Chapter Summaries

Pingxiu and the Western Sea cultivators fought Calamity Power’s forces over the Great Cosmic Shuttle after Sheni was defeated and captured. Xu Xuan killed one of the five ghost-demon diamonds in a single stroke and prepared to face the remaining four.

• Calamity Power and Pingxiu joined forces with the other Purple Mansion cultivators to attack Sheni, who evaded them with the Great Cosmic Shuttle and Lead-Washing Radiance.
• Pingxiu, Jianzhuo, and the others overwhelmed Sheni; the five ghost-demon diamonds suppressed him while Calamity Power and Pingxiu fought over the shuttle.
• Pingxiu held Calamity Power at bay with his furnace and spirit fires, while Wuyou went to assist him and Xu Xuan stayed to face the diamonds.
• Xu Xuan used Heaven-commanding tribulation and his sword intent to split the leading diamond apart, preventing its true spirit from returning to the pure land.
• Xu Xuan declared that he would deal with the remaining four diamonds in four breaths.

Xu Xuan and Pingxiu defeated Calamity Power’s Diamonds and seized the Great Cosmic Shuttle, but Dragon Maiden Ashe and Mu Youdu arrived and trapped the cultivators. As the factions prepared to fight, Xu Xuan and Mu Youdu clashed swords in the Great Void.

• Xu Xuan killed the last Night-Watching Diamond with a distant sword slash as Calamity Power realized his five Diamonds had been destroyed.
• Pingxiu battered Calamity Power with the Pill Furnace and took the Great Cosmic Shuttle while Xu Xuan joined him.
• Calamity Power swallowed a Buddhist relic bead, strengthened his Pure Land, and tried to prevent Pingxiu and the others from retreating.
• Xu Xuan summoned Dragon Maiden Ashe, whose Shesha ritual path attacked the Little Pure Land and sealed the Great Void with star sand.
• A thunder marsh and sword intent blocked the cultivators’ escape, and Mu Youdu emerged to challenge the trespassers at the Dragonkin Ancestral Palace.
• Xu Xuan drew his sword and struck at Mu Youdu, causing their sword intents to collide as the Great Void shattered and mended.

Mu Youdu overwhelmed Xu Xuan, Jianzhuo, Wuyou, and Kong Zhao with his thunder powers, while Xu Xuan risked himself to shield the others from a devastating strike. Kong Zhao fled using a solar-eclipse manifestation, but Mu Youdu caught him and took the golden stone he carried.

• Jianzhuo warned Xu Xuan and Wuyou that Mu Youdu was a dragonkin sword immortal empowered by the [Shesha] ritual path, while Kong Zhao tried to use his family connections to secure safe passage.
• Xu Xuan, Wuyou, Jianzhuo, and Kong Zhao joined forces against Mu Youdu, but his violet thunder broke through their attacks and he seized and badly burned Kong Zhao.
• Jianzhuo drew Mu Youdu toward his gourd, but Mu Youdu escaped by breaking the spirit artifact and manifested a powerful three-headed, six-armed dharma body.
• Mu Youdu trapped the cultivators with his thunder formation and attacked, and Xu Xuan intercepted the strike, suffering severe injuries to protect the others.
• Kong Zhao formed a solar-eclipse manifestation and fled, but Mu Youdu reappeared, struck him down, and took the golden stone from his beak.
• Mu Youdu examined the golden stone and wondered whether it came from a [Greater Yang Crystal Seed].

Mu Youdu fought Xu Xuan, Jianzhuo, and Wuyou while Xu Xuan gained insight into the relationship between shock thunder and altar thunder, and the battle ended with Mu Youdu departing and Ashe taking the Great Cosmic Shuttle. Sheni then died and triggered the appearance of a white worm whose power trapped the cultivators, while a new Dao lineage appeared on the heavenly stele.

• Mu Youdu suppressed Kong Zhao, took the Greater Yang Golden Stone, and attacked Jianzhuo, Xu Xuan, and Wuyou while Ashe struggled to contain Pingxiu and Calamity Power.
• Mu Youdu broke free of Jianzhuo's Sleeve Cosmos and wounded Jianzhuo and Xu Xuan, while Wuyou used Mandate of Revolution to disrupt Mu Youdu and stab his heart aperture.
• Xu Xuan gained insight into the relationship between shock thunder and altar thunder as he and Mu Youdu unleashed their thunder abilities, then Mu Youdu and Xu Xuan agreed to meet again for a sword duel.
• Mu Youdu helped Ashe defeat Pingxiu and Calamity Power, and Ashe claimed the Great Cosmic Shuttle before the wounded Sheni emerged from the Pure Land and died.
• A crystalline white worm appeared from the Great Cosmic Shuttle, fixed the Great Void, wounded Ashe, and immobilized the cultivators as the Dao Realm's heavenly stele recorded the Nature of Cosmic Clarity, Universal Radiance, and Celestial Stars.

