Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Fuxi is shocked to learn that countless masses of resentful qi—left behind by the Three Thousand Demon Gods slain by Pangu—are gathering outside the Primordial World. Each is roughly saint-level, and their numbers keep growing, threatening to break through the world’s barrier.
• Hongjun explains that the Primordial World must unite to destroy them before the barrier fails. Fuxi notes that the Human Race’s Quasi-Saints cannot meaningfully fight saint-level enemies.
• Hongjun announces that he will temporarily lift the suppression preventing Quasi-Saints from advancing. He also bans warfare among all races, threatening extermination for anyone who defies the decree.
• Fuxi agrees to mobilize the Human Race’s Quasi-Saints, even if forcing breakthroughs damages their foundations. He sees the crisis as one no race can escape and refuses to stand aside.
• Hongjun says other realms will join the effort, including the Demon Realm, Buddhist Realm, Immortal Realm, and Netherworld Office. He is willing to let the Earthly Dao expand in exchange for Lady Pingxin’s help.
• The Lord of Fate adds that he will compel the Quasi-Saints of the Immortal Realm and Buddhist Sect to break through. The Three Pure Ones have also invited the Heavenly Court to join the Immortal Court.

Character developments and interactions

• Fuxi moves from shock and concern to firm resolve. Though he recognizes that forced advancement may harm his people, he accepts the cost to give the Human Race a chance to survive.
• Hongjun takes an unusually conciliatory, all-out approach, relaxing long-standing restrictions and seeking aid from powers he has previously kept in check.
• The Lord of Fate reveals his influence over the other realms and takes responsibility for ensuring their forces are prepared.
• Fuxi, Hongjun, and the Lord of Fate share a grave understanding that survival now depends on cooperation across races and realms.

Significant themes

• Collective survival over self-interest: The crisis threatens everyone, making neutrality impossible.
• Sacrifice and coercion: Quasi-Saints may be pushed into dangerous, potentially damaging breakthroughs for the greater good.
• Unity in crisis: Old rivalries and political limits are set aside as rival realms are drawn into a common defense.
• The cost of power and leadership: Fuxi accepts responsibility for decisions that may harm his own people because he believes their survival—and the world’s—depends on them.

Key plot points

• The Lord of Fate explains that the Immortal Realm and Buddha Realm are under his control, and that the Heavenly Court has also joined the Immortal Realm. The Court’s sheltered but powerful cultivators could become a major force if they attain Sainthood.
• Heavenly Dao Hongjun is irritated that the Heavenly Court has long avoided contributing to the Primordial World, but recognizes that he cannot move against it while it is under Fate’s protection.
• Fate reveals privately that he had steered Haotian into joining the Immortal Realm, showing that he has quietly managed his own forces.
• The characters consider the Demon Emperor’s growing influence, especially the possibility that he could reach the ninth heaven of the Saint Realm. They see Devil Ancestor Luo Hou, lord of the Demon Realm, as a possible ally against him.
• Alarmed by the Resentment Aggregates and the danger they pose, Fuxi urges everyone to return to the Primordial World and hasten powerful cultivators’ breakthroughs. Heavenly Dao agrees, threatening anyone who refuses.
• The three return to the Primordial World to prepare.

Character developments and interactions

• Lord of Fate is revealed as a subtle strategist who has quietly shaped events and commands vast influence across realms.
• Heavenly Dao Hongjun shifts from resentment toward the Heavenly Court to urgent action. His resolve stems from personal survival: if the Primordial World falls, he—the world’s own Heavenly Dao—will perish. He longs for a breakthrough but has no clear path to one.
• Fuxi feels the danger acutely and pushes for immediate action.
• The Demon Emperor is treated as a looming threat because his potential advancement could make him too powerful for Fate and Heavenly Dao to contain.
• Fate and Heavenly Dao share concern about the Demon Emperor, but their thoughts remain strategic and self-interested; both weigh Luo Hou’s usefulness as an ally.

Significant themes

• Power and political maneuvering: Alliances and hidden influence matter as much as cultivation strength.
• Survival and self-interest: Each major figure has different stakes in the Primordial World’s fate, with Hongjun most directly bound to its survival.
• Ambition and frustration: Hongjun’s effort to advance cannot overcome his lack of a breakthrough path.
• Impending catastrophe: The Resentment Aggregates force former rivals to consider cooperation and urgent preparation.

Key plot points

• The Lord of Fate takes Devil Ancestor Luo Hou to the Immortal and Buddha Realms, forcing Quasi-Saints to attempt breakthroughs to Sainthood regardless of the damage to their foundations. He values results over their welfare.
• Heavenly Dao Hongjun brings Human Sovereign Fuxi to the Purple Heavens Palace, explaining that its unique connection to the Heavenly Dao lets it summon powerful beings from across the Primordial World. He plans to gather all Quasi-Saints there and have Fuxi relay the summons to the Human Path.
• In the palace’s core, the Heavenly Dao Space, Fuxi discovers that Hongjun can monitor beings throughout the Primordial World, including the Lord of Fate’s so-called Children of Fate.
• Hongjun reveals that he has long permitted the Human Race’s rise and its resistance to the Heavenly Dao. He sees the Human Race as a means to strengthen the Primordial World and eventually help it grow beyond its current limits.
• Hongjun proposes that the Human Race and Heavenly Dao should be allies. Fuxi, however, concludes that the Heavenly Dao treats all races as pieces in its plans: the Human Race is a valuable one to cultivate, while the other races may ultimately be sacrificed.

