Chapter Summaries

Xu Xuan adopted the identity Jiang Shuai, cultivated five perfected Withering divine abilities, and uncovered clues linking Mutual Milling to Northern Yin and reincarnation. With the Immortal war over, he prepared to enter Mount Hengguo and seek the Withering Fruit Position under the Hidden Metal Lord’s protection.

• Xu Xuan abandoned his plans to pursue Withering through Buddhism and fashioned an identity in the Jiang clan’s Many Treasures lineage.
• After the war between Immortals and demons ended, Jiang Shuai left Many Treasures Heaven to cultivate in the mortal world.
• Xu Xuan perfected his five divine abilities, including the rare Withering art Mutual Milling, and suspected it was connected to Northern Yin and lesser yin.
• High Envoy Ku Cheng delivered the Hidden Metal Lord’s edict promising protection if Xu Xuan pursued Withering, while warning that his life mattered more than the golden position.
• Xu Xuan declared that he would enter Mount Hengguo, cultivate to perfection, and seek the Withering Fruit Position.

Xu Xuan reached Mount Heng to seek the Calamity Fate Platform and devise his own Golden-Seeking Method for attaining withering. When the platform emerged, he faced Wang Yi, who had arrived to claim the same fruit, and both declared their intent to attain withering.

• Xu Xuan entered Mount Heng and sensed that Wang Yi was approaching to seek the Dao of calamity fate.
• A fallen Divine Core cultivator, Ji Jin, entered a coffin on the Heng River and perished as Kucheng identified her and warned Xu Xuan to beware Wang Yi.
• Xu Xuan devised the Golden-Seeking Method of Delivering Souls and Opening Calamity, using mutual milling and reincarnation to seek the fruit of withering.
• The Calamity Fate Platform emerged atop the Northern Mountain as the region’s accumulated calamity qi surged around it.
• Wang Yi appeared at Mount Guo with his withering manifestations, and he and Xu Xuan prepared to contend for the platform.
• Xu Xuan declared himself Jiang Shuai and announced that he would attain withering.

Xu Xuan and Wang Yi contended for the Withering Qi fruit position in false history, and both attained it through opposing forms of truth and falsehood. After returning to Mysterious Heaven, Xu Xuan claimed limited Withering Qi authority and prepared to investigate further, but an envoy from Many Treasures summoned him to discuss Qi Embryo.

• Wang Yi and Xu Xuan used calamity fate and the imagery of reincarnation to seek Dai’s fruit position, while altar thunder constrained their efforts.
• Xu Xuan used altar thunder’s truth to establish a false Dai, and he and Wang Yi attained the false and true Withering Qi positions simultaneously.
• Wang Yi explained that Dao Ancestor Primordial Beginning had once governed Dai, and Xu Xuan learned that Wusheng had revived in false history.
• Xu Xuan brought his false Withering Qi attainment into Great Scarlet Heaven, gaining limited authority over Withering Qi in Mysterious Heaven.
• Xu Xuan considered investigating Taojue and restoring Clear Qi and Fortune in Feng Li Heaven before pursuing Altar Attestation Thunder.
• Shi Xian told Xu Xuan that an Attendant Envoy from Many Treasures had invited him to discuss Qi Embryo, and Xu Xuan accepted the summons.

Xu Xuan entered Many Treasures Heaven and met Jiang Li and True Lord Changji, who revealed the position proof of hidden metal and discussed the future of metal virtue. Changji accepted Xu Xuan’s vow to attain the Venerable of union of preservation and said metal virtue could then be made whole.

• Baoqiu and Tang Zan prepared a ritual gate in the Autumn Sea and sensed the arrival of an exalted immortal.
• Xu Xuan entered the Palace of the Primordial, where White Star greeted him as the Mystic Lord of Nonaction, Dao-Awakening, and Great Abundance.
• Jiang Li welcomed Xu Xuan and explained that Plain Truth Heaven had fallen and xin metal had changed, prompting the Jiang clan to summon him.
• Jiang Li led Xu Xuan to True Lord Changji, whose three Dharma forms jointly suppressed the hidden metal position proof, Treasury Pouch.
• Changji asked whether Qing Jianzhou had responded, and Jiang Li said he was still sleeping in Green Pond but seemed close to succeeding.
• Xu Xuan vowed to attain the Venerable of union of preservation, and Changji said metal virtue could be made whole.

