Chapter Summaries

Tiantuo entered Long Abode’s Grotto-Heaven, where its twilight and ancient wood powers threatened to corrupt him, and reached Long Abode Palace. He found a corpse beneath a mysterious wooden crown as Li Fire gathered beyond the twilight.

• Tiantuo resisted the dusk’s bestial influence, endured Wood Blight, and stabilized his Inner Scenery with the powers of the azure-gold bamboo and Whitewood Shrine.
• Tiantuo recognized Dusk Wood and suspected a connection between Jiaoyang and Panmi after glimpsing the three-legged crow within the setting sun.
• Tiantuo found Yi Wood Devil Lord’s blood-red vines controlling people and reached Long Abode Palace, whose cracked plaque bore the mark of Dui Metal adjudication.
• Tiantuo inferred that the great lords of Wood Virtue were involved in a major internal affair and entered the palace, drawn by the Vast Wood he needed.
• Tiantuo saw a decaying corpse on a black throne, began to devolve under its influence, and noticed a wooden crown targeted by Li Fire beyond the twilight.

Tiantuo gathered the manifestations of all Five Woods and completed [Whitewood Shrine] inside Long Abode Palace, while ancient Li Fire revealed the political struggle behind Origin Wood’s rise. After studying murals that showed winds departing the woods, Tiantuo’s [Wind-Restoring Retribution] changed into [Bringing Forth Harmonious Scenery], apparently through True Lord Yuan Yan’s intervention.

• At Many Treasures Heaven, ancient Li Fire told Kuying that Wood Virtue was promoting Origin Wood to counter the Li Emperor, whose attempt to burn Vast Wood had provoked the woods’ response.
• Tiantuo awoke in Long Abode Palace as purple lightning destabilized the Devil Palace, then recognized the black-and-crimson manifestation of [Nestwood] as the final Vast Wood position proof.
• Tiantuo absorbed the Vast Wood qi, completed all Five Woods in his Inner Scenery, and attained [Whitewood Shrine].
• Tiantuo examined ancient murals depicting Li Fire’s destruction of the woods and winds flowing toward the Great Ruin beyond the Eastern Sea.
• Tiantuo’s [Wind-Restoring Retribution] changed into [Bringing Forth Harmonious Scenery], and he concluded that True Lord Yuan Yan wanted Origin Wood to relinquish wind disasters.

Tiantuo reached the Many-Treasure Grotto-Heaven and met Bao Zi, an ancient catalpa spirit who had mastered the Azure Origin tradition’s Divine Abilities. Bao Zi revealed that his life was failing and proposed sacrificing himself to help Tiantuo claim the origin wood position.

• Tiantuo emerged safely in the Autumn Sea, met Baoqiu, and followed him into the Many-Treasure Grotto-Heaven.
• Baoqiu showed Tiantuo the Grotto-Heaven’s hidden metal position proof, the Treasury Pouch of Treasure Gold, and brought him to Kuying.
• Kuying sent Tiantuo and Baoqiu to meet Bao Zi, whose failing condition had left him living on a land that harmed wood virtue.
• Bao Zi recognized Tiantuo as the heir to the Azure Yang One-Origin tradition and recounted how Jiansui had tasked him with supporting origin wood’s return to its position.
• Bao Zi revealed that he had only two hundred years left and offered to transform into origin wood’s blight so Tiantuo could defeat him and attain the true nature.

Tiantuo learned from Bao Zi how nurturing earth spirit monsters resisted the correction of origin wood, then received a sky thunder shell and the Canopy Dawn Seal from the Many-Treasures Tradition. He stayed in the grotto-heaven to refine the seal, wary of the factions that might oppose his return to the golden rank.

• Bao Zi explained the baleful afflictions of the five essences and revealed that he remained in the Autumn Essence Land to preserve his spirituality as a spirit monster.
• Bao Zi described the changes to true fire and water transformation, while Baoqiu gave Tiantuo the emptied Firmament Essence Compilation as a reference for sky thunder.
• Bao Zi transformed into an azure ox and returned to the platform, hoping Tiantuo would someday reestablish the Azure Yang One Origin Tradition.
• Baoqiu led Tiantuo to the Treasure-Gathering Land and gave him the Canopy Dawn Seal, a lesser yang spirit treasure that resonated with his origin wood abilities.
• Tiantuo agreed to remain in the grotto-heaven to refine the seal and worried about the dragonkind and the Profound Secret Demon Land opposing his Dao verification.

