Chapter Summaries

Three Corpses Cave Elder Xu Shu and two companions arrived to take Lin Buyu to the Upper Realm, breaking through Qingxuan’s Mountain-Sealing Sword Formation. Sect Master Zhao Qian agreed not to obstruct her if she went willingly, but Qingxuan prepared to fight when a young cultivator challenged him.

• Xu Taiping confirmed to Zhao Qian that the three figures above Five Elders Peak were Walkers from Three Corpses Cave, and Zhao Qian warned the sect not to provoke the Upper Realm force.
• The giant Walker struck Qingxuan’s Mountain-Sealing Sword Formation with an ancient divine hammer, scattering its Sword Qi clouds and revealing the three visitors.
• Xu Shu introduced himself as an Elder of Three Corpses Cave and explained that he had come to invite Lin Buyu to the Upper Realm, apologizing for breaking the formation after Qingxuan did not open its gates.
• Zhao Qian said Qingxuan would not obstruct Three Corpses Cave if Lin Buyu chose to go willingly, but he would resist if they tried to take her by force.
• A young Three Corpses Cave cultivator challenged Zhao Qian, prompting the sect master, Peak Lords, Elders, and disciples to ready their swords as Qingxuan’s Immortal-Slaying Grand Formation activated.

Lin Buyu prepared to leave the Azure Profound Sect for Three Corpses Cave, while Xu Taiping agreed to see her off. At the breach in the mountain-sealing formation, Zhao Qian told the Upper Realm cultivators they would have to find a way through or wait decades to return for her.

• Xu Shu apologized for Luo Hong's disrespect, and Zhao Qian insisted the Azure Profound Sect would not let Three Corpses Cave take Lin Buyu against her will.
• Lin Buyu arrived with Meng Qingqiu and privately told Xu Taiping she was leaving; he offered to see her off.
• Meng Qingqiu urged Lin Buyu to stay, but Lin Buyu said she would go to Three Corpses Cave and promised to take care of herself.
• Lin Buyu bade farewell to the sect, and Xu Taiping joined her as she flew toward the breach in the mountain-sealing formation.
• Lin Buyu reminded Xu Taiping of their agreement, and Zhao Qian warned the Upper Realm cultivators that the formation could not be opened for decades.

The Three Corpses Cave elders broke through the Azure Profound Sect's Mountain-Sealing Sword Formation and took Lin Buyu away. After she departed, Luo Hong attacked Xu Taiping through the closing opening and sent him crashing into the mountains below.

• Xu Shu shattered the Mountain-Sealing Sword Formation with a pebble that grew into a boulder, smashing a huge hole and crushing a bamboo grove.
• Luo Hong mocked the Azure Profound Sect, while Zhao Qian vowed not to forget the sect's humiliation.
• Lin Buyu bid Xu Taiping farewell, then flew through the opening to join Xu Shu and the giant from Three Corpses Cave.
• Luo Hong noticed Xu Taiping's Listening Wind Bracelet and stayed behind after Xu Shu and Lin Buyu left for the Immortal Boat.
• When Zhao Qian warned Xu Taiping to return, Luo Hong suddenly struck him with the Three Corpses Heavenly Palace Finger.
• Xu Taiping blocked with his Ancestral Sage Fist and Ultimate Realm Raging Dragon Physique, but Luo Hong's attack pierced his defenses and hurled him into a mountain forest.

Luo Hong grievously wounded Xu Taiping before Qingxuan’s Mountain-Sealing Sword Formation closed, prompting Zhao Qian and the sect to vow revenge against Three Corpses Cave. Xu Taiping survived and, three days later, told Lü Daoxuan that he was recovering, while Lü predicted Qingxuan would grow strong enough to repel another descent.

• Luo Hong escaped aboard the Immortal Boat after Zhao Qian’s sword strike was blocked by Qingxuan’s completed Mountain-Sealing Sword Formation.
• Zhao Qian found Xu Taiping gravely wounded, and the Peak Lords and Elders vowed to remember the grievance and challenge Three Corpses Cave to a Sword Inquiry.
• Xu Taiping’s Heart Aperture released powerful Essence Blood that began rebuilding his chest, and Zhao Qian’s group rushed him to the Hundred Herbs Hall.
• Three days later, Xu Taiping told Lü Daoxuan that he was out of danger and explained that the Shentu Bow had shattered while protecting him.
• Lü Daoxuan said Qingxuan’s strength would rise after the Mountain-Sealing and warned that Three Corpses Cave would not return safely if it descended again.