Character developments and interactions

• Hongjun presents himself as a far-sighted, pragmatic force, revealing that he has watched and shaped events across multiple eras. His methods differ from the Lord of Fate’s, but both prioritize outcomes over individual lives.
• Fuxi begins concerned about leaving the Human Race unattended and wary of Hongjun’s motives. After learning the Heavenly Dao has supported the Human Race’s development, he becomes more aware of the scale of its manipulation—and distrustful of its offer of friendship.
• Hongjun and Fuxi share a candid exchange: Hongjun explains his long-term purpose and seeks cooperation, while Fuxi listens but privately recognizes that the proposed alliance rests on the Human Race’s usefulness to the Heavenly Dao.

Significant themes

• Power and manipulation: Both the Lord of Fate and the Heavenly Dao treat powerful beings as instruments for achieving larger goals.
• Growth through resistance: Hongjun argues that opposition to the Heavenly Dao can help the Human Race grow stronger.
• Competing visions of the world: The Human Race’s drive to improve contrasts with the other races’ stagnation, making it central to Hongjun’s plan for the Primordial World.
• Trust versus self-interest: Hongjun calls for alliance, but Fuxi sees that cooperation may be conditional—and that the other races could pay the price.

Plot points and events

• Heavenly Dao Hongjun explains that he summoned Fuxi to the Purple Heavens Palace because it can gather powerful beings from across the Primordial World without the immense cost of transporting them individually. He intends to summon all Quasi-Saints, including the Human Race, so they can advance more quickly.
• Fuxi wants to return to oversee the Human Race, but Hongjun assures him the Human Path will be informed and that Fuxi should remain to prevent conflict between the Human Race and the other races.
• Hongjun takes Fuxi to the palace’s core, the Heavenly Dao Space. Through it, Fuxi can observe living beings and events throughout the Primordial World, learning that the palace was central to Hongjun’s former control of the world.
• Hongjun reveals that he has long monitored the “Children of Fate” and that the Human Race’s rise—including the founding of the Human Path—occurred with his tacit approval.
• Hongjun explains that repeated world-ending tribulations have made him seek a way for the Primordial World to grow stronger rather than perish and be remade. He sees the Human Race as a seed for that future: its growth can strengthen the world and eventually enable it to reach beyond itself.
• He proposes that the Human Race and Heavenly Dao become allies. Fuxi leaves the conversation unsettled, recognizing that Hongjun regards the Human Race as a useful, powerful instrument and that the other races may be expendable.

Character developments

• Fuxi shifts from urgency and suspicion to shock and reluctant understanding. He learns that Hongjun has watched over the Human Race’s development, but the revelation also deepens his fear of the Heavenly Dao’s control.
• Hongjun presents himself not simply as an adversary of the Human Race but as a strategic patron. His stated goal is to strengthen the Primordial World, though his language and worldview reveal a cold, manipulative side.

Significant themes

• Control and freedom: The Purple Heavens Palace lets Hongjun observe the world, raising doubts about how much anyone’s choices are truly their own.
• Growth through resistance: Hongjun argues that opposition to the Heavenly Dao can help the Human Race grow stronger.
• Survival, destruction, and renewal: After witnessing repeated world-ending calamities, Hongjun hopes to make the Primordial World stronger through the development of its inhabitants.
• Instrumental alliance: Hongjun’s offer of friendship is grounded in shared interests, not equality or pure goodwill; the Human Race is valuable because it can advance his larger goal.

Character interactions

• Fuxi initially asks to leave for the Human Race, but Hongjun persuades him to stay and act as a mediator when the races gather.
• Hongjun guides Fuxi through the Heavenly Dao Space and discloses the extent of his surveillance and involvement in the Human Race’s history.
• Fuxi questions why Hongjun supported a race that resisted him. Hongjun answers that such resistance and continued growth serve the Primordial World—and therefore the Heavenly Dao—while offering the Human Race an alliance.

Key plot points and events

• Fuxi accepts that the Human Race must cooperate with Heavenly Dao Hongjun, since the Demon Emperor is absent and Hongjun offers powerful protection.
• Hongjun promises to back the Human Race and, once the Primordial World’s crisis is resolved, allow it to unify the world and eliminate the Ten Thousand Clans.
• Fuxi agrees that the immediate priority is fighting the Resentment Aggregates, which requires the Ten Thousand Clans’ help.
• Hongjun uses his power to gather the Primordial World’s Quasi-Saint experts and transport them to the Purple Heavens Palace.
• Addressing the gathered cultivators, Hongjun criticizes their weakness and announces that Heavenly Dao suppression of the Saint Realm will end, allowing Quasi-Saints to break through. Those seeking the Heavenly Dao’s help may approach him.

Character developments and interactions

• Fuxi shifts from wary dependence to hopeful cooperation, encouraged by Hongjun’s promise. He prioritizes the crisis over conflict with the Ten Thousand Clans.
• Hongjun presents himself as the Human Race’s protector, but his private motive is self-preservation: he fears the Demon Emperor’s future power and is making plans for the coming struggle.
• The gathered Quasi-Saints initially fear they have been attacked, then recognize the Purple Heavens Palace and look for Hongjun. Their uncertainty turns to submission when he appears and addresses them.