Xu Xuan returned to Pan Sea after defeating Hope Sea and learned from Dragon King Cave Azure that True Person Azure Origin had entered Many Treasures and gained a chance to attain the Dao. Cave Azure explained the tangled history of Water Virtue and revealed that True Lord Xu Ling of the Primordial One Way might be the reincarnation of True Lord Xiyu, leaving Xu Xuan to consider the sect’s role in restoring Ren Water.

• Xu Xuan defeated Hope Sea, then met Hou Ni, who reported ripping Remnant Jade’s horn away with the aid of his Spirit Artifacts.
• Xu Xuan returned to Dao Xian Palace and ordered Hou Ni to check on Mu Sheng while he asked Dragon King Cave Azure about Tiantuo.
• Cave Azure said True Person Azure Origin had entered Many Treasures and gained an opportunity to attain the Dao.
• Cave Azure told Xu Xuan that restoring Ren Water would require cooperation among the paths, but the Primordial One tradition would oppose it because its True Lord still held Gui Water’s position.
• Cave Azure recounted how True Lord Xiyu brought Gui Water’s Retainer Position Proof into Kan Water to avenge Xiyin, causing the deaths of herself and Heavenly Huai.
• Cave Azure revealed that True Lord Xu Ling of the Primordial One Way might be True Lord Xiyu reincarnated, since they reportedly had identical faces.

Xu Xuan bestowed powerful Seal Scripts on Mu Yu, Mu Sheng, and Xu Ming, then watched Xu Fayan complete his Divine Ability. He arranged for Xu Fayan to oversee White Cang and summoned Gao Xia.

• Xu Xuan led Mu Yu and Mu Sheng to honor their ancestors and bestowed [Greater Yin Concealing Ren] on Mu Yu and [Wielding Thunder in Peril] on Mu Sheng.
• Xu Xuan bestowed [Sun and Moon Within the Gate] on Xu Ming and ordered him to keep the gift secret.
• Xu Ming demonstrated his Sword Essence, and Xu Xuan urged him to master Sword Qi before Foundation Establishment.
• Xu Fayan emerged from seclusion after completing [Nether Sheep Rite], and Xu Xuan introduced him to Xu Ming.
• Xu Xuan told Xu Fayan about the conflict between Li and Liao and arranged for him to oversee White Cang while Xiao Wen returned to the mountain.
• Xu Xuan summoned Gao Xia and asked about her.

Xu Fayan explained how he became a nether evil and discussed the growing monster dynasty and the sect’s plans for the southwest with Xu Xuan. After Xu Fayan chose the Daoist title Ominous Portent, Xu Xuan gave him spirit artifacts and advised him to visit the Great Nether Wastes.

• Xu Fayan explained that his Nether Sheep Rite had made him a nether evil and that Gao Xia had regained her intelligence but lost her memories.
• Xu Xuan described the Xia Dynasty’s rise in Sindhu, the fall of the Perfect Vision Dao, and the unrest spreading through the Southern Border.
• Xu Fayan proposed reclaiming Great Ridge and dealing with Autumn Clarity, while Xu Xuan said the lineage would have to return everything it had taken.
• Xu Fayan chose Ominous Portent as his Daoist title, and Xu Xuan gave him the Azure Loam Firmament-Nurturing Urn and the Demon Abyss Divine Baleful Palace.
• Xu Xuan warned Xu Fayan to handle the Spirit-Capturing Cloth carefully and advised him to visit the Great Nether Wastes, where Nether Sheep had fallen.

The Great Li forces broke Wolf Mountain after Wanjin and Wankong summoned the perfected-bale-qi cultivator Corpse Inquiry, who fought Tuoba Jue. Emperor Tianchi then ordered the campaign against Liao to accelerate, believing the war had to intensify before the dying yin wood root brought the Li Fire True Lord’s final battle.

• Wankong offered the Golden Scale to the Great Xia Golden Man, and Wanjin awakened it with three Divine Abilities and summoned Baleful Shen, Corpse Inquiry.
• Corpse Inquiry challenged the Yellow Ram Dharma Form and Ji Huo, but Tuoba Jue emerged and confronted him with the powers of Sheji.
• The battle ended with Wolf Mountain falling, three Rebirth Diamonds dead, one Bodhi slain, Wankong injured, and Huan Yuan reduced to his True Spirit.
• Tianchi ordered the King of Misty Mountain to prepare to take Desecration Mound within twelve years and said Great Li had to pacify Liao quickly.
• Tianchi reflected on a prophecy about the Son of Fierce Violence usurping the throne and resolved to use the war against Liao to confront the many woods.

