Chapter Summaries

Su Jiu and the surviving cultivators waited anxiously while two demonic beasts searched the blood pool for a treasure. After an hour, an enormous beast surfaced, twice the size of the one Su Jiu had released.

• The injured cultivators recovered as best they could and worried about the demonic beasts still lurking beneath the blood pool.
• One demonic beast found his newly transformed companion, who regained consciousness and accepted his new identity and hunger for cultivators.
• The two demonic beasts agreed to search for a treasure at the bottom of the pool before confronting the cultivators.
• After an hour, a cultivator questioned Su Jiu about whether the demon would return and doubted her claim about merit power.
• A huge wave surged from the blood pool, and Su Jiu raised an Ice Wall before an enormous demonic beast surfaced.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen discovered that a Red Stone had fused two demonic beasts into a stronger creature and fought it to remove the stone. The demonic beast outpaced them and trapped Su Jiu’s ankle in a ring of demonic qi.

• Chu Luohen used Heart Discernment and identified the Red Stone inside the fused demonic beast.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen attacked from opposite sides, but the demonic beast dodged their arts with increased speed and agility.
• Cultivators below grew fearful and argued, while a pair of Dao Companions distracted others with accusations about Senior Su.
• Su Jiu and Chu Luohen battled the demonic beast in midair, but its demonic qi attacks left Su Jiu bloodied and kept them at a disadvantage.
• The demonic beast tried to surround Su Jiu with concentrated demonic qi, then formed it into a ring that caught her ankle.

Su Jiu endured the demonic beast breaking both her feet while Chu Luohen fought desperately to protect her. She attuned with the Snow Sprite, whose power merged into her in fewer than two breaths, leaving them ready to face the beast together.

• Chu Luohen attacked the demonic beast without defending himself, while Su Jiu continued forming arts despite its demonic qi cutting into her ankle.
• The demonic beast turned its attacks on Chu Luohen, and Su Jiu raised an Ice Wall to protect him.
• The demonic beast broke Su Jiu's other foot, disrupting Chu Luohen's art as she struggled to endure the pain.
• Su Jiu asked the Snow Sprite for help, and it proposed merging with her through human-spirit attunement.
• Su Jiu agreed, and the Snow Sprite merged into her body in fewer than two breaths, exclaiming that they were a match made in heaven.

Su Jiu defeated the demonic beast by briefly fusing with the Snow Sprite, but the effort left her unconscious with severely injured feet. Qi Song and the other healers treated her while the cultivators waited, and her bones remained fragile even after several days.

• Su Jiu used the Snow Sprite's power to pierce and destroy the demonic beast, leaving behind a Red Stone, then collapsed into Chu Luohen's arms.
• Qi Song took charge of Su Jiu's care, and the middle-aged cultivator apologized after hearing why she had refused to let his group onto the Flying Boat.
• The healers discovered that Su Jiu's foot was nearly severed; Ye Wanqing, the female cultivator, and Qi Song combined their skills to treat her injuries.
• Several days passed as Chu Luohen and the other cultivators recovered, but Su Jiu remained unconscious despite her ankle meridians healing.
• Qi Song reported that Su Jiu's feet had been reattached, but her ankle fractures remained severe and could easily break again.

With Su Jiu still unconscious, Chu Luohen broke the Barrier around the Cauldron Furnace and revealed a Teleportation Array leading to the Third Level. Though the cultivators feared what awaited them, Ye Wanqing urged Lou Sheng and the others to take charge of their own fate, and everyone eventually entered the array.

• Chu Luohen took the Red Stone from Su Jiu and used it to shatter the Barrier over the Cauldron Furnace.
• The cultivators discovered that the furnace held a Teleportation Array to the Third Level, but hesitated because the Second Level had cost them nearly half their companions and Su Jiu remained unconscious.
• Chu Luohen entered the array with Su Jiu on his back, followed by Qi Song, while Lou Sheng debated whether to follow.
• Ye Wanqing urged Lou Sheng to trust his own courage instead of relying on Su Jiu, and he entered the array with the Azure Tide Sect disciples.
• The other cultivators followed the Curse Spirit Sect, Medicine King Valley, Fang Family, and Zhang Family into the array until no one remained.

