Chapter Summaries

Xu Xuan emerged from false history with a deeper grasp of Dai, uncovered threats tied to No Awareness and the Netherworld, and prepared to cultivate a primordial chaos countenance. He resolved to pursue immortality and find a fifth path beyond the forces shaping the present deadlock.

• Xu Xuan concluded that Immortal Lord Heavenly Feather had stopped short of destroying false history, then recognized how Dai and secondary falsehood could be used to evade their limits.
• Xu Xuan suspected Taojue was hiding and divined that Yao Jun had returned to the mortal world as a Void Immortal, while tracing the cosmic stars golden nature to Observing Stars and Dragon Lord Heavenly Rain.
• Xu Xuan examined No Awareness's history, discovered his Wuma bloodline tied to the First Devil Ancestor, and used the Free-and-Easy Master's Sword Intent to sever that bloodline and cast down his divine status.
• Xu Xuan sent No Awareness to the postnatal heaven realm and kept false Li Huanyou in the Netherworld to investigate its secrets, especially the legacy of primordial beginning.
• Xu Xuan used Jianwu's Relic Horn to begin shaping a primordial-heaven primordial chaos countenance and planned to retrieve Immortal Lord Tian Qiong's Dao marker.
• After confirming that the Windflame dynasty and Peace had settled into their territories, Xu Xuan committed himself to attaining immortality and finding a fifth path.

Yin Chang restored the Gloomy Netherworld, attained the Dao of withering as True Lord Taiyou, and attacked Martial Mu Mountain. He defeated True Lord Northern Sage by making truth fall into falsehood, leaving the world questioning whether he was Devil Ancestor Without Absolution.

• The True Lord of the Gloomy Netherworld sealed Devil Lord No Awareness’s banner, restored Lord You’s corpse with Divine Dao incense offerings, and awakened the Death-Fear Diagram.
• Ce Ting helped Yin Chang ascend as True Lord Taiyou, master of withering; Taiyou captured his former Altar Thunder dharma body and Ce Ting in a Black Pouch.
• Taiyou traveled to Martial Mu Mountain, where True Lord Northern Sage confronted him over his attack and his use of the Northern Dipper Immortal Sword.
• Taiyou overwhelmed Northern Sage’s truth powers, captured the Purifying Truth Dao Verification in the pouch, and struck Northern Sage down as Martial Mu Mountain fell into the Gloomy Netherworld.
• Taiyou asked the surviving beings how they could prove he was not Without Absolution.

Zhang Yu questioned Zhang Baishi about the Netherworld’s plans and learned that the paths intended to break the boundary between life and death to save mortal souls and prevent a new primordial fear. He left the Void-Stepping Palace troubled by the Martial Mu Dao Lineage’s schemes and resolved to obey his lord despite his doubts.

• Zhang Yu asked Zhang Baishi whether Li Huanyou had remained himself after leaving Immortal Plum Heaven, and Zhang Baishi said No Awareness had possessed him.
• Zhang Baishi explained that breaking Righteous Order’s boundary between life and death would let White Paper Blessed Land transfer mortal souls into its false history and avert the great terror of a fourth primordial fear.
• Zhang Baishi revealed that the Martial Mu Dao Lineage planned to let the withering Devil Lord steal Righteous Order, then kill him and use the act to pin down the Devil Ancestor’s traces.
• Zhang Baishi said You Dai, True Martial, and White Paper Blessed Land had agreed on the plan, which could also free the Netherworld’s Golden Cores and advance True Qi.
• After Zhang Baishi departed, Zhang Yu wondered whether his lineage was nourishing a demon only to destroy him and doubted that the plan would succeed.
• Zhang Yu left the palace, abandoned his pursuit of a golden position, and told himself to trust his lord’s arrangements and follow orders.

Tao Zhennan and Rainbow Strategy discussed plans to break the Boundary between Life and Death and guard against Taojue. In the Netherworld, Strategy and Judge Chen suspected Wuma Gongliang was under Taojue’s control, while Strategy resolved that the Gloomy Netherworld should perish.

