Recaps

Ouyang learned that the Dao-Demon War had been deliberately started by Dongxu Zi and the Demon Venerable to delay a Great Calamity caused by the world’s inability to sustain so many cultivators. He realized the Immortals had shifted their own Great Calamity onto all living beings, and the world was still trapped in that same calamity.

• Ouyang’s true essence filled the white space and suppressed Dongxu Zi and the Demon Venerable as he confronted them over their callous bargaining.
• Dongxu Zi explained that Great Calamities had repeatedly destroyed and remade the world, and that those who underwent them had always perished.
• Ouyang realized that Dongxu Zi and the Demon Venerable had engineered the Dao-Demon War to consume cultivators and postpone the coming Great Calamity.
• Dongxu Zi explained that the Immortals had used their fall to bind their fate to all living beings, shifting the Immortal Great Calamity onto the world.
• Ouyang understood that the world had remained within the same Great Calamity since the Immortals’ era.

Ouyang learned that the Immortal Great Calamity had never truly ended and negotiated with Dongxu Zi and the Demon Venerable over its course. He demanded protection for his family and Ling Feng’s death, then offered himself as the bargaining chip when they refused.

• Dongxu Zi explained that the ongoing calamity could be resolved by having those destined for it undergo their tribulations and slay the Immortals.
• Ouyang asked what would happen to Leng Qingsong, and Dongxu Zi said his fate had been rewritten and he would not become an Immortal.
• Ouyang secured Dongxu Zi’s agreement that Leng Qingsong would be free after the calamity and demanded that the Demon Venerable protect his Third Brother in the Demon Realm.
• Ouyang insisted Ling Feng had to die, but Dongxu Zi and the Demon Venerable refused because Ling Feng was needed to open the Devil Race Seal.
• Ouyang offered to find a more suitable replacement for Ling Feng and declared himself the bargaining chip.

Ouyang used his connection to the Grand Ancestor to gain leverage over Dongxu Zi and the Demon Venerable, securing permission to bring someone who could replace Ling Feng. He left determined to avenge his injured junior brother, while Dongxu Zi revealed that the Demon Venerable was his long-lost eldest senior brother.

• Ouyang revealed that he possessed the same power as the Grand Ancestor, unsettling Dongxu Zi and prompting the Demon Venerable to demand what Ouyang knew.
• Ouyang hinted that he had met and spoken with the Grand Ancestor in the Nine Hells, then offered a cryptic saying to keep the two men guessing.
• Dongxu Zi and the Demon Venerable agreed to let Ouyang bring someone to test whether they could replace Ling Feng, but Dongxu Zi gave no clear answer about killing Ling Feng.
• Ouyang left with Gouzi, determined to avenge his injured junior brother and convinced he already knew whom to bring.
• After Ouyang departed, Dongxu Zi addressed the melancholy Demon Venerable as his eldest senior brother.

Dongxu Zi reunited with Chongming, his former eldest senior brother who had become the Demon Venerable, and they recalled the Azure Cloud Sect’s lost disciples and their master. Dongxu Zi revealed Ling Feng’s connection to the Mortal World and split his divine soul, while Chongming insisted that Ling Feng be returned to him.

• Chongming confronted Dongxu Zi over Hu Yun’s death and blamed him and the other disciples for their master’s fate.
• Dongxu Zi recalled how Chongming changed after entering the Nine Hells and mourned that only he and Su Xiaoqi remained of the Seven Azure Cloud Disciples.
• Chongming asked why Ling Feng possessed their master’s power, and Dongxu Zi said Ling Feng seemed like a redemption who could prevent the world’s end.
• Chongming revealed Ling Feng’s divine soul inside his golden pupil, and Dongxu Zi split it, sending half into a miniature map of the realm.
• Chongming demanded that Dongxu Zi return Ling Feng, reminding him that Changming had promised him.