Significant themes

• Political bargains and hidden motives: Hongjun’s alliance offers the Human Race a future advantage, while also serving his own survival.
• Pragmatism in crisis: Fuxi accepts cooperation with rivals because the Resentment Aggregates pose a more urgent threat.
• Power and dependence: Hongjun’s effortless command over the Quasi-Saints demonstrates the vast gap between their strength and his authority.
• Ambition and delayed conflict: The promise of Human supremacy is postponed until after the crisis, foreshadowing future war with the Ten Thousand Clans.

Key plot points

• Heavenly Dao Hongjun announces that the Heavenly Dao’s suppression has been lifted so Quasi-Saints can reach the Saint Realm. He explains that a forced breakthrough will slow later cultivation while the cultivator stabilizes their foundation; a free breakthrough avoids that drawback.
• The apparent gift is revealed to be compulsory: everyone gathered must break through because the Primordial World faces an imminent crisis. They have at most ten years to break through freely; anyone who fails must use the Heavenly Dao to force advancement.
• Hongjun withholds details of the threat until they reach the Saint Realm, insisting that only Sages will be useful. He promises generous merit—and potentially a Sage Position—to those who help.
• The assembled cultivators protest, fearing damaged foundations, coercion, and being sent to die. Some would rather remain Quasi-Saints or return home.
• Fuxi confirms that the crisis threatens the Primordial World’s destruction and that every expert at Quasi-Saint level or above, including the existing Sages, must participate.

Character developments and interactions

• Hongjun shifts from presenting advancement as an opportunity to imposing it as a duty. His promise of Sage Positions also serves his aim of building a new power base, since he finds the existing Sages difficult to command and believes the Lord of Fate has gained influence over them.
• Xuanyuan, the new Human Sovereign, asks practical questions about the deadline, forced breakthroughs, and the danger ahead. Hongjun praises his adaptability and leadership.
• Fuxi worries that the reward may tempt members of the Human Race into danger. He has told them to stay quiet and uses Xuanyuan to speak for them; later, he solemnly presses Hongjun to confirm the scale of the threat.
• The gathered Quasi-Saints respond with fear and resentment, while Xuanyuan and Fuxi try to clarify the situation and represent their concerns.

Significant themes

• Coercion versus choice: Advancement is framed as a blessing, but the deadline and forced breakthrough make it compulsory.
• Power and sacrifice: The Heavenly Dao demands that cultivators risk their foundations and lives for the world’s survival.
• Political maneuvering: Hongjun’s rewards are tied to his effort to create a loyal group of Sages and counter the Lord of Fate’s influence.
• Leadership under pressure: Xuanyuan’s tact and Fuxi’s caution contrast with the crowd’s panic.

Key plot points and events

• Human Sovereign Fuxi announces that the Human Race will support the coming breakthroughs. Their many previously concealed Quasi-Saints reveal themselves, astonishing Hongjun and alarming the Ten Thousand Clans.
• The other races realize that the Human Race’s strength and unity far exceed their assumptions. Some accuse it of trying to dominate the Primordial World and eliminate other races.
• Fuxi confronts the accusers, but Hongjun rebukes the Human Race for its arrogance and asserts his authority over the Primordial World.
• Hongjun declares that the Human Race must rely on the newly established Human Path for its breakthroughs; the Heavenly Dao will not assist them. This contradicts the arrangement Fuxi expected.
• Fuxi accepts the decision without escalating the conflict, reasoning that strengthening the Human Race matters more than seeking Hongjun’s help. He reflects on the difficulty of achieving Saint-level power through individual cultivation and hopes a Human expert will eventually do so independently.

Character developments and interactions

• Fuxi shifts from bold, confrontational leader to a measured pragmatist when Hongjun intervenes. He restrains the Human experts and chooses not to argue, while remaining determined to protect and strengthen his people.
• Hongjun moves from admiration of the Human Race’s hidden strength to open criticism and a firm refusal to support its advancement. His motives appear to diverge from the plan he and Fuxi had previously agreed upon.
• The Ten Thousand Clans react with fear and resentment: they recognize the Human Race’s power but also accuse it of ambition, prompting Fuxi’s sharp response.
• The Human experts’ readiness to defend Fuxi shows their unity and loyalty, contrasting with the fragmented Ten Thousand Clans.

Significant themes

• Unity versus division: The Human Race’s cooperation gives it an advantage over the more numerous but divided clans.
• Hidden strength and misjudgment: The other races mistook the Human Race’s low profile for weakness.
• Power and self-reliance: Fuxi prioritizes growing stronger through the Human Path rather than depending on the Heavenly Dao.
• Political maneuvering and mistrust: Hongjun’s refusal disrupts the expected alliance, suggesting that the Human Race must be cautious about relying on him.

Key plot points and events

• Human Sovereign Fuxi sees Xuanyuan as a rare candidate to become a supreme expert. Though Fuxi cannot explain precisely how such an expert is made, he believes Xuanyuan must break through to the Saint Realm through his own power.
• The Primordial World’s many races react to Hongjun’s apparent support for their opposition to the Human Race. Some celebrate the Human Race’s loss of favor, while others fear that a conflict between the Heavenly Dao and Human Path will make them expendable and consider fleeing to the Devil Ancestor’s Demon Realm.
• Fuxi takes the Human Race’s leaders to a secluded place to begin their breakthroughs. Xuanyuan chooses to seek enlightenment independently rather than rely on the Human Path.
• Beyond Chaos, Demon Emperor Daochen investigates the source of the Resentment Aggregates. He finds they converge from multiple routes and vary in strength, suggesting an organized process—and perhaps powerful beings directing them.
• Daochen encounters strange, nearly intangible lifeforms that can evade his senses and briefly threaten to control him. Later, he discovers that the Resentment Aggregates leave no traces, and is surrounded by a vast number of these entities. Rather than attack, he tries to communicate with them.

