Recaps

Fairy Lingyue and Lady Jade Mother revealed that the Sword Ancestor was Xu Taiping from the future, while the Jade Emperor overwhelmed the defenders. Lady Jade Mother sacrificed her Origin of the Great Dao to restrain him as Nangong Yu dispelled the dream realm, leaving the Demon Ancestor and Lin Buyan facing the Jade Emperor’s renewed assault.

• Fairy Lingyue explained that the Sword Ancestor had traveled from the future and left swordsmanship traces throughout the River of Time.
• Fairy Lingyue, the Demon Ancestor, and Lin Buyan attacked the Jade Emperor but were knocked back by his Returning Heaven Edict.
• Lady Jade Mother told Nangong Yu to unravel the dream realm and sacrificed her Origin of the Great Dao to slow the Jade Emperor.
• Nangong Yu dispelled the dream realm as Fairy Lingyue struck the Jade Emperor, and the battlefield transformed into ruined palace halls.
• The Demon Ancestor and Lin Buyan met the Jade Emperor’s punch, then faced thousands of descending lights as he declared that no one could stop him.

The Jade Emperor achieved Dao Integration with the Sanxuan Realm and overwhelmed the defenders as they tried to protect Xu Taiping. Just as Zhao Linglong’s Taiyi was about to fail, Xu Taiping’s Origin Beginning Clone awakened and announced his return.

• The Demon Ancestor shielded Xu Taiping and Nangong Yu from the Jade Emperor’s attacks while Lin Buyan carried them clear of the ruins.
• Xiaohei used his Heaven-Swallowing Edict to swallow the battlefield, but the Jade Emperor soon broke through it.
• Zhao Linglong wielded Taiyi to suppress the Jade Emperor’s edicts and buy Xu Taiping time.
• The Jade Emperor completed Dao Integration with the Sanxuan Realm and began tearing apart Zhao Linglong’s sword radiance.
• As Zhao Linglong called for Xu Taiping’s return, his Origin Beginning Clone opened its eyes and shattered the Jade Emperor’s purple clouds with a sword cry.

Xu Taiping returned from the River of Time and used his Frost-Slaying Sword Intent and nine Life-Bound Flying Swords to sever the Jade Emperor's Dao integration with the Sanxuan Realm. As the Jade Emperor struck back, an ancient flying sword appeared to stop his attack, and the Demon Ancestor identified it as Taiyi.

• Xu Taiping returned in time to rescue Zhao Linglong, whose Taiyi sword radiance the Jade Emperor's Returning Heaven Edict had broken through.
• The Demon Ancestor and Lin Buyan warned that the Jade Emperor was regaining power by integrating his Dao with the Sanxuan Realm, so Xu Taiping sent nine Life-Bound Flying Swords to form a realm-spanning Sword Formation.
• The Demon Ancestor and Lin Buyan attacked the Jade Emperor while Xu Taiping's Frost-Slaying Sword Intent froze the Sanxuan Realm and helped sever the Jade Emperor's Dao integration.
• The Jade Emperor knocked the Demon Ancestor and Lin Buyan away and crushed Xu Taiping's sword light, but another flying sword stopped his attack.
• The Demon Ancestor recognized the ancient flying sword, engraved with the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants, and trees, as the Taixuan Sect's foremost Immortal Sword, Taiyi.

Xu Taiping used Taiyi to hold off the Jade Emperor while his allies fought the flame giants, then swallowed the immortal seed from the Earth Fruit’s ninth transformation. The seed granted him immense power but also stirred a desire to ascend beyond the Great Dao and abandon the world’s living beings.