• Tao Zhennan received the Edict [Slay falsehood with truth] and told Rainbow Strategy that the History-Balancing path had several plans to send living beings away and suppress Taojue’s traces.
• Shenxi met the [Heavenly Firmament Reincarnation Emperor Nether Ancient God], who promised to fulfill his vow when Supreme Truth was attained anew and condemned the History-Balancing path’s arrogance.
• Wuma Gongliang confronted Strategy over being allowed to enter Righteous Nether’s Corpse, then left after Strategy stalled him.
• Judge Chen used Subduing Earth to verify Wuma Gongliang’s identity, and he and Strategy concluded that Taojue might control him without his knowledge.
• Strategy told Judge Chen that they should break the Boundary between Life and Death before settling their disputes, then declared that the Gloomy Netherworld should perish.

Xu Xuan negotiated with the fallen No Awareness, who revealed the White Paper Blessed Land’s plans for Righteous Order and the danger posed by the First Demon Ancestor. Xu Xuan agreed to use No Awareness’s help to protect Li Huanyou and preserve Righteous Order’s golden nature, while preparing to strike down the false No Awareness with altar thunder; he then turned toward cultivating the Great Dao of Life and Death.

• Shi Xian brought No Awareness before Xu Xuan, and Xu Xuan suppressed the Devil Lord after his position was severed and he tried to resist.
• No Awareness revealed that the White Paper Blessed Land had helped him steal Righteous Order’s Dao and sought to destroy the boundary between life and death to protect living beings from the First Demon Ancestor.
• Xu Xuan agreed to let No Awareness become a false identity and use his help to exchange Li Huanyou’s real and false bodies, preserving the golden nature until Xu Xuan could restore it.
• Xu Xuan ordered Shi Xian to send Fa Yan to investigate Qingrang and Arcane Chamber Mysterious Earth, then resolved to kill the false No Awareness with altar thunder.
• Xu Xuan summoned the Jianwu Horn and considered Yuejue, the Sword Abyss, as a path toward the Great Dao of Life and Death.

Xu Fayan visited True Lord Qingrang’s domain with Shenguang to study the Nurturing Earth Divine Dao and investigate the Nether Office’s movements. He discovered that Qingrang’s Abundance Dao concealed a transformed path beneath Lesser Yin radiance, received its Mystic Canon, and was left wary of the True Lord’s ties and hidden motives.

• Shenguang and Xu Fayan entered Lingyou Palace, where Shenguang startled the clay attendants before Shao Ken recognized him and led them inside.
• Shenguang asked Shao Ken about the Netherworld’s activity, but Xu Fayan offered to investigate the Nether Office himself.
• Shao Ken warned Xu Fayan that the Subduing Earth lineage remained significant and that its Dao prevented anyone from attaining the Subduing Earth Fruit Position.
• Shao Ken showed Xu Fayan the Abundance Altar, divided by Lesser Yin radiance into a peaceful Nurturing Earth domain and a realm of malignant spirits and calamity.
• Shao Ken explained that the radiance concealed the old Evil Proliferation path and allowed True Lord Qingrang to establish the Abundance Dao anew, while hinting at ties to the Ultimate Yin lineage.
• Shao Ken gave Xu Fayan the Primordial Heaven Auspicious-Essence Divine Canon and directed him toward Hao Li to reach the Nether Office; Xu Fayan accepted the guidance but grew suspicious of Qingrang’s intentions.

Chen Fuyuan learned that the Chen clan would be moved to the Xia Lands while the Netherworld prepared for the Awakening King’s attainment on the Northern Nether Yin Continent. Xu Xuan uncovered Houtu’s buried Dao Verification and prepared for the coming conflict, then enlisted Thunder Marsh to help guard Subduing Earth as Thunder Marsh warned him that his chosen path would end in regret.

• Chen Liangque told Chen Fuyuan that a Golden Man named Ming An had agreed to let the Chen clan enter the Xia Lands, and Chen Fuyuan agreed to the relocation while doubting the Xia Lands’ intentions.
• Zhu Huan told Chen Fuyuan that the Awakening King would attain the Dao on the Northern Nether Yin Continent, and True Lord Death Resignation said the Chen clan could decide for itself whether to cross into Xia when conflict began.
• Fan Ju refused Xu Fayan entry to the sealed Nether Office, while Shao Ken revealed that the Divine Being of subduing earth had escaped her former position and Qingrang confirmed a connection between Subduing Earth and Dry Yang.
• Xu Xuan recognized that Houtu had hidden her Dao Verification, Burial Order, within the Subduing Earth Retainer Position and suspected the Golden Crow would target Chen Yunxiang as conflict gathered around the Northern Nether Yin Continent.
• Xu Xuan completed a Countenance of primordial chaos and asked Thunder Marsh to wield Shock Thunder’s authority and watch over Subduing Earth; Thunder Marsh agreed but warned that Xu Xuan’s path could end in regret.

