Chapter Summaries

Xu Xuan negotiated with Penglai’s sect master, Huaiyin, over an alchemical method and discovered a possible source of chaos qi golden nature connected to thunderbolt. He proposed entering the Thunder Pivot himself with the Dharma Treasure Soaring Beyond, and left the meeting ready to depart immediately.

• Huaiyin summoned Shi Xian and explained that Penglai’s Divine Navel alchemical method came from an ancient jade tablet, but he wanted Xu Xuan’s li fire golden nature rather than Measure.
• Huaiyin offered three portions of golden nature—taboo wood, hearing the nether, and longevity—but Xu Xuan rejected them and said he sought something related to thunderbolt.
• Huaiyin revealed that Pang Yan had obtained chaos qi golden nature and that Penglai’s Dharma Treasure Soaring Beyond could sense its connection to the cycle of shock thunder.
• Huaiyin proposed that Penglai retrieve the chaos nature after Lord Peach Blossom recovered his authority, but Xu Xuan offered to enter the place of thunder-shock’s cycle himself.
• Xu Xuan asked to borrow Soaring Beyond and declared that he would go now.

Xu Xuan explored Thunder Pivot with Penglai’s [Soaring Beyond] and found a Mixed Golden Nature already enshrined by the Lesser Yin Dao, so he abandoned plans to take it. Back in Penglai, he exchanged Witchcraft scriptures for the Daoist Canon of Unified Embryo and negotiated for Hearing the Nether Golden Nature and an Immortal Elixir method.

• Xu Xuan used [Soaring Beyond] to locate a Chaos-condensed Mixed Golden Nature in Thunder Pivot, but recognized that the Lesser Yin lineage had claimed it and retreated.
• Xu Xuan returned the borrowed treasure to Huaiyin and proposed exchanging his Li Fire Golden Nature for Hearing the Nether Golden Nature and an Immortal Elixir method.
• Huaiyin explained that Arcane Arts belonged to the incomplete Dao lineage of Unified Embryo and offered Penglai’s [Qi-Shi Alchemical Book] in exchange for Witchcraft secrets.
• Xu Xuan inferred that Thunder Arts could complete the transformations needed to divide Primordial Chaos and balance Yin-Yang as Mystic Thunder.
• Xu Xuan gave Huaiyin the [Nine Chapters of Life and Death] and accepted the [Qi-Shi Alchemical Book], then moved to finalize the exchange for the elixir method and Hearing the Nether Golden Nature.

Xu Xuan exchanged the ominous Li Fire manifestation for Penglai’s hearing the nether golden nature, while Huaiyin and Rong Zhen discussed the coming contest for shock thunder. In Yuyang, Diwu Gao pressed Li Shangmi to pursue [Heavenly Dao-Command] and slay the dragon, but Li Shangmi accepted only because he hoped to preserve his Dao lineage and cure his junior sister.

• Xu Xuan accepted the [Stygian Unmoving Nine Shadows Nature], concealed it with calamity blessing, and gave Huaiyin the Li Fire manifestation in exchange for the [Divine Navel] recipe.
• Huaiyin told Rong Zhen that the candidate for shock-seeking had been chosen and that Eastern Azure might support Mu Youdu of the Southern Sea, while they feared the Altar Thunder Pursuit.
• Li Shangmi completed [Conjoined Radiance Register] and met Diwu Gao, who said the dragon in the Northern Sea had emerged from seclusion and was extraordinary.
• Diwu Gao offered to help Li Shangmi cultivate [Heavenly Dao-Command], enter Lesser Yin’s service, and become a disciple of [True Lord Great Impulse of the Secluded Chamber] if he slew the dragonkin.
• Li Shangmi rejected the promised Dao and divine core, but agreed to act if it would preserve the Many Suns Prefecture’s Dao lineage and cure his junior sister’s illness.

