Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Chen Siyao and the others discover that the Main Hall’s four walls are covered with vast, layered records and murals. The archaic writing and diagrams are too complex for their small group to interpret.
• Chen contacts Han Songyue, who sends a research team from Dinghai Island. While they wait, the group records the walls and copies or studies what they can.
• More than a dozen researchers, technicians, and three eager professors arrive. They divide up to examine the walls, set up high-definition recording equipment, and begin deciphering the material.
• Chen helps Professor Li interpret the South Wall, using her knowledge of Primordial Script. One passage suggests that the Venerable—the leader of the Primordial Era’s cultivation civilization—joined the war.
• Qin Xiaoyu joins Professor Lin’s work on the East Wall, while Ye Chendong helps investigate the North Wall’s diagrams, which a professor identifies as ancient territorial maps.
• With little useful work to do, Yang Wanqing, Ying Wenjie, and Wu Tian leave to explore an eastern path. Chen stays behind, absorbed in the South Wall’s third passage.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao recognizes the limits of what she can understand alone and brings in specialists. Her Primordial Script knowledge proves valuable, earning Professor Li’s confidence and helpfully guiding his interpretation.
• Qin Xiaoyu contributes by copying characters and then assisting with the East Wall research.
• Ye Chendong methodically studies the diagrams and works with a professor to identify their purpose.
• Yang Wanqing is restless and eager to explore; she persuades Ying Wenjie and drags the hesitant Wu Tian along.
• The professors’ excitement contrasts with the explorers’ impatience: Professor Li and his colleagues rush into the hall and immediately immerse themselves in the scholarship.

Significant themes

• The scale of lost history: The walls contain enough information to occupy specialists for years, hinting at how much remains unknown about the Primordial Era and its war.
• Knowledge as collaboration: Progress depends on combining Chen’s unusual script knowledge with scholars’ expertise and modern recording technology.
• Discovery and unanswered questions: The research raises major mysteries—who won the war, what became of the Thirty-Three Heavens, and why the Primordial cultivation civilization disappeared—without yet resolving them.

Key plot points and events

• The mural reveals that the Nine Provinces’ spiritual veins gradually dried up. By Year 62,000 of the Upper Origin Calendar, cultivation there could no longer be sustained, leaving cultivators without a future.
• Many turned to the Thirty-Three Heavens, where spiritual energy remained plentiful—but it could not support everyone, and weaker cultivators could not all relocate.
• The resulting conflict divided 117 sects into two coalitions: the Jie Sect-led Alliance of Ten Thousand Laws from One Source and the Chan Sect-led Righteous Path Alliance.
• The war escalated over thousands of years: disciples fought over territories, then elders, then sect leaders. A mediation by the Heavenly Venerable of the Way and Its Virtue produced a 300-year truce, but fighting resumed because the scarcity remained unresolved.
• The conflict culminated in a battle between Heavenly Venerable Lingbao and the Heavenly Venerable of the Primordial Beginning. Their clash accelerated the already dwindling spiritual energy of the Thirty-Three Heavens tenfold.

Character developments and interactions

• Professor Li reads the mural with increasing speed and focus, piecing together the war’s chronology alongside Professor Zhou and Professor Lin.
• Chen Siyao, Qin Xiaoyu, and Ye Chendong help interpret the discoveries, while the livestream audience follows and reacts to the revelations.
• Professor Lin brings in a passage describing Lingbao’s philosophy: all beings should have an equal chance to pursue the Dao. This reframes the Jie Sect’s role as one rooted in sharing, even under desperate conditions.

Significant themes

• Scarcity and survival: The war arises from a genuine lack of spiritual energy, not simply political rivalry.
• Escalation and futility: Each side raises the stakes, but military victories and truces cannot solve the underlying shortage.
• Equality versus exclusion: Lingbao’s belief that one person should not attain the Dao at the expense of countless others contrasts with the limits imposed by scarcity.
• Self-destructive conflict: The battle meant to decide who could claim the heavens further depletes the resource both sides need.

Key plot points and events

• The professors compare the two sides’ beliefs: the Jie Sect defended everyone’s right to live, while the Chan Sect argued that scarce resources should go to the gifted. Their opposing principles fueled a ten-thousand-year war.
• By the war’s end, forty-four of the original 117 sects had been wiped out. The surviving forces faced off as damaged spiritual veins threatened to collapse and turn the Thirty-Three Heavens into a dead land.
• Neither side would yield: the Jie Sect would not abandon its disciples, and the Chan Sect would not open its doors.
• A lone, unnamed man underwent a tribulation between the armies. Both sides stopped fighting to watch, and three great Heavenly Venerables attended. After he survived eighty-one bolts of lightning and attained the Dao, seven powerful figures went to congratulate him.
• The mural records that the two alliances then ceased hostilities, but offers no explanation for why his advancement ended the war. The professors move on to study the postwar arrangements.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao studies the final mural passage closely and notices its personal, emotionally charged handwriting. She remains focused on the unnamed man even as others debate the mural.
• The man’s calm, motionless stance reminds Siyao of her brother. She quietly recognizes a resemblance but does not share her thought, instead redirecting attention to the postwar text.
• Qin Xiaoyu, Ye Chendong, and the professors question why the man’s attainment succeeded where earlier mediation had failed. The professors find no answer in the inscription.

