Chapter Summaries

After the Hong Water Dharma Assembly, Jiang Yi was summoned by True Lord Guangzhao Jinghai to answer the Great Talisman Sect’s challenge to his guidance of the Xiantian Sect’s disciples. Jiang Yi agreed to face all of its true disciples at once, while the chapter then shifted to cultivators in Hongde Blessed Land benefiting from a surge of Dao thunder in [Divine Empyrean Thunder City].

• Jiang Yi received praise from the Xiantian Sect’s disciples for guiding their victory, while Gu Changling privately weighed the bleak choices left after his Dao foundation was damaged.
• True Lord Guangzhao Jinghai summoned Jiang Yi to investigate the Great Talisman Sect’s doubts about the assembly results, prompting Yuan Xiao, Qu Liuer, and Feng Yuan to follow in support.
• Jiang Yi learned that the Great Talisman Sect wanted him to demonstrate his Dao understanding and refused its proposed draw, inviting all its true disciples to challenge him together.
• In Hongde Blessed Land, Qi Refining cultivators gathered at the Five Thunder Daoist Field and praised the Dao thunder’s revelations and the chance to advance to Foundation Establishment.

Daoist Lingxia’s reckless criticism during the Great Dao’s thunderous revelation brought him a karmic sentence, while Qingfeng and Hanqiang earned a chance for promotion. Officials in Divine Empyrean Thunder City identified Cao Qiu and other noble-born cultivators as potential Immortal Seedlings, and considered whether they would borrow Foundation Establishment to hunt the new lord of Lesser Yang.

• Qingfeng rebuked Lingxia for criticizing the Dao Lineage, and Lingxia agreed to fast and cleanse his Dao heart.
• The Great Dao’s thunderous voice granted Qingfeng and Hanqiang insight into thunder arts, but Lingxia gained nothing from listening.
• An official at the Censure Office crossed out Lingxia’s name and sentenced him to lose his origins and suffer rebirth as a pig or dog, while recommending Qingfeng and Hanqiang for promotion.
• Officials discovered that Cao Qiu, Qin Xiaoyun, Qu Jin, and Jun Jiusi had awakened past-life memories and might qualify as Immortal Seedlings by cultivating the Thunderclap Art for Sweeping Away Demons.
• An adviser suggested that the True Lord might be preparing the noble-born Immortal Seedlings to kill the new lord of Lesser Yang, luring them with the prospect of favor from the Sun Dao Track.

Jiang Yi entered [Consciousness Aggregate Heaven] to discuss the Five Phases with the Great Talisman Sect’s True Disciples and demonstrated their cycles of generation and restraint. After exposing the flaw in Yu Changqing’s Wood Virtue cultivation, Jiang Yi offered to discuss the Five Phases’ numerical principles.

• Yuan Xiao, Qu Liuer, and Feng Yuan stood behind Jiang Yi when the Great Talisman Sect challenged him to discuss the Five Phases, and Gu Changling offered to lead a fight if needed.
• Jiang Yi accepted True Lord Guangzhao Jinghai’s test of his Dao Wisdom and entered [Consciousness Aggregate Heaven] with Yu Changqing.
• Jiang Yi explained that generation and restraint must remain balanced, then demonstrated the Five Phases transforming through True Steaming.
• Jiang Yi revealed that Yu Changqing’s excessive Wood Qi had left his Dao Foundation vulnerable and explained how Feng Yuan had exploited that weakness.
• Yu Changqing admitted his inferiority and apologized, while Jiang Yi announced that he could also discuss the Five Phases’ numerical principles.

Jiang Yi explained the Five Phases and defeated Yu Changqing, who severed his own Dao foundation as promised. Jiang Yi used the sacrifice to understand that a natal treasure could anchor his own foundation, then the Xiantian Sect was declared winner of the Hong Water Dharma Assembly.

• Jiang Yi demonstrated the generation and transformation of the Five Phases, silencing the assembled disciples while Gu Changling and Yuan Xiao praised him.
• Feng Yuan and Yue Ziqi prepared to duel, but True Lord Guangzhao Jinghai immobilized them and ordered the disciples to wait until the assembly ended.
• Yu Changqing acknowledged defeat and severed his Dao foundation, allowing Jiang Yi to study how a cultivator anchored insubstantial True Xi and destiny nature in a tangible object.
• Jiang Yi realized the [Upside Down] Slaying Sword could serve as his natal treasure and considered how it might suit his path toward Foundation Establishment.
• Jiang Yi left [Consciousness Aggregate Heaven], and True Lord Guangzhao Jinghai announced the Xiantian Sect as the victor of the Hong Water Dharma Assembly.
• A golden beam rose above Central Heaven, and a gray-robed Daoist remarked that the Great Talisman Sect had no outstanding Dao talents besides Zhang Yuansheng.

