Recaps

After Xiao Hua formed his Nascent Soul in the void, a strange insect drawn by the formation’s radiance pursued him. Xiao Hua lured it into a damaged Void Passage and prepared an ambush as it entered.

• Xiao Hua’s Nascent Soul absorbed the surrounding radiance, named itself True Person Xiao, and returned to his body.
• Xiao Hua realized he was still trapped in the spatial veins and saw a strange insect devouring the radiance left by his breakthrough.
• Xiao Hua fled using the Lightning Evasion Technique, but the insect teleported ahead and steadily closed the distance.
• Xiao Hua spotted a cluster of damaged Void Passages and rushed toward a fork to escape the insect.
• Xiao Hua entered a passage, hid near its entrance with the Sword Gourd, and watched as the insect followed him inside.
• A pale glow appeared, and red and azure streaks of light shot toward the insect’s neck.

Xiao Hua fought a strange insect in the void, but its evasion, toughness, and appetite defeated his attacks and forced him to flee. He tried to trap it with Innate True Water, but the insect broke free and pursued him again.

• Xiao Hua’s Spirit Severing Primordial Light failed to harm the strange insect, which evaded his Dharma Eye and attacked him with its rear legs, feelers, and jaws.
• Xiao Hua enlarged his Dharma Body and smashed the insect with the As-You-Wish Staff, but it flattened and recovered, then damaged the staff with its feelers.
• Xiao Hua tried to collect the insect in his space, but it corroded his divine sense and began gnawing on his Dharma Body.
• Xiao Hua grabbed the insect with a Nascent Soul hand, but it devoured the hand, so he severed it and fled into another passage.
• Xiao Hua trapped the insect in Innate True Water and escaped, but the water froze and cracked as the insect broke free and vanished into the void.

Xiao Hua fled through the void from a strange insect that relentlessly tracked him, until he escaped through a temporary collapse into a passage containing Primordial Qi. There, the insect caught up behind him as another monster emerged ahead, leaving him trapped between two threats.

• Xiao Hua tried multiple spells and tricks to shake the strange insect, but it tracked him through the void passages and repeatedly attacked.
• Xiao Hua realized his newly formed Nascent Soul had likely attracted the insect, so he continued fleeing rather than risk abandoning it.
• Xiao Hua spotted a temporary void collapse and slipped through it while the insect was unable to teleport after him in time.
• Xiao Hua emerged into a brightly lit passage containing Primordial Qi, but the strange insect soon appeared behind him again.
• A new passage opened ahead of Xiao Hua, and a large gray monster emerged, forcing him to grip the As-You-Wish Staff and prepare to fight.

Xiao Hua tried to escape through the passage but encountered a Golden Armor Confucian cultivator battling the beast and the strange insect. He turned back to warn and assist the man, and the fight continued as Xiao Hua confronted the beast with his As-You-Wish Staff.

• Xiao Hua tried to flee through the passage, but a Golden Armor Confucian cultivator emerged and drew the beast and strange insect’s attention.
• The strange insect and beast attacked the Golden Armor cultivator, and Xiao Hua returned to warn him that the insect was near his feet.
• Xiao Hua used the Lightning Drawing Technique to reveal the strange insect’s feelers, while the Golden Armor cultivator struck the insect with his Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Blade.
• The strange insect escaped the blade after damaging it, and the Golden Armor cultivator continued pursuing it.
• Xiao Hua transformed into a five-zhang Buddhist Vajra and swung the As-You-Wish Staff at the beast, which charged toward him.

Xiao Hua and Confucian cultivator Sun Jian fought a Void Piercing Beast and a strange insect, discovering that both creatures had dangerous abilities that could counter their attacks. The chapter left Xiao Hua facing the Void Piercing Beast’s renewed Void Piercing Eye attack.

