Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• During the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body Gu Cang’s Emperor-Ascension Tribulation, the shadows of Wushi, Emperor Zun, and the Undying Heavenly Emperor attack him with startling force. Spectators conclude that Wushi is responsible, while a mischievous passerby spreads increasingly elaborate rumors about his motives.
• Wushi privately insists he did not act alone, but the others’ apparent power makes him question whether Emperor Zun and the Undying Heavenly Emperor are truly dead—and whether the Heavenly Emperor is concealing a much larger truth.
• A mysterious, hostile-seeming gaze pressures Wushi to continue. He apologizes inwardly to Gu Cang, then takes part in the brutal assault. Gu Cang endures it and survives the tribulation.
• When the Heavenly Emperor’s shadow appears, it immediately vanishes rather than attacking Gu Cang. Gu Cang interprets this as mercy, and spectators praise the Heavenly Emperor’s kindness and magnanimity.
• Gu Cang successfully proves his Dao. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Emperor’s attendants work urgently on assigned pills, other powerful figures grow uneasy, and Ruthless begins to warm to the strange events unfolding around her.

Character developments and interactions

• Wushi is frustrated at being blamed, but his fear of the Heavenly Emperor’s unseen influence outweighs his objections. He ultimately complies, believing resistance futile.
• Gu Cang shifts from bewilderment and despair during the beating to gratitude when the Heavenly Emperor’s shadow spares him. He feels ashamed of his former ambitions to overthrow the Heavenly Emperor.
• The spectators repeatedly mistake appearances for truth, turning the tribulation into a public narrative of Wushi’s supposed conspiracy and the Heavenly Emperor’s benevolence.
• The mysterious passerby actively steers that narrative with provocative theories.
• Huang Tian and Divine Mark redouble their pill-making efforts; the Three Yuanhua Emperors become wary of their allegiance; Jiang Daoran tries to stop Ji Lianxing from speaking recklessly; Ruthless watches with growing interest.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The crowd’s confident explanations are built on misunderstandings, while the true forces behind events remain hidden.
• Power and helplessness: Even great figures like Wushi feel trapped under the Heavenly Emperor’s influence.
• Public mythmaking: Rumors transform a violent trial into a story of conspiracy and mercy.
• Humor through irony: Gu Cang and the spectators misread the Heavenly Emperor’s disappearance as kindness, while Wushi sees the episode as another sign of manipulation.

Key plot points and events

• The Great Accomplishment Sacred Body, Gu Cang, attains the Dao and becomes an Emperor—the first Sacred Body to do so since ancient times. His achievement inspires cultivators across the universe.
• The Heavenly Emperor’s faction is now exceptionally powerful, with six Great Emperors in addition to Meng Chuan and the Female Emperor. Its members aspire to become Immortals and eventually rise even higher.
• The group gathers in Meng Chuan’s Dao Realm to congratulate Gu Cang. Wushi is still uneasy about the fierce phantom that appeared during Gu Cang’s tribulation, but Gu Cang trusts him and credits him with easing the Great Dao’s suppression.
• Meng Chuan emerges from seclusion to praise Gu Cang. Ruthless also appears, marking her first time leaving her secluded space since entering the Dao Realm.
• The group turns to the four who have not yet attained the Dao: the two Attendants, Ji Lianxing, and Jiang Daoran. Wushi, the Three Yuanhua Emperors, and Ruthless warn that their success could trigger a severe backlash from heaven and earth.
• If several more Great Emperors appear within a short span, the world may respond by draining vital energy and making cultivation far harder for everyone below Emperor rank. Meng Chuan reassures the group that he can solve the problem, though he has not yet explained how.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Cang is newly elevated but remains modest, crediting Meng Chuan and trusting Wushi despite the danger during his tribulation. His playful confidence reflects the group’s shared ambition.
• Wushi is outwardly cordial but inwardly furious at Gu Cang’s teasing and misrepresentation of his actions. He also voices the practical concern that more Emperors could harm all other cultivators.
• Meng Chuan warmly welcomes and praises Gu Cang, then takes responsibility for the looming crisis with characteristic confidence.
• Ruthless steps out of seclusion and joins the discussion, lending weight to the warning about heaven and earth’s reaction.
• Huang Tian seeks guidance from Meng Chuan when the consequences become clear, reinforcing the group’s trust in their master.

Significant themes

• Ambition beyond power: Attaining the Dao is celebrated as a milestone, not an endpoint; the group now looks toward immortality and higher realms.
• Power and responsibility: The rise of many Great Emperors may benefit the elite while devastating the cultivation prospects of ordinary beings.
• Mentorship and loyalty: Meng Chuan’s support shapes the group’s progress, while Gu Cang’s trust in Wushi contrasts with Wushi’s private irritation.
• Humor amid high stakes: Teasing, boasting, and the group’s relaxed camaraderie soften the ominous warning of a world-changing calamity.

This chapter is an author’s thank-you note rather than a story chapter. The author lists readers who tipped during the second half of January, along with their coin amounts, and apologizes in case anyone was inadvertently left out. They express heartfelt gratitude for readers’ tips, subscriptions, and votes, saying this support motivates them to keep writing, and close by wishing everyone a happy New Year and an energetic start to the Year of the Ox.

• Key events: A long list of supporters and tip amounts is acknowledged.
• Character development and interactions: No fictional characters or plot interactions appear; the author speaks directly to readers.
• Themes: Gratitude, community support, encouragement, and New Year well-wishes.