At sea, the Great Cosmic Shuttle’s golden nature froze the Great Void and attacked the cultivators before a dragon shedding appeared to engulf it. Xu Xuan resisted a sinister call to aid the white insect, and the golden nature vanished; afterward, Ashe compensated him and explained what it was, leaving him to wonder what the venerable dragon intended.

• The white insect froze the Great Void, consumed Shesha’s head and Calamity Power’s believers, and burrowed into Dragon Maiden Ashe and Xu Xuan before the Supreme Clarity Stele drove it away.
• Golden Dharma rain restored Ashe and Mu Youdu, while Ashe warned Mu Youdu not to listen, look, or speak as a golden-scaled dragon shedding descended.
• The dragon shedding addressed the white insect as “Great Cosmic” and began absorbing it, but Mu Youdu severed a sinister connection that urged him to give the insect his celestial virtue.
• The Dharma rain, dragon shedding, and white insect vanished, and the cultivators discovered that the Milk Sea was covered in golden rain and that Calamity Power had lost more than half his believers.
• Ashe gave Xu Xuan the Essence Water of Transformed Nature and the Third Water-Fire Refining Method, explaining that the white insect was the Nature of Cosmic Clarity, Universal Radiance, and Celestial Stars.
• Xu Xuan pondered the golden nature’s connection to Mystic Qi and wondered what the venerable dragon planned to do with it.

Xu Xuan learned from Pingxiu that the Great Cosmic Shuttle had belonged to the ancient Celestial Stars Way and heard the history of Dao Lord Great Luminary and his disciples. Pingxiu asked Xu Xuan to search Kunwei Heaven for the missing Immortal Ash, while Xu Xuan traded for a Radiant Heaven Stone and learned where to seek origin wood.

• Pingxiu gave Xu Xuan four pills and explained that the Great Cosmic Shuttle was an artifact made by True Lord Great Cosmos, a disciple of Dao Lord Great Luminary.
• Pingxiu revealed that Great Luminary had established Fengxuan, pursued a path of false time-light, and helped his disciples ascend to their positions.
• Xu Xuan asked why Pingxiu had wanted the Great Cosmic Shuttle, and Pingxiu said his lineage needed an artifact that could help it escape calamities.
• Pingxiu asked Xu Xuan to search Kunwei Heaven for Immortal Ash, a vanished Purple Mansion Spirit Treasure from the Heaven-Covering Lineage.
• Xu Xuan traded a flask of heart-demon desires for Pingxiu’s Radiant Heaven Stone and arranged for Pingxiu to refine a pill for his disciple.
• Pingxiu told Xu Xuan that origin wood at the Foundation Establishment level could be found in the Southern Sea’s Clear Vast Way.

Xu Xuan followed the Third Water-Fire Refining Method to create and absorb the powerful Purple Mansion treasure Wrathful Water-Fire, strengthening his offensive abilities. He then learned that Demon King Bai Xuan of Great Li had come to meet him and ordered her admitted.

• Bo Chang delivered the Great Fury Beast Flame, and Xu Xuan examined the refining method Dragon Maiden Ashe had provided.
• Xu Xuan assembled the required spirit treasures and refined them with the Great Fury Beast Flame and Essence Water of Transformed Nature.
• Xu Xuan formed Wrathful Water-Fire, absorbed it, and tested its destructive transformations in the palace.
• Xu Xuan considered how the new water-fire could supplement his combat abilities and recalled his ongoing cultivation.
• Bo Chang reported that Demon King Bai Xuan, a Purple Mansion Late Stage cultivator from Great Li, sought an audience, and Xu Xuan agreed to receive her.

Bai Xuan visited Heaven Pool to deliver a Northern River Dragon Palace invitation and request a cultivation method for her sister. She entrusted her avatar Bai Su to the Dragon Court before leaving to risk her life completing a divine ability, while Xu Xuan agreed to protect Bai Su and ordered Bo Chang to summon the Sword Immortal Xu Xuan for another duel.