• Xiao Hua struck the Void Piercing Beast repeatedly with the As-You-Wish Staff until it faltered, while Sun Jian warned him that its slick hide dissipated force.
• Sun Jian attacked the strange insect with Vast Righteous Qi, but Xiao Hua warned that it could devour Primordial Qi, and the insect grew larger by consuming the attack.
• Xiao Hua and Sun Jian identified themselves and shared information about their weapons and the creatures’ abilities as the insect renewed its assault.
• Xiao Hua tried to restrain the Void Piercing Beast with his Nascent Soul hand, but it sent a spike-like attack toward his Niwan Palace, which his Innate Divine Restriction blocked.
• Xiao Hua countered with his Soul Stab technique, but the Void Piercing Beast gathered the surrounding spatial ripples and fired a brilliant black-and-white beam at his chest as Sun Jian warned him.

Xiao Hua subdued the Void Piercing Beast and joined Sun Jian against the strange insect, which unleashed powerful attacks in the sealed spatial node. Xiao Hua discovered that his Lightning and Thunder Technique could destroy the insect’s phantom, giving him a way to fight back.

• Xiao Hua dodged the Void Piercing Beast’s first Void Piercing Eye attack, then watched it open a third eye and fire silver-white radiance at him.
• Xiao Hua absorbed the beast’s silver-white radiance into his left palm, leaving it limp, and collected it into his space when the strange insect threatened to rescue it.
• Sun Jian and Xiao Hua agreed to work together against the strange insect, and Xiao Hua promised to give Sun Jian the Void Piercing Beast if they survived.
• The strange insect grew to nearly thirty feet, drew in Primordial Qi, and sent phantoms toward Xiao Hua and Sun Jian while its aura threatened their divine senses.
• Xiao Hua used his Lightning and Thunder Technique to destroy the phantom attacking him, discovering that the technique could harm the strange insect.

Xiao Hua and Sun Jian combined their powers to weaken the monstrous insect, with Sun Jian using Vast Righteous Qi and Xiao Hua calling down lightning. Sun Jian revealed a Kunlun Mirror and wounded the insect, which began swelling as clear light burst from inside it.

• Sun Jian discovered that his blade and golden light could harm the monstrous insect, but its phantoms and void-traveling abilities made escape unlikely.
• Sun Jian proposed detonating Vast Righteous Qi inside the insect while striking it from outside, and Xiao Hua joined in by summoning torrents of lightning.
• Xiao Hua realized his newly formed Nascent Soul could command lightning and considered using his many Primordial Spirits with Nascent Souls as bodies.
• Xiao Hua released spirit fire as Sun Jian revealed a Kunlun Mirror and charged the insect with his Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Blade.
• The insect bit at Sun Jian, but Sun Jian held it back with golden light and drove his blade into its back, causing clear radiance to erupt as it rapidly swelled.

Xiao Hua and Sun Jian defeated the monster insect, but its body launched one last attack as the unstable spatial node began to collapse. After escaping through several spaces, they discussed the Void Piercing Beast and agreed that Sun Jian would return its remaining parts once it recovered.

• The monster insect swelled uncontrollably and exploded after Xiao Hua's spirit fire and lightning entered its body, leaving the surrounding space on the verge of collapse.
• Xiao Hua warned Sun Jian about a hidden hind leg, then dodged another leg and captured it with his Sleeve Universe technique.
• Sun Jian opened a crack in space and led Xiao Hua through several spaces to a cloud-filled area.
• Xiao Hua and Sun Jian concluded that the insect had no spirit essence and had been unusually resistant to their powers.
• Xiao Hua returned the Void Piercing Beast to Sun Jian, who explained that its vital essence had to recover before he could remove its Void Piercing Eye and return the promised items.
• Sun Jian warned that the spatial node was unstable and advised Xiao Hua to leave by another route or return through the passage he had used.

Sun Jian sent Xiao Hua to the Pure Land World, where Xiao Hua discovered that his Eye of Delusion Breaking could reopen the spatial gap and retained the Void Piercing Beast’s essence. As he walked toward a mountain temple in disguise, he gained insight into his Nascent Soul and the foundations of cultivation before walking into a snow-covered tree.

