Chapter Summaries

Ouyang and Hui Zhi crossed the River of Forgetfulness and climbed Mount Naihe, which appeared to Ouyang as a small dirt slope but to Hui Zhi as a mountain of blades and flames. At the summit, Hui Zhi mistook the sea of clouds for the Buddha’s land of ultimate bliss.

• Ouyang and Hui Zhi crossed the River of Forgetfulness on the catfish-toad and saw Mount Naihe ahead.
• Ouyang realized Mount Naihe looked like a small dirt slope to him, while Hui Zhi saw a terrifying mountain of blades and lava.
• Ouyang climbed the slope with ease, and Hui Zhi transformed his Buddha Light into a hundred-handed Buddha to follow him.
• Ouyang waited at the summit as Hui Zhi climbed through the mountain’s trials in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
• Hui Zhi reached the summit, saw the vast sea of clouds, and asked whether it was the Buddha’s land of ultimate bliss.

Hui Zhi was lured by the Heart Cloud’s illusion of a Buddhist paradise, but Ouyang snapped him out of it and learned that the mist concealed a deeper deception. Ouyang called out to the cloud formation, which answered, leaving the identity of the grandmaster unresolved.

• Hui Zhi saw an illusory Western Paradise and nearly followed a cloud into it, but Ouyang grabbed his collar and stopped him.
• Ouyang slapped Hui Zhi until he broke free of the illusion, and Hui Zhi thanked him for saving him from the delusion.
• Hui Zhi explained that the Heart Cloud preyed on cultivators’ deepest desires and suspected the Nine Hells was a vast deception hiding the truth beyond the clouds.
• Ouyang compressed True Essence into a ball and launched it into the sky, drawing the clouds together into an enormous face.
• Ouyang asked the cloud face, “Sonny?” and it answered, “Yeah!”

Ouyang and Hui Zhi discovered that the Nine Hells held fallen Great Cultivators’ divine souls captive on a Sky-Piercing Giant Pillar. As Hui Zhi prepared to destroy the pillar, Ouyang recognized that his Hemp Rope might have come from it and shouted Li Taibai’s name from the cliff.

• Ouyang ordered the face in the clouds to gather the clouds, revealing a ruined city and the Sky-Piercing Giant Pillar below them.
• Ouyang saw a divine soul wrapped into a mummy by a tentacle and hung on the pillar, while Hui Zhi explained that Great Cultivators were imprisoned there by their own Dao.
• Hui Zhi became a wrathful vajra guardian and urged Ouyang to topple the pillar and free the captive divine souls.
• Ouyang noticed that his Hemp Rope resembled the pillar’s tentacle and suspected that Hu Yun had taken it from there.
• Ouyang walked to the cliff’s edge and shouted, “Li Taibai, I fucked your mother!”

Ouyang suspected that the towering pillar in the desert was Li Taibai, who had become the backbone of Heaven and Earth, and wondered why the Sword Immortal later trapped Divine Souls in reincarnation. Xian Yi and the Sword Cultivators attacked Ouyang as an Immortal Reincarnation, then summoned their patriarch, Li Taibai.

• Ouyang shouted Li Taibai’s name at the towering pillar and recalled witnessing him hold up Heaven and Earth after slaying the Immortals.
• Hui Zhi realized Ouyang seemed to know Li Taibai, whom Buddhist scriptures condemned as a great demon.
• Xian Yi arrived with over a dozen Sword Cultivators, recognized Ouyang, and accused him of trespassing in the Land of Dao's Slumber.
• The Sword Cultivators charged, but Ouyang repelled them with Qi Burst.
• Xian Yi gathered the Sword Cultivators’ Immortal Spiritual Qi and summoned their patriarch from the pillar, revealing Li Taibai’s phantom.

Ouyang faced Xian Yi and the white-robed Sword Cultivators after they summoned Li Taibai’s apparition to kill him. The apparition recognized Ouyang and dissolved after he greeted it, and Ouyang ordered the Heart Cloud to restrain the Sword Cultivators before telling Xian Yi that he was his eldest uncle.