Yuan Tai and Lingjing discussed the unresolved search for Papiyan’s demonic nature and their suspicions about Le Yu, while tensions over the Constant Light Dao Lineage deepened. Xia Lin arrived at Three Bows Palace, learned the lord of Dust-Sweeping was beyond the heavens, and questioned Ye Xi about the sect’s plan to stop Lightning Flash from realizing Shock-Seeking.

• Yuan Tai told Lingjing that Mount Sumeru and Martial Mu had failed to find Papiyan’s demonic nature, and the two debated whether Le Yu was involved and how to treat the Constant Light Dao Lineage.
• Yuan Tai left for Martial Mu Mountain and instructed Lingjing to follow the True Lord’s arrangements concerning Shock Thunder and Wu Earth.
• Lingjing met Xia Lin at Three Bows Palace, then Ye Xi arrived and revealed that the lord of Dust-Sweeping had gone Beyond the Heavens.
• Ye Xi explained that he intended to stop Lightning Flash from attaining realization at Cold Gate, while Xia Lin observed that his sacrifice would not change the outcome.
• Xia Lin recalled how the Northern Altar’s Dao Lineage had once faced destruction and departed in wind and thunder, leaving Ye Xi to reflect on Dust-Sweeping’s roots and the expected return of its lord with Torch Dragon’s relic.

Xu Xuan studied Wu Earth arts and refined a medicine from Huji’s fortune false nature, while considering how to handle golden nature and seek a Golden Position. Mara appeared outside Great Scarlet Heaven, but Qiyong’s Blood Pearl absorbed it and returned to the grotto-heaven, where it began taking human form.

• Xu Xuan studied the Central Earth Boundary Book and refined the Restore Mountains and Rivers Again Diagram as he pursued Wu Earth arts.
• Xu Xuan learned that Cave Azure could not readily teach him how to shift a venerable fruit, and Eastern Azure remained vague about roaming union.
• Xu Xuan used calamity blessing to refine Huji’s fortune false nature into medicine, then told Tiantuo it could help them seek the Golden Position.
• A black Buddha statue appeared outside Great Scarlet Heaven, and Xu Xuan recognized it as Mara as it summoned a Golden Rank of withering.
• Qiyong’s Blood Pearl broke free, absorbed Mara and its withering energy, then returned to Great Scarlet Heaven and began condensing into a human form.

Xu Xuan confronted Xu Wugui, a man connected to Qiyong, who offered him a method to verify the shock thunder position and revealed that Xia Lin was also seeking it. Xu Xuan used a Dao Evolution fragment to deduce the contest’s future, learning that Suspended Chaos would return to primordial chaos and Xia Lin would transform Yin-Yang through the Thunder Pivot.

• The Immortal Stele revealed Nanhua’s Seven Mysteries sword intent, which drove the withering qi back into the Bronze Wine Goblet.
• Xu Wugui appeared and seized the words Xu Xuan spoke, forcing Xu Xuan to fight him before agreeing to talk.
• Xu Wugui warned that Xu Xuan’s plan to obtain shock thunder was perilous and offered a Dharma Method, identifying Xia Lin as his rival.
• Xu Xuan accepted a Dao Evolution fragment from Xu Wugui and used it to deduce the future of the shock thunder contest.
• Xu Xuan foresaw Suspended Chaos returning to primordial chaos and Xia Lin using Lesser Yang and Lesser Yin to transform Yin-Yang in the Thunder Pivot.

True Lord Returning Meeting Azure Jade attained the Fruit Position of shock thunder as Shi Xian, revealed as Qiyong, revived the Human Dao. Xu Xuan learned Qiyong’s plan from Xu Wugui and swore to surrender calamity blessing if he ever submitted to another’s Dao, in exchange for a method to seek shock thunder.

