Chapter Summaries

After Xie Guanhai fled with one of the Nine Cauldrons, Xie Tianxia gathered Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun on Kuang Mountain to plan alliances against the Dragon Palace, Spirit Mountain, and the Xie Clan. Their plans were upended by news that the Retired Emperor had launched a palace coup in the Divine Capital.

• The Heavenly Queen explained that Xie Guanhai sought to seize the throne and become Human Emperor, while Jiang Ping'an offered to handle the aftermath on Divine Dragon Island.
• Xie Tianxia revealed that she had killed Spirit Mountain experts and the Dragon Palace's Eldest Crown Prince, and that the Dragon Palace, Spirit Mountain, and Xie Clan had all targeted her.
• Xie Tianxia disclosed that the Dragon Subjugation Lineage's secret had been exposed and took Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun to Kuang Mountain.
• Lianshan Xin proposed that the trio pursue Dao Integration, secure Great Yu and the Dao Court as allies, and rally Maitreya's supporters to reclaim Spirit Mountain.
• Xie Tianxia revealed that a coup had taken place in the Divine Capital, where the Retired Emperor had moved to seize the palace gates.
• Eunuch Wang told Emperor Yongchang that the Retired Emperor was retracing the path Emperor Yongchang had taken through Xuanwu Gate, and Emperor Yongchang angrily questioned his chances of succeeding.

As the Retired Emperor’s coup threatened the throne, the Crown Prince used the chaos to kill his consort and unborn child, secure Jiang Lingxi’s support, and arrange his own retreat. The news enraged Emperor Yongchang, while Xie Tianxia learned that the Empress Dowager had died in Daming Palace, marking the start of the Millennial Catastrophe.

• Emperor Yongchang sent Eunuch Wang to Xuanwu Gate and ordered him to ensure the Retired Emperor’s health did not suffer, while Mr. Gongsun questioned the emperor’s loyalty and rule.
• The Crown Prince considered backing the Retired Emperor, but the Right Chancellor warned that the Retired Emperor could not win and advised him to support Emperor Yongchang.
• The Crown Prince revealed that his consort had gone into premature labor after being poisoned, and he declared that she must die despite Liu Chen’s warnings.
• The Crown Prince brought Jiang Lingxi to witness his dying consort, then accepted her invitation from Dao Chief Jiang Bufan and ordered Xiao Shunzi to report that mother and child had died in childbirth.
• Emperor Yongchang learned of the Crown Prince’s actions and Jiang Lingxi’s alliance, while Xie Tianxia told Qi Shiyun and Lianshan Xin that the Crown Prince had killed his consort and unborn child.
• Xie Tianxia received word that the Empress Dowager had died in Daming Palace, and the Millennial Catastrophe began.

After learning that the Empress Dowager had died, Xie Tianxia, Lianshan Xin, and Qi Shiyun weighed whom the Dragon Subjugation Lineage should support as emperor. He Miaojun warned that powerful enemies were moving and revealed that completing the Dragon Subduers Immortal Art required sacrificing a Human Emperor, leaving Lianshan Xin to conclude that Mao Fulong had intended to end imperial rule.

• Xie Tianxia confirmed that news of the Empress Dowager’s and Crown Prince’s Consort’s deaths had spread, while Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun discussed whether to support the Crown Prince or Tian Ji.
• Emperor Yongchang learned that his mother had died and suspected that the Retired Emperor had brought in outside help; Mr. Gongsun warned that few Dharma Form experts could have killed the Empress Dowager.
• The Crown Prince offered Jiang Lingxi an account of the Empress Dowager’s death, but she declined to ask and agreed to treat their marriage as a political alliance.
• He Miaojun warned Xie Tianxia that Dao Lords and their allies could threaten Kuang Mountain, then urged the Dragon Subjugation Lineage to strengthen Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun.
• Xie Tianxia explained that completing the Dragon Subduers Immortal Art required killing a Human Emperor as a sacrifice, and Lianshan Xin concluded that Mao Fulong had created it to leave the world without emperors.

Lianshan Xin learned how Dragon Subjugation cultivators could gain strength by supporting and eventually killing a claimant to the throne, then considered backing Xia Xunyang instead. He proposed making Xia the last emperor under heaven, a plan that could also win the Dao Court’s favor.