Significant themes

• Competing ideas of justice and survival: The Jie and Chan Sects embody a conflict between universal rights and selective survival under scarcity.
• War’s cost and stalemate: Decades of destruction leave both sides and their world near ruin, yet neither can compromise.
• The power of individual presence: One person’s achievement halts a conflict that powerful leaders could not resolve, though the reason remains mysterious.
• Recognition and memory: Siyao’s association between the mural figure and her brother suggests a personal connection not yet explained.

Key plot points and events

• Researchers decipher the murals’ account of the postwar period: the Jie and Chan factions stopped fighting simultaneously, not through negotiation or victory, but after the cryptic statement, “With this path before us, what is there to fight over?”
• A second inscription reveals that in year 53,000 of the Upper Origin Calendar, all cultivators left the Nine Provinces. They also abandoned the Thirty-Three Heavens and traveled somewhere farther away. The destination is illegible, though a surviving character may refer to a “realm” or “heaven.”
• The discovery establishes that the Primordial cultivation civilization was not destroyed: it departed voluntarily. The possibility of ancient interstellar migration shocks the public, with Chen Siyao’s livestream reaching 820 million viewers.
• Chen ends the livestream and returns to Dinghai Island. She finds her brother cultivating inside the Guixu Pearl and chooses not to disturb him.
• Over the next three days, Chen returns regularly to Penglai’s Main Hall, where researchers organize the mural study into twenty-six sections for systematic copying and translation.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao remains composed amid the historic revelation, manages the livestream responsibly, and gives her colleagues and friends space to continue their work and recreation. Though she has many questions for her brother, she decides there is no need to rush him.
• Professor Li, Professor Zhao, and their teams shift from initial interpretation to methodical documentation, emphasizing careful preservation of every inscription.
• Qin Xiaoyu stays behind to copy material, while Ye Chendong assists Professor Zhao with identifying mural images.
• Yang Wanqing enjoys a spirit spring on Seventeenth Island and later reacts with excitement to the migration discovery. She jokes that Chen’s master is a “cultivation machine” after finding him still training.
• Chen and Yang’s relaxed, affectionate exchange contrasts with the immense historical significance of the findings.

Significant themes

• Civilization and voluntary departure: A seemingly vanished society may have chosen to leave rather than perish.
• The unknown beyond: The cultivators’ destination remains a mystery, widening the story’s scope beyond the Nine Provinces and the Thirty-Three Heavens.
• The limits of knowledge: Weathered inscriptions and ambiguous characters leave major questions unresolved.
• Continuity amid revelation: Even after a world-changing discovery, research, personal routines, and cultivation continue.

Plot points and events

• Chen Siyao helps Professor Li’s team translate the inscriptions on Penglai’s South and East Walls. After three days, researchers have established the broad sequence of the Primordial Era’s war and the civilization’s migration, though major sections remain to be translated.
• In her free time, Yang Wanqing explores Penglai’s islands with Ying Wenjie, collecting amusing “souvenirs,” including a glowstone she plans to use as a night-light.
• On the third evening, Chen Hao emerges from seclusion in the Guixu Pearl. Siyao notices that his already powerful aura has become deeper and more restrained.
• Siyao tells him the murals indicate that someone ended the ancient war after passing a tribulation in the Thirty-Three Heavens. She asks whether that person was him; Chen Hao confirms it.
• Asked how he stopped the Jie Sect and Chan Sect factions from fighting after ten thousand years, Chen Hao says he did not persuade them: they stopped because of what he was cultivating.
• Siyao asks about the Thirty-Three Heavens and the ancient civilization’s migration. Chen Hao says the civilization went somewhere much farther away, while the Thirty-Three Heavens are relatively close.
• Yang Wanqing persuades Chen Hao to take them there, reminding him of his earlier promise to show them the world. Siyao also wants to go, and Chen Hao agrees, telling them to choose a time.

Character developments

• Chen Siyao continues contributing her specialized cultivation knowledge to the research and begins connecting the ancient inscriptions to her brother’s past. Her suspicions about his identity are confirmed, but she respects his reluctance to explain further.
• Chen Hao returns from seclusion changed in a subtle, inward way. He acknowledges his role in ending the Primordial Era’s war but remains deliberately vague about how his cultivation affected the rival factions.
• Yang Wanqing remains energetic and curious, eagerly exploring the islands and turning the prospect of a trip into an enthusiastic request.