• True Lord Returning Meeting Azure Jade used the remains of the Scale Beast and Kui Ox to attain shock thunder and proclaim her Dao.
• Shi Xian manifested as the ghost god of calamity blessing, made Hearing the Nether submit, and revealed himself as Qiyong, declaring that he would revive the Human Dao.
• Xu Wugui explained to Xu Xuan that Qiyong had arranged for his death to free Shi Xian and enable a second revival of the Human Dao.
• Xu Xuan questioned Qiyong’s methods and heard Xu Wugui argue that human desire and conflict were necessary to preserve humanity against a perfect world of the Dao.
• Xu Xuan swore before the Fruit Position of calamity blessing to relinquish it if he ever submitted to another’s Dao and methods.
• Xu Wugui offered to give Xu Xuan a method for seeking shock thunder and wished that he would remain free of confusion.

Xu Wugui explained how Xu Xuan could use a failed attempt at union of preservation to conceal a later theft of Shock Thunder’s Fruit Position. Xu Xuan grasped the Qi Embryo method behind the plan, but remained wary of Xu Wugui and considered bringing the Primordial Mother into his Grotto-Heaven to revive Shangcun.

• Xu Wugui recounted the Seven Mysteries and explained Xia Lin’s method of seeking the Golden Position, noting that Xu Xuan could not surpass her in sound and qi.
• Xu Wugui proposed that Xu Xuan’s dragon body pursue union of preservation and deliberately fail, allowing his second primordial spirit to steal the Fruit Position as Suspended Chaos was being returned to Primordial Chaos.
• Xu Xuan recognized that Wonder and Constancy could help conceal the connection between Primordial Chaos and yin and yang during his attempt.
• Xu Wugui explained that proving the changing line through the Qi Embryo method could let Xu Xuan’s dragon body attain union of preservation.
• Xu Wugui told Xu Xuan to refine medicine to awaken Shangcun and suggested inviting the Primordial Mother into his Grotto-Heaven to separate Shangcun’s former form from the golden nature.
• Xu Xuan remained suspicious of Xu Wugui and considered asking the Primordial Mother to enter the Great Scarlet Heaven.

Xu Xuan tested his arts, received a rare Greater Yin pearl, and learned of a gestating Shock Thunder spirit monster. At White Cang, Xu Fayan asked his master to restrain him against the danger of outliving his humanity, but Xu Xuan instead entrusted him with carrying on and passing down his Dao.

• Xu Xuan tested his Wu Earth and Shock Thunder arts, then received the Snow Hall Pearl that Vast Marsh had taken from Ancient Ancestor Cave Bright’s shrine.
• Hou Ni told Xu Xuan that Dragon Maiden Luo An had found a gestating Shock Thunder spirit monster in the Northern Sea, and Xu Xuan questioned what distinguished spirit monsters from the noble-blooded.
• Xu Fayan drew the Nine-Headed Delusion Chamber of Karmic Lust into his Divine Kingdom, expanding it with nine hidden water veins.
• Xu Xuan visited Xu Fayan at White Cang and said he was traveling to Universal Salvation to discuss attaining the Golden Position.
• Xu Fayan asked Xu Xuan to place a restraining seal on him and leave it with the sect, fearing that a long life might make him forget himself or succumb to nurturing earth.
• Xu Xuan refused to bind Xu Fayan with a shepherding restraint and instead urged him to carry on his aspirations and establish and pass down his Dao.

Xu Xuan met Xi En, the True Lord Compassionate Spring, and learned about the Seven Sages, the Seven Mysteries, and the cultivation of consciousness. Xi En explained the danger of directly communicating with a True Lord and the heavenly aversion she incurred by teaching him, then asked why he had come; Xu Xuan asked her to accompany him somewhere.

• Miaolin warned Xu Xuan that meeting the True Lord directly could expose him to Water Transformation and damage his dao, but Xu Xuan insisted on speaking with her.
• Miaolin led Xu Xuan to the divine spring, where Xi En manifested and subdued the overwhelming pressure of Water Transformation.
• Xi En explained the Buddhist eight consciousnesses and taught Xu Xuan that cultivators beyond the golden rank must cultivate the Seven Mysteries.
• Xi En said that using her true self to perceive the Seven Sages and teach Xu Xuan had incurred Heavenly Aversion, then asked why he had come.
• Xu Xuan bowed and asked Xi En to accompany him to a certain place.