Xu Xuan cultivated [Righteous Punishment] with a pill refined by Tiantuo, while planning to strengthen his abilities before the coming war. Tiantuo then used the [Azure Radiance Mystic Flame] to begin Xu Ming’s Lesser Yang receptacle training, which he said would be complete in six years.

• Xu Xuan began cultivating [Righteous Punishment] and used one of Tiantuo’s crude [Mystic Wound Pills], which increased his cultivation power and helped his Mysterious Elephant form faster.
• Xu Xuan concluded that he needed to reach the threshold of the Five Arts before the final battle and considered how his other Divine Abilities could be cultivated.
• Tiantuo warned Xu Xuan that the Lesser Yang Receptacle art could not be used without the [Azure Radiance Mystic Flame].
• Tiantuo cast the [Azure Radiance Mystic Flame] onto a Lesser Yang water mirror, sending dawn light into Xu Ming as he practiced swordsmanship.
• Tiantuo said Xu Ming’s receptacle art would reach completion in six years and that his affinity with Lesser Yang would make him exceptionally strong among his peers.

Xu Fayan used the Grave Sheep Evil Earth to create Wei Yang, an Outer Organ that would refine the Great Nether Wastes Wilds while he pursued overseas affairs. At Heavenly Cold Pass, Liu Xingfang was summoned back to his sect and resolved to advance to the Purple Mansion despite not mastering Sword Intent.

• Xu Fayan absorbed the Grave Sheep Evil Earth and created the sheep-headed Wei Yang to refine sand and soil in the desert.
• Xu Fayan considered hunting Earth Virtue monsters overseas and left Wei Yang in the Great Nether Wastes Wilds under his sect's command banner.
• Liu Xingfang defeated the last fleeing Witchfolk cultivator near Heavenly Cold Pass and learned that the area had been pacified.
• Qing Lang told Liu Xingfang that Lord Calamity-Splitting had summoned him back and that a cultivation site in the former Tribulation Command grounds had been approved for him.
• Liu Xingfang tested his sword and reflected on his failure to attain Sword Intent, then decided to pursue the Purple Mansion without abandoning sword practice.

Guan Quan brought the gravely injured Wei Shuang to the White Moon Palace, where Palace Master Wei offered to save him through Greater Yin chain form if he abandoned his grudges. Wei Shuang refused to forget the destruction of Frost Plum, so Palace Master Wei sealed his memories and began the process of rebirth, leaving open the possibility that he could seek revenge after he remembered.

• Guan Quan entered the Mysterious Palace with Wei Shuang’s severed head and asked Palace Master Wei to save him.
• Palace Master Wei healed Wei Shuang’s injuries and offered him chain-form rebirth in exchange for forgetting his grudges and cultivating under her.
• Wei Shuang refused to abandon his hatred, declaring that he would rather die than forget Frost Plum’s 1,321 disciples.
• Palace Master Wei sealed Wei Shuang’s memories and said he could remember after chain form, but must not seek revenge in her or the White Moon Dao Lineage’s name.
• Guan Quan thanked Palace Master Wei as the Greater Yin radiance settled and the frost around the palace melted into warm white water.

Xu Fayan took charge of White Cang and began expanding its islands while planning his next cultivation steps. In the Many Treasures grotto-heaven, Tiantuo prepared to leave as Lü Zhao perfected his victory gold divine abilities, and Baoqiu arranged for the two cultivators to travel together.

• Xu Fayan met Liu Xiaowen at White Cang, accepted responsibility for its affairs, and received warnings about Great Xia, local allies, and nearby spirit treasures.
• Xu Fayan ordered Qi Zhengyi and Empty-Handed to investigate Purple Mansion cultivators around White Cang, then used nurturing earth radiance to expand the surrounding islands.
• Tiantuo displayed the five spirit roots in the Whitewood Shrine and departed to thank Baoqiu for hosting him.
• Lü Zhao perfected his victory gold divine abilities in a vast celestial phenomenon, and Tiantuo recognized the potential significance of his arrival.
• Baoqiu introduced Lü Zhao to Tiantuo, True Person Azure Origin, and the two agreed to travel together.

