Chapter Summaries

Chu Xingchen and Bai Xuanling planned a secret strike against the Devil Race’s Grand Formation while Chu Xingchen prepared to bait Xu Linglong or another Heavenly Demon. Xie Lingyu and Chen Baiqing volunteered to accompany him, and Bai Xuanling demonstrated her strength by striking Yuyang Daozi into a wall.

• Bai Xuanling reported that Li Xingtian would handle matters on the Southern Jambu Continent, and Chu Xingchen outlined a plan to use four trusted sects as the main force while keeping the others nearby.
• Chu Xingchen suspected Xu Linglong’s revealed trump card required powerful cultivators’ Dao Resonance and said he would try to lure out a Heavenly Demon.
• Xie Lingyu offered to join Chu Xingchen as bait, and Chu Xingchen accepted; Chen Baiqing also volunteered, but he refused her.
• Yuyang Daozi teased Bai Xuanling, who tapped his forehead and sent him crashing into a wall.

As Chu Xingchen and Xie Lingyu walked along the Jade Flow River, he explained why he had refused Chen Baiqing’s request to accompany him and admitted his fears about saving the world. Xie Lingyu reassured him, then smoothly broke through from the late spirit transformation stage into the early integrated body stage.

• Chu Xingchen refused to let Chen Baiqing accompany him, and she left after calling him a bully.
• Xie Lingyu apologized for prompting Chen Baiqing’s argument, but Chu Xingchen told her she was not responsible for his decision.
• Chu Xingchen admitted he was afraid of failing the people he cared about, and Xie Lingyu promised to support him.
• Xie Lingyu’s cultivation surged as she walked with Chu Xingchen, and a golden beam of Dao resonance descended upon her.
• Xie Lingyu reached the early integrated body stage, displaying power that surpassed ordinary cultivators in the middle stage.

Chu Xingchen recruited Winter Melon to pilot a ship into the Eastern Sea and openly bait Xu Linglong into a fight. As the ship set out, Chu Xingchen and Xie Lingyu looked forward to the coming confrontation while Bai Xuanling and Huang Miao prepared a separate sweep for the Cross-Realm Grand Formation.

• Chu Xingchen thanked Winter Melon for its recent help and summoned a ship from his Spatial Ring.
• Chu Xingchen told Winter Melon they planned to find Xu Linglong and either kill it or be killed, then handed over the ship’s Ritual Command.
• Chu Xingchen explained that three concealed Tribulation Transcendence cultivators would follow at a distance while Bai Xuanling and Huang Miao led teams to search for the Cross-Realm Grand Formation.
• Chu Xingchen threatened to hang Winter Melon from the ship as bait, so Winter Melon agreed to steer them toward Xu Linglong.
• Xie Lingyu said she was looking forward to the confrontation, and she and Chu Xingchen exchanged victory signs.

Zheng Zhaoling, now a Body Integration Realm core disciple of Cloud Dream Pavilion, went to meet Cui Hao, who had arrived to keep an old appointment. After Cui Hao sparred verbally with Pei Liang, Zheng Zhaoling greeted him and he asked her about the Cloud Dream Tassel she had promised.

• Zheng Zhaoling meditated on Calm Mind Peak, reflecting on her twenty-year confinement and her cultivation’s progress to the Body Integration Realm.
• A Cloud Dream Pavilion disciple told Zheng Zhaoling that Cui Hao had arrived and was being received by Pei Liang at Dream Fate Pavilion.
• Zheng Zhaoling went to Dream Fate Pavilion and heard Cui Hao trade insults with Pei Liang about their respective backers.
• Zheng Zhaoling entered and greeted Cui Hao, who praised her and said he had missed her.
• Zheng Zhaoling teased Cui Hao about bringing Spring Warmth, and he produced a jar before asking whether she had brought the Cloud Dream Tassel she had promised.

Cui Hao met Zheng Zhaoling at the Cloud Dream Pavilion to seek her help with a reported Heavenly Demon situation in Northern Jambudvipa. She offered him Cloud Dream Tassel, a precious drink that might trigger his Golden Core breakthrough, and the chapter ended with them clinking cups.

• Cui Hao brought Spring Warmth to Zheng Zhaoling and proposed drinking it with good news, while she agreed to serve Cloud Dream Tassel first.
• Zheng Zhaoling dismissed Pei Liang and led Cui Hao across the Cloud Dream Immortal Bridge to a waterfall.
• Zheng Zhaoling used a token to draw Cloud Dream Tassel from beneath the waterfall and warned Cui Hao that drinking it might break through his Golden Core Realm.
• Zheng Zhaoling offered to guard Cui Hao during his breakthrough, but Cui Hao insisted they share the drink and clinked cups with her.