• Sun Jian opened a passage to the Pure Land World and warned Xiao Hua to conceal his Daoist identity before they parted.
• After Sun Jian left, Xiao Hua used the Eye of Delusion Breaking to reopen a void gap and realized he could return to Cangxian Continent through the spatial veins.
• Xiao Hua stored the Void Piercing Beast’s essence in his Dharma Eye, marked the snowy mountain, and disguised himself before heading toward a temple.
• As Xiao Hua walked through the snow, he sensed his Nascent Soul and concluded that it embodied his Dao foundation and insight into the Heavenly Dao.
• Xiao Hua pondered the foundations and ultimate aims of Daoist, soul, Confucian, and Buddhist cultivation, then struck a strange tree and dislodged the snow from its branches.

Xiao Hua reached Little Linglong Temple and met an elderly monk who had waited there for ninety years. The monk identified Xiao Hua as the Future Buddha Lord he had been destined to guide to the Pure Land World, leaving Xiao Hua stunned.

• Xiao Hua found an ancient temple beneath an evergreen tree and approached after noticing that someone had recently swept its steps.
• Inside, Xiao Hua saw an elderly monk in orange-red robes fall into the snow, get up, and slowly sweep the temple courtyard despite the falling snow.
• The monk mistook Xiao Hua for someone expected at the temple, called him Bodhi, and asked whether he was a lay Buddhist disciple.
• As Xiao Hua prepared to leave, the monk said he had waited ninety years at Little Linglong Temple and had completed his mission by guiding the Future Buddha Lord to the Pure Land World.
• Xiao Hua connected the monk’s words to his Baye Linglong Scripture and reeled in shock.

Xiao Hua learned why the old monk had recognized him as the Future Buddha Lord: Little Linglong Temple had awaited his arrival for generations, and the monk had prepared to communicate with him. The monk showed Xiao Hua the temple’s scriptures and relic pagoda, leaving him faced with the role and duties the temple expected him to fulfill.

• Xiao Hua decided the old monk’s prophecy could be true, then used the Sea-Overturning Seal to stop the snow from falling over Little Linglong Temple.
• The old monk explained that the temple had awaited the Future Buddha Lord and that he had expected to welcome him after a lifetime without taking a disciple.
• The old monk spoke awkwardly in the language of the Xiaoyu Continent, convincing Xiao Hua that the temple had specifically prepared to communicate with him.
• The old monk made butter tea for Xiao Hua, who drank it and thanked him for waiting more than ninety years.
• The old monk told Xiao Hua that Little Linglong Temple was nearly ten thousand years old and showed him its Library Pavilion, saying he must study its scriptures.
• The old monk showed Xiao Hua the Buddhist pagoda, where the temple’s disciples’ sarira had been kept for the Future Buddha Lord.

Xiao Hua accepted the old monk’s belief that he was the Future Buddha Lord and agreed to be tonsured at Little Linglong Temple, though he remained uncertain about the relics and his destiny. After Xiao Hua left to bathe, the old monk returned to the main hall and prayed for the Buddha to take him to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.

• Xiao Hua considered whether to devour the monks’ relics, and the old monk urged him to accept them as a way to fulfill their shared obsession.
• The old monk named Xiao Hua Bodhi until his enlightenment, after which he would be called Namo Maitreya, the Future Buddha.
• The old monk explained Buddhist forms of address and recited scripture while accompanying Xiao Hua to the temple gate.
• The old monk directed Xiao Hua to a bathing pool and said Little Linglong Temple’s Esoteric Buddhism forbade no worldly practices or precepts.
• Xiao Hua flew to the bathing pool, while the old monk collapsed at the main hall, rose again, and prayed to be taken to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.

Xiao Hua wrestled with whether to leave home and accept Little Linglong Temple’s Buddhist inheritance, then witnessed a peaceful white tiger and reconsidered his doubts about Buddhism. While bathing in a hot spring, he experienced a sudden change in his perception and heard Xiaobai urgently call him from within the mysterious dark clouds.