Ouyang stopped Chen Changsheng from coming to the Mortal World in his true form and urged him to return, while Chen Changsheng remained convinced the Devil Race would bring the Great Calamity. The chapter ended with Chen Changsheng reaching a secret chamber on Little Mountain Peak, where Zu Yuan’s corpse sat.

• Ouyang slapped Chen Changsheng’s puppet awake and ordered him to return, but Chen Changsheng questioned his defense of the Devil Race.
• Chen Changsheng argued that the Dao-Demon War’s suffering could not be dismissed, while Ouyang withheld the truth that Dongxu Zi had orchestrated it.
• Ouyang threatened to sever their senior-junior relationship unless Chen Changsheng turned back, and Chen Changsheng’s true form reluctantly returned toward Little Mountain Peak.
• Ouyang told Leng Qingsong to watch Chen Changsheng, then rode Liang Zai away; Chen Changsheng asked whether Leng Qingsong would protect Ouyang if he were in danger.
• Chen Changsheng’s true form entered a secret chamber on Little Mountain Peak and found Zu Yuan’s corpse sitting cross-legged.

Xie Xinzhi, gravely injured and stripped of Haoran Righteous Qi, returned to the devastated Great Zhou Capital and was captured by saber guards. Wang Xiaoming confronted him in the Imperial City, but froze when he found Ouyang seated on the Dragon Throne.

• Xie Xinzhi walked toward the Capital, regretting his role in the disaster and longing to look toward Maple Leaf City from its highest point.
• A squad of saber guards captured Xie Xinzhi after discovering he was too injured to resist.
• The guards carried Xie Xinzhi through the locked-down Imperial City and presented him to Wang Xiaoming, now Wang Mang.
• Wang Xiaoming accused Xie Xinzhi of making him a scapegoat and mocked him before carrying him into the Main Hall.
• Wang Xiaoming entered the Main Hall and found Ouyang sitting on the Dragon Throne, stroking a dog's head.

Ouyang reunited with Wang Xiaoming, then questioned the captured Xie Xinzhi about the Capital and Ling Feng’s integration with the mortal world. Ouyang invited Xie Xinzhi to help oppose Ling Feng, leaving the choice to him.

• Ouyang recognized Wang Xiaoming as his childhood companion, and Wang Xiaoming knelt and blamed Xie Xinzhi for making him emperor.
• Wang Xiaoming told Ouyang that Xuan'er had set herself on fire during the assault on the Capital.
• Ouyang confirmed that Ling Feng’s rebellion had been suppressed, then revealed that Ling Feng had achieved Dao Integration with the Mortal World.
• Xie Xinzhi accused Cultivators of disregarding ordinary people, and Ouyang reminded him that he had sold the mortal world to Ling Feng.
• Ouyang invited Xie Xinzhi to help stop Ling Feng from achieving Dao Integration and said the choice was his.

Ouyang brought Xie Xinzhi to the Pure White Space as a possible replacement for Ling Feng, but Xie Xinzhi’s connection to Ling Feng and Zu Yuan revealed a far stranger role in the plans surrounding the Mortal World. Dongxu Zi sent Xie Xinzhi into the golden pupil, which expelled Ling Feng, as Chongming vowed to kill Dongxu Zi in ten years.

• Ouyang brought Xie Xinzhi back, and Xie Xinzhi agreed to go with him despite fearing the Mortal World’s destruction.
• Dongxu Zi and Chongming recognized Ling Feng’s and Zu Yuan’s divine soul auras in Xie Xinzhi and questioned whether he was willing to integrate with the Dao of the Mortal World.
• Xie Xinzhi said the affairs of the Mortal World should be managed by its people, prompting Dongxu Zi to suspect that his arrival was part of a scheme to reopen the Heavenly Gate.
• Dongxu Zi turned Xie Xinzhi into a streak of white light and sent him into the golden pupil, which spat out Ling Feng in red.
• Dongxu Zi used the Map to absorb the demonic qi from the golden pupil, and Chongming vowed to kill him in ten years.

