Chapter Summaries

Yuan E attempted to seek a golden position by using Calamity Blessing’s formlessness to conceal himself, while Huji and Xu Xuan discerned his method. As Yuan E’s name began to fade from memory, Xu Xuan entered the Hengyi Star manifestation and encountered the formless realm surrounding Constant Light.

• Yuan E offered the Child Vessel to Heavenly Poison, vanished, and continued his attempt to seek the golden position through Blood Exorcism, Witchcraft Blessing, and Fit to Receive Offerings.
• Huji recognized that Yuan E was using Calamity Blessing as yin to imitate Greater Yin and seek the Dao through Purple Gold, while Emperor Lingsa pursued him as a calamity omen.
• Origin Poison broke free, increasing the power and prevalence of venomous insects, epidemics, and malignant diseases throughout the Nine Provinces.
• Yuanchai traced Numinous and Calamity in the sand, and the rightmost Yarrow Effigy snapped apart as Yuan E’s name and identity began slipping from memory.
• Xu Xuan entered his Inner Scenery and climbed the Heavenly Ladder to the Hengyi Star, where he sat on a green meditation cushion and sensed the formless realm.

Xu Xuan stopped Yuan E’s attempt to seek the Dao of calamity blessing through Yin-Yang, declaring his understanding flawed as Sky Wolf Star moved to devour him. Xu Xuan then attained the fruit position of calamity blessing and saw its position proof within the world’s framework, where a voice identified altar thunder as the pivotal mechanism of Three and Five.

• Lord Zhu and Fan Ju watched the pool clear as Yuan E’s attempt to seek the Dao through Yin-Yang unfolded.
• Huaiyin, Jingyan, and Yuandan witnessed signs of Yuan E’s ritual from Penglai, the Great Moonlight Temple, and Heavenly Poison Mountain.
• Xu Xuan heard Yuan E ask for the Dao of Yin-Yang and declared that calamity blessing was yin and yang as one.
• Xu Xuan halted Yuan E’s ascent, and Sky Wolf Star appeared in the Great Void, demanding to know who had intervened.
• The Immortal Stele gained the character [Calamity], and Xu Xuan attained the fruit position of calamity blessing.
• Xu Xuan saw the position proof within the world’s framework before a voice named altar thunder as the central axis of primordial beginning.

Xu Xuan deciphered the formless nature of calamity blessing and used the Supreme Clarity Stele to draw out its power, while Heavenly Poison Mountain believed its High Shaman had restored the Dao by borrowing it. Huji concluded that calamity was yin and planned to test fortune as yang before pursuing the Heavenly Official position at next year's Shangyuan Festival.

• Xu Xuan realized ancient witchcraft borrowed authority by inviting formless ghost gods to occupy a practitioner, and identified calamity poison as a venerable position linked to the Great Dao of Measure.
• Xu Xuan used the Supreme Clarity Stele and his celestial virtue to seize scriptures and memories from the calamity blessing fruit position, gaining insight into its authority and concealing the Great Scarlet Heaven from Golden Core cultivators and True Lords.
• Xu Xuan shifted calamity blessing toward yin, then returned outside when Tiantuo called and heard people proclaiming that the undertaking had succeeded.
• On Heavenly Poison Mountain, Yuandan believed the High Shaman had restored calamity blessing by sacrificing himself, and accepted congratulations as the mountain's new master and representative of its witchcraft tradition.
• Yuandan spotted Xu Xuan in the Northern Great Void, considered meeting him, then decided against it because of Heavenly Poison Mountain's past schemes against him.
• Huji concluded that calamity was yin and fortune was likely yang, and planned to test the change with Purple Mansion Spirit Treasures before claiming the Heavenly Official position at next year's Shangyuan Festival.

At the Liao palace, Xiao Huaimi explained why the Xiao Clan would yield its territory to Great Li and wait for its unified dynasty to collapse. After a disturbance involving Yelü Tan, he warned that a powerful enemy was targeting the clan and ordered them to stop pursuing Xu Xuan.

