Chapter Summaries

Chu Xingchen and his allies fought the Eight Great Heavenly Demons while waiting for a Grand Formation to be ready. As Xu Linglong and three other demons attacked him, Chu Xingchen raised the formation and trapped all four inside.

• Baibo fought Huang Miao while Xu Linglong and the other demons battled Chu Xingchen’s allies.
• Chu Xingchen ordered Bai Xuanling to escort him away as the Grand Formation was still being prepared.
• Xu Linglong shouted for the demons to go all out, and Baibo transformed into his true form to challenge Huang Miao.
• Xu Linglong, Zhong Su, and Chi Guo transformed and charged at Chu Xingchen, who told Bai Xuanling not to rush.
• Chu Xingchen activated the Grand Formation, enclosing the Four Great Heavenly Demons, and taunted Xu Linglong for taking the chance he had given her.

Chu Xingchen trapped Xu Linglong and the other Heavenly Demons inside a sealed formation while reinforcements joined the battle. As he used an unseen force to disrupt the demons, Bai Xuanling wounded Xu Linglong, who recognized Chu Xingchen as the greatest threat.

• Chu Xingchen and Xu Linglong watched as the formation sealed four Heavenly Demons inside, while two more Tribulation Transcendence cultivators arrived to reinforce the fight.
• Xu Linglong suspected that someone among the Eight Great Heavenly Demons had betrayed them, but she chose to fight after Chu Xingchen taunted her to flee.
• Zhong Su intercepted the two new cultivators as Baibo and Huang Miao fought, while Chi Guo charged toward Chu Xingchen despite taking a heavy blow.
• Chu Xingchen used clear qi to disrupt Chi Guo's black qi and dodged his attacks while drawing the Heavenly Derivation Sect cultivator into the fight.
• Chu Xingchen's clear qi struck Xu Linglong's black qi, giving Bai Xuanling an opening to wound her deeply.
• Xu Linglong looked toward Chu Xingchen and identified his undetectable method as the greatest trouble.

Li Xingtian persuaded Chen Baiqing to secretly send the Great Dao Sect’s Tribulation Transcendence cultivators away from the Western Ox-He Continent and toward Yuzhou City, despite the danger to Wukong, Guangming Buddha, and the continent. Chen Baiqing agreed because she feared for Master’s safety, while Li Xingtian remained burdened by whatever he was hiding.

• Li Xingtian told Chen Baiqing that Master’s preparations for Yuzhou City were not enough and urged her to act without Master’s knowledge.
• Chen Baiqing asked Li Xingtian what he was hiding, and he refused to explain, promising only that he would not harm Master or their fellow disciples.
• Li Xingtian asked Chen Baiqing to return to the Heavenly Derivation Sect afterward and break through to the Golden Core stage as soon as possible, even if her foundation suffered.
• Chen Baiqing agreed to go to the Western Ox-He Continent and falsely tell Yuyang Daozi to send the Great Dao Sect’s Tribulation Transcendence cultivators openly and at full speed to Yuzhou City.
• Chen Baiqing left, accepting the risk of being expelled from Master’s tutelage because she believed protecting Master mattered most.
• Li Xingtian watched Chen Baiqing go and murmured that it had to work.

Chen Baiqing urged Yuyang Daozi to send every Tribulation Transcendence cultivator in Western Ox-He Continent to Yuzhou City, relying on his trust in Chu Xingchen and leaving herself as collateral. Yuyang ordered the mobilization, while Chen Baiqing stayed behind, afraid to return to her sect.

• Chen Baiqing arrived by emergency teleportation and asked Yuyang Daozi to send all Tribulation Transcendence cultivators in Western Ox-He Continent to Yuzhou City at once.
• Yuyang questioned the order because it lacked instructions about Wukong and the Buddha of Mahayana Buddhism, and he could not confirm it with Chu Xingchen.
• Chen Baiqing said Chu Xingchen trusted her and offered to break through to the next realm after Yuyang made the arrangements.
• Yuyang decided to trust Chu Xingchen and ordered the elders and Grand Elders in Western Ox-He Continent to depart for Yuzhou City without concealment.
• Yuyang advised Chen Baiqing to return to the Heavenly Derivation Sect to break through, but she stayed in Western Ox-He Continent.

