Recaps

You learned that Zero won his chess game against Past Li Ping and escaped reincarnation into the present world, while Past Li Ping revealed how Zero had secretly controlled Chen Fan’s intelligence. You left the chapter wary of Zero but concluded that keeping the Strange Clown Mask was safer than confronting him.

• Zero told you that he had won the chess game and sent you through the gate back to reality.
• The Chat Group returned you to the Supreme True Realm after the Third Group Mission ended, where you met Past Li Ping in the memory scenes.
• Past Li Ping revealed that Zero had used the Thousand-Lifetime Fate-Reversing Book to reincarnate and that Zero’s avatar could now interfere with the present world.
• Past Li Ping showed you the settlement account, which revealed that Zero had controlled intelligence obtained through Chen Fan’s Golden Talent: Listening.
• You realized that the restrictions of Colorful Talent: Ten Gates limited Zero’s ability to act directly against you, but you kept the Strange Clown Mask rather than risk discarding it.

After refining eight Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators, the protagonist reached thirty-two thousand layers of Qi Refining and nineteen thousand layers of Foundation Establishment, glimpsuring the Supreme True Realm’s true structure. Heaven and earth nearly assimilated him, but Old Self saved him with his Escape One authority.

• The protagonist learned that Past Li Ping had agreed to work with him against Zero, though Past Li Ping remained reluctant to discuss his battle with Senior Lin Feng.
• The Heavenly Gate’s plan produced eight Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators in one year, and the protagonist refined them to raise his cultivation to thirty-two thousand Qi Refining layers and nineteen thousand Foundation Establishment layers.
• The protagonist saw that the seats of True Lord authority were wounds in the Supreme True Realm, which True Lords plugged with their Dao fruits and inner grotto-heavens.
• As heaven and earth tried to assimilate him, the protagonist realized he might be nourishment that could help the realm complete itself, but he could not determine why the process targeted him at each ten-thousand-layer breakthrough.
• The protagonist began to lose himself as he perceived heaven and earth and Heavenly Will, but Old Self used his Escape One authority to prevent his assimilation and return him to normal.

After nearly losing himself while breaking through to thirty thousand Qi Refining layers, Li Ping learned from Past Li Ping that the path had once led other cultivators to be assimilated and destroyed. Past Li Ping revealed that a Second Era Otherworldly Demon had reached one hundred thousand layers and challenged heaven and earth, but the battle's outcome remained unknown.

• Li Ping realized that glimpsing the secrets of heaven and earth had made Old Self's intervention nearly useless, and feared deeper limit-breaking could make him lose himself completely.
• Past Li Ping warned Li Ping not to keep breaking his limits until he obtained a talent that could resolve the danger.
• Past Li Ping said an Otherworldly Demon in the Second Era had reached one hundred thousand Qi Refining layers and challenged heaven and earth, though nobody could witness the battle's outcome.
• Past Li Ping revealed that the Second Era had multiple Otherworldly Demons and several practitioners who reached ten thousand layers, but heaven and earth assimilated and killed them all.

You asked Past Li Ping how far you could push Qi Refining Limit-Breaking, and he estimated that fifty thousand layers would be your limit. An Eight Rings intelligence then revealed that the Second Era’s Otherworldly Demon who pioneered the method had secretly used it to herd its practitioners and sought to replace heaven and earth, leaving you alarmed that your own path might be compromised.

• You asked Past Li Ping how many layers of Qi Refining Limit-Breaking you could reach, and he said fifty thousand layers was likely the limit because of the risks and scrutiny.
• You considered Past Li Ping’s warning and believed he had shared it to make you less hostile toward him.
• Before dawn, the Great Dao Bell delivered your first Eight Rings intelligence, which you suspected Zero had deliberately allowed through.
• The intelligence revealed that the Second Era’s Otherworldly Demon had pioneered Qi Refining Limit-Breaking, herded its practitioners, and instigated war against heaven and earth to replace it.
• You feared the method itself had been tampered with and questioned whether Past Li Ping could remove the danger, but realized he might not be able or willing to help.