Chu Luohen led the cultivators through the Fourth Level’s door and discovered the gray stairway known as the true Hongsheng Heavenly Road, where spiritual qi and flying techniques failed. Carrying Su Jiu, he began climbing the only path forward as the others realized they would have to follow on foot.

• The cultivators arrived at a peaceful level filled with dense spiritual qi, a spring, and an apparently ordinary exit door.
• Chu Luohen opened the door and revealed a gray world of fused spiritual and demonic qi, with a stairway leading into the unknown.
• Chu Luohen recognized the stairway as the true Hongsheng Heavenly Road and sensed the profound Time Laws surrounding it.
• Carrying Su Jiu, Chu Luohen climbed the steps and felt the force resisting him grow stronger with each step.
• A cultivator tried to use spiritual qi beyond the doorway, but the backlash drained it and knocked him down.
• The others discovered that spiritual qi and Arts could not be used on the road, leaving them to face its seemingly endless stairs on foot.

The Fang Family struggled up the Hongsheng Heavenly Road as exhaustion worsened and their injuries resurfaced. After Fang Jie and Fang Xing both failed to carry an injured companion, the disciple jumped off the steps.

• Chong Mo discovered that the gray mist blocked Divine Sense, while the climbers could not use Spiritual Qi.
• The cultivators grew increasingly exhausted as they climbed, and Fang Cen concealed her suspicion that the road's pressure was worsening.
• An injured Fang Family disciple collapsed, and his friend Fang Jie tried to carry him but found the disciple impossibly heavy.
• Fang Xing also failed to carry the injured disciple, and he and Fang Cen realized that carrying people might be forbidden on the road.
• While the Fang Family stood stunned, the injured disciple jumped off the steps.

Fang Xing and Fang Cen left Fang Jie behind after Thirteen sacrificed himself, while Chu Luohen carried Su Jiu up the punishing Hongsheng Heavenly Road. Su Jiu awoke near the end of the climb, and Chu Luohen reached the final step with only two steps left to carry her.

• Fang Xing pulled Fang Jie away after Thirteen jumped from the steps, and Fang Cen helped them press onward through the fog.
• Chu Luohen carried the unconscious Su Jiu past five hundred steps while Qi Song struggled to keep up.
• Su Jiu dreamed of a nine-petaled flower called Nine-Petal Frostflow and a mysterious silhouette that recognized it.
• Su Jiu woke on Chu Luohen's back and learned from the Snow Sprite that carrying someone on the Hongsheng Heavenly Road multiplied the strain tenfold.
• Su Jiu stopped trying to climb down, and Chu Luohen carried her to the final step.

Su Jiu sent Chu Luohen through the doorway to the Hongsheng Heavenly Road but was left behind by an invisible barrier. Seventeen years later, the continents rejoined and the Azure Realm changed, while Yun Huanling suffered a mysterious attack and dreamed of artifact spirits discussing Tiantian.

• Chu Luohen reached the stone doorway, but Su Jiu shoved him through and discovered an invisible barrier blocking her from following.
• Seventeen years later, the Dustless Continent returned and joined the Yin River Continent as spiritual qi spread across the Azure Realm and demonic qi began leaking from the Demon-Subduing Land.
• Yun Huanling spat blood at the Heavenly Secret Sect, and Yun Jing and Hongguang failed to discover what was wrong with him.
• Yun Huanling dreamed of artifact spirits in a secret chamber praising Tiantian, a Sacred Spirit Treasure.

Yun Huanling dreamed of a blurred cultivator and Tiantian, then kept the vision and his recurring discomfort to himself as he longed for A Jiu’s return. Meanwhile, Xia Jue investigated demonic qi, chaotic fate stars, and the joined continents, but discovered that he could not contact Su Jiu.

