Chapter Summaries

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.

Chu Xingchen left Jiangyue City with Yunxiao and announced that he would lead a team to pursue Xu Linglong as soon as they returned. In Dongsheng Shenzhou, Chen Baiqing took over Ye Antao’s urgent Jade Token decisions and pieced together that her master was planning a dangerous strike against Xu Linglong.

• Chu Xingchen told Yunxiao that he had retrieved what the monk had hidden and had no reason to bring the monk or his mortal along.
• Chu Xingchen said he would return and personally lead a team to pursue Xu Linglong, and Yunxiao reluctantly accepted his decision.
• Ye Antao struggled to manage the urgent Jade Tokens and asked whether anyone had news of Senior Brother Yunxiao.
• Chen Baiqing arrived, claimed Chu Xingchen had sent her, and persuaded Ye Antao to hand over the Jade Token decisions.
• Chen Baiqing reviewed the information, inferred that Xu Linglong had set up a Grand Formation and Chu Xingchen intended to strike first, then grew angry at the danger he was taking.

Chu Xingchen combined the two maps into the Heaven's Way Map and investigated its ability to reveal and control the Five Continents' veins. After failing to move any vein, he put the map away and discovered that the mission's new plans resembled Chen Baiqing's work.

• Chu Xingchen fitted the Mountains and Seas Diagram and Mountains and Rivers Diagram into the True Board of the Map of the World, revealing the Five Continents' water and spirit veins.
• Chu Xingchen recorded the spirit veins and wondered whether their origins had been erased, then suspected the Heavenly Demons might rely on them to power a formation between worlds.
• Chu Xingchen poured his tribulation transcendence spiritual power and borrowed divine sense into the map, but could not move a spirit vein or a water vein.
• Yunxiao sensed Chu Xingchen's exposed aura, and Chu Xingchen concealed the map and claimed he had been studying a talisman from Bai Xuanling.
• Xu Jin showed Chu Xingchen a mission plan that resembled Chen Baiqing's work, leaving Chu Xingchen puzzled about whether she had made it.

The Firmament Rhyme Hall surrounded Qiyuan Mountain with a Grand Formation, and Chen Baiqing watched her injured master, Chu Xingchen, charge into battle before being struck down. Convinced he had not recovered, Chen Baiqing decided to use recordings of the fight to make those who cared about him stop him from taking such risks.

• The Firmament Rhyme Hall sealed Qiyuan Mountain with Grand Formations while Chen Baiqing, Ye Antao, and other cultivators watched from a safe distance.
• Chen Baiqing used the Azure Sky Treasure Ring to watch Chu Xingchen charge toward two Demons with Yunxiao following him.
• Chu Xingchen blocked the Demons’ attack with the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl, but was soon blasted backward.
• A Tribulation Transcendence cultivator defeated the two Demons, while Yunxiao hurried to check Chu Xingchen and shielded him from further observation.
• Chen Baiqing concluded that Chu Xingchen was still injured and recorded the scene, planning to show copies to Chu Xingchen, his wife, and her Eldest Senior Sister.

Chu Xingchen considered the investigation into the Heavenly Demons a smokescreen while he tracked the spirit veins and water veins with the Map of Heaven's Way. After Chen Baiqing arrived at the Temporary Hub, he took her aside to hear about her Eldest Senior Sister, and their conversation ended with her admitting she felt hurt that he kept excluding her.

• Chu Xingchen assessed the repeated but incomplete world-spanning rituals and believed the initiative remained in his hands because he had the Map of Heaven's Way and the Eighteen Immortal Sects were watching for signs of movement.
• Chu Xingchen found Chen Baiqing in the Discussion Hall and learned she had come after receiving a letter that Master's Wife had probably sent on his behalf.
• Chu Xingchen asked Chen Baiqing to report on her Eldest Senior Sister and led her outside, where she used the Azure Sky Treasure Ring to keep their conversation private.
• Chen Baiqing admitted she was angry because Chu Xingchen had promised not to treat her like a child but still kept her from taking part when trouble arose.
• Chu Xingchen teased Chen Baiqing about her familiar expression and promised to take her to buy sweets, just as he had when she was young.

Chu Xingchen teased Chen Baiqing while fishing, then revealed that his apparent Nascent Soul cultivation concealed power approaching Tribulation Transcendence. After explaining his plans and offering her a trusted role, he asked whether she would return to Southern Jambu Continent, and Chen Baiqing chose to stay with him.

• Chu Xingchen struggled to catch fish, and Chen Baiqing teased him while eating a Sugar Painting and joking about his fearsome reputation.
• Chen Baiqing told Chu Xingchen she had sent Eldest Senior Sister an account of his actions and asked whether he had sent them all to Southern Jambu Continent to handle matters there.
• Chu Xingchen displayed an aura approaching Tribulation Transcendence before returning to Nascent Soul, explaining that he concealed his cultivation and was waiting until his disciples were ready for greater responsibilities.
• Chu Xingchen said Southern Jambu Continent mattered greatly because Li Junzi might become a Second Sage and restore the Righteous Qi of Heaven and Earth.
• Chen Baiqing decided not to return to Southern Jambu Continent, and Chu Xingchen offered her trusted secretary-like duties while warning that Eldest Senior Sister might still punish her.