Character developments

• Fuxi is focused on preparing Xuanyuan to carry the Human Race forward, placing high hopes in his talent and leadership.
• Xuanyuan shows independence and clear judgment by choosing to pursue his breakthrough without relying on the Human Path, despite the pressure he feels.
• Daochen proves cautious and analytical as he investigates the aggregates, adapting to unfamiliar dangers and attempting dialogue when confrontation may not be wise.

Character interactions

• Fuxi’s expectations weigh heavily on Xuanyuan, though Xuanyuan responds by taking responsibility for his own cultivation.
• The other races debate their prospects in light of Hongjun’s stance, contrasting confidence in the Heavenly Dao’s protection with fear of being caught between larger powers.
• Daochen’s first contact with the strange lifeforms is hostile, but when surrounded by them later, he addresses them directly and waits to see whether they understand.

Significant themes

• Self-reliance and leadership: Xuanyuan’s path to greatness must come through his own effort.
• Power and survival: The Demon Realm’s strict hierarchy and the wider political crisis show that safety often depends on strength or choosing the right refuge.
• Suspicion and the unknown: The aggregates’ organized routes, lack of traces, and mysterious handlers suggest a hidden threat beyond the Primordial World.
• Caution over force: Daochen’s willingness to investigate and communicate reflects the value of understanding an unfamiliar enemy before acting.

Plot points and events

• Daochen confronts unusual creatures that accuse him of hurting them and seeking revenge. His threats frighten them, and they disappear.
• A young creature approaches and climbs into Daochen’s Sleeve Universe, drawn to his resentment crystals. It feeds on one, consuming its resentment and leaving only pure energy.
• Daochen realizes the creatures likely feed on resentment and that his earlier attack was a misunderstanding: they had been attracted to the resentment on him.
• He offers the creatures all his resentment crystals. They emerge and feast, and he proposes they help him deal with the Resentment Aggregates in exchange for food.
• The creatures agree to follow him by clinging to his arm. On the way toward the source of the resentment—and the suspected tomb of a Chaos Demon God—Daochen captures a newly formed Resentment Aggregate.
• The creatures ignore the aggregate itself but eagerly devour its crystal core, revealing that they prefer concentrated, crystallized resentment.

Character developments

• Daochen shifts from anger and suspicion to curiosity, then goodwill once he understands the creatures’ needs.
• He begins viewing them as potential allies and a useful means of countering the Resentment Aggregates.
• The creatures appear simple and hunger-driven, but they show a degree of adaptability by following the young one’s example and clinging to Daochen.

Character interactions

• Daochen initially threatens the creatures after mistaking their approach for an attack.
• The youngest creature approaches him without harming him and demonstrates its appetite by eating a resentment crystal.
• Daochen negotiates an exchange—food for cooperation—and the creatures accept.
• Daochen tests whether they will eat a Resentment Aggregate; their reaction clarifies that they want its crystal core, not the creature itself.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and changed perspective: What Daochen reads as aggression turns out to be hunger and attraction to resentment.
• Cooperation through mutual benefit: Daochen’s offer succeeds because his goal and the creatures’ appetite align.
• Unexpected balance in nature: Lifeforms living beside a dangerous source of resentment may also consume and counter its concentrated residue.

Plot points and events

• Daochen travels through Chaos, killing Resentment Aggregates as he follows their trail. The picky little creatures living on his arm refuse to eat the aggregates themselves, but they prove their strength by stripping one of all its resentment and resentful qi.
• The creatures eventually become alarmed and tug at Daochen, sensing danger ahead. He reaches the Netherworld Continent, a land of death that lacks the resentment he expected to find.
• The continent is filled with powerful zombies, but Daochen easily defeats them. He discovers that each contains a pure core of undead qi, apparently following a fundamental law of Chaos.
• After Daochen kills several zombies, a powerful one confronts him. He identifies himself as Hou Qing, one of the Primordial World’s first spirits and a legendary Ancestor of Zombies.
• Hou Qing explains that he entered Chaos seeking advancement and eternal life, became lost, and eventually settled on the continent. The zombies there are lost people from the Primordial World, transformed or left to die in different ways.
• Though initially angry at Daochen for killing them, Hou Qing welcomes him as a fellow countryman and invites him to his home, eager to hear news of the Primordial World.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen remains powerful and pragmatic, but he reassesses the little creatures on his arm after they demonstrate that they can fight effectively. He also shows respect for Hou Qing’s extraordinary cultivation.
• The little creatures shift from lazy, seemingly useless passengers to wary companions: they can attack fiercely, though they prefer not to act unless necessary and are terrified of the Netherworld Continent.
• Hou Qing is revealed as an ancient, accomplished but isolated figure. His anger over the slaughter quickly gives way to warmth and curiosity when he recognizes Daochen as a fellow countryman. He eagerly asks about the Primordial World’s history, wars, and cultivation.