• Xu Taiping’s Taiyi clashed with the Jade Emperor’s bell, but the Jade Emperor’s power surged and forced the sword and Xu Taiping’s defenses back.
• Xu Taiping revealed the immortal seed and asked the Demon Ancestor, Lin Buyan, Xiaohei, and Zhao Linglong to buy him time while he took it.
• The Jade Emperor tore open Xu Taiping’s barrier and sent flame giants after him, prompting Lin Buyan, Xiaohei, Zhao Linglong, Dream Master Nangong Yu, and the Demon Ancestor to join the fight.
• The Demon Ancestor gave Xu Taiping a divine soul mark containing a promise to explain his origins, and Xu Taiping put it away without examining it.
• Xu Taiping swallowed the immortal seed, which rapidly strengthened his physique, cultivation, and divine soul while stirring a desire to ascend and disregard the world’s fate.

Xu Taiping struggled against the Immortal Seed’s instinct to pursue eternal life and opened the Demon Ancestor’s divine soul mark to understand his origins. He saw the villagers who had cared for him as a newborn and heard the wish behind his name.

• Xu Taiping realized the Immortal Seed was awakening the instinct for immortality within his body and soul, but his Dhyana Seal only intensified it.
• The Jade Emperor turned his power against the Demon Ancestor and the others, and Flame Giants broke free of Lin Buyan and Zhao Linglong’s edicts.
• The Jade Emperor attacked Lin Buyan and Zhao Linglong, but the Demon Ancestor intercepted the blow with his Great Dao Life-Bound Divine Weapon.
• The Demon Ancestor told Xu Taiping to follow his instinct and ascend if learning his origins could not restrain him, prompting Xu Taiping to open the divine soul mark.
• Xu Taiping witnessed villagers nursing him as a newborn, and Sun Xiucai named him Taiping while wishing he would grow up in a peaceful world.

Xu Taiping relived the memory of the refugees who rescued him, learning how his parents sacrificed themselves to save them and how the group raised him as they fled toward Great Qian. Their hope strengthened his resolve against the immortal seed’s Heart Demon, but a magical battle erupted above them just as they reached the border.

• Xu Taiping realized the Divine Soul Mark showed his own memories and watched the refugees bury his parents, who had died drawing bandit soldiers away from the group.
• Auntie Zhao and the old scholar promised to raise Xu Taiping as their own, and he learned his parents had joined the refugees while fleeing an upheaval.
• The old scholar led more than sixty refugees through the mountains, repeatedly avoiding bandit soldiers as they traveled toward Great Qian.
• After months of travel, the refugees reached Great Qian’s border and celebrated, while Xu Taiping felt their hope strengthening his will against the Heart Demon.
• Two groups began fighting with magic in the sky above the refugees, shaking the earth and stirring violent winds and waves.

Xu Taiping relived how refugees and villagers repeatedly risked their lives to protect him because his name meant peace, then suppressed the selfish instincts awakened by his immortal seed. Regaining control of his body, he faced the Jade Emperor and declared it was time to repay those who had saved him.

• Aunt Zhao, villagers, and refugees repeatedly passed Xu Taiping to one another and died protecting him as they fled disasters across True Martial Heaven.
• A young physician shielded three-year-old Xu Taiping from marauding soldiers and begged the Demon Ancestor to care for him before he died.
• The Demon Ancestor asked why ordinary people had sacrificed themselves for Xu Taiping, and the physician explained that his name meant peace throughout the world.
• Xu Taiping realized how much the refugees had given up to keep him alive and resolved that he could not give in to selfish desires.
• Xu Taiping regained control of his body, formed a streak of Golden Sword Light, and told the Jade Emperor he would repay what he owed.

Xu Taiping fought the Jade Emperor while the Demon Ancestor, weakened from burning his Dao origin, prepared to sacrifice himself. As the battle remained unresolved, the Demon Ancestor chose to burn through his remaining life to help win peace for all under heaven.