• Xiao Huaimi told Xiao Xian and the imperial princes that the Song Clan sought unification and that the Xiao Clan would trade away the Liao Lands to become the sky wolf of the Barbarian Wastes.
• Xiao Huaimi explained that true Lingsa imperial dominion required control of nurturing earth, but formidable great ones already held the other essences.
• Xiao Huaimi heard a scream from Yelü Tan's side, opened the great void, and said he would investigate and go to Upper Spirit Heaven.
• Xiao Huaimi suspected a powerful figure connected to the Great Li Calamity-Splitting True Person was targeting the Xiao Clan, and said Yelü Tan had been divided into 3,621 aspects to investigate.
• Xiao Huaimi ordered the clan not to target Xu Xuan again and left the matter to the Demon Land, where Le Yu was interested in him.

Xu Xuan studied the Calamity Blessing fruit position’s influence in Shu and considered how to use sacrifices and its witchcraft knowledge. At the Wei Residence, Wei Mi forced Du Zhi to attempt a ritual, and the battered shaman finally offered to submit.

• Xu Xuan observed Shu’s sacrifices flowing to the Calamity Blessing fruit position and realized he could exchange offerings with it through the Immortal Stele.
• Xu Xuan explained the fruit position to Tiantuo, inspected the memories of the spirits in his grotto-heaven, and discussed Heavenly Poison Mountain with Liu Xiaowen.
• Xu Xuan said he would visit Autumn Clarity to settle matters, while the story shifted to Wei Mi’s ritual ground in Longyang Commandery.
• Wei Mi ordered Wei Xu to release and heal Du Zhi, then provide monster blood so Du Zhi could attempt a final spell.
• Du Zhi’s sacrifice ritual backfired and left him coughing black blood; as Wu Light descended and a Blackbird appeared, he agreed to submit.

Xu Xuan visited Great Mystery Mountain, where Xiao Dianqing revealed its history and returned a Profound Token that awakened a new character on his Immortal Stele. He warned her that Autumn Clarity faced a deadly calamity and urged the sect to relocate, but left before she agreed.

• Xu Xuan entered Autumn Clarity Gate’s formation, and Xiao Dianqing was forced to guide him around Great Mystery Mountain.
• Xiao Dianqing recounted the mountain’s history, including its ties to True Lord Constant Light and the deaths of King Qingxuan, Li Huai, and others in Changning.
• Xiao Dianqing returned the Profound Token to Xu Xuan, and it transformed on his Immortal Stele into the character [摛].
• Xu Xuan said Great Mystery Mountain was his sect’s ancestral land and warned Xiao Dianqing that Autumn Clarity faced a killing tribulation unless it relocated.
• Xiao Dianqing tried to delay the decision while waiting for allies, but Xu Xuan departed, warning that calamity was coming while people remained unaware.

Xu Fayan refined the Red-Fighting Centipede into part of his Dharma Body, while Xu Xuan deepened his understanding of altar thunder and the five phases. The chapter ended with Xu Xuan planning a sacrifice to test whether the Place of the Formless could safely admit those granted seal scripts.

• Xu Fayan assessed the escaped Purple Mansion demon's threat and planned to seek help from his sect and Senior Brother Xiao Wen before hunting it.
• Xu Fayan used Gathering Evil to absorb the transforming Red-Fighting Centipede, easing his hunger and gaining control of its Five Poisons Joined as One seal script.
• Xu Xuan retained only the most primordial black law and realized that altar thunder's Divine Abilities connected to the five phases through the unknown Primordial Beginning Axis.
• Xu Xuan sensed that Xu Fayan had succeeded and decided to have him return to the mountain to study the witchcraft arts in the Most High Pavilion.
• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo discussed opening the Place of the Formless to cultivators with seal scripts, and Xu Xuan considered sacrificing the Spirit-Capturing Cloth for guidance.

