Chapter Summaries

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.

Fantian refused to join the escaped Daoist senior’s plan to unite Daoist cultivators and fight Buddhism and Confucianism, so the senior attacked him. Fantian’s Ice Mou Pearl failed to stop the senior’s black-and-white hand, which was revealed to come from the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual.

• The senior’s black-and-white clouds absorbed Fantian’s pillars of light and warned him that Buddhist and Confucian forces would eventually target him.
• The senior urged Fantian to help unite Daoist cultivators, but Fantian said he wanted to cultivate in peace and avoid the conflict.
• The senior accused Fantian of hiding his ambitions and attacked after Fantian refused to handle a matter for him.
• Fantian summoned the Ice Mou Pearl and formed a vast ice fist that struck toward the clouds.
• A black-and-white hand seized and melted much of the ice fist, leaving Fantian’s Nascent Soul injured and the Ice Mou Pearl reduced to a shard.
• Fantian recognized the attacker’s power as the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual and cried out that the senior had refined it.

Fantian accepted the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual’s offer of a Fire God Pill and was carried away as the ice pillar collapsed, leaving a transformed landscape and a violent storm behind. When Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and Xiao Hua reached the site, Ci Hui’s Buddhist teachings prompted Xiao Hua to consider how Buddhist and Daoist cultivation could both guide his path.

• The voice from the Yin Yang Illustrated Manual offered Fantian a Fire God Pill and promised to teach him Immortal Realm secret arts if he followed it.
• Fantian activated the Icy Pupil Pearl, and the great hand seized him and the collapsing ice pillar before flying away.
• The loss and return of Primordial Qi brought a ten-day storm, transforming the area between the four mountains into pools, lakes, and waterfalls.
• Xin Xin hesitated to use her communication artifact after discovering the landscape had changed, and Ci Hui declined to investigate its cause.
• Ci Hui spoke about Buddhist acceptance and truth, leading Xiao Hua to reflect on how Buddhist and Daoist cultivation paths might fit together.

Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and Bodhi met Guzhen at Four Extremes Mountain and discovered that Fan Tian Shang Ren was likely dead. Guzhen used a Buddhist ritual to drain a lake into an alms bowl, leaving the reason for his action unclear.

• Guzhen arrived on a Purple-Haired Hou and said he had come by his abbot’s order to warn Fan Tian Shang Ren against joining the Daoist remnants.
• Xin Xin activated her communication artifact, but it dissolved into bubbles, and she concluded that Fan Tian Shang Ren had fallen.
• Guzhen questioned how a fourth-grade Yuan force cultivator could have been killed and then used the Lion’s Roar to challenge any hidden Daoist cultivators.
• Ci Hui, Xin Xin, and Bodhi left the mountain as Guzhen manifested his Vajra Buddha Dharma Body and prepared a Buddhist seal.
• Guzhen enlarged an alms bowl and used Buddhist light to draw the lake’s water into it.

Guzhen drained Four Extremes Mountain’s waters and investigated the traces of a battle, while Xin Xin tried to recruit him for a perilous expedition. His findings suggested that a powerful Daoist cultivator had fought Fan Tian Shang Ren, and Guzhen prepared to return to his temple and report.

• Guzhen collected all the water in Four Extremes Mountain with his alms bowl, then carefully examined the area.
• Xin Xin said Guzhen’s help would improve their chances at a dangerous ancient site, and Ci Hui agreed she could invite him.
• Xiao Hua asked to leave, but stayed after realizing Ci Hui wanted him to benefit from the journey and that Guzhen’s presence would make it safer.
• After inspecting the mountain, Guzhen questioned Xiao Hua about his temple and Xin Xin about her interest in Fan Tian Shang Ren.
• Guzhen said a Daoist cultivator far stronger than Fan Tian Shang Ren had fought across Four Extremes Mountain, and he planned to return to his temple to report.

Xiao Hua, Xin Xin, and Ci Hui investigated Four Extremes Mountain and concluded that Fan Tian Shang Ren had likely been attacked by a powerful Daoist cultivator or demon. As another Buddhist Immortal approached, Ci Hui agreed to accompany Xin Xin on her journey without asking for a reward.

• Xiao Hua took Ci Hui’s advice to stop overthinking and follow events to uncover the roots of his cultivation conflicts.
• Xin Xin explained that Fan Tian Shang Ren had lived at Four Extremes Mountain, where his powerful formation had vanished and the landscape had changed completely.
• Ci Hui judged from the rampant water-elemental Primordial Qi that Fan Tian Shang Ren had likely been attacked by a formidable cultivator and might be dead.
• Xin Xin said she still had to continue her journey despite losing access to Fan Tian Shang Ren’s magic artifact.
• A Buddhist Immortal with stronger Buddhist sense approached, and Ci Hui revealed that he had recognized Xiao Hua’s concealed cultivation.
• Xin Xin reasoned with Ci Hui about his attachment to appearances, and he agreed to join her journey without a promise or reward.