• The Jade Emperor struck the Demon Ancestor, who erupted with power and began to shrivel as his weakened body gave out.
• Xu Taiping attacked the Jade Emperor, countering the Mystic Yellow Bell’s reflected strike with his True Dragon Frost Heaven Sealed Domain and Immortal Seed power.
• Xu Taiping’s sword radiance and the Jade Emperor’s Annihilation Edict met in a stalemate, and Xu Taiping told Zhao Linglong, Lin Buyan, Xiaoyu, and the others to recover with Xiaohei.
• Xu Taiping and the Demon Ancestor admitted they were testing each other’s limits, and Xu Taiping vowed to win the peace the villagers had been unable to obtain.
• The Demon Ancestor ignited his remaining life force, accepting that his divine soul would be destroyed if his death could bring peace to the world.

Xu Taiping and the Demon Ancestor attacked the Jade Emperor, forcing him to reveal his Ultimate Realm power, but the Demon Ancestor was destroyed. Xu Taiping’s sword intent drew strength from Shangqing’s mortal realm, and he challenged the Jade Emperor to face him in a battle against heaven and earth.

• The Demon Ancestor struck the Jade Emperor with his golden pillar while Xu Taiping broke the Mystic Yellow Bell’s confinement and attacked with Immortal Sword Taiyi.
• The Jade Emperor revealed his Ultimate Realm power, summoned a heaven-spanning dharma aspect, and destroyed the Demon Ancestor after the Demon Ancestor smashed through many of his arms.
• As the Jade Emperor’s palm nearly shattered Xu Taiping’s sword intent, poems and rhapsodies from Shangqing’s mortal realm formed golden seal-script characters and strengthened it.
• The Jade Emperor merged with the Sanxuan Realm and unleashed killing power as storms, thunder, meteors, and torrents, but Xu Taiping’s sword intent held firm.
• Xu Taiping raised Immortal Sword Taiyi and challenged the Jade Emperor on behalf of Shangqing’s unyielding mortal realm.

Xu Taiping used Taiyi to unleash sword strikes that fused the power of time, steadily draining the Sanxuan Realm’s reserves and weakening the Jade Emperor. He made Taiyi shine continuously, and the Jade Emperor sensed the world’s reserves disappearing one jiazi at a time.

• The Jade Emperor attacked Xu Taiping with the Sanxuan Realm’s storms, terrain, and edict power, but Xu Taiping’s sword intent held firm.
• Xu Taiping drew Taiyi and swept sword light across the Sanxuan Realm, annihilating the Jade Emperor’s edict power.
• Xu Taiping struck again, and the Jade Emperor realized the sword strikes had stolen decades from the world and reduced its spiritual power.
• Xu Taiping confirmed that his first two strikes had taken sixty years, then struck again and extinguished the Jade Emperor’s moon.
• The Jade Emperor tried to overwhelm Xu Taiping with the world’s remaining power, but Xu Taiping called Taiyi and made its sword light shine continuously, draining the Sanxuan Realm’s reserves by the jiazi.

Xu Taiping revealed that his time-powered sword strike had forced the Jade Emperor to abandon his integration with the Sanxuan Realm, but the Jade Emperor chose to burn his origin of the Great Dao rather than accept defeat. As both of their origins began to drain away, Xu Taiping and his allies prepared for a desperate fight.

• Xu Taiping explained that his earlier strikes had tricked the Jade Emperor into withdrawing his power from the Sanxuan Realm, allowing Taiyi to pin down and attack the Jade Emperor’s clone.
• The Jade Emperor realized the strike could destroy his clone but threatened his origin of the Great Dao, and Xu Taiping warned him that resisting would cause permanent damage.
• Xiaohei brought Zhao Linglong and the others to Xu Taiping, who explained that the Jade Emperor might retain around thirty percent of his combat power by burning his origin.
• The Jade Emperor began burning his origin to resist Taiyi’s temporal power, while the Dao rhythm around Xu Taiping also broke apart as his own origin was consumed.
• Lin Buyan proposed that everyone attack together, but Xu Taiping refused because his weakening control of Taiyi’s power could injure them.

Xu Taiping used the Immortal Sword Taiyi and his Nirvana power to wear down the Jade Emperor, while Lin Buyan and the others prepared an ambush. The Jade Emperor sacrificed most of his Origin of the Great Dao to break Taiyi’s restraint and attacked Xu Taiping, who braced for another blow.