• Xie Tianxia explained that Dragon Subjugation cultivators could complete their art by killing a Human Emperor, and Lianshan Xin suggested supporting Xie Guanhai before killing him.
• He Miaojun advised Lianshan Xin to follow Mao Fulong’s path by supporting a hidden dragon and later defeating him, urging him to pursue the Dragon Subduers Immortal Art to Great Completion.
• He Miaojun told Lianshan Xin that Xia Xunyang had arrived, and Xia revealed that he had reached the Dharma Form Realm while Lianshan Xin warned him about Ao Su.
• Xie Tianxia said Xia could refine one of the Nine Cauldrons, cultivate the Human Emperor Dao, and potentially reach the Celestial Phenomena Realm if he pursued the throne.
• Lianshan Xin proposed helping Xia ascend the throne on the condition that he abdicate when asked, suggesting Xia could become the last emperor and that supporting him would win over Jiang Buping, Jiang Bufan, and the Dao Court.

Lianshan Xin, Xie Tianxia, Qi Shiyun, and Xia Xunyang agreed to pursue a mutual alliance linking the Human Emperor Dao and the Dragon Subjugation Way, while debating its costs and goals. As a half-immortal threatened Emperor Yongchang, he revealed his Heaven-Seizing Woman Fist and stepped into the Celestial Phenomena Realm.

• Lianshan Xin persuaded Xia Xunyang and Xie Tianxia to support a plan in which Xunyang would cultivate the Human Emperor Dao and Xin would cultivate the Dragon Subjugation Way, with the Imperial Family and Dragon Clan paying the price.
• Xia Xunyang accepted the plan after Lianshan Xin explained the Dragon Subjugation Way, and agreed to have his mother contact his biological father, Jiang Buping, about an alliance with the Dao Court.
• Lianshan Xin invited Xie Tianxia, Qi Shiyun, and Xia Xunyang to try his parents’ food, then wondered whether his mother had deliberately hinted that he should support Xunyang.
• Lianshan Jingcheng told He Miaojun that Emperor Yongchang’s unusual constitution and technique might explain his influence over women, while He Miaojun questioned his theory.
• Eunuch Wang reported that a half-immortal, possibly in the Celestial Phenomena Realm, had appeared beside the Retired Emperor, and Emperor Yongchang decided to act himself.
• Emperor Yongchang used the Heaven-Seizing Woman Fist to borrow the Heavenly Queen’s abilities and entered the Celestial Phenomena Realm in a single step.

Emperor Yongchang mastered the Heaven-Seizing Fist through Blood Guanyin and crushed the Retired Emperor’s forces at Xuanwu Gate, then confronted the Crown Prince over the Crown Prince’s Consort’s death. The chapter ended with Yongchang fearing that the power he had borrowed might have seized the unborn child inside him.

• The Heavenly Queen learned that Emperor Yongchang had mastered the Heaven-Seizing Fist, turned back toward Jinzhou, and decided he no longer needed reinforcements.
• Emperor Yongchang defeated the Retired Emperor at Xuanwu Gate and revealed that the Empress Dowager’s death had helped him reach Celestial Phenomena.
• The Crown Prince rejected Jiang Lingxi’s offer to escape and resolved to face Emperor Yongchang, remembering Lianshan Xin’s warning not to oppose his father directly.
• Lianshan Xin and the others discussed Yongchang’s new power, while Lianshan Jingcheng asked whether Fu Chongde was still alive.
• After his victory, Emperor Yongchang confronted the Crown Prince at the Eastern Palace, then felt a kick inside his abdomen and feared the Heaven-Seizing Fist had taken the Crown Prince’s Consort’s unborn child.

Emperor Yongchang discovered that the child in his womb was a Demon Womb with the Heavenly Ear Divine Ability, while the Old Ancestor ordered him to carry it to term as a vessel for his return to peak strength. On Kuang Mountain, Xia Xunyang revealed that the Unborn Venerable Mother had taken his blood essence, and she used it in the Divine Capital to reincarnate the Bone-Scraping Blade inside Emperor Yongchang.