Character interactions

• Siyao acts as an expert resource for the professors, explaining cultivation terms they encounter in the inscriptions.
• Siyao’s careful questions lead Chen Hao to confirm he was the unnamed figure who passed the tribulation and ended the war.
• Yang Wanqing’s astonishment and follow-up questions highlight how extraordinary Chen Hao’s past is, while his calm replies reveal little.
• Yang Wanqing’s excitement prompts Chen Hao to include both her and Siyao in a future journey to the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Significant themes

• History and personal identity: Archaeological discoveries reveal that Siyao’s brother is directly tied to the ancient events she is studying.
• Power beyond force: Chen Hao ended a millennia-long conflict without persuasion or negotiation; his cultivation itself changed the situation.
• The pull of discovery: Research into the past sparks a desire to see the ancient world and its surviving realms firsthand.
• Restraint and unanswered questions: Chen Hao’s brief, composed answers leave much of his history—and the nature of his cultivation—mysterious.

Plot and events

• Chen Siyao decides to wait three days before visiting the Thirty-Three Heavens, so she can prepare questions, reference materials, and recording equipment for the research team.
• While the academics continue studying the walls and passages on Penglai’s Main Island, Siyao announces an upcoming special livestream. The news sends #ThirtyThreeHeavensSiteVisit# trending.
• Yang Wanqing eagerly prepares for the trip, packing an extravagant supply of snacks, barbecue equipment, and drinks in her Qiankun Bag. She hopes to picnic—and post about it—at the ancient site.
• On the morning of departure, Siyao starts a livestream for the public and for Professors Li, Lin, and Zhao, who plan to use the footage for research. The audience rapidly grows to over 150 million.
• Chen Hao opens a spatial passage in the living room. He enters first, followed by Siyao with the Recording Crystal and Wanqing with her packed bag. The passage closes behind them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao shows her usual practical, methodical approach: despite her excitement, she prioritizes preparation and makes the trip serve both public interest and academic research.
• Yang Wanqing is exuberant and comically focused on food and social-media-worthy experiences. Her enthusiasm contrasts with Siyao’s calm discipline, though Siyao tolerates her plans.
• Chen Hao remains quiet and decisive, creating the passage and leading the group.
• Siyao coordinates with the professors and checks that the livestream is working; the researchers are ready to study the journey’s footage.

Significant themes

• Preparation versus impulsiveness: Siyao plans carefully, while Wanqing embraces the adventure with playful, excessive enthusiasm.
• Discovery and public access: The livestream turns a rare historical site visit into an event watched by millions and a potential resource for researchers.
• The extraordinary meeting the everyday: Ancient ruins and spatial travel sit alongside snacks, barbecue plans, and social-media ambitions.

Plot points and events

• Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, and Chen Hao emerge from a Spatial Passage onto an immense, ancient-looking ice field. Siyao confirms that her phone and livestream equipment still work across realms.
• Yang Wanqing notices that the sky is dominated by an enormous planet. Siyao recognizes it as Jupiter, and the livestream audience identifies their location as Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s icy moons.
• Chen Hao confirms they are on Ganymede and calls the place the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Thirty-Three Heavens. Siyao livestreams the revelation, drawing more than two hundred million viewers.
• When Yang Wanqing asks where the gate is, Chen Hao points to a faint rise on the horizon and leads them toward it. As the women walk across the freezing ice, Yang Wanqing complains of the cold; warmth suddenly surrounds her.

Character developments

• Chen Siyao stays observant and composed, recognizing Jupiter and connecting the landscape to Ganymede. The livestream makes her a witness and communicator of the discovery.
• Yang Wanqing shifts from playful curiosity to genuine fear at Jupiter’s overwhelming scale, revealing that she has megalophobia. She then regains some composure, questions Chen Hao, and complains about the cold.
• Chen Hao remains calm and sparing with explanations, treating the enormous interplanetary distance as “not far.” He leads the group toward the gate and appears able to protect them from the cold.

Significant themes

• Myth meets physical reality: The legendary Heavenly Gate is given a concrete location on Ganymede.
• The scale of the cosmos: Jupiter’s immense presence—and the journey’s vast distance—reframes what counts as “near.”
• Discovery through technology: The livestream broadcasts a momentous revelation to a huge audience.

