Chapter Summaries

Su Mo woke from a dream after Great Calamity urged him to live on and care for Little Girl, then asked her to explain her past and the history of the Ten Heavens and Ten Earths. Great Calamity revealed that she had been the Netherworld Lord, ruler of the First Heaven, and began recounting the ancient world’s history.

• Great Calamity found that Su Mo’s shattered Divine Soul had recovered, but he remained trapped in a dream within a dream.
• Great Calamity reached Su Mo in a field of Flowers of the Other Shore and persuaded him to wake for Little Girl’s sake.
• Su Mo woke in the boat beside the withered Flower of the Other Shore and asked Great Calamity to tell him everything she knew.
• Great Calamity explained that she had been called the Netherworld Lord, the leader of the Nether Clan and ruler of the First Heaven.
• Great Calamity described the Ten Heavens and Ten Earths before the gods fell, saying that she ruled the First Heaven and Earth while the Confucian Sage ruled Su Mo’s realm.
• Great Calamity said the Confucian Sage had been the exception among immortal cultivators who treated mortals as insignificant.

Great Calamity told Su Mo how the first Flower of the Other Shore led to the Tenth Realm’s catastrophe and revealed how she had survived and been trapped in the Ninth Realm. After thanking her for saving him, Su Mo asked how he could keep Girl safe, and Great Calamity said he needed to develop his spirit sea into an independent world.

• Great Calamity explained that the first Flower of the Other Shore appeared in the Tenth Realm, setting off a struggle that ended with the Confucian Sage slaughtering its maddened inhabitants.
• Great Calamity recalled a later battle in which the gods fell and she died beside the Confucian Sage, though she could no longer remember who their enemy was.
• Great Calamity said her divine soul survived through a Flower of the Other Shore, but she became trapped in the Ninth Realm after the Confucian Sage sealed it away.
• Great Calamity revealed that she had used the flower sustaining her to save Su Mo, and Su Mo thanked her for it.
• Su Mo asked how he could keep Girl beside him without carrying her on his person, and Great Calamity told him to develop his spirit sea into an independent world.

Su Mo asked the Great Calamity to force open his Spirit Sea so he could protect the Flower of the Other Shore and keep Little Girl safe. As the painful process began, the Book of Life and Death awakened and changed the opening of his Spirit Sea into something stranger: transformation.

• Su Mo insisted on opening his Spirit Sea before Spirit Transformation, and the Great Calamity warned him that the method would bring unbearable pain and could not be stopped once begun.
• The Great Calamity summoned the towering Ghost Guards to protect the little boat while she worked on Su Mo.
• The Great Calamity sent black mist into Su Mo, causing him agonizing pain as he held the Flower of the Other Shore and remembered Little Girl.
• The black mist began opening space within Su Mo's Spirit Sea, and the Book of Life and Death awakened, released blue-black smoke, and altered the process into a transformation.

Su Mo opened his Spirit Sea while Great Calamity explained the Inquiry Realm and the powerful cultivators beyond Spirit Transformation. Inside, they discovered an eerie, living world shaped by the Book of Life and Death, where Su Mo planted the withered Flower of the Other Shore and vowed to resolve the suffering tied to Girl while waiting for her to recover.

• As Great Calamity infused black mist into Su Mo, she explained that the realms after Spirit Transformation formed the Inquiry Realm, whose three layers differed according to each cultivator’s questions.
• Great Calamity told Su Mo that only a few people in the Ninth Realm had reached the first or second Inquiry layer, while the People of the Lower Realms had reached the second or even third layer.
• When the black mist stopped flowing sooner than expected, Su Mo opened his Spirit Sea and found an ancient black door, which he and Great Calamity entered.
• Su Mo and Great Calamity discovered a vast, dim Spirit Sea containing the Book of Life and Death, a river, and living grass; Great Calamity said the space and its strange spiritual power were highly unusual.
• Su Mo planted the withered Flower of the Other Shore by the river, told Girl he would resolve the world’s suffering and wait for her recovery, then decided he would no longer tie up his hair.

Su Mo mourned Master Hui Kong, who had died saving him, then demanded control of the Book of Life and Death and learned its first cultivation scroll. He left ready to fulfill his promise to Girl and confront the matter of cause and effect.