• Xu Taiping sent Lin Buyan, Zhao Linglong, Xiaohei, and Xiaoyu to set up an ambush with Thunder Sound Banners as Taiyi’s sword strike weakened.
• Xu Taiping used the Blade of Guicang to unleash Nirvana and restore his strength, then continued using Taiyi to consume the Jade Emperor’s Origin of the Great Dao.
• The Jade Emperor burned more than half his Dao Essence Power, then sacrificed at least seventy percent of his Origin of the Great Dao to restore his combat power and summon the Mystic Yellow Bell.
• The Jade Emperor hurled the Mystic Yellow Bell at Taiyi, breaking its sword intent and injuring Xu Taiping’s mind and spirit.
• Xu Taiping collided with the Jade Emperor using his Ultimate Dao true dragon divine being body, reducing the Jade Emperor’s killing power as the Jade Emperor summoned a palm strike carrying the Annihilation Edict.

Xu Taiping struggled to evade the Jade Emperor’s attacks as both their powers waned, then summoned Ni Zhao through the Time-Borrowing Method. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping and Ni Zhao preparing to join forces against the Jade Emperor’s renewed assault.

• Xu Taiping used the Heavenly Sound Bell and Frost Heaven Sealed Domain Edict to escape the Jade Emperor’s attack, then fired arrows with his Shentu Bow to shatter the Jade Emperor’s falling edicts.
• The Jade Emperor pursued Xu Taiping through spatial vortices, but Xu Taiping repeatedly escaped with his Form- and Shadow-Transposition Edict.
• Xu Taiping realized his combat power was declining faster than the Jade Emperor’s and used the Time-Borrowing Method to summon Ni Zhao, but no future Thirteenth Seat appeared.
• Ni Zhao slowed the battlefield with his River of Time Edict, joined Xu Taiping, and agreed to form an array with him.
• The Jade Emperor broke Ni Zhao’s time edict and launched another full-strength attack, so Xu Taiping cast the Frost Heaven Sealed Domain around them.

Xu Taiping and Ni Zhao used the Thirteen Seats’ Time Reflection Divine Ability to gather reflected bodies and prepare the Thunder Sound Five-Direction Earth-Splitting Formation against the Jade Emperor. After Xu Taiping’s defenses failed, the formation trapped the Jade Emperor in a gigantic grinding disc, and the chapter ended as the group set it in motion.

• Xu Taiping told Ni Zhao that their opponent was the Jade Emperor of the former Ancient Heavenly Court and explained that they had to wear down his power.
• Ni Zhao summoned three reflected versions of himself, while Xu Taiping summoned three of his past selves and warned them not to call forth his Mortal Bone Body.
• Xu Taiping’s Frost Heaven Sealed Domain began to fail, and his Blade of Guicang cracked as he used a Heaven-Prisoning Edict to restrain the Jade Emperor.
• Xu Taiping ordered everyone, including Lin Buyan, Zhao Linglong, and Ni Zhao, to activate the Thunder Sound Five-Direction Earth-Splitting Formation.
• Thirteen lightning pillars converged around the Jade Emperor, forming a giant grinding disc that Xu Taiping and the others set into motion.

Xu Taiping and his allies used the Thunder Sound Grand Formation to wear down the Jade Emperor, but the Jade Emperor turned the Mystic Yellow Bell’s power against them. Xu Taiping withdrew the formation after their losses mounted, and the Jade Emperor attacked the fleeing group.

