Chapter Summaries

Su Mo spoke with the Demon Saint at Floating Life Pass while Saint Realm cultivators fought nearby, and she tried to guess his identity and age. His resemblance between her and an older sister stirred memories of the Great Calamity, and he left the Demon Saint startled by recognizing her attempt to affect his Divine Soul.

• The Demon Saint asked Su Mo who he was, then guessed that he was Su Eternal Life after seeing his reaction.
• Su Mo asked how she had identified him, and the Demon Saint explained that he had come from the Desolate Demon Pass with the Book Sage and Yanzhi.
• The Demon Saint guessed that Su Mo had helped restore the Book Sage's cultivation, then tried to estimate Su Mo's age.
• Su Mo explained that he was not afraid because the Demon Saint acted for all living beings, wanted Floating Life Pass to remain safe, and reminded him of an older sister.
• The Demon Saint released a stronger demonic fragrance to teach Su Mo a lesson, but he recognized the seduction and said that his sister had liked doing the same.

Su Mo resisted the Demon Sage’s escalating Demon Domain, while four Saint Beasts raced toward the grotto-heaven Emperor Pei left behind at Jade Water Cold Pool. The Book Sage and the other Sages blocked their way, and Li Yunbai and Wu Nian realized the Book Sage had reached the Second Heaven.

• The Demon Sage released her Demon Fragrance and drew Su Mo’s Divine Soul into her Demon Domain, but he remained calm because the Book of Life and Death protected him.
• The Demon Sage intensified her bewitching power, determined to uncover why Su Mo resisted it.
• Yanzhi and the Book Sage noticed that the four Saint Beasts were searching for something instead of advancing toward the Imperial Dynasty, and Li Yunbai and Wu Nian joined them.
• A ripple from Jade Water Cold Pool revealed the aura of Peach Blossom Haven, the grotto-heaven Emperor Pei had left behind, and Li Yunbai warned that the Saint Beasts were after Floating Life Pass.
• The four Saint Beasts charged toward Peach Blossom Haven, so the Book Sage summoned the Three Enclosures and joined the other Sages in blocking them.
• Li Yunbai and Wu Nian recognized the Book Sage’s thousand-zhang manifestation as Dharma Heaven, Image Earth and exclaimed that he had ascended to the Second Heaven.

Su Mo resisted the Demon Sage’s enchantment until she unleashed all her accumulated power, while the Book Sage fought the four Saint Beasts with his Dharma Heaven, Image Earth manifestation. Su Mo’s eyes turned crimson, but the Demon Sage also lost control of her Divine Soul and did not withdraw the Demon Domain.

• Su Mo asked the Demon Sage to call off their contest, but she stubbornly increased her enchantment power to ninety percent.
• The Demon Sage’s own enchantment power began to overwhelm her as Su Mo remained lucid with the protection of his Incense Power.
• The Book Sage revealed that he had nearly completed his ascent to the Second Heaven and used Dharma Heaven, Image Earth against the four Saint Beasts.
• The Book Sage resumed the battle with the Four Symbols technique as the four Sages wondered where the Demon Sage had gone.
• Su Mo withdrew his Incense Power, and the Demon Sage unleashed all her enchantment power, dissolving their Divine Soul clothes and turning Su Mo’s eyes crimson.
• The Demon Sage lost clarity under her own enchantment power and failed to withdraw the Demon Domain.

Su Mo and the Brush of All Living Beings discovered that the supposed Demon Sage was the fifth Saint Beast and trapped her Divine Soul with the God-Binding Formation. After they tried to wake her so they could question her, she remained asleep, leaving them puzzled.

• The Brush of All Living Beings warned Su Mo that the bewitching Demon Sage was not who she seemed, and Su Mo used the God-Binding Formation to put her Divine Soul to sleep.
• The Brush of All Living Beings identified the woman as the fifth Demon Beast, a Saint Beast with Saint Realm cultivation but a weaker Divine Soul.
• Su Mo and the Brush of All Living Beings wondered whether the Saint Beast had meant to seize his Innate Divine Body Spiritual Root, but realized that could not explain what had happened between their Divine Souls.
• Su Mo asked the Brush of All Living Beings to wake the Saint Beast so they could question her, and it warned that she might break free of the formation.
• The Brush of All Living Beings tried to wake the Saint Beast, but she did not stir.