Xu Xuan used the calamity blessing fruit position to divine how to handle the secret realm and prepare to ascend into a grotto-heaven, then searched his subordinates’ memories for clues about Golden Core cultivators. Dongfang Guangxu’s memories revealed a vast sea realm beneath Guixu and a dragon vessel made from a Golden Core dragon’s body.

• Xu Xuan sacrificed the Spirit-Capturing Cloth and received a divination advising him to take out the lotus to avoid harm while handling the secret realm and ascending into a grotto-heaven.
• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo discussed seeking the final divine ability, preparing for Great Li’s war, and killing Xu Dai before Xu Xuan pursued the golden position.
• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo examined Dongfang Guangxu’s memories, discovering that he had visited the Great Ruins Sea Realm with his father, Bright Thunder.
• Dongfang Guangxu’s memories showed an immense dragon vessel beneath Guixu, formed from the flesh, sinews, and bones of a Golden Core dragon.
• The memories ended before revealing when the vessel would set sail, and Xu Xuan and Tiantuo realized it was the Heavenly Vessel’s Former Body.

Xu Xuan and Tiantuo investigated the demon manifestations’ memories, uncovering Le Yu’s Fengxuan origins and its campaign to steal true names. After the manifestations noticed their hidden realm, Xu Xuan resolved to seek an alliance with the Primordial Mother of the Southern Sea and sent Xiao Wen to make contact.

• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo discussed the Vast Water retainer position, the Dragon Lord’s body as a vessel, and the exalted status of Lesser Yin.
• Xu Xuan used the Immortal Stele to examine Pleasure and Desire’s memories and learned that the demon land stole true names to seize people’s identities and lives.
• Wondrous Womb ordered Pleasure and Desire to capture Miao'e, and Deliverance used the Longjoy Ring to cut off her connection to the Greater Yin Star and steal her name.
• Pleasure and Desire and Deliverance attacked the Frost Plum Sect, killed True Person Yan Shuang, and learned that a Foundation Establishment cultivator had escaped.
• Wondrous Womb’s account of Free-and-Easy Master and the three devils revealed Le Yu’s connection to the Fengxuan Dao Lineage, before Xu Xuan and Tiantuo destroyed the manifestations’ forms and concealed their realm.
• Xu Xuan concluded that the Primordial Lord of Transforming Tide threatened him and decided to approach the Primordial Mother of the Southern Sea through Xiao Wen.

Xu Xuan and Tiantuo studied the Immortal Stele and planned to use its Dao-enlightening power while preparing for Qi Changsheng’s bid for a fortune retainer position. In the Southern Capital, Qi Changsheng confirmed that calamity blessing had become yin in nature and told Sui Bai he would stake everything on seeking the golden position.

• Tiantuo explained how the Devil Ancestors Qiyong, Ancient Void, and Taojue severed Primordial Beginning’s laws and why cultivators had welcomed the change.
• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo entered Dao enlightenment through the Immortal Stele and decided Xiao Wen and the others should pay their respects at the grotto-heaven after Qi Changsheng’s bid.
• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo discussed Qi Changsheng’s likely pursuit of a fortune retainer position and considered using the occasion to investigate the Bai Ze clan and the three virtues.
• Qi Changsheng used a ritual to absorb iron-gray radiance from spirit treasures and concluded that calamity blessing had become yin in nature.
• Sui Bai visited Qi Changsheng, who said he would seek the golden position at next year’s Upper Origin Lantern Festival Fair and would not leave himself a chance to reincarnate.

Heavenly Sparrow discussed the coming Liao Campaign, Princess Qingci’s marriage to Xu Ming, and the Song Clan’s ambitions with Xie Kuo. In Upper Spirit Heaven, Xiao Huaimi and True Person Spirit Source released Yelü Tan and appointed him First General Against Li to defend the capital while the Yelü and Xiao Clans prepared to withdraw.