Significant themes

• Isolation and homesickness: Hou Qing’s long exile in Chaos has left him desperate for news and companionship.
• Power and survival: The dangers of Chaos and the harsh fates of its lost travelers are contrasted with Daochen’s overwhelming strength.
• Unexpected usefulness and loyalty: The little creatures appear selfish and idle, yet prove capable and responsive when danger arises.
• The cost of seeking transcendence: Hou Qing’s pursuit of a breakthrough brought him not freedom, but centuries of wandering and separation from his home.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen arrives in a gloomy graveyard and tells Hou Qing how the Primordial World has changed since the Fierce Beast Tribulation: the dragon-han conflict, the rise of the Demon and Witch Clans, and the Human Race’s ascent.
• Hou Qing explains that he is the sole inhabitant of the Nether Soil continent. He has survived there for ages, while the undead Resentment Aggregates avoid the territory.
• Hou Qing mourns that his zombies, formerly people of the Primordial World, have lost their memories. Daochen suggests turning people into zombies while they are still alive, but Hou Qing says strangers would never trust such an offer.
• Daochen asks to explore the continent. Hou Qing welcomes him and offers its many rare resources, hoping to trade them for a chance to leave.
• Daochen confirms he can take Hou Qing out of Chaos, though he intends to first investigate the Gods and Demons’ Graveyard and discover who controls the Resentment Aggregates.
• Daochen recognizes a piece of demon blood stone. Hou Qing reveals the region is full of undead remains from the place where Pangu slew many Gods and Demons; Daochen sees potential value in bringing the stone back to the Primordial World.

Character developments

• Hou Qing is revealed as ancient, powerful, and deeply isolated. Though he claims little interest in treasure, he has renewed hope of trading with Daochen and escaping his solitude.
• Daochen acts with courtesy despite his confidence and strength. His interest shifts from exploring the continent to investigating the source of the Resentment Aggregates and evaluating its resources.

Significant themes

• The passage of time and the rise and fall of civilizations.
• Isolation, loneliness, and the desire for companionship or a new beginning.
• Trust and the difficulty of persuading others to accept transformation.
• The lingering value of ancient history and the treasures left behind by past conflicts.

Character interactions

• Daochen educates Hou Qing about the world’s history, while Hou Qing shares what he knows about Chaos and the continent.
• Their discussion of zombification shows Daochen’s practical reasoning and Hou Qing’s awareness that trust cannot be demanded.
• Hou Qing offers resources in exchange for Daochen’s help leaving; Daochen agrees he can help but sets his own priority of investigating the graveyard.
• Hou Qing offers to guide Daochen to the place where the Resentment Aggregates originate.

Key plot points

• Hou Qing confirms that the region is a graveyard of Chaos Demon Gods. He recounts that an immensely powerful undead being recently took the only Demon God corpse from his territory, and Hou Qing was too afraid to intervene.
• Daochen explains his interest in the Demon God remains: he suspects they may reveal how Pangu and other ancient beings reached the Heavenly Dao Realm, a level no one in the Primordial World has attained.
• Daochen and Hou Qing head for a spiritual vein Hou Qing has preserved with a formation. Hou Qing offers it—and even the whole Netherworld Continent—in exchange for the chance to leave his isolated life.
• Daochen accepts the offer, intending to collect the continent after returning from the Demon God Tomb and fold it into his own grotto-heaven.
• When Daochen asks Hou Qing to guide him to the tomb, Hou Qing hesitates. Recent violent upheavals there have convinced him it is too dangerous to enter.

Character developments

• Daochen is revealed as ambitious and adventurous. He is determined to investigate the Demon God remains and find a way to grow beyond the Saint Realm, despite the risks.
• Hou Qing is cautious and weary of isolation. His longing for freedom outweighs his attachment to the spiritual vein and continent, though his bravery falters when faced with immediate danger.

Character interactions

• Daochen treats Hou Qing’s generous offer as a firm promise, while Hou Qing realizes too late that his boast may cost him his home.
• Hou Qing warns Daochen about the danger at the tomb, but Daochen’s determination contrasts sharply with Hou Qing’s instinct for self-preservation.

Significant themes

• The pursuit of greater power and knowledge: Daochen hopes the ancient Demon Gods’ remains will clarify the path to the Heavenly Dao Realm.
• Freedom versus security: Hou Qing is willing to surrender his possessions to escape confinement, yet still fears risking his life.
• Courage and self-preservation: Their contrasting temperaments set up a conflict between Daochen’s appetite for danger and Hou Qing’s caution.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Daochen decides to enter the dangerous Gods and Devils Land while its inhabitants are distracted by infighting, hoping to seize an opportunity. He asks Hou Qing only to escort him to the boundary, but Hou Qing ultimately agrees to accompany him.
• Hou Qing warns that the region is filled with undead and strange laws, and that even its outskirts can endanger Sages. Daochen promises to retreat if necessary and says they are only going to investigate, though he remains determined to press on.
• At a burial ground, Hou Qing urges a detour around strange beings standing on floating peaks. Daochen judges them weak, but hesitates briefly because fighting might draw the attention of greater dangers.
• The small beings clinging to Daochen react eagerly to the creatures, revealing that they are made of resentful energy and likely contain Resentment Power Crystals. Taking this as an opportunity, Daochen proceeds.
• Though he tries to avoid the creatures, a nearby grave mound suddenly shifts and teleports directly in front of him, catching him by surprise.