• The old monk hesitated over taking a dark bead, then returned it to its box and prayed for the Buddha Ancestor’s forgiveness.
• Xiao Hua debated whether to flee or shave his head and accept Little Linglong Temple’s inheritance, troubled by the temple’s ten-thousand-year wait and his Dao Sect identity.
• A white tiger calmly ate spirit herbs and licked water from the hot spring plants before leaving, prompting Xiao Hua to reconsider his prejudice against Buddhism.
• Xiao Hua entered the hot spring and, after a sudden flash of pale green radiance, felt that a veil had lifted from his eyes and heart.
• Xiao Hua sensed Xiaobai calling urgently from the mysterious dark clouds and hurried to investigate.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua discovered that the dark clouds above Ningluo Heaven concealed a vast, eerie space containing two distant green seal characters for “spirit.” Xiao Bai explained how he found a temporary opening in the clouds and transformed into Xiao Hua after entering the space, while the group remained uncertain about what lay beyond.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua entered Ying Shi Heaven and found radiant green seal characters, a vast soul-filament sea, and enormous dark clouds above Ningluo Heaven.
• Xiao Bai appeared in Xiao Hua’s form, and Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua showed new signs of expression and emotion.
• Xiao Bai revealed a hidden passage through the dark clouds, which Jade Slip Xiao Hua entered using the soul filaments.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua ascended through a curved, dark space and saw two distant green seal characters for “spirit.”
• Xiao Bai explained that the clouds had briefly opened days earlier, allowing him to enter and take on Xiao Hua’s appearance under the Star Moon light.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua and his companions discovered a hidden Spiritual Root within the mysterious dark clouds and considered how it might help the Daoist sect identify cultivators. Little White recalled something about the Demon Race, while Xiao Hua decided to send his Buddha Sarira to meet the monk pursuing him at the hot spring.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua and Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua discussed the lone spirit character in the hidden heaven and named the place the Spiritual Root after realizing it produced Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua asked Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua to seek a method for testing whether mortals could sense Spiritual Qi, and Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua agreed while describing Wash Heaven and Earth’s ability to break talismans, curses, restraints, and seals.
• Little White envied the profundities of human souls but declared humans inferior to demons in nearly every other way, then transformed into his dragon form after recalling something about the Demon Race.
• Soul Cultivator Xiao Hua reminded Jade Slip Xiao Hua that the monk from Little Linglong Temple was waiting outside, and they discussed using the Buddha Sarira to receive the monk’s Buddhist lineage.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua left the mysterious dark clouds and returned to the snowy hot spring, deciding he no longer needed to flee because the Buddha Sarira could take his place.

Xiao Hua allowed the dying old monk to prepare him for the tonsure at Little Linglong Temple, while growing uneasy about the monk’s certainty that he was the Future Buddha Lord. The chapter ended with Xiao Hua asking whether his Buddha Sarira could receive the tonsure in his place, since he was already a Daoist disciple.

• Xiao Hua symbolically bathed and let the old monk help him put on formal saffron-yellow robes.
• Xiao Hua examined the old monk and realized his body was so depleted that even a Rejuvenation Pill might not save him.
• The old monk brought Xiao Hua to the main hall and prayed before the Maitreya Buddha statue, then waited for the incense to burn out.
• The old monk opened a box containing a Bronze Mirror and an ancient razor, then asked whether Xiao Hua would renounce the mortal world and enter the Buddhist Sect.
• Xiao Hua explained that he was a Daoist disciple who had come seeking a method of Nirvana, and asked whether his Buddha Sarira could receive the tonsure in his place.

Xiao Hua’s Baye Linglong Scripture and Buddha Sarira convinced the old monk that he was the Future Buddha Lord awaited by Little Linglong Temple. As the dying monk prepared to tonsure the Sarira, Xiao Hua summoned it and unleashed a vast storm of faith across Great Snow Mountain.

• The old monk recognized Xiao Hua’s Baye Linglong Scripture as proof that he was Little Linglong Temple’s awaited Future Buddha Lord, then was astonished to learn Xiao Hua had cultivated a Buddha Sarira.
• The old monk explained that tonsuring a Buddha Sarira required sacred implements and an eminent monk, but agreed to perform the rite himself after Xiao Hua said Thunder Sound Temple would not receive him.
• The old monk asked Xiao Hua to use the temple’s Sarira, including his own after death, so the Buddha light could clear their karmic obstructions and aid their future cultivation.
• As the old monk weakened, Xiao Hua agreed to his final wish and summoned his four-foot golden Buddha Sarira from his Niwan Palace.
• The Sarira’s appearance drew an immense accumulated force of faith from Cangxian Continent, filling the skies above Little Linglong Temple with heavenly flowers, music, celestial maidens, and dragons.