• Xu Taiping fed Dao essence into the Thunder Sound Banner as the formation’s grinding disc crushed the Jade Emperor’s void vortexes and reduced his power, while Xu Taiping’s own cultivation also fell.
• The Jade Emperor burned his origin of the Great Dao to unleash the Heaven-Severing Edict, so Xu Taiping ordered his Origin Beginning Clone to pour primordial chaos power into the formation.
• The empowered formation weakened the Jade Emperor to Void Insight Nine Inches, but the Jade Emperor spent a tenth of his origin to crack the grinding disc and brought out the Mystic Yellow Bell.
• The Mystic Yellow Bell redirected the grinding disc’s killing power onto the banner holders, badly injuring Lin Buyan, Ni Zhao, and Xu Taiping’s reflected projection bodies and destroying clones.
• After the Jade Emperor fell to Void Insight Eight Inches, Xu Taiping withdrew the formation, and Xiaohei carried Lin Buyan, Zhao Linglong, and Nangong Yu away from the Jade Emperor’s attack.
• The Jade Emperor pursued them and opened a void vortex above Xiaohei’s head.

Xu Taiping and his allies fought the Jade Emperor, but his Mystic Yellow Bell and Heaven-Severing Edict blunted their attacks. The Jade Emperor revealed that he had been secretly building enough power to invoke the Returning Heaven Edict, leaving Xu Taiping and the others facing a renewed threat.

• Xu Taiping used the Form- and Shadow-Transposition Edict to dodge the Jade Emperor’s mountain attack, then damaged the Mystic Yellow Bell with the Annihilating Blade Art as Ni Zhao slowed the Jade Emperor’s strike.
• Ni Zhao destroyed the Mystic Yellow Bell with an all-out palm strike, but its backlash made his body burst apart.
• The Jade Emperor seized Ni Zhao’s Tracing Light Edict and restored the Mystic Yellow Bell, whose backlash wounded Xu Taiping again; Xiaohei was badly injured while trying to attack the Jade Emperor.
• The Jade Emperor raised a stronger Mystic Yellow Bell by burning a tenth of his Origin of the Great Dao, while Xu Taiping and his allies gathered to face him.
• Xu Taiping recognized the purple qi as the Returning Heaven Edict, and the Jade Emperor revealed he had accumulated the power to invoke it while consuming his Origin of the Great Dao.

Xu Taiping and his allies fought the Jade Emperor’s Mystic Yellow Bell, trying to break it before he could unleash the Returning Heaven Edict. Lin Buyan sacrificed herself to grievously damage the bell, leaving Xu Taiping to face what came next with Buyu.

• Xu Taiping deduced that the Jade Emperor needed time to prepare the Returning Heaven Edict and could not attack while sustaining the Mystic Yellow Bell.
• Lin Buyan, Xu Taiping, Zhao Linglong, Nangong Yu, and Xiaohei attacked the bell and endured its backlash, but its power was fading too slowly.
• Lin Buyan transformed into a hurricane, drove Xu Taiping and the others away, and released a sealed strike against the Mystic Yellow Bell.
• The bell’s backlash struck Lin Buyan, and she sacrificed her Nascent Soul to counter it after telling Xu Taiping she would leave what came next to him and Buyu.
• Xu Taiping appeared above the damaged Mystic Yellow Bell as Zhao Linglong and the others mourned Lin Buyan.

Xu Taiping and his allies battered the Jade Emperor’s Mystic Yellow Bell, while its backlash steadily drained their strength. As the bell began to dim and Xu Taiping prepared to strike again, Xiaohei announced that he was going on ahead.

• Xu Taiping shattered the Mystic Yellow Bell’s phantom image with a Taihao Edict slash, but its backlash destroyed his Origin Beginning Clone instead of harming him.
• Lin Buyu arrived and broke the battered bell with a Thunder Edict strike, allowing Xu Taiping to attack the Jade Emperor.
• The Jade Emperor burned the last tenth of his Origin of the Great Dao to restore the bell, whose backlash wounded Xu Taiping and rapidly reduced his cultivation.
• Xu Taiping urged Lin Buyu, Zhao Linglong, and Nangong Yu to keep attacking, then summoned River of Time Reflected Projection Clones to join the assault.
• The attackers dimmed the Mystic Yellow Bell while suffering its backlash, and Xiaohei told Xu Taiping that he was going on ahead.