Plot points and events

• Meng Chuan decides to let the world absorb Yuan Zhi’s True Immortal corpse. Though it cannot restore the world to its ancient glory, it will improve the conditions of heaven and earth and help future cultivators. He argues that nurturing another Great Emperor—and perhaps an Immortal—is more valuable than keeping the corpse.
• To give future Dao Realm gatherings a sense of occasion, Meng Chuan creates a grand palace surrounded by grey mist and crimson stars. It has a long bronze table, eleven symbol-marked seats, and a Jade Disc emblem on his own chair. He names it Source Castle.
• Meng Chuan tries to introduce himself with theatrical gravitas as “the Heavenly Emperor,” but the others dismiss the performance. Ji Lianxing serves Enlightenment Tea to everyone except him, until he demands a cup.
• Despite the lack of enthusiasm, Meng Chuan decides that future Dao Realm gatherings will take place at Source Castle every Monday at three.
• The group asks about The Ancient One, who has been absent since Wushi proved his Dao. Meng Chuan says she has returned to her own world. The others accept that she likely comes from beyond their universe.
• Ruthless asks what The Ancient One’s world is like. Meng Chuan considers teasing her by making her beg for the answer.

Character developments and interactions

• Meng Chuan shows confidence in his ability to shape the world’s future, treating the sacrifice of a True Immortal corpse as an easy choice. He also reveals a playful, self-important streak: he wants formal gatherings and expects others to join in his dramatic presentation.
• The Dao Realm figures are comfortable enough with one another to tease, question, and ignore Meng Chuan’s attempts at ceremony. Their casual conversation contrasts with their extraordinary power.
• Ji Lianxing openly mocks Meng Chuan’s performance and withholds tea from him, turning his grand gathering into a joke.
• Ruthless remains focused on anything that could advance her understanding. Her question about The Ancient One’s world reflects her relentless curiosity and ambition.
• The Great Accomplishment Sacred Body raises the question of The Ancient One’s whereabouts, while Takong admires Meng Chuan for making connections across worlds.

Significant themes

• Investment in future generations: Meng Chuan values cultivating a stronger world and future Immortals over preserving a powerful relic.
• Expanding horizons: The group’s acceptance that other worlds exist marks a broader understanding of the universe.
• Power and ordinary life: Even the universe’s strongest beings spend time chatting and joking, making their relationships feel unexpectedly familiar.
• Ceremony versus irreverence: Meng Chuan tries to create a formal, symbolic gathering place, but his companions’ teasing keeps the scene lighthearted.

Chapter summary

• Meng Chuan recounts The Ancient One’s world to the gathered emperors, describing its countless dimensions, immortal overlords, Divine Realm, cosmic guardian, and mortal alliance. He even projects a view of that world. Though its strongest figures seem ordinary by their standards, the group is impressed that someone from such a place rose to the Heavenly Emperor level. They refrain from asking how Meng Chuan met The Ancient One, recognizing that his journey likely involves a private opportunity.
• Wushi asks whether Meng Chuan has advanced. Meng Chuan says he remains at his seventh transformation, explaining that reaching it required extraordinary resources and insight. The next stages of the Battle Immortal path seem even more demanding. When the Great Accomplishment Sacred Body jokes that climbing to heaven is easy, Meng Chuan sends him flying—but still lets him listen to what follows.
• Meng Chuan teaches the group, sharing insights from the many cultivation systems he has studied: the Immortal path, supreme techniques, the Immortal realm, inner Grotto-Heavens, Other Selves, the True Self, time, space, mind, soul, reality, martial will, and the nature of power. He holds little back, though he withholds the complete Lifetime Method because he senses that revealing it would provoke a catastrophic tribulation. He believes the Shrouding Method remains the right path for Wushi and Ruthless.
• The discussion of Other Selves unsettles Wushi. He wonders whether he might be another being’s Other Self—or have Others of his own—and glimpses a vague figure in his thoughts. Meng Chuan assures everyone that their world contains no Other Selves. He admits he is trying to create them artificially, but says that explaining the related cultivation realms could invite a disaster beyond even an Immortal King’s ability to withstand. The emperors accept his decision without resentment.
• The meeting becomes a genuine exchange of knowledge. After listening to Meng Chuan, the emperors take turns explaining and demonstrating their own Daos, helping one another learn.

Character developments and interactions

Meng Chuan acts as both powerful mentor and considerate peer: he protects Ruthless’s pride, teaches freely, and includes even the irritating Great Accomplishment Sacred Body in the lesson. The emperors show trust and gratitude, understanding that withheld knowledge is Meng Chuan’s to keep. Wushi’s questions reveal his curiosity and unease about the unfamiliar idea of Other Selves.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes the difficulty of cultivation, the value of broad perspectives, and the difference between sharing knowledge as a gift and treating it as an obligation. It also explores the dangers of pursuing forbidden or world-shaking power—and celebrates the ideal of fellow Daoists who learn from one another in good faith.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• After a gathering of emperors ends, Meng Chuan stays behind with his attendants Golden Horn and Silver Horn, and his friends Ji Lianxing and Jiang Daoran. He reassures the friends that becoming an emperor earlier or later does not determine whether they can eventually become Immortals. His counsel helps them overcome their impatience.
• Alone, Meng Chuan reflects on the emperors’ discussions. Their different Dao insights have broadened his perspective, making their survival through the Dao Realm worthwhile.
• He grumbles about his divine-consciousness fragment in Fei Peng’s world, which has mostly abandoned investigation and settled into an idle life. Meng Chuan envies the fragment’s carefree existence, even as he mocks it.
• Frustrated that his own cultivation has stalled—especially his effort to form Other Selves and advance toward the Legendary Realm—Meng Chuan leaves the Dao Realm to clear his head. He leaves another fragment behind to study the wisdom of living beings and support his next transformation.
• Meng Chuan enters the Divine City, declares himself to be touring incognito, and starts a livestream. The group members joke and chat about their various lives and troubles.

