Recaps

The Buddhist Sect’s campaign to promote Hinayana Buddhism and acquire land in Cangwu Kingdom stalled when aristocratic clans resisted and harassed its tenant farmers. At Marvelous Affinity Temple, Yun Li offered Wuwang a risky solution, and Wuwang asked what it was.

• Buddhist temples across Cangwu Kingdom promoted Hinayana Buddhism, bought and reclaimed land, and pressured wealthy landowners to donate more.
• Aristocratic clans rejected the demands, and their counterattack stalled the campaign and drove tenant farmers off Buddhist Sect land.
• Wuwang watched impoverished commoners plead for shelter at Marvelous Affinity Temple while Yun Li assessed the failing effort.
• Yun Li warned that Hinayana Buddhism might not succeed even in a small kingdom and suggested he would report the failure to his sect leader.
• Yun Li said he had a method but refused responsibility for its consequences, and Wuwang asked what it was.

Yun Li gave Wuwang a way to aid commoners without openly claiming to interfere in secular affairs, and Wuwang set events in the Cangwu Kingdom in motion. As unrest spread and the aristocratic clans watched the outcome, Li Yingling declared that the time had come.

• Yun Li urged Wuwang to provide commoners with strengthening drinks and farming tools, leaving their use to mortals, and then departed.
• Li Yingling and Chen Baiqing processed reports in the Black Tortoise Kingdom while Lin Luoyu compiled books and Cui Hao wrote nursery rhymes.
• Wuwang's support helped spark an uprising in the Cangwu Kingdom, where commoners raised the banner of the Great Thunderclap Temple and Hinayana Buddhism.
• The Cangwu Kingdom mobilized its army, while aristocratic clans in both kingdoms struggled to contain the spread of Hinayana Buddhism.
• Li Xingtian concluded that Wuwang could no longer abandon the movement he had set in motion, and Li Yingling announced that the time had come.

Li Yingling and Chen Baiqing debated whether to intervene in the Cangwu Kingdom before its conflict between commoners and aristocratic clans escalated further. Li Yingling persuaded Chen Baiqing to follow their master's plan and set out, though Chen Baiqing remained privately committed to protecting him by whatever means necessary.

• Li Yingling told Chen Baiqing that unrest in the Cangwu Kingdom had become a rebellion and that Wuwang had lost control.
• Li Yingling asked Li Xingtian to notify Mister Li to prepare to leave for the Cangwu Kingdom.
• Chen Baiqing urged Li Yingling to wait, arguing that the conflict had to worsen before Mister Li's moderate approach would be accepted.
• Chen Baiqing admitted she would have delayed events and accepted the deaths as Wuwang's and the Buddhist Sect's responsibility if Li Yingling had not arrived.
• Li Yingling comforted Chen Baiqing and insisted that their master had chosen the timing for a reason, persuading her to go together.
• Chen Baiqing agreed to set out with Li Yingling but remained convinced that she would use any means to protect their master.

Wuwang struggled to contain the unrest caused by Hinayana Buddhism’s sudden rise, while the Buddhist Sect’s Buddhas sent criticism but no help. Li Yingling arrived with Chen Baiqing, declaring that she would help placate both sides and clean up the crisis.

• Yun Li teased Wuwang and offered another plan, but Wuwang refused to hear it and sent him away.
• Wuwang read reports describing growing resistance and unrest as Hinayana Buddhism became a rallying cry for rebellion and conflict.
• Wuwang realized that persuading people or using Buddhist chants would only address the crisis temporarily, while the conflict continued to escalate.
• Li Yingling arrived with Chen Baiqing and reproached Wuwang for damaging the reputations of both the Buddhist Sect and her master, Chu Xingchen.
• Li Yingling said she had brought people to placate both sides and clean up the mess, and Wuwang promised never to forget her help.

Li Yingling proposed University reforms to ease the conflict between the aristocratic clans and the masses, while Chen Baiqing urged Wuwang to pursue a more radical path that could spread Hinayana Buddhism. Wuwang was left weighing two plans and confronting the sacrifices each would demand.