Baoqiu defended his help to Lü Zhao as Kuying worried over the consequences of involvement in the Victory Gold path, until a powerful Jiang clan woman supported Baoqiu and ordered the Xu descendants to retrieve Duke Xu Ning’s legacy. At the Heavenly Tribulation sect, Liu Xingfang prepared to break through to Divine Abilities, while Xu Xuan explained that he would still pursue the dangerous Golden Position of Altar Thunder.

• Baoqiu told Kuying that helping Lü Zhao concerned Victory Gold and had the approval of the True Lord, but Kuying warned him about the path’s far-reaching ties.
• A woman surrounded by Li Fire praised Baoqiu, urged Kuying to stop acting too cautiously, and said the Xu descendants should retrieve what Duke Xu Ning had left behind.
• Liu Xingfang told Xu Xuan that his perfected Immortal Foundation and prepared pills made him ready to enter the Southern Capital and break through.
• Xu Xuan gave Liu Xingfang the Universalizing Thunder Edict Seal to assist his breakthrough, and Liu Xingfang asked how he viewed the Golden Rank.
• Xu Xuan said pursuing the Altar Thunder position could bring the world against him, but he would seek it regardless and hoped to question Ding Fire as the Master of Mystic Thunder.

Xu Xuan established a new generation-character sequence for the sect before a divine decree summoned him to the Southern Capital for the assault on Desecration Mound. There, Right Historian Tao gave Feng Yan a mysterious bloodstone and urged him to seek the golden position as soon as possible.

• Xu Xuan and Liu Xiaowen discussed the Xu lineage, promising Foundation Establishment candidates, and a new sequence of generation characters for the sect.
• Xu Xuan chose the sequence "Pi, Du, Pan, He; Tai, Shang, Ming, Chi" and planned to confirm it in the Founders' Hall after Xing Fang advanced.
• A golden decree summoned Xu Xuan to prepare for the assault on Desecration Mound, and he left with the Heavenly Soldiers of the Divine Department.
• Right Historian Tao appeared before Feng Yan in the Heavenly Wolf Hall and offered help from the blessed land, despite Feng Yan's refusal to borrow outside strength.
• Right Historian Tao gave Feng Yan a bloodstone and urged him to seek the golden position quickly; Feng Yan recognized that it contained Blood Qi.

Yuanchai and Yuan E discussed Heavenly Poison Mountain’s plans to exploit Feng Yan’s Blood Qi and pursue the Golden Position while guarding against Lingsa. In the Autumn Sea, Bond Metal brought Xu Ming into the Grotto-Heaven to meet Baoqiu, whose words about Xu Ming’s bloodline coincided with Azure-Sink Lake beginning to churn.

• Yuanchai reported to Yuan E that Blood Qi remained insufficient and that Great Rites had turned against Heavenly Poison Mountain.
• Yuan E said they would wait for Feng Yan’s realization and for unusual signs in the world’s Blood Qi, while watching for Lingsa.
• Bond Metal brought Xu Ming to the Grotto-Heaven and showed him its mountains, palaces, and Azure-Sink Lake.
• Bond Metal quieted the lake’s unruly monsters, then led Xu Ming to meet Baoqiu.
• Baoqiu recognized Xu Ming’s pure Lesser Yang aura, and Azure-Sink Lake began churning as he said Xu Ming’s Xu bloodline meant something could no longer be suppressed.

Xu Ming received the Xu clan’s ancestral secret realm and sword, then left the grotto-heaven with a young mystic whale companion after the Ancestor perfected his lesser yang dao seed and gave him a spirit flower. He traveled back toward his sect under the escort of a white-iron golden man, whose aura suggested it had been forged through a lesser yin dharma method.

• Baoqiu gave Xu Ming the Xu clan’s Virtue Gate token, and the ancestral shrine’s sword and relics were drawn into the secret realm.
• Bond Metal showed Xu Ming the grotto-heaven, where Demon King Chang Ying sent the mystic whale Qing Hai to cultivate alongside him.
• Bond Metal brought Xu Ming to the Ancestor, who assimilated his complete yang dao seed and gave him Thunder Pivot Mystic Radiance.
• Xu Ming chose to leave the grotto-heaven, and Bond Metal sent him back toward his sect with the white-iron golden man Chen.
• During the journey, Xu Ming sensed Chen’s pale aura and suspected it had been forged with a lesser yin dharma method.