Su Mo and the Brush of All Living Beings discovered that the Demon Sage was genuinely asleep, not a disguised Demon Beast. Buddhist light revealed that she had only half a divine soul, explaining her weakened state and strange behavior.

• After repeated attempts to wake the Demon Sage failed, Su Mo and the Brush of All Living Beings considered that they might have mistaken what was happening.
• Su Mo borrowed Hui Kong's Undecaying Golden Body from his Spirit Sea and used its Buddhist light to examine the Demon Sage.
• The Buddhist light confirmed that the sleeping figure was truly the Demon Sage and revealed her sleeping Demon Spirit.
• The Brush of All Living Beings noticed a second ray of Buddhist light within the Demon Sage and warned Su Mo to put the golden body away.
• Su Mo and the Brush of All Living Beings realized that another Buddhist object had recently taken half of the Demon Sage's divine soul, accounting for her missing Saint Realm soul and childish behavior.

Su Mo realized that several major powers had ambushed the Demon Sage and were targeting the Li Clan’s fortune to seize the world’s imperial fortune. To prevent them from claiming it, he used the Jade Seal to make the Pei Clan reappear, and a vast golden “Pei” appeared over Floating Life Pass.

• Su Mo deduced that the Demon Sage had lost half her Divine Soul in an ambush and that four Sages had conspired to trap her at Floating Life Pass.
• The Brush of All Living Beings identified the Hanging Temple’s Demon-Subduing Pagoda as the likely place holding the missing half of the Demon Sage’s Divine Soul.
• Su Mo realized the plot aimed to kill the Li Clan members and claim the world’s imperial fortune.
• Su Mo brought the sleeping Demon Sage to Peach Blossom Haven and decided to make the Pei Clan reappear to preserve the imperial fortune.
• Su Mo summoned the Jade Seal and declared its mandate, drawing half the world’s imperial fortune into Floating Life Pass as a gigantic golden “Pei” appeared in the sky.

The Emperor confronted the Ji Clan patriarch and revealed that he had anticipated the clan’s scheme and sent Li Yunbai and Wu Nian to the border passes to give them a chance to survive. He announced that four Sages were ready to face the four Saint Beasts, then hinted that the Ji Clan would soon learn why he had left the Imperial Dynasty alone.

• The Ji Clan patriarch admitted that his clan had exploited secrets about the Demon Beasts to help bring about the border-pass invasion.
• The Emperor said he had known about the scheme from the start and had pretended ignorance so Li Yunbai and Wu Nian would go to the border passes.
• The Ji Clan patriarch revealed that there were four Saint Beasts and that the Demon Sage would fall asleep after joining the battle, leaving two Sages outnumbered.
• The Emperor disclosed that the Book Sage had recovered and that the elder at Rouge Pass was also a Sage; both had reached Floating Life Pass to face the Saint Beasts.
• The Ji Clan patriarch insisted that the clan could still seize the power of Imperial Fortune, and the Emperor said the patriarch would soon understand why he had sent Li Yunbai and Wu Nian away.

The Emperor faced the Ji Clan’s patriarch and four Sages, including Revered Master Withered Leaf, who demanded that he abdicate. Revered Master Withered Leaf explained that they sought Imperial Fortune to cross the Ascension Stairway and open the Immortal Gate, but the Emperor challenged how they could share the Fortune or trust the chosen Sage to admit the others.

• The Ji Clan’s patriarch summoned four Sages, and the Emperor recognized Saddle Mountain, the Yan Household, Qingliang River, and Revered Master Withered Leaf among them.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf asked the Emperor to abdicate and promised to protect him, but the Emperor refused to surrender his throne without a fight.
• The Emperor asked why Revered Master Withered Leaf pursued Imperial Fortune, and Revered Master Withered Leaf said he acted for the world’s sake.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf explained that the Immortal Gate had remained closed for tens of thousands of years, preventing Sages from entering the Second Heaven, and that Imperial Fortune could help someone cross the dangerous Ascension Stairway.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf admitted that he had placed half the Demon Sage’s Divine Soul in the Demon-Subduing Pagoda but had not harmed her.
• The Emperor questioned how the Sages would decide who received the world’s Fortune and why that person would open the Immortal Gate for the others.