• Li Yingling proposed that the aristocratic clans share their knowledge through University reforms while Hinayana Buddhist followers encouraged the masses to seek change gradually.
• Wuwang hesitated to accept Li Yingling's plan, and she left with Chen Baiqing after warning that time was running out.
• Chen Baiqing told Wuwang that the Buddhist Sect would likely abandon him and that agreeing to Li Yingling's plan would prevent unrest but doom Hinayana Buddhism.
• Chen Baiqing urged Wuwang to embrace a riskier path, shoulder the resulting sins, and use the masses' hope in Hinayana Buddhism to unite them.
• Chen Baiqing left Wuwang alone beneath the moon, telling him to follow the voice within his heart.

At Marvelous Affinity Temple, Li Yingling left with Cui Hao to inspect the situation while Li Xingtian and Chen Baiqing stayed behind to await Wuwang’s decision. Chen Baiqing asked Li Xingtian to trust her and let her make her own choice, and his bitter smile showed that he was already inclined to support her.

• Li Yingling and Chen Baiqing discussed Wuwang’s hesitation and agreed that he should come to his decision willingly.
• Chen Baiqing suggested Li Yingling go inspect the situation with Cui Hao, and Li Yingling took him along despite his protests.
• Li Yingling instructed Li Xingtian to watch over Marvelous Affinity Temple and left with Cui Hao.
• Chen Baiqing told Li Xingtian that she trusted him and asked him to trust her by doing nothing.
• Chen Baiqing said she wanted to make her own decision, and Li Xingtian realized he was inclined to help her.

Chen Baiqing left Li Xingtian without demanding a promise, hoping he would help only if he could, while Chu Xingchen explained why he sent Li Yingling to support Baiqing and how Li Junzi would guide events in the Black Tortoise Kingdom. Xie Lingyu leaned in to kiss Chu Xingchen, but Bai Xuanling interrupted and attacked him.

• Chen Baiqing left Li Xingtian without asking him to promise help, deciding to trust him to tell her if he faced pressure he could not withstand.
• Chen Baiqing resolved to keep reminding Wuwang that Eldest Senior Sister would not let matters go too far and that he needed to act before he failed.
• Chu Xingchen told Xie Lingyu that he had sent Li Yingling to protect Chen Baiqing, provide a safety net, and teach his disciples not to take their favored status for granted.
• Chu Xingchen explained that Li Junzi would ultimately control the situation around Zhao Xuan’s invitation and the New Policies, which were only the first step toward becoming a Second Sage.
• Xie Lingyu leaned toward Chu Xingchen, but Bai Xuanling arrived and caught them; Chu Xingchen teased her, and she punched him despite his protest that he was still injured.

In Cangwu Kingdom’s capital, Li Junzi decided to introduce her New Policies without waiting for Wuwang’s agreement or a perfect moment. She entered the Hall of Governance to present her ideals, while Lin Luoyu watched her go.

• Li Junzi continued compiling a primer instead of immediately implementing the New Policies, while Lin Luoyu anxiously followed news from outside.
• Li Junzi told Lin Luoyu that they would act that day, whether or not Wuwang agreed, and said ideals had to be realized by their own hands.
• Li Junzi explained that she had found resolve in imagining the Second Sage’s doubts and hardships, and said she would accept whatever judgment the future brought.
• Li Junzi walked into the Hall of Governance to meet the monarch, while Lin Luoyu remained outside and reflected on what a true Second Sage might be.

Chen Baiqing explained to Wuwang that the Buddhist Sect’s support for Hinayana Buddhism would provoke the Cangwu Kingdom into bloody suppression, and that the movement would likely end in violence and imperial amnesty. She warned him to agree to Eldest Senior Sister’s proposal when pressed, especially if Cui Hao came to see him, then planned to tell Eldest Senior Sister that Wuwang was still unwilling.