Character development

• Daochen is bold, ambitious, and supremely confident in his power. He dismisses most threats, but his brief concern about attracting attention shows he can think strategically. He is driven by the need to keep advancing and fears stagnation more than danger.
• Hou Qing is anxious and cautious, yet loyal enough to risk entering the region. He sincerely hopes both he and Daochen will survive, though he privately recognizes that Daochen’s confidence often becomes recklessness.

Character interactions

• Hou Qing warns Daochen repeatedly and urges him to retreat if danger appears. Daochen reassures him, but Hou Qing’s silent doubts reveal the gap between Daochen’s bravado and Hou Qing’s assessment of the peril.
• Daochen treats Hou Qing’s caution with impatience, while Hou Qing restrains his objections and offers polite agreement.
• The small creatures on Daochen’s arm indirectly influence his decision by signaling that the spirits ahead may be valuable prey.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus safety: Daochen accepts danger as the price of discovering greater power and resources.
• Loneliness and the pursuit of growth: Daochen believes stopping would make him merely ordinary, despite his strength and reputation.
• Confidence versus caution: Daochen’s faith in his abilities contrasts sharply with Hou Qing’s fear and practical judgment.
• Uncertainty and hidden danger: The sudden movement of the grave mound demonstrates that apparent weakness and careful avoidance may not protect them from the region’s unpredictable threats.

Plot points and events

• A grave-dwelling monster awakens and trades insults with Daochen after its mouth transforms so it can speak his language. Daochen kills it, takes its core, and discovers the grave contains a corpse-nurturing coffin. He stores the coffin in his Sleeve Universe to examine later.
• Daochen and Hou Qing continue deeper into the region. Hou Qing warns that the outskirts are haunted by powerful spirits capable of possessing bodies, but Daochen presses on.
• Although Daochen expects danger, they cross the spirit-filled area without incident. Unknown to them, the spirits are hiding in terror of Daochen, whom they mistake for the legendary Golden Crow Divine Bird—a being they believe can destroy them.
• Hou Qing is embarrassed by the lack of danger and suggests that a recent upheaval may have made the spirits disappear.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen remains confident and aggressive, killing the monster without hesitation and investigating its grave. He also shows some willingness to heed warnings, staying vigilant despite initially dismissing Hou Qing’s concerns.
• Hou Qing is cautious and fearful, repeatedly sticking close to Daochen because he fears being stranded in the land of Chaos. Though he claims his experience can help, he is bewildered when the spirits pose no threat.
• Daochen and Hou Qing have a lightly comic dynamic: Daochen teases Hou Qing for his timidity but encourages him, while Hou Qing alternates between warning Daochen and pleading not to be left behind.
• The spirits never confront the pair; their fear of Daochen is the hidden reason the journey seems safe.

Significant themes

• Perception and hidden power: Daochen interprets the spirits’ absence as unexplained, while their perspective reveals that his presence alone frightens them away.
• Caution versus confidence: Hou Qing’s survival-minded wariness contrasts with Daochen’s boldness.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The deliberately placed coffins, the unusual grave, and the recent upheaval hint at deeper secrets about the region.

Plot points and events

• Daochen and Hou Qing enter an area where resentment aggregates gather, apparently drawn to Daochen.
• Daochen effortlessly crushes the first group and collects their Killing Intent Crystals. Hou Qing is stunned by the display.
• Daochen explains that these creatures seem to be produced in an ongoing supply, and says he is searching for their source.
• More aggregates assemble ahead. Daochen estimates their numbers at a few thousand and prepares to fight, telling Hou Qing to stay aside.
• Daochen deliberately lets one creature attack Hou Qing as practice. Hou Qing panics and cries for help, but the fight is harmless: as the progenitor of zombies, he is immune to the creature’s attacks, and neither can hurt the other.
• Daochen turns to face the larger group and wonders whether most of the creatures have been sent to the Primordial World.

Character development and interactions

• Daochen remains calm and overwhelmingly powerful, but admits that the creatures could be dangerous in enormous swarms. He is also playful, teasing Hou Qing and intentionally using the encounter to build his confidence.
• Hou Qing shifts from terror and disbelief to admiration and trust in Daochen. Despite his fearful behavior, he proves physically immune to the resentment aggregate, though he has yet to recognize how safe he is.
• Their relationship grows more familiar: Daochen repeatedly smacks Hou Qing’s head and jokes with him, while Hou Qing complains but sees Daochen as approachable and worthy of allegiance.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Hou Qing’s fight looks desperate, but he is never in danger; Daochen’s apparent concern about the aggregates also masks how far his power exceeds theirs.
• Courage through experience: Daochen gives Hou Qing a controlled challenge to help him overcome his fear.
• A larger looming threat: The aggregates appear to be generated from an unknown source, and their possible presence in the Primordial World raises the stakes beyond this encounter.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen and Hou Qing encounter a group of Resentment Aggregates. Daochen rapidly destroys them, removes their crystal cores, and continues onward with Hou Qing.
• Hou Qing marvels at Daochen’s strength and admits the undead are beyond him. Though a resentment ghost had beaten him badly, it could not kill him: its resentful qi was ineffective against his body, and its soul power was too weak to overcome his.
• As they travel, Daochen senses unseen watchers and increasingly dense resentful qi. He discovers that earthworm-like creatures made of resentful qi are watching them from underground.
• Daochen’s punch causes the ground to collapse, revealing a vast pit packed with worms. A hypnotic voice attacks his mind; tentacles seize Daochen and Hou Qing, and a giant spider-like creature binds them in silk.
• Daochen realizes the voice is a soul attack and that Hou Qing is immune. He seals his sea of consciousness to break the effect, then unleashes golden crow fire. The spider and tentacles retreat, frightened by the fire.