Chu Xingchen realized that the peaceful scene in Yuzhou City was an illusion and tried to bluff his way through it. After an unseen attack wounded him, he stayed still and asked Bai Xuanling for a hint.

• Chu Xingchen saw Chen Baiqing, Xie Lingyu, Li Yingling, and Li Xingtian waiting in Yuzhou City, but felt an unseen force tug him back whenever he moved toward them.
• Chu Xingchen recognized the name [Xu Linglong] above Chen Baiqing and suspected that a powerful enemy had trapped him in an illusion while fighting Bai Xuanling.
• Chu Xingchen tried to pretend he had seen through the illusion, but the others reacted as though he was speaking nonsense.
• Chu Xingchen summoned Myriad Forms for protection and asked Sister Bai for something useful to guide him.
• An unseen attack struck Chu Xingchen's left shoulder, knocked Myriad Forms away, and left him badly wounded.
• Chu Xingchen stayed where he was and told Sister Bai that he trusted her, asking only for a hint.

Bai Xuanling fought Xu Linglong while struggling to resist the killing intent and protect the dazed Chu Xingchen. With reinforcements delayed and Xu Linglong claiming she had blocked their arrival, Bai Xuanling prepared to keep fighting through the night.

• Xu Linglong's strange technique left Chu Xingchen dazed, while Baibo, Chi Guo, and Zhong Su fought the other cultivators across divided sections of space.
• Bai Xuanling clashed with Xu Linglong as her Spiritual Power grew stained by crimson killing intent, but she refused to let Xu Linglong kill Chu Xingchen.
• Xu Linglong taunted Bai Xuanling with the prospect of Chu Xingchen's death and claimed she had prepared to keep reinforcements out of the Black Tortoise Kingdom.
• Bai Xuanling defended Chu Xingchen from Xu Linglong's attacks, took wounds herself, and waited for help that had yet to arrive.
• As the moon remained high, Bai Xuanling let go of her longsword and unleashed crimson killing intent.

Chu Xingchen regained enough awareness to reveal his early Mahayana cultivation and help Bai Xuanling fight Xu Linglong, though he remained trapped in Dreamland. Xu Linglong learned that Great Dao Sect cultivators were rushing to the Southern Jambu Continent and withdrew, while approaching reinforcements surprised both sides.

• Chu Xingchen caught Bai Xuanling by the sleeve, showed that he could perceive the real world, and revealed his early Mahayana cultivation.
• Chu Xingchen crushed an Urgent Order and told Bai Xuanling he would support her as she faced Xu Linglong and Baibo.
• Baibo hurled a spear at Bai Xuanling while Huang Miao wounded him, and Chu Xingchen and Bai Xuanling countered their attackers.
• Xu Linglong received a Jade Token message that Great Dao Sect's Tribulation Transcendence cultivators were approaching, so she ordered the Heavenly Demons to withdraw.
• Xu Linglong shattered the Grand Formation and fled as rainbow lights approached from the Western Ox-He Continent, but Chu Xingchen realized he had not summoned the newcomers.

Great Dao Sect reinforcements surrounded Xu Linglong and the other Heavenly Demons, but Baibo sacrificed himself to help them escape and redirected Xu Linglong’s Origin arrow toward Bai Xuanling. The chapter ended with Bai Xuanling cutting down the arrow as Baibo’s black intent struck her, while Chu Xingchen remained unable to react because he was still trapped in the Illusion Technique.

• Huang Miao wounded Baibo as the Heavenly Demons tried to flee, while Great Dao Sect cultivators arrived and joined the battle.
• Bai Xuanling realized Chu Xingchen could barely perceive anything and learned that he relied on the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl to recognize people.
• The Great Dao Sect cultivators trapped Xu Linglong and the other Heavenly Demons in a Formation and began to overwhelm them.
• Baibo burned his Origin blood, broke open the Formation, and created a spatial rift that allowed Chi Guo, Zhong Su, and Xu Linglong to escape.
• Baibo redirected Xu Linglong’s Origin arrow toward Bai Xuanling and sent a black wisp of intent after her as Huang Miao failed to stop it.
• Bai Xuanling cut down the Origin arrow, but Baibo’s black intent struck her while Chu Xingchen remained unresponsive.