The narrator told Senior Lin Feng that Qi Refining Limit-Breaking was part of a scheme and learned that the Second Era’s 100,000-layer cultivator might have been manipulated by Heaven and Earth. Lin Feng suggested the cultivator may have found a sliver of hope or received help from another existence, leaving the truth of the ancient war unresolved.

• The narrator put further upgrades to Qi Refining Limit-Breaking on hold and continued Herding All Beings without exceeding ten thousand layers at a time.
• The narrator used the Spacetime Token to tell Senior Lin Feng about the scheme behind Qi Refining Limit-Breaking and the Otherworldly Demon who reached 100,000 layers.
• Senior Lin Feng said he had not participated in the Second Era’s war against Heaven and explained that the demon had erased all traces of his existence.
• Senior Lin Feng reasoned that the demon was likely half-assimilated by Heaven and Earth while advancing, prompting the narrator to suspect Heaven and Earth had influenced both the creation of limit-breaking and its cultivators.
• Senior Lin Feng said that if the demon had been Heaven and Earth’s chess piece, he might have found a sliver of hope or received indirect help from another existence.

The narrator learned from Senior Lin Feng that advancing too far in qi refining limit-breaking could trigger the resurrection scheme of an ancient Otherworldly Demon, and was advised not to exceed the forty-thousandth layer. After reaching the foundation establishment limit-breaking twenty-three-thousandth layer, the narrator discovered that life-bound divine abilities burdened Heaven and Earth, then escaped assimilation with help from Old Self and the Primordial Chaos Bell.

• Senior Lin Feng warned that the being who had reached the qi refining limit-breaking hundred-thousandth layer might replace the narrator, and said the forty-thousandth layer was a safe limit.
• The narrator questioned Zero about the ancient being, received no useful answers, and left.
• At age 49, the narrator devoured five Nascent Soul True Lords, advancing qi refining limit-breaking to the thirty-two-thousandth layer and foundation establishment limit-breaking to the twenty-three-thousandth layer.
• The narrator discovered that perfected life-bound divine abilities left foreign Dao marks in Heaven and Earth, burdening its already damaged foundation.
• As Heaven and Earth began assimilating the narrator, Old Self invoked Escape One and the Primordial Chaos Bell helped restore the narrator's sense of self.

Li Ping received the fourth Future Letter, which urged him to reach the Primordial World for clues about the Fifth Group Mission and a chance to survive against Wang Hao. Past Li Ping revealed that a True Realm might appear during the mission and that such a realm was beyond the reach of Golden Finger abilities.

• Li Ping questioned Past Li Ping about the origins of Foundation Establishment limit-breaking, but neither of them knew, and he chose not to advance either form of limit-breaking.
• At age 50, Li Ping devoured five Nascent Soul True Lords, increasing his Qi Refining limit-breaking to 33,000 layers and his Foundation Establishment limit-breaking to 25,000 layers.
• Li Ping received the fourth Future Letter, which warned that Wang Hao would prevent him from learning the truth of the Fifth Group Mission and urged him to seek clues in the Primordial World.
• Past Li Ping told Li Ping that he did not know the mission's details, but expected a True Realm to appear during it.
• Past Li Ping explained that a True Realm was a higher form of transcendence, unique and impossible for Golden Finger abilities to affect.

The narrator learned that the [Supreme True Realm] was uniquely unaffected by Golden Finger abilities and that its [Otherworldly Demons] ranked above Past Li Ping. After revealing the Fourth Future Letter and explaining the plan to kill Wang Hao before the Fourth Group Mission, the narrator traveled to the [Other Shore Realm] to investigate "Zhen Yuanzi's" replacement projection, which they refined using [Light and Time].

• The narrator asked Past Li Ping how many [True Realms] existed, and he said he knew of only two, including the [Supreme True Realm].
• Past Li Ping explained that [Otherworldly Demons] from the [Supreme True Realm] ranked above him, and the narrator revealed the Fourth Future Letter's warning that Wang Hao planned to kill them during the Fourth Group Mission.
• The narrator told Past Li Ping they had to kill Wang Hao to prevent him from stopping Group Mission One, then transformed their "other self" into "Old Self" and gained the authority of [Escape One].
• The narrator used [Immortal-Settling Journey] to travel to the [Other Shore Realm] and seek information from the replacement projection of "Zhen Yuanzi" rather than going directly to the [Primordial World].
• The narrator activated the authority of [Light and Time] and refined "Zhen Yuanzi's" replacement projection to trace its past, present, and future.