The Manifest Netherworld Profound Dao Lord and Yuanzuo discussed the Great Talisman Sect’s plans, while Jiang Yi accepted gifts and a karmic favor from True Lord Guangzhao Jinghai. Seven days later, Jiang Yi received the Heavenly Book’s answer for forging his Dao Foundation and began circulating its True Steaming Law Power.

• Yuanzuo challenged the Manifest Netherworld Profound Dao Lord over his gamble on Jiang Yi and warned that the Great Talisman Sect had prepared to preserve [Earth Virtue].
• True Lord Guangzhao Jinghai gave Jiang Yi a Crown Bone Buddha Sharira, and Yuan Xiao handed him the Miesheng Mara Sutra Pillar after defeating Fuli Zi.
• Jiang Yi accepted Guangzhao Jinghai’s favor in exchange for resolving an old karmic cause after establishing his foundation, and Guangzhao’s blessing brought him closer to that realm.
• Jiang Yi returned to the Great Wei Treasure Palace, where cultivators praised his achievements, and spent seven days in meditation as [Gathering Grotto Continent] approached.
• Jiang Yi used the Heavenly Book to deduce his Dao Foundation, settling on the ten-thousand-chariot imperial law and Five Directions Paying Homage to the Origin, then released True Steaming Law Power throughout the hall.

Jiang Yi reached the threshold of forging his Dao Foundation, but the Shell Pass blocked his progress, so True Lord Lu directed him to seek Ziwu Fire and use a copper coin to find Lai Buyi at Gathering Grotto Continent. The chapter ended with Sect Master Qin Baiyu revealing that Gathering Grotto Continent was bait intended to draw out those resisting the Sun.

• Profound Mystery True Person saw Jiang Yi manifest signs of Destiny Nature joining together and realized he was preparing to establish his foundation.
• Jiang Yi stopped his attempt when his true steaming Law Power could not break through the Shell Pass, and Profound Mystery True Person explained the benefits of using heavenly timing and earthly advantage.
• True Lord Lu told Jiang Yi to obtain Ziwu Fire, then gave him a copper coin to take to Lai Buyi for a survey of the terrain at Gathering Grotto Continent.
• True Lord Lu warned Jiang Yi that Thunder Pivot had empowered Immortal Seedlings with borrowed Foundation Establishment strength and said many Immortal cultivators secretly practiced demonic arts.
• After Jiang Yi left, Sect Master Qin Baiyu told True Lord Lu that Gathering Grotto Continent was bait meant to draw out those who could no longer tolerate the Sun's dominance.

Jiang Yi learned that the Xiantian Sect had arranged Gathering Grotto Continent as a chance for him to establish his Dao, while rival Dao Child Hechu could still threaten his standing. He gathered companions and reached Five Elders Peak, where the Eight Sects’ gathering began with Yuan Xiao fighting Nie Ying.

• True Lord Lu learned from Qin Baiyu that Luo Tiansu had found Ning Hechu’s reincarnation and had used Gu Changling to test the path for him, while Jiang Yi would have to prove himself at Gathering Grotto Continent.
• Jiang Yi resolved to stop being a pawn, visited Qu Liuer, and invited Qiao Yu to accompany him to Gathering Grotto Continent in search of Ziwu Fire and Foundation Establishment.
• Jiang Yi and Qiao Yu traveled by the Great Wei Treasure Palace to the Dian River, where Profound Mystery True Person explained that Five Elders Peak had formed from an ancient Foundation Establishment cultivator’s death.
• Feng Yuan and Qu Liuer arrived with their Talisman Edicts and junior disciples, while Yue Ziqi had already reached Five Elders Peak.
• Yuan Xiao arrived fighting Nie Ying of the Primordial Chaos Sect, and Feng Yuan identified them as longtime rivals who served as whetstones for each other.

Jiang Yi stopped Yuan Xiao and Nie Ying’s battle with a True Lord’s talisman while the cultivators waited for Gathering Grotto Continent to open. As the realm appeared, a hidden True Lord turned an Outer Dao assassin into a supposed protector of Jiang Yi, who then prepared to enter with an invitation.