• Bai Xuan met Dragon King Mingdu at Heaven Pool and delivered Dragon Maiden Luo An’s invitation to the Northern Sea.
• Bai Xuan explained Northern River’s dwindling Dragonkin lineage and offered help with the Dragon Court’s Southern Sea plans and possible entry into Eastern Radiance in exchange for a substitute for [Calming the Storm].
• Bai Xuan revealed that she planned to enter seclusion at Golden Pivot to complete her final divine ability, a trial that could kill her, and entrusted her avatar Bai Su to the Dragon Court.
• Xu Xuan agreed to protect Bai Su, who went to the Temporary Palace to meet Yang Yuanxin without revealing that she was an avatar.
• Xu Xuan considered the Dragon Court’s future and ordered Bo Chang to summon the Sword Immortal Xu Xuan for another contest of swords.

Xu Xuan visited the Clear Vast Way to exchange altar thunder for Origin Wood Spirit Treasures and learned about the wood path’s aspects of standing and falling. The trade was completed, but a messenger arrived with an invitation from a king at Heaven Pool, leaving Xu Xuan wary of another encounter with trouble.

• Xu Xuan introduced himself to Bixi of the Clear Vast Way and asked to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Origin Wood Spirit Treasure embodying upright intent.
• Bixi offered the Azure Yang Leaf and the Wind-Rising Branch in exchange for two strands of altar thunder, and Xu Xuan agreed.
• Bixi explained how Origin Wood’s standing and falling aspects produce nourishing vitality and wind calamities, and Xu Xuan asked about the lineage’s ancient origins.
• Xu Xuan and Bixi discussed Pingxiu’s search for Immortal Ash and the Heaven-Covering Lineage’s tradition of personally teaching disciples.
• An armored messenger arrived from the Great Void and said his king invited Xu Xuan to Heaven Pool for a meeting.

Xu Xuan followed Bo Chang to Heaven Pool and dueled Mu Youdu with their human and dragon bodies, using the sword contest to investigate the incomplete Interflowing Union thunder path. During the battle, Xu Xuan realized that the path needed something yin in nature, likely found in taboo wood, but the chapter ended before the duel concluded.

• Bixi advised Xu Xuan to present himself as a Great Li Thunder Judge when meeting Mu Youdu, then sought a divination from Qingxu and received the words “Mystic Thunder.”
• Xu Xuan met Bo Chang above the Yearwood Sea and agreed to visit Mu Youdu after hearing that the Dragon King wanted to discuss swordsmanship.
• Xu Xuan and Bo Chang traveled to Heaven Pool, where Mu Youdu challenged Xu Xuan to a sword battle in the heavens.
• Xu Xuan and his dragon body fought with Mu Youdu and his human body, while Xu Xuan studied the incomplete Interflowing Union thunder tree within his Dao realm.
• Xu Xuan realized that shock thunder and altar thunder needed to be balanced with something yin in nature, which he suspected lay in taboo wood.

Xu Xuan’s sword duel with Mu Youdu ended after strange numinous omens appeared over Heaven Pool, and he left the Dragon Court with gifts. He later learned that Demon King Soul-Concealment and Fu Dong had also witnessed the omen and feared the power behind it.

• Xu Xuan and Mu Youdu ended their sword duel as an yi wood numinous omen appeared, freezing Heaven Pool and causing insects to infest Xu Xuan’s body.
• An unseen voice drove back the omen, and Xu Xuan resumed speaking with Mu Youdu, who invited him to stay and discuss swordsmanship.
• Xu Xuan refused Mu Youdu’s invitation, and Bo Chang escorted him out with a gift of Great Mountain Earth.
• Yang Yuanxin warned Xu Xuan against challenging Celestial Pivot, and Xu Xuan assured her he knew where to draw the line.
• Xu Xuan’s human body left Heaven Pool for Great Li, detouring around Far Piao and Demon King Stolen Script.
• Demon King Soul-Concealment and Fu Dong arrived near Heaven Pool, discussed the omen and its powerful source, then headed toward Far Piao to see Stolen Script.

Xu Xuan formally entered Liu Shu Han into the sect before she left to cultivate with the Wu Household, whose secret method suited her unusual lineage. Nangang explained the ancient Four Paths of the Northern Dipper and warned Xu Xuan that Kunwei Heaven’s coming secret realms would bring widespread opportunities, while the Wu Household might soon serve under Imperial Preceptor Qi.