Cui Hao broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm at Cloud Dream Pavilion, where Zheng Zhaoling guarded him. Afterward, he openly shared his mission to assess the pavilion and learned that its support for the Great Calamity would be limited by its need to protect its own spirit vein and legacy.

• Zheng Zhaoling protected Cui Hao as he spent three days breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• After Cui Hao's breakthrough, Zheng Zhaoling remarked on his bold claim about defying Heaven's Will, and he joked that he was speaking ahead to his future as a Mahayana cultivator.
• Cui Hao showed Zheng Zhaoling Chen Baiqing's Jade Token and asked how far Cloud Dream Pavilion would support his master and the Great Calamity.
• Zheng Zhaoling explained that the pavilion believed the Great Calamity was real but would prioritize protecting its spirit vein and preserving its legacy.
• Cui Hao declared that he would change the principle that cultivators remained little more than mortals, and Zheng Zhaoling admitted she sometimes thought the same way.

Boluo and Xu Linglong watched as Huang Miao and Bai Xuanling searched for the altered spirit veins, while debating whether Chu Xingchen was baiting them. Xu Linglong agreed to keep watch over Chu Xingchen in the Eastern Sea, and Boluo began preparing for a second upheaval.

• Boluo and Xu Linglong suspected that Huang Miao and Bai Xuanling were using the spirit veins to find their hidden base.
• Boluo questioned whether the Chu Xingchen at sea was genuine, and Xu Linglong said Xie Lingyu was real and Chu Xingchen might be using them as bait.
• Xu Linglong volunteered to draw Chu Xingchen's attention and possibly lure Huang Miao and Bai Xuanling away, while Boluo promised to seek a way to get her ashore.
• Boluo gave Xu Linglong's clone a dark-purple rhombic crystal to keep for emergencies, and she swallowed it.
• After Xu Linglong vanished into the earth, Boluo reflected on his time as a monk and resolved to prepare for a second upheaval against Heaven's Way.

Chu Xingchen and his companions continued searching the Eastern Sea when Xu Linglong appeared with an army of sea demons. Xie Lingyu attacked her avatar and the surrounding horde with a devastating sword strike.

• Chu Xingchen reflected on Li Junzi’s successful New Policies and waited for news from the Eastern Sea search.
• Winter Melon nervously defended its efforts to Chu Xingchen, then Xu Linglong arrived and confirmed it had guessed her intentions.
• Xu Linglong challenged Chu Xingchen’s confidence and summoned thousands of sea demons, whose strength rose as her Origin blood dyed the sea crimson.
• Xie Lingyu offered to fight, and Chu Xingchen told him not to hold back.
• Xie Lingyu unleashed a sword strike that split the waves and clouds and reduced the sea demons in its path to dust.

Xie Lingyu overwhelmed Xu Linglong’s sea demon reinforcements, but Xu Linglong relied on a hidden influence planted in Winter Melon to target Chu Xingchen aboard the Great Wave Ship. Winter Melon suddenly stiffened and told Chu Xingchen that nothing was wrong, only then realizing what it had said.

• Xu Linglong summoned a giant octopus, but Xie Lingyu erased its tentacles and severed its head with her Sword Intent.
• Xie Lingyu revealed and killed a crimson-armored sea demon before Xu Linglong summoned four more Body Integration Realm sea demons.
• Xu Linglong planned to use the power planted in Winter Melon’s Sea of Consciousness to make it attack Chu Xingchen while Xie Lingyu was away from the ship.
• Winter Melon stiffened at the ship’s controls, answered Chu Xingchen that nothing was wrong, and realized it had spoken under the influence.

Winter Melon struggled against Xu Linglong’s command to kill Chu Xingchen, then chose to attack him for the chance to hurt Cui Hao. Its Soft-Bone Long Sword struck the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl, leaving Winter Melon declaring its hatred and its noble demon identity.

• Xu Linglong urged Winter Melon to remember its demon heritage and kill Chu Xingchen, promising to help.
• Chu Xingchen tried to reassure Winter Melon and said it would soon be free of Xu Linglong’s threat.
• Winter Melon hid its intentions and approached Chu Xingchen while debating whether to obey Xu Linglong.
• Winter Melon decided that killing Chu Xingchen could help it take revenge on Cui Hao, then drew its Soft-Bone Long Sword and attacked.
• The Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl blocked Winter Melon’s strike, and Winter Melon shouted that it wanted to kill Chu Xingchen, Cui Hao, and everyone else before proclaiming its noble surname, Anbolola.