Character developments and interactions

• Meng Chuan acts as a mentor to Ji Lianxing and Jiang Daoran, then reveals his own impatience and envy over his cultivation bottlenecks. His self-deprecating humor—especially his threat to “knock over” his childhood self’s milk jar—keeps the mood light.
• Golden Horn and Silver Horn are portrayed as content with their limited cultivation. Their status as attendants means they are not expected to pursue power, and even formidable figures would consider targeting them beneath their dignity.
• Ji Lianxing and Jiang Daoran accept Meng Chuan’s perspective and become less anxious about their pace of advancement.
• Fei Peng sends a picture of himself peacefully fishing while away on campaign, prompting Yao Chen to envy his apparent retirement.
• Yao Chen longs to retire, but frets that even after Xiao Yan reaches one milestone, another challenge will follow. Xiao Yan is confused by Yao Chen’s talk of future realms and a “new brother,” since he has not even reached Dou Ling.
• Other group members report their ongoing burdens: Daigu is sought after by both light and dark factions for his power and technology; Jiraiya is overwhelmed by upheaval in Konoha; Yan Chixia pursues a dangerous demon; and several others are busy or secluded. Meng Qi jokingly offers himself as something Meng Chuan can still “squeeze value out of.”

Significant themes

• Patience and long-term growth: Early achievement does not guarantee lasting superiority; a slower path need not prevent eventual greatness.
• Learning through others: Even those far below Meng Chuan in cultivation can offer insights that expand his understanding.
• The burden of endless ambition: Reaching one goal often reveals another, leaving characters such as Meng Chuan and Yao Chen frustrated by seemingly unending progress.
• Humor and self-awareness: The chapter balances cultivation concerns with playful banter, especially through Meng Chuan’s mock outrage and the group’s teasing exchanges.

Key events

• Meng Chuan tours Divine City and sees how the Dao Realm has evolved, including unusual new goods and four Dao Rankings visible throughout the city.
• At the Instance Space, he hears people recruiting for battles against figures from Shrouding the Heavens. The instances are built from Dao Rule Phantoms and historical memories; they offer Points, Authority Fragments, and valuable loot. A past drop of a True Immortal Art made the space hugely popular.
• Meng Chuan visits the Myriad Heavens Tower and Supreme Hall, pleased by their crowds and by the prodigies repeatedly training there.
• He reflects on the Dao Rankings’ transformation into a powerful symbol carrying the aspirations and fortune of the Universe’s cultivators.
• Leaving the Dao Realm, Meng Chuan heads to Beidou in the real Great Universe. There, he spots an old man and calls out, “Fellow Daoist, please wait!”

Character developments and interactions

• Meng Chuan takes pride in the thriving realm he helped build, but his satisfaction is comically mixed with profiteering: he jokes that three hundred billion is not enough and wants three trillion.
• The group members react to his story with alarm and amusement, recognizing his reputation as a skinflint.
• Cultivators flock to instances, shops, training halls, and the rankings, driven by rewards, ambition, and the hope of mastering powerful techniques.
• The chapter ends by setting up an encounter between Meng Chuan and an unidentified old man.

Significant themes

• A living world shaped by its creator: The Dao Realm has grown beyond Meng Chuan’s original vision.
• Ambition and competition: Cultivators pursue rankings, rare loot, and powerful arts.
• Commerce and humor: Meng Chuan’s pride in the Dao Realm is undercut by his relentless desire for profit.
• Virtual realm versus reality: The Dao Realm offers training and insight, but cultivation breakthroughs remain possible only in the real Great Universe, which remains the foundation.

Key plot points and events

• Nearing the end of his 9,800-year life, Fengshou travels to Beidou’s Eastern Wasteland, hoping to see the land associated with the Heavenly Emperor before he dies.
• Meng Chuan calls out to him. Fengshou recognizes him as the young man he met in the Dao Realm 9,500 years earlier, when Fengshou had been a Great Sage and the boy beside Meng Chuan was the future Great Emperor Wushi.
• Fengshou explains that he was born to poor farmers and began cultivating through a chance encounter in Meng Chuan’s Dao Realm. He became a peak Quasi-Emperor and lived a long, fulfilling life.
• After talking with Meng Chuan, Fengshou dies peacefully of old age. At his wish, his body dissolves into light and returns to the Dao Realm.
• Meng Chuan realizes his connection to the lives of the universe’s countless beings is a form of karma. He then continues through the Eastern Wasteland and travels to the Western Desert.
• Chat Group members joke about immortality and old age. Their banter briefly irritates Meng Chuan.

Character developments

• Fengshou moves from reverence and awe toward a more personal understanding of Meng Chuan: the Heavenly Emperor is also a person. He dies content, grateful for the chance the Dao Realm gave him and for Meng Chuan’s companionship at the end.
• Meng Chuan reflects on how the Dao Realm has altered lives across the universe and gains a deeper awareness of his karmic ties to them.