Character interactions

• Yang Wanqing seeks shelter behind Chen Hao when Jupiter frightens her, then confronts him about bringing them so far away.
• Siyao asks Chen Hao to confirm their location and the identity of the site; he names Ganymede and the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• Yang Wanqing asks Chen Hao for warmth, and he responds by enveloping her in heat.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, and Chen Hao reach a huge stone archway inscribed “Southern Heavenly Gate.” Its ancient rules forbid killing techniques within the gate’s territory; violators will be expelled. The gate’s formation is dead, and it is now only a ruin.
• Beyond the arch, buildings can be seen across the ice field. Chen Hao instead leads the others to a nearby mountain cave.
• Inside, they find a sealed grave and a stone stele bearing only the words “Wind and Thunder.”
• Chen Hao reveals that the occupant was his old friend, the Wind and Thunder Heavenly Dog—legendary guardian of the Southern Heavenly Gate, also known as the Howling Celestial Dog.
• The dog stayed behind after being injured and losing hope of further advancement, unwilling to burden the other cultivators. He lived alone for ten thousand years and eventually sealed himself in his own grave.
• Chen Hao places a dark-red, patterned bead before the stele. He then leaves the cave; Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing stay behind to explore a side passage.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains composed while visiting his friend’s grave, though Siyao notices him quietly steadying his emotions. His brief explanation and offering of the bead reveal grief and respect beneath his restrained manner.
• Chen Siyao takes charge of showing the livestream viewers the gate’s inscriptions and reads their meaning. She is attentive to her brother’s subtle reactions and chooses not to press him about the bead.
• Yang Wanqing shifts from her usual playful attitude to quiet sympathy, remarking on how lonely the dog must have been.
• The siblings and Yang move together through the ruins; Siyao asks Chen Hao to wait while she and Yang explore, and he agrees.

Significant themes

• Loneliness and sacrifice: The Heavenly Dog’s choice to remain behind spared others from feeling burdened but left him isolated for millennia.
• Memory and mourning: Chen Hao’s visit and offering honor a friend whose death went unwitnessed.
• Ruins of a lost civilization: The inactive gate, ancient script, and sealed tomb evoke the decline of the Primordial Era.
• Public spectacle versus private grief: The livestream audience excitedly identifies the legendary dog, while the characters’ attention centers on the personal loss behind the legend.

Key plot points and events

• In an upper cave, Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing find signs that a nonhuman creature lived there for a very long time: a worn sleeping hollow, tools made from bones, and idle claw marks.
• Chen Siyao discovers a shallow inscription in Primordial Script: “When can I return?” The find leaves both women quiet.
• Chen Hao leads them beneath Ganymede’s ice. A protective layer of spiritual energy lets them pass through the surface, and they stop about two kilometers down.
• They discover a vast, partly shaped cavern containing thirteen ice houses, remnants of an underground settlement. Chen Hao identifies its former inhabitants as Frostwing Ice Butterflies, cold-dependent spirit insects from the Thirty-Three Heavens whose clan apparently remained behind.
• Marks inside one house show that its occupants counted the days. The smallest house contains the remains of an ice butterfly, suggesting the clan is extinct.
• At the cavern’s deepest end, Chen Hao reveals a palm-sized, patterned, ice-blue oval object nestled in a recess. The chapter ends before its nature is explained.

Character developments

• Chen Siyao carefully documents the discoveries and tries to interpret their history, responding with growing solemnity to evidence of prolonged isolation and loss.
• Yang Wanqing is unusually subdued, especially after seeing the lonely inscription and the day-counting marks. She stays close to Siyao during the descent.
• Chen Hao remains reserved and decisive, guiding the group to the hidden settlement and explaining the butterflies’ background without revealing his full purpose.

Significant themes

• Isolation and longing: The inscription and day-counting marks suggest the inhabitants endured a long wait, possibly hoping to return somewhere.
• Extinction and abandonment: The ruined homes and preserved remains make the settlement feel like the last trace of a vanished people.
• Memory and discovery: Siyao’s recordings preserve evidence of lives otherwise lost, while the final object hints that the past may still hold something undiscovered.

Character interactions

• Siyao and Yang examine the upper cave together; Yang’s quiet reaction to the inscription contrasts with her usual talkativeness.
• Siyao reassures Yang that the descent is safe after Chen Hao passes through the ice, and the two follow him together.
• The group discusses the settlement’s former residents as they explore; Siyao and Yang observe the homes and remains while Chen Hao leads them onward.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao, Chen Siyao, and Yang Wanqing discover a living Ice Butterfly pupa preserved in an icy recess. Its cracked shell and fading color suggest it may not survive.
• Chen Hao explains that the pupa needs intense cold spiritual energy to hatch, but its environment has weakened. A Flame Spirit Stone could force it to transform sooner, though success is uncertain.
• Yang Wanqing vows to save it, names it “Little Ice,” and carries it in an empty thermos to keep its temperature stable.
• The group leaves the ice and passes through the Southern Heavenly Gate, finding a large, ancient military city frozen in ruins.
• The city shows extensive signs of battle: collapsed walls and buildings, broken weapons, scorch marks, blade cuts, and spell-made pits. Chen Siyao identifies some damage as attacks from outside the walls. Yang Wanqing notices that nearby buildings appear to have collapsed in different directions, suggesting a more complicated battle than a straightforward assault.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Wanqing shifts from delight at finding the pupa to determined protectiveness, despite the low odds of saving it. Her improvised thermos “nursery” and early naming of Little Ice provide comic warmth.
• Chen Siyao is observant and practical: she recognizes the pupa’s poor condition and carefully reads the evidence of the city’s destruction. She gently questions Yang Wanqing’s impulsive plan.
• Chen Hao offers expert guidance about the pupa and leads the group onward, but leaves the rescue decision to Yang Wanqing.
• The livestream audience reacts with amazement to the surviving pupa and jokes about its unusual home.

