and sacrifice: Master Soaring’s remarks suggest the catastrophe may be part of a much larger design, while the avatar intends to consume those trapped within the formation.

Plot points and events

• Chen Cuo continues beating Song Zifan, forcing the mist—and the will it carries—out of his body. His fists can disperse the Supreme Venerable’s influence without relying on Transcendence Divine Abilities.
• The people on Peace Summit regain some awareness and realize Chen Cuo may be able to defeat the Evil Fiend. His companions discuss the shifting fortunes of the day and learn that the Grand Formation remains the real danger: the Overseas Cultivators intend to use the people on the mountain and below it in a blood sacrifice.
• Song Zifan calls Chen Cuo “Chen Fangqing,” revealing the identity of the fighter: the famed Marquis of Linru, among other titles. Jingtongzi recognizes the name and connects it to his senior brother Jiao Tongzi’s obsession with Chen Fangqing.
• A will briefly takes over Lü Boming and claims to have figured out the limits of Chen Cuo’s ability. Chen Cuo explains that Song Zifan was chosen as an Incarnation because his cultivation is shallow and unconnected to the sects’ deeper traditions.
• The enemy reveals a backup plan: Prince of Lanling is another prepared vessel. Mist descends upon him, but the prince calmly removes his mask and addresses the possessing force, Tian Wu, as foolish and reckless.
• Ding Menzi realizes that the Qi Emperor anticipated the formation and had Prince of Lanling brought as a reserve Cauldron Furnace. Chen Cuo turns to confront this new threat.
• Before he can act, Song Zifan’s chest bursts open. He invokes his Divine Aperture, calling it to “return to the ancestor,” and Mount Tai shakes as golden light shines from the enormous finger embedded in the mountain.
• At the Linru County Marquis Residence, Tingyi recognizes that Tian Wu is trying to use his own Origin to make an Incarnation return to its source and form a Divine Body. She judges the act a desperate, potentially self-destructive gamble.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo demonstrates overwhelming physical power and insight, identifying Song Zifan’s role as a vessel while continuing to protect the summit’s survivors.
• Jingtongzi and Ding Menzi recover their damaged Dao Hearts as Chen Cuo’s intervention restores their resolve. Both begin to understand his actions from his perspective, and Jingtongzi feels gratitude while recognizing the danger of his own wavering faith.
• The companions—including Monk Xinren, Gong Cheng, and Tiger of North Mountain—move from fear and confusion to awe and renewed hope, though they remain aware that the blood-sacrifice formation threatens everyone.
• Song Zifan shifts from helpless rage to a last, catastrophic act, apparently willing to overturn the enemy’s plans rather than remain merely a vessel.
• Prince of Lanling reveals unexpected composure and awareness by confronting Tian Wu directly, while Ding Menzi explains his role as a planned reserve vessel.
• Tingyi provides a clear diagnosis of the final maneuver, highlighting how far Tian Wu has fallen into desperation.

Significant themes

• A Dao Heart can be broken and restored: Chen Cuo’s actions help Jingtongzi and Ding Menzi regain their spiritual footing, but leave a lasting impression that may shape their paths.
• Power and understanding are not the same: Chen Cuo’s force is formidable, yet his greatest advantage is recognizing how the enemy’s vessels and abilities work.
• The shifting roles of hunter and prey: The summit’s factions have repeatedly misjudged who controls events, and the enemies’ backup plans show that the struggle is still unfolding.
• Desperation and sacrifice: Tian Wu’s attempt to create a Divine Body by spending his own Origin, and Song Zifan’s final invocation, suggest that the conflict is approaching a dangerous breaking point.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• In the Netherworld, three great halls—including the Palace above the Black Water—combine their power to block a burst of golden light reaching through the sky. The White-Haired Woman realizes that Chen Fangqing is involved and expects him to suffer a defeat.
• On and around Mount Tai, the light summons an enormous figure and an eight-headed beastly shadow. Its roar intensifies the panic among civilians already fleeing the mountain. As fear turns to violence, a white lotus blooms at a village entrance; the crowd falls quiet, and blue incense smoke rises from people throughout the region.
• The black vapor forming the giant figure flows into Song Zifan’s chest, healing his wound and awakening his ancestral blood. His body transforms into a scaled, increasingly monstrous beast form, while a thunder tribulation begins to gather.
• Song Zifan attacks Chen Cuo, who is fighting through a White Lotus Avatar. Chen Cuo’s ability to suppress supernatural powers also limits his own methods, and Song discovers how the suppression works. He uses the Rain Mist to assault Chen Cuo and the others, weakening their bodies, minds, and resolve.
• Song reveals his contempt for humanity, claiming that humans stole the world from his kind. His power rises as he replaces his blood, a feat the observers regard as nearly unheard of.
• Though Chen Cuo’s avatar is in danger, he draws on the incense and wishes of the people—routed through temples and his Golden Lotus Incarnation—to begin forming a Humanity Dharma Form. Song freezes the surrounding space and tries to destroy it, but Chen reveals that the nascent form is a distraction.
• The people’s gathered thoughts become five forms of Humanity Consensus and resonate with Chen Cuo’s emerging Dharma Form. Chen declares that humanity’s way defies the natural order, and that such defiance must bring tribulation. A powerful thunderbolt then strikes down toward Mount Tai.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo stays composed under extreme pressure and chooses to risk his avatar rather than allow Song Zifan to descend fully into the world. He adapts his plan, using the Dharma Form’s apparent formation to draw Song’s attention while preparing a larger counterattack powered by collective human belief.
• Song Zifan shifts from a wounded opponent into a powerful, openly inhuman adversary. His awakened ancestral blood makes him stronger and more savage; he also learns from Chen Cuo’s ability and uses that understanding to counter him. His hatred of humanity becomes explicit.
• Jingtongzi and the other allies are too injured to help directly. Jingtongzi urges Chen Cuo to retreat, but Chen refuses, insisting that even powerful beings must obey the rules of the Mortal World.
• The Tiger of North Mountain recognizes Song’s blood-replacement transformation as an extraordinary Martial Path achievement. Song dismisses the Martial Path as an imitation and injures him simply by directing his attention his way.
• The White-Haired Woman observes events from the Netherworld and takes satisfaction in the prospect of Chen Fangqing’s defeat.
• The civilians around Mount Tai move from panic and mob violence to an unintended collective role in Chen Cuo’s countermeasure: their incense and wishes become a source of power.