Xiao Hua’s five-foot Buddha Sarira manifested at Little Linglong Temple, where the temple’s Maitreya Buddha golden body expelled a Heavenly Demon that had secretly influenced him. After receiving a missing Baye Linglong Scripture leaf and collecting the temple’s scriptures, Xiao Hua hesitated over whether to take the monks’ sariras.

• Faith crystallized around Xiao Hua’s Buddha Sarira, raising its golden body to nearly five feet as the old monk completed his tonsure.
• The Maitreya Buddha golden body’s chanting drove a Heavenly Demon out of the old monk, and the demon revealed that it had influenced Xiao Hua’s actions.
• Xiao Hua’s Buddha Sarira sent the golden character “All” to repay the faith of Buddhist disciples and received a golden bay leaf from the statue.
• Xiao Hua fused the bay leaf into the Exquisite Pagoda and collected Little Linglong Temple’s scriptures and golden foils.
• Xiao Hua considered taking the sariras kept in the temple’s pagoda but hesitated over the fate of the monks who had cultivated them.

Xiao Hua discovered that the old monk’s soul could not be summoned and prepared to honor his body at Little Linglong Temple’s cremation ground. As he learned the Pure Land World’s language, a novice monk riding an azure lion arrived.

• Xiao Hua tried the Buddha Sarira’s Nine-Character Mantra, but the old monk’s soul did not emerge, so he collected the monk’s body and examined the temple’s Buddhist scriptures.
• Xiao Hua learned that the temple had been established long ago and sent a map of Cangxian Continent to green-robed Xiao Hua for examination.
• Xiao Hua lit an oil lamp with a Rebirth Mantra and carried the old monk’s body toward the temple’s cremation ground.
• Xiao Hua placed the body in the cremation depression and disguised his appearance when he sensed someone approaching.
• A five-topknotted novice monk arrived on an azure lion, carrying an azure lotus and a treasured sword.

Xiao Hua met Monk Cihui and a palace-attired woman after the old monk died during Xiao Hua’s ordination on Great Snow Mountain. Cihui invited him to a mysterious place, but Xiao Hua refused and left Cihui impressed by his Buddhist insight; the woman then challenged whether either monk could live up to such words.

• Monk Cihui arrived with a green lion, accompanied by a woman riding a strange bird, and questioned Xiao Hua about his Dharma name and ordination.
• Xiao Hua explained that the old monk had died before giving him a Dharma name, and admitted that a golden-body phenomenon had occurred during his ordination.
• The woman asked Cihui to honor their wager by taking Xiao Hua along to a place they had discussed, but Xiao Hua refused and said he planned to cremate the old monk and leave.
• Cihui criticized Xiao Hua for abandoning his new Esoteric Buddhist temple, and Xiao Hua answered that Buddha and cultivation were not confined to temples.
• Cihui acknowledged that Xiao Hua had taught him a lesson, while the woman observed that speaking of Buddhist insight was easier than putting it into practice.

Xiao Hua questioned Ci Hui about Buddhist cultivation and learned that Ci Hui had identified him as an outsider to the Pure Land World. As they cremated the old monk, Ci Hui used a Buddhist seal to transform the flames into lotus blossoms, and the old monk died with a peaceful smile.

• Ci Hui lectured Xiao Hua about Buddhist cultivation and correctly guessed that Xiao Hua had reached the Realm of Purity without studying Buddhist scriptures.
• Ci Hui and the woman concluded that Xiao Hua was not a Buddhist son of the Pure Land World, but Xiao Hua maintained that he had only recently taken the tonsure.
• Xiao Hua began cremating the old monk while Ci Hui chanted, then learned from the woman that an ordinary monk’s remains would not yield a true sarira without external power.
• Ci Hui formed a Buddhist seal and sent a golden mantra toward the old monk’s burning body.
• The old monk briefly opened his eyes and smiled before Ci Hui’s Buddhist light expanded, turning the flames into two third-grade lotus blossoms that engulfed him.