• Heavenly Sparrow told Xie Kuo that Heavenly Poison Mountain’s Divine Department remaining intact was enough, then said Imperial Preceptor Qi should be left alone.
• Heavenly Sparrow ordered Qingci to marry Xu Ming after he reached Foundation Establishment and warned that the Song Clan’s ambitions would bring suffering if Song Qing failed to understand his meaning.
• Xiao Huaimi and True Person Spirit Source told Yelü Tan that True Lord Ru Ji’s eye had been destroyed by primordial chaos, signaling that the battle Beyond the Heavens had ended.
• Yelü Tan discussed True Lord Xuanhun’s victory and said the return of calamity blessing had made the situation unfavorable for them.
• Xiao Huaimi told Yelü Tan that the Emperor Lord had ordered his release and appointed him First General Against Li to guard the capital and secure the Yelü and Xiao Clans’ withdrawal.
• Yelü Tan accepted the command and vowed to lead the defense of his nation.

True Person Ye Xi returned to Dust-Sweeping and told An Changyan that True Person Yuan Yi had reincarnated in a dangerous region near the Southern Border. Ye Xi set out to retrieve him, while An Changyan planned to use Xu Xuan’s fall to secure an opportunity for Xianhui.

• An Changyan met Ye Xi at Three Bows Palace and discussed his choice to cultivate the Purple Gold path rather than the ancient Immortal Dao.
• Ye Xi said he had come to bring Wei Chuan, now known as True Person Yuan Yi, back to Dust-Sweeping after his successful reincarnation.
• Ye Xi revealed that the True Lord had used [Celestial Subtlety's Central Pivot] in a battle that pierced [Upside-Down Hanging Diagram], and that the fight helped hasten Primordial Heaven's descent.
• Ye Xi located Wei Chuan between Sindhu and the Southern Border and vowed to bring him back safely, even from the Golden Crow's territory.
• After Ye Xi departed, An Changyan said he would exploit Xu Xuan's attempt to attain the golden position so Xianhui could have his chance.

Tiantuo refined the Canopy Dawn Seal and considered his uncertain path toward origin wood’s orthodox position as Bimo explained Upper Firmament’s history and the dangers facing its lineage. Bimo took him toward Jianghuai to witness Qi Changsheng’s realization, while the chapter left them watching the approaching Shangyuan Festival and its signs of auspicious fortune.

• Tiantuo refined the Canopy Dawn Seal and studied how Bringing Forth Harmonious Scenery differed from Harmonizing the Seasons.
• Bimo summoned Tiantuo and told him Qi Changsheng would attain his realization during the Shangyuan Lantern Festival Fair.
• Bimo explained how Upper Firmament’s lineage had shifted from origin wood to sky thunder and warned Tiantuo that origin wood’s orthodox position was perilous.
• Bimo told Tiantuo to preserve himself and the lineage if she fell, naming Many Treasures as another possible path.
• Bimo led Tiantuo toward Jianghuai to await Qi Changsheng’s attempt to seek the Golden Position, while auspicious snow fell across Great Li with ten days until the Shangyuan Festival.

During the Upper Origin Festival, Nangang, Liu Xiaowen, and Liu Shu Han watched the Great Li ceremony as Imperial Preceptor Qi Changsheng prepared to seek the Golden Position. As Double Radiance Mountain appeared in the Great Void, Xu Xuan recognized that Qi’s great sacrificial ceremony had begun.