After learning about Zhen Yuanzi and the Primordial World, the protagonist used [Twin Blossoms] to create a replica of Wang Hao at the cost of five thousand years of true lifespan. The replica revealed that Wang Hao could contact versions of himself across different possibilities, then announced that he had waited for this moment for a very long time.

• The protagonist learned Zhen Yuanzi's history and that the Primordial World was in the early stages of the [Journey to the West Kalpa].
• The protagonist activated [Twin Blossoms] and spent five thousand years of true lifespan to create a replica of Wang Hao.
• The protagonist ordered the replica to kneel and explain Wang Hao's golden finger, but the replica asked which Wang Hao he meant.
• The protagonist suspected that Wang Hao could contact versions of himself across different possibilities, each with a different golden finger.
• The replica Wang Hao spoke in the great Dao's voice and declared that he had waited for this moment for far too long.

Wang Hao’s copy used a scheme to force you to kneel and drain your true lifespan through Twin Blossoms, while Lin Feng intervened to nullify his Golden Finger. The chapter left you facing a vastly more powerful Wang Hao whose gaze struck through Twin Blossoms and nearly erased you.

• Wang Hao’s copy exerted an irresistible force that made you kneel, and I Am the Chess Player warned that kneeling would lead to your death.
• Lin Feng appeared in the Immortal Realm and nullified Wang Hao’s influence, freeing you from the force.
• Wang Hao revealed that his Golden Finger had already altered Twin Blossoms’ lifespan cost before Lin Feng’s nullification took effect.
• Twin Blossoms drained your remaining true lifespan and exposed you to countless Wang Haos across infinite possibilities.
• An immensely powerful Wang Hao looked at you through Twin Blossoms, nearly erasing you and leaving you in a desperate predicament.

Chen Fan tried to escape after Wang Hao’s afterimage stepped out of a possibility and pursued him toward reality. Chen Fan activated Fate Demon Dice, rolled twelve, and the afterimage vanished, leaving him safe for the moment.

• Chen Fan used I Am the Chess Player to escape Wang Hao’s fate-binding power, but Wang Hao’s afterimage stepped out of a possibility and followed him.
• Wang Hao’s golden finger ability tried to bring the afterimage into reality, and Chen Fan realized that countless Wang Haos might also be able to emerge from other possibilities.
• Chen Fan considered using his remaining trump cards, then activated Fate Demon Dice to evade the afterimage’s pursuit.
• Chen Fan rolled twelve, receiving the blessing that his life was not yet destined to end.
• The afterimage turned transparent, paused, gave Chen Fan a searching look, and vanished.

After escaping Wang Hao’s possibilities, you assessed his four powerful abilities and learned that his scheme had aimed to exhaust your trump cards. With Dao Ancestor Hongjun sealing the Primordial World and blocking your usual route there, you struggled to find another way before the fourth group mission, then had an idea.

• You returned to reality under Senior Lin Feng’s protection and reviewed what Wang Hao had revealed about his abilities to communicate with other versions of himself and anchor possibilities.
• You concluded that Wang Hao could foresee and anchor futures, turn possible selves into reality, and impose irresistible outcomes, making his Golden Finger unusually powerful.
• Your golden talent: listening revealed eight rings of intel, including that Wang Hao had planned to deplete your trump cards after learning you had copied him with Twin Blossoms.
• You learned that Wang Hao had contacted Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who sealed the Primordial World and blocked your access through Immortal-Settling Journey.
• You realized you still needed to reach the Primordial World to have a chance against Wang Hao, and I Am the Chess Player suddenly gave you an idea.

You used [Twin Blossoms] and [True-False Supreme Realm] to kill Zhen Yuanzi and replace him, finally entering the [Primordial World]. From his perspective, you surveyed its realms and factions and considered investigating Wang Hao's power.