Significant themes

• Life and preservation: The pupa’s survival after ten thousand years is miraculous, yet its future remains uncertain.
• Care and responsibility: Yang Wanqing’s choice to adopt Little Ice turns discovery into a personal commitment.
• History preserved in ruins: The frozen city retains physical evidence of an ancient conflict, inviting the group to reconstruct what happened.
• Humor amid danger: The thermos and naming jokes lighten the mood before the ominous discovery of the ruined city.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao finds a pre-battle inscription stating that 36,000 troops were stationed at the Southern Heavenly Gate under the Primordial Beginning Heavenly Venerable, identifying the ruined city as a Chan Sect outpost.
• This supports Professor Li’s team’s reading of the South Wall mural: the Chan Sect controlled the Thirty-Three Heavens, while the Jie Sect launched repeated attacks against them. The discovery sparks a fierce argument in the livestream chat over which sect was justified.
• Siyao calms the debate, reminding viewers that the war lasted more than ten thousand years and cannot be judged from one battle. She urges them to follow the broader history of the civilization.
• In the city’s central district, the group finds a damaged Main Hall and a mysterious circular platform. Chen Hao declines to explain it until the next day, leaving Siyao curious.
• As night falls under Jupiter’s shadow, Chen Hao produces a miniature pavilion and expands it into a fully furnished, three-story lodging. Siyao and Yang Wanqing settle in, then enjoy a barbecue on the terrace while Jupiter hangs above the ruins. Chen Hao remains downstairs, brewing tea.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao shows care and restraint: she seeks evidence before drawing conclusions, handles the chat’s sectarian dispute thoughtfully, and respects the ruined homes by not wanting to sleep in them. She also notes the unexplained platform for later.
• Yang Wanqing brings warmth and humor to the expedition. She jokes with Siyao, enthusiastically praises Chen Hao’s pavilion, and turns their unusual stay into a cheerful barbecue and livestream moment.
• Chen Hao remains quiet and enigmatic. He guides the group through the city, withholds details about the platform, and provides comfortable shelter through his portable pavilion.
• Siyao and Wanqing share relaxed, affectionate banter; the livestream audience shifts from heated historical argument to playful reactions to their meal.

Significant themes

• Historical complexity: The chapter resists reducing a long war to a simple question of good and evil; competing claims require understanding the whole civilization.
• Evidence and interpretation: An inscription changes the apparent story of the battle, while leaving the larger moral judgment unresolved.
• Life amid ancient ruins: The characters balance respect for the dead and their homes with the practical need to rest.
• Contrast between grandeur and ordinary life: A vast, desolate moon, ancient ruins, and Jupiter’s immense presence form the backdrop to a simple, convivial meal.

Key plot points and events

• While eating barbecue among the ruins of Ganymede’s ancient city, Yang Wanqing reflects on the people who died there ten thousand years ago. Chen Siyao confirms that many perished, but Wanqing chooses to set the thought aside and enjoy their meal.
• The next day, Chen Siyao identifies a patterned metal platform in the city center as a teleportation formation. Chen Hao explains that it connects Ganymede—the Southern Heavenly Gate—to the Thirty-Three Heavens inside Jupiter.
• Though the formation is intact, it normally requires a magical treasure to activate. Chen Hao channels spiritual power into it directly, opening a light gate.
• Chen Hao, Chen Siyao, and Yang Wanqing cross over and arrive on a jade platform suspended above an immense sea of clouds. A stone bridge leads toward floating palaces, while immortal cranes fly in the distance.
• The livestream audience and researchers are stunned by the discovery, recognizing the place as the Heavenly Court described in ancient tales.

Character developments

• Yang Wanqing briefly confronts the human cost of the ancient ruins, then deliberately turns back to the present. At the Heavenly Court, she is overwhelmed by the sight.
• Chen Siyao remains observant and prepared: she identifies the formation, checks that her recording equipment is working, and makes sure Wanqing stays close.
• Chen Hao reveals his knowledge of the celestial realm and demonstrates exceptional power by activating the formation without a magical treasure.

Significant themes

• Myth becoming reality: The Thirty-Three Heavens and Heavenly Court are revealed as actual structures within Jupiter’s atmosphere.
• Wonder and discovery: The characters’ arrival transforms ancient records and legends into tangible evidence.
• Memory and mortality: Wanqing’s reflection on the vanished city’s inhabitants underscores the human tragedy behind the ruins.