Xu Taiping and his companions shattered the Mystic Yellow Bell and, with help from his childhood self, killed the Jade Emperor, securing Shangqing’s victory in the Heaven-Treading Contest. The survivors returned to Shangqing amid a jubilant welcome, while the author’s closing note announced that Xu Taiping’s ascension and character follow-ups would appear in side stories.

• Xiaohei swallowed the Mystic Yellow Bell and sacrificed himself to withstand its backlash, while the battered Xu Taiping and his companions continued attacking the bell’s phantom.
• Xu Taiping, Zhao Linglong, Lin Buyu, and Nangong Yu combined their strongest attacks and shattered the Mystic Yellow Bell’s phantom, but its backlash gravely wounded them.
• As the Jade Emperor prepared to use the Returning Heaven Edict again, a River of Time projection of young Xu Taiping collapsed before reaching him.
• A child version of Xu Taiping pulled the Water-Cutting Blade from the ground and killed the Jade Emperor, then faded away after Xu Taiping thanked him.
• Golden light carried Xu Taiping and the other survivors into the Void as the contest declared Shangqing victorious, and the realm’s disciples raised their swords to welcome the heroes home.
• The author thanked readers, confirmed the novel’s ending, and said Xu Taiping’s ascension and character follow-ups would appear in side stories.

Liang Zhu set out from the Chaos Death Domain to attend Xu Taiping and Buyu’s ascension ceremony, but Liu Qingyu intercepted her and publicly proposed to her. Xu Chengling arrived after Liang Zhu called for help and confronted Liu Qingyu.

• Liang Zhu received Dugu Qingxiao’s message that Xu Taiping and Buyu would open the heavenly gate in half a month, then prepared to return to Qingxuan with Whale Song.
• Liang Zhu contacted Xu Chengling about traveling together, but Liu Qingyu arrived aboard an Immortal Boat before he could reply.
• Liu Qingyu asked Liang Zhu to become his Dao Companion, and she firmly refused.
• Liu Qingyu announced to the Shangqing Heavens that he would offer his Heaven-Treading Contest reward as a betrothal gift if he won.
• Liang Zhu sensed Xu Chengling nearby and asked him for help, and he arrived and insulted Liu Qingyu.

Xu Chengling challenged Liu Qingyu to protect Liang Zhu, then drew out Wu Guang and a hidden shadow of Taiqing Paradise. After the shadow captured them and threatened Xu Taiping, Xu Chengling revealed that the confrontation had been a trap and called on his Grand-Uncle to strike.

• Xu Chengling confronted Liu Qingyu after Liang Zhu called him her chosen Dao Companion, and accepted Liu Qingyu's challenge to withstand a punch.
• Xu Chengling's hidden mountain of sword force overwhelmed Liu Qingyu, but Wu Guang appeared and caught his sword light before it could kill his disciple.
• Liang Zhu joined Xu Chengling against Wu Guang, and Xu Chengling revealed another mountain of sword force that let them break through Wu Guang's palm force.
• A golden figure descended from a rift and trapped Xu Chengling, Liang Zhu, and the others in a golden birdcage, revealing itself as a shadow hidden by Taiqing Paradise.
• The shadow threatened Xu Taiping, but Xu Chengling said their mission was complete and called to his Grand-Uncle, whose enormous flying sword began emerging from a rift in the Chaos Death Domain.

Xu Taiping’s sword intent destroyed the shadow in the Chaos Death Domain, and he tasked Liang Zhu and Xu Chengling with escorting the final pair of Mountain-Sealing Bearers. They reached Yunshan Town five days later and found it devastated by an earthquake, leaving the bearers’ fate uncertain.