Xu Xuan learned that Changji planned to complete the deficient Qi Embryo path by restoring Xin Metal and reconnecting the Divine Navel with primordial Creation. Though the plan could weaken Qiyong’s authority over primordial bloodlines, Xu Xuan agreed to attend Xin Metal’s upcoming Dao-attainment ceremony while resolving to remain in the world when Final Dusk came.

• Changji showed Xu Xuan three ruined Golden Natures and explained how Strange Lord had failed to complete Qi Embryo with a metal elixir.
• Changji described his plan to restore Xin Metal and use Xu Xuan’s authority to bring primordial Creation into the postnatal realm.
• Xu Xuan asked whether completing Qi Embryo would affect Blood Qi, and Changji explained that it could diminish Qiyong’s authority over primordial bloodline transformation.
• Changji said he sought to preserve his descendants and help Spirit Monsters, while warning Xu Xuan that resisting the one above could doom those around him.
• Xu Xuan refused to flee when Final Dusk came, and Changji offered shelter to the Mystic Unity Dao Lineage in Many Treasures Heaven.
• Changji invited Xu Xuan to witness Xin Metal’s imminent Dao-attainment ceremony at Green Pond, and Xu Xuan accepted.

Mu Yu traveled to Golden Pivot to seek Bai Xuan’s help with the cold yin undertaking, but learned Bai Xuan had frozen herself after cultivating Yin-Origin Condensation. The ancient moon-abode murals and signs of powerful forces along her return journey left Mu Yu with urgent questions to bring to her father.

• Mu Yu reached Golden Pivot and discovered a greater yin secret realm reflecting the ancient Moon Lake Reflection Divine Ability.
• Mu Yu met Demon King Qing Ling, who told her Bai Su had returned to Bai Xuan and that Bai Xuan was sealed in seclusion after succeeding in cultivating Yin-Origin Condensation.
• Mu Yu studied the Moon-Patrol Sect murals, learning about the three past lords of the cold yin true fruit and that Heaven-Frozen Dragon Lord had held its position before perishing.
• Mu Yu suspected the Eastern Sea dragons had abandoned Golden Pivot because of a power above the heavens, then left to seek her father’s instructions.
• As Mu Yu traveled north, she sensed deadly Wu earth suppression, saw Divine Dao lights over Lacquer Mountain, witnessed a vast Xin metal manifestation, and observed Great Flame preparing to march south.

Xu Xuan planned to protect Bai Xuan by secretly reaching Qing Ling through Qingyun and sending Ming'er to seek Peach Blossom’s support for Xu Ming. In Shu, Wei Mi prepared a sacrifice to heal his wound and pursue the Human Emperor position, while Li Houyuan warned that the wu position would eventually be targeted by a great being seeking intercalation.

• Xu Xuan resolved to prepare a mystic seal for Bai Xuan and use Qingyun as a discreet link to Qing Ling, then ordered Divine Cang to send Ming'er to Penglai to seek Peach Blossom’s help for Xu Ming.
• Xu Xuan received Wei Mi’s prayer document and inferred that Wei Mi’s wound was tied to Jianwu’s sword strike from the Sword Ancestor and Emperor Fu.
• Du Zhi told Wei Mi that the primordial-chaos altar of Second Shock Thunder could not be placed near Jianwu’s altar without eroding it.
• Li Houyuan explained that offerings of Heavenly Inquiry spirit treasures could restrain the chaos qi and described how wu earth had become the first of the five virtues to differentiate.
• Wei Mi declared that he sought to heal his wound, dissolve the primordial, and become a Human Emperor, while Li Houyuan warned that the wu position would be the first target of the being pursuing intercalation.