The Emperor stalled the Ji Clan and its allies as Ji Ting declared his intent to seize the throne and Imperial Fortune. The Pei Clan returned at Floating Life Pass, binding itself to the Imperial Fortune and ruining their plan to claim it all.

• The Emperor dismissed Ji Ting as unworthy of the throne, saying only the Pei Clan deserved to rule the world.
• Ji Ting vowed to slaughter the Li Clan within the Imperial Dynasty and take the Emperor's Imperial Qi.
• The Emperor revealed that he had already sent the Li Clan out of the Imperial Dynasty and warned that a surprise awaited the conspirators.
• The Ji Clan patriarch ordered an attack, but the Emperor revealed he had been stalling for time.
• A golden Pei character appeared above Floating Life Pass as the Pei Clan returned and became bound to the Imperial Fortune.

The Emperor revealed that he had long known the Pei Clan survived and sacrificed himself to disperse his Imperial Qi toward Floating Life Pass. Ji Ting seized only half of the scattered Imperial Qi, leaving the rest flying toward the Border Pass.

• The Emperor revealed that a member of the Pei Clan had returned to the Ruins and awakened the Pei Clan inheritance at Floating Life Pass.
• Revered Master Withered Leaf withdrew from the conflict and returned to the Hanging Temple, while Ji Ting urged the Ji Clan and three allied Sages to secure the Emperor's Imperial Qi.
• The three Sages attacked the Emperor, but the Jade-Stone Great Formation trapped them and prevented them from claiming his Imperial Qi intact.
• The Emperor activated the formation, killed himself, and dispersed the Imperial Qi toward the Border Pass.
• Ji Ting tried to seize the departing Imperial Qi but managed to take only half.

Su Mo awakened the Imperial Fortune of Floating Life Pass, causing the golden character Pei to appear and stirring memories of Pei Hongyan in Yanzhi. Yanzhi returned to the ancient temple and saw Su Mo as the past returned to her, leaving her overwhelmed by grief and remembrance.

• Su Mo received the Imperial Fortune of Floating Life Pass, and his Star Sword began to develop intelligence.
• The Four Sages and four Saint Beasts saw the golden character Pei; Yanzhi collapsed to her knees, allowing the Saint Beasts to escape.
• Yanzhi flew back to the ancient temple above Jade Water Cold Pool, followed by the Book Sage, Li Yunbai, and Wu Nian.
• Yanzhi entered the open Grotto-Heaven Gate and saw Su Mo between the two mountain peaks, dressed in robes bearing the Pei Clan’s aura.
• Yanzhi remembered Pei Hongyan’s words about their love, his duty to Floating Life Pass, and his promise to find her.

Yanzhi grieved for Hongyan as Su Mo awakened the Pei Clan fortune at Floating Life Pass and met the Emperor’s phantom. The Emperor’s imperial aura merged with Su Mo, dividing the mortal world between the Imperial Dynasty and Floating Life Pass.

• Yanzhi knelt in grief as memories of Hongyan returned and she watched Su Mo awaken the Pei Clan fortune.
• The Book Sage, Li Yunbai, and Wu Nian entered Peach Blossom Haven and recognized the Emperor’s phantom before Su Mo.
• The Emperor told Su Mo that Emperor Hongyi had foretold his return and explained his doubts and the Ji Clan’s plans.
• Su Mo deduced that the Emperor had let the Ji Clan keep half the imperial aura so they could attempt to open the Immortal Gate.
• Li Yunbai and Wu Nian accepted the Emperor’s decree, and his phantom merged into Su Mo, bringing him half the world’s imperial fortune.
• Floating Life Pass flowed into Su Mo, and the mortal world split between the Imperial Dynasty and Floating Life Pass.