• Emperor Yongchang learned that his pregnancy had awakened the Demon Womb's Heavenly Ear, then knelt before the Old Ancestor, who told him to give birth to the child as a vessel for his return to power.
• At a feast on Kuang Mountain, Xia Xunyang told Lianshan Xin, Qi Shiyun, and the others that a mysterious little girl had guided his cultivation and taken some of his blood essence.
• Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun recognized the girl as the Unborn Venerable Mother, and Xia Xunyang realized he had met the feared ancient evil god.
• Wusheng Loli discovered that Xia Xunyang carried the Bone-Scraping Blade's vital blood essence and brought it to the Divine Capital.
• Wusheng Loli found Emperor Yongchang practicing the Heaven-Seizing Woman Fist and used the Bone-Scraping Blade's blood essence to awaken a reincarnated soul inside his Demon Womb.

The Unborn Venerable Mother visited the Right Chancellor, discovered his claim of having a Heavenly Ear was fabricated, and learned he was weighing his political options after Emperor Yongchang’s rise to the Celestial Phenomena Realm. Meanwhile, Bone-Scraping Blade resurrected inside Emperor Yongchang as a demon womb, recognized his elder brother, and prepared to fight him from within.

• The Unborn Venerable Mother entered the Right Chancellor’s residence and demanded to see his supposed Heavenly Ear, but he admitted he had invented the claim to bolster his standing.
• The Right Chancellor confronted his wife about her ties to the Sisters' Mutual Aid Society and ordered her confined to the ancestral hall while he awaited news from Jinzhou.
• The Right Chancellor and his scholar weighed whether to support the Crown Prince, the Good Imperial Grandson, or another faction after Emperor Yongchang advanced to the Celestial Phenomena Realm.
• Bone-Scraping Blade regained awareness inside Emperor Yongchang and recognized his familiar Celestial Pole Sacred Dragon Bloodline Scripture, realizing his elder brother was carrying him.
• Emperor Yongchang discussed possible successors with Eunuch Wang and considered whether to remain emperor, while Bone-Scraping Blade resolved to fight him from the womb.

Xie Guanhai, Spirit Mountain, and the Dragon Palace plotted to pressure Emperor Yongchang and target Xie Tianxia, while the Dragon Kings learned a Dao Lord backed her. Jiang Bufan decided to travel to the Divine Capital for Bone-Scraping Blade, and Wusheng Loli possessed the Shen Clan’s Princess Consort in Western Capital City, just as an old horse arrived and looked toward her.

• Xie Guanhai discovered that the Dragon Subjugation Lineage was siphoning fortune from his Human Emperor Dao and learned that Mao Fulong’s name was taboo among the Dragon Clan.
• Spirit Mountain’s Female Bodhisattva and Xie Guanhai agreed to cooperate with the Dragon Palace against Xie Tianxia, and the three planned to pressure Emperor Yongchang by targeting the Shen Clan’s Princess Consort.
• The East Sea Dragon King told the West Sea Dragon King that Jianma had partly awakened, that a Dao Lord backed Xie Tianxia, and that the Dragon Clan should investigate who killed Yinglong’s remnant soul.
• Jiang Bufan learned from Wusheng Loli that Bone-Scraping Blade was with Emperor Yongchang and set out for the Divine Capital.
• Wusheng Loli possessed the Princess Consort of the King of Jiujiang in Western Capital City, displacing Thousand Faces, as an old horse arrived outside the city and looked toward the Shen Clan.

The Unborn Venerable Mother possessed Thousand Faces and mistook him for the Princess Consort of the King of Jiujiang before learning he was Lianshan Xin’s disciple. She then subdued Jianma and claimed him as her mount, but after he escaped by detonating his Soul Clone, he set out to confront Lianshan Xin and arrived at Kuang Mountain in the body of a yellow ox.

• The Unborn Venerable Mother realized Thousand Faces was not the Princess Consort of the King of Jiujiang and learned that the Heavenly Queen had sent him to control the Shen Clan.
• Thousand Faces told the Unborn Venerable Mother that Lianshan Xin had sent him, and she decided to borrow his body to meet Jianma.
• The Unborn Venerable Mother subdued Jianma, revealed that she had arranged the births of Yinglong and the flying dragon, and demanded that he serve as her mount.
• Jianma detonated his Soul Clone to escape, but the Unborn Venerable Mother predicted where he would go next.
• After receiving news that Lianshan Xin was at Kuang Mountain, Jianma went there disguised as a yellow ox and encountered He Miaojun.

