Chapter Summaries

After Xiao Zhenzi’s tribulation, Shi Xuan used the gathering to help Penglai Sect’s Yang Spirit True Persons face their fears about the fourth Heavenly Tribulation and strengthen their Dao hearts. Six hundred and eighty-six years later, Shi Xuan had completed his preparations to temper himself for the Heavenly Human Fifth Decay and planned to consult Granny Yu about concealing his celebratory cloud if he reached Half-step Golden Immortal.

• Shi Xuan gathered Penglai Sect’s Three Tribulation Yang Spirit True Persons to witness Xiao Zhenzi undergo the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Tribulation and contemplate its power.
• Shi Xuan revealed that True Person Jiang had achieved Primordial Spirit anew and was cultivating the 'Divine Firmament True Dao Attainment Treasure Scripture,' prompting the others to consider whether to change paths.
• Mo Yuan, Lin Luo, Xie Fangwei, and Xia Jing each resolved to keep following their chosen paths rather than flee the coming Heavenly Tribulation through reincarnation.
• Mo Yuan touched the Divine Marrow of the Thunder Great Dao, while Lin Luo, Xie Fangwei, and Xia Jing recognized that Shi Xuan’s guidance had improved their Dao hearts.
• Six hundred and eighty-six years later, Shi Xuan had refined his flying swords and Yin-Yang Lightning Immortal Techniques to Ninth Tier and prepared to temper his Dao heart for the Heavenly Human Fifth Decay.
• Shi Xuan planned to contact Granny Yu for advice on concealing his celebratory cloud if he achieved Half-step Golden Immortal.

Shi Xuan discussed how to conceal the roots of his auspicious cloud with Granny Yu, who had overcome Lifespan Decay, and learned that an unfinished Fate Destroying Scroll could disguise it. The danger of obtaining and using an Innate Dao Embryo left him uncertain about how to proceed, while Granny Yu hinted that more than Nirvana Dao Ancestor had acted against Qingyunzi.

• Shi Xuan worried that Life and Death Dao Ancestor's intervention had ruined his plans to hide his cultivation and eliminate the Divine Emperor.
• Shi Xuan contacted Granny Yu and congratulated her on overcoming the Heavenly Human Fourth Decay.
• Granny Yu explained that an auspicious cloud's roots could be concealed through a Great Dao transformation or by refining an Innate Dao Embryo, and taught Shi Xuan the Innate Great Evolution Reversal Qiankun Secret Method.
• Shi Xuan considered borrowing Mo Jingqiu's Hunyuan Golden Dou, but feared exposing his secrets to Life and Death Dao Ancestor and incurring a great debt.
• Granny Yu told Shi Xuan that the unfinished Fate Destroying Scroll could disguise his auspicious cloud, though he would be vulnerable before he could use it.
• Shi Xuan suspected that Nirvana Dao Ancestor had not acted alone against Qingyunzi, and Granny Yu smiled without answering.

Shi Xuan discussed his plans for traveling abroad with Granny Yu, who advised him about listening to the Dao and explained the unusual Big Dipper Great World. After exchanging Daoist magic, Shi Xuan left the Shangqing Shenxiao Realm and began his journey.

• Granny Yu told Shi Xuan that Nirvana Dao Ancestor had killed Qingyunzi and might have enlisted other Innate Dao Ancestors to hinder him, then offered to help Shi Xuan obtain the Fate Destroying Scroll’s refinement method.
• Shi Xuan asked where to listen to a Lord of Creation expound the Dao, and Granny Yu recommended Taixuan Daoist in Taiyuan Heaven while saying he could also visit Yujing Heaven.
• Granny Yu defended Daoist Yujing’s integrity and explained that Star River Dao Ancestor’s circumstances had kept him from fighting Yujing earlier.
• Shi Xuan planned to visit Taiyuan Heaven, Yujing Heaven, the Big Dipper Great World, and the Chaotic Primordial Era to study the Dao, develop his swordsmanship, and temper his Dao heart.
• Granny Yu described the Big Dipper Great World’s seven realms and their endless ascensions, noting that its Primordial Realm was empty because the world had no Dao Ancestor.
• After exchanging Daoist magic, Shi Xuan regulated his breath for several days, left the Shangqing Shenxiao Realm, and set out on his travels.