After Ji Ting and Su Mo each gained half the realm’s Imperial Fortune, a deranged old beggar remembered his former companions and the Pei Clan’s lost history while walking an ancient road toward the Immortal Domain. He carried one friend’s bones onward, left a message for a Pei Clan boy, and eventually fell to the road’s blue smoke, leaving two skeletons behind.

• Ji Ting became the realm’s Emperor with half its Imperial Fortune, while Su Mo gained the other half and the Pei Clan reappeared above Floating Life Pass.
• The old beggar wondered when the Immortal Domain’s gates had stopped opening and wandered to an ancient road where he found two skeletons.
• He recalled how he and his brothers had restored the realm after the Pei Clan’s line ended, and said that Huan Xu had died after entrusting the realm to a Pei Clan boy.
• The old beggar rebuilt one skeleton, bound it to his back, and left a message in a Spirit Jade for the Pei Clan boy.
• He continued along the ancient road carrying the skeleton, but blue smoke overtook him and left two sets of bones behind.

Su Mo absorbed the Emperor’s memories and understood the loneliness of the Sages before revealing that he was Pei Min'an, Pei Hongyan’s younger brother. After comforting Yanzhi with the truth of Hongyan’s love and the Parting Letter, he set plans for the Sages and their clans in Peach Blossom Haven and prepared to go to the Hanging Temple with her.

• Su Mo recognized the loneliness shared by the Divine Maiden, the Book Sage, and Yanzhi after sensing the Emperor’s soul incense.
• Su Mo told Yanzhi he was Pei Min'an and revealed that Pei Hongyan had been his elder brother and her beloved.
• Su Mo explained that Hongyan had loved Yanzhi, never blamed her or the Emperor, and had followed her into death; he gave her the Emperor’s Parting Letter.
• Li Yunbai and Wu Nian knelt to greet Su Mo as their emperor, but he said he was still Su Eternal Life to them and declined to reclaim the imperial aura for now.
• Su Mo invited Li Yunbai to retrieve his clan, Wu Nian to bring the Wu Clan to Peach Blossom Haven, and the Book Sage to relocate the Peach Mountain Disciples there.
• Su Mo announced he would go to the Hanging Temple, then called Yanzhi “Sister-in-law” and invited her to come; she agreed.

Su Mo arrived at the Hanging Temple with the Book Sage and Yanzhi to demand the Demon Sage’s half divine soul. After Revered Master Withered Leaf recognized him as Emperor Min'an, Su Mo said he would stay while the soul was released over four days.

• Revered Master Withered Leaf welcomed Su Mo, the Book Sage, and Yanzhi after an Arhat warned that the visitors included two Sages.
• Su Mo asked Revered Master Withered Leaf if he knew his identity, and the monk recognized him as the ancient mortal Emperor Min'an.
• Su Mo declared that Min'an was gone and that he was only Su Eternal Life, then confronted Revered Master Withered Leaf over his disregard for Border Pass.
• Su Mo demanded the Demon Sage’s half divine soul, and Revered Master Withered Leaf explained that releasing its four imprisoned Thoughts would take four days.
• Su Mo agreed to wait and said he wanted to stay at the Hanging Temple for a while.

Su Mo received one of the Demon Sage’s imprisoned thoughts from Revered Master Withered Leaf, then proposed staying at the Hanging Temple to discuss the Dao. As rain fell over the temple, Su Mo challenged Withered Leaf’s belief that Sages were the wind guiding the lives of all beings, concluding that fate was the true wind.

• Revered Master Withered Leaf released the Demon Sage’s Anger Thought from the Demon-Subduing Pagoda, and Su Mo drew it into his Divine Sense.
• Su Mo questioned Withered Leaf’s belief that all Sages should ascend and leave the mortal realm, arguing that suffering came from people’s hearts rather than cultivation itself.
• Su Mo proposed staying at the Hanging Temple until the Demon Sage’s remaining soul-thoughts were retrieved and discussing the Dao with Withered Leaf.
• Su Mo summoned rain over the Hanging Temple and asked Withered Leaf what the rain and Sages represented.
• Withered Leaf likened living beings to rain and Sages to wind, but Su Mo said Sages were only fortunate raindrops and identified fate as the true wind.