Xu Taiping discussed his defeat by Luo Hong with Lü Daoxuan, resolved to turn the humiliation into motivation, and prepared to leave Qingxuan. He learned how his Mysterious Origin Avatars and the Taixuan Demon-Suppressing Coffins could support him in future battles, while his anger empowered the Origin Beginning Clone to take a True Dragon form.

• Lü Daoxuan reassured Xu Taiping that the Azure Profound Sect would settle the score with Three Corpses Cave and warned him not to let Luo Hong's attack become a heart demon.
• Xu Taiping said he was not impatient and vowed to use adversity as a whetstone before asking how to transfer his accumulated anger into the Origin Beginning Clone.
• Lü Daoxuan advised Xu Taiping to leave more Mysterious Origin Avatars cultivating in the coffins, where they could store true essence and qi and blood and prepare spells and divine abilities for him to use.
• Xu Taiping transferred his anger into the Origin Beginning Clone, which manifested as a True Dragon, and explained to Zhao Qian that sustaining the form consumed enormous resources.
• Xu Taiping revealed that the six Mysterious Origin Avatars left in the coffins practiced Martial Dao techniques and divine abilities that his true body could borrow in a crisis.

Xu Taiping left Qingxuan for the Golden Court Outer Grotto-Heaven, using the Dragon-Trapping Tower as a passage to reach Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian. Before opening the door to the Dragon-Slaying Stele, he cut down the Lotus Pond’s last three golden lotuses and headed out as the inner grotto-heaven began to collapse.

• Zhao Qian told Xu Taiping that Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian had lifted the seal on the Dragon-Slaying Stele and were heading to the Golden Court Grotto-Heaven.
• Xu Taiping entered a Bronze Coffin and traveled to the Dragon-Trapping Tower, while Lü Daoxuan and Zhao Qian discussed Qingxuan’s future responsibilities.
• Xu Taiping resisted the three golden lotuses’ mind-clouding breeze with the Taixuan Demon-Suppressing Coffin and severed all three with Chengying.
• Xu Taiping took the golden lotuses and raced back toward the Dragon-Trapping Tower as the Golden Court Inner Grotto-Heaven showed signs of collapse.
• Xu Taiping arrived before the door linked to the Dragon-Slaying Stele and prepared to enter the Golden Court Outer Grotto-Heaven.

Xu Taiping used the Dragon-Trapping Tower to sense the Dragon-Slaying Stele beside the White Bodhi Tree and discovered that Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian were under attack. Dongfang Yuejian defeated one ancient battle general, but she was injured and dozens more descended to attack her.

• Xu Taiping sent his Origin Beginning Clone to guard the tower door and tried to contact Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian, but received no answer.
• Xu Taiping used his divine soul to observe the Dragon-Slaying Stele and saw Master Xuanzhi crash to the ground beside the White Bodhi Tree.
• Master Xuanzhi summoned the Eight-Treasure Glazed Ten-Form Canopy to protect the area from a golden fist and an ancient battle general's attack.
• Dongfang Yuejian struck down the battle general with her Immortal Sword, but spat blood immediately afterward.
• Dozens of ancient battle generals burst through the clouds and charged at Dongfang Yuejian.

Xu Taiping watched Dongfang Yuejian and Master Xuanzhi fight attackers who controlled puppet generals and cultivators from above the clouds. When he tried to force open the door to intervene, Xuanzhi warned him to wait and revealed that the attackers had been fighting them for three days and that their current opponent was named Thousand Threads.

• Dongfang Yuejian summoned a phantom pagoda to repel a charge by battle generals, but Xu Taiping realized her injuries had left her weakened.
• A giant divine general split the pagoda with a saber strike, and Master Xuanzhi protected Dongfang Yuejian with enormous golden Buddha hands.
• An enormous hand dropped more clay puppets on silver threads, and Xu Taiping recognized the attackers’ puppet magi arts.
• A martial artist cracked Dongfang Yuejian’s bronze bell, while a blue-robed cultivator engulfed it and her in flames.
• Xu Taiping failed to open the wooden door, and Master Xuanzhi warned him not to enter yet.
• Xuanzhi told Xu Taiping that the attackers had fought them for three days and identified their current opponent as Thousand Threads, a master of Puppet Play.