Xu Xuan brought Xi En to Great Scarlet Heaven and asked her to help separate Shangcun’s former form from the Nature of Mystic Unity and Union of Preservation. After Xi En recognized Xu Xuan’s connection to Immortal Lord Nanhua’s Dao, she questioned whether he was Mu Youdu, while Xu Wugui interrupted and she refused to speak with the devil.

• Xu Xuan brought Xi En into Great Scarlet Heaven, where she recognized it as a reflection of the sanctuary established by the Dao Venerable of the Fengxuan lineage.
• Xi En identified the Thunder Tree as the Nature of Mystic Unity and Union of Preservation and explained how Pang Yan’s attempt to use it to restore morality ended in the collapse of his golden rank.
• Xu Xuan told Xi En he wanted to refine the nature into medicine and separate Shangcun’s former form, then revealed his identity as Dark Shaman Shi Xian Ghost God.
• Xi En recognized Xu Xuan’s Mystic Stele as Immortal Lord Nanhua’s Dao Verification and asked whether he was Mu Youdu of the Dragon Court in Great Mist Marsh.
• Xu Wugui interrupted from above and asked whether Xi En was Kind Beneficence or Great Grace, but Xi En blocked his voice and said she did not converse with devils.

Xu Xuan consulted Xi En about Mu Youdu’s strange dragon body and his chances of pursuing the Thunder-Shock position, then witnessed the former Lord of Union of Preservation, Pang Yan, manifest. Pang Yan explained how his Golden Rank collapsed and questioned whether the being Xu Xuan had encountered was truly Suspended Chaos.

• Xu Xuan revealed that Mu Youdu was his clone, and Xi En judged that the dragon body’s far-reaching cause and effect resembled a Golden Core’s past or future body.
• Xi En warned Xu Xuan that the Lesser Yin Lord might have become a True Immortal and urged caution with Xu Wugui’s plan to attain verification and then steal the Thunder-Shock position.
• Xi En used the Divine Navel formula to summon Pang Yan, who recognized Xu Xuan as the Immortal Stele’s chosen successor and said his own Golden Rank had collapsed.
• Pang Yan explained that the Immortal Stele could refine a former occupant’s manifestations into seal script, and recounted how he used it to help his friend Panmi attain the Dao.
• Pang Yan said Panmi, Yuan Yan, and Qingsui struck him down in the Thunder Pivot after he tried to influence altar thunder and restore morality.
• Pang Yan told Xu Xuan that Xuanhun had exhausted his seven chances to act and fallen asleep, then asked how Xu Xuan knew the being he had seen was Suspended Chaos.

Xu Xuan debated the Dao with Shangcun to win recognition as Pang Yan’s successor, then received Shangcun’s seal and immortal elixir. He planned to enter the Profound Secret Demon Land disguised as Papiyan’s demonic nature and test Yi Wood.

• Xu Xuan rejected Pang Yan’s Dao methods and challenged him to a Dao debate witnessed by Mercy Spring and the Immortal Stele.
• Mercy Spring revealed Tiantuo’s connection to lesser yang’s pivot and suggested that his missing body, held by Eastern Radiance, contained arrangements for him.
• Xu Xuan prevailed in the debate, and Shangcun entrusted him with a seal pointing to Upper Reaches Mountain, Zhang Xuan Mystic Secrets, and Origin Burn before dispersing.
• Mercy Spring gave Xu Xuan Shangyou’s completed immortal elixir and left Longjoy Ring so he could contact her after she returned to the Southern Sea.
• Xu Xuan possessed a demonic body made from Papiyan’s demonic nature and decided to use it to enter the Profound Secret Demon Land and approach Yi Wood.

Xu Xuan disguised himself as Papiyan’s demonic manifestation to enter the Mystic Secrets Immortal Sect and trade for Taojue’s arts. After the exchange, the sect’s True Lord revealed a concealed thunder seal and recognized that Xu Xuan was not Papiyan.