• Nangang explained that the ancient Immortal Dao offered long lifespans but was extremely difficult to cultivate, while Liu Shu Han watched street performers and wondered how people might make fire without spiritual qi.
• Nangang identified Double Radiance Mountain as the sacred site brought forth by the Song Clan to support Qi Changsheng’s attempt to seek the Golden Position.
• Bai Jun considered his choices among the divine positions and resolved to join Xia if Great Li fell, while suppressing the wounded manta ray beneath him.
• Weihua warned Xu Xuan that Wu Earth’s golden nature opposed Nurturing Earth and advised his disciple to avoid returning to the mainland often; Xu Xuan also reviewed reports of worsening plagues and poisonous creatures.
• Double Radiance Mountain manifested above the Southern Capital, and Xu Xuan saw Qi Changsheng standing on its red-and-gold Treasure Platform as the ceremony began.

Qi Changsheng began his Golden Position ritual by raising the Fortune Star to emulate the Greater Yang and illuminate Great Li. Xu Xuan revealed the hidden yang nature of Calamity Blessing, exposing a flaw that halted the star as a Bai Ze manifestation appeared to obstruct Qi Changsheng’s path.

• Qi Changsheng accepted the Demonic Trial, faced accusations from the suffering Qi Clan ancestors, and answered that the clan endured as long as he remained.
• Qi Changsheng began his Heavenly Official sacrifice, dispelled plagues across Great Li, and received the Mysterious Seal of True Person Luo Fu after it flew from a secret realm to him.
• Qi Changsheng used the seal and his fortune abilities to manifest a Fortune Star, intending to emulate the Greater Yang and attain the Dao.
• Xu Xuan used the Immortal Stele to reveal that Calamity Blessing retained its hidden yang nature, exposing a flaw in Qi Changsheng’s method.
• The Fortune Star stopped rising as an immense Bai Ze-like beast appeared in the Northern Heaven, and Qi Changsheng demanded to know who was obstructing his Dao.

Qi Changsheng failed to attain the Golden Rank through fortune and became an evil creature, while Xu Xuan sacrificed it to calamity blessing and divined the final Altar Thunder cultivation method. The chapter ended with Celestial Master Ye and a Gloomy Netherworld cultivator discussing how fortune could escape the laws and comparing their ambitions for reincarnation.

• Bai Ze appeared over Li Province, and Qi Changsheng realized that calamity blessing combined yin and yang, exposing the Great Shaman of Heavenly Poison Mountain's failure to attain the Golden Rank.
• Qi Changsheng tried to use the laws of primordial beginning to attain the Golden Rank, but a golden hand seized the Heavenly Official Seal and Qi Changsheng became an evil creature.
• Bai Ze tried to devour Qi Changsheng, but Xu Xuan sacrificed most of the evil creature through calamity blessing and obtained a vision of the final Altar Thunder cultivation method, [Celestial Subtlety's Central Pivot].
• Xu Xuan recognized that Dust-Sweeping possessed the method and the Thunder Palace treasure, while Qi Changsheng's fall left the Qi Clan on the verge of ruin.
• Celestial Master Ye told Fellow Daoist Zhu that good deeds were essential to attaining the Golden Rank, then explained that he had joined the Gloomy Netherworld to help free fortune qi from the laws.

After Qi Changsheng’s death, Qi Yanchuan rejected his clan’s plan to remain in the Southern Capital and set out alone, while Xu Xuan learned from Northern Yin how the Withering path’s possession worked and what threat Le Yu’s demon manifestation posed. Liu Xingfang then gained the Heaven-Commanding Tribulation divine ability, and Xu Xuan prepared to return to the mountain with him.

• Qi Yanchuan argued that the Qi Clan should leave for Crane Isle, but when his relatives refused to follow, he departed alone with the painting Qi Chang'en gave him.
• Xu Xuan asked Northern Yin about Le Yu’s demon manifestation, and Northern Yin explained the Withering path’s possession techniques and warned that Xu Xuan had to kill the manifestation imitating him.
• Northern Yin told Xu Xuan that the Devil Ancestor might return if no one bore the Daoist title Northern Yin, and that Le Yu’s methods drew on You Dai’s inheritance.
• Northern Yin urged Xu Xuan to take revenge while he still remembered his old grudges, before the Golden Rank’s long life made them seem insignificant.
• Liu Xingfang broke through to Purple Mansion with the Heaven-Commanding Tribulation divine ability, and Xu Xuan decided to return to the mountain with him.