• Su Mo learned that Master Hui Kong had died ferrying the Rain Sect's Ninth Elder across, retrieved his body, and laid it beside the Flower of the Other Shore.
• Su Mo mourned Master Hui Kong and bowed before him, while the Great Calamity told him to pursue his plans and offered the Ghost Guards' help.
• The Great Calamity discovered an old stone stele beside the river bearing the words, "The soul crosses the River of Forgetfulness, Thoughts linger on the Other Shore..."
• Su Mo summoned the Book of Life and Death and demanded that it obey his control or be removed from his Spirit Sea.
• The Book of Life and Death yielded and revealed the Human Scroll, which described seven emotions and the cultivation method behind Human One.
• Su Mo studied the scroll, put the Book of Life and Death away, and prepared to fulfill his promise to Girl by pursuing cause and effect.

Cheng An'an learned that Su Mo was believed to be beyond saving and resolved to find him, but the Demon Sect decided to seal itself off from the coming calamity. Cheng An'an sent her incarnation out before the Sect was cut off from the world.

• Cheng An'an and Dao Hua discussed the Upper Realm threat and the Dao Sect's destruction while the Sects' leaders debated how to protect the Demon Sect.
• Dao Hua told Cheng An'an that Su Mo's divine soul had shattered and that even the Dao Sect's Divine Spring could not save him.
• Cheng An'an rejected the news and told Cheng Hongye she wanted to leave the Sect.
• Cheng Hongye said the Elder Council had ordered the Demon Sect to seal itself off, but allowed Cheng An'an's incarnation to leave.
• Cheng An'an's incarnation flew out of the Sect, and ten thousand seals rose to isolate the mountain range.

As Upper Realm cultivators arrived to slaughter a small city, the white-haired Top Scholar Su appeared and declared he had come to settle karma. He transported everyone out of the city, leaving them to watch as he faced the invaders.

• A martial artist and a swordsman discussed fleeing the calamity, and the martial artist mourned his destroyed sect and slain junior sister.
• Upper Realm cultivators entered the city to kill its people and refine Fortune Vein Power, including a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• The swordsman invited the tavern owner to flee, but the owner refused to abandon his ancestral tavern.
• Top Scholar Su appeared above the city, told the Upper Realm cultivators to withdraw, and marked them with bloody phantoms.
• Golden dragon-pattern divine radiance transported everyone in the city to an open space outside it, where they recognized Top Scholar Su as their savior.

Su Mo confronted Yu Wendong and the Rain Clan members after they slaughtered the people of a small city, seeking an explanation for their killing of mortals. He took Yu Wendong’s sword strike without dodging, survived through his Divine Race body, and told Yu Wendong he would endure one more strike before fighting back.

• Su Mo rescued the small city’s people and asked Yu Wendong why the Rain Clan had slaughtered mortals after descending to the lower realm.
• Yu Wendong refused to answer and attacked Su Mo with a sword strike powered by his Nascent Soul cultivation.
• Su Mo took the blow head-on, leaving a deep chest wound, while the rescued townspeople watched from afar.
• Su Mo revealed his Divine Race will and healed his wound, surprising Yu Wendong.
• Su Mo told Yu Wendong he would take one more sword strike before making his move, and the alluring figure in his Spirit Sea sighed at his choice.

Su Mo tested the limits of his Divine Race body against Yu Wendong, then used Confucian Dao and Nether Arts to bind Yu Wendong and the Rain Clan cultivators. He identified himself as Great Hua’s Peerless Marquis and Top Scholar Su Mo, then demanded answers from Yu Wendong, who refused to cooperate.

• Su Mo survived Yu Wendong’s giant-sword strike and concluded that his Core Formation Giant God body could withstand attacks up to Nascent Soul level.
• Su Mo summoned icy chains with Imprison and used Restrict to stall Yu Wendong and his Rain Clan followers.
• Yu Wendong stabbed Su Mo, but Su Mo seized his hands, stopped his Rain Sword with Restrict, and let the chains bind him.
• Su Mo bound the remaining Rain Clan cultivators and assessed that his body and arts could contend with Nascent Soul cultivators.
• Su Mo told Yu Wendong he was the Confucian Cultivator Su Mo, Great Hua’s Peerless Marquis and the mortals’ Top Scholar, then threatened him for refusing to answer questions.

Su Mo tortured and killed the Rain Clan cultivators who had slaughtered mortals, then learned they were seeking fortune vein power. A Spirit Transformation elder arrived and struck Su Mo down, while the people he had saved resolved to stand with him.

• Su Mo admitted killing the Ninth Elder’s descendant and tortured Yu Wendong, who died without revealing anything.
• Su Mo killed the Core Formation cultivators one by one until the last confessed that the elder was searching for something using fortune vein power extracted from sects or mortal blood.
• A Spirit Transformation elder arrived with five others and razed the city with a sword strike, grievously wounding Su Mo.
• The mortals who had watched Su Mo save and avenge them decided to return and face the enemies alongside him.
• The swordsman asked the martial artist whether he would keep running, and the martial artist answered, “No more running.”