• Xu Taiping’s sword intent absorbed the Chaos Death Domain’s power and destroyed the shadow, while Liang Zhu and Xu Chengling learned that Liu Qingyu had not known about the trap.
• Liang Zhu told Xu Chengling to pretend to be her Dao companion until one of them ascended, then Xu Taiping asked them to escort a couple from Yunshan Town to Taiping Town.
• Xu Taiping explained that the couple carried the final Mountain-Sealing token and instructed Liang Zhu and Xu Chengling not to intervene with cultivator methods, but to retrieve the token if the bearers died.
• Five days later, Liang Zhu and Xu Chengling arrived in Yunshan Town and found much of it buried or ruined by an earthquake, leaving them unsure whether the Mountain-Sealing Bearers had survived.

Liang Zhu and Xu Chengling found Yu Qian digging through the ruins for his trapped wife, Pomegranate Mother, and helped him rescue her without using Magic Power. After her death, Yu Qian carried her home and delivered the Token to Taiping Temple, while Xu Chengling began questioning the meaning of cultivation; Liang Zhu suggested asking Junior Martial Uncle Taiping when they returned.

• Liang Zhu found Yu Qian's ruined tailor shop and stopped Xu Chengling from using Magic Power to help him.
• Xu Chengling and Liang Zhu joined Yu Qian in digging through the rubble and freed Pomegranate Mother, who had only one breath left.
• Pomegranate Mother gave Yu Qian a seal for Taiping Temple and died; Yu Qian resolved to carry her home and care for their daughter, Pomegranate.
• Xu Chengling accepted that he could not use a Soul-Returning Pill to interfere with mortal karma, and Liang Zhu explained that mortals needed no pity from the Cultivation World.
• Over seven or eight days, Liang Zhu and Xu Chengling followed Yu Qian to Taiping Town, where he buried Pomegranate Mother and delivered the Token to Taiping Temple.
• Xu Chengling wondered whether immortality and Dao Attainment had any meaning beyond longevity, and Liang Zhu suggested asking Junior Martial Uncle Taiping.

Xu Taiping recovered a childhood memory of the battle against the Jade Emperor and shared a quiet farewell meal with Lin Buyu before their planned ascension. As they prepared to leave for the ceremony, Xu Chengling arrived troubled by the question of what an immortal truly was.

• Xu Taiping realized that his childhood nightmare recalled the battle against the Jade Emperor and that his illness had erased his memories.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu thanked each other for their eight hundred years together and wagered that the loser in their tribulation contest would seek out the winner after ascending.
• Lin Buyu served Xu Taiping scorched pheasant porridge, and their shared meal strengthened their divine sense auras.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu prepared to leave Green Bamboo Abode for the ascension ceremony at Five Elders Pool.
• Liang Zhu and Xu Chengling arrived and reported that Xu Chengling's Dao heart was clouded, causing his cultivation realm to show signs of regression.
• Xu Chengling asked Xu Taiping what an immortal truly was, and Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu recognized it as the same question Lin Buyu had raised.

At Five Elders Pool, Xu Taiping answered Xu Chengling’s doubts about immortality, arguing that cultivators should use generations of effort to glimpse the Heavenly Dao and repay the world’s living beings. As Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu prepared to face the tribulation they had awaited for eight hundred years, a terrifying red eye appeared in the thunderclouds.

• Xu Chengling asked Xu Taiping what meaning cultivation and the pursuit of immortality held under the Heavenly Dao’s restraints.
• Lü Daoxuan, Fairy Lingyue, and the other Azure Profound Sect disciples and old friends gathered at Five Elders Pool to hear Xu Taiping’s answer.
• Xu Taiping described how mortals had built a flourishing society despite calamities, then urged cultivators to seek the Heavenly Dao’s origin and repay the beings whose fortune supported them.
• Xu Chengling and the gathered cultivators resonated with Xu Taiping’s words, while Lin Buyu told him it was a blessing to share the quest.
• The tribulation clouds gathered, and Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu prepared to ascend as their friends promised to follow.
• A red eye appeared at the center of the tribulation clouds, and Liang Zhu identified it as the tribulation lightning eye.