Significant themes

• Legacy and influence: The Dao Realm transforms ordinary people’s lives, giving Fengshou a path from poverty to extraordinary cultivation.
• Mortality and fulfillment: Fengshou accepts death without regret, having fulfilled his parents’ hopes, built a family, and lived beyond his humble beginnings.
• Humanizing the great: Meng Chuan’s warmth helps Fengshou see the Heavenly Emperor not only as an object of awe, but as a person.
• Karma and connection: Meng Chuan recognizes that the lives shaped by his creation bind him to the wider universe.

Character interactions

• Fengshou respectfully recounts his past to Meng Chuan, who listens without condescension and addresses him as a fellow Daoist.
• Their conversation recalls Fengshou’s earlier, well-intentioned advice to young Wushi and Meng Chuan—a moment Fengshou now understands in a new light.
• The Chat Group’s teasing contrasts with the solemn farewell, prompting Meng Chuan’s exasperated but humorous response.

Plot points

• Meng Chuan arrives in the Western Desert, where every temple follows the Buddhist tradition, and wonders whether Great Emperor Amitabha might be connected to the Immortal Monk King.
• Revealing the immense sea of faith around him causes Mount Sumeru to shine as it gathers the Western Desert’s devotional power. Its Buddhist Venerable, an Alternative Dao Attainer, welcomes Meng Chuan.
• Meng Chuan asks to meet Amitabha—or, since the Great Emperor died long ago, his Dharmakaya or Faith Body. The Venerable is startled: Amitabha’s surviving contingencies are a closely guarded secret.
• Meng Chuan says he knows the truth and suggests Amitabha may have a chance to return. The Venerable leaves to consult Mount Sumeru’s allies, including the Emperor Weapon Demon-Subduing Pestle.
• The Venerable returns with the weapon and several Quasi-Emperors. Meng Chuan tells them that Amitabha’s fate makes no difference to him, because Amitabha is “only a Great Emperor.”

Character developments and interactions

• Meng Chuan remains calm and self-assured throughout. He shows respect for Amitabha’s legacy and interest in his unusual mastery of faith and thought, while making clear that his visit is on his own terms.
• The Buddhist Venerable is tactful and deferential, carefully welcoming Meng Chuan without presuming why he has come. His surprise at Meng Chuan’s knowledge quickly turns to caution, prompting him to gather the lineage’s senior figures.
• The Buddhist leadership acts collectively once the secret is exposed, illustrating the strength of its unified tradition. Its members pay their respects, but Meng Chuan cuts off their attempt to speak and asserts his position.

Significant themes

• Faith, memory, and survival: Amitabha’s Dharmakaya and Faith Body embody the possibility that devotion and prepared contingencies may preserve a path back from death.
• Unity and institutional strength: The Western Desert’s shared Buddhist tradition can mobilize immense faith and coordinate its leaders.
• Power and perspective: Meng Chuan’s closing remark underscores the gulf between a Great Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor, and his confidence that he can preserve hope without depending on any one figure.
• Karma and reincarnation: Meng Chuan’s speculation about Amitabha and the Immortal Monk King raises the possibility of connections across eras.

Plot points

• Meng Chuan and the Demon-Subduing Pestle arrange for Mount Sumeru’s faithful and Amitabha’s relic to summon his Faith Body.
• Amitabha’s enormous Divine Self Body appears, sustained by faith. Though it is equivalent to the Great Emperor, it cannot remain awake for long.
• Meng Chuan reveals that he summoned Amitabha to discuss both the Dao of faith and the possibility of resurrection.
• Their conversation turns to immortality. Meng Chuan says the Mortal World itself is the true Immortal Domain, and that he is close to becoming an Immortal.
• When the Demon-Subduing Pestle asks whether Meng Chuan will then fight his way into the Immortal Domain, Meng Chuan rejects the premise: “Wherever I am will be the Immortal Domain.” He imagines making his world a place all beings can take pride in.

Character developments and interactions

• Meng Chuan displays confidence and a vision beyond the traditional goal of entering the Immortal Domain. He speaks warmly with Amitabha, exchanging respectful praise, but remains certain that his ambition is already within reach.
• Amitabha Great Emperor begins puzzled about why he has been awakened, then becomes deeply moved by Meng Chuan’s ideas. His lifelong pursuit of immortality gives way to satisfaction and hope that Meng Chuan may fulfill what past emperors could not.
• The Demon-Subduing Pestle accepts Meng Chuan’s authority and helps summon its former master. It is uneasy when Amitabha seems to accept Meng Chuan’s alternative vision, and later falls silent at Meng Chuan’s bold declaration.
• The Buddhist faithful across Mount Sumeru and the Western Desert recognize Amitabha’s manifestation and bow and chant in reverence.

Significant themes

• Redefining immortality: Rather than escaping to a separate Immortal Domain, Meng Chuan proposes transforming the Mortal World into one.
• Ambition and legacy: His vision surpasses the hopes of earlier emperors, while also offering a way for those who lived and died in this world to share in its eventual elevation.
• Faith and persistence: The devotion of countless beings sustains Amitabha’s Divine Self, showing faith’s power to preserve a presence beyond death.