Chen Baiqing returned from Western Ox-He Continent after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, while Chu Xingchen confronted Li Xingtian about his foreknowledge of events. Li Xingtian revealed that he had paid with his Divine Soul.

• Chen Baiqing completed her breakthrough, and Yuyang Daozi told her that Chu Xingchen had summoned her back to the Heavenly Derivation Sect.
• Yuyang Daozi reported that most Buddhas had crossed the Pudu River and that Wukong and Guangming Buddha were worse off than his side.
• Li Xingtian admitted that he had sent Chen Baiqing to Western Ox-He Continent and arranged for her to act in Chu Xingchen's name.
• Bai Xuanling explained that Chu Xingchen was under an illusion technique and could not hear or sense the world around him.
• Chu Xingchen questioned Li Xingtian about his apparent rebirth and his knowledge of Xu Linglong's ambush in Yuzhou City.
• Li Xingtian said his visions might have been a dream or a glimpse of the future, then revealed that the price had been his Divine Soul.

Li Xingtian revealed that his rebirth let him see reflections in the river of time, though using or sharing that knowledge carried a price. Chu Xingchen reassured his disciples about his temporary deafness, and the chapter ended with the group sharing tea as Cui Hao reflected on the sect’s affection for one another.

• Li Xingtian told Chu Xingchen that he could not control his visions of the river of time and that revealing them to others caused the river to erase what he shared.
• Li Xingtian asked Chu Xingchen not to hold Third Junior Sister accountable, and Chu Xingchen promised he would not.
• Li Yingling returned and learned that Chu Xingchen was experiencing a temporary deafness while Lü Xuan and other cultivators investigated the illusion; she embraced him and agreed to take charge of the sect.
• Cui Hao arrived and learned that Chu Xingchen could not hear, then tried to remind him that he was his most beloved disciple.
• Cui Hao wrote that he had learned everyone in the sect loved and cared for one another, and Chu Xingchen called the answer mushy.

On Pearl-Gem Peak, Xie Lingyu and Bai Xuanling discussed Xie Lingyu’s feelings for Chu Xingchen while he could not hear them, and Bai Xuanling explained her reliance on his Heart-Cleansing Pills. After Bai Xuanling left, Xie Lingyu silently scolded Chu Xingchen for risking his life, then promised to look after him as Bai Xuanling secretly listened outside.

• Bai Xuanling teased Xie Lingyu about liking Chu Xingchen and urged her to vent her grievances while he could not hear.
• Bai Xuanling took another Heart-Cleansing Pill and told Chu Xingchen that his medicine’s side effects were unpleasant, but it kept her fury under control.
• Bai Xuanling left to meditate and study how to block the pill’s effects, after reminding Xie Lingyu to make use of the chance to curse Chu Xingchen.
• Xie Lingyu told Chu Xingchen she hated him for nearly getting himself killed, while pretending to translate that Bai Xuanling had gone to rest.
• Chu Xingchen praised Xie Lingyu and asked her to translate for him; she scolded him for acting recklessly and promised to take care of him.
• Bai Xuanling listened from outside the Covered Corridor and smiled, having heard Xie Lingyu despite her attempt to sense her.

Chen Baiqing returned to A Loving Family Peak and apologized to Chu Xingchen for acting without asking him, while he comforted and forgave her. After seeing her traits, Chu Xingchen asked which quality she wanted to develop, and she chose cultivation talent so she could protect him; he upgraded her Bewitching Heaven Demoness trait.

• Chen Baiqing returned to A Loving Family Peak and learned from Xie Lingyu that Chu Xingchen could not hear because of a minor illusion technique.
• Chen Baiqing apologized for her actions in the Western Ox-He Continent, and Chu Xingchen reassured her that he understood her reasons and would not reprimand or reward her.
• Chu Xingchen gave Chen Baiqing a piece of candied fruit, and she quietly began to cry before preparing tea for him.
• Chu Xingchen examined Chen Baiqing's traits and discovered that her negative Single-minded in Love trait could be removed.
• Chu Xingchen asked Chen Baiqing which quality she wanted to develop, and she chose cultivation talent so she could become strong enough to protect him.
• Chu Xingchen chose to upgrade Chen Baiqing's Bewitching Heaven Demoness trait.