After the battle, Ouyang watched Chang Xiaoyue’s death restore the land and revive the flood victims, then learned the golden Vertical Pupil had vanished. He left the future of the Mortal World to those remaining and looked ahead to the Dao-Demon War ten years later.

• Dongxu Zi placed a Silence Mantra on Ouyang, then the Pure White Space disappeared and Ouyang fell to the ground with Gouzi.
• Ouyang had Liang Zai swallow the unconscious Ling Feng, and Leng Qingsong entered the dog's belly to pursue his own path to vengeance.
• Chang Xiaoyue’s body became starlight that restored the destroyed land and revived the flood victims, while golden merit light transformed her head into a little white snake.
• Ouyang realized the Mortal World had changed Chang Xiaoyue’s fate and considered how Ling Feng and Xie Xinzhi had been drawn into the Immortal’s scheme.
• Ouyang heard the system announce mission progress of three out of five Peerless Great Villains and waved goodbye to the golden Vertical Pupil as it vanished.

Ling Feng lamented his failure and the world's unfairness before Leng Qingsong killed him. Ouyang gave Leng Qingsong a tiny white snake, and Leng Qingsong named her Mu Wu.

• Ling Feng despaired over losing his plans to Heavenly Fate and realized he was also a piece in an Immortal's hands.
• Leng Qingsong entered the space and cut Ling Feng into countless fragments, then swept the area with his sword intent to ensure he was gone.
• Leng Qingsong returned to Ouyang, who offered him the little white snake he had been holding.
• The little white snake chose Leng Qingsong, who accepted her and thought of Xiaoyue's death and rebirth.
• Ouyang suggested names including White Strip and Spicy Strip, but Leng Qingsong named the snake Mu Wu.

Chen Changsheng struggled with the early appearance of demonic qi and feared that the Great Calamity would repeat the devastation of his previous life. Ouyang urged him to face that fear by trusting the people around him.

• Ouyang teased Leng Qingsong about a name before turning his attention to Chen Changsheng, who was still stunned.
• Chen Changsheng asked Ouyang what to do when calamity always seemed to be ahead of him, but Ouyang first tried to steer him toward eating.
• Chen Changsheng recalled the Devil Race’s brutality, the future invasion, and the deaths and suffering he had witnessed in his previous life.
• Ouyang told Chen Changsheng that calamity was not ahead or behind him; Chen Changsheng had simply never dared to face it.
• Chen Changsheng admitted his fear that the Great Calamity would return, and Ouyang asked him to trust those beside him.

Chen Changsheng calmed down after Ouyang reassured him, while Zhao Qiansun emerged from his breakthrough with Buddhist legacies, a powerful secret art, and a troublesome hair-loss side effect. Ouyang knocked Zhao Qiansun down for boasting, and Zhao Qiansun apologized after realizing how easily Ouyang had overcome his Buddhist Golden Light.

• Ouyang reassured Chen Changsheng, who thanked him and then endured his eldest senior brother's playful head-drilling punches.
• Zhao Qiansun emerged from a golden lotus after gaining Buddhist legacies, advancing his cultivation, and learning the Treasure-Falling mantra.
• Zhao Qiansun tested the mantra on a copper coin and discovered it could knock down other people's magic treasures, though it also made his hair fall out.
• Zhao Qiansun celebrated his good fortune, but Ouyang struck him down and demanded to know what he had done.
• Zhao Qiansun realized Ouyang had pierced his Buddhist Golden Light with a slap, then apologized and promised he had only gotten carried away.

Ouyang and the others prepared to leave the Mortal World after Leng Qingsong read Chang Xiaoyue’s message, while Chen Changsheng claimed victory in his bet with Ouyang. Ouyang bound Zhao Qiansun to guard the Azure Cloud Sect for ten years before taking the group away, as a Golden Eye watched them depart.