Xu Ming brought the Secret Realm of Revered Virtue to Red Cloud, where Liu Xiaowen integrated it into the sect’s formation and explored its contents with him. They discovered a fortune-rich realm containing an awakening longevity peach tree, a powerful Spirit Sword, and a sealed false nature, while the lotus’s restraints briefly vanished as they left.

• Xu Ming arrived at Red Cloud with a White-Iron Golden Man that displayed a terrifying aura before vanishing through the Great Void, then told Liu Xiaowen about the Secret Realm of Revered Virtue.
• Liu Xiaowen used a Formation Disk to merge the Secret Realm gate into Red Cloud’s Grand Formation, bringing unusual fortune to the sect.
• Liu Xiaowen and Xu Ming entered the Secret Realm, where they found an Immortal Peach tree bearing three fruits and learned it was beginning to develop awareness.
• Liu Xiaowen left the peaches untouched, received a life-extending substance from the tree, and continued with Xu Ming to the ancestral hall.
• Liu Xiaowen found a black-fire Spirit Sword and a sealed, perfected false nature in the form of a pitch-black lotus, and decided to wait for his master before handling them.
• As Liu Xiaowen and Xu Ming left the Secret Realm, the lotus trembled and the white lines restraining it were briefly obscured.

Xu Xuan helped the Thunder Department refine a powerful calamity for the coming war against Desecration Mound and discussed the conflict between Li, Liao, and Great Xia with Weihua. The chapter left Xu Xuan concerned about surviving the battle and uncertain which powerful cultivators Li Song would send.

• Xu Xuan watched the Thunder Department refine the Heavenly Slaughter Calamity, which Weihua said would be ready in three years for the war against Desecration Mound.
• Weihua explained that the Celestial Pivot Sword Immortal and Xu Xuan were destined to clash over their competing Dao paths, regardless of the war between Li and Liao.
• Xu Xuan asked Weihua whether the Imperial House had considered the danger of Great Xia taking advantage of the Liao Campaign, and Weihua said others would deal with that threat.
• Weihua warned Xu Xuan that Altar Thunder was difficult to cultivate and urged him to focus on staying alive.
• Xu Xuan considered the powerful enemies he might face at Desecration Mound and wondered which perfected Divine Ability cultivators Li Song would send.

In Six Desires Heaven, Deliverance summoned the Bliss-Desire manifestation and oversaw Xu Dai’s emergence from a mass of flesh and blood. Xu Dai was named the Seventh Demon Manifestation, charged with Change Desire.

• Jing Xing arrived at the Waves-Transforming Palace with the injured Deliverance, where Tuoba Cai, Slaughter Sin, and Zhi Youya were waiting.
• Deliverance asked where Feng Yan was and learned that he had gone into seclusion to comprehend the Dao.
• Deliverance chanted beneath the Waves-Transforming Palace, transforming Six Desires Heaven and summoning the vast Bliss-Desire manifestation.
• A mass of flesh and blood descended from the palace, and Xu Dai broke free as Heavenly Demons poured into his body.
• Xu Dai gained three perfected Withering Qi Divine Abilities and received a ritual robe and long sword.
• Deliverance declared Xu Dai the Seventh Demon Manifestation and assigned him the charge of Change Desire.

Tuoba Jue entered the Capital and told Xiao Xian that Liao could not hold the Li Kingdom’s forces without help. Xiao Xian ordered Tuoba Jue and Evil Land to keep the Central Capital from falling until Desecration Mound was lost, after which Liao’s forces would retreat to Origin Capital; at Desecration Mound, Feng Yan weighed his blood-qi cultivation and the danger ahead.

• Tuoba Jue and Tuoba Lin discussed the Liao Lands’ political future as their procession entered the Capital, and Tuoba Jue cautioned that the Tuoba Clan should avoid becoming deeply involved in the war.
• Tuoba Jue met Xiao Xian in the Imperial Palace and said that Demon-Subduing could not withstand Tai Zhen and Black Baleful alone.
• Xiao Xian ordered Tuoba Jue and Evil Land to prevent the Central Capital from being overrun until Desecration Mound fell, then to retreat and defend Origin Capital.
• At Desecration Mound, Feng Yan examined his [Origin Blood Pact] divine ability and the bloodstone from White Paper Blessed Land as he prepared to discuss the defense with Le Yu.