Chu Xingchen secretly advanced Chen Baiqing’s Natal Divine Ability, then considered relying on his disciples as the Great Calamity worsened and his own powers remained constrained. In the Western Ox-He Continent, Winter Melon fled with Wukong and Guangming Buddha as more than ten Tribulation Transcendence cultivators closed in, and she blamed Cui Hao for putting her in mortal danger.

• Chu Xingchen upgraded Chen Baiqing’s Natal Divine Ability to Heavenly Maiden Who Wields Bewilderment and told her to keep the gift secret.
• Chu Xingchen recognized that the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl strained his divine sense and decided his disciples might need to take a greater role in facing the Great Calamity.
• Winter Melon recalled how Cui Hao had sent her to Wukong and how Guangming Buddha had kept her prisoner, leaving her desperate for a chance to escape.
• Wukong told Winter Melon that more than ten Tribulation Transcendence cultivators were pursuing their group, including True Buddha Ru Nan, so they had to flee.
• Winter Melon ran with Wukong and Guangming Buddha and cursed Cui Hao for sending her into a deadly escape.

Guangming Buddha and Wukong hid underground with Winter Melon as the Buddhist Sect hunted them, and Guangming argued that Chu Xingchen might still help them. At the Heavenly Derivation Sect, Lin Luoyu found Cui Hao trying to remind her master of a promised Invincible Battle Armor, only for her master to reject the claim.

• Guangming Buddha, Wukong, and Winter Melon took shelter a hundred zhang underground while the Tribulation Transcendence cultivators searched the Western Ox-He Continent.
• Wukong questioned whether Chu Xingchen had abandoned them, but Guangming Buddha insisted Chu had likely faced a real obstacle and would find them a way out.
• Wukong tried to kill Winter Melon, but Guangming persuaded him to keep her alive until they knew whether she could be useful.
• Lin Luoyu finished secluded cultivation and reflected on Li Junzi’s departure to write a book in the Western Ox-He Continent.
• Lin Luoyu saw Cui Hao gesture at her master while claiming he had earned the promised Invincible Battle Armor, and her master scoffed that they would not let him use it first.

Chu Xingchen, temporarily unable to hear and relying on labels to recognize people, reunited with Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu before mistaking Yan Yun for one of his disciples. Yan Yun invited him to Heavenly Derivation Peak for tests and discussions about the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect, while Xie Lingyu agreed to help him remember important people and matters.

• Chu Xingchen promised Cui Hao that he would prepare him a suit of battle armor if the idea proved viable, then teased him about his talent compared with Lin Luoyu's.
• Lin Luoyu learned from Cui Hao that Chu Xingchen was deaf and that his other disciples were away handling duties or cultivating.
• Chu Xingchen recognized Xie Lingyu and Yan Yun by the labels above their qi, then mistakenly treated Yan Yun as one of his disciples.
• Xie Lingyu clarified that Yan Yun was Lü Xuan's personal disciple, and Chu Xingchen smoothly asked about Lü Xuan's research instead.
• Yan Yun invited Chu Xingchen to Heavenly Derivation Peak for tests and discussions involving the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect and Xu Jin.
• Yan Yun warned Xie Lingyu to remind Chu Xingchen about important people and matters, and Xie Lingyu agreed.

Sandong wrote well-wishes for Chu Xingchen while he remained trapped under Xu Linglong’s Illusion Technique, which was gradually bringing back his memories. As Chu Xingchen and Xie Lingyu shared a quiet moment, they promised to hold a celebration for the Sect once he recovered.