Significant themes

• Humanity versus the supernatural: Song sees humans as usurpers, while Chen Cuo presents humanity as a force with its own spiritual and material power.
• Collective belief and social order: The people’s thoughts and wishes become a tangible counterforce, contrasting with the fear and violence that first consume them.
• Power and its limits: Song’s immense strength is still bound by the laws of the Mortal World, and Chen’s strategy depends on exploiting those rules.
• Tribulation as the cost of defiance: Chen’s emerging Dharma Form crosses a threshold that challenges the natural order, drawing thunder tribulation upon him.

Key plot points and events

• A lightning tribulation crashes onto Peace Summit, striking Chen Cuo and Song Zifan. Chen explains that he drew it down, but the tribulation is truly aimed at Song Zifan, whose power exceeds the limits of the mortal realm.
• The lightning also brings a Heart Demon Tribulation. Chen recognizes the visions and despair as the accumulated failures of other cultivators. He turns those thoughts into Human Dao insights, completing a white-robed scholar Dharma Form and beginning to escape the tribulation.
• Song Zifan’s protections fail under the lightning and heaven-and-earth pressure. The Eight-Headed Tianwu image and its golden True Blood are torn from his chest, leaving him restored to a pale, ordinary-looking youth while the lightning tempers his body.
• As the image is about to be destroyed, a feminine voice emerges from it. She condemns Song Zifan’s failure, then sends the image and True Blood into Chen’s nearly completed Dharma Form and White Lotus Avatar.
• Chen realizes that destroying the avatar could let the entity descend freely into the world. The voice offers cooperation, promising not to take control and tempting him with knowledge of the Ancient God’s path and Pangu’s Method.
• The voice then withdraws its consciousness, weakening the image and the surrounding lightning, but the True Blood continues transforming Chen’s avatar. It grows flesh and bone, and Chen’s Nine Great Acupoints begin to appear.
• The heart acupoint absorbs the True Blood, pulling Chen’s consciousness into the River of History and then into a primordial world of immense beings.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Cuo displays composure and ingenuity: he identifies the Heart Demon Tribulation, turns its effects to his advantage, and quickly understands the danger of the entity’s possession attempt. Yet he must hesitate when destroying his avatar could unleash a greater threat.
• Song Zifan is reduced from a powerful, transformed combatant to a vulnerable youth. His anger at Chen gives way to helplessness as the lightning strips away his protections and the Tianwu image.
• The feminine voice/entity reveals itself as a calculating presence connected to the Eight-Headed Tianwu and the True Blood. It criticizes Song Zifan, seeks to attach itself to Chen’s avatar, and uses both threats and promises to secure his cooperation.
• The tribulation forces Chen and Song Zifan into the same danger, but their fates diverge: Chen adapts and advances, while Song loses the power sustaining his transformation.

Significant themes

• Transformation through trial: The tribulation threatens destruction but also drives spiritual insight and physical change.
• Human experience as a source of power: Chen converts the Heart Demons—visions of others’ failures—into Human Dao understanding.
• Power and moral risk: The Ancient God’s knowledge could offer immense benefits, but accepting it may bring an alien presence into Chen’s body and threaten the world.
• The limits of control: Chen can shape the tribulation and resist possession, yet the True Blood and his acupoint propel him into a vision he cannot direct.