Key plot points and events

• Meng Chuan recognizes that Amitabha Great Emperor’s ambitions—becoming an Immortal and reaching the Immortal Domain—are modest compared with his own goals.
• To give Amitabha a sense of the Dao Realm and its path to godhood, Meng Chuan summons its powerful Emperors. Under their collective scrutiny, Amitabha agrees to join forces with the Dao Realm.
• Meng Chuan merges Amitabha’s Dharmakaya with his divine self, then brings him into the Dao Realm and enfeoffs him as a god. Amitabha becomes the realm’s tenth F10, and his knowledge of faith power forms a new Dao that strengthens the Dao Realm.
• Meng Chuan leaves Amitabha with the other Emperors for instruction and returns to the Starry Sky to search for other potentially recoverable Great Emperors.
• At the Heavenly Soldier Ancient Star, he confirms that Lingbao Heavenly Venerable is truly dead: his attempt to arrange a return failed, and he left no corpse that could be reborn. His Four Immortal-Slaying Swords and formation diagram are the only significant remnants.
• Meng Chuan puzzles over the absence of Primordial Heavenly Venerable from the Mythological Era and earlier eras. He realizes that someone may have resembled Primordial Beginning and abruptly heads to Earth, where the Heavenly Pass stands guard.

Character developments and interactions

• Amitabha Great Emperor moves from seeking help to agreeing to cooperate with the Dao Realm. Though initially intimidated by the gathered Emperors, he becomes pleased at the prospect of joining their company and contributes valuable expertise in faith power.
• Meng Chuan acts as both recruiter and benefactor, but also treats the Dao Realm’s growth as a strategic priority. His investigation of Lingbao’s fate leads him toward a more personal mystery: the whereabouts of Primordial Beginning.
• The Dao Realm Emperors silently pressure Amitabha during negotiations, then take on the role of welcoming peers and teachers.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and mutual gain: Amitabha gains allies and a path forward, while the Dao Realm gains a powerful new god and his insights.
• Power, ambition, and perspective: What counts as a grand goal depends on one’s level; becoming an Immortal is a destination for Amitabha but only a step for Meng Chuan.
• Legacy and return from death: Lingbao’s failed preparations highlight the limits of attempts to defy death, while Meng Chuan’s search reflects the value he places on preserving powerful figures.
• Mystery and historical gaps: The chapter’s closing questions about Primordial Beginning shift the story toward an unresolved identity and the deeper links between the Three Pure Ones.

Key plot points

• Meng Chuan arrives on Earth, his former home, and reflects on its unique role as a place where emperor corpses can awaken with new spirits. He considers whether Amitabha Great Emperor’s corpse might one day be reunited with his divine self, but postpones deciding until he sees it.
• He visits Kunlun, a vast primordial sacred land whose mountains and rich Immortal aura make it one of the world’s greatest places for nurturing life and spirits. Its beasts and demons bow before him.
• Meng Chuan grants a young Fo-ti plant a small measure of protection and encounters the Ginseng Fruit Tree, which seeks to follow him for safety. He accepts it.
• He passes the site of Ruthless’s brother’s final words, then enters Kunlun’s Immortal Ascension Ground: a hidden, star-like sanctuary nourished by the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains.
• The ground preserves visions of Ruthless’s dying brother pleading for someone to care for his little sister. Meng Chuan condemns the Feathered Divine Dynasty for pursuing immortality and provoking disaster instead of prudently building its future.
• As Meng Chuan reflects, someone behind him says, “I only want him to come back.”

Character developments and interactions

• Meng Chuan shows nostalgia for Earth, curiosity about its unusual history, and a measured, compassionate side in protecting the Fo-ti and accepting the Ginseng Fruit Tree. He remains restrained around the traces of Ruthless and her brother, choosing not to interfere.
• The Ginseng Fruit Tree displays its instinct for self-preservation by seeking the protection of the powerful Heavenly Emperor.
• Ruthless’s brother, seen through a lingering vision, is revealed as deeply devoted to his young sister; even as he faces death, his concern is for her welfare.
• The Feathered Divine Dynasty is portrayed as reckless in its pursuit of immortality, with its actions bringing ruin upon its descendants and leaving even its revived Great Emperor fearful.
• The closing voice—apparently connected to Ruthless—expresses a longing to bring her brother back, setting up a direct encounter or emotional exchange.

Significant themes

• Longevity and identity: Emperor corpses can gain new spirits, raising questions about whether such beings are continuations of their former selves.
• Ambition versus wisdom: The Feathered Dynasty’s fixation on immortality contrasts with Meng Chuan’s view that greater knowledge should bring greater caution.
• Family devotion and grief: The brother’s final concern for his sister and the closing plea for his return give the chapter its emotional core.
• Power and protection: Kunlun’s creatures instinctively defer to Meng Chuan, while the medicinal plants seek his shelter, showing the security his presence offers.

