Chapter Summaries

Shi Xuan revealed that he had prepared for the possibility of Mu Yang joining the enemy and used his hidden strength to capture and severely injure the Immortal Elder of Immortality. Bai Ze fled after Shi Xuan’s counterattack, while Shi Xuan and his allies turned to deal with the captured elder.

• The Immortal Elder of Immortality explained that he had joined Bai Ze to protect Myriad Tribulations Immortal Valley from decline, and Bai Ze admitted he had targeted Shi Xuan because he sensed a threat from him.
• Shi Xuan revealed he had prepared for Mu Yang to join Bai Ze, then reversed the Immortal Elder of Immortality’s attempt to manipulate time and drew him toward the Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle.
• Shi Xuan, Mo Jingqiu, and the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger stopped the elder from escaping, weakened him, and collected him into the Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle.
• Bai Ze detonated the Myriad Heavens Demonic Fiend Great Formation to trap Yan Qingying and fled through the shadows.
• Shi Xuan told Yan Qingying to deal with the Immortal Elder of Immortality first, revealing that he had meant to frighten Bai Ze into fleeing rather than keep the elder trapped.

Shi Xuan, Yan Qingying, and Mo Jingqiu killed Immortal Elder of Immortality and pursued Bai Ze through the Cangyu Mountain Range using the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger. Their pursuit led them to the decaying Shen Chenxi, who managed to warn them that something was fake.

• Yan Qingying, Shi Xuan, and Mo Jingqiu weakened Immortal Elder of Immortality’s tribulation and realm, then Shi Xuan killed him with the White Saber Light.
• Bai Ze attacked Yan Qingying with a Shadow of Inner Demon before fleeing, and the three allies slew the shadow but let him escape.
• Shi Xuan revealed that the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger could track Bai Ze’s aura, and Yan Qingying carried Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu after him.
• Bai Ze tried repeatedly to shake off the pursuit through the Cangyu Mountain Range, but the dagger continued to track him.
• Shi Xuan halted Yan Qingying in a Thunder-Struck Land after sensing a familiar Decay Tribulation aura, and he and Mo Jingqiu pulled Shen Chenxi from a yin-baleful swamp.
• Shen Chenxi recognized Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu and struggled to say, “Fake...” before returning to meditation.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu discovered that their world was an external illusion after Shi Xuan sensed that its Netherworld lacked a true connection to the Yellow Springs. They suspected the illusion was sustained by the residual power of the Taixu Mirror, which the Taiji Dao Ancestor had taken hundreds of thousands of years earlier.

• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu concluded that Shen Chenxi's Decay Tribulation was real but that the world's tribulations might be fake, and Shi Xuan confirmed that neither of them was under an illusion technique.
• Shi Xuan placed Shen Chenxi in the Heaven and Earth Mountain River Diagram, and he, Mo Jingqiu, and Yan Qingying resumed their pursuit of Bai Ze toward the Netherworld.
• Shi Xuan sensed that the Netherworld's Yellow Springs could not be reflected in his Primordial Spirit and concluded that the world was an external illusion.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu reasoned that the illusion's declining strength and worsening inhabitants could be explained by its sustaining treasure having been removed.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu identified the treasure as the Taixu Mirror and deduced that the Taiji Dao Ancestor had taken it after achieving Dao Integration.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu deduced that the Taixu Mirror’s residual power had created the Great Void Illusion Realm and identified Yunmiao Valley as its central hub. They uncovered the mirror’s remnant image, but Yan Qingying was turned against them as four phantom Heavenly Sovereigns began to form.

• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu reasoned that the Taixu Mirror had derived the Immortal Sects and their patriarchs from traces left by Great Spiritual Power Users who entered the Yuji Cauldron.
• Shi Xuan deduced that Yunmiao Valley was the illusion realm’s central hub because the patriarch of the Two Extremes Sect had encountered a Half-step Golden Immortal there.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu left Yan Qingying and traveled to Yunmiao Valley, where Shi Xuan rang the Cosmic Light Bell and revealed the Taixu Mirror’s remnant image.
• Yan Qingying followed Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu, but the mirror transported her to them and made her attack with the Nine Bends Heavenly River Array and the Hunyuan Golden Dou.
• The Taixu Mirror began forming phantom versions of Lu Rui, Mu Yang, Bai Ze, and the Immortal Elder of Immortality, so Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu rushed toward its remnant image.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu destroyed the Taixu Mirror’s weakened afterimage with the Karma Dan Book and escaped the illusion realm, while Shi Xuan reflected on the Heavenly Human Fifth Decay. The mirror re-formed and recreated events in Yunmiao Valley, and a hidden woman lamented that Bai Ze had failed to exhaust Shi Xuan’s Innate Slaughter Qi.

• Shi Xuan attacked the Taixu Mirror’s afterimage while Mo Jingqiu fought Yan Qingying, but Lu Rui and the other Heavenly Sovereigns joined the battle and overwhelmed them with time-slowing powers.
• Shi Xuan used the Karma Dan Book to shatter the Taixu Mirror’s afterimage, collapsing the illusion realm and erasing the summoned enemies and attacks.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu found the Taixu Mirror in a tree hollow and headed for the exit, but the mirror re-formed and engulfed the primeval forest in another illusion.
• Inside the renewed illusion, Yan Qingying and illusory versions of Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu killed Bai Ze, while the real Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu escaped and discussed the mirror’s limits.
• A beautiful woman hidden in the forest revealed that she had manipulated Bai Ze and regretted that he had failed to exhaust Shi Xuan’s Innate Slaughter Qi before following the pair.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu prepared to enter the Dharma-Ending Land, where their cultivation would be suppressed, while a stunning woman in black followed them in pursuit of the Hunyuan Golden Dou. After crossing into a desert and reaching Sanyang Pass, they encountered a tribesman demanding their horses.

• Shi Xuan realized the next world might be the Dharma-Ending Land and prepared silver, weapons, and supplies; Mo Jingqiu created four horses for their journey.
• A stunning woman in black watched Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu enter the world, then followed them, hoping to claim the ownerless Hunyuan Golden Dou.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu arrived in a desert with their cultivation suppressed to the Body Tempering Peak, and their Dao Hearts remained intact.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu rode toward Sanyang Pass and entered the city after Shi Xuan tossed silver to the gate guard Ma Yong.
• A bearded man from the Rotten Tu Tribe demanded that Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu sell him their horses, while Ma Yong warned them that the tribe received special treatment.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu fought their way out of Sanyang Pass after Asa and the Rotten Tu Tribe tried to seize their horses. As the Fourth Prince plotted to capture the pair, he encountered a sorrowful black-dressed woman who claimed they had ruined her life.

• Asa and the gate commander demanded Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu surrender their horses, but the pair chose to fight rather than yield.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu killed nearly all of Asa's men, seized the commander as a shield, and escaped through another gate with their horses and provisions.
• The Fourth Prince and Li Bufan watched the escape and planned to capture Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu for the prince's political designs.
• The Fourth Prince saw a black-dressed woman enter the city and approached her, drawn to her beauty.
• The woman told the Fourth Prince that the man he sought was her former betrothed, who had eloped with her elder sister and caused her father's death.

The Fourth Prince met Mu Jing, believed her story of betrayal, and vowed to help her seek revenge. Meanwhile, Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu neared their destination, found a village around a Daoist temple, and arrived just as the Temple Master’s elixir experiment went awry.

• The Fourth Prince sympathized with Mu Jing and promised to help her kill the people who had wronged her.
• Mu Jing introduced herself, and the Fourth Prince gave her his name while secretly changing the orders he had sent by carrier pigeon.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu traveled through the wilderness to evade pursuers and agreed to rest before continuing toward their destination.
• The pair discovered a village near a Daoist temple and asked to stay there for the night.
• A boy told Shi Xuan that the Temple Master was refining an elixir of Longevity, then an explosion filled a side room with smoke.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu learned that the Hunyuan Golden Dou was enshrined in the capital’s ancestral temple, then rested at a shabby Daoist temple. That night, they killed a band of men sent by the Imperial Preceptor to abduct Old Daoist Wu Wang.

• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu met Temple Master Wu Wang and Jiang Liu, and Shi Xuan suggested that ordinary fire was the reason Wu Wang’s alchemy failed.
• Madam Jiang dragged Jiang Liu away and argued with Wu Wang about his futile pursuit of longevity.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu learned that a Golden Dipper had been found in a cave and enshrined in the ancestral temple beside the imperial palace.
• Black-clothed men entered the temple to abduct Wu Wang and silence its other occupants on the Imperial Preceptor’s orders.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu killed the intruders and returned to their rooms without cleaning up the scene.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu left the Daoist temple after Shi refined nine Ascension Pills and gave Old Daoist Wu Wang the Returning to Truth Scripture. As they traveled, Mo Jingqiu explained the Life-and-Death Profound Pass’s connection to the Dao of Life and Death, while Zhen Xuzi and his disciple sampled the pills and sank into blissful illusions.

• Old Daoist Wu Wang discovered dead black-clad intruders in the temple courtyard and found Shi Xuan refining pills in the alchemy room.
• Shi Xuan gave Old Daoist Wu Wang the Returning to Truth Scripture and rode away with Mo Jingqiu.
• Old Daoist Wu Wang realized Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu were immortals after reading the scripture and seeing the courtyard’s untouched gaps.
• Mo Jingqiu told Shi Xuan that a Primordial Spirit born within the Yuji Cauldron might alert another Dao Ancestor, and connected the Life-and-Death Profound Pass to the Book of Life and Death.
• Gu Hongyu gave Zhen Xuzi a vermilion pill, and both men experienced intoxicating illusions after taking it.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu bargained with Zhen Xuzi for access to the Forbidden Palace, while Mu Jing rushed to the capital with the Fourth Prince. After the Emperor praised Zhen Xuzi’s pill and promised him the title of Imperial Preceptor, Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu entered the palace with him.

• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu subdued Zhen Xuzi and Gu Hongyu, then bargained to accompany Zhen Xuzi into and out of the Forbidden Palace in exchange for eight pills.
• The Fourth Prince raced to the capital with gravely ill Mu Jing, who had feigned illness to use his influence and reach the city quickly.
• Zhen Xuzi reported that the Emperor had enjoyed the pill’s effects and planned to name him Imperial Preceptor.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu passed a search at the Palace Gate and entered the imperial palace with Zhen Xuzi.

Emperor Ai Hong welcomed Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu after taking their Ascension Pill, then invited them to remain in the palace for a banquet featuring the Fourth Prince’s sword dancer. When Imperial Preceptor Zhu Shang tried to intimidate the two cultivators, Shi Xuan turned the attack back on him, leaving the pair free to wait for nightfall and their chance to enter the Ancestral Temple.

• Emperor Ai Hong praised the Ascension Pill and ordered Zhen Xuzi to refine more, while allowing Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu to stay in Huaqing Palace.
• After hearing that the Fourth Prince had brought a skilled sword dancer, Emperor Ai Hong arranged a banquet and invited Zhen Xuzi and Imperial Preceptor Zhu Shang.
• Zhu Shang tried to use his soul-intimidating gaze on Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu, but Shi Xuan resisted and caused Zhu Shang to lose control and strip in front of the court.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu discussed Zhu Shang’s soul techniques and planned to use the evening banquet as cover to infiltrate the Ancestral Temple.
• The Fourth Prince, Ai Zheng, sat apart from the other guests and vowed to make Jing'er his Empress if he gained the throne.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu disguised themselves as imperial guards and fought their way through the palace defenses to enter the Ancestral Temple. Mu Jing and Zhu Shang pursued them as the pair hid inside the sacred hall.

• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu split up to evade palace guards, then killed Zhang Wen and Zhao Wu and took their clothes and identities.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu rejoined the guards heading toward the Ancestral Temple, but Huang Qi grew suspicious when disguised Shi Xuan approached him.
• Shi Xuan exposed himself and drew the guards’ attention while Mo Jingqiu seized Huang Qi and used him as a shield.
• Zhu Shang and Mu Jing ordered the soldiers to fire, but Shi Xuan briefly stunned them, allowing him and Mo Jingqiu to break through the Ancestral Temple gates.
• Mu Jing and Zhu Shang entered the Ancestral Temple in pursuit, while Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu took cover inside.

Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu entered the ancestral temple to claim the Hunyuan Golden Dou, where they fought Mu Jing and her allies as Mo Jingqiu connected with the Innate Dao Embryo. Their cultivation recovered enough to turn the battle, but Mu Jing revealed a terrifying power that left Shi Xuan frozen under an overwhelming pressure.

• Shi Xuan rejected the temptation to betray Mo Jingqiu and watched as she took the Hunyuan Golden Dou and began connecting with it.
• Mu Jing attacked the pair at the temple gates, and Shi Xuan held her off while Mo Jingqiu fought the guards and continued her connection.
• Mo Jingqiu weakened the Dharma-ending suppression, restoring their cultivation to the Spirit Soul Peak; Zhu Shang's attempted attack backfired, and he burned to ashes.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu fought Mu Jing with their recovered powers as their battle destroyed the ancestral temple, stunning Ai Hong, the Fourth Prince, and the guards.
• Mu Jing scattered into black qi, then appeared beneath a clear, dim cloud of celebration, releasing a pressure that froze Shi Xuan's Spirit Soul.

Shi Xuan survived Mu Jing’s Great Dao pressure while Xuansiao ambushed Mu Jing with the Heaven Measuring Ruler. Mu Jing revealed that her Inner Demon was her separated other self, and Xuansiao struggled to hold both of them back as Mo Jingqiu prepared to wield the Hunyuan Golden Dou.

• Shi Xuan used the Other Shore Golden Bridge to suppress the Calamity Fate Great Dao in her Primordial Spirit and withstand Mu Jing’s pressure.
• Xuansiao struck Mu Jing with the Heaven Measuring Ruler, damaging her celebration cloud and the Hunyuan Golden Dou.
• Mo Jingqiu began placing restrictions on the Hunyuan Golden Dou while Xuansiao sealed the surrounding space.
• Mu Jing revealed her Half-step Golden Immortal Inner Demon clone and explained that the two were sides of one being, separated after she was bewitched while guarding Jiangxiao.
• Mu Jing trapped Xuansiao in the Nine Bends Heavenly River Array, but Xuansiao held off Mu Jing and the Inner Demon as her strength waned.
• Mo Jingqiu released her hands, and the Hunyuan Golden Dou flew toward the sky.

Mu Jing sacrificed her original body to help Inner Demon Mu Jing escape, but Mo Jingqiu and Xuansiao defeated her and pursued the survivor. Shi Xuan recovered his cultivation, gained the Origin of the Universe, and left the Yuji Cauldron with Mo Jingqiu as Xuansiao began healing and Mo Jingqiu prepared to hunt Mu Jing’s remaining incarnations.

• Mu Jing detonated the Hunyuan Golden Dou and used the Nine Bends Heavenly River Array to hold off Xuansiao and Mo Jingqiu so Inner Demon Mu Jing could flee.
• Xuansiao pursued Inner Demon Mu Jing through a rift, while Mo Jingqiu used the Innate Dao Embryo to seal Mu Jing’s original body and burn her to ashes.
• After the Innate Dao Embryo left, Shi Xuan recovered his Three Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign cultivation and reflected on his gains and how Mu Jing’s divided nature might help conceal his origins.
• Mo Jingqiu returned without Xuansiao, explained that Xuansiao was gravely injured and that Mu Jing had fallen, and gave Shi Xuan the Origin of the Universe as compensation.
• Mo Jingqiu and Shi Xuan discussed their trust and past cooperation, then returned together along the path they had taken.

After returning from Dharma-Ending Land, Shi Xuan reunited with his disciples and fellow cultivators in Penglai Sect, offered guidance, and arranged a Dharma Assembly to share the Momentary Forgetfulness Fruits. The chapter ended with True Person Jiang announcing that he intended to reincarnate and begin anew.