• Xian Yi summoned Li Taibai’s apparition and ordered it to slay Ouyang.
• Li Taibai’s sword stopped at Ouyang’s neck, and Ouyang greeted him as Xiao Bai.
• The apparition dissolved into mist, which flicked Ouyang on the forehead before vanishing.
• Xian Yi and the white-robed Sword Cultivators drew their swords and prepared to fight Ouyang.
• Ouyang ordered the Heart Cloud to restrain the Sword Cultivators and subdued Xian Yi with Green Lotus Immortal Qi, declaring that he was Xian Yi’s eldest uncle.

After Ouyang’s immortal spiritual qi convinced Xian Yi that Ouyang was the reincarnation of the Sword-Forging Clan’s patriarch Ou Yezi, the clan’s leader apologized and invited him to Sword-Forging City. Ouyang agreed to inspect the clan, taking Hui Zhi with him.

• Ouyang’s immortal spiritual qi made Xian Yi recognize him as someone acknowledged by Li Taibai, and Xian Yi concluded that Ouyang was Ou Yezi’s reincarnation.
• Xian Yi tried to atone for attacking Ouyang by taking his own life, but Ouyang stopped him.
• Xian Yi ordered the Sword Cultivators with him to kowtow to Ouyang and invited him to Sword-Forging City.
• Ouyang recalled his past visit to the Sword-Forging Clan and grew curious about how it had changed.
• Hui Zhi agreed to accompany Ouyang, and Ouyang set off with Xian Yi to inspect the Sword-Forging Clan.

Ouyang and the Sword Cultivators traveled through the ruined Desert to the Sword-Forging Clan, where he learned that the place had once been the Immortal Realm and that Great Cultivators were trapped in illusions after Li Taibai killed the Immortals. He realized Li Taibai’s plans sought to reopen the Immortal Path, leaving the story with Ouyang understanding that the world still depended on the Immortals it had fought.

• Ouyang asked Xian Yi why Li Taibai had trapped Great Cultivators in endless illusions, and Xian Yi said he would explain at the Sword-Forging Clan.
• As they crossed the Desert, Xian Yi explained that its ruined cities had once housed the dead who worshipped the Immortals.
• At the Sword-Forging Clan, Xian Yi said the clan had escaped the illusory Dao through Ouyang and his master, while Hui Zhi challenged him over the souls bound to the sky-supporting pillar.
• Xian Yi explained that Great Cultivators touched by the Dao had nowhere to go after the Immortals died, so Li Taibai kept them in illusions; Hui Zhi cursed the Dao in anger.
• Ouyang realized Li Taibai had arranged for Leng Qingsong to reopen the Immortal Path and for Bai Feiyu to prepare for God-Sealing, and concluded that the world could not do without an evil dragon.

Ouyang learned that Li Taibai’s victory over an Immortal had left him bearing the Dao and imprisoning countless divine souls to prevent a catastrophe. After considering whether change was worth its cost, Ouyang renewed his resolve to find a better path and carry Li Taibai’s unfinished struggle forward.

• Ouyang went with Xian Yi to the Sky-Supporting Pillar and reflected on how Li Taibai’s slaying of an Immortal had made him the world’s backbone.
• Xian Yi explained that Li Taibai bound divine souls to the pillar to keep them from becoming wandering ghosts and causing a catastrophe.
• Ouyang doubted his role in Li Taibai’s fate, then remembered Leng Qingsong, Chen Changsheng, Bai Feiyu, Hu Tutu, and Xiao Feng.
• Ouyang decided that he would seek a better way to change the world rather than accept the Immortals’ rule.
• Ouyang patted the pillar, regained clarity in his Dao heart, and vowed to continue Li Taibai’s unfinished work as his Eldest Senior Brother.