• Meng Chuan reassures Ruthless: Ruthless asks whether restoring the dead can wait until she becomes an Immortal Emperor. Meng Chuan admits he does not know for certain, but tells her it can wait. To keep her from feeling pressured, he describes Shi Hao’s exceptionally long cultivation journey and the many dangers, teachers, and sources of help along it—though his increasingly elaborate explanation draws a skeptical look from Ruthless.
• Ruthless regains her resolve: Meng Chuan praises her talent and predicts she will become an Immortal Emperor even sooner than Shi Hao. Ruthless replies that she once could not even open a Bitter Sea, but says she will not rush or give up. She adds that if she were prone to impatience, Meng Chuan’s own astonishing progress would already have discouraged her.
• Meng Chuan shares his purpose: He explains that he has come to Kunlun to investigate several imperial corpses, hoping either to awaken their former identities or give the corpses new sentience. Ruthless observes that companionship and discussion can speed cultivation, noting that since meeting Meng Chuan she has progressed further in her successive lives.
• Ruthless joins him: When Meng Chuan sets off to find the corpses, Ruthless follows without explanation, surprising him given her usual isolation.
  Character developments and interactions: Ruthless moves from emotional distress to quiet determination, while acknowledging the value of having someone alongside her on the Dao. Meng Chuan tries to comfort her through careful explanations and humor, but his clumsy flattery briefly makes things awkward. Their exchange shows growing trust and companionship.
  Themes: The chapter explores grief and hope, patience on the path of cultivation, the value of guidance and companionship, and the contrast between immense personal talent and the support that helps it flourish.

Plot points and events

• Meng Chuan walks with Ruthless toward a nearby emperor’s corpse, noticing that she has become more willing to talk than when they first met.
• Yan Chixia contacts the group after hunting down a powerful demon. The group jokes that his old enemy, a tree demon, was his lover; Yan posts a picture of the tree demon, whose grotesque appearance convinces everyone that killing it was understandable.
• Yan explains that the demon came from the ruined Heavenly Realm. He found the information in its Primordial Spirit and can sense where the realm is, but believes ascending there would mean certain death.
• Meng Chuan suspects the Heavenly Realm may be connected to the collapse of order in Yan’s world and agrees Yan should not enter it alone. Though he could go help, he postpones the trip, claiming he has pressing business.

Character developments

• Ruthless appears more comfortable around Meng Chuan and perceptive about his mood, even offering to let him leave if his friend needs help.
• Meng Chuan continues to act as Ruthless’s supportive guide, but comically prioritizes the emperor’s corpse over Yan Chixia’s request.
• Yan Chixia is cautious and strategic: rather than risk entering the Heavenly Realm alone, he asks Meng Chuan for backup.

Character interactions

• The chat group teases Yan Chixia about supposedly killing a romantic partner. His image of the tree demon shifts the group’s sympathy in his favor.
• Ruthless notices Meng Chuan’s distraction and gives him permission to attend to his friend; he denies anything is wrong.
• Meng Chuan and Yan agree, implicitly, that Yan will wait before confronting the Heavenly Realm.

Significant themes

• Caution and cooperation: Yan recognizes the danger of acting alone and seeks help.
• Companionship and emotional growth: Ruthless’s growing ease with Meng Chuan reflects her gradual emergence from isolation.
• Comedy and misplaced priorities: The group’s teasing and Meng Chuan’s excuse for delaying help contrast with the potentially serious mystery of the Heavenly Realm.

Plot points and events

• Meng Chuan and Ruthless explore a planet known for its unusual power to awaken sentience in the dead. Meng Chuan suspects its nature may be connected to the Burial Ground, where buried cultivators can revive as powerful Burial Cultivators.
• They find an ancient corpse beneath a tree. Meng Chuan identifies it as Sui Emperor, an early Human Race sovereign whose name has faded from history.
• Sui Emperor had endured repeated injuries and near-death struggles before attaining the Dao. He fought to protect humanity, which was oppressed and even treated as food by other races. His wounds were so severe that he died only five thousand years after becoming an emperor.
• Rather than directly interfere with the corpse’s nearly awakened spirit, Meng Chuan uses it as an anchor to look back through time and show Sui Emperor’s life to people across the Universe.
• Moved by what they witness, humanity calls out Sui Emperor’s name. Their collective reverence reaches his corpse as a sea of light, illuminating it and seeming to comfort and honor him.

Character developments and interactions

• Meng Chuan reveals both compassion and a sense of responsibility: he wants to help the emperors’ corpses partly out of gratitude for their past connection to him, and he acts to restore Sui Emperor’s place in history.
• Ruthless trusts Meng Chuan’s knowledge and asks about the planet and Sui Emperor. She listens as he explains the emperor’s legacy and recognizes the depth of his path.
• Sui Emperor, though long dead, is portrayed through the visions as determined, self-sacrificing, and steadfast. His efforts laid the groundwork for humanity’s later strength.
• Meng Chuan and Ruthless discuss the planet’s mysteries, while Meng Chuan’s projection brings Sui Emperor’s story to humanity, whose response becomes a collective tribute.

Significant themes

• Memory and historical recognition: Though time erased Sui Emperor’s name, his deeds still matter; Meng Chuan insists that a hero should not be forgotten.
• Sacrifice and perseverance: Sui Emperor’s suffering and resolve embody the cost of securing a future for humanity.
• Karma and repayment: Meng Chuan’s willingness to help reflects his belief in honoring old debts and acts of kindness.
• Collective remembrance: Humanity’s shared recognition becomes a powerful act of gratitude, connecting the living to a forgotten past.

Plot points

• Meng Chuan uses Faith Power, Dao techniques, and a mysterious trace of inherited intent to restore the Sui Emperor’s imperial corpse. After three days, it awakens with a spirit and manifests the Fire of Humanity.
• The revived figure’s first concern is whether the Human Race needs him. Meng Chuan assures him that humanity is now thriving and ranks first among the myriad races.
• The figure remembers his name: Suiren. Meng Chuan explains the Dao Realm and invites him to join.
• On entering the Dao Realm, they encounter a man angrily complaining that a notorious “pants-off” loophole has remained unfixed for ten thousand years. Embarrassed, Meng Chuan quickly moves on with Suiren and the Female Emperor.
• Suiren meets the Dao Realm’s emperors, accepts Meng Chuan’s offer of godhood, and summons his former Emperor Weapon, the Kindling Lamp. The emperors welcome him.
• Meng Chuan stays behind to continue restoring other imperial corpses, while the Female Emperor returns to secluded cultivation.