At the Southern Border, Ye Xi confronted Obscuring Barrier to protect Fan Ming, a Foundation Establishment cultivator accused of killing Xia garrison troops. Their battle unleashed clashing Tribulation Fires that tore apart the land, while an indistinct figure raced north into Great Li.

• Ye Xi and Fan Ming faced the monster army after Fan Ming escaped capture for killing his guards and protecting mortals from the monsters.
• Obscuring Barrier arrived and demanded justice for the Imperial Dynasty's Border Army soldiers, while Ye Xi challenged his claim to be a subject of Great Xia.
• Ye Xi placed a talisman on Fan Ming and unleashed his Sect Daoist Arts against Obscuring Barrier.
• Obscuring Barrier transformed into a young man and fired thousands of Ultimate Fire arrows as Ye Xi overturned heaven and earth with Ding Fire.
• Their flames split the land and sent a thousand li of territory drifting into the sea as an Overseas Continent.
• An indistinct blue-yellow figure skirted the battle and raced north into Great Li.

Xu Xuan taught Liu Xingfang the altar thunder Divine Ability and arranged for a sword to be forged from Divine Firmament Gold. After Xu Fayan proposed killing the monster Elephant Key to gain a Divine Ability, Xu Xuan left the decision to his disciples and warned Liu Xingfang to follow his own conscience; the chapter ended with Xu Xuan planning to take him to the coming battlefield.

• Xu Xuan explained the powers of [Heaven-Commanding Tribulation] to Liu Xingfang and recognized that his seal script let him borrow Thunder Arts through his authority.
• Xu Xuan agreed to have Wen Guang reforge Divine Firmament Gold into a sword for Liu Xingfang, while Wen Guang recommended seeking advice from Dousing Flame and Great True Person Jingying.
• Xu Fayan returned from the Great Nether Wastes and reported seeing ultimate fire and Ding Fire cultivators battle in the Southern Border, then asked the sect to help him slay Elephant Key and refine the wu earth monster.
• Liu Xiaowen agreed to handle the matter with Xu Fayan, and Xu Xuan sent them to arrange it under the sect rules while also visiting Dousing Flame and Universal Salvation.
• Xu Xuan questioned Liu Xingfang about following the Thunder Palace's Dao and advised him to judge right and wrong by his own heart rather than rely solely on law.
• Liu Xingfang agreed to join Xu Xuan in the coming battle against the Path of Rebirth, while Xu Xuan worried that altar thunder could bring his disciple into conflict with the sect.

Liu Xiaowen and Xu Fayan sought help from Great True Person Jingying to deal with a dangerous false nature and to advance their own cultivation plans. After arranging future aid and receiving advice, they left Dousing Flame to investigate the Elephant Key and confront a monster.

• Liu Xiaowen asked Jingying to help safely remove and seal the false nature of ultimate fire, and Jingying offered the [Primordial Fate-Joining Formula] in exchange for Xu Han guarding her Dao when she later sought the golden position.
• Jingying advised Liu Xiaowen on preserving the properties of [Divine Firmament Gold] during artifact refining.
• Xu Fayan asked about spirit treasures for the art of mutual affliction, and Jingying directed him toward sources for hidden metal and taboo wood and suggested asking Pudu Holy Land about scorching fire and hidden water.
• Jingying warned Xu Fayan not to visit Pudu Holy Land in person because it did not favor nurturing earth cultivators.
• Liu Xiaowen and Xu Fayan left Dousing Flame and decided to investigate the Elephant Key and deal with its monster before seeking an audience at Pudu Holy Land.
• Xu Fayan said the monster cultivated [Dawn Pavilion Palace], the gong tone of Wu earth, bearing the imagery of an emperor.