After Shi Xuan set out for the Big Dipper Great World, Fengdu Imperial Sovereign and the Divine Emperor each prepared to eliminate him before he could become a Half-step Golden Immortal. Shi Xuan reached the chaotic spacetime currents surrounding Big Dipper, where he found a world whose shifting regions corresponded to other worlds’ spacetime beacons.

• Fengdu Imperial Sovereign decided that he and Shi Xuan would inevitably clash, and sent his Fourth Tribulation Avatar through a Time Dao Beacon Gate to intercept him near Big Dipper.
• Nether Sea Imperial Sovereign refrained from acting against Shi Xuan, while Nine Treasures Imperial Sovereign calmly continued freeing the dead souls on Nine Nether’s seventh layer.
• The Divine Emperor ordered Shi Yizheng to send gods and Divine Lords to provoke and attack Penglai Sect cultivators, while he helped the Red Emperor hold back the Mysterious Woman.
• Shi Xuan sensed Big Dipper’s unstable spacetime and learned that Zhou Zhengshi had left the Nameless Great World to travel.
• Shi Xuan shifted through spacetime to Big Dipper and saw its chaotic currents form a sphere whose different regions corresponded to the spacetime beacons of other Great Thousand Worlds.

Shi Xuan completed a major advance in his Circumstellar Star Dou Sword Art after studying the Big Dipper’s shifting spacetime, then entered the Mortal Realm and watched Li Xingkong ascend. Li Xingkong discovered that his new Qi Induction cultivation left him far beneath the experts of the Cultivation World, while Shi Xuan stood nearby.

• Shi Xuan comprehended the Big Dipper’s star patterns, condensed the changes of his Circumstellar Star Dou Sword Art into one strike, and split open the spacetime barrier.
• Shi Xuan entered the Big Dipper Great World through the Shaking Light Great World, and Great Master Jiuzang and the Nether Sea Imperial Sovereign noticed his arrival.
• Shi Xuan sensed that Li Xingkong would ascend, then watched the Longevity Sect master bid farewell to his disciples and punch through the void.
• Li Xingkong arrived in the Cultivation World, where a tall man explained that he had only reached Qi Induction and invited him to join the Eight Spirits Sect.
• Li Xingkong sensed the stronger cultivator at a nearby stall and realized how weak he was in the higher realm; the tall man then noticed Shi Xuan, who said he was just passing by.

Li Xingkong joined the Eight Spirits Sect after encountering the mysterious Shi Xuan, then witnessed the Grand Elder ascend to the Spirit Realm and saw Shi Xuan follow him. Shi Xuan continued into the Immortal Realm, where he observed a striking Primordial Spirit True Person wielding numerous kinds of True Fire.

• Li Xingkong agreed to join the Eight Spirits Sect after Zhang Fan and his fellow disciples described the vanished young man, and Zhang Fan brought him to Eight Spirits Mountain.
• Fang Baitou found no curse on Li Xingkong and explained that he had encountered a Spirit Soul expert; as they spoke, the Grand Elder broke through to the Golden Core Realm and ascended.
• Shi Xuan appeared at the closing passage to the Spirit Realm and stepped through after the Grand Elder, leaving Zhang Fan and Li Xingkong astonished.
• In the Spirit Realm, Xia Sen arrived by using the Nine Revolutions Jade Elixir Divine Pill, learned he would need to ascend again, and Shi Xuan concluded that ascension continued without end.
• Shi Xuan traveled through the Immortal Realm and noticed a Primordial Spirit True Person with extraordinary Fortune fighting with an array of powerful True Fires.

Zhong Limèi and the Flame Emperor’s duel revealed the entrance to a Grotto-Heaven left by Sīmìng Star Lord, a missing Fourth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign. While the two True Persons considered how to enter, Shi Xuan explored the small Grotto-Heaven and wondered whether their discovery had been guided.