• Yuan Xiao and Nie Ying clashed with their signature arts until Jiang Yi used True Lord Xu’s talisman to separate them and end their fight.
• Yuan Xiao and Nie Ying explained that they had become enemies over a vast piece of Geng Metal Essence, and Yuan Xiao mocked Nie Ying for losing it.
• A disguised Outer Dao Yin-Yang Dharma King watched Jiang Yi, but True Lord Xu captured him and altered his memories so he believed he was an incarnation tasked with protecting the Dao Child.
• True Lord Xu noted that other Outer Dao figures were also positioned to protect Jiang Yi while he considered drawing out a major enemy in Eastern Victory Continent.
• Two days later, Gathering Grotto Continent appeared above the Dian River, and Feng Yuan told Jiang Yi to use his Talisman Edict to answer its invitation before entering.

Jiang Yi entered [Gathering Grotto Continent] as the sects’ True Lords argued over whether his escort violated the rules. In the mortal realm, imprisoned Daye princess Yao Yun endured forced labor while secretly praying to summon a Tribulation Child.

• Jiang Yi used his Golden Talisman Edict to enter [Gathering Grotto Continent], guiding Qiao Yu and Shao Guansu inside with him.
• Qu Liuer and Yuan Xiao entered the realm, while Nie Ying and Yue Ziqi prepared to follow.
• True Lord Xinghuo Fuming challenged True Lord Lu over Jiang Yi’s True Lord escort, and True Lord Fengqi Heji urged them to stop arguing.
• True Lord Lu confronted True Lord Tao over her past schemes against Jiang Yi and defended his chances of succeeding to [Lesser Yang].
• Yao Yun labored in a Liyang prison mine with Eunuch Chen, who secretly intended to trade her and the Profound Finger Treasure Map to King Wu.
• Yao Yun recalled her enemies, prayed for a Tribulation Child to descend, and hoped to restore the Daye Dynasty.

Jiang Yi arrived in [Gathering Grotto Continent] and found Yao Yun in danger after she escaped Bitter Prison Mountain. He killed Chen Jin and placed his Primordial Spirit in a wild dog, while Yao Yun’s fate and Jiang Yi’s purpose in the Mortal Realm remained unresolved.

• Jiang Yi crossed into [Gathering Grotto Continent], glimpsed Jambudvipa Vast Land, and felt the great world’s Heaven’s Will suppress his power.
• Yao Yun escaped Bitter Prison Mountain with Chen Jin’s help, but Chen Jin demanded the Profound Finger Treasure Map and revealed he had learned her secrets from her younger brother.
• Chen Jin defeated Yao Yun’s attempt to attack him with Storm Pear Blossom Needles and stopped her from killing herself after she bit off half her tongue.
• Yao Yun’s prayers summoned Jiang Yi, who appeared in the burial ground and recognized that his karmic bond was tied to her.
• Chen Jin pretended to pledge himself to Yao Yun and Daye, but Jiang Yi saw through his thoughts and granted his wish to have his body shattered and labor like a dog by killing him and putting his Primordial Spirit into a wild dog.

Jiang Yi took Yao Yun into his service and began preparing her to avenge Daye by defeating Liyang’s foremost general. After healing and assessing her, he gave her three years to kill Jin Wushu and ordered her to train against the Great River’s tides.

• Yao Yun agreed to serve Jiang Yi, and he carried her from the mass graveyard to a water palace on the Great River.
• Jiang Yi refined the river’s Water Essence Qi into Spirit Water for Yao Yun, then used the Heavenly Book to learn that his Fortuitous Encounter, Ziwu Fire, was tied to her.
• After seven days of recovery, Yao Yun received a pill that restored her tongue, and Jiang Yi recognized her Pearl-and-Jade Fate and natural water fate.
• Yao Yun identified Jin Wushu as Liyang’s strongest nearby expert and said he had reached the tenth mortal transformation, Spirit Transformation.
• Jiang Yi gave Yao Yun three years to beat Jin Wushu to death and instructed her to strike the Great River’s tides every day.

After three years of training, Yao Yun received Jiang Yi’s Shocking Waves True Form and was ordered to kill Jin Wushu. Meanwhile, two Liyang nobles discussed the Great River Martial Appraisal and planned to seek out the Dragon Maiden Empress, as Jiang Yi considered how to find the civil talent needed to obtain Ziwu Fire.

• Yelü and Wanyan dismissed the Dragon Maiden Empress as a possible fraud and discussed Liyang’s political troubles and the Great River Martial Appraisal.
• Yelü revealed that Sheng Hailong and Tuoba Long would attend the appraisal for the Golden Clarified Essence prize, then said he intended to find and take the Dragon Maiden Empress as a concubine.
• After three years of striking the Great River’s water eye, Yao Yun met Jiang Yi and admitted she lacked confidence in killing Jin Wushu.
• Jiang Yi explained that Yao Yun’s training had taught her the nature of water, then bestowed the Shocking Waves True Form and declared her half a step into Spirit Refining.
• Yao Yun vowed to kill Jin Wushu, while Jiang Yi concluded that he still needed a civil talent to kindle the fire required to obtain Ziwu Fire.