• Chen Baiqing let Wuwang sit with his decision while Hinayana Buddhist slogans and increasingly reckless plans spread through the Buddhist Sect.
• Wuwang questioned why Chen Baiqing had not warned him that Hinayana Buddhism’s growing influence would bring the kingdom’s suppression.
• Chen Baiqing explained that the aristocratic clans would likely pay to end the uprising and that Hinayana Buddhism’s path would be to kill, burn, and accept imperial amnesty.
• Chen Baiqing told Wuwang to agree when Eldest Senior Sister became impatient and warned him not to underestimate Cui Hao.
• Chen Baiqing left, deciding to tell Eldest Senior Sister that Wuwang might have other plans or support and would not advance her proposal yet.

At Jingci Temple, Abbot Fang Jing saw false Hinayana Buddhism inciting worshippers to attack soldiers and chose to warn them despite the danger. As the crowd seized him, he urged them to see the truth and hurry home.

• Fang Jing watched Hinayana Buddhism’s followers gather at Jingci Temple, where they prayed for violence and received porridge.
• Fang Jing told Laici that the followers planned to fight armored soldiers in two days and asked him to preserve Jingci Temple’s traditions if Fang Jing died.
• Fang Jing hurled water from a purification vase onto the Buddha statue, climbed onto the altar, and denounced the followers’ version of Hinayana Buddhism as false and dangerous.
• The crowd cursed Fang Jing and surged toward him, while he shouted that they should hurry home before they too were seized or killed.

Fang Jing offered his life to stop the crowd from turning against the monks, but they attacked him until cries about the aristocratic clans’ destruction of their homes drew them away. Cui Hao saved Fang Jing and revealed that the Buddhist Sect had encouraged the unrest, then sent Laici a warning and a place to seek help.

• Fang Jing told the crowd that he valued their lives above his own, but they beat him while Laici tried to defend him.
• Shouts that the aristocratic clans were destroying homes, fields, and graves caused the crowd to rush away from Jingci Temple.
• Cui Hao gave Laici an immortal pill that healed Fang Jing’s injuries and asked how the Buddhist Sect had responded to the temple’s messages.
• Laici told Cui Hao that the Buddhist Sect had urged them to turn a blind eye and let the aristocratic clans do as they pleased, while the temple refused to obey.
• Cui Hao told Laici to hide, offered help at Marvelous Affinity Temple, and explained that his eldest senior sister had sent him to investigate; then he left.

Cui Hao tried to pressure Wuwang into reconsidering his plan, but Chen Baiqing exposed his bluff and left him wondering what Third Senior Sister was doing. Meanwhile, Lin Luoyu sent the agreed new policies and deployment plans from Cangwu Kingdom as military preparations began.

• Cui Hao questioned Wuwang about his decision and warned that the Venerable Buddha might soon order him to stop.
• Wuwang hesitated after Cui Hao suggested that Chu Xingchen could appeal to the Venerable Buddha.
• Chen Baiqing exposed Cui Hao's claim that Eldest Senior Sister had sent him, then told him that Eldest Senior Sister was waiting for his report.
• Chen Baiqing dismissed Wuwang's attempted explanation and left, believing two days was too little time to salvage the situation.
• Lin Luoyu sent the new policies and deployment plan by Jade Token as troops and Confucian cultivators left the capital, while Black Tortoise Kingdom prepared military support.

Chu Xingchen left the Heavenly Derivation Sect for the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect to investigate Xu Linglong's appearance and potentially disrupt her plans. He arrived to find Li Moze, Huang Miao, and Xu Jin waiting, but his borrowed supreme treasure pushed Xu Jin away when they tried to embrace.

• Xie Lingyu read Lin Luoyu's routine report and Li Yingling's angry account of Chen Baiqing's actions, then questioned Chu Xingchen's calm response.
• Chu Xingchen explained that he wanted his disciples to handle their disagreements themselves and left the disciples in Xie Lingyu's care before setting out for the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect.
• Chu Xingchen used the Teleportation Formation to reach the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect, where Li Moze, Huang Miao, and Xu Jin were waiting for him.
• Chu Xingchen tried to embrace Xu Jin, but the Dao Resonance of the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl pushed Xu Jin backward.
• Xu Jin protested that the treasure was not lousy and that Chu Xingchen's apology only made his excuse less believable.

Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin planned to seek help in dealing with Xu Linglong’s actions in Dongsheng Shenzhou, recruiting Yuyang Daozi and deciding to rely on Huang Miao’s presence when approaching Firmament Rhyme Hall. The group left the details of their plan unresolved, with Huang Miao positioned to answer for them.

• Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin joked about their long separation before discussing Xu Linglong and Chu Xingchen’s plan to find Ye Antao of Firmament Rhyme Hall.
• Chu Xingchen revealed that he intended to trade a secret Ye Antao was hiding from Yuyang Daozi for her help, and Xu Jin agreed to call Yuyang.
• Yuyang Daozi joined Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin for drinks, then learned they needed his help with Xu Linglong at Firmament Rhyme Hall.
• Chu Xingchen indicated that Huang Miao would answer for them, and Yuyang Daozi spotted the legendary senior in the corner.

Ye Antao returned to Firmament Rhyme Hall and discovered that the sect had activated its grand formation and imposed strict inspections because important guests had arrived. At the Main Peak, she encountered Chu Xingchen, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi, and Chu Xingchen recognized her in front of everyone.

• Ye Antao returned from a sect assignment and saw Firmament Rhyme Hall’s Burning Flame Celestial Circuit Grand Formation activated.
• A fellow disciple told Ye Antao that an extraordinary visitor had arrived and that the sect was under tight restrictions.
• Ye Antao and her team passed an inspection and walked to the Main Peak, speculating that Bai Xuanling was the visitor.
• At the summit, Ye Antao saw the sect leader speaking with Chu Xingchen, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi, while Yunxiao stood nearby in a tense mood.
• Ye Antao tried to slip away, but Chu Xingchen spotted her, greeted her, and praised her exceptional bearing.

Chu Xingchen proposed that Ye Antao lead a joint assignment, while Yunxiao objected because he feared for his younger sister. The Sect Leader appointed Ye Antao as Team Leader and Yunxiao as her deputy, and Yunxiao later admitted he wanted their siblings never to be bullied again.

• Chu Xingchen greeted Ye Antao and proposed that she coordinate the assignment for Firmament Rhyme Hall and the other parties.
• Yunxiao objected to Ye Antao leading, warning that Chu Xingchen's request suggested the assignment was dangerous.
• The Sect Leader appointed Ye Antao Team Leader and Yunxiao deputy, telling him to protect her while allowing her to gain experience.
• Ye Antao teased Yunxiao by calling him Ye Anyun, and he asked how she had met Chu Xingchen in Northern Jambudvipa.
• Ye Antao admitted she had been beaten and fled, then said she had gained her place at the Main Peak partly because Yunxiao was her older brother.
• Yunxiao told Ye Antao that he had wanted them never to be bullied again.

Chu Xingchen gained Ye Antao’s approval to lead Firmament Rhyme Hall’s cooperation and proposed striking targets to draw out their enemy. Meanwhile, Winter Melon was ordered to infiltrate the enemy as a demon and swore revenge on Cui Hao.

• Yuyang Daozi questioned why Chu Xingchen had waited for Ye Antao, and Chu Xingchen said her connection to Yunxiao mattered.
• Ye Antao arrived with Yunxiao and explained that the sect leader had approved her as team leader, with Yunxiao as her deputy.
• Chu Xingchen showed Ye Antao a map of mission targets and proposed joining forces to attack one and observe the enemy’s response.
• Ye Antao questioned whether striking one target would alert the others, and Chu Xingchen said that provoking them was part of his plan.
• A Heavenly Derivation Sect cultivator gave Winter Melon Cui Hao’s order to infiltrate the enemy as a demon and gather intelligence.
• Winter Melon protested that the mission would put him at risk, then cursed Cui Hao and threatened to kill him.