Xiao Hua received the old monk’s relic after Ci Hui freed the monk’s soul, then learned about a Buddha decree inviting monks to Changsheng Town. Ci Hui asked Xiao Hua to travel with him and teach him Buddhist cultivation; Xiao Hua weighed the risks and asked what the journey would require and how long it would take.

• Ci Hui freed the old monk’s soul, and Xiao Hua respectfully took the old monk’s mixed-color relic to help eliminate its karmic obstructions in the future.
• Ci Hui explained why the relic was impure and described the Great Ascension Buddhist scriptures and their role in refining relics.
• A Buddha Light Illumination passed over Great Snow Mountain, and Ci Hui received a Buddha decree calling for monks to go to Changsheng Town; Xiao Hua refused to accept it.
• The woman questioned whether the Buddha Lord planned to erect a ninety-nine-foot golden body of Namo Guanyin Bodhisattva in Changsheng Town and warned that it could stir up trouble.
• Ci Hui urged Xiao Hua to travel with him so he could guide Xiao Hua’s Buddhist cultivation, and Xiao Hua considered the offer before asking what he would need to do and how long the trip would take.

Xiao Hua agreed to accompany Ci Hui and Xin Xin to a hidden Daoist site, while arranging a chance to visit Great Zen Master Ji Kong. As Xin Xin revealed that the site held an immortal artifact, Xiao Hua grew suspicious of the expedition, but Ci Hui seemed unconcerned.

• Xiao Hua agreed to join Ci Hui and Xin Xin for a month, on the condition that he could leave if danger arose, and asked Ci Hui where to find Great Zen Master Ji Kong.
• Xiao Hua returned to Little Linglong Temple, then met Ci Hui and Xin Xin again and changed into a robe Ci Hui lent him.
• Xin Xin told Xiao Hua that they were heading to an ancient Daoist site filled with arrays and strange beasts to seek an immortal artifact.
• Xiao Hua questioned Ci Hui about Xin Xin's identity and motives, but Ci Hui admitted he knew little about her and trusted their acquaintance.

Xiao Hua traveled with Cihui and Xin Xin while Cihui taught him Buddhist Dharma, and the two began debating Buddhist teachings. Elsewhere, a green-robed old man questioned the power of his Water Qi Ascending to the Origin technique before a powerful divine sense arrived and its owner called out to him.

• Cihui urged Xiao Hua to behave like a proper Buddhist disciple and began teaching him about Buddhist Dharma and the Buddha affinity phenomenon.
• Xiao Hua listened closely to Cihui's explanation and began debating Buddhist teachings with him as they traveled with Xin Xin.
• A green-robed old man practiced Water Qi Ascending to the Origin at a secluded ravine, but lamented that it lacked the power of a simple Daoist technique.
• The old man used his Nascent Soul to unleash a water python that pulverized rocks and trees, then withdrew the technique in disappointment.
• A powerful divine sense swept over the ravine, and the old man flew into the air in alarm as a voice from the horizon announced its arrival.

Fan Tian confronted a mysterious gray-cloud visitor who claimed to be a powerful Daoist sect senior and urged him to care about the sect’s decline, but Fan Tian refused and withdrew to cultivate. The visitor attacked Fan Tian’s Water Wave Flood Peak Great Array, and their forces clashed above the four mountain peaks.

• Fan Tian summoned an emerald spider and spread a watery blue barrier across the four peaks after an unknown voice called out to him.
• A gray cloud arrived, resisted Fan Tian’s divine sense, and formed a young man’s face that declared itself a Daoist sect cultivator.
• The visitor criticized the Daoist sect’s decline and urged Fan Tian to stop hiding away, but Fan Tian said he cared only about cultivation and the Heavenly Dao.
• Fan Tian ignored the visitor and descended into the watery blue radiance, prompting the cloud to swell and press against his defenses.
• Fan Tian’s Water Wave Flood Peak Great Array gathered Primordial Qi and fired a massive pillar of light at the cloud, which countered with black and white cloud silk.