• Mu Youdu agreed to leave a gestating thunderbolt spirit monster alone after Guan Yi explained that the Divine Magnetism Sect was protecting it.
• Xu Xuan approached the Mystic Secrets Immortal Sect disguised as No Light, a manifestation of Papiyan with authority over withering.
• Zhang Yeqing led Xu Xuan into Upper Vast Heaven Palace, where Xu Xuan demanded Taojue’s arts and offered the True-False Change text in exchange for the sect’s Dao-art text.
• Xu Xuan and Zhang Yeqing completed the exchange, and Xu Xuan prepared to leave.
• The Dipper Pivot Supreme Punishment Seal appeared, and the True Lord emerged from Zhang Yeqing’s disguise to trap Xu Xuan and declare that he was not Papiyan’s demonic nature.

Xu Xuan escaped True Lord Panmi after trading for a version of [Stealing and Plundering], then weighed Xu Wugui’s proposal to steal Suspended Chaos’s merit and pursue the Thunder-Shock Fruit Position. After secretly taking a fragment of the [Upper Profound Yin-Yang Ceremonial Sword], Xu Xuan resolved to reshape Union of Preservation’s Position Proof rather than simply repair it, suspecting Xu Wugui wanted to force him down a dangerous path.

• True Lord Panmi exposed Xu Xuan’s borrowed demonic body, but Xu Xuan destroyed it and escaped to Great Scarlet Heaven.
• True Lord Panmi recognized the scripture as Le Yu’s version of [Stealing and Plundering] and warned Zhang Yeqing that the affair resembled the calamity that had befallen Liu Fang.
• Xu Xuan confirmed the scripture’s value with Xu Wugui, questioned how Shangcun had attained his Dao without a Position Proof, and challenged whether Xu Wugui could be trusted.
• Xu Xuan traveled to Upper Reaches Mountain and covertly took a fragment of the broken [Upper Profound Yin-Yang Ceremonial Sword] while Crimson Cicadas watched from outside.
• Xu Xuan studied the fragment and decided to change Union of Preservation’s Position Proof instead of merely repairing it, suspecting Xu Wugui wanted him to pursue only the path of stealing the Dao.

Mu Youdu refined the Snow Hall Pearl and received the Returning to Hidden Formless Art before entering a dreamscape created by Eastern Azure to reveal the mysteries of immortals and gods. As he sank into a dream resembling primordial chaos, Chuming added the Wonder and Constancy scroll as a catalyst, hoping Mu Youdu could perceive Suspended Chaos and uncover why Qu Youlin sought to sever wonder from constancy.

• Mu Youdu finished refining the Snow Hall Pearl, and Wei Suhua gave him the Returning to Hidden Formless Art to aid his shock-seeking cultivation.
• Wei Suhua told Mu Youdu that Jia Vastness wanted him to enter a dreamscape formed from the remnants of Taboo Wood True Lord's fall.
• Cave Azure explained that Eastern Azure hoped Mu Youdu's dream would reveal the thoughts of the Shock Thunder Lord and the truth behind his return to primordial chaos.
• Mu Youdu agreed to enter the dream, and Cave Azure used Taboo Wood and greater yin essences to send him into a golden-core-level vision of primordial chaos.
• Chuming descended and cast the Wonder and Constancy scroll into the dream, explaining that it would help Mu Youdu perceive Suspended Chaos and that Qu Youlin had deliberately chosen to sever wonder and constancy.

Xu Xuan explored the dream of the Lord of Shock Thunder and discovered a deathly primordial world where the transformations of Wonder and Constancy had stopped. After waking, he decided to leave Eastern Azure and pursue Shock Thunder through a risky path, relying on insights from Calamity Blessing.