Winter Melon burned through its cultivation to wound Chu Xingchen, but Chu Xingchen defeated it and pulled it from the sea. Xu Linglong then appeared in her true body and threatened Chu Xingchen with a Dark Red Arrow.

• The flower Xu Linglong had planted drained Winter Melon's power, which it poured into the Soft-Bone Long Sword to break through Chu Xingchen's defense and pierce his left shoulder.
• Chu Xingchen summoned Myriad Forms to strike Winter Melon away, and their clash shattered Winter Melon's sword and left it sinking beneath the sea.
• Chu Xingchen pulled Winter Melon from the water and asked why it had thrown away its chance to survive; Winter Melon replied that Chu Xingchen would lose too.
• Xu Linglong arrived in Battle Armor with a Dark Red Arrow, declared that Chu Xingchen would die, and he recognized that her true body had come.

Chu Xingchen revealed that he had been hiding his Tribulation Transcendence cultivation and used the sea and Myriad Forms to gain the upper hand against Xu Linglong. Xu Linglong countered with the power of Authority, leaving their clash unresolved.

• Xu Linglong attacked Chu Xingchen, but the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl blocked her strike, revealing that he had kept controlling it.
• Xu Linglong burned her Origin blood and unleashed her power, while Chu Xingchen used the sea and Myriad Forms to draw in its energy and fight back.
• Chu Xingchen revealed his Tribulation Transcendence cultivation and claimed Winter Melon had helped him deceive Xu Linglong; Winter Melon, gravely weakened, believed it would soon die.
• Chu Xingchen sent Xu Linglong flying and realized her injuries had left her weakened, then pressed his apparent advantage with another attack.
• Xu Linglong's eyes turned gold as she invoked Reverse Truth, reversing and dispersing Chu Xingchen's Spiritual Power; he recognized the ability as the power of Authority.

Chu Xingchen fought Xu Linglong, who used her authority to wear down his power and threatened Xie Lingyu to force him into a disadvantage. Xu Linglong mistook the Dao Stabilizing Pearl's protection for the reason her authority could not affect Chu Xingchen, and he feigned weakness to lure her into attacking.

• Chu Xingchen drew his spiritual power inward and used his body and Myriad Forms to overpower Xu Linglong in close combat.
• Xu Linglong kept her distance with a bow and water dragons, then shot at Xie Lingyu to make Chu Xingchen divert the Dao Stabilizing Pearl's protection.
• Chu Xingchen sent the Dao Stabilizing Pearl to Xie Lingyu, and Xu Linglong changed her weapon back into a sword as her eyes began turning red and white.
• Chu Xingchen realized Xu Linglong had misread why her authority was ineffective and pretended its power had weakened him.
• Xu Linglong charged at Chu Xingchen, while he secretly welcomed her rash attack.

Chu Xingchen exploited Xu Linglong’s Authority backlash and wounded her, but Boluo’s crystal unleashed Wish Power that let her regain her strength for a final struggle. At the Yellow Lotus River, Boluo learned the crystal had shattered and ordered his people to act today.

• Chu Xingchen feigned weakness to draw Xu Linglong into pursuing him, then pierced her abdomen with Myriad Forms when Authority’s backlash slowed her movements.
• Eight Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators surrounded Xu Linglong, and Xie Lingyu was escorted to safety.
• Xu Linglong activated Boluo’s diamond-shaped crystal, releasing Wish Power that flooded into her and renewed her Authority.
• Xu Linglong formed a blade from Wish Power and began burning her remaining Origin Power as Chu Xingchen worried she would prolong the fight.
• Boluo sensed that his yellow glazed bead had shattered and lamented that Xu Linglong had let greed and anger take hold.
• Boluo told the child beneath the lotuses to pass on the order to act that day.

Cui Hao and Zheng Zhaoling spent their time at Cloud Dream Pavilion discussing her burdens as a core disciple and his laid-back ways. A sudden message brought Bai Xuanling to Cloud Dream Pavilion, where his arrival activated the grand formation and he demanded that the gates be opened.

• Cui Hao compared Zheng Zhaoling's constant errands with the greater freedom enjoyed by core disciples such as Yan Yun, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi.
• Zheng Zhaoling teased Cui Hao about his laziness, and he described his eccentric sect and invited her to become its extra-grand protector.
• Cui Hao asked why Zheng Zhaoling kept helping other disciples instead of using him as an excuse to refuse their requests, but she did not explain her personal difficulties.
• Zheng Zhaoling asked whether Cui Hao intended to do anything at Cloud Dream Pavilion, and his jade pendant lit up as he sensed an arrival from the east.
• Bai Xuanling arrived above Cloud Dream Pavilion, triggering its grand formation, and ordered, "Open the gates!"