• Yun Huanling dreamed of a cultivator entering a secret chamber with Tiantian, but woke before he could see their faces clearly.
• Yun Huanling decided not to tell anyone about the dream, then opened his Dark Spirit Wood Box and lamented that A Jiu had been gone for seven years.
• Feng Qi reported that demonic qi was spilling from the Demon-Subduing Land, and Xia Jue warned disciples to avoid Zheng Qilong.
• Xia Jue read Heavenly Secret Sect messages about altered day-and-night periods, unreliable divinations, and a mountain range raised between the joined continents beneath a fissure in the heavens.
• Xia Jue revealed that his Sound-Mixing Bell had not responded when he tried to reach Su Jiu, and Feng Qi learned that their Message Talismans would not go through either.

Xia Jue and Feng Qi questioned Chu Luohen after he woke, hoping to learn where Su Jiu was and why she had stayed behind. Chu Luohen asked Qi Song whether he had failed to finish the Hongsheng Heavenly Road, leaving the reason for Su Jiu’s decision unanswered.

• A disciple reported that he had brought back twelve Azure Tide Sect cultivators from the Newly Appeared Mountain Range, but Su Jiu was not among them.
• Feng Qi and Xia Jue went to inspect the rescued cultivators and found Chu Luohen conscious.
• Chu Luohen asked where A Jiu was, but Xia Jue and Feng Qi pressed him for an account of what had happened.
• Chu Luohen admitted through his actions that he was too depleted to search for Su Jiu alone and agreed to answer Feng Qi’s questions.
• Before explaining why Su Jiu had not left with him, Chu Luohen asked Qi Song whether he had finished walking the Hongsheng Heavenly Road, and Qi Song said he had not.

Chu Luohen told Xia Jue and Feng Qi what he knew about the Hongsheng Heavenly Road, and Xia Jue suspected Su Jiu was still trapped inside. Feng Qi persuaded Lou Sheng to merge his Azure Tide Sect into the Dustless Continent’s Azure Tide Sect, leaving Lou Sheng and his disciples with a new home and support.

• Qi Song told Chu Luohen that golden light had pierced the Hongsheng Heavenly Road and that the other ascenders had survived.
• Chu Luohen recounted how Su Jiu had pushed him out through the door, and Xia Jue suspected she remained inside the Hongsheng Heavenly Road.
• Lou Sheng arrived and explained that he was the Sect Master of the Azure Tide Sect from the other Azure Realm.
• Feng Qi offered Lou Sheng an elder position, a separate peak, and resources for his disciples, while explaining that the two Azure Tide Sects could not remain separate.
• Ye Wanqing urged Lou Sheng to give up the Sect Master's robes, and he accepted Feng Qi's terms for the sake of his disciples.

Lou Sheng explained that the Hongsheng Heavenly Road might be a Heavenly Dao rift meant to repair the two Azure Realms, while Su Jiu’s Soul Lamp remained lit but its flame had grown faint and untouchable. Chu Luohen learned Su Jiu was alive, then discussed the worsening seal with Chu Mojin before asking him to return him to Ice Veil Peak; Feng Qi arranged lodging and sent disciples to retrieve the stranded Azure Tide Sect members.

• Lou Sheng told Xia Jue and the others that secret records described the Hongsheng Heavenly Road as a rift whose repairs would reunite the Heavenly Dao, but offered no answer about those trapped inside.
• An Enforcement Hall disciple reported that Su Jiu’s Soul Lamp was still lit, though its flame was so insubstantial that it could barely be sensed or touched.
• Xia Jue left without explaining what he had learned, and Chu Luohen took comfort in knowing Su Jiu was alive before deciding to investigate Soul Lamps.
• Chu Mojin told Chu Luohen that Su Jiu’s Soul Tablet remained intact and described the seal’s severe upheaval, which could only be fully suppressed with the missing Heaven-Connecting Tower.
• Chu Luohen asked Chu Mojin to take him to Ice Veil Peak to recover, while Feng Qi arranged accommodations for Lou Sheng’s group and dispatched disciples to retrieve stranded Azure Tide Sect members.