Chen Baiqing confronted Winter Melon over its fabricated intelligence and deliberate slacking, then threatened to make its death look like a heroic sacrifice to Xu Linglong. The chapter ended with her demanding to know whether Winter Melon feared death.

• Chu Xingchen entrusted Chen Baiqing with the Heaven's Way Map and assigned her to curb Winter Melon's slacking.
• Chen Baiqing gave Winter Melon a report documenting its false answers and evasions, leaving it unable to defend itself.
• Chen Baiqing told Winter Melon that Chu Xingchen had mistaken its sincerity and suggested its loyalty still lay with Xu Linglong.
• Chen Baiqing offered to spread a story that Winter Melon had bravely died for its fellow demons, then asked whether it was afraid of dying.

Winter Melon struggled to explain how it knew about the Teleportation Ritual as Chen Baiqing began to suspect it had useful secrets. At Marvelous Affinity Temple, Li Yingling received Chen Baiqing’s recordings, learned that her master was safe, and showed Li Xingtian an embarrassing image of his rescue.

• Winter Melon blamed Xu Linglong for setting it up, but Chen Baiqing questioned how it could know the supposedly secret Teleportation Ritual.
• At Marvelous Affinity Temple, Wuwang told Li Yingling that the New Policies had nearly shattered Hinayana Buddhism and that he expected punishment from the Venerable Buddha and the other Buddhas.
• A Heavenly Derivation Sect disciple delivered an Image-Recording Stone and a Jade Token from Chen Baiqing to Li Yingling.
• Li Yingling viewed Chen Baiqing’s message that her master was unharmed, destroyed the Jade Token’s contents, and kept the Image-Recording Stone.
• Li Xingtian watched a recording of his master rescuing him from the Dream Master and felt mortified by his master’s teasing remark.

Xu Linglong agreed to join Boluo’s plan to attack Chu Xingchen when the Grand Formation activated, while Chu Xingchen decided to keep Winter Melon under observation and discussed the New Policies with Chen Baiqing. Xie Lingyu arrived after learning about Chu Xingchen’s condition and declared that she would stand by him through hardship.

• Boluo proposed surrounding and attacking Chu Xingchen on the day the Grand Formation activated, and said he would face Bai Xuanling himself.
• Xu Linglong agreed to join Boluo’s plan, and he departed, leaving her alone on the boat beneath the moon.
• Chen Baiqing told Chu Xingchen that Winter Melon might have received information subconsciously from Xu Linglong, but Chu Xingchen chose to keep him around.
• Chu Xingchen and Chen Baiqing discussed whether the New Policies on the Southern Jambu Continent could produce a Second Sage.
• Xie Lingyu arrived to see Chu Xingchen after learning about his condition, grabbed his collar, and told him, “Lord Lingyu can do anything!”

Bai Xuanling kept watch over the disciples near Marvelous Affinity Temple while enjoying a rare leisurely day, then received a Jade Token from Li Xingtian. After hearing his plea, she chose to go see Chu Xingchen, leaving Li Xingtian confident he could persuade the others to return to the Heavenly Derivation Sect.

• Bai Xuanling ate noodles and reflected on Chu Xingchen’s decision to send her to protect the disciples and on the new policies’ progress.
• Bai Xuanling bought candied hawthorns for Qinghe and a Gilt Hairpin for Xie Lingyu as she strolled through town.
• Bai Xuanling sensed Li Xingtian’s spiritual power, recognized him, and accepted the Jade Token Chu Xingchen had sent.
• Bai Xuanling destroyed the token’s contents after asking Li Xingtian whether he had anything to say to her.
• Li Xingtian urged Bai Xuanling to go see Chu Xingchen and offered to persuade Eldest Senior Sister and the others to return to the Heavenly Derivation Sect.
• Bai Xuanling agreed to follow Li Xingtian’s advice.

Chu Xingchen and Chen Baiqing studied spirit vein changes that suggested Xu Linglong's group was preparing multiple possible sites to activate the Grand Formation. Bai Xuanling arrived, became fascinated by the Heaven's Way Map, and asked Chu Xingchen to lend it to her for a couple of days.

• Chen Baiqing showed Chu Xingchen, Yuyang Daozi, and Xu Jin how spirit veins had shifted across several regions, revealing possible Grand Formation activation points.
• Bai Xuanling arrived at Yunxiao Hall's temporary headquarters and recognized the Heaven's Way Map as a powerful Spirit Treasure.
• Bai Xuanling questioned Chu Xingchen about how he had found the map, and Chu Xingchen claimed he had picked it up after falling from a mountain.
• Xie Lingyu revealed that Bai Xuanling had once kept the Heavenly Derivation Sect's Heaven-Deriving Disc for fifty years before returning it.
• Bai Xuanling admired the Heaven's Way Map and asked Chu Xingchen to lend it to her for a couple of days.