Yelü Hong and Wanyan Cai attended the Great River Martial Appraisal, where Tuoba Long and Yan Fei clashed over Liyang and the Profound Finger Monastery. Yao Yun arrived with Sheng Hailong’s severed head and ordered Jin Wushu and his followers executed, while Jiang Yi watched from his water mansion and noted that fate and allotted fortune could draw forth Ziwu Fire.

• Yelü Hong and Wanyan Cai learned that the martial appraisal had been arranged around Yan Fei’s visit and the dispute over Daye’s surviving imperial descendants.
• Tuoba Long arrived at Swallow Rock and challenged Yan Fei, who appeared on the Great River and defended the Profound Finger Monastery against his accusations.
• Yan Fei and Tuoba Long exchanged blows across the Great River, ending their first clash in a deadlock.
• Yao Yun raised the river water around Swallow Rock, appeared before the gathering, and cast Sheng Hailong’s severed head into the water.
• Yao Yun invoked the high god’s command and ordered the execution of Jin Wushu and his followers.
• Jiang Yi watched from his water mansion and concluded that fate and allotted fortune served as the primer for drawing forth Ziwu Fire.

Jiang Yi watched Yao Yun defeat Tuoba Long after she declared her Daye imperial lineage and claimed to be a High God's emissary. At the great general's residence, Sangji revealed that the Great Snow Mountain intended to welcome the High God and reopen the gateway of ascension.

• Yan Fei recognized Yao Yun's apparent strength, while Tuoba Long challenged her claim and accused her of rebellion for killing Sheng Hailong.
• Yao Yun declared that she carried Daye's imperial blood, and Yan Fei prepared to support her after realizing she might be the surviving scion he sought.
• Tuoba Long attacked Yao Yun with the Blood-Burning Secret Scripture, but Yao Yun crushed his spear and Heavenly Wolf True Form with a single punch, killing him.
• Yao Yun marveled at her victory and wondered whether she could also kill Jin Wushu with one punch.
• Sangji told Jin Wushu that the Great Snow Mountain's master had sensed a High God's arrival and explained that Daye's bloodline, including those with the Yao surname, could invoke one.
• Sangji revealed that his master wanted the High God to enter the Mortal Realm and reopen the gateway of ascension so the master could ascend to immortality.

Sangji revealed that the Red Sun Great Dharma Master sought an opportunity to ascend through the High God, then told Jin Wushu that his allotted lifespan ended that day. Yao Yun killed Jin Wushu with her Shocking Waves True Form, and Sangji bowed before asking the High God for a chance to ascend.

• Sangji told Jin Wushu that Great Snow Mountain had sent him to seek a Fortuitous Encounter connected to the High God’s return.
• Sangji read Jin Wushu’s face and said his lifespan ended that day, just as Yao Yun arrived above the general’s residence.
• Yao Yun declared that she had come by divine command to kill Jin Wushu, while Sangji refused to help him escape the tribulation.
• Yao Yun struck Jin Wushu with her Shocking Waves True Form and crushed his sinews and bones after a brief struggle.
• Sangji prostrated himself before Yao Yun and asked the High God to grant him an opportunity to ascend.

Sangji revealed himself as the Red Sun Dharma King and begged Jiang Yi for a chance to ascend, receiving a command to drive Liyang out and restore Daye within five years. Years later, Yao Yun took the throne, and Jiang Yi formed the Martial Fire.

• After Yao Yun destroyed the grand general's estate, Sangji awakened as a Spirit Refining Grandmaster and knelt to ask the High God for a chance to ascend.
• Jiang Yi answered Sangji's plea by commanding him to drive Liyang out and restore Daye within five years, and Sangji died after accepting the order.
• Jiang Yi concluded that the Red Sun Dharma King had arranged their meeting to secure support for Great Snow Mountain and entrusted him with helping Yao Yun.
• Jiang Yi caused twin suns to appear in the sky, while rumors spread that the Heavenly Lord had punished Liyang and the dynasty fell into turmoil.
• Yao Yun led Daye's uprising, defeated Liyang's forces, and ascended the throne as Jiang Yi declared the Martial Fire formed and conjured a golden flame.

Jiang Yi cultivated Xiao Feibai’s civil fire seed until it completed the Ziwu Fire, then entered the Water-Moon Grotto-Heaven to break through his Shell Pass. He successfully forged a Dao Foundation and entered a mysterious realm, while the Red Sun Dharma King sensed that the Ascension Portal had opened.