Xu Taiping watched Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian fight Ningchan Cave’s forces while learning that the hidden Jing Xian had to be forced into revealing his ability before Xu could strike. Xuanzhi and Dongfang unleashed powerful techniques at great cost, and the chapter ended as Dongfang opened the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

• Xu Taiping sensed Huangbo attack Master Xuanzhi’s illusory canopy with a powerful divine-intent axe blow, which Xuanzhi blocked by transforming the canopy into a vajra pestle.
• Xuanzhi severed his right arm to activate Cloud-Hidden Temple’s Secret Seclusion Method, while Dongfang Yuejian used an amber pearl to extinguish the blue-robed Daoist’s flames and destroy many of Thousand Threads’ puppets.
• Xuanzhi told Xu Taiping that Jing Xian’s Sit by the Sea and Watch the Mountains weakened anyone he watched, and asked Xu to wait until Jing Xian revealed himself before attacking.
• Xuanzhi gouged out his left eye and summoned the Wrathful-Eyed Vajra Dharma Aspect, which struck Huangbo and sent him flying.
• Dongfang Yuejian drew five immortal swords with her blood and opened the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

Dongfang Yuejian used a spirit fruit to restore the power needed to strengthen the Immortal-Slaying Formation and nearly overwhelm Thousand Threads of Ningchan Cave. Thousand Threads summoned Jing Xian, and Dongfang Yuejian attacked him as he arrived, leaving his protective golden light on the verge of breaking.

• Dongfang Yuejian summoned four divine weapons to activate the Immortal-Slaying Formation, destroying most of Thousand Threads of Ningchan Cave’s puppets.
• Thousand Threads sent another wave of puppets into the formation, whose sword light scattered as Dongfang Yuejian’s strength faltered.
• Dongfang Yuejian swallowed a spirit fruit, regained her power, and annihilated the puppets as the formation’s sword light expanded toward Thousand Threads.
• Thousand Threads blocked the formation with a net of silver threads and called for Jing Xian to act.
• Jing Xian arrived on a white crane, and Dongfang Yuejian directed the Immortal-Slaying Formation at him, stripping away his protective golden light until he opened his eyes.

Xu Taiping intervened as Jing Xuan’s divine ability weakened Dongfang Yuejian and Master Xuanzhi, then revealed his true-dragon form and attacked Thousand Threads of Ningchan Cave. His dragon breath exposed Ningchan Cave’s enormous puppet true body, which stopped the attack with a net of silver threads.

• Jing Xuan used Sit by the Sea and Watch the Mountains, breaking Dongfang Yuejian’s Immortal-Slaying Formation and Master Xuanzhi’s Vajra Dharma Aspect while weakening them both.
• Master Xuanzhi summoned Xu Taiping from the Dragon-Slaying Stele, and Xu Taiping smashed Huangbo’s Giant Axe attack and struck Jing Xuan with Longyuan.
• Xu Taiping’s Origin Beginning Clone became a mountain-sized true dragon and swept aside Ningchan Cave’s puppet formation, then carried Dongfang Yuejian to safety near Master Xuanzhi.
• Xu Taiping unleashed dragon breath at the clouds hiding Thousand Threads of Ningchan Cave, exposing her enormous puppet true body as it caught the blast in a net of silver threads.

Xu Taiping used Longyuan and Chengying to trap Jing Xian and blast him with Thunderflame Dragon Breath, burning him into a charred husk. As the battle seemed won, a terrifying Divine Soul aura erupted from Jing Xian’s body.

• Xu Taiping’s Dragon Breath burned through Thousand Threads’ silver-thread net and struck her puppet body, sending it plummeting as Huangbo rushed to catch it.
• The white crane carried Longyuan high into the sky, restoring Jing Xian’s vision, while Xu Taiping vanished from sight.
• Xu Taiping attacked Jing Xian from the white crane’s shadow with Chengying, but Jing Xian used a life-substitution treasure to escape the thrust.
• Xu Taiping sent Longyuan above Jing Xian and used Deep Abyss True Intent to pin him in place.
• Xu Taiping’s True Dragon body struck Jing Xian at close range with Thunderflame Dragon Breath, burning him into a charred husk.
• A powerful Divine Soul aura erupted from Jing Xian’s charred body, making heaven and earth tremble and shaking Xu Taiping’s heart and spirit.

Xu Taiping escaped the Heavenly Dao’s tribulation lightning as it struck Jing Xian, then attacked Thousand Threads and Huangbo while Jing Xian sought shelter in a puppet. His assault on Thousand Threads’ puppet formation continued as he unleashed the Raging Thunder Form.