Winter Melon destroyed a ritual intended to open a passage between great realms, then faced Xu Linglong, who arrived to confront her. Xu Jin, Yuyang Daozi, Yunxiao, and a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator came to intervene, and Chu Xingchen appeared in person, revealing that he had recovered.

• Winter Melon slaughtered the beings in the mountain hollow and left the ritual mostly destroyed.
• Winter Melon warned the Heavenly Derivation Sect disciples that the ritual could bring about a clash between realms, but they calmly documented the remaining evidence.
• Xu Linglong arrived and offered to take Winter Melon with her, while the Heavenly Derivation Sect disciples called for reinforcements and prepared to resist.
• Xu Jin, Yuyang Daozi, Yunxiao, and a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator arrived, and Chu Xingchen spoke to Xu Linglong through Yuyang Daozi's Dharma Treasure.
• Xu Linglong challenged Chu Xingchen to show himself, and he appeared sitting in a tree, surprising her with his recovery.

Chu Xingchen confronted Xu Linglong while pretending his cultivation had recovered, but her arrow struck him after a Firmament Rhyme Hall cultivator dispersed her body. His allies rushed to help him, and Yunxiao urged him to rest before planning their next moves.

• Xu Linglong questioned whether Chu Xingchen was real and challenged him to put away the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl, while Chu Xingchen mocked her and dismissed the ritual below.
• Xu Linglong warned that time was running out and shot a scarlet arrow at Chu Xingchen before a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator from the Firmament Rhyme Hall dispersed her body.
• The arrow struck Chu Xingchen and hurled him into a crater, leaving Winter Melon to wonder whether Chu Xingchen had been pretending to have recovered his cultivation.
• Yunxiao, the Firmament Rhyme Hall elder, Huang Miao, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi arrived, and Yunxiao tried to give Chu Xingchen a healing pill.
• Chu Xingchen refused the pill and examination, saying his Dao Resonance was in disarray, while Yunxiao urged him to return to the Firmament Rhyme Hall and recover.

Chu Xingchen concealed his condition while securing Winter Melon’s cooperation and learning about the ritual to reconnect with the Heavenly Demon Realm. After assigning Winter Melon a role in investigating it, he prepared to strike back at Xu Linglong.

• Chu Xingchen ordered Yunxiao and the Firmament Rhyme Hall cultivator to search for Xu Linglong’s spies and keep his condition secret.
• Chu Xingchen sent the Heavenly Derivation Sect disciples away but kept Winter Melon with him, pretending they had not met before.
• Chu Xingchen offered Winter Melon a chance to turn away from darkness, and Winter Melon chose to trust him rather than attack.
• Chu Xingchen used an illusion technique while touching Winter Melon and discovered Xu Linglong’s flower in his sea of consciousness.
• Winter Melon identified the remnants of a ritual meant to reconnect to the Heavenly Demon Realm, and Chu Xingchen told him to review the completed materials.
• Chu Xingchen ordered preparations for a major move against Xu Linglong.

Chu Xingchen planned to use himself as bait to draw out Xu Linglong’s demons while the Firmament Rhyme Hall and the Three Sects supported him. In Cangwu Kingdom, Li Yingling’s anger at Chen Baiqing boiled over after Chen received a message she believed was forged and announced she was returning to the Heavenly Derivation Sect.

• Ye Antao reported that the forces marked on Chu Xingchen’s map had been cleared and that Xu Linglong’s rituals appeared to be experimental.
• Chu Xingchen proposed joining forces with the Firmament Rhyme Hall to settle accounts with Xu Linglong, then declared he would serve as bait to draw out every demon.
• Cangwu Kingdom began implementing reforms, suppressing extremist Hinayana Buddhist believers and easing tensions with support from neighboring nations.
• Li Yingling kept Chen Baiqing under close watch while Wuwang remained restrained and the situation awaited Li Junzi’s efforts.
• Li Yingling received a jade token from her master about maintaining harmony with Chen Baiqing and passed it to Li Xingtian, who gave it to Chen.
• Chen Baiqing declared that the message was not truly from their master and said she was returning to the Heavenly Derivation Sect, prompting Li Yingling to demand to know where she was going.