• You spent fifteen hundred years of true lifespan to create a duplicate of Zhen Yuanzi with [Twin Blossoms].
• You used [True-False Supreme Realm] to seize and crush Zhen Yuanzi's afterimage, killing him and completing the replacement.
• You observed the [Primordial World] through Zhen Yuanzi's perspective and learned about its Mortal Realm, Immortal Realm, Underworld, and independent sanctuaries.
• You learned that the [Primordial World] was in the [Journey to the West Kalpa], with Tang Seng assembling the pilgrimage team and Wang Hao known as [Daoist Floating Light].
• You considered probing Wang Hao's true capabilities and reviewed the equivalents between the cultivation systems.

You sought the Primordial World's sliver of vitality by entering its greatest game, the Journey to the West Kalpa, as Zhen Yuanzi. After declaring yourself a Sage and freeing Sun Wukong, you changed the kalpa and left the Heavenly Dao's response unresolved.

• You asked Past Li Ping how to find the Primordial World's sliver of vitality, and he explained that only a chess piece within the game could possess one.
• You controlled Zhen Yuanzi to visit Sun Wukong beneath Five-Finger Mountain and saw how Buddhist Dharma and karma had shaped his fate.
• You reached to remove the sealing talisman, prompting Western Sage Zhunti to manifest and question your actions.
• You borrowed the power of the myriad-void primordial ancient weeping willow, declared Zhen Yuanzi a Sage, and tore away and refined the talisman.
• Sun Wukong broke free as you declared that the Journey to the West Kalpa had changed its allegiance.
• The kalpa shifted and the Heavenly Dao raged, but its brewing tribulation lightning did not descend.

Zhen Yuanzi, controlled by you, fought Zhunti and Jieyin after Dao Ancestor Hongjun manipulated them into acting, and instantly slew the Two Western Sages. They revived through the authority of heaven and earth, leaving you to consider how to destroy them for good.

• Zhunti and Jieyin realized Zhen Yuanzi’s sudden Sagehood and challenge were part of a scheme, but an irresistible power forced them to attack him.
• The battle linked the karma of the Western Region and Five-Finger Mountain, drawing the Three Pure Ones and Sovereign Wa’s attention to the contest between you and Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
• You used Inch-Square Dao Lord to erase the Two Western Sages’ attacks, immobilized them, and slew them with White Edge and Heaven-and-Earth Sword.
• Zhunti and Jieyin revived at the edge of the sky by using the authority of heaven and earth, and you realized that ordinary attacks could not erase them at the root.

Zhen Yuanzi suppressed the two Sages of the Western Region, destroyed their stronghold, and changed the Journey to the West Kalpa into a journey to eliminate Karmic Sin. He made Sun Wukong, Qingfeng, and Mingyue begin the Journey East Kalpa, while the mystery surrounding the Primordial World remained unresolved.

• Zhen Yuanzi sealed the two Sages of the Western Region with the Primordial Chaos Bell and struck Mount Sumeru with Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, wiping out the Elysium Pure Land and its powerful beings.
• Zhen Yuanzi questioned why Dao Ancestor Hongjun had not intervened and noticed that the Primordial World's apparent realm hierarchy contradicted his expectations.
• Zhen Yuanzi asked Sun Wukong to become his disciple, and Sun Wukong agreed before boundless Karmic Sin settled upon him.
• Zhen Yuanzi summoned Qingfeng and Mingyue and ordered the three to travel on foot, perform eighty-one good deeds, and then return to Five Villages Temple.
• Zhen Yuanzi set the altered Journey to the West Kalpa in motion as the Journey East Kalpa, leaving Tang Seng and the others aside.

After suppressing the Two Western Sages, Zhen Yuanzi’s duplicate visited the Three Pure Ones and took their Supreme Treasures, hoping to fuse them and uncover Wang Hao’s hidden move. The chapter ended with him suspecting that he was already caught in Wang Hao’s game.

• Zhen Yuanzi’s duplicate returned to Five Villages Temple and resolved to investigate whether Wang Hao had already acted.
• He went to Eight Views Palace and persuaded Laozi to hand over the Taiji Diagram.
• He visited Yuanshi Tianzun at Jade Void Palace and took the Pangu Banner.
• He obtained Tongtian Jiaozhu’s Zhuxian Sword Formation without asking for any more treasures.
• He activated Golden Talent: Fusion to combine the Taiji Diagram and Pangu Banner, suspecting their fusion could reveal an anomaly tied to Wang Hao’s move.