At Lacquer Mountain, Wei Mi began the Myriad Gods Grand Sacrifice to complete his Emperor Body and transformed into a Wu Earth beast before emerging as a perfected Daoist Adept. He resolved to pursue the Human Emperor’s Dao, then encountered True Lord Guangni and Xu Xuan, whose involvement in Wu Earth was revealed.

• Meng Ping questioned Ji Tingyi about Emperor An’s sacrifice, and Ji explained that it would complete Wei Mi’s Emperor Body and establish his supremacy beneath Golden Core.
• Ji Tingyi described Wu Earth’s power to govern Yin-Yang and the five virtues, while Meng Ping considered the northern thunder anomaly a sign that the Mystic Lord had permitted An’s worship of shock thunder.
• Wei Mi took his beast form in the Myriad Gods Palace, and Du Yuan used primordial chaos qi to break the purple gold seal covering Wei Mi’s wound.
• Second Shock Thunder’s wind and thunder touched Wei Mi’s wound, helping transform him back into human form and complete his manifestations of the twelve qi, five directions, and four governances.
• Wei Mi recognized the wound as a revelation and chose the Human Emperor’s Dao rather than retreating from his claim to Wu Earth.
• Wei Mi met True Lord Guangni in a dark realm, and Xu Xuan appeared after Guangni tried to draw him out, declaring his own cause and effect with Wu Earth.

Xu Xuan negotiated with Guang Ni over Wei Mi’s wu earth path, agreed to make Wei Mi an imperial robe, and reflected on the Immortal Dao’s deeper problems. After Wei Mi completed his sacrifice and revealed Immortal Plum Heaven, Xu Xuan arranged new missions for Liu Xingfang and Xu Ming, then discovered a way to retrieve the Jianwu Horn from primordial chaos.

• Guang Ni confronted Xu Xuan about interfering in wu earth and asked him to make Wei Mi an imperial robe cut with altar thunder; Xu Xuan agreed to deliver it at the Mount Tai Fengshan Ceremony.
• Guang Ni warned Xu Xuan that seeking to save the world through arrogance risked repeating the Thunder Palace’s harshness, prompting Xu Xuan to consider the Immortal Dao’s long-term damage to the world.
• Wei Mi completed his sacrifice on Lacquer Mountain, and the revealed Immortal Plum Heaven appeared above the former Changning Imperial Capital, sealed by exceptionally powerful defenses.
• Xu Xuan chose Liu Xingfang to oversee the Disc Continent and sent Shi Xian an edict arranging Liu Xingfang’s and Xu Ming’s affairs, including Xu Ming’s visit to the Flame Dynasty.
• Xu Xuan sensed the Jianwu Horn’s imprint in the Second Shock Thunder altar and realized he could use primordial chaos to try to retrieve the horn and fashion a primordial heaven primordial chaos countenance.

Xu Ming prepared for a journey to Windflame and Penglai while considering his path toward Lesser Yang, as upheavals stirred across the world. In the Netherworld, No Awareness and Ce Ting discussed the threat to Withering Qi, the recovery of Reincarnation, and the figure named Taiyou.

• Xu Ming studied the Six Expansions and Greater Yin treasures, then told Song Qing he planned to cultivate Eastern Pole Illumination and travel to Windflame and Penglai.
• Song Qing told Xu Ming that Black Baleful’s upheavals had affected her and that its people were urging her to transfer to the Black Baleful Demon Realm.
• Xu Ming and Song Qing observed Wu Earth Light and Bing Fire flare across the land, and Xu Ming said the opposing powers would contest legitimacy rather than fight to the death.
• In the Palace of No Awareness, No Awareness learned that Li Huanyou had begun cultivating on Mount Tai and sensed that someone had diverted Withering Qi’s attention.
• Ce Ting told No Awareness that the Immortal Sovereign had destroyed the Divine Being of Reincarnation, giving the Gloomy Netherworld an opportunity to pursue its Dao Lineage.
• Ce Ting praised Taiyou, a former Altar Thunder Retainer who had been reborn beneath the Immortal Sovereign, as a likely successor capable of controlling Withering Qi.