Character interactions

• Wanqing shares her thoughts about the dead with Siyao, who answers plainly but lets her decide to move on.
• Siyao and Wanqing question Chen Hao about the platform; he explains its purpose and leads them through it.
• Siyao looks after Wanqing during the crossing, while the livestream audience and researchers react collectively to the revelation.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing cross an extensive network of stone bridges and floating palaces above a vast sea of clouds, marveling at the beauty and scale of the Thirty-Three Heavens.
• They encounter a celestial crane. Chen Siyao studies its unusual, apparently nonordinary body, while Yang Wanqing tries to pet it. The crane escapes with a powerful beat of its wings.
• After hours of travel, they reach the largest palace complex. Chen Siyao reads its plaque: “Heaven of Parting Sorrow, Tushita Palace.”
• She identifies it as the residence of the Heavenly Venerable of the Way and Its Virtue—the Supreme Old Lord. Excited by the legendary association with immortal pills, Yang Wanqing slips through the half-open gates to explore.

Character developments

• Chen Siyao remains composed and analytical, responding to the realm’s wonders with careful observation and scientific reasoning. Her awe is evident, but curiosity guides her decisions.
• Yang Wanqing is openly enthusiastic and impulsive. She delights in touching the clouds, approaches the crane, and rushes into the palace at the prospect of finding legendary pills.

Significant themes

• Wonder and discovery: The pair’s journey reveals a realm far more magnificent and extensive than their expectations.
• Science meeting myth: Chen Siyao interprets the crane through spiritual energy and unfamiliar forms of matter, while Yang Wanqing frames the palace through familiar legends.
• Curiosity and caution: Their contrasting reactions—careful investigation versus eager exploration—shape how they encounter the unknown.

Character interactions

• Yang Wanqing repeatedly shares discoveries with Chen Siyao, who responds with measured observations and occasional teasing.
• The crane’s wary escape interrupts Yang Wanqing’s attempt to touch it, prompting lighthearted amusement.
• At the palace, Yang Wanqing’s excitement contrasts with Chen Siyao’s skepticism about finding immortal pills.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing explore Tusita Palace, while Chen Hao stays in the central courtyard to drink tea.
• In the Pill Chamber, they discover the enormous, well-preserved Bagua Furnace and shelves of valuable metal ingots and other refining materials.
• Yang Wanqing, excited by the chance to use such rare materials, chooses several ingredients and tries to start refining an artifact.
• Her charcoal fire fails to heat the furnace. Chen Siyao suggests that the Bagua Furnace requires spiritual fire—likely Samadhi True Fire—rather than ordinary flame.
• Yang Wanqing rushes off to find her master and ask him to ignite it. Chen Siyao remains behind to study bamboo slips.

Character developments

• Yang Wanqing shows growing confidence in her artifact-refining studies: she recognizes and selects materials competently, but learns that ordinary methods are inadequate for an extraordinary furnace.
• Chen Siyao demonstrates her knowledge and practical reasoning, identifying why the furnace does not respond.
• Chen Hao appears relaxed and familiar with the palace, treating the visit as an opportunity for tea rather than exploration.

Significant themes

• Learning through practice: Yang Wanqing’s enthusiasm leads her to test her skills, and the failed attempt reveals the limits of what she has learned.
• The importance of matching tools to power: A supreme artifact demands a fire source equal to its level; ordinary materials and methods cannot activate it.
• Contrast between awe and familiarity: Yang and Siyao explore the palace with curiosity, while Chen Hao’s casual tea-drinking suggests prior familiarity.

Character interactions

• Yang Wanqing eagerly pulls Chen Siyao toward the Pill Chamber and later shares her excitement about refining an artifact.
• Chen Siyao supports Yang’s attempt and diagnoses the furnace’s likely need for Samadhi True Fire.
• Yang praises Chen Siyao’s insight, then hurries away to seek her master, asking Siyao to wait for her.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao discovers bamboo scrolls containing the Supreme Old Lord’s disciple’s notes on cultivation, artifact refining, and alchemy. Recognizing their value, she preserves the surviving scrolls and records the chamber and Bagua Furnace for Blue Star’s Research Institute.
• Yang Wanqing finds Chen Hao in the palace plaza and asks him to help light the Bagua Furnace so she can try artifact refining. He agrees, despite believing her current skills are not suited to the rare, high-grade materials she has chosen.
• Chen Siyao asks permission to take the scrolls. Chen Hao says the palace’s contents are ownerless and may be taken, prompting excited reactions from the livestream audience.
• At the furnace, Chen Hao forms a compact fire from three colored flames and sends it into the fire inlet. The Bagua Furnace awakens, its trigram carvings glowing as it rapidly becomes intensely hot. Chen Hao shields Yang Wanqing from the heat.

Character developments

• Chen Siyao shows scholarly curiosity and care, preserving ancient knowledge and ensuring it can benefit both her companions and researchers on Blue Star.
• Yang Wanqing is eager to experiment and learn artifact refining, even though her choices may exceed her ability.
• Chen Hao remains casual and indulgent toward his disciple’s ambitions, while demonstrating immense control through his effortless ignition of the ancient furnace.