• Xu Xuan crossed a boundless realm of primordial chaos and crimson-black blood, where he found a shattered dark-gold ring and realized Wonder and Constancy had ceased transforming.
• Xu Xuan perceived that Greater Yang, Greater Yin, and Altar Thunder endured beyond the world, then awoke from the dream with new understanding of the Seven Mysteries.
• Xu Xuan told Cave Azure that the Lord of Shock Thunder could reopen as a world incapable of producing life, and Cave Azure urged him to keep the matter secret.
• Xu Xuan said he would leave Eastern Azure to master Greater Yin before seeking Shock Thunder, and asked Cave Azure to request Lord Qianqi's protection if he pursued the fruit through union of preservation.
• Cave Azure explained that Eastern Azure would protect Xu Xuan if he surpassed Xia Lin, while Penglai's support depended on who claimed Shock Thunder.
• Xu Xuan resolved not to lose to Xia Lin and concluded that Calamity Blessing held the key to seeking Shock Thunder and restoring the Lord's apertures.

Xu Xuan mastered the Returning to Hidden Formless Art, settled the Southern Sea affairs, and prepared to pursue the Golden Rank. After leaving Heaven Pool, he began his journey toward the Northern Sea and diverted to visit White Silk.

• Xu Xuan demonstrated how the Snow Hall Pearl concealed his attacks and made part of his Nature and Life formless.
• Xu Xuan assigned Bo Chang to protect Mu Sheng and Mu Yu, tasked Hou Ni with managing Heaven Pool's affairs, and placed Li Zhu under Yang Yuanxin's orders.
• Xu Xuan confronted Mu Wude about his ties to the Xia Dynasty and learned that its forces were guarding against the Eastern Sea.
• Xu Xuan reassured Yang Yuanxin that he would try to return, then departed Heaven Pool for Eastern Azure to prepare for Seeking the Golden Position.
• Xu Xuan traveled through the Great Void toward the Northern Sea, examined his route through several territories, and changed course to visit White Silk at Cold Storage Dragon Palace.

Xu Xuan settled his preparations and began seeking the shock golden position, while Duke Kui Dragon prepared to pursue attainment at the Cold Gate. In Great Scarlet Heaven, Xu Xuan guarded against Xu Wugui and gathered Xi En and Tiantuo as he prepared to unleash his ghost-god body.

• White Silk agreed to hold back Dust-Sweeping when Xu Xuan sought the golden position, and he charged Mu Youdu to restore Cold Storage if he became a lord.
• Xu Xuan met Duke Kui Dragon at Thunder Pivot, where they discussed the Shock Thunder Divine Core, the Heavenly Drum Position, and their resolve to seek attainment without retreat.
• Xu Xuan returned to the Pan Sea and told Cave Azure that he was about to begin shock-seeking as the thirty-six shock thunders stopped and the northern thunder marsh withered.
• Xu Wugui explained that Xu Xuan had to replace the last trace of Suspended Chaos's primordial chaos at the right moment and steal his achievements and Dao legacy.
• Xu Xuan summoned Xi En to isolate Xu Wugui, accepted her water transformation creation, and called Tiantuo as he prepared to unleash slaughter and stir thunder in all eight directions.

Xu Xuan rode north through the Bohai Sea and Penglai’s Hidden Sea, gathering support as he sought the golden position in Cold Gate. He defeated the dying Ye Xi at Azure Waters, but carried a lingering trace of Tribulation Fire as he continued toward the ancient darkness.

• Xu Xuan unleashed Thunder-Shock across Eastern Yi and rode north, while Dragon King Sun Lake cleared his passage through the Bohai Sea.
• Great True Person Rong Zhen welcomed Xu Xuan at Penglai’s Hidden Sea and offered him Life-Preserving Wine before he continued toward Azure Waters.
• Xu Xuan confronted Ye Xi, who admitted killing White Silk and used his remaining lifespan to unleash calamity and obstruct Xu Xuan’s Dao.
• Xu Xuan survived Ye Xi’s final arrow with the aid of Xi Flame and his body-tempering arts, then watched Ye Xi’s remains dissolve into ash.
• Penglai’s wine and Shock Thunder healed Xu Xuan’s injuries, though a trace of Tribulation Fire remained as he rode north toward Cold Gate.