• Liu Xingfang brought Liu Shu Han to Xu Xuan, who accepted her as his disciple and took her to the Founders' Hall to complete her entry into the sect.
• Xu Xuan learned that Liu Shu Han would leave for the Wu Household to cultivate the Nine Provinces Mountain-Traversing True Scripture, an Immortal Foundation requiring her parents' thunder and demonic lineages.
• Nangang explained that the Four Paths of the Northern Dipper were the Northern Altar Immortal Way, True Martial Mystic Way, Nether Calamity Demon Lineage, and Black Baleful Fate Lineage, and described their ancient origins and surviving branches.
• Nangang told Xu Xuan that Kunwei Heaven was shaking and secret realms would soon descend, urging him to prepare for the opportunities they contained.
• Nangang warned that the Wu Household would likely be transferred to serve Imperial Preceptor Qi, who disliked the people of Shu, and Xu Xuan accompanied him to meet Liu Shu Han.

Xu Xuan reached the Northern Sea and received the Radiant Light dragon lineage’s inheritance from Luo An, learning the paths tied to several shock thunder positions. He completed all five divine arts, including [Self-Reflection], while the lineage’s inheritance left him weighing the implications for his future cultivation.

• Xu Xuan flew through the Northern Sea’s ruined dragon domain and met Luo An, who guided him to the remains of Dragon King [Xu Zhi].
• Luo An explained that the Radiant Light lineage had died out and asked which golden rank of shock thunder Xu Xuan intended to pursue.
• Xu Xuan considered [Interflowing Union] and [Lightning Flash], and Luo An warned him of True Lord Upper Successive’s fall while describing the available inheritances.
• Xu Xuan resonated with the dragon skeleton and obtained the five divine arts, including [Self-Reflection], through the inheritance’s thunderclap.
• Xu Xuan asked which positions the divine arts corresponded to, and Luo An said the final intent divine ability corresponded to the fruit position.

Xu Xuan retrieved the Fenglong Linked Drums from an ocean abyss and witnessed a vision of Dragon King Xuzhi’s death. He left with new doubts about who had killed Xuzhi and why.

• Xu Xuan discovered that the Hanging Heaven Mixed Thunder Book contained the Divine Abilities [Dao-Mixed Mystery] and [Self-Reflection], and kept [Dao-Mixed Mystery] secret.
• Luo An explained that the Fenglong Linked Drums lay in the abyss, where resentful thunder could entangle the soul, and Xu Xuan descended to find them.
• Xu Xuan resisted the lightning snakes with his escape light and Mountain-Driving Whip, then used Lightning Flash to resonate with the drums and free them from the altar.
• Xu Xuan saw a vision in which Dragon King Xuzhi refused to surrender [Lightning Flash] and was killed by a skeletal hand from a Deadwood Azure Coffin.
• Xu Xuan returned to the present with Lightning Flash and Fenglong before him and wondered whether Xuzhi’s death had been more complicated than he had thought.

Xu Xuan reclaimed the Radiant Light dragon lineage’s Lightning Edge and Abundant Thunder, then swore to restore Radiant Light. Dragon Maiden Luo An brought him to Cold Accumulation Palace to meet Dragon King White Silk, who said the sword and drum had always been meant for Xu Xuan.

• Xu Xuan reflected on the danger of seeking the shock thunder position and swore to restore Radiant Light when he attained the Dao.
• Xu Xuan emerged from the abyss with Lightning Edge and Abundant Thunder, and Luo An urged him to fulfill the hope of the fallen Radiant Light lineage.
• Luo An told Xu Xuan that she practiced Frozen Cold Snow and described the ancient holders of the cold yin position as they traveled toward Cold Accumulation Palace.
• Xu Xuan met Bei Jingxu, who admired his swordsmanship and hoped to discuss the sword with him after his audience with White Silk.
• Xu Xuan entered the palace and met White Silk, who recognized Abundant Thunder and declared that the sword and drum were destined to come into Xu Xuan’s hands.

Xu Xuan learned how Lightning Flash and Abundant Thunder were connected to the Eastern Mystery Heavenly Mansion and heard White Silk explain the Northern Sea’s power. White Silk asked Xu Xuan to swear that he would revive the Cold Storage lineage if he attained the Golden Position, and Xu Xuan accepted.

• White Silk asked Xu Xuan to bring out Lightning Flash and Abundant Thunder, then explained their origins and their connection to thunder’s sound and qi.
• White Silk told Xu Xuan that the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Lord had connections to the Thunder Palace and that the two Spirit Treasures lost their golden nature after Dragon King Xuzhi fell.
• White Silk identified Panmi as the force behind the demonic path’s move against Mistcloud Heaven and described the Northern Sea exalted one’s power.
• White Silk revealed that his injuries and failed cultivation of Ren Water’s Cold-Gathering Marsh had left him near death, with the Cold Storage lineage’s bloodline weakening.
• White Silk asked Xu Xuan to swear that he would revive his lineage if he attained the Golden Position, offering to sacrifice his life to protect Xu Xuan’s path.
• Xu Xuan accepted the oath after White Silk said his chances of attaining the Golden Position exceeded those of the Dragon King of Sun Lake.