Ouyang arrived in the Sword-Forging Clan’s city and was recognized as the reincarnation of their revered lord. At the Divine Hall, the aged clan leader tested Ouyang with a secret phrase, and Ouyang remembered their old connection.

• Ouyang and his companions landed in the Sword-Forging Clan’s city, where Xian Yi explained how the clan survived and why it remained in the Land of the Nine Hells.
• Xian Yi announced that Ouyang was the lord’s reincarnation, and the clanspeople gathered around him in awe and confusion.
• Xian Er invited Ouyang to the Divine Hall, while Xian Yi stopped Hui Zhi from following and nearly provoked a fight until Ouyang calmed him.
• Ouyang entered the Divine Hall and saw a lifelike statue of Li Taibai, then met the frail current clan leader.
• The clan leader asked Ouyang for their secret phrase, and Ouyang remembered it and replied, “Call me clan leader!”

Ouyang reunited with the Sword-Forging Clan’s old Clan Leader, whom he had met in the Elder Ancient Era, and heard how the Nine Hells fell into chaos after Li Taibai slew the Immortals. The old man revealed that the mummified Divine Souls were overburdening Li Taibai, and Ouyang began to suspect that a Daoist from Hu Yun’s generation had devised the system holding them there.

• Ouyang recognized the old Clan Leader as the stubborn Sword-Forging Clan member he had met during the Sword Immortal’s Good Friend side quest.
• The old Clan Leader explained that he could not die in the Nine Hells and said he had survived since the Elder Ancient Era.
• The old Clan Leader recounted how Li Taibai’s killing of the Immortals caused the Nine Hells to collapse, leaving Great Cultivators’ Divine Souls trapped and driving many mad.
• The old Clan Leader told Ouyang that centuries of wars had filled the Nine Hells with Divine Souls and placed an enormous burden on Li Taibai.
• Ouyang inferred that a Great Daoist from Hu Yun and Dongxu Zi’s generation had devised the method of hanging the mummies, then asked the old Clan Leader if they had met thousands of years earlier.

Ouyang learned that he had not been the person who brought Hu Yun to the Nine Hells in the past, but grew more suspicious that Hu Yun’s master had planned events around him. The Old Clan Leader explained that Hu Yun and his master had transformed the Nine Hells, leaving Ouyang with more questions about the mysterious grandmaster.

• Ouyang asked the Old Clan Leader whether Ouyang himself had traveled back in time to bring Hu Yun to the Nine Hells, and the Old Clan Leader said this was their first meeting since the Elder Ancient Era.
• The Old Clan Leader relayed the message, “The chess player can only be a spectator. It is the chess pieces that truly direct the game!”
• Ouyang wondered whether Hu Yun’s master had set events in motion and resolved to question Dongxu Zi about the mysterious grandmaster after returning to the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Ouyang asked why Hu Yun and his master had come to the Nine Hells and how they had resolved the problem of having a surname without a name.
• The Old Clan Leader recalled that the Nine Hells had been chaotic before the two arrived, with ruined cities and souls devouring one another.
• The Old Clan Leader took Ouyang’s rope and said that the Nine Hells had become what it was through Hu Yun’s master’s handiwork.

The Great Daoist Ao Can discovered how to calm the Nine Hells’ masterless Divine Souls and sacrificed himself to establish a new order there. His disciple, the Little Daoist, was left behind as Ao Can became Mount Naihe and the Sky-Supporting Pillar took on its new role.

• The old clan chief explained that the Sword-Forging Clan had spent ages slaying rampaging Divine Souls, whose remains formed the River of Forgetfulness.
• Ao Can rejected the old clan chief’s offer to guard the Nine Hells and insisted he could resolve its plight and give the Little Daoist a name of his own.
• After contemplating beneath the Sky-Supporting Pillar, Ao Can vowed to create the Nine Hells Ultimate Bliss, and Heaven sent Dark-Yellow Qi in response.
• Ao Can gave the Little Daoist half of a rope and asked the old clan chief to pass on his message about chess pieces governing the game.
• Ao Can dissolved into starlight that formed Mount Naihe, while the Sky-Supporting Pillar bound the remaining Divine Souls in illusions and the characters Hu Yun appeared upon it.