Wuma Gongliang attempted to borrow the Dao of Righteous Order through the reappearing Northern Nether Yin Continent, while Xu Xuan intervened to protect Li Huanyou and confront the forces behind the Netherworld’s collapse. The Subduing Earth Immortal Corpse broke Death Rite, the Gloomy Netherworld began disintegrating, and a new rot threatened Burial Order.

• Wuma Gongliang invoked the name Xuanyi and borrowed the Dao, causing Righteous Order’s Venerable Position to manifest as Strategy, Judge Chen, and Northern Sage moved against him.
• At the Great Western Abyss, Ming An attacked Chen Fuyuan and the Chen disciples, killed Chen Liangque, and destroyed Chen Fuyuan after revealing that their lord intended to abandon them.
• Xu Xuan entered the Northern Nether Yin Continent and destroyed Wuma Gongliang’s false body with Altar Thunder, then released No Awareness to conceal Li Huanyou’s identity from Northern Sage.
• Strategy carried the Subduing Earth Immortal Corpse through Death Rite, leaving an irreparable rift in the boundary between life and death as the Gloomy Netherworld began to collapse.
• Northern Sage confronted Xu Xuan over the possibility that he was Without Absolution, but both stopped when the Northern Nether Yin Continent began splitting apart and the Immortal Corpse’s wound revealed that Strategy had entered its Heart Aperture.
• As Burial Order became unstable, the Ji Earth avatar warned Xu Xuan that rot was spreading and urged him to leave.

Strategy established the Undying Realm, causing the Netherworld to collapse and decay to spread across the world. As the Mysterious Crow, Guangyi True Lord, and Origin Vast moved to destroy Houtu’s Earth Measure and bring back the Heavenly Epoch, Thunder Marsh manifested with the Shock Thunder authority to fight beside her.

• Strategy drew the Netherworld’s authorities into the Immortal Corpse and established the Undying Realm, leaving newly dead souls trapped in their decaying bodies.
• Xu Xuan used the Blood-Sacrificial Vessel and Life and Death authority to protect Mystic Unity, Cold Gate, and Red Cloud, but reincarnation displaced him into a future instant Beyond the Heavens.
• Earth Sovereign Houtu appeared as the Mysterious Crow’s forces confronted her, while Guangyi True Lord and Origin Vast joined the attack on the Earth Measure.
• Houtu called for Thunder Marsh, who manifested a body bearing the Shock Thunder fruit position and stood with her against the advancing powers.
• The Mysterious Crow, Guangyi True Lord, and Origin Vast unleashed further attacks as other ancient beings appeared, but Thunder Marsh filled the sky with violet lightning at Houtu’s command.

Liu Shu Han struggled to protect the Mystic Unity Dao Lineage as the Earthly Dao’s upheaval unleashed disasters across the world, while Xu Xuan confronted Emperor Nether Beyond the Heavens and drew the Two Stops of Life and Death from the Sword Abyss. After Emperor Nether departed and Torch Dragon and the Lord of Origin Wood blocked Xu Xuan from returning to the battle, Xu Xuan invoked calamity blessing and called for Yinkang Ziye.

• Liu Shu Han identified the corpse stench as a corruption of Subduing Earth, isolated its treasures, and ordered Mystic Unity’s disciples to shelter within the Azure Mountain formation.
• Zhang Chunxi glimpsed a change in the Gloomy Netherworld and was badly injured, so Liu Shu Han kept the dead disciples outside the formation and freed their souls from their rotting bodies.
• Xu Xuan questioned Emperor Nether Beyond the Heavens, rejected his offer to help create a false future, and fought him as the two Great Daos contested for Xu Xuan.
• Xu Xuan summoned the Sword Abyss and drew the black and white swords, using Altar Thunder and borrowed authority over life and death to break Emperor Nether’s temporal and reincarnation restraints.
• Emperor Nether revealed a lightning wound linked to Qiyong’s sinful karma, granted Xu Xuan leave to attain the Dao of thunder, and vanished.
• Torch Dragon and the Lord of Origin Wood barred Xu Xuan from returning to affect life and death, so Xu Xuan invoked calamity blessing and called for Yinkang Ziye.