Significant themes

• Preserving and sharing knowledge: The scrolls offer insight into lost techniques, while Chen Siyao’s recordings connect ancient discoveries to modern research.
• Ancient inheritance and opportunity: The abandoned palace’s treasures could transform the knowledge and resources available to the explorers and Blue Star.
• Mentorship and learning through practice: Chen Hao permits Yang Wanqing to try despite the risk of wasting materials, favoring experience over discouragement.

Character interactions

• Chen Siyao shares her discovery with the group and asks Chen Hao to let her take the scrolls; he readily gives permission.
• Yang Wanqing persuades Chen Hao to help with her refining attempt. He first asks what she intends to make, then accompanies her and lights the furnace.
• Chen Siyao steps back from Chen Hao’s concentrated flames, while Chen Hao protects Yang Wanqing from the furnace’s sudden heat.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao lights the Bagua Furnace with Samadhi True Fire for Yang Wanqing, then waits outside with tea.
• Yang discovers she cannot directly control the fire: her attempt to connect with it rebounds painfully. She studies the furnace instead and learns to regulate its heat by adjusting its eight vents.
• Her first ingot burns and warps; her second softens too slowly, then crumbles when she raises the heat. Undeterred, she keeps trying through the morning and afternoon.
• Chen Siyao spends the day cataloguing bamboo slips and transmitting their contents to researchers on Blue Star. At last, after nearly eight hours, Yang produces a dark-red dagger decorated with starlight sand. The chapter ends as its craftsmanship is revealed.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Wanqing shows patience, ingenuity, and extraordinary persistence. She adapts when familiar methods fail, learning to work with the furnace indirectly rather than control its flames. Her focus is so intense that she skips lunch—unusual for someone who loves food.
• Chen Hao provides the fire and then leaves Yang to work independently, relaxed and confident.
• Chen Siyao quietly supports both the research effort and Yang: she documents the slips, brings Yang water, and sets food within reach without interrupting her concentration.
• The women briefly exchange comments about Yang’s repeated failures; Siyao’s calm, practical support contrasts with Yang’s frustration and determination.

Significant themes

• Persistence through failure: Yang’s repeated mistakes do not stop her; steady effort and learning lead to progress.
• Adaptation and practical ingenuity: When direct control is impossible, Yang finds a workable approach by adjusting the furnace vents.
• Different forms of dedication: Yang’s hands-on craftwork and Siyao’s careful scholarship both contribute to the group’s work.

Plot points and events

• After a full day at the Bagua Furnace, Yang Wanqing finishes a dagger but believes she has failed: it has no spiritual channels, formations, or other artifact properties.
• Chen Siyao reassures her that the furnace and Samadhi True Fire are far beyond her current ability to control, making precise refining unusually difficult.
• Chen Hao identifies the metal as taiyi gold essence, a rare, exceptionally difficult material. He explains that fewer than a hundred refiners in the Primordial Era could work with it—and Yang Wanqing shaped it into a dagger on her sixth attempt.
• Chen Hao praises her skill, saying a sect in the Primordial Era would have accepted her as a core disciple. Encouraged, Yang Wanqing eagerly stores the remaining rare materials for later and then practices with a lower-grade material.
• Chen Siyao finishes filming and checking the Bamboo Slip records. The next day, the group begins exploring other parts of Tusita Palace; at the Heavenly Gate, she discovers and records plans for a formation-based defense system.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Wanqing moves from discouragement and self-doubt to excitement and renewed confidence after learning what she accomplished. Her enthusiasm leads her to collect the remaining materials and keep practicing.
• Chen Siyao supports Yang Wanqing by identifying the real obstacle and reminding her to eat. She also asks Chen Hao how exceptional Yang Wanqing’s performance truly was.
• Chen Hao offers a rare, authoritative appraisal of Yang Wanqing’s talent, explaining why her result is impressive rather than inadequate.

Significant themes

• Perspective and self-assessment: A disappointing result can look very different when the difficulty of the task is understood.
• Tools and skill: Even talent has limits when the equipment and materials exceed the user’s control.
• Encouragement and perseverance: Honest reassurance restores Yang Wanqing’s confidence and motivates her to continue learning.
• Preserving knowledge: Chen Siyao’s recording of the palace’s discoveries supports the group’s broader exploration and documentation.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing finish exploring Tushita Palace’s remaining buildings. They salvage records from the Profound Canon Terrace and collect several valuable metals from the Five Materials Palace; most other materials and supplies are gone.
• From a stone bridge, Chen Siyao spots a palace complex far larger than Tushita Palace and leads the group toward it. Its position in the densely built central area suggests it may be exceptionally important.
• They reach a vast plaza and an imposing palace entrance. The plaque identifies the site as Jade Void Hall, not the expected Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
• Inside, they find a spacious Main Hall with a raised dais, a stone conference table, and seven chairs marked with distinct emblems. Chen Siyao recognizes the arrangement as a meeting place rather than a ruler’s throne.
• The emblems suggest the seven chairs represent seven sects. Chen Siyao finds a jade tablet set into the table and stone records in wall niches, beginning to examine them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao remains observant and methodical: she identifies the palace’s likely functions, interprets the hall’s layout, and directs the exploration.
• Yang Wanqing is enthusiastic about discovering and collecting materials, and shares the group’s curiosity about the enormous palace.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing work closely together, comparing observations and reasoning about the site. Yang Wanqing quickly understands Chen Siyao’s suggestion that the largest complex might be the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
• Chen Hao walks ahead with familiarity, suggesting he has taken this route before.
• The livestream audience speculates about the palace’s identity, first expecting the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and then recognizing the significance of Jade Void Hall.