The Martial Artist and the Swordsman prepared to join Su Mo against the Upper Realm, but a golden light took them and the mortals away. Outmatched by a Spirit Transformation elder and unable to rely on the Great Calamity or the Book of Life and Death, Su Mo escaped through a stone gate and ended the chapter recovering in her embrace.

• The Martial Artist and the Swordsman set out to fight beside Su Mo, but a golden light bound them and made them and the mortals vanish.
• The Great Calamity told Su Mo she could not intervene because an old nemesis had descended, and she warned him not to use the Book of Life and Death before reaching Spirit Transformation.
• The Spirit Transformation elder erased Su Mo’s Confucian Dao True Words and sent an enormous sword crashing down on him.
• Su Mo escaped the sword strike through a pitch-black stone gate and appeared inside his Spirit Sea while the elder ordered the others to search for him.
• Su Mo told the Great Calamity he had been testing a vague suspicion, and she began healing his wounds.

While healing Su Mo in the safety of his Spirit Sea, the Great Calamity told him about an ancient rival who had come to the lower realm looking for her. She advised Su Mo to hide for several days and consolidate his gains, then let him sleep in her arms.

• Su Mo asked about the old woman, and the Great Calamity explained that she had survived the Battle of Ten Thousand Years Ago through her Cultivation Method and had returned to the lower realm to find her.
• The Great Calamity said the old woman had recovered to at least the third layer of the Inquiry Realm but would not harm anyone who did not provoke her.
• The Great Calamity explained that the old woman wanted to defeat her to affirm her Dao and recalled using a powerful aphrodisiac to disrupt her cultivation.
• Su Mo asked how long he needed to hide, and the Great Calamity advised him to stay in the Spirit Sea for a few more days and build her a house.
• The Great Calamity finished healing Su Mo and let him sleep in her arms, gently stroking his frost-white hair.

After leaving his Spirit Sea, Su Mo investigated signs that Great Hua’s national fortune power had intervened and questioned the motives behind the Upper Realm’s descent. As he tried to return to the Academy, a powerful woman appeared and demanded that he release Great Calamity from his Spirit Sea.

• Su Mo left his Spirit Sea after telling Girl he would return in a couple of days, while Great Calamity continued restoring her cultivation.
• At the ruined city, Su Mo sensed traces of national fortune power and suspected that Great Hua had anticipated the Upper Realm’s arrival.
• Su Mo considered why the Upper Realm had descended, what happened in the battle ten thousand years ago, and what the various powers were waiting for.
• Su Mo used the Fate Token and Confucian Dao True Words to travel to Great Hua Academy, but someone forcibly interrupted the power carrying him away.
• A woman in white appeared before Su Mo and ordered him to let the woman in his Spirit Sea come out.

Su Mo tried to escape the powerful woman in white, but she pursued him and forced the Great Calamity to emerge from his Spirit Sea. The two women traded insults, leaving Su Mo caught between them as the Great Calamity challenged the woman to name anyone who loved her.

• Su Mo denied that a woman was inside his Spirit Sea, then repeatedly used Ten Thousand Zhangs Contract to a Chi to flee the woman in white.
• The woman in white appeared ahead of Su Mo after each escape and threatened to kill him if he ran again.
• The Great Calamity came out of Su Mo's Spirit Sea and shielded him from the woman in white's pressure.
• The Great Calamity called Su Mo her little brother, while the woman in white mocked their relationship and their ages.
• The Great Calamity pulled Su Mo into her embrace and asked the woman in white whether anyone cherished or loved her.

Great Calamity taunted the woman in the white dress, who wanted a fair fight to prove her Dao, but Great Calamity refused because her cultivation had fallen. She proposed that they compete by guiding Su Mo to Nascent Soul first.

• Great Calamity and the woman in the white dress traded insults while Su Mo listened in embarrassment.
• The woman in the white dress challenged Great Calamity to fight her, but Great Calamity pointed out that her cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment.
• The woman in the white dress offered to seal her cultivation and fight, but Great Calamity dismissed the idea as unsatisfying.
• Great Calamity revealed that Su Mo had entered the Dao only three years ago and had reached late-stage Core Formation through the Confucian Dao.
• Great Calamity suggested that she and the woman in the white dress take turns guiding Su Mo and compete to see who could help him reach Nascent Soul first.

Great Calamity persuaded the White-Robed Mysterious Maiden to help train Su Mo so he could grow strong enough to pursue his goals, while concealing the terms of their wager from him. Meanwhile, at Great Hua Academy, the Dean tried to address a gathering that was missing Little Seven and Girl.