Character developments

• Daochen remains confident and overwhelmingly powerful, but his arrogance leaves him vulnerable to an unfamiliar mental attack. He quickly identifies the attack’s nature and adapts by shutting off his consciousness.
• Hou Qing feels inadequate beside Daochen, yet his resilience becomes clearer: despite taking a beating, he can withstand the monsters’ physical and resentful attacks, and he is unaffected by the mind-controlling voice.

Significant themes

• Strength and vulnerability: Physical power does not prevent Daochen from being caught off guard by a soul-based attack.
• Adaptation and complementarity: Daochen’s quick reasoning and Hou Qing’s unusual immunity offer different kinds of protection.
• Hubris and caution: Daochen’s dismissive attitude toward the hidden creatures contributes to his capture.

Character interactions

• Hou Qing openly admires Daochen but worries that he is a burden. Daochen encourages him to keep cultivating and tells him to stay close.
• Daochen’s confidence contrasts with Hou Qing’s caution: Hou Qing suggests turning back, while Daochen presses onward.
• Once captured, Hou Qing checks on Daochen, but Daochen initially cannot answer because the mental attack has overwhelmed him.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen recognizes the enormous skeleton beneath the land of Nether Soil as the remains of the Abyssal Evil King. He sets it alight with Golden Crow Fire, causing resentment-filled flames to spread through the underground region.
• Hou Qing fears their actions will provoke the land’s inhabitants and urges Daochen to flee. Daochen refuses, arguing that he has shown restraint and is prepared to confront whatever comes.
• As Nether Soil’s beasts awaken and approach, Daochen detects no especially powerful presence among them. He attacks swiftly, silencing the initial challengers, then addresses the hidden inhabitants directly: stop the Resentment Ghosts’ attacks on his homeland and negotiate, or he will destroy their territory.
• Daochen follows through, bombarding the land with fire until three powerful beings emerge: Ashen Rat, Heavenly Dao Kun, and Coolwater Fish. He recognizes them as former Chaos Gods and Demons who survived death by cultivating utmost-yin energy.
• Ashen Rat asks why Daochen is destroying their home. Daochen explains that Resentment Ghosts are invading his homeland. Heavenly Dao Kun says the ghosts are an unintended by-product: worms consume Nether Soil’s resentful qi, produce crystals, and accumulated crystals form the ghosts.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen is forceful and uncompromising, but offers a chance to settle the conflict peacefully before escalating. He uses destruction to compel the hidden powers to reveal themselves.
• Hou Qing is openly anxious and focused on survival. Daochen’s cold response silences him, underscoring the imbalance in their confidence and authority.
• The three ancient beings initially challenge Daochen, then shift toward discussion once they realize he recognizes them. Heavenly Dao Kun provides an explanation that may change how Daochen understands the threat.

Significant themes

• Force as a means of negotiation: Daochen uses overwhelming power to make the concealed inhabitants respond.
• Escalation and responsibility: A threat to Daochen’s homeland leads him to endanger another territory, even though the Resentment Ghosts may not have been deliberately created.
• Death transformed into life: The ancient beings appear alive but remain fundamentally creatures of utmost yin.
• Unintended consequences: The ghosts arise through a natural chain of events rather than a deliberate plot, complicating the conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen questions the Heavenly Dao Kun and the other two Chaos Demon Gods about whether they created the Resentment Ghosts. They deny directing the creatures, arguing that if they had planned an attack, they would have acted differently.
• To verify their explanation, Daochen watches resentment worms crawl over bones and produce Resentment Crystals. The process is slow, supporting the claim that the ghosts form naturally and that a vast population could not have appeared overnight.
• Daochen nevertheless suspects that someone has been preparing an attack on the Primordial World for a long time. He conceals his suspicions, apologizes, and leaves with Hou Qing.
• After they depart, the three reveal that their explanation was only partly true: an immensely resentful undead being can command Resentment Aggregates. They had hoped to test the Primordial World’s response, but Daochen’s arrival—and his attempt to burn the Nether Soil with Golden Crow Fire—forced them to intervene.
• On the way back, Daochen tells Hou Qing that he does not trust the three. He postpones confronting them until he grows stronger, then plans to return and eradicate the threat.

Character developments

• Daochen remains suspicious despite evidence that the ghosts form naturally. He shows strategic restraint by hiding his conclusions and retreating, but his resolve to return and destroy the Nether Soil reveals his persistent, aggressive approach to threats.
• Hou Qing follows Daochen and reacts with alarm to his plans, recognizing how ruthless and dangerous the Demon Emperor is.
• The three Chaos Demon Gods appear accommodating but are revealed as calculating and deceptive. Their immediate priority is protecting the Nether Soil they have cultivated.

Significant themes

• Truth and deception: The Demon Gods mix accurate facts with omissions, while Daochen recognizes that a plausible explanation need not be the full truth.
• Suspicion and strategic patience: Daochen chooses to leave rather than fight before he is ready.
• Accumulated consequences: The slow formation of resentment suggests that large-scale threats may be the result of long-term planning, not sudden events.
• Protection versus destruction: The Demon Gods defend their home, while Daochen sees the Nether Soil as a future danger to be eliminated.