Significant themes

• Ruins and lost history: The palace’s emptied rooms, dried pool, and surviving records evoke a once-thriving civilization reduced to remnants.
• Discovery through evidence: The characters infer the site’s purpose from architecture, inscriptions, and symbols rather than relying on assumptions.
• Collective authority: The seven chairs and shared table suggest governance or deliberation among allied sects, rather than rule by a single sovereign.
• Expectation versus reality: The group anticipates the Heavenly Emperor’s hall but finds a different center of power associated with the Chan Sect.

1. Key plot points and events

• In the Jade Void Hall’s Main Hall, Chen Siyao examines Stone Scrolls documenting how the Chan Sect’s seven branches took turns administering the Thirty-Three Heavens.
• The records span nearly 300,000 years under the Taiqing calendar and reach back another 60,000 years into the Chaos Origin Era. Chen estimates the Chan Sect governed for at least 100,000 years, possibly far longer.
• She films and documents the scrolls, emblems, and administrative records for the livestream and research teams, prompting astonishment among viewers and scholars.
• While Chen works, Yang Wanqing explores the surrounding halls. In the Archives Office, she finds official letters written on thin jade sheets and a bamboo cage.
• Yang realizes the cage was likely used to hold messenger cranes. Chen confirms the idea: immortal cranes carried documents between the halls.

2. Character developments

• Chen Siyao demonstrates scholarly focus and professionalism, carefully recording a vast trove of evidence despite the scale of the task. Her discoveries deepen her awareness of how ancient and durable Primordial Era civilization was.
• Yang Wanqing proves observant and imaginative. Rather than being absorbed by the records, she explores independently and connects the cage, letters, and immortal cranes into a plausible system of communication.

3. Significant themes

• Civilizational scale and longevity: A government operating for hundreds of thousands of years dwarfs modern human history and challenges familiar ideas about civilization.
• Institutional continuity: The Chan Sect’s long-running administrative rotation system suggests exceptional stability across generations.
• Ancient organization and technology: The halls, archives, official correspondence, and crane messengers reveal a sophisticated administrative infrastructure.
• Discovery through different approaches: Chen’s systematic research and Yang’s curious, intuitive exploration uncover complementary aspects of the past.

4. Character interactions

• Chen asks Yang to help film the scroll, but Yang soon realizes she cannot assist with the detailed cataloguing and goes exploring.
• Yang interrupts Chen’s work and insists she come see the Archives Office. Chen is reluctant to leave the records but follows after Yang pulls her along.
• Together they identify the likely purpose of the bamboo cage, with Yang prompting Chen to infer that immortal cranes served as couriers.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao discovers crane-shaped marks on jade slips, indicating that spirit cranes served as the primordial civilization’s letter carriers.
• In the records room, she finds seven dark, circular Roundlight Mirrors and logs of rapid exchanges between sects. She infers that the mirrors enabled long-distance, likely two-way communication.
• In a nearby chamber, she and Yang Wanqing find labeled controls for lighting, music, and banquet services. The controls no longer work because the spiritual-power supply has failed.
• A jade-board menu appears to let users select dishes and quantities, then transport food directly to a banquet hall.
• Chen opens a door marked “Beast Garden” and finds animal compartments. Most are empty, but three contain creatures; the first is a horse-sized, deer-like being made of condensed spiritual energy.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao methodically interprets the records and devices, connecting their functions to communication systems and automated services while documenting her discoveries.
• Yang Wanqing is exuberant and quick to compare what they find to modern phones, light switches, and food delivery. Her excitement contrasts with Chen’s measured analysis.
• They work together: Yang spots the chamber and its devices, while Chen explains their likely purpose. Their discoveries also prompt lively reactions from the online chat and a cautious clarification from Professor Li’s team that functional similarities do not mean the civilizations worked by the same principles.

Significant themes

• Primordial ingenuity: The civilization had organized delivery, instant communication, and automated conveniences.
• Different paths to similar functions: Spiritual-power systems resemble modern technologies in what they do, though their underlying principles differ.
• Ruins and lost infrastructure: The silent devices and drained power system reveal the gap between the civilization’s former sophistication and its abandoned state.