• The little white snake gave Leng Qingsong a Paper Star, and he read Chang Xiaoyue’s message: “I love you!”
• Chen Changsheng argued that Leng Qingsong’s words meant he had won his bet with Ouyang, who reluctantly agreed to grant him a future request.
• Ouyang told Zhao Qiansun to return to the Azure Cloud Sect and guard it for ten years, and Zhao Qiansun accepted.
• Ouyang gathered the group into a whale of true essence and flew them out of the Mortal World.
• A Golden Eye watched Ouyang and the others depart, then vanished.

Ouyang, Leng Qingsong, and Chen Changsheng found Bai Feiyu cornered by rogue cultivators after he had fallen into a wretched state. Ouyang intervened, and Leng Qingsong trapped the attackers with his sword intent, leaving Bai Feiyu reunited with his companions.

• Ouyang sensed Bai Feiyu's faint aura, and Leng Qingsong leaped off Great Whale to investigate.
• Several rogue cultivators surrounded Bai Feiyu and demanded the Lotus Pod he had taken from them.
• Bai Feiyu refused to surrender the Lotus Pod, and the Golden Core cultivator blocked his counterattack while the others wounded and overwhelmed him.
• As the burly rogue cultivator raised his axe to kill Bai Feiyu, Ouyang arrived and stopped the blow.
• Leng Qingsong unleashed sword intent that cut the rogue cultivators off from their true essence.
• Ouyang recognized the battered Bai Feiyu and asked how he had become so pathetic in just a few days.

Bai Feiyu woke back at Little Mountain Peak after losing his cultivation and severing his Dao foundation, then asked Ouyang to revive Jiang Shang through the Lotus Pod. Ouyang revealed he understood Bai Feiyu’s grand plan and promised to think of a way to help him, leaving Bai Feiyu with a little reassurance.

• Bai Feiyu regained consciousness in his room and urgently asked Ouyang about the Lotus Pod.
• Ouyang examined Bai Feiyu and found his meridians severed, his dantian reversed, and his body devoid of true qi.
• Bai Feiyu explained that he had destroyed his Storage Space and asked Ouyang to awaken the Lotus Pod so Jiang Shang could live on in a lotus-root body.
• Ouyang revealed that he knew Bai Feiyu had planned to create the God-Sealing Investiture and impose rules on Heaven and Earth.
• Bai Feiyu admitted that his disaster was his own fault, and Ouyang flicked his forehead and promised to think of something to help him.

Bai Feiyu recalled how his arrogance had led him to destroy his Dao Foundation and lose the God-Sealing Treasure Book, then Ouyang helped him rejoin the subdued life on Little Mountain Peak. Seeing his disciples weighed down by gloom, Ouyang urged them to leave the mountain and travel in different directions.

• Bai Feiyu remembered that the Immortals' true spirits had assimilated him, forcing him to sever his Dao Foundation, and that the ensuing turmoil had killed Jiang Shang and cost him several treasures.
• Ouyang slapped Bai Feiyu out of his dejection, then brought him into the courtyard, where Bai Feiyu saw Leng Qingsong, Zhao Qiansun, and the transformed Diao Mao.
• Ouyang and Bai Feiyu joined Chen Changsheng, Liang Zai, and Bie San for a quiet meal while the others remained gloomy and Tutu still had not woken.
• Ouyang teased the three disciples by suggesting they break up, then told them each to choose a direction and travel down the mountain.

Ouyang sent his junior brothers in different directions, and Chen Changsheng chose to leave to face the Great Calamity on his own terms. The next morning, Ouyang and Bai Feiyu descended the mountain together, while Chen Changsheng and Leng Qingsong watched from the summit.

• Ouyang had the brothers draw slips to choose their directions, and agreed to stay with Bai Feiyu, who had lost his cultivation.
• Leng Qingsong told Ouyang he had drawn east, and Ouyang gave him a string of advice before he returned to his room.
• Chen Changsheng told Ouyang he had decided to seek his own answer and face the Great Calamity, and Ouyang let him leave without saying goodbye.
• Ouyang waited in the courtyard for Bai Feiyu, then returned to his room when Bai Feiyu did not come.
• The next morning, Bai Feiyu urged Ouyang to leave, and they descended the mountain with the little fox, Diao Mao, and Liang Zai as Chen Changsheng and Leng Qingsong watched.