• Xu Taiping prepared to burn Jing Xian’s primordial spirit, but Dongfang Yuejian warned him that the Heavenly Dao Edict had summoned tribulation lightning to punish the Upper Realm intruder.
• Xu Taiping retreated beneath the Dragon-Slaying Stele as the tribulation lightning struck Jing Xian and left him too weak to resist.
• Thousand Threads sent her ancient puppet to protect Jing Xian, revealing her petite true body seated on Huangbo’s shoulder.
• Xu Taiping attacked Huangbo and Thousand Threads with Longyuan and Chengying as Thousand Threads released her remaining clay puppets in a military formation.
• Xu Taiping used the Thunder Sound Banner to enter the puppet formation, defended against its combined attacks with Heaven-Bearing Stance, and struck back with the Raging Thunder Form.

Xu Taiping used the Thunder Sound Banner’s battle intent to smash the puppet forces and overwhelm Thousand Threads and Huangbo. Jing Xian sacrificed his lower-realm body to the tribulation lightning, ordering them to escape and avenge him, and Thousand Threads turned her rage toward Xu Taiping.

• Xu Taiping’s Mountain-Setting Fists shattered most of the puppets, then destroyed three more as the Thunder Sound Banner amplified his battle intent.
• Thousand Threads summoned an ancient puppet true body to shield herself and Huangbo from Xu Taiping’s attack, but he battered it back and smashed one of its arms.
• Jing Xian warned Thousand Threads and Huangbo to flee, explaining that they needed to survive and report what happened to the cave master.
• Jing Xian urged them to abandon any attempt to resurrect him and make sure Xu Taiping died, then allowed the purple tribulation lightning to strike his spirit form into ash.
• Thousand Threads shouted at Huangbo to move aside as she prepared to confront Xu Taiping in fury.

Xu Taiping failed to stop Thousand Threads of Ningchan Cave and Huangbo from escaping to the Upper Realm, but learned that Thousand Threads had taken a scrap of his Dharma Robe to track him. Dongfang Yuejian recognized his Origin Beginning Clone and revealed that an ancestor’s travelogue described its cultivation, leading Xu Taiping to suspect the other cultivator had possessed the complete Taiqing Clone Art.

• Thousand Threads released the seals on the puppet’s true body, but tribulation lightning destroyed it while she summoned a scroll to carry herself and Huangbo away.
• Thousand Threads threatened revenge, then the pale hands dragged her and Huangbo into the scroll before Xu Taiping could strike it with Longyuan.
• Xu Taiping gathered the scroll’s ashes and received a Divine Soul Mark from the Lotus Eye, which he suspected would reveal Ningchan Cave’s plans for revenge.
• Xu Taiping realized Thousand Threads had taken a scrap of his Dharma Robe to find him and warned the Lotus Eye to stay alert.
• Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian approached Xu Taiping, and Dongfang Yuejian recognized his Origin Beginning Clone from her household ancestor’s travelogue.
• Dongfang Yuejian described the Origin Beginning Clone’s powers, and Xu Taiping concluded that the cultivator in the travelogue must have possessed the complete Taiqing Clone Art.

Xu Taiping asked Dongfang Yuejian why Upper Realm cultivators had been descending so often, and she explained the dangers and methods of evading the Shangqing Realm’s Heavenly Dao Edict. Their discussion ended with Xu Taiping condemning the Ningchan Cave disciples for possessing innocent people.

• Dongfang Yuejian recognized Xu Taiping as an inheritor of the Origin Beginning Clone and invited him to visit her household in Chenglong Heaven.
• Xu Taiping asked whether Upper Realm cultivators had been descending to the Lower Realm more frequently, and Dongfang Yuejian asked what he knew about the Shangqing Cultivation World’s Upper Realm.
• Xu Taiping explained that the Upper Realm was the Land of Chaos in Outer Heaven, filled with desolate Stellar Mansions that held dangers and ancient treasures.
• Dongfang Yuejian explained that descending Upper Realm cultivators risked being destroyed by the Heavenly Dao Edict unless they concealed their power or used other methods.
• Dongfang Yuejian described how Ningchan Cave’s disciples possessed prepared bodies to evade the Edict, and Xu Taiping angrily compared the act to the deeds of evil demons.

Xu Taiping learned that a star chart to an Old Heavenly Court Star Lord’s abode had sparked a rush of Upper Realm cultivators into the Lower Realm, threatening turmoil across several heavens. After Master Xuanzhi delivered the Duel Evil Arhat armor, Xu Taiping grew wary about his upcoming journey to Wilderness Heaven and was asked what he planned to do there.