Xu Xuan advised Dragon Prince Jingxu on swordsmanship, learned of the Cold Storage Palace’s conflict with the Dust-Sweeping Sect over the Cold Gate, and departed the Northern Sea. He assessed his newly acquired Spirit Treasures and planned to cultivate a more authentic Thunder Marsh dharma body, though the coming war could disrupt his progress.

• Xu Xuan created a sword-bearing Thunder Dragon Dao Diagram on an ice cliff, giving Jingxu a way to practice swordsmanship in his Frost Chi form.
• Luo An explained that a Dust-Sweeping Great True Person had drained White Silk’s lifespan with ding fire and that the Dust-Sweeping Sect sought grounds to enter the Cold Gate.
• Luo An said Senior Kui Dragon was waiting for the right moment to seek the golden position, while Xu Xuan arranged for Mist Marsh envoys to visit the Northern Sea in the future.
• Xu Xuan traveled south through the Great Void and resolved to move his disciples from Red Cloud if war between Li and Liao broke out, while using the conflict to cultivate altar thunder.
• Xu Xuan examined the powers of Abundant Thunder and decided to refine his dharma body toward the Radiant Light Dragon Palace’s Thunder Marsh Saint-Transmuting Body.

Song Shiyi and Gongsun Xi watched King Junfeng’s secret realm shift from Wu Earth to Ji Earth and worked together to open a gap in it. With the realm about to open and rival immortal paths gathering, Song Shiyi prepared to compete for its treasures.

• Song Shiyi and Gongsun Xi discussed King Junfeng, the Shu royal bloodline, and the Imperial House’s plans for Wu Earth.
• The secret realm’s Wu Earth light trembled and gave way to Ji Earth light, revealing records of King Junfeng’s life.
• Song Shiyi’s Li Fire failed to hold the Ji Earth light, and Gongsun Xi used the paired Yuejue sword pellets to cut open a gap in the realm.
• Gongsun Xi argued that the Imperial House had to share the secret realm’s treasures with the immortal paths to secure their cooperation.
• Song Shiyi decided to enter the contest for the Ji Earth artifact and began considering whom to choose as his foundation establishment pawn.
• Gongsun Xi departed on her Kan Water, lamenting that Elder Yuan was no longer there.

Xu Xuan perfected [Primordial Sequence], transforming his altar thunder into a force of censure and punishment, and learned that a secret realm from Kunwei Heaven had descended in Yizhou. He began preparing Foundation Establishment cultivators to enter the grotto-heaven while considering what its arrival could mean for his sect and his search for altar thunder methods.

• Xu Xuan perfected [Primordial Sequence], gaining altar thunder that could establish heavenly laws and relentlessly censure and punish its targets.
• Xu Xuan watched the Thunder Pool begin forming a thunderbolt suited to his new divine ability and tested the reforged [Five-Element Mountain], which he placed in the sect’s formation.
• A golden decree informed Xu Xuan that a secret realm from Kunwei Heaven had descended in Yizhou, and he learned it was connected to [King Junfeng], Chen Wei Yi.
• Xu Xuan chose Empty-Handed and Liu Xingfang as suitable candidates for the secret realm and ordered Wen Guang to contact them and seek advice from True Person Guang Su and the Wu Household.
• Xu Xuan reflected on the scarcity of altar thunder inheritances and anticipated that the grotto-heaven might provide gains for his cultivation and sect.

Xu Xuan and Guang Su watched Foundation Establishment cultivators enter the Jun Peak secret realm to compete for its treasures. Liu Xingfang fought his way through the estate, but when he raced toward a nurturing earth Purple Mansion spirit treasure, a crimson-robed woman blocked him.

• Xu Xuan met Guang Su in the Great Void and learned which factions and cultivators had gathered around Langzhong Commandery.
• Guang Su introduced her protector Zhao Xia, and she and Xu Xuan sent their Foundation Establishment cultivators into the descending Jun Peak estate.
• Zhao Xia defeated several opponents near a spirit pool and killed an elderly rogue cultivator before claiming the spiritual water.
• Xu Xuan watched Liu Xingfang fight through the estate with his altar thunder sword mystic qi, forcing opponents to retreat.
• Liu Xingfang raced toward a nurturing earth Purple Mansion spirit treasure, but a crimson-robed woman appeared and questioned whether he cultivated altar thunder.