Ouyang and Bai Feiyu traveled south from Azure Cloud Sect, but Bai Feiyu’s ruined cultivation and exhaustion deepened his despair. Ouyang reassured him and had Diao Mao carry him onward, setting their destination as Jiangnan and Chao Ge.

• Ouyang and Bai Feiyu traveled on foot for three days because Bai Feiyu could no longer use Sword Flight.
• Bai Feiyu complained that Ouyang was making him walk without explaining where they were going or how he would help him.
• Ouyang told Bai Feiyu that even the old Sect Master could not help his damaged body, leaving Bai Feiyu convinced he had lost his last hope.
• Bai Feiyu wondered whether he was unnecessary and cursed his terrible luck, but Ouyang reassured him that even something seemingly unnecessary could prove decisive.
• Bai Feiyu pinched Ouyang’s face, surprised by his unusually thoughtful words, and Ouyang urged him to keep moving.
• Ouyang called down Diao Mao, who grew larger and carried Bai Feiyu away as Ouyang decided they were heading to Jiangnan and Chao Ge.

Unable to help Bai Feiyu restore his Dao, Ouyang took him on a journey to the Cities of the past, hoping to find a way forward. Ouyang believed Bai Feiyu was a hidden contingency left by Li Taibai, and the chapter ended with him hinting that he had placed two pieces on the chessboard.

• Dongxu Zi examined Bai Feiyu and admitted he had no way to help, then gave Ouyang a map to seek out powerful cultivators in seclusion.
• Ouyang reflected that the Immortals had manipulated Li Taibai and that Bai Feiyu might be the Sword Immortal's contingency in the altered timeline.
• Ouyang decided Bai Feiyu needed to live as himself rather than as Li Taibai's reincarnation, making him a variable who could change the world.
• Ouyang chose to take Bai Feiyu to the Cities of the past, since he had no better way to help him find a path forward.
• Ouyang looked at Bai Feiyu on Diao Mao's shoulder, returned to a jaunty smile, and thought that he had placed two pieces on the chessboard.

After Diao Mao carried Bai Feiyu for two months, they reached Chao Ge, the city where Bai Feiyu had lived as Sword Immortal Li Taibai. Ouyang set up a stall selling Sword Immortal Quotations, and the city's sword cultivators eagerly bought them, leaving Bai Feiyu embarrassed and bewildered.

• Diao Mao brought the exhausted Bai Feiyu to Chao Ge after two months of travel.
• Bai Feiyu recognized Chao Ge as the city where he had grown up and lived as Sword Immortal Li Taibai.
• Ouyang began selling Sword Immortal Quotations outside the city gates while Diao Mao barked in support.
• Ouyang recited a quotation, and the white-clad sword cultivators crowded his stall and bought copies.
• Bai Feiyu tried to leave unnoticed, then watched in disbelief as the sword cultivators enthusiastically bought the quotations.

Ouyang and Bai Feiyu entered Chaoge City, where Ouyang learned that drawing Li Taibai’s sword could make him the city’s lord. Bai Feiyu saw how Li Taibai had become a revered figure among sword cultivators, while Ouyang mocked the city’s statue of him.

• Ouyang showed Bai Feiyu that his Sword Immortal Quotations were actually Chen Changsheng’s illustrated picture books, which he had sold for profit.
• At Chaoge City’s gate, the guards recognized Ouyang as the Dog-Lifting War God after seeing Gouzi and treated him with respect.
• Ouyang gave a white-clad sword cultivator two supreme-grade spirit stones to learn that Li Taibai’s sword was embedded in a rock and could be drawn only by his acknowledged successor.
• Ouyang and Bai Feiyu entered Chaoge City and saw sword cultivators across the city reciting Li Taibai’s quotations and imitating him.
• Bai Feiyu felt moved that people still remembered Li Taibai and smiled faintly, while Ouyang criticized the statue’s appearance.