• Sandong carefully wrote that he hoped the Sect Leader would get well soon, and Qinghe stopped teasing Chu Xingchen after Xie Lingyu reprimanded her.
• Chu Xingchen thanked Sandong and reflected that his memories of Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu were returning as he resisted Xu Linglong’s Illusion Technique.
• Chu Xingchen decided to let Xu Jin handle matters for now because he lacked the full story behind his past decisions.
• Chu Xingchen took Xie Lingyu’s hand and suggested a Sect-wide celebration after his recovery, and Xie Lingyu agreed.

As Chu Xingchen rested with Xie Lingyu, he began to hear and see more of the real world through the illusion. When his disciples gathered to share their experiences, the illusion faded, and he recognized how close they all were.

• Xie Lingyu told Chu Xingchen that he had been back for half a month, and he faintly heard her real voice and sensed her expression.
• Li Xingtian, Li Yingling, Cui Hao, Chen Baiqing, Lin Luoyu, and Yun Li gathered with Chu Xingchen and recounted their recent work and cultivation.
• Cui Hao praised Li Yingling's skill as he described their mission, while the disciples enjoyed one another's company.
• As the gathering brought Chu Xingchen peace, the mist cleared from his vision and the voices around him grew distinct.
• Li Yingling asked Chu Xingchen who he was closest to in all the world, and he silently regarded everyone present as his closest companions.

Chu Xingchen and Xie Lingyu went to Heavenly Derivation Peak to check on the Western Ox-He Continent and study the Principle fragment taken from Baibo. Chu Xingchen asked to see the research, and Lü Xuan agreed, though he warned that the fragment was dangerous and Chu Xingchen had not recovered from the Illusory Realm.

• Chu Xingchen asked Xie Lingyu to visit Heavenly Derivation Peak with him, partly to review the Western Ox-He Continent and partly to examine Baibo’s Principle fragment.
• Xie Lingyu took Chu Xingchen to Heavenly Derivation Peak, where Yan Yun directed her to read the latest reports and write their contents for him.
• Chu Xingchen asked Yan Yun whether Lü Xuan was available, and she summoned him from the secret chamber.
• Chu Xingchen asked Lü Xuan to show him the research on Baibo’s Principle fragment, and Lü Xuan agreed despite noting that Chu Xingchen had not recovered from the Illusory Realm.
• Lü Xuan warned Xie Lingyu that the vicious Principle could affect her and suggested she wait behind, while Chu Xingchen remained silent as if he could not hear.

Chu Xingchen examined a piece of Principle in a secret chamber with Lü Xuan and used Myriad Forms to investigate its resonance. Myriad Forms led him to the Spirit-Shattering Butterfly Jade, and the chapter left Lü Xuan ready to test it and asking where Chu Xingchen found it.

• Lü Xuan confronted Chu Xingchen about when he had recovered and scolded him for keeping Xie Lingyu in the dark.
• Lü Xuan took Chu Xingchen into a secret chamber on Heavenly Derivation Peak, where a piece of Principle was being studied by cultivators from several sects.
• Chu Xingchen sent Myriad Forms into the Formation, and it resonated with the Principle.
• Myriad Forms repeatedly formed a disc and darted toward the System Space, prompting Chu Xingchen to take out the Spirit-Shattering Butterfly Jade.
• Myriad Forms urged Chu Xingchen to place the jade in the Formation, and Lü Xuan agreed to let him try before asking where Chu Xingchen had found it.

Chu Xingchen used the Spirit-Shattering Butterfly Jade to absorb the Principle Crystal, and Lü Xuan agreed to conceal what happened. After Chu Xingchen left, Lü Xuan reflected on giving up his own ambition to become a sect leader who could shoulder others' burdens.

• Chu Xingchen tossed the Spirit-Shattering Butterfly Jade into the Ritual, where it absorbed the Principle Crystal and repaired some of its cracks.
• The system announced that the jade had charged once and gained a use, while Chu Xingchen realized what it was for.
• Lü Xuan examined the jade, then agreed to explain the missing Principle Crystal as part of his own plan to study Principle and protect Chu Xingchen's secret.
• Lü Xuan asked Chu Xingchen to defend him when Bai Xuanling mocked him, and Chu Xingchen promised to describe him as reliable.
• Chu Xingchen left to rest, and Lü Xuan reflected that he had taken the sect leader's position and given up his dream of becoming a heaven's favored child.