Chapter Summaries

Shi Xuan fled the Divine Emperor while planning to use the Hunyuan Golden Dou, but Dao Heart Decay erupted before he could reach the Yuji Cauldron. In an illusory trial that reviewed his past choices, he understood what the decay tested and affirmed his resolve to preserve his original heart.

• The Divine Emperor pursued Shi Xuan as the Spacetime Beacon Gate shifted him between worlds, and he discovered that one destination was the Seven Immortals Great World.
• Shi Xuan realized that exposing the Yuji Cauldron and using the Hunyuan Golden Dou could reveal his secrets to the Dao Ancestors and put his life at risk.
• The Classic of Morality activated, and Shi Xuan recognized that Dao Heart Decay had begun as he reconsidered his plan and questioned why the Dao Ancestors had left the Hunyuan Golden Dou untouched.
• Shi Xuan entered a dim illusion that showed scenes from his past and tested whether he had kept to his original heart through hardship, temptation, and tribulations.
• Shi Xuan understood Dao Heart Decay as a test of steadfastness, stepped forward with renewed resolve, and illuminated the illusory world with his clear Dao heart.

Shi Xuan overcame Dao Heart Decay, merged his Dao Heart with his Primordial Spirit, and became a Half-step Golden Immortal. The Divine Emperor recognized the threat and attacked him with Nameless Wrath and eleven summoned figures.

• Shi Xuan broke free from the darkness of Dao Heart Decay and saw the Book of Life and Death, which recorded that he had overcome the tribulation.
• The Life and Death Dao Ancestor sent Shi Xuan an Innate Life and Death Dao Embryo and demanded that he remember to repay the favor.
• Shi Xuan merged his Dao Heart and Primordial Spirit with the Yin Yang Great Dao, condensed the Shangqing Yuyu Great Yin-Yang Auspicious Cloud, and achieved Half-step Golden Immortal.
• Destruction and exhausted fate flowed into Shi Xuan's Primordial Spirit, completing the Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword with the origins of three Great Daos.
• The Divine Emperor decided to kill Shi Xuan before he could escape and attacked with Nameless Wrath while summoning eleven figures.

Shi Xuan struck the Divine Emperor with the Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword, nearly breaking his defenses and severely draining his Dao practice. The Divine Emperor summoned a Star River Dao Lord to restrain the sword, then trapped Shi Xuan in the Formless Lotus Womb Barrier and prepared to enslave him as the Taiji Diagram’s Other Shore Golden Bridge was blocked.

• The Divine Emperor’s Deity's Wrath burned toward Shi Xuan, but Shi Xuan extinguished it with the Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword and unleashed One Sword Breaks All Laws.
• Shi Xuan’s sword shattered the Divine Emperor’s attacks and broke through the Formless Lotus Womb Barrier, costing the Divine Emperor six hundred thousand years of Dao practice, injuring his Primordial Spirit, and destroying three Prayer Power Avatars.
• The Divine Emperor summoned a Dao Lord of the Ancient Star River Sect, whose Auspicious Cloud of Star River Benefiting All Beings entangled Shi Xuan’s sword.
• The Divine Emperor spread the Formless Lotus Womb Barrier around Shi Xuan and used its enslaving power while the Star River Dao Lord kept the sword occupied.
• Shi Xuan sent out the Taiji Diagram’s Other Shore Golden Bridge, but the Divine Emperor blocked it with his Precious Appearance Canopy as golden lamps and lotuses swept toward Shi Xuan.

Shi Xuan used the Life and Death Limitless Transcendence Auspicious Cloud and Life and Death Reincarnation to kill the Divine Emperor, ending their nearly ten-thousand-year grudge. After the Divine Emperor fell and the Nirvana forces withdrew, Shi Xuan attacked Fengdu Imperial Sovereign in Fengdu City.

• Shi Xuan’s Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword overwhelmed the Saint Virtue Dao Lord, while the Divine Emperor trapped him in the Boundless Sea of Suffering Pervading Immortal Formation.
• Shi Xuan summoned the Life and Death Limitless Transcendence Auspicious Cloud and used Life and Death Reincarnation to strike the Divine Emperor with absolute death.
• The Divine Emperor’s protective lamps went out, his Golden Body crumbled, and he fell; the Saint Virtue Dao Lord regained his clarity and departed as the three Nirvana Wonderful Trees fled.
• Shi Xuan gathered the Divine Emperor’s scattered prayer power and reflected on how their long conflict had helped him reach the Half-step Golden Immortal realm.
• Shi Xuan sent the Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword through the void toward Fengdu Imperial Sovereign, whose Reincarnation Wheel began spinning as the sword entered Fengdu City.

Shi Xuan defeated Fengdu Imperial Sovereign with the Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword, stripped away his Dao practice, and captured him before Ehuang could intervene. After learning the final step of the Fate Destroying Scroll’s refinement, Shi Xuan killed Fengdu and destroyed the Divine Emperor Great World, while Ehuang began to piece together a hidden connection involving Shi Xuan.

• Shi Xuan’s Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword severed Fengdu Imperial Sovereign’s Dao practice, shattered his treasures, and caused his realm to fall to Fourth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign.
• Ehuang tried to rescue Fengdu, but Great Luo Dao Ancestor blocked her, and she withdrew before her allies could be contacted.
• Nirvana Dao Ancestor prepared to save