As demonic qi rose across the Azure Realm and incursions from the Savage Wilderness threatened the Vast Heaven Continent, Azure Tide Sect leaders discussed how to detect hidden demon seeds. Xia Jue suspected the timing of recent demon seed cases was part of a deliberate scheme, but the sect had no solution beyond relying on the Enforcement Hall.

• Feng Qi returned to the Enforcement Hall, learned Xia Jue had entered its Archive Secret Chamber, and considered what had made the Soul Lamp’s flame insubstantial.
• Rising spiritual qi and demonic qi stirred factions across the Azure Realm, while demonic cultivators invaded the Vast Heaven Continent from the Savage Wilderness.
• Ning Hai told the Azure Tide Sect gathering that other sects had requested help, and the elders discussed the growing danger of concealed demon seeds.
• The Grand Elder recalled that Su Jiu’s Heart Discernment had once helped expose hidden carriers, while Xia Jue noted that she had lost the ability seven years earlier.
• Xia Jue suspected the timing of a newly discovered carrier was no coincidence and wondered who was behind a scheme linked to the Demon-Subduing Land.
• The gathered seniors failed to find a concrete way to detect demon seeds and left the Enforcement Hall to keep suppressing the threat.

Su Jiu drifted back through the doorway into the sacred pool, where Little Green spoke with the goddess statue about a looming battle, Su Jiu’s curse, and her obscured identity. The other spirits awoke in the Palace, found Su Jiu unconscious, and discovered that the door was stuck shut.

• After golden light vanished and the Hongsheng Heavenly Road disappeared, Su Jiu floated through the doorway and fell into a pool of Spiritual Qi and Innate Origin Qi.
• Little Green confronted the goddess statue, who said another consciousness still remained and that a battle was inevitable now that the Hongsheng Heavenly Road was connected.
• Little Green and the statue discussed Su Jiu’s curse, lost memories, reincarnation, and the danger of interfering with her destined tribulation.
• Little Green returned to Su Jiu’s wrist and pretended not to know what had happened when the Snow Sprite woke and questioned it.
• Little Pearl, the Painting Spirit, and the Wind Spirit woke, found Su Jiu unconscious in the spring, and Little Pearl discovered that the nearby door would not open.

The spirits realized the Hongsheng Heavenly Road might allow only one person to escape, and they chose to cultivate in the Spring Water while Su Jiu recovered. After Little Pearl put Su Jiu’s hand in the pool, the spirits continued soaking until Su Jiu woke up.

• The Snow Sprite guessed that only one person could pass through the door and that Su Jiu had kept Chu Luohen from giving up his chance to escape.
• The Snow Sprite and Wind Spirit entered the Spring Water, and the Wind Spirit advanced after soaking in it.
• The Painting Spirit joined them in the pool but moved away after seeing Purple Ultimate beside Su Jiu.
• The Snow Sprite persuaded Little Pearl to use the Spring Water to strengthen himself and help Su Jiu heal.
• Little Green fled Su Jiu’s wrist because the Spring Water’s qi could contaminate its Spirit Vein Spirit body and endanger the Azure Realm.
• Su Jiu woke up after the spirits had spent an uncertain stretch of time in the Spring Water.

During Su Jiu’s coma, time passed differently in the Azure Realm, where demonic threats grew and the sects prepared for a possible crisis. As her companions and treasures advanced, Su Jiu’s consciousness began to improve, while the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox appeared corrupted by demonic qi.