After fusing two Supreme Treasures, Chen Fan discovered that Wang Hao had turned the Primordial World into an illusory possibility and confronted him as Dao Ancestor Hongjun. Wang Hao revealed that he intended to kill Chen Fan during the fourth group mission to prevent the fifth mission from beginning.

• Chen Fan used Golden Talent: Fusion to combine two Supreme Treasures and obtained a pseudo-incomplete Heaven-Opening Axe.
• Chen Fan realized the Primordial World and its inhabitants were a possibility anchored as reality by Wang Hao, who had turned it back into an illusion when Chen Fan began using Fusion.
• Chen Fan sensed his duplicate Zhen Yuanzi becoming illusory and found Patriarch Bodhi absent from Slanted Moon Three-Star Cave.
• Chen Fan went to Zixiao Palace and confronted Wang Hao, who appeared as Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
• Wang Hao said he planned to kill Chen Fan during the fourth group mission to prevent the fifth group mission from beginning.

Wang Hao fought the duplicate Zhen Yuanzi as Dao Ancestor Hongjun, using the power of a Primordial World possibility and a projected Chaos Green Lotus. The clash severed Zhen Yuanzi’s connection to the narrator, who learned Wang Hao’s fifth ability could turn real beings into illusory possibilities.

• Wang Hao transformed into Dao Ancestor Hongjun and attacked the duplicate Zhen Yuanzi at the supreme level.
• The narrator empowered Zhen Yuanzi with the incomplete primordial spiritual root and fought Wang Hao using Huanhai, Heavenly Calamity, and multiple fruit-position mystiques.
• Wang Hao made the Primordial World possibility shatter and forcibly projected an incomplete Thirty-Six-Petal Chaos Green Lotus.
• The narrator brought out the Pseudo-Incomplete Heaven-Opening Axe, and the two treasures collided as the possibility began to collapse.
• The collision severed the narrator’s connection to the duplicate Zhen Yuanzi, and the narrator realized Wang Hao’s fifth ability turned real existences into parts of illusory possibilities.

The Simulated Clone learned that Wang Hao had sealed off his routes to survival and asked Zero for help. Zero offered a solution in exchange for the Clone’s chance to use Investment in year fifty-one, but his plan risked triggering a major battle.

• The Simulated Clone’s Listening talent revealed that Wang Hao had cut off his path to the Primordial World and prepared to kill him during the Fourth Group Mission.
• The Simulated Clone used Ten Gates to meet Zero, who demanded the Clone’s chance to use Investment one year later to grant ascension to his Strange Clown Mask.
• The Simulated Clone accepted the bargain, and Zero explained that Wang Hao wanted to reduce the Chat Group’s membership to prevent the Fifth Group Mission from beginning.
• Zero proposed that Past Shadow abandon Present Li Ping’s identity, which could prompt Past Li Ping to use the final charge of The Last Supper to resurrect Present Li Ping and spark another battle.

Chen Fan agreed to Zero’s plan to use Ascension on the Strange Clown Mask so Zero could hold off Past Li Ping, though Zero gave the plan only a sixty percent chance of success. Zero suspected Wang Hao had deduced the plan and might be encouraging the conflict, so they planned to have Past Shadow investigate his intentions; back in reality, Chen Fan received a message from Wu Yong about the Fourth Group Mission.

• Chen Fan agreed with Zero that they should try to kill the identity of Present Li Ping, despite the danger of Past Li Ping’s retaliation.
• Zero said Past Li Ping’s final use of [golden entry: the last supper] could last half an hour, and proposed that Chen Fan Ascend the Strange Clown Mask so Zero could hold him off.
• Zero estimated their chance of success at sixty percent and said there was no other option unless Chen Fan could deal with Wang Hao.
• Zero suspected Wang Hao had guessed their plan and was deliberately pushing events toward Present Li Ping’s demise, so they planned to use Past Shadow to probe his attitude.
• Chen Fan returned to reality and saw Wu Yong ask in the Chat Group whether he had found a way to face the Fourth Group Mission predicament.
• Chen Fan replied that he had no solution yet and asked whether Wu Yong was willing to help him.