Character developments

• Meng Chuan shows deep respect for Suiren, sparing no effort to revive him. He is pleased when Suiren joins the Dao Realm, though he is comically mortified by the embarrassing encounter there.
• Suiren awakens with memories and instincts intact. Relieved that humanity no longer needs him to lead its struggles, he accepts a new role: learning and exploring rather than standing at the front.
• The Female Emperor remains focused on cultivation and leaves for another period of seclusion.

Character interactions

• Meng Chuan reassures Suiren that humanity is safe, introduces him to the Dao Realm, and offers him a place among its people.
• Suiren meets the emperors of his era and reflects on how much better humanity might have fared if they—and Meng Chuan—had existed in his time.
• The Dao Realm’s comic “pants-off” complainer briefly disrupts the solemn reunion, prompting Meng Chuan to hurriedly lead the group away.

Significant themes

• Humanity, memory, and duty: Suiren’s first instinct is to ask whether his people need him, showing how deeply his identity is tied to their survival.
• Legacy and renewal: Faith, inherited intent, and Meng Chuan’s efforts allow an ancient human hero to return in a changed world.
• The passing of responsibility: With humanity flourishing, Suiren can finally step back from the role of protector.
• Sacred and comic worlds: The chapter balances the solemn revival of a legendary emperor with the Dao Realm’s absurd, long-running grievance.

Key plot points and events

• Meng Chuan discovers that Suiren’s return to the Dao Realm has contributed new Origin, helping the realm advance.
• He visits the imperial corpses of several legendary Great Emperors and Heavenly Venerables. Most will take far longer than Suiren to awaken, regardless of how ancient they are.
• Meng Chuan creates new treasure sites for the corpses and sets up a formation to nurture their sentience. He also arranges for their deeds to be remembered, allowing their descendants—especially the Jiang, Ji, and Feng families—to spread their names.
• Back in the Dao Realm, Meng Chuan sees that Fei Peng is close to unifying the Six Realms. He plans to study how faith and wishes help restore the emperors’ awareness.
• Remembering his promise to help Yan Chixia, Meng Chuan considers visiting but postpones it when he sees Yan chatting in the group.
• Jiraiya asks the Chat Group how true peace can be achieved. He explains that Kushina, horrified by Naruto’s treatment, wants to leave the village. Minato struggles with his loyalty to the village but ultimately decides to go with his family, backed by Jiraiya.
• Jiraiya has come to see the Shinobi World’s endless conflicts as rooted in competition for resources. He wants to change its direction by encouraging productive, sustainable work—“farming”—and believes he can protect Minato’s family.

Character developments

• Meng Chuan takes an active role in shaping the future legends of the planet, while continuing to explore the mechanics of faith and wishes.
• Jiraiya has grown more reflective through exposure to ideas from other worlds. He now questions the Shinobi World’s cycle of violence and is prepared to challenge its established order.
• Minato chooses his wife and child over the village, despite his deep attachment to the place where he grew up.
• Kushina becomes more determined to protect Naruto after learning the extent of his hardship.

Significant themes

• Legacy and mythmaking: Meng Chuan’s actions help create the conditions under which future generations will remember the emperors as legendary figures.
• Faith and remembrance: Public memory and devotion may help restore consciousness to the imperial corpses.
• Peace versus resource-driven conflict: Jiraiya recognizes that ideals alone cannot end violence if competition over resources remains unchanged.
• Family versus duty: Minato’s decision highlights the cost of choosing personal bonds over obligations to the village.

Character interactions

• Meng Chuan ensures the imperial corpses are cared for while allowing their descendants to honor them in their own way.
• Kushina confronts Minato over his loyalty to the village; Jiraiya supports her and urges Minato to leave.
• Minato fears Jiraiya will be unable to withstand the Hokage, but Jiraiya confidently offers to shoulder the consequences—and privately knows he can call on the Chat Group for help.

Plot points and events

• While discussing how to achieve peace, Meng Chuan guides Jiraiya to see that the relative calm in Shrouding the Heavens depends partly on the Great Emperor’s power. He argues that greater strength gives someone more ability to shape events, though absolute peace may be impossible without erasing human individuality.
• Meng Chuan and Meng Qi trade barbs about the people of their respective worlds: Meng Qi calls the Shrouding the Heavens inhabitants brutes, and Meng Chuan replies that people in Lifetime are schemers.
• Meng Chuan then visits Yan Chixia, who is thrilled to finally host him. Yan explains that he keeps hunting demons because every one he fails to kill could harm many people, even though he knows the demons cannot all be eliminated while the world remains as it is.
• Yan prepares what he thinks is a thoughtful welcome: aged wine. Meng Chuan, hoping for tea, is caught off guard when Yan proudly presents several jugs. The group chat witnesses the mismatch and jokes about Yan’s misguided flattery.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiraiya takes Meng Chuan’s advice and concludes that a powerful leader can help maintain peace.
• Meng Chuan appears generous and approachable, but privately grows exasperated at Yan’s repeated compliments and the wine he did not want. He ends by jokingly declaring Yan’s path forward “cut off.”
• Yan Chixia is shown as earnest, tireless, and self-sacrificing in his demon-hunting, as well as warmly hospitable. His sincere efforts to please Meng Chuan repeatedly miss the mark.
• Meng Chuan and Yan Chixia share an easy, affectionate rapport, with teasing and banter rather than formality.
• Meng Qi and other group members comment from the sidelines, mocking the exchange and enjoying Yan’s obliviousness.