After learning how Hu Yun’s master sacrificed himself to give Hu Yun a place in the world, Ouyang discovered that he could gain a name only by erasing Hu Yun’s. Ouyang was left facing the choice of securing his own existence or allowing his master to disappear forever.

• The Great Daoist integrated with the Dao of the Nine Hells, bringing order to the realm and strengthening its Sky-Piercing Giant Pillar.
• Hu Yun received his name and a cultivation technique from the pillar, then left the Nine Hells as a Sea of Flowers grew by the River of Forgetfulness.
• The Old Clan Leader told Ouyang that he had to cross out Hu Yun’s name before he could write his own, and that erasing it would make Hu Yun cease to exist.
• Ouyang realized Hu Yun had arranged his sacrifices and plans to help Ouyang remain in the world, but he struggled to accept the price of taking his master’s place.

Ouyang struggled with Hu Yun’s plan to make him erase Hu Yun’s name and take his place, then discovered a seed inside the Hemp Rope that suggested another path. A vision of his grandmaster and the Heart Cloud gave Ouyang a sudden understanding, though he was pulled back before he could see the whole game.

• Ouyang realized Hu Yun had arranged for him to erase Hu Yun’s name and replace it with his own, and he raged against the sacrifice and the choice.
• Ouyang nearly decided to destroy the Sky-Piercing Giant Pillar, but recognized that Shenjing Zi had anticipated the impulse and stopped himself.
• The Hemp Rope nuzzled Ouyang and revealed a round seed inside its body.
• Ouyang connected the seed and the Heart Cloud to a possible way for Hu Yun to survive, then called out to his son.
• Ouyang saw his grandmaster beneath the Sky-Supporting Pillar and glimpsed an azure chess piece representing himself, gaining sudden clarity before returning to reality.

Ouyang placed himself on the Nine Hells’ cosmic chessboard and used the Heart Cloud to build a modern city for Divine Souls. He declared it a refuge where all were equal and no Immortal would be worshipped, then assigned the Sword-Forging Clan to manage it.

• Ouyang learned from his exchange with the Grand Ancestor that the beings placing pieces could not control their choices, and decided to make his own moves.
• Ouyang declared that he would build a city, then used the Hemp Rope to drag the Heart Cloud down beneath the Sky-Piercing Giant Pillar.
• Ouyang poured his True Essence into the Heart Cloud and shaped it into a modern metropolis using the Life-Bound Dream Mu Yunhai had given him as its blueprint.
• Ouyang declared the city a refuge for Divine Souls where all were equal and no Immortal would be worshipped.
• Ouyang told Fan Rubin that the Sword-Forging Clan would serve as the city’s Urban Management Brigade.

Ouyang exhausted his true essence building a vast city in the Nine Hells, then named it Fengdu and envisioned it growing into a new world for divine souls. He left the city’s future to those who would come after him, while Hui Zhi sensed that his opportunity might lie within it.

• Ouyang nearly ran out of true essence as he completed the city’s framework, and Hui Zhi steadied him while he recovered.
• Ouyang rejected his master’s plan to sacrifice himself and told Hu Yun to repay his debt to Grandmaster without passing it on to the disciples.
• Ouyang named the city Fengdu and explained how divine souls would pass through the Yellow Springs Road, Flowers of the Other Shore, River of Forgetfulness, and Mount Naihe before beginning anew.
• Ouyang envisioned divine souls expanding Fengdu across the Nine Hells and saw its completion as the moment to place his final stone and end the game.
• Hui Zhi asked to explore Fengdu, sensing that the city might contain the Buddhist paradise he had been seeking.