Su Mo challenged Revered Master Withered Leaf’s understanding of destiny and the Dharma, using the rain and wind to show how little the Sage had seen. After Withered Leaf glimpsed a power above the Immortal Domain, Su Mo returned to the Spirit Sea and reflected on Hui Kong, concluding that Withered Leaf had never been Hui Kong’s equal.

• Su Mo debated Revered Master Withered Leaf, arguing that Sages seeking the Immortal Domain could also be manipulated by destiny.
• Su Mo summoned wind and rain, then pointed out raindrops beyond the wind’s reach and challenged Withered Leaf to explain what they meant.
• Su Mo told Withered Leaf that he had seen and been manipulated by destiny, then left the hall with the Book Sage and Yanzhi.
• Withered Leaf was shaken by the debate, spat blood, and concluded that destiny might be a person standing above all living beings, perhaps even above the Immortal Domain.
• Su Mo sat beside Hui Kong’s golden body in the Spirit Sea, recalled Hui Kong’s words, and said that Withered Leaf was not his equal.

Su Mo reflected on Hui Kong, Ning Baixue, and his plans to explore the Second Heaven and use the Reincarnation Scroll to seek a way to revive her. After leaving his Spirit Sea, he told the Book Sage and Yanzhi that his goal at the Hanging Temple was to obtain a Buddhist Sect Supreme Sacred Object.

• Su Mo spoke with Hui Kong's golden body about his loneliness, questioned whether Hui Kong had faked his death, and admitted he still expected to learn the truth.
• Su Mo told Ning Baixue's coffin that he planned to search the Second Heaven for the Long River and investigate whether the Reincarnation Scroll could revive her, though he feared the unknown price.
• Su Mo left his Spirit Sea after saying he would return soon, while an indistinct shape seemed to stir within the light around Hui Kong's golden body.
• Su Mo rejoined the Book Sage and Yanzhi at the Hanging Temple and confirmed that he had debated Revered Master Withered Leaf to prove him wrong.
• Su Mo told Yanzhi and the Book Sage that he sought a Buddhist Sect Supreme Sacred Object, not something they could obtain by force.

Su Mo debated Revered Master Withered Leaf about whether Buddhist cultivation required abandoning the self, arguing that true understanding came from knowing and embracing it. He left the Buddhist Sect disciples shaken after contrasting Withered Leaf with his friend, who sought the True Self among all living beings.

• Revered Master Withered Leaf released another thought from the Demon Sage's Divine Soul, and Su Mo chose to debate the self before the assembled Buddhist Sect disciples.
• Withered Leaf explained his doctrine of no-self, saying that attachment to self caused suffering and that severing it led toward Nirvana.
• Su Mo challenged Withered Leaf to explain how he could have severed his mortal thoughts without first understanding the self, and asked whether he had attained Nirvana.
• Su Mo argued that one must contemplate oneself and guard one's original heart, leaving Withered Leaf dazed and shaking the Buddha hall.
• Su Mo thrust burning incense upside down into the burner, condemned the Buddha worshippers' pursuit of offerings, and made Withered Leaf spit blood.
• Su Mo described his friend, who remained among the living and sought the True Self, then declared that none of the Buddhist Sect disciples compared to him.

Su Mo challenged Revered Master Withered Leaf’s choice to sacrifice the Emperor for a world without Sages by telling him a story about a monk, a hawk, and a dove. He revealed that a friend had saved both predator and prey by giving his life to guide the hawk to Buddhahood, leaving Withered Leaf shaken.

• Su Mo arrived at the Buddhist hall with the Book Sage and Yanzhi, and Withered Leaf released the third strand of the Demon Sage’s divine soul thought.
• Withered Leaf asked Su Mo whether his wish for a world without Sages was right, even if it required sacrificing the Emperor and the Li Clan.
• Su Mo told a story about a monk who faced a hawk demanding the dove hiding in his sleeve, and asked Withered Leaf what he would choose.
• Withered Leaf said he would feed his own flesh to the hawk, and Su Mo argued that sparing the hawk would doom countless doves later.
• Su Mo explained that his friend had given his life and transferred his Buddha nature to the hawk, guiding it to Buddhahood so the hawk and the doves could all survive.