Xu Xuan witnessed Houtu damage the Earth Measure and use the Qian Metal Dao Verification to form the Water trigram, bringing the Heavenly Epoch closer to returning. After learning that the Immortal Sovereign might intend to use Xu Xuan’s perfected Dao for intercalation, Xu Xuan resolved to ascend to immortality and face him rather than abandon his path.

• Qu Xing and Diwu Gao saw the Great Void Mirror reveal Tianyu holding the Book of Circulating Six Voids at the Azure Emperor Temple, as Qu Taichong confronted him Beyond the Heavens.
• A mote of primordial chaos struck the Mortal World, injuring Houtu’s Earth Measure and drawing the realms closer together; Thunder Marsh broke free of the Shock Thunder Fruit Position while golden light filled the damaged measure and unleashed the Mysterious Crow’s Unclarity.
• Tianyu restored the Yangtze River’s main vein with Kan Water, and the Mysterious Crow and other opponents withdrew as Xu Xuan brought Houtu and Thunder Marsh to Mystic Enlightenment Heaven.
• Houtu explained that she had destroyed part of the Earth Measure to use the Qian Metal Dao Verification and primordial chaos to form the Water trigram, while Thunder Marsh revealed that the divine beings were trying to verify Xu Xuan’s Dao.
• Houtu departed, and Tianyu gave Xu Xuan the Book of Circulating Six Voids; he warned that the Immortal Sovereign might use Xu Xuan’s perfected Dao for intercalation and urged him to leave.
• Xu Xuan refused to abandon his path, saying he would ascend to immortality, complete his great Dao, and await the Immortal Sovereign.

Xu Xuan prepared to undertake altar attestation, assigning responsibilities and passing on methods and treasures to his disciples. He visited Liu Xingfang on Disc Continent before setting out to fight Celestial Pivot, while the world remained beset by rot and upheaval.

• Xu Fayan and Liu Xiaowen argued over how the Sect should respond to rotting corpses and refugees fleeing the Chu Lands.
• Xu Xuan emerged from seclusion and announced that he would undertake altar attestation, then gave Liu Xiaowen a cultivation method and divine altar light and instructed Xu Fayan to go to the Xia Lands if Mystic Unity fell.
• Xu Xuan entrusted Tiantuo with Great Scarlet Heaven's secrets and plans, and told him to keep Xu Ming uninformed about the attestation for now.
• Xu Xuan went to the Land of Being and Nonbeing, where he gave Liu Xingfang Northern Thunder's Daoist Canons and three ancient treasures.
• Xu Xuan told Liu Xingfang that he would fight Celestial Pivot before seeking altar attestation, and Liu Xingfang vowed to uphold the Dao of Altar Thunder.

Wei Mi reaffirmed his intention to follow Emperor Xuan's Human Dao, while Xu Xuan recovered the Shock Drum and pursued the Great Change Dao Evolution stele through primordial chaos. The chapter left Xu Xuan questioning the origins of his connection to Yue Maiden and the Mysterious Maiden.

• Wei Mi told Li Houyuan that he wished to expand his territory and follow Emperor Xuan's example, and Li Houyuan warned Wei Cun that the emperor's chances of success had improved.
• Wei Cun feared Wei Mi's Human Dao would endanger his blood relatives, but Li Houyuan rebuked him and said the Earth-Subduing Lineage would support Wei Mi only with the Altar Earth Imperial Robe.
• Beast Mother told Li Houyuan that Wei Mi intended to unify the continents by bringing western Primordial Heaven's land into Central Earth, though she doubted he could succeed.
• Xu Xuan met Thunder Marsh, who refused to reclaim the shock thunder fruit position and gave Xu Xuan the Shock Drum, a Dao Verification that could help him attain Nascent Soul.
• Xu Xuan used the Book of Circulating Six Voids to locate the Great Change Dao Evolution stele in primordial chaos, while reflecting on the role of Zhou Shi and the unresolved Qi Embryo path.
• As Xu Xuan traveled toward the stele, he considered his longstanding connection to Yue Maiden and the Mysterious Maiden and wondered where their chain of cause and effect began.