Hui Zhi found a path to Buddhahood in Ouyang’s new city but stopped his own enlightenment after seeing a ladybug, resolving to save all living beings before becoming a Buddha. The Heavenly Dao accepted his vow, and he directed the resulting auspicious power into the newborn city.

• Hui Zhi explored Ouyang’s silent city and believed his destined opportunity was connected to his senior brother.
• Hui Zhi’s Buddhist heart stirred, and he began attaining Buddhahood as golden lotuses and a thousand-handed Buddha image appeared around him.
• Hui Zhi noticed a seven-spotted ladybug and realized the Nine Hells were not a true Land of Ultimate Bliss, so he ended his enlightenment.
• Hui Zhi vowed not to become a Buddha until the Nine Hells were empty, and the Heavenly Dao accepted his vow.
• Hui Zhi bestowed the descending Dark-Yellow Qi upon the newborn city, giving its living beings a sense of belonging and a way home.

Chen Changsheng arrived at the Myriad Laws Sect to retrieve his greatest trump card and investigate his suspicions, while remembering that the sect would be destroyed in the future. He eased his awkward welcome by using hundreds of puppets to greet the disciples and asked Xu An to take him to the Sect Master.

• Chen Changsheng left Little Mountain Peak with Bie San and traveled through the teleportation formation to the Myriad Laws Sect.
• Xu An welcomed Chen Changsheng, recognized him as the Azure Cloud Sect's Holy Son, and escorted him toward the Sect Master's Main Hall.
• Chen Changsheng endured the sect's formal welcome and reflected on how the thriving Myriad Laws Sect had been annihilated in his previous life.
• Chen Changsheng summoned hundreds of puppets on the Myriad Formation Steps to return the disciples' greetings all at once.
• Xu An was astonished by Chen Changsheng's puppetry and heard him ask to proceed to the Sect Master.

Chen Changsheng visited the Myriad Laws Sect, where Sect Master Zhang Zixiang confronted him for learning the sect’s secret formation arts. After Chen Changsheng asked to study the sect-guarding Xiantian Talisman and revealed that disaster was near, Zhang Zixiang trapped him in an Xiantian Grand Formation and demanded to know who had told him.

• Xu An welcomed Chen Changsheng to the Myriad Laws Sect, and Chen Changsheng followed him to the Main Hall while hoping to learn the complete Divine Soul Puppet Technique.
• Chen Changsheng greeted Zhang Zixiang and the elders, but Zhang recognized that Chen Changsheng’s formation skills came from the Myriad Laws Sect.
• Chen Changsheng claimed his sect master had taught him the arts, shifting responsibility away from himself and easing Zhang’s accusation.
• Chen Changsheng asked to examine the Myriad Laws Sect’s Sect-Guarding Dao Treasure, but an elder refused and Zhang warned that the treasure was not shown to outsiders.
• Chen Changsheng said the sect had failed to comprehend the Xiantian Talisman despite years of study and warned that disaster was near.
• Zhang Zixiang trapped Chen Changsheng inside an Xiantian Grand Formation and demanded to know who had revealed the secret.

Chen Changsheng invoked Hu Yun’s prediction to explain why he had come to aid the Myriad Laws Sect, but Zhang Zixiang challenged his claim. After Chen revealed his own mastery of Human-Formation Unity, Zhang Zixiang recalled how Hu Yun had once warned him that the sect would fall under his leadership.

• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Zixiang that Hu Yun had foreseen a calamity for the Myriad Laws Sect and sent him to help.
• Zhang Zixiang trapped Chen Changsheng inside a Xiantian Eight Trigrams Grand Formation and challenged his ability to help the sect.
• Chen Changsheng formed a Three Talents Formation in his hand, revealing that he had achieved Human-Formation Unity.
• Zhang Zixiang recalled Hu Yun predicting that he would become sect master and that the Myriad Laws Sect would come to ruin under his leadership.
• Zhang Zixiang attacked Hu Yun with his Xiantian Grand Formation, but Hu Yun immediately produced an identical formation.