• Great Calamity proposed that the White-Robed Mysterious Maiden let Su Mo prove his Dao by defeating her through speed, and secretly urged her to help develop his many Dao intents.
• The White-Robed Mysterious Maiden agreed to tutor Su Mo but said she would intervene only if his life was in danger, and Great Calamity told her to keep their plans secret from him.
• Great Calamity and the White-Robed Mysterious Maiden agreed to take turns tutoring Su Mo for half a month each, beginning with the Mysterious Maiden.
• Great Calamity stopped Su Mo from calling the White-Robed Mysterious Maiden Senior and suggested he call her Big Sister Mysterious Maiden instead.
• At Great Hua Academy, the Dean began addressing the gathered group, but Sixth Senior Sister pointed out that Little Seven and Girl were absent.

The Dean tried to warn his disciples about an approaching calamity, but their questions, arguments, and Eldest Senior Brother’s nap repeatedly interrupted him. After everyone left, he hinted that his actions were meant to buy the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths more time.

• The Dean began a meeting without Little Seven and Girl, but Gu Yu and the others promptly tried to end it and leave.
• The Dean called everyone back and said a great calamity was approaching, prompting the disciples to question how it differed from the Upper Realm invasion.
• Fourth Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother, and Second Senior Brother discussed strange events involving Great Hua’s national fortune power, Great Xing, the Dao Sect, and the Demon Sect.
• The Dean said the calamity he meant was something else, but Eldest Senior Brother fell asleep before he could explain, and the Dean dismissed the gathering.
• After the disciples scattered, the Dean told the little Black Horse that he had never expected it to be the one, then lamented Su Mo’s absence.
• The Dean gazed toward the Unseen and said that his actions would buy the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths a little more time.

The Mysterious Maiden tested Su Mo by making him kill beasts as she guided him through the mountains, then demanded he kill an intelligent mystic deer and her fawns. Su Mo refused, choosing his principles over learning the Heavenly Mystery Dao, and the Mysterious Maiden acknowledged that the Nether Maiden had judged him correctly.

• The Mysterious Maiden ordered Su Mo to kill fierce beasts, and he obeyed while questioning the reason for the slaughter.
• Su Mo killed a giant snake and turned it to ash after it thrashed in the river.
• The Mysterious Maiden ordered Su Mo to kill a mystic deer sheltering her two fawns, but he could not bring himself to do it.
• The Mysterious Maiden warned that she would end her agreement with the Nether Maiden and stop teaching Su Mo the Heavenly Mystery Dao if he refused.
• Su Mo declared that he would not kill an innocent deer for no reason, even if it meant giving up the Dao, and the Mysterious Maiden said the Nether Maiden had not been wrong about him.

The Mysterious Maiden tested Su Mo’s restraint and then explained that the Heavenly Mystery Dao followed the Way of Nothingness, which could lead its practitioners to transcend human feelings. She guided Su Mo into the Dao, leaving him immersed in a vision of the mountain range from above.

• The Mysterious Maiden revealed that she had tested Su Mo by asking him to kill beasts and accepted his explanation for marking their bodies.
• The Mysterious Maiden asked Su Mo what heaven was, and he answered first in relative terms before questioning whether heaven existed at all.
• The Mysterious Maiden said there had never been a heaven and described the Heavenly Mystery Dao as the Way of Nothingness.
• Su Mo realized that pursuing the Dao’s true intention could mean transcending human feelings, and wondered whether he would lose his attachments.
• The Mysterious Maiden sent a streak of light from her Heavenly Mystery Pattern into Su Mo’s eyes and guided him into Dao comprehension.
• Su Mo’s consciousness rose until he could see the entire ten-thousand-mile mountain range.

As Su Mo comprehended the Dao, his consciousness traveled from the mountains of Great Hua through the Ninth Realm and beyond, following smoke, wind, clouds, and stars. The Mysterious Maiden discovered that his consciousness had gone beyond the limits of the Heavenly Mystery Dao and could no longer be found.

• Great Calamity and the Mysterious Maiden discussed Su Mo’s remarkable comprehension and agreed that he should forge his own Dao rather than follow either of theirs.
• Su Mo’s disembodied consciousness rose above the mountains and saw all of Great Hua, then the entire Ninth Realm.
• Su Mo followed cooking smoke and a breeze, eventually becoming the wind and reaching a secluded lake where he watched fish and wondered whether their quiet life was what he wanted.
• Su Mo rose through the clouds, saw countless lights below like stars, and continued toward the stars in the sky.
• The Mysterious Maiden realized Su Mo’s consciousness had surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Mystery Dao, but she could no longer find him.