• Dongfang Yuejian explained that Upper Realm cultivators could descend by using sacrifices to obtain immortals’ Divine Intent, and confirmed that more had been arriving lately.
• Dongfang Yuejian told Xu Taiping that her mother had reported a star chart to an Old Heavenly Court Star Lord’s abode, drawn at the Withered Stone Sea in Peerless Nether Heaven, had stirred the Upper Realm’s powers.
• Dongfang Yuejian explained that the stars’ shifting positions meant the powers would need to compete for stargazing locations until the first Full Moon Day after winter began, bringing conflict to Peerless Nether Heaven and other heavens.
• Master Xuanzhi gave Xu Taiping the Duel Evil Arhat armor on behalf of Vairocana Chan Temple, explaining that Abbot Huiming said Ancient Buddha Kasyapa wished Xu Taiping to have it for his return to Wilderness Heaven.
• Xu Taiping accepted the armor and feared his journey would bring trouble; Master Xuanzhi asked what he was going to Wilderness Heaven for.

Xu Taiping told Xuanzhi he was taking a White Bodhi branch to Venerable Jiaye in the Thousand Buddha Kingdom, and Xuanzhi revealed that it could carry a seed of Buddha Fate back to the Shangqing Realm. The full legacy would take about two hundred years to restore, leaving Xu Taiping focused on the more urgent mission at Vulture Peak.

• Xu Taiping said he had promised Venerable Jiaye to bring a White Bodhi branch to the Thousand Buddha Kingdom.
• Xuanzhi used the Concealment and Detection Method to keep their conversation from outsiders and explained that the White Bodhi Tree could harbor Buddha Fate.
• Xuanzhi said elders at Cloud-Hidden Temple had sensed Buddha Fate from Ancient Buddha Kasyapa in the Wilderness Thousand Buddha Kingdom decades earlier.
• Xuanzhi explained that the branch could return only a seed of Buddha Fate, and Buddhist disciples would need about two hundred years to nurture it into a complete legacy.
• Xu Taiping regretted that the process would take too long to help Qingxuan face the Great Void Calamity and remained intent on inviting down the Buddha Statue from Vulture Peak.

Xu Taiping reluctantly agreed to let Dongfang Yuejian accompany him into Wilderness Heaven after learning she needed to share life-and-death ordeals with him to qualify for the Dragon-Slaying Assembly. Master Xuanzhi still wanted to join the journey, and Xu Taiping had not yet answered him.

• Master Xuanzhi asked Xu Taiping to take him to Wilderness Heaven, explaining that his calamities would strengthen Xu Taiping’s good fortune, but Xu Taiping refused.
• Dongfang Yuejian insisted on joining the dangerous journey because she wanted Xu Taiping to accompany her to Chenglong Heaven’s Dragon-Slaying Assembly five years later.
• Master Xuanzhi explained that Dongfang Yuejian had to share life-and-death ordeals with someone she invited, and that her Shared Boat Bracelet would turn red as they endured hardships together.
• Dongfang Yuejian said she needed to place in the Dragon-Slaying Assembly’s top three to reach Outer Heaven and reunite with her mother and others, and that Xu Taiping was the only companion who might help her achieve it.
• Xu Taiping accepted Dongfang Yuejian’s Shared Boat Bracelet and agreed to travel with her, after which Master Xuanzhi asked whether he could come too.

Xu Taiping refined the Golden Court Prefecture Inner Grotto-Heaven into a pearl and prepared to travel with Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian to the Wilderness. Master Xuanzhi revealed that the route lay beneath Fuliu Slope outside the Old Dragon Court and could only be crossed safely on the first or fifteenth day of the month.

• Xu Taiping agreed to let Master Xuanzhi accompany him and asked Master Xuanzhi and Dongfang Yuejian to guard him while he worked.
• Xu Taiping began refining the Secret Realm behind the White Bodhi Tree, using the method Azure-Eyed Evil Lord Li Daoyan had taught him.
• Dongfang Yuejian explained that the Withered Stone Sea's thirty-six Secret Realms were Dragon Clan treasures called the Pearl Relics of the Vast Sea, and warned that refining one incorrectly could cause a dangerous backlash.
• After nearly twenty hours, Xu Taiping completed the refinement and turned the White Bodhi Tree into a pearl, which he let Dongfang Yuejian study.
• Master Xuanzhi told Xu Taiping that the entrance to the Wilderness lay beneath Fuliu Slope outside the Old Dragon Court, where the sandstorms ceased only on the first and fifteenth days of each month.