Character interactions

• Daochen interrogates the Demon Gods and demands to witness how Resentment Ghosts form; they explain their origins and their vulnerability.
• After Daochen leaves, the Demon Gods privately assess his power and admit that his actions frightened them.
• Hou Qing catches up with Daochen, asks what they should do, and learns that Daochen intends to return once he has become stronger.

Plot points and events

• Demon Emperor Daochen and Hou Qing leave the Nether Soil and head for the Primordial World. Daochen intends to return later to eliminate the Resentment Aggregates and absorb their energy, potentially advancing to the ninth heaven of the Saint Realm.
• Seeing countless Resentment Aggregates near the Primordial World, Hou Qing wonders whether there may be other regions of Nether Soil. Daochen considers the possibility but postpones investigating.
• Daochen reassures Hou Qing that the Primordial World has many powerful experts and that the Resentment Ghosts can eventually be dealt with. Hou Qing is eager to visit his old cave abode.
• On entering the Primordial World, Hou Qing draws a tribulation. Daochen notices that its lightning is surprisingly weak, devours the clouds, and causes the Heavenly Dao Eye to appear—only for it to flee in fear.
• The lightning’s energy helps Hou Qing advance to the first heaven of the Saint Realm. Daochen then leaves to visit the Demon Realm, secretly attaching an undetectable feather to Hou Qing as a precaution.
• Heavenly Dao Hongjun and the Lord of Fate sense Daochen’s return and set out to meet him.

Character developments and interactions

• Hou Qing shifts from anxious concern about the Primordial World’s safety to confidence in Daochen, then joyfully celebrates his long-awaited breakthrough. He also reveals a strong longing to return home.
• Daochen remains self-assured and powerful, dismissing Hou Qing’s fears and effortlessly overpowering the tribulation. However, he stays wary of Hou Qing despite helping him, secretly keeping him under watch.
• Their relationship is cordial but unequal: Hou Qing is grateful and trusting, while Daochen treats him with amused confidence and cautious suspicion.
• Hongjun and the Lord of Fate’s eager response shows their interest in Daochen’s reappearance.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Hou Qing’s worries reflect his limited perspective, while Daochen’s ease in consuming the tribulation demonstrates the gulf between their strengths.
• Trust and suspicion: Daochen helps Hou Qing but still takes covert precautions against him.
• Return and belonging: Hou Qing’s excitement about revisiting his old home carries uncertainty about whether it will still feel like home.
• A changing world: The weakened tribulation and frightened Heavenly Dao suggest that the Primordial World’s balance of power has shifted.

Plot points and events

• Demon Emperor Daochen prepares to return to Chaos to check on the Demon Race, but Heavenly Dao Hongjun and the Lord of Fate intercept him. With the Primordial World’s barrier weakening, they urgently need to eliminate the Resentment Aggregates before the world is exposed to greater danger.
• The Lord of Fate angrily reproaches Daochen for vanishing without warning. Daochen explains that he had been in the Demon Realm and had recently ventured into Chaos to investigate the resentment. He admits going alone was risky, though he jokes that next time the others can come with him.
• Hou Qing, the Ancestor of Zombies, reaches the Saint Realm, startling the three leaders. Hongjun recognizes him as a legendary survivor from Remote Antiquity and welcomes his strength as a valuable addition to the Primordial World.
• Daochen says he rescued Hou Qing and located the resentment’s source: the Nether Soil. He claims the aggregates seem to have appeared on their own, drawn to the Primordial World’s aura, though he privately remains convinced that a hidden mastermind is responsible.
• Hongjun doubts the explanation. He and Daochen exchange a knowing look, apparently sharing an understanding that they do not disclose to the Lord of Fate. Hongjun then leads the others toward the campaign assembling in Chaos, where forces from the Demon, Immortal, Buddha, and Human realms and the Ten Thousand Clans will fight the monsters.
• After stabilizing his cultivation, Hou Qing learns that he has reached the Saint Realm. He had mistaken his strength for that of a Great Luo Golden Immortal; his advancement came through extraordinary physical cultivation and proving the Dao through force.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen shows initiative and courage by investigating the threat himself, but also conceals his suspicion that someone is directing it. His private exchange with Hongjun hints at a shared plan or secret.
• Hongjun shifts quickly from concern over the weakening barrier to strategic mobilization. He recognizes Hou Qing’s importance and distrusts Daochen’s account of the resentment’s origins.
• The Lord of Fate is anxious and frustrated, fearing the loss of the Six Realms and his chance to take form. He presses Daochen for answers but accepts the decision to proceed without learning what Daochen and Hongjun know.
• Hou Qing discovers that his strength far exceeds his own understanding. His breakthrough confirms the power of his naturally hardened zombie body and unusual cultivation path.

Significant themes

• Collective survival and responsibility: The leaders must unite their forces to defend the Primordial World.
• Hidden threats and mistrust: Daochen’s account conflicts with Hongjun’s instincts, suggesting the danger may have a concealed cause.
• Power and self-knowledge: Hou Qing has become extraordinarily powerful without recognizing his own advancement.
• Urgency and sacrifice: The failing barrier and approaching monsters leave little time for hesitation.