Ouyang and Bai Feiyu visited Li Taibai’s statue in Chaoge City and discovered that the Sword-Forging Clan charged visitors to draw his sword, claiming Li Taibai had authorized the business. They reached Bai Feiyu’s former home, where a new sign charged admission to visit the residence.

• Ouyang and Bai Feiyu joined the crowd at Li Taibai’s enormous statue and heard the increasingly absurd legends told about him.
• Ouyang stole an apple from the offering table and showed Bai Feiyu a leaflet advertising sword-drawing attempts for ten top-grade spirit stones.
• A Cultivator told Ouyang and Bai Feiyu that Li Taibai had supposedly granted the Sword-Forging Clan the right to profit from his sword and the Immortal Tomb it built.
• Bai Feiyu grew furious after realizing the Sword-Forging Clan had built his tomb without permission, but the rain eased his anger as he walked with Ouyang.
• Bai Feiyu returned to his childhood home and found a sign charging one top-grade spirit stone for a quarter-hour visit.

Bai Feiyu returned to Li Taibai’s former residence and was angered to find his descendants charging visitors, while Ouyang bought their lavish service with spirit stone marrow. As they toured the preserved residence, Bai Feiyu reflected on his former home, and they reached the training grounds where a stone sword stood embedded in the center.

• Bai Feiyu objected to the Li Family charging admission to Li Taibai’s former residence, but the entrance guards dismissed him.
• Ouyang impressed the guards with supreme-grade spirit stone marrow and arranged cushioned sedan chairs, guides, and a private visit.
• Ouyang offered Li Yu spirit stone marrow to make Li Taibai’s projection thank him, and Li Yu agreed to have the ancestor perform a dance.
• Bai Feiyu rode into his former residence, recognized its preserved layout, and resigned himself to the family’s disgrace.
• Ouyang and Bai Feiyu arrived at the training grounds, where a stone longsword stood embedded in the center.

Ouyang and Bai Feiyu visited the Li family’s Martial Arts Practice Ground, where Bai Feiyu climbed an ancient tree and discovered that Chaoge City’s layout recorded the route he and Ouyezi had once traveled. The realization brought his old memories into focus and showed him that his past self had left him a path to walk again.

• Ouyang learned that the Li family’s Sword in the Stone had been buried only last month, and Li Yu claimed the courtyard’s ancient tree had once hosted Li Taibai.
• Bai Feiyu asked to be left alone in the practice ground, and Li Yu agreed after Ouyang offered him spirit marrow.
• Bai Feiyu recognized that the great tree had grown from a branch of the one he remembered and climbed it despite having lost his cultivation.
• From the tree’s crown, Bai Feiyu saw that Chaoge City’s wards and streets formed a map of the route he and Ouyezi had once traveled.
• Bai Feiyu realized that retracing that road could reconnect him with his past self’s Dao heart and resolve, and memories of his two friends returned to him.

Bai Feiyu reflected on Li Taibai’s map and the mystery of the ancient Immortals’ sacrificial rites, then realized he had taken the wrong path and needed to keep searching for the answer. With his resolve renewed, he prepared to set out with Ouyang.

• Bai Feiyu studied Li Taibai’s map and remembered how Ou Yezi and Ou Yezi had each saved him in different ways.
• Bai Feiyu wondered why the Immortals of the Elder Ancient Era had demanded sacrificial rites that held no value for them and recalled the destruction those rites had caused.
• Bai Feiyu told Ouyang he had taken the wrong path, then said the answer lay somewhere along the road ahead.
• Ouyang decided to keep Bai Feiyu safe on his search for the Dao and suggested they set off.
• Bai Feiyu agreed, and the group prepared to take to the road.