Chen Baiqing returned to the Heavenly Derivation Sect after concluding that Master was absent and might be facing another Heavenly Tribulation. She found Xie Lingyu at A Loving Family Peak and asked where Master was.

• Chen Baiqing told Li Yingling that the Jade Token likely came from Master's Wife and that Master was probably away from the sect, then asked to return and watch over him.
• Li Yingling let Chen Baiqing leave, and Cui Hao assured her that their Third Senior Sister had been sincere.
• Li Yingling called Li Xingtian over to sit beside her after Chen Baiqing departed.
• At A Loving Family Peak, Xie Lingyu reviewed urgent reports about Chu Xingchen's dangerous pursuit of evil cultivators and Xu Linglong in Dongsheng Shenzhou.
• Chen Baiqing arrived at the sect to speak with Master and asked Xie Lingyu where he was.

Chu Xingchen and Yunxiao discussed Xu Linglong’s plans and the danger of a coming collision between the Heavenly Demon Realm and their world. Chu Xingchen found Yuankong performing for money in Jiangyue City and brought him along, leaving Yunxiao wondering why he had sought out a bootlicking monk.

• Chu Xingchen told Yunxiao he believed Xu Linglong was conducting a final experiment to assess how much time she had left before fighting them.
• Chu Xingchen warned Yunxiao that Xu Linglong might force the Heavenly Demon Realm to collide with their world, endangering the people they cared about.
• Chu Xingchen said he had come to find someone in Dongsheng Shenzhou and led Yunxiao to a street performance in Jiangyue City.
• Chu Xingchen recognized Yuankong performing martial arts, gave him candied hawthorns and silver, and bought his time.
• Yuankong explained that he earned money through performances rather than charging for slaying demons, and Chu Xingchen teased him about supporting a girl who wanted to repay his kindness.
• Yuankong fell into step behind Chu Xingchen, while Yunxiao realized they had come to find a bootlicking monk rather than a powerful figure.

Chu Xingchen and Yunxiao visited Yuankong and met Qian Qing, the martial artist Yuankong had raised for over twenty years. Qian Qing resisted Chu Xingchen’s attempt to discuss Yuankong’s future, and the chapter ended with the three sitting down to drink.

• Yuankong brought Chu Xingchen and Yunxiao to his home and introduced them to Qian Qing, whom he had raised since she was eight.
• Chu Xingchen teased Yuankong about delaying his cultivation to raise Qian Qing and urged him to keep track of the time.
• Qian Qing confronted Chu Xingchen, insisting Yuankong would not leave and offering to repay his debt herself.
• Chu Xingchen explained that Yuankong owed him a debt of gratitude and invited Qian Qing to discuss matters over spirit wine.
• Qian Qing drank a sip of the spirit wine, then sat with Chu Xingchen and Yuankong as they reflected on how she had grown into her own person.

Chu Xingchen reunited with Yuankong, asked him to become his disciple, and gave him a Buddhist cultivation manual and spirit treasure. After Chu Xingchen left Jiangyue City at dawn, Yuankong turned back to find Qian Qing shaking with emotion.

• Chu Xingchen and Yuankong reminisced about their past while Qian Qing listened and Yunxiao watched the moon in silence.
• After Qian Qing appeared to fall asleep, Chu Xingchen sent Yunxiao away and discussed Yuankong's attachment to her and his plan to find her a home in Jiangyue City.
• Chu Xingchen asked Yuankong to accept him as his master, and Yuankong agreed and bowed to him.
• Chu Xingchen received system rewards, upgraded Yuankong's See Through Illusion trait, and gave him the Mahayana Karmic Heart Sutra and the Gilded True Dragon Karmic Staff.
• After ensuring Yuankong had memorized the technique, Chu Xingchen left at dawn, and Yuankong turned to see Qian Qing's shoulders shaking.