Baoqiu witnessed Li Fire’s restoration and learned why the Jiang lineage was waiting to complete Qi Embryo. After Xue Huaze recovered a memory connecting her to the Yue Maiden and Disc Continent, Kuying revealed that the lineage would wait for the Northern Sea lord’s Dao to advance before acting.

• Baoqiu received Yuju, a Xin Metal Attendant Envoy from Peaceful Mountain, who asked to meet Kuying and Xue Huaze about Qi Embryo.
• Yuju examined Xue Huaze’s cultivation and promised Peaceful Mountain’s aid, then asked whether she had met the Yue Maiden.
• Yuju revealed that Xue Huaze had paid respects to the Yue Maiden alongside Qing Jianzhou, and Xue Huaze recovered the memory and recalled the instruction to go to Disc Continent.
• Yuju departed after asking the Jiang lineage to settle matters with Mystic Unity, while Kuying sent Xue Huaze away to regulate her breathing.
• Kuying told Baoqiu that the Immortal Sword Two Stops of Life and Death had appeared in the hands of the Northern Sea lord and that Qi Embryo must wait until that lord’s Dao advanced further.

Zhou Shi visited Prison-Suppressing Mountain and awakened Blood Doom, a True Lord’s severed head, to learn about divine thunder and the hidden truth. After declaring that divine thunder would soon have a master, Zhou Shi rejected Qu Xing’s warning and entered the Great Void resolved to pursue the truth, even if it cost his life.

• Zhou Shi followed the Thunder Ghost to the sealed cavern beneath Prison-Suppressing Mountain, where a severed head was held by silver thunder.
• Zhou Shi revealed the Divine Hao token and entered the cavern, where his presence stirred Blood Doom’s memories and demonic thunder.
• Blood Doom revealed that he had killed Ji Gen and eaten his heart, then warned Zhou Shi that he would see the truth.
• Zhou Shi told Blood Doom that divine thunder would soon have a master, and Blood Doom laughed before his returning spirituality faded.
• Qu Xing urged Zhou Shi to delay attaining divine thunder, but Zhou Shi refused and said he would pursue the truth even if he perished.
• Qu Xing allowed Zhou Shi to proceed, and Zhou Shi entered the Great Void, leaving his donkey with the Thunder Ghost.

Xu Xuan and Zhou Shi fought a life-and-death battle in Kunlun, first clashing with their swords and then unleashing their divine arts as the Dusk Drum restrained their cultivation. After both revealed their strongest techniques, the drum reduced them to mortal strength, and Zhou Shi prepared to settle the contest sword against sword.

• Xu Xuan reached the glacial river in Kunlun and confronted Zhou Shi, who was washing his golden sword beside it.
• Xu Xuan and Zhou Shi agreed to fight without relying on Golden Core mysteries, while the Dusk Drum restrained their power.
• The swordsmen exchanged rapid strikes, and Xu Xuan used altar thunder and Divine Edicts to punish Zhou Shi and suppress his divine thunder.
• Zhou Shi pledged his nature and life to heaven and earth to claim supreme yang thunder, escape Xu Xuan's pursuit, and recover his strength.
• Xu Xuan and Zhou Shi continued their contest beneath Mystic Mountain, where they unleashed powerful divine arts and killing moves.
• The Dusk Drum reduced both fighters to mortal bodies and ordinary-looking swords, and Zhou Shi declared they could finally decide who was superior.

Xu Xuan and Zhou Shi faced each other under the Dusk Drum as Zhou Shi explained Xuanhao’s opposition to the Thunder Palace and revealed his own nature as a vacancy filled by divine thunder. Zhou Shi rejected twilight’s concealment and attempted to attain the Dao, but heavenly punishment struck him down; Xu Xuan remained in the Sword Mound as attention turned toward his own trial.