Xin Xin offered Guzhen a chance to obtain Ancient Buddha Sarira, which could preserve his consciousness through reincarnation, in exchange for his help exploring an ancient Dao Sect ruin containing an immortal artifact. Guzhen learned that Xin Xin planned to use his Buddhist alms bowl to break a formation and was left weighing whether to join the expedition.

• Xin Xin told Guzhen that Ancient Buddha Sarira could help him condense a Protector Sarira and retain his consciousness through reincarnation.
• Guzhen recognized Xin Xin’s golden hairpin as proof of her origins and accepted that she knew secret Buddhist matters.
• Xin Xin revealed that an ancient Dao Sect ruin near Four Extremes Mountain contained an immortal artifact and Ancient Buddha Sarira.
• Xin Xin asked Guzhen to accompany her and Compassionate Young Monk to break a water-element formation with his alms bowl, estimating a round trip of about twenty days.
• Guzhen hesitated over the dangerous opportunity, then asked Compassionate Young Monk whether he knew the hidden place’s location.

Xin Xin led Xiao Hua, Guzhen, and Ci Hui toward Sage River to seek a forbidden ground and its immortal artifact. Along the journey, Xiao Hua and Ci Hui discussed Buddhist teachings, and Xiao Hua let go of his prejudice toward the Buddhist sect as the travelers entered warmer, more populated lands.

• Xin Xin revealed that their destination was Sage River and said only she could guide them to the forbidden ground beneath its waters.
• Guzhen agreed to join the journey, hoping to obtain the Ancient Buddha Sarira and leaving the rest of the forbidden ground’s treasures to others.
• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin debated Sage River’s name and the legend of the Son of Heaven Sword before Xin Xin hurried ahead on the Purple-Haired Hou.
• Xiao Hua rode with Ci Hui on the Green Lion and spent the journey discussing Buddhist teachings with him.
• Xiao Hua reflected on the value of Buddhist Dharma and Confucian cultivation, cast aside his prejudice toward the Buddhist sect, and noticed the Pure Land growing warmer and more populated.

Xiao Hua and Ci Hui reached the Sage River, where Xiao Hua witnessed the Pure Land’s unusual funeral rites and the people’s devotion to the river. Ci Hui explained that Buddhist believers regarded it as a sacred river connecting the living to the land of bliss.

• Xiao Hua reflected on Buddhism’s vast following and the power of faith as he and Ci Hui traveled through the Pure Land.
• Ci Hui told Xiao Hua they had reached the Sage River, whose waters nourished the Pure Land’s people.
• Xiao Hua noticed a family placing an elderly man’s body in a wicker basket and sending it into a calm inlet of the river.
• Xiao Hua observed people bathing, drinking the water, scattering ashes, and leaving corpses to fish and birds, while the deceased man’s family appeared pleased.
• Ci Hui explained that believers saw the Sage River as a sacred passage linking birth, death, and the land of bliss.

Xiao Hua and his companions reached Nightmare Reef Bay, where Benefactor Xin said an ancient Daoist formation was hidden. As they waited for sunset and she prepared to consult her Ink Cloud Pupil, Guzhen reacted strangely to the possibility of finding his long-lost junior brother’s remains.

• Xiao Hua and Cihui discussed how Buddhist faith shaped what people believed about Sage River, while the river revealed old bones beneath its surface.
• Benefactor Xin led Xiao Hua, Cihui, and Guzhen upstream to Nightmare Reef Bay and identified it as the site of an ancient formation.
• Cihui described the bay’s deadly whirlpools and the illusion realm that had trapped boats and caused his junior brother to disappear.
• Guzhen said he would accept not obtaining the Ancient Buddha Sarira if the formation could be destroyed and his junior brother avenged, then reacted strangely when Benefactor Xin mentioned finding remains.
• Benefactor Xin said they had to wait until sunset to enter and produced an Ink Cloud Pupil whose contents were protected by primordial formation restrictions.

Xin Xin explained what little she knew about the ancient formation at Nightmare Reef, and Guzhen revealed that he had to enter it to search for his missing younger brother, Gunnian. The chapter ended with Guzhen recounting how Gunnian vanished while delivering a letter and how he had devoted his life to finding his remains.

• Xiao Hua questioned Xin Xin about the Ink Cloud Pupil and suggested that the group avoid the formation after learning how little she knew about it.
• Guzhen said he would brave the Nightmare Reef formation regardless, leaving Cihui and Xin Xin surprised.
• Guzhen explained that Gunnian was his blood brother and that their mother died during a flood when they were young.
• Guzhen recounted how Gunnian volunteered to deliver a letter in his place and never returned.
• Guzhen said he had sworn to find Gunnian's remains and had trained as a Dharma protector so he could search deep within Nightmare Reef.