• Zhong Limèi used his Geng Metal Sword Qi and Golden Sound Spirit-Rending Technique against the Flame Emperor, who countered with Red Lotus Karma Fire and his Flame Emperor Throne.
• Zhong Limèi endured the Red Lotus Karma Fire and pressed his attack, prompting the Flame Emperor to unleash the Flame Emperor Myriad Chariot Fire.
• The Flame Emperor Myriad Chariot Fire stalled at a patch of space containing a Grotto-Heaven, and the Flame Emperor and Zhong Limèi recognized it as Sīmìng Star Lord’s abandoned residence.
• The Flame Emperor and Zhong Limèi agreed to investigate the Grotto-Heaven, though neither could overcome its entrance restrictions.
• Shi Xuan revealed himself inside the Grotto-Heaven, questioned how the two had found it, and explored its small interior while seeking insight into the Three Lives Fate Purple Que Heavenly Tome.

Shi Xuan survived Sīmìng Star Lord’s Three Lives Water Mirror, studied the Three Lives Fate Purple Que Heavenly Tome, and discovered a warning about ghosts in Great Luo. He left the Grotto-Heaven and drew in more True Persons, all of whom reportedly perished except for one rumored survivor.

• Shi Xuan’s Taiji Diagram stopped the Three Lives Water Mirror from killing his past self, and he destroyed the attack with a sword strike.
• Shi Xuan read the Three Lives Fate Purple Que Heavenly Tome, took Sīmìng Star Lord’s time-and-fate bead, and noticed the words “There are ghosts in Great Luo.”
• Shi Xuan erased the warning, left the Grotto-Heaven, and activated its aura to lure in True Persons before the Heavenly Realm arrived.
• Flame Emperor and Zhong Limèi joined forces with a white-haired man and Han to break the entrance Restriction as more True Persons gathered.
• The True Persons rushed into the Grotto-Heaven, where a bloody disaster killed everyone who entered except for one rumored survivor.

Shi Xuan recognized that his urge to enter the Heavenly Realm might be clouding his judgment and tried to leave the Big Dipper Great World instead. A golden barrier infused with Merit and Nine Nether Qi trapped him, while the revelation of Sīmìng Star Lord's Legacy Abode exposed a hidden struggle among powerful figures.

• Sīgōng Star Lord descended through Tian Xuan Sect and used the Merit Golden Lotus to transform the Immortal Realm's spatial barrier.
• Shi Xuan reconsidered his plan to enter the Heavenly Realm, suspecting that his thoughts were being influenced, and decided to leave Big Dipper.
• The Big Dipper Immortal Realm's spatial barrier changed under golden Merit light and Death Qi, preventing Shi Xuan from opening a way out.
• Left Saint Boy tried and failed to overcome Lady Xuan Pin, who was blocking him from reaching Shi Xuan.
• After Sīmìng Star Lord's Legacy Abode was exposed, Lady Xuan Pin and Left Saint Boy discussed how Shi Xuan had missed his chance to act decisively.

Shi Xuan was trapped inside the Immortal Realm by three Ninth Tier treasures and faced three Big Dipper Star Lords, while he deduced the connection between Big Dipper and Nine Nether. Fengdu Imperial Sovereign sent a weaker incarnation into the Immortal Realm, and Daoist Lord Xuanpin prepared to go out despite Left Saint Boy's warning.

• Sīgōng Star Lord used the Merit Golden Lotus to seal the Immortal Realm’s spatial barrier, and Bai Zhinan learned that the sect’s Dao Lord had ordered Shi Xuan captured dead or alive.
• Death Qi and Nine Nether Qi reinforced the barrier as Sīgōng Star Lord departed to confront Shi Xuan alongside Sīshòu Star Lord and Zhǎngshēng Star Lord.
• Shi Xuan identified the three Imperial Sovereigns’ origins and deduced that Big Dipper and Nine Nether were two sides of one world governed by life and death.
• Sīgōng Star Lord attacked Shi Xuan with a Merit Ruyi, and Shi Xuan countered with the Five Elements Immortal Slaying Sword as Sīshòu Star Lord and Zhǎngshēng Star Lord arrived.
• Fengdu Imperial Sovereign sent a weaker incarnation through the barrier into the Immortal Realm while Jiuzang Imperial Sovereign and Youhai Imperial Sovereign watched.
• Left Saint Boy tried to dissuade Daoist Lord Xuanpin from going out, but she only smiled meaningfully.