• In Dharma-Ending Land, a venomous-insect cultivator and a sword master each broke through barriers in their cultivation, while Old Daoist Wu Wang began visualizing his soul after receiving the Returning to Truth Scripture.
• Shi Xuan returned to Penglai Sect, allowed Qing Suo to eat a Momentary Forgetfulness Fruit, advised Qing Lang about his cultivation, and introduced Nine Spirits as his new mount.
• Shi Xuan reassured Xia Jing that steady cultivation and a firm Dao heart could lead to great achievements despite her slower progress.
• Shi Xuan and True Person Jiang agreed to hold the Penglai Dharma Assembly ten years later and invite fifty-seven fellow Daoists.
• True Person Jiang told Shi Xuan that he intended to reincarnate and begin anew.

Shi Xuan and True Person Jiang planned the Penglai Dharma Assembly and discussed Jiang’s decision to reincarnate so he could cultivate the Divine Firmament True Dao Attainment Treasure Scripture from the beginning. The chapter ended with Wang Xuanji delivering an invitation from Shi Xuan to True Person Guiyi, who accepted it with reverence.

• True Person Jiang told Shi Xuan he planned to reincarnate and start cultivating the Divine Firmament True Dao Attainment Treasure Scripture, which he had studied for two thousand years.
• True Person Jiang entrusted Shi Xuan with the Destruction Thunder Seal until he could reclaim it after reincarnation.
• Shi Xuan, True Person Jiang, and Xia Jing discussed invitees and allocated invitations for the Penglai Dharma Assembly.
• Wang Xuanji arrived during True Person Guiyi’s sermon and delivered an invitation from Shi Xuan.
• True Person Guiyi accepted the invitation and bowed toward the eastern horizon to thank True Lord Shi.

Shi Xuan’s invitation to the Penglai Dharma Assembly reached cultivators and sect leaders across Yuyu Heaven, who discussed his growing power and the Momentary Forgetfulness Fruit. The chapter ended with academy student Jiang Yehe discovering a falling Dharma Treasure labeled the Destruction Thunder Seal and a note instructing him to recognize its blood.

• Cultivators in Tianji City learned that Wei Boshu had been invited to the Penglai Dharma Assembly, where attendees could taste the Momentary Forgetfulness Fruit.
• Ren Yunzong invited Shen Yimo to attend the assembly, and they discussed Shi Xuan’s strength and their prospects for the Heavenly Human Fourth Decay.
• Qin Sheng considered how Shi Xuan might view his cultivation of the Primordial Sky Demon Tome and regretted that ten years was not enough time to prepare for the assembly.
• Xiao Zhenzi and Chu Dexian each reflected on Shi Xuan’s invitation and his rise to power.
• Jiang Yehe found a black Dharma Treasure that fell from the sky and read the attached instructions to recognize its blood.

Yuan Yingning sought True Lord Chongyang’s help for her cursed father, while the Penglai Dharma Assembly gathered cultivators from across Yuyu Heaven. Shi Xuan learned that the Divine Emperor’s subordinates were active in Yuyu Heaven and that the Red Emperor had returned from the Chaotic Primordial Era.

• Yuan Yingning brought her family’s token to Dragon Gate Daoist Temple, but Purple Gold Boy said True Lord Chongyang was away and offered to cure her father’s curse himself.
• Penglai Sect welcomed many visiting True Persons to the Shangqing Shenxiao Realm for the Dharma Assembly, where Wei Boshu and True Person Guiyi arrived and met Hua Qianluo.
• Meng Nishang told Shi Xuan she had found traces of the Divine Emperor’s direct subordinates in Yuyu Heaven, and Shi Xuan resolved to ask others what had happened to Granny Yu’s friend.
• Meng Nishang advised Shi Xuan to open the Netherworld within Yuyu Heaven so he could escape into the Nine Nether if danger arose.
• Lian Yu told Shi Xuan that the Red Emperor, Empress Xuannü’s lifelong nemesis, had greatly advanced in cultivation and returned from the Chaotic Primordial Era.