Xu Ming traveled to the Windflame dynasty, learned that his maternal grandmother was Princess Qingcen and discovered the history of his imperial mystic blood and its connection to True Lord Constant Light. After refusing an offer to serve at court, he visited the Sword Pavilion to choose a Spirit Sword, where he found Dawn Star and Great Wound.

• Xu Ming entered Great Radiance City, where Liu Tang explained that the people bearing mystic blood in the city were paper people and brought him to Ziyang Residence.
• King Ziyang told Xu Ming that Princess Qingcen was his maternal grandmother, and Jiang Jie recounted the history of Great Flame, its mystic blood, and the Hundred Calamities Amid Flame.
• Jiang Jie and King Ziyang explained that True Lord Constant Light had descended from their lineage and left after refusing the Emperor Lord's plan for Dao Transference; Xu Ming declined to join the court but accepted the offer to choose a sword.
• Jiang Jie brought Xu Ming to the Sword Pavilion, where Swordsmith Xue recognized him as the son of the Calamity-Splitting True Person and offered to guide his choice.
• Xu Ming examined the Spirit Swords Dawn Star and Great Wound, recognizing Dawn Star as a sword of Lesser Yang and Great Wound as a pure weapon of the Sword Dao.

Xu Ming took the Great Wound sword and learned its Dao of severance before Jiang Jie showed him visions of his family’s past. He witnessed Wen Fufeng’s death and learned that his master’s final words to Xu Xuan had been a farewell.

• Xu Ming grasped Great Wound, endured its murderous power, and used Seated Oblivion to understand severance and subdue the sword.
• Jiang Jie invited Xu Ming to Great Radiance City, explained Great Flame’s history and the secrets of Immortal Plum Heaven, then sent him to meet the Imperial Daughter.
• Xu Ming watched a vision of young Xu Xuan learning swordsmanship from Wen Fufeng on Azure Sky Peak.
• Xu Ming witnessed An Kuiju suppress Wen Fufeng and kill him after Wen refused to abandon Free and Unfettered Journey.
• Wen Fufeng’s dying sword strike cut An Kuiju, and a Golden-Armored Deity stopped him from destroying Constant Light before he altered the witnesses’ memories and departed.
• Xu Xuan appeared behind Xu Ming and finally heard Wen Fufeng’s last words: “Xuan'er, take care of yourself.”

Xu Ming met his maternal grandmother, Imperial Daughter Qing Cen, who explained the Wen clan’s history, the fate of Constant Light, and the Dao-transfer path available to him. He refused to abandon Lesser Yang, while Qing Cen gave Wen Si'an a Gui Water inheritance, and mother and daughter began to discuss how she had met Fu Feng.

• Xu Ming followed a serving woman to Flowing Pearl Hall, where Wen Si'an introduced him to his maternal grandmother, Imperial Daughter Qing Cen.
• Qing Cen recounted the Wen clan’s history and explained how Hengyi’s collision with the Northern Dipper had contributed to the decline of the Great Scarlet and Star River Dao lineages.
• Wen Si'an defended Xu Xuan’s achievements as his own, and Qing Cen explained how Dust-Sweeping had caused Fu Feng’s death by fearing Constant Light’s Dao migration.
• Qing Cen offered Xu Ming a Chaos treasure and outlined a Dao-transfer plan, but he declined to change from Lesser Yang.
• After Xu Ming left, Qing Cen gave Wen Si'an the Gui Water cultivation canon [Immortal-Inheriting Dew], and Wen Si'an asked how Qing Cen had met Fu Feng.

Xu Xuan planned possible paths for Xu Ming and Tiantuo to transfer into new Dao positions, while reflecting on the burdens of becoming an immortal god. He then witnessed Many Treasures transfer from the dui metal fruit position into xin metal, revealing a method linked to Kunpeng’s art.