Chen Fan questioned Wu Yong about a powerful Transmigrator Big Shot who offered help in exchange for studying him for ten years. After learning the Big Shot wanted to investigate Chen Fan because his Simulator could simulate him, Chen Fan rejected the offer and chose to trust Zero's plan.

• Wu Yong offered to change their previous deal, saying a Transmigrator Big Shot in the [Level Nine Civilization] would meet any demand if Chen Fan let him study him for ten years.
• Wu Yong claimed the Big Shot could face Wang Hao and Li Ping head-on and was vastly stronger than every Chat Group member.
• Wu Yong explained that the Big Shot had noticed the group after Past Li Ping used many abilities during the battle in the [Gods and Devils Realms].
• Wu Yong said the Big Shot was interested in Chen Fan because his [Simulator] could simulate the Big Shot, who then deduced he was inside a simulation.
• Wu Yong said the Big Shot would not force Chen Fan because Chen Fan was not the Simulator's original owner, and doing so would make an enemy of the original.
• Chen Fan rejected the offer and decided to trust Zero's plan instead.

At age 51, Chen Fan failed to uncover the true Primordial World and continued relying on Zero, who had reached an agreement with Wang Hao for his coming battle against Past Li Ping. After accepting Zhang Wenping’s teleport request, Chen Fan prepared to invest the Strange Clown Mask in him.

• Chen Fan reached 33,000 layers of Qi Refining Limit-Breaking and 25,000 layers of Foundation Establishment Limit-Breaking after refining five Nascent Soul True Lords.
• Zero told Chen Fan that Wang Hao would not interfere if Zero won his second great battle against Past Li Ping, but Chen Fan would face certain death if Zero lost.
• Chen Fan trusted Zero to protect him and recalled that Rainbow Talent: Ten Gates prevented Zero from directly harming its owner.
• Chen Fan told Zhang Wenping that his Golden Talent: Investment had finished cooling down and asked him to teleport to the Supreme True Realm.
• Zhang Wenping activated the Didi Stand-In function, and Chen Fan accepted his cross-realm request, bringing him into the Supreme True Realm.

Chen Fan invested the Strange Clown Mask in Zhang Wenping and received the Infinity Rules Mask, which let Zero project a fraction of its power through borrowed talent priority. Chen Fan realized Zero’s long-running scheme had reached its penultimate step, leaving the decisive final battle ahead.

• Zhang Wenping appeared, and Chen Fan used his golden talent, investment, to give him the Strange Clown Mask.
• The investment returned an Infinity Rules Mask that protected Chen Fan and allowed Zero to project a portion of its power by borrowing talent priority.
• Chen Fan examined the mask and understood how Zero had used past events and the Thousand-Lifetime Fate-Reversing Book to gain contact with reality and then alter it.
• Chen Fan concluded that Ten Gates prevented Zero from harming him and that Zero’s plan had reached its penultimate step.
• Chen Fan glanced toward the silent Past Li Ping, anticipating the decisive move in the final battle.

Past Li Ping revealed that he had long known Chen Fan’s plan to use Zero to erase Li Ping’s identity, and Zhang Wenping returned to his own world. Past Zero then appeared through the Infinity Rules Mask, ready to begin a second showdown with Past Li Ping.

• Past Li Ping told Chen Fan he had anticipated the plan involving Zero and had pretended not to know because he needed a final confrontation with Zero to reclaim Present Li Ping’s identity.
• Chen Fan agreed that Past Li Ping had been waiting for this showdown, and Past Li Ping remarked that Zero’s influence over Chen Fan was limited.
• Zhang Wenping requested to cancel his combat-proxy role and return home, and Chen Fan accepted after thanking him for his help.
• Past Li Ping told Chen Fan to leave, but a voice from the Infinity Rules Mask challenged him to begin their second round.
• Past Zero appeared and summoned the Infinity Rules Mask, which settled over his face and transformed his aura.