• Xu Xuan and Zhou Shi fought in the snow while Zhou Shi described how Xuanhao feared the Thunder Palace’s pursuit of flawlessness and recounted the Heavenly Emperor’s encounter with the Great Change Dao Evolution.
• Xu Xuan refused to judge the conflict and said he wished to ask others to forgive him, causing the All-Creation Sorrowful Tear to dissolve into heaven and earth.
• Zhou Shi rejected the Dusk Drum’s concealment, revealed himself as a vacancy filled by divine thunder, and forged a golden nature from his manifested divine abilities.
• Xu Xuan resisted altar thunder’s command to kill Zhou Shi as Zhou Shi challenged the twilight, entered Great Luo, and tried to attain the Dao as Celestial Pivot.
• Northern tribulation punishment struck Zhou Shi’s golden throne and grievously wounded divine thunder, after which the twilight concealed it again and primordial divine thunder appeared to have escaped altar thunder’s control.
• Xu Xuan sat above the Sword Mound as gazes from across the world turned toward him, and he realized he could no longer feel pain.

Xu Xuan entered the history of Northern Yin to use withering and falsehood to attain altar thunder, but discovered Taojue had stolen Northern Yin’s true name and was waiting to contend with him. The two fought across expanding false histories, and Xu Xuan sensed Taojue’s purpose was more dangerous than a direct struggle for control.

• Xu Xuan found the Void Stele, chose to use it as a foundation for altar attestation, and entered the false history of Northern Yin.
• Xu Xuan descended into the past as Central Firmament and witnessed the origin one manifestation begin its transformation into withering.
• The being transforming into withering declared that Central Firmament had been stolen, and Taojue appeared as the second master of withering under the name Northern Yin.
• Xu Xuan revealed his identity to Taojue, and the two began altering and correcting false histories to contend for existence and control of withering.
• Xu Xuan sensed a grave calamity approaching and realized he might need to complete the Fourth Demon’s attainment and bring altar thunder into the struggle, but he hesitated, suspecting Taojue had another purpose.

Xu Xuan completed his Altar Thunder attestation in Primordial Heaven and confronted Devil Ancestor Taojue in the False History. He obtained Altar Thunder Golden Nature, but could not decipher its true name as the False History's inhabitants mocked him and Taojue declared that he had taken the wrong road.

• Xu Xuan headed south to undertake Altar Attestation, rejecting the path of becoming a puppet of Law.
• Xu Xuan shed his Outer Dao arts and manifested five Altar Thunder Divine Abilities, while his Tribulation Law sword remained untouched by Abyss-Severing.
• Xu Xuan's Golden Nature was attested within Primordial Heaven, though Great Luo gave no response and he vanished from Kunlun.
• Devil Ancestor Taojue confronted Xu Xuan in the False History and offered to reveal his origins, but Xu Xuan dismissed his claim to know the truth.
• Taojue called Xu Xuan nothing at all, but Xu Xuan reached the end of the False History and obtained Altar Thunder Golden Nature.
• Xu Xuan could not decipher the Golden Nature's true name as the False History's inhabitants mocked him and Taojue said he had taken the wrong road.

As Xu Xuan’s Primordial Heaven attainment unleashed a realm of punishing thunder, Xu Fayan fought through the Sword Mound to retrieve his master’s sword and robe, while Wen Si'an rejected a demonic apparition impersonating Xu Xuan. Xu Xuan then faced Taojue’s overwhelming power in False History and called upon the Void Mirror Heaven lineage for help.

• Wen Si'an and Liu Xiaowen learned that Xu Xuan had attained Primordial Heaven, and Liu Xiaowen burned the demons in the Great Void before departing for the Northern Sea.
• A demonic apparition appeared to Wen Si'an as Xu Xuan and voiced regret, but she denounced it as an evil impersonator and drove it away.
• Xu Fayan endured the altar thunder at Kunlun and entered the Sword Mound, where he retrieved Xu Xuan’s robe and sword despite Zhang Yu’s warning.
• Xu Fayan emerged badly wounded as the thunderbolts resumed, prompting Zhang Yu to suspect that Xu Xuan might still be attaining altar thunder.
• Li Huanyou witnessed Taojue’s manifestation as Without Absolution, and Xu Xuan realized that Taojue had stolen the identity’s true name and dominated False History.
• Xu Xuan summoned the Void Mirror Heaven lineage, and a being manifested from the void and moonlight answered his plea to slay Taojue.