• Xu Xuan and Tiantuo discussed the five changes of venerable positions and considered using twilight and daybreak to help Xu Ming reattest to the lesser yang Golden Crow’s position.
• Xu Xuan proposed that Tiantuo prepare for a balanced transfer involving origin wood, lesser yang, and victory gold or clear qi, and warned him not to cultivate his final origin wood divine ability yet.
• Xu Xuan departed and contemplated the pressure of his golden rank, then sensed the jade void mystic truth venerable nature respond to his withering qi.
• Shi Xian told Xu Xuan that Many Treasures had invited him to witness a ceremony, and Xu Xuan went to the Eastern Sea as xin metal began to manifest.
• Many Treasures transferred from the dui metal fruit position into the xin metal fruit position through Talisman Collection Transformation, completing xin metal and prompting water virtue to respond.
• Xu Xuan recognized Many Treasures’ transfer method as Kunpeng’s art, learned from the Great Sage of Great Azure.

As Xin Metal transformed, Xu Xuan studied the Yin-Yang principles behind it while Many Treasures sent Ku Cheng and Xue Huaze to seek the Qi Embryo's Retainer Position. Xu Xuan agreed to help Xue Huaze attain it, intending to use the position to complete the Qi Embryo path, and ordered Shi Xian to bring Shen Yi to Mystic Enlightenment Heaven.

• Lü Zhao witnessed Xin Metal's transformation, briefly received insight into Metal Virtue, and broke away from contemplating it.
• Xu Xuan understood how Talisman Collection Transformation used Yin-Yang to turn things between tangible and intangible states, then sent Shi Xian to meet Ku Cheng.
• Ku Cheng introduced Xue Huaze, also called True Person Zerou, as Many Treasures' chosen candidate to attain the Qi Embryo's Navel Retainer Position.
• Ku Cheng explained that Xue Huaze's Equalizing Golden Pool lineage traced back to Tai Qian and was connected to the Complete Victory Palace, Keeper of Proportions, and Keeper of Reform.
• Shi Xian agreed that Mystic Unity could help Xue Huaze pursue the Retainer Position, and Xu Xuan confirmed it could let him open the Primordial Gate and nourish the Qi Embryo.
• Xu Xuan told Shi Xian to bring Shen Yi to Mystic Enlightenment Heaven so he could assign him an important task involving Disc Continent.

Liu Xingfang visited Xu Xuan in Mystic Enlightenment Heaven and learned that the Five Foundations were bringing great changes to the world. Xu Xuan sent him to the Disc Continent to open territory amid primordial chaos, and Liu Xingfang set out alone to establish law and uphold altar thunder.

• Liu Xingfang was drawn from the Heaven-Pioneering Tower to Mystic Enlightenment Heaven, where Bo Lei led him to Xu Xuan.
• Xu Xuan explained that Xin Metal had been accomplished and that the Li River was building momentum for Water, foreshadowing change as the Five Foundations were attained.
• Xu Xuan asked Liu Xingfang to travel to the dangerous Disc Continent, giving him an emperor's robe rubbing to reproduce and a Northern Palace Supreme Truth Order for refuge.
• Liu Xingfang refused the An Dynasty's frontier-opening order, declaring that the territory he opened would belong to all people who honored the law.
• Liu Xingfang declined Xu Xuan's Spirit Sword and the offer of companions, then vowed to enter the Disc Continent alone and establish altar thunder's law.

Liu Xingfang fought his way past Great Xia’s demons on the Disc Continent and escaped into the Land of Being and Nonbeing, where he met a Thunder Palace warden. The warden revealed the Thunder Palace’s ancient origins and explained that Liu Xingfang could trade heavenly virtue for sealed treasures, even golden nature.

• Liu Xingfang used his five-metal flying sword and Crimson Comet thunderfire to break through the demons guarding Dark Crow City, injuring Bai La and driving off Chang Jing before continuing into the Disc Continent.
• Liu Xingfang found a place to cultivate, but a powerful demon’s presence forced him to use a divine token to enter the Land of Being and Nonbeing.
• Liu Xingfang met the Prison-Suppressing Demon-Binding Warden, a divine mechanism that had awakened because of his connection to Celestial Subtlety’s Central Pivot.
• The warden explained that the Thunder Palace was founded by Bian Yuan, the disciple of the Thunder Ancestor, and described the Austere Lord’s role in organizing the divine dao and establishing reincarnation with the First World-Honored One.
• The warden told Liu Xingfang that the Land of Being and Nonbeing held artifacts, Dharma Bodies, spirituality, and memories that he could obtain by trading heavenly virtue, including golden nature.