Bai Xuanling brought Cui Hao the information he needed and secured Cloud Dream Pavilion’s cooperation in addressing an urgent matter. After she left, the sect leader hinted that surviving the Great Calamity and the return of Heaven’s Way could give them a chance to become immortals, and Cui Hao understood his meaning.

• Zheng Zhaoling considered greeting Bai Xuanling, but Cui Hao convinced her to stay with him and let Bai Xuanling come to them.
• Bai Xuanling arrived with Cloud Dream Pavilion’s elders and questioned whether the sect had obstructed Cui Hao’s work.
• Cui Hao told Bai Xuanling that Cloud Dream Pavilion had assigned Zheng Zhaoling to assist him but that he still lacked information.
• Bai Xuanling gave Cui Hao a Jade Token containing the information he needed and promised to help if he could not handle the task.
• Bai Xuanling secured the sect leader’s assurance that Cloud Dream Pavilion would do its utmost and left Cui Hao in charge.
• Cloud Dream Pavilion’s sect leader told Cui Hao that Bai Xuanling had said they might become immortals after the Great Calamity ended and Heaven’s Way returned, and Cui Hao understood the implication.

Cloud Dream Pavilion agreed to support the effort against the Great Calamity, while Cui Hao learned that a Heavenly Demon was preparing a formation in Northern Jambudvipa and rushed to organize a response. After Chu Xingchen and the other Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators defeated Xu Linglong, one of them warned him not to offer his pills as they began recovering.

• Cloud Dream Pavilion's Sect Leader left Zheng Zhaoling with Cui Hao after pledging support against the Great Calamity.
• Cui Hao read the Jade Token, learned that Devils were moving Spirit Veins in Northern Jambudvipa to activate a Grand Formation, and told Zheng Zhaoling to mobilize her Sect's Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators.
• Cui Hao gave Zheng Zhaoling a rendezvous point and asked her to help coordinate with the other Immortal Sects.
• At Jade Flow River, Chu Xingchen and the other Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators finished fighting Xu Linglong, though they had suffered serious injuries.
• A Heavenly Derivation Sect Tribulation Transcendence Cultivator interrupted Chu Xingchen and told him not to give everyone the pills he had refined.

After the battle, Chu Xingchen declined to travel with the injured cultivators and rescued the dying Winter Melon, then granted it a few days of freedom as punishment. Winter Melon struggled to sit up and wondered whether dying this way might not be so bad.

• Chu Xingchen sent the injured Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators toward Yunxiao Hall and said Bai Xuanling was coming to meet him.
• Chu Xingchen released Winter Melon from its spirit pet pouch and gave it a pill despite its betrayal and fatal injuries.
• Winter Melon woke, and Chu Xingchen told it that Xu Linglong was dead and that it had only a few days left to live freely.
• Bai Xuanling joined Chu Xingchen, joked about his promise to spare Winter Melon, and left with him.
• Winter Melon endured the pain, sat up, and watched the sunset while wondering whether dying this way might not be so bad.

As the Great Calamity began, Li Yingling led a team to investigate the crimson pillars of light appearing across the continents. She and Li Xingtian agreed to use their old method to gather intelligence, leaving him to infiltrate the Evil Cultivators.

• Crimson pillars of light appeared as demons, devils, and Evil Cultivators stirred across the continents, signaling the Great Calamity’s onset.
• Li Yingling led Li Xingtian and a group of cultivators to investigate the pillars, which could spawn dangerous creatures and Heavenly Demons.
• After reviewing intelligence for half a month, Li Yingling proposed investigating the pillars and received her master’s approval.
• Li Yingling asked Li Xingtian to use their old method to gather information, and he reluctantly agreed.
• A Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect cultivator noted that Li Xingtian would go undercover among the Evil Cultivators because his blood qi made him appear to be a blood demon.

Li Xingtian disguised himself as an evil cultivator to approach a group guarding a crimson pillar of light, following a plan devised by Li Yingling. He confronted the group's Golden Core master and learned the man was watching the pillar for people above him, then asked what the master could do for him.

• Li Xingtian wandered into a remote region in black robes and claimed he belonged to the Evil Spirit Cult, frightening a low-level black-robed youth into reporting him to his master.
• Li Xingtian ordered the youth to tell his master to join him or risk being killed, but the youth feared delivering the message and tried to improvise.
• The black-robed youth's master arrived, and Li Xingtian asked what he had come to do.
• The master said he had been paid to watch the crimson pillar of light and report if it fell or was destroyed, and explained that the job offered spirit stones, blood food, and cultivation methods.
• The master refused to reveal who had sent him, saying he was only a grain in a vast sea, then asked Li Xingtian what he wanted him to do.