• Jiang Yi chose Xiao Feibai as the source of civil fire and set his Karma in motion.
• After his family was slaughtered and his meridians crippled, Xiao Feibai spent fifty years compiling books and created the Heavenly Book of Forgetting Emotion.
• Xiao Feibai let go of his revenge, completed his martial understanding, and became Chancellor, where his reforms helped Daye prosper.
• Jiang Yi collected Xiao Feibai’s civil fire seed, completed the Ziwu Fire, and secluded himself in the Profound Finger Monastery’s Water-Moon Grotto-Heaven for ten years.
• Jiang Yi used the Ziwu Fire to burn through his Shell Pass and forge the Dao Foundation of the Ten-Thousand-Chariot Imperial Law.
• The breakthrough shook the Mortal Realm, and the Red Sun Dharma King declared that the Ascension Portal was opening as Jiang Yi entered a wondrous secret realm.

Jiang Yi entered the [Foundation Establishment Realm] with his Divine Sense, forged a supreme Dao Foundation, and discovered how his Fire Phase strengthened his techniques. After returning to the mortal world, he appeared on the Great Snow Mountain, where the Red Sun Great Dharma Master welcomed him as a High God.

• Jiang Yi entered the [Foundation Establishment Realm] and saw his hundred-li Dao Foundation manifest as five regions, with only the Fire Phase developed.
• Jiang Yi practiced in the fiery domain, advancing his techniques into Dao Arts and resolving to use those targeting his ascent as bait.
• A golden-robed man admired Jiang Yi’s Foundation Establishment manifestation, while a monk in the Lion Chan Grove sensed its connection to the Buddhist Dao and wondered if Jiang Yi was the Sage King.
• Jiang Yi’s Divine Sense returned to his body, and he confirmed that his Ten-Thousand-Chariot Imperial Law Dao Foundation and Five Directions Paying Homage to the Origin true nature were supreme-grade.
• Jiang Yi shifted ten thousand li to the Great Snow Mountain beyond Yanmian Pass, where the Red Sun Great Dharma Master knelt and welcomed him as a High God.

Jiang Yi arrived at the Great Snow Mountain, where the Red Sun Great Dharma Master asked him for the method of ascension. Jiang Yi erased an ancient Buddhist inscription, left a character of his own to extend the Mortal Realm martial path, and departed after Red Sun gained a crucial insight.

• Jiang Yi appeared at the Great Snow Mountain, and the Red Sun Great Dharma Master knelt to greet him and ask for the method of ascension.
• Red Sun explained that fear of the unknown had kept him from shattering the void, though he remained determined to pursue the Dao.
• Jiang Yi entered the temple and erased the ancient character [Awakening] that generations of Great Dharma Masters had studied.
• Jiang Yi inscribed [Dao] in the air, promising to extend the severed road of Mortal Realm martial arts for Red Sun to comprehend.
• After contemplating [Dao] for three months, Red Sun understood a key formula and announced that the Great Snow Mountain would invite seekers to verify the method of ascension.

At Great Snow Mountain’s Spirit Refining Dao Attainment Assembly, Yao Yun offered an insight into the character [Dao] that helped Sijian Can, the Red Sun Great Dharma Master, comprehend its essence. Sijian Can broke open the void and drew in vital essence, while Jiang Yi watched and questioned whether he could ascend without Spirit Chance to nourish his Primordial Spirit.

• In Lion Tower, Zhou Muhan warned the gathered martial experts that the Embroidered-Clothes Guard was present, then left; Hundred-Knowledge Scholar disguised himself and headed toward Great Snow Mountain.
• At the foot of Great Snow Mountain, Fang Buying told Zhou Muhan that Yao Yun had ordered suspected traitors executed without exception and explained that she had come to attend the Spirit Refining Dao Attainment Assembly.
• At the Divine Temple, Yan Fei, Xu Zhu, and High Person Flowing Cloud shared their interpretations of the enormous character [Dao] as more than twenty Spirit Refining Grandmasters studied it.
• Yao Yun said the character [Dao] ruled all things, prompting the Red Sun Great Dharma Master to realize that its essence lay in ruling rather than transforming and drawing upon.
• Sijian Can comprehended a trace of the [Ten-Thousand-Chariot Imperial Law Dao Foundation], manifested a vast Dao domain, and shattered the void as vital essence poured toward him.
• Jiang Yi observed that the Mortal Realm lacked spiritual essence to nourish a Primordial Spirit and wondered whether Sijian Can could ascend without Spirit Chance.