Xu Xuan uncovered the significance of the Arcane Chamber lineages and prepared for upheaval in Immortal Plum Heaven while pursuing the Great Sage’s Remnant Horn. At Peaceful Mountain, the True Lord established two branches, and Lü Zhao chose to leave for the Eastern Sea to pursue the victory-gold Dao despite the danger.

• Xu Xuan traced Li Huanyou’s golden nature to Righteous Order, sent him a warning, and planned for them to act openly and covertly in Immortal Plum Heaven.
• Xu Xuan used the Primordial Heaven Chaos Pool and his authority of pioneering to try to recover the Great Sage’s Remnant Horn before Immortal Plum Heaven opened.
• The Peaceful Mountain statue of Upholding Reform shed its gray-gold shell, and the Offering Altar bestowed separate Profound Tokens on Wuyi and Chan Wei to establish the reforming-the-way and complete-xin branches.
• Wuyi explained that Lü Zhao would hand leadership of the reforming-the-way branch to Qing Zhang once he became a Purple Mansion cultivator, then leave for the Eastern Sea to seek the Dao.
• Lü Zhao told Chan Wei that his pursuit of victory gold was tied to Eastern Radiance and that he had to settle his clan’s cause and effect in the Eastern Sea, even if the journey proved fatal.

Xu Ming arrived in Penglai and was sent to Thorn Ridge to study the mysteries of lesser yang. As he began studying there, Rong Zhen explained that Penglai could not aid Mystic Unity against Final Dusk, though Eastern Radiance Heaven might still change the situation.

• Xu Ming met Liu Qiuqi and Qingyun at the Liu Residence, where Liu Qiuqi welcomed him and relayed that he should follow Rong Zhen's arrangements.
• Xu Ming passed Liu Baiyuan's message to Liu Qiuqi, who said he hoped to reunite with his family after mastering Penglai's five arts.
• Liu Qiuqi escorted Xu Ming to Rong Zhen, who offered him the [Radiant Blossom Sun-Sensing Scripture] and sent him to Thorn Ridge to learn from its ancient spirits.
• Xu Ming arrived in Thorn Ridge, recognized how the scripture complemented his cultivation, and began studying it in meditation.
• Rong Zhen told Liu Qiuqi that lesser yang cultivation faced a dead end at Final Dusk and that Penglai could not support Mystic Unity, though Eastern Radiance Heaven had yet to open.

Great Peace crossed the Qinling Mountains as Wei Mi entered Mount Hua, while Li Huanyou and Xu Xuan watched the two dynasties converge on Changning and Immortal Plum Heaven. The chapter ended with Xu Xuan using the Jianwu Horn to glimpse a connection between Immortal Plum Heaven’s suppressed Clear position and Azure Child.

• Ji Tingyi and the Drought Maiden discussed Supreme Goodness’s surrender and Great Peace’s routes across the Qinling Mountains into Yong.
• Wei Mi entered Mount Hua alone and asked Du Heng to guide him to the Phoenix Terrace.
• Zhou Shi gave Li Huanyou the Lesser Fengdu sword, releasing dead souls into his inner scenery, while the Netherworld’s Yin Spirits discussed Zhou Shi’s role in confronting thunderbolts.
• Li Huanyou visited Changyin at the Offering Dao Shrine, declined to offer incense, and learned that Changyin sought to renew the Fengxuan worship and attain a golden position.
• The forces of Great Peace and Windflame advanced on Changning as Immortal Plum Heaven began to shake, and Li Huanyou withdrew to observe.
• Xu Xuan retrieved the Jianwu Horn from primordial chaos and briefly used it to sense Immortal Plum Heaven’s mysteries, finding an affinity between its Clear position and Azure Child.