Significant themes

• Power and peace: Strength can make conflict easier to manage, but it cannot necessarily create perfect peace.
• The limits of individual effort: Yan’s dedication matters, yet he recognizes that systemic conditions allow demons to keep appearing.
• Sincerity versus social finesse: Yan’s genuine hospitality contrasts comically with his inability to read Meng Chuan’s preferences.
• Humor and camaraderie: The banter makes even a meeting between powerful figures feel relaxed and familiar.

Key plot points and events

• Meng Chuan and Yan Chixia tour Yan’s world and see how much it has improved through Yan’s efforts and help from the Chat Group—technology, knowledge, seeds, and advice. Yan aims to give people a livable society and eliminate the Demons.
• Meng Chuan senses that the world itself is incomplete and broken. Its Three Realms and Six Paths have collapsed, and both the Heavenly Court and Underworld are gone.
• He outlines a long-term plan for repairing it: unify the mortal world, reopen the Underworld to restore the order of life and death, and establish a Heavenly Court to govern the realms. Together, human, earthly, and heavenly forces could restore the world.
• Meng Chuan warns that creating order would also restrict freedom. Rules can protect the many, but unjust rules may deserve resistance; personal rebellion, however, can also cause widespread suffering.
• Yan recognizes that such an undertaking ultimately requires strength and asks Meng Chuan to help. Meng Chuan declines to do the work for him, saying Yan must transform his own world, though he can offer guidance. Yan accepts the challenge.

Character developments and interactions

• Yan Chixia is shown as a capable, forceful reformer: he has improved society with outside assistance and is willing to use violence against Demons and other obstacles. Hearing the scale of the world’s damage humbles him, but he resolves to take responsibility for fixing it.
• Meng Chuan acts as a perceptive adviser, identifying the world’s deeper structural problem and setting out a path forward. He outwardly encourages Yan while inwardly hoping to avoid taking on the work himself.
• Chat Group members tease Meng Chuan for shirking, especially given that Yan is the one doing the hard work. Meng Chuan dismisses the criticism as staying true to himself.

Significant themes

• Repair before progress: A damaged world cannot simply be elevated; its foundations must first be restored.
• Order versus freedom: Institutions and laws can stabilize society, but they may constrain people and invite resistance.
• Power and responsibility: Yan’s ambitions depend on strength, yet the world’s fate must be shaped by its own people and leaders.
• Reform’s cost and ambiguity: Transforming society may require bloodshed, and whether defying rules is heroic or destructive depends on the justice of the rules and the consequences.

Key plot points and events

• Yan Chixia and Meng Chuan finish touring the mortal world and decide to visit the Heavenly Realm.
• Yan expects to find a demon-ravaged wasteland, but instead discovers a glorious, apparently intact Heavenly Court: the Southern Heavenly Gate, High Heaven Palace, divine halls, and patrols of imposing Divine Generals.
• Meng Chuan confirms that the realm is real and its original layout remains undamaged.
• When the Divine Generals challenge them, Meng Chuan calls them “friends of the Heavenly Emperor.” He explains privately to Yan that he means himself.
• The Heavenly Court’s Taibai Jinxing arrives to escort them, saying the Heavenly Emperor welcomes them. Meng Chuan recognizes that Taibai appears to possess a genuine divine office, though the figure seems deliberately constructed or otherwise unusual.
• As they head toward the Heavenly Emperor, Meng Chuan hints that this is the second Heavenly Emperor he has encountered. Yan realizes the ruler must be Haotian Shangdi, the Heavenly Emperor of mortal legend.

Character developments

• Yan Chixia moves from confident expectations of a demon-filled Heaven to bewilderment and awe at its splendor. He remains observant, using his Heavenly Eye, but cannot explain what he sees.
• Meng Chuan stays playful and self-assured, teasing Yan and the Heavenly Court’s officials while quietly investigating the realm’s strange nature.
• Taibai Jinxing presents himself as a humble, warm civil official who believes the Heavenly Court’s gods are equal members of one family. Meng Chuan’s remarks unsettle him.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus expectation: The Heavenly Realm is nothing like the demon-haunted ruin Yan anticipates.
• Legends and reality: Familiar religious figures and places appear in tangible form, raising questions about how myth relates to the world before them.
• Identity and authority: Meng Chuan’s joke about being the Heavenly Emperor—and his reference to another one—complicates the meaning of the title.
• Power and humility: Taibai’s insistence that he is merely an ordinary official contrasts with Meng Chuan’s awareness of his significance.

Character interactions

• Meng Chuan guides Yan through the boundary into Heaven and reassures him that the scene is real.
• Yan questions Meng Chuan about his claim of friendship with the Heavenly Emperor; Meng Chuan reveals the joke is that he means himself.
• Taibai welcomes the pair and describes the Heavenly Court’s egalitarian culture, while Meng Chuan tests him with references to another Taibai.
• Meng Chuan and Yan exchange hints about the identity of the Heavenly Emperor, leading Yan to identify Haotian Shangdi.