• During Su Jiu’s first year in a coma, spring water healed her feet and strengthened her meridians as ten years passed in the world below.
• Xia Jue and Feng Qi discussed escalating demonic attacks, the Heavenly Demon Sect’s silence, and the instability of the Fate Stars; Chu Luohen failed to find another entrance to the Hongsheng Heavenly Road.
• During Su Jiu’s second year, the Ice Silk Net and Ice Cloud Hairpin reached the Spirit Treasure realm, while Chu Luohen and Xia Jue advanced to the out-of-body middle stage.
• The Azure Tide Sect, Jade Sword Sect, and Heavenly Secret Sect formed a strict alliance, which Yun Jing said was preparation for a possible future crisis.
• During Su Jiu’s third year, the Painting Spirit gained the ability to conceal Su Jiu and her companions within its original body, the wind spirit broke through again, and Su Jiu’s consciousness began to improve.
• Cultivators discovered that the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox in the expanding Demon-Subduing Land had been engulfed by demonic qi and had turned hostile toward cultivators.

Over the years Su Jiu remained unconscious, the Azure Realm’s sects formed alliances and new prodigies rose, while she quietly cultivated in a spring that suppressed her. Forty years later, rumors that Su Qingqing had been seen near the Demon-Subduing Land brought renewed attention to Su Jiu’s name as Yun Chao arrived with the Flowing Radiance Sword Sect’s delegation.

• The Zen Sound Temple joined the Azure Tide Sect’s alliance, and its Buddha Child returned from his travels at the out-of-body stage.
• The Azure Tide Sect rejected the Vast Righteousness Sect’s proposed alliance and marriage arrangement involving Luo Ge and Chu Luohen, which widened tensions between the sects.
• Gu Ningyun and Lie Wushuang entered the spirit severing stage, Chu Luohen and Xia Jue advanced to the late out-of-body stage, and Su Qingqing was declared missing after nearly forty years away.
• In the fourth year of Su Jiu’s unconsciousness, she reached the out-of-body middle stage, regained her consciousness, and learned from Purple Ultimate that she had been in the spring for four years.
• Forty years later, Yun Huanling emerged from seclusion at the out-of-body middle stage, while rumors that Su Qingqing had visited the Demon-Subduing Land prompted an investigation.
• The Flowing Clouds Sword Sect joined the alliance, represented by Yun Chao, who arrived with Yu Jin and Lu Shuangshuang; Yun Chao and Yu Jin had reached the spirit severing stage.

After Yi Feng Chen escaped with help from a traitor inside the Enforcement Hall, Xia Jue ordered the traitor killed and refused to waste resources searching for Yi Feng Chen. In the fifth year of Su Jiu’s stay in the Palace, Purple Ultimate advanced, Su Jiu regained her strength, and the Painting Spirit took her into a paradise inside the painting.

• Yi Feng Chen’s escape exposed traitors connected to demonic cultivators across several factions, and Xia Jue ordered Feng Qi to track down and kill the traitor.
• Purple Ultimate advanced from a spirit treasure to a sacred artifact, while Little Pearl complained that it was the only spirit still unable to advance.
• Su Jiu suppressed the power of laws in the pool and recovered her strength, then greeted her spirits after opening her eyes.
• Little Green glanced toward a distant stone statue before returning to Su Jiu’s wrist, prompting Su Jiu to suspect it knew more than it revealed.
• The Painting Spirit unfurled her Painting Scroll, took Su Jiu’s hand, and brought her into a secluded paradise within the painting.

Su Jiu watched the Painting Spirit create a private space within her painting, then searched the sealed Palace for a way out. She used the Spring Water’s power of rules to open a passage toward the Azure Tide Sect and vanished, while the Palace dissolved into mist.

• The Painting Spirit showed Su Jiu the limits of her new space and offered to shelter her in the painting.
• Little Green urged the group to leave, but Su Jiu noticed the goddess statue had lost its vitality and grew suspicious of Little Green.
• Su Jiu found that the Palace’s door had disappeared and sensed the strongest power of rules at the Spring Water’s spring eye.
• Su Jiu focused on the Azure Tide Sect and channeled the power of rules into the spring eye.
• The Spring Water stopped flowing, mist engulfed Su Jiu, and she vanished as the Palace faded into gray mist.