Shi Xuan fought the three Fourth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereigns and used his sword arts to kill Palm Life Star Lord and badly injure Sīshòu Star Lord. As Shi Xuan prepared to flee, Fengdu Imperial Sovereign descended.

• Shi Xuan struck Sīgōng Star Lord with a sword mimicking One Sword Breaks All Laws, shattering his Merit Ruyi before the Saha Merit Golden Lotus blocked the attack.
• Shi Xuan's Four Symbols World Destroying Sword forced Sīshòu Star Lord to sacrifice his Longevity Star, leaving him heavily injured and weakened.
• Shi Xuan attacked Palm Life Star Lord with his Innate Calamity Fate sword and killed him before the other Star Lords could intervene.
• Sīgōng Star Lord and Sīshòu Star Lord realized Shi Xuan had turned the fight against them as he prepared to escape.
• Fengdu Imperial Sovereign descended, and his terrifying aura pressured Shi Xuan's Primordial Spirit.

Shi Xuan faced Fengdu Imperial Sovereign’s true Half-step Golden Immortal body and used the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger to create an opening for escape. Nine Treasures Imperial Sovereign blocked his Spacetime Beacon Gate, and as Fengdu’s reincarnation technique took hold, an Eternal aura appeared and an overwhelming force descended.

• Shi Xuan attacked Fengdu Imperial Sovereign and the two Star Lords, but Fengdu’s true body arrived and shattered the Taiji Diagram’s suppression with his aura.
• Shi Xuan recovered from Fengdu’s pressure, used a sword strike to distract him, and gained an initial understanding of the Fate Destruction Great Dao true meaning.
• Shi Xuan released the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger, which froze Fengdu Imperial Sovereign long enough for Shi Xuan to activate Granny Yu’s Spacetime Beacon Gate.
• Nine Treasures Imperial Sovereign formed the Two Realms Ten Directions Vajra Womb Great Formation through the Immortal Realm’s barrier and repelled Shi Xuan’s attempt to escape.
• Fengdu Imperial Sovereign unleashed the Six Paths of Reincarnation and began turning Shi Xuan into a mortal, but an Eternal aura appeared above Shi Xuan as an immense force overturned heaven and earth.

Ehuang attacked Shi Xuan with the Yin Virtue Great Dao, but the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda protected him. As Dao Ancestors clashed around them, Ānanda Tathāgata seized an opening to attack Lady Xuan Pin and take the Xuan Pin Gate.

• Ehuang drew Shi Xuan into the Yin Virtue Great Dao, but the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda emerged and shielded him from assimilation.
• Left Saint Boy fled toward the Nine Nether Barrier as Ānanda Tathāgata attacked what appeared to be Lady Xuan Pin, only for the target to vanish as a Taiji phantom.
• Chi Songzi struck at Ānanda Tathāgata, who used Taiji qi to hold Chi Songzi and Taiji back while Ehuang was occupied with the pagoda.
• Ānanda Tathāgata revealed the real Lady Xuan Pin and sent the Bodhi Wonderful Tree to seize her and the Xuan Pin Gate.
• Lady Xuan Pin began to fall into Nirvana as Ehuang could not reach her in time.

Lady Xuan Pin nearly fell into nirvana, but Old Peacock intervened and helped Ānanda Tathāgata escape the combined assault of several Dao Ancestors. Shi Xuan survived the battle and pieced together some of the Dao Ancestors’ alliances, while Ehuang reconsidered her plans after realizing Great Luo had secretly protected him.