Lianshan Xin learned that He Miaojun’s mysterious azure ox might have been a hidden power connected to the Nine Heavens, while Jianma arrived at Kuang Mountain and was subdued by Xie Tianxia. Maitreya revealed an old acquaintance’s possible rise to the Dao Integration Realm, and a broken-horned red ox explained that his path complemented the Human Emperor Dao.

• He Miaojun recalled that an azure ox had healed at her family’s home when she was young, then promised to wait for her above the Nine Heavens.
• Lianshan Xin reasoned that hidden powers might exist above the Nine Heavens and suspected the azure ox had been one of them.
• Maitreya identified the ugly ox at Kuang Mountain as Jianma, Yinglong’s offspring, and Lianshan Xin asked Xie Tianxia to keep him there as a mount.
• Xie Tianxia struck down Jianma’s avatar, while Maitreya prevented Jianma from escaping by revealing himself as the azure ox.
• Maitreya said the azure ox was an old acquaintance of his and Shakyamuni’s who had advanced to the Dao Integration Realm during the great calamity.
• In the Divine Capital, a red ox with a broken horn told a blind man that his path complemented the Human Emperor Dao: becoming a horse or ox for all living beings.

The old ox and Blind Man discussed their choices after a thousand years guarding Great Yu, the Nine Cauldrons, and the old ox’s path to Dao Lord. Xie Tianxia then revealed that Lianshan Xin’s mother carried extraordinary fortune tied to the Flame Emperor, while Lianshan Jingcheng connected her childhood dream of an ox demon to the old ox and sent Lianshan Xin to investigate Nine Heavens.

• The old ox told Blind Man that he had given one of the Nine Cauldrons to an old benefactor, and Blind Man warned that the coming calamity would draw its holders into danger.
• Blind Man chose to keep supporting Emperor Yongchang, while the old ox remained undecided about whether Great Yu needed to be torn down and rebuilt.
• Xie Tianxia and Qi Shiyun explained that Lianshan Xin’s mother had immense fortune and inexplicable karma, and that the Flame Emperor’s fortune had passed to Lianshan Xin.
• Xie Tianxia warned Lianshan Xin that the Flame Emperor’s protection could conflict with the Dragon Subjugation Lineage, forcing him to choose a cultivation path eventually.
• Lianshan Jingcheng told Lianshan Xin that He Miaojun had once dreamed of seeing an ox demon, then urged him to look above the Nine Heavens because he might have a fated connection there.

Lianshan Xin discovered that the little cauldron He Miaojun received from an ox demon was one of the Nine Cauldrons, and he arranged to let Xia Xunyang use it. After telling Xia Xunyang the truth about his mother, Lianshan Xin’s Talent upgraded again.

• He Miaojun remembered that a childhood ox demon had given her a little cauldron, and Lianshan Xin suspected the ox was the Flame Emperor.
• Lianshan Jingcheng found the cauldron, and Maitreya confirmed that it was one of the Nine Cauldrons.
• Lianshan Xin let Xia Xunyang touch the cauldron, and Xia Xunyang realized it could help him contend for the realm without the emperor’s recognition.
• Xia Xunyang agreed to sign a pact and swear a Heavenly Dao Oath before using the cauldron.
• Lianshan Xin told Xia Xunyang that his biological father had caused his mother’s death and that Thousand Faces was now disguised as his mother.
• Lianshan Xin’s Talent upgraded again.

After reaching the Dharma Form Realm, Lianshan Xin discovered that the Little Black Box had expanded into Chaos and that his Talent now let him counter divinations, sever Karma, and retaliate against those who investigated him. He traced a divination to the Turtle Chancellor and activated his new Talent, but when nothing seemed to happen, the Blind Man warned Emperor Yongchang that the Heavenly Diviner might have fallen on Divine Dragon Island.

• Lianshan Xin found that the expanding Little Black Box contained Chaos Energy, which greatly improved cultivation and gave him access to resources of the Primordial Era.
• Lianshan Xin discovered his upgraded Talent could detect people divining him and sever Karma, then bestowed its Karma-severing power on the Blood-Severing Dust-Cleansing Blade.
• Lianshan Xin sensed the Turtle Chancellor divining him and learned that the Turtle Chancellor had become a Celestial Phenomena expert and planned to gather information on him for Ao Su.
• Lianshan Xin activated cyberbullying against the Turtle Chancellor, but nothing appeared to happen for a quarter of an hour.
• The Blind Man told Emperor Yongchang that the Heavenly Diviner might have fallen on Divine Dragon Island, despite the report that he was safe.

Emperor Yongchang and Lianshan Xin learned from Tianjizi that the Turtle Chancellor had possessed the Heavenly Diviner, and Lianshan Xin realized his online harassment had set powerful figures against the impostor. The Heavenly Queen confronted the Turtle Chancellor, while Lianshan Xin ended the chapter with only one use of online harassment remaining and a resolve to build his reputation.

• Emperor Yongchang suspected Tianjizi’s warning might come from the Heavenly Dao and sent Lianshan Xin to alert the Heavenly Queen about the Turtle Chancellor possessing the Heavenly Diviner.
• Lianshan Xin concluded that his online harassment had prompted Tianjizi and Emperor Yongchang to act against the Turtle Chancellor, and he tightened his karmic connection to Emperor Yongchang.
• The Heavenly Queen told Lianshan Xin that Tianjizi had advanced to the Celestial Phenomena Realm and helped her locate parasites in Jinzhou, then guessed he had lost to the Turtle Chancellor.
• The Heavenly Queen entered the Turtle Chancellor’s room alone and confronted it over the lives they owed each other.
• Lianshan Xin stopped watching the surveillance after the Heavenly Queen’s confrontation, then noticed that only one use of online harassment remained and resolved to raise his reputation.

As news spread that Xie Tianxia had established the Dragon-Ascension Dao Lineage, Xie Lingjiang agreed to help Jiang Lingxi seek Xie Tianxia’s protection amid the Jiang Clique’s crisis. Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun learned how the Azure Cloud Dragon Transformation Art could empower Xie Tianxia and bind its cultivators to her, while Emperor Yongchang arranged for the Torchlight for a Thousand Autumns Pavilion to publicize the lineage’s account of Divine Dragon Island, causing it to spread widely.

• Xie Lingjiang and Jiang Lingxi discussed the Jiang Clique’s danger, and Xie Lingjiang offered to introduce Jiang Lingxi to Xie Tianxia if she mastered the Azure Cloud Dragon Transformation Art.
• Restaurant patrons learned that Xie Tianxia had founded the Dragon-Ascension Dao Lineage and made the Azure Cloud Dragon Transformation Art available to the public.
• Xie Tianxia cultivated with Lianshan Xin’s chaos energy and explained that the art’s followers would strengthen her and become her natural supporters.
• Emperor Yongchang asked Nie Hongxiu to publicize his version of the Divine Dragon Island battle, crediting Xie Tianxia and the Dragon-Ascension Dao Lineage.
• Nie Hongxiu released the report through the Torchlight for a Thousand Autumns Pavilion, and the Dragon-Ascension Dao Lineage spread everywhere.

Lianshan Xin discovered that the Torchlight for a Thousand Autumns Pavilion’s rankings promoted him and Qi Shiyun because of the Azure Cloud Dragon Transformation Art, which Emperor Yongchang had influenced, and he prepared to attend the Dao Discussion Conference. The Heaven Ranking announced a golden age after two top cultivators advanced to Celestial Phenomena, while Xie Tianxia welcomed Jiang Buping and the Cult Master, whose familiar connection she hinted at.

• Lianshan Xin learned that the Heaven Ranking placed him last for killing Taotie and falsely credited him with cultivating the Azure Cloud Dragon Transformation Art, while Qi Shiyun was ranked above him as its Holy Maiden.
• Xia Xunyang revealed that he had cultivated the Azure Cloud Dragon Transformation Art to minor completion, and the group concluded Emperor Yongchang had influenced the rankings through Nie Hongxiu.
• Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun received invitations to the Dao Chief’s Dao Discussion Conference, and Lianshan Xin agreed to leave for it the next day with Xia Xunyang.
• Lianshan Xin read that Mei Luoshuang and the Peacock Wisdom King had advanced to Celestial Phenomena, prompting the Pavilion to declare Great Yu’s golden age; he worried that glory might lead to ruin.
• Xie Tianxia toasted Jiang Buping after he and the Cult Master arrived as her true guests, then asked whether she and the Cult Master knew each other well.

Xie Tianxia, Jiang Buping, and the Peacock Wisdom King agreed to join forces against the Jiang Clique and Xie Guanhai, with Jiang Buping promising to aid Xie Tianxia in a future fight against the Xie Clan’s Old Ancestor. Meanwhile, Lianshan Xin received a letter from the Crown Prince and realized someone had impersonated him in a dream.

• Xie Tianxia revealed the Peacock Wisdom King’s ties to the Xie Clan and explained how the Heavenly Queen’s help had enabled him to reach the Celestial Phenomena Realm.
• Xie Tianxia proposed helping Jiang Buping overthrow the Jiang Clique so he could spread the Unjust Way and advance his cultivation.
• Jiang Buping agreed to help the Peacock Wisdom King claim the Xie Clan Lord’s position, while the Peacock Wisdom King admitted he still wanted the title and planned to use the clan to support the Demon Cult.
• Xie Tianxia proposed a surprise attack on the Jiang Clique during the Dao Discussion Conference, and Jiang Buping agreed after securing her request for his help against Xie Guanhai.
• Jiang Lingxi told Lianshan Xin that the Crown Prince had sent him a letter, and Lianshan Xin realized someone had impersonated him when introducing Jiang Lingxi in the Crown Prince’s dream.
• The Crown Prince continued speaking with the dream version of Lianshan Xin and asked whether the Empress from five hundred years ago was still alive.

Lianshan Xin investigated an impostor who had used his identity to stir conflict between the Crown Prince, Emperor Yongchang, and the Nine Heavens, then discovered the scheme led to the Buddha Head on Spirit Mountain. As the Dao Discussion Conference began without them, Xie Tianxia, Lianshan Xin, and their allies destroyed the Jiang Clique.

• The Crown Prince woke from a dream in which an impostor posing as Lianshan Xin had revealed the Empress's survival and urged him to side with the Nine Heavens against Emperor Yongchang.
• Lianshan Xin realized he could not have met the Crown Prince in his dream, then returned to the Crown Prince's dream and learned the impostor had tried to provoke conflict between the emperor and the Nine Heavens.
• Lianshan Xin used Network Violence to trace the impostor's karmic threads to a projection of Shakyamuni, then concluded the culprit was the Buddha Head following Shakyamuni's Dao.
• Xie Tianxia told Qi Shiyun that she and Lianshan Xin would accompany him to the Jiang Clique to wipe out the household before attending the Dao Discussion Conference.
• On the fourteenth day after Taotie's death, Lianshan Xin, Xie Tianxia, and their allies attacked and destroyed the Jiang Clique while the Dao Discussion Conference opened without them.

After the Jiang Clique fell, Jiang Buping refused the Flame Emperor’s legacy and recommended Xia Xunyang as a successor. Xia Xunyang was judged to lack sufficient talent, but Lianshan Xin invoked his ancestry and He Miaojun’s name, and the Flame Emperor ultimately accepted him.

• Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun compared their kill counts after the battle, while the Peacock Wisdom King protested that their tallies overlooked his defeat of a Celestial Phenomena Realm expert.
• Lianshan Xin chose to continue cultivating the Dragon Subduers Immortal Art instead of seeking the Flame Emperor’s legacy.
• Jiang Buping declined the Flame Emperor’s legacy and asked Xie Tianxia to bring Jiang Bufan a potential successor, leading her to bring Xia Xunyang to the Jiang Clique.
• Jiang Bufan transported Xia Xunyang to Jiang Buping, but the Flame Emperor initially judged Xia Xunyang’s talent insufficient for his legacy.
• Lianshan Xin offered incense to the Nine Cauldrons and revealed that Xia Xunyang was Jiang Buping’s son and a Flame Emperor descendant; after hearing that He Miaojun was Lianshan Xin’s mother, the Flame Emperor changed his mind and accepted Xia Xunyang as his successor.