• Old Peacock’s Five-Colored Divine Light suppressed the Bodhi Wonderful Tree and saved Lady Xuan Pin as Ancestor Dragon, Ehuang, and other Dao Ancestors joined the battle.
• Ānanda Tathāgata seized the Innate Void Great Dao of the Big Dipper Great World, but Shi Xuan’s Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda stabilized the world and shielded its inhabitants.
• Ānanda Tathāgata used the opening to escape into the Three Thousand Great Daos, and Old Peacock’s radiance faded after Lady Xuan Pin thanked him for saving her.
• Ehuang withdrew without attacking Shi Xuan, and the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda departed before he could pay his respects.
• Shi Xuan surveyed the aftermath and inferred possible alliances and rivalries among the Dao Ancestors, while acknowledging that their allegiances could change.
• Ehuang wondered why Great Luo had concealed his identity when he first rescued Shi Xuan from reincarnation, since she might otherwise have spared Lady Xuan Pin from danger.

Ehuang, Chi Songzi, and Taiji considered why Great Luo had intervened in the battle and whether the Life and Death Dao Ancestor had already reincarnated or reintegrated with the Dao. Great Luo later spoke with the hidden Life and Death Dao Ancestor, who explained why he had not acted openly, while Great Luo reflected that the intervention had repaid an old favor.

• Ehuang realized Great Luo had lured her into acting and discussed with Chi Songzi how Old Peacock and River Chart might have affected the battle.
• Ehuang and Chi Songzi considered that the Life and Death Dao Ancestor might have reincarnated or reintegrated with the Dao during the chaos, and Taiji said he had not hidden the Dao Embryo where Taiji himself had once concealed his.
• Great Luo returned to his Daoist ground and asked the hidden Life and Death Dao Ancestor why he had not acted at the battle’s crucial moment.
• The Life and Death Dao Ancestor said he had wanted to observe the situation, avoid exposing his reintegration, and leave Ānanda Tathāgata severely wounded.
• Great Luo noted that his intervention had also canceled the favor he owed the Life and Death Dao Ancestor.

After the Dao Ancestors’ battle, the Half-step Golden Immortals who had been caught in its aftermath assessed their injuries and realized Shi Xuan had survived untouched. Shi Xuan thanked the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger, then continued his travels with new insights into swordsmanship and the Dao of Fate Destruction, while Mo Yuan faced two Three Tribulation Deities.

• Fengdu Imperial Sovereign severed his connection to his incarnation in time, but the battle’s aftermath badly injured him and cost him nearly a hundred thousand years of Dao practice.
• Nine Treasures Imperial Sovereign survived by entering Nirvana, learned from Ānanda Tathāgata what had happened, and resolved to avoid recklessly interfering with Shi Xuan.
• Nether Sea Imperial Sovereign and Divine Emperor discovered that Shi Xuan had survived unharmed and grew wary, with Divine Emperor planning to seek advice from Senior Brother Bukong and ask Yi Zheng to make inquiries.
• Shi Xuan thanked the weakened Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger for blocking Fengdu Imperial Sovereign’s first strike, then departed to continue his travels.
• Shi Xuan reflected on his progress in the Circumstellar Star Dou Sword Art, the Great Dao of Fate Destruction, and his observations of Nirvana Dao Ancestor.
• In a remote Great Thousand World, Mo Yuan calmly faced two Three Tribulation Deities.

Mo Yuan triggered the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Tribulation to defeat the Divine Emperor Great World's ambush and advanced through it, while Shi Xuan intervened to repel a Divine Lord's attack. Shi Xuan then showed signs of grasping the Innate Great Dao of Fate Destruction, killing Shang Hefeng and unsettling the Divine Emperor's plans.

• Gao Guangqi and Su Yaluo attacked Mo Yuan with the Boundless Sea of Suffering Pervading Immortal Formation and the Immeasurable Great Hand Seal, seeking to convert him.
• Mo Yuan revealed that he had deliberately exposed his tracks, then triggered the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Tribulation and killed the two Gods as he advanced.
• A Divine Lord attacked Mo Yuan with Great Pervading Divine Light, but Shi Xuan's sword severed the giant hand and let Mo Yuan return to the sect.
• Shi Yizheng urged the Divine Emperor to act against Shi Xuan, but the Divine Emperor chose to wait until Shi Xuan's Dao Heart Decay.
• Shang Hefeng's injured Vow-Power Treasure Light lost control after a clap of thunder and exploded, killing him; Shi Yizheng concluded that Shi Xuan had begun to grasp the Innate Great Dao of Fate Destruction.

Lin Luo destroyed herself to break the Gods’ formation, and Shi Xuan saved her True Spirit Spark before it was lost. Chu Wan’er also sacrificed herself to defeat Wise Victory Divine Lord, but a small bell carried her True Spirit Spark away to reincarnate.

• Lin Luo resisted the Three Tribulation Deity’s attempts to subdue her, then self-detonated her Primordial Spirit and natal Dharma Treasure, destroying the formation and killing three Prayer Power Avatars.
• Shi Yizheng tried to rescue the wounded Three Tribulation Deity, but Shi Xuan’s sword forced him to retreat; Shi Xuan then recovered Lin Luo’s True Spirit Spark.
• Wise Victory Divine Lord confronted Chu Wan’er, who used Ten Directions Destruction to batter his Golden Body and destroy his divine kingdom.
• Chu Wan’er collapsed her Primordial Spirit and destroyed herself and Wise Victory Divine Lord together, while hiding her True Spirit Spark.
• A small bell covered Chu Wan’er’s True Spirit Spark and carried it through the void into a household.

After the Divine Emperor’s forces attacked Penglai Sect to provoke Shi Xuan’s Dao Heart Decay, Shi Xuan decided to confront the Divine Emperor before the tribulation erupted. He traveled to Taiyuan Heaven with Mo Jingqiu and asked to borrow the Hunyuan Golden Dou.

• Nirvana Dao Ancestor told Ancient Great Bright Buddha that a yin-and-yang cultivation art would help him approach the Yin Yang Great Dao, but Ancient Great Bright Buddha forbade him from warning his disciples about the Big Dipper matter.
• The Divine Emperor’s forces attacked Penglai Sect members across multiple worlds, killing or injuring many while sparing others, and Mo Yuan passed his fourth Heavenly Tribulation to become a True Lord.
• True Lord Xu and Mo Yuan concluded that the Divine Emperor was targeting Shi Xuan, while Shi Xuan explained that he had a secret method to settle the conflict before his Dao Heart Decay began.
• Shi Xuan thanked Penglai Sect’s True Persons and True Lords for standing with him, then went to Three Xiaos Palace and invited Mo Jingqiu to Taiyuan Heaven.
• Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu reached Taiyuan Heaven, where Shi Xuan asked to borrow the Hunyuan Golden Dou.

Mo Jingqiu lent Shi Xuan the Hunyuan Golden Dou, which he spent seven years mastering in seclusion. Shi Xuan then attacked the Divine Emperor Great World with a version of One Sword Breaks All Laws, leaving the Divine Emperor’s forces reeling as he began summoning the Spacetime Beacon Gate.

• Mo Jingqiu readily lent Shi Xuan the Hunyuan Golden Dou and carefully transferred control of its core to him.
• Shi Xuan agreed to repay Mo Jingqiu and said he would return the Hunyuan Golden Dou after reaching the Half-step Golden Immortal realm.
• The Divine Emperor and Shi Yizheng suspected Shi Xuan was seeking help from Three Xiaos Palace, while the Divine Emperor arranged for Senior Brother Bukong and others to counter any intervention.
• Seven years later, Shi Xuan mastered the Hunyuan Golden Dou’s Spirit Restriction and set out for the Divine Emperor Great World.
• Shi Xuan attacked the Divine Emperor with One Sword Breaks All Laws, stripping the gods of their golden bodies and triggering a backlash from their Prayer Power Avatars.
• The Divine Emperor narrowly blocked Shi Xuan’s slash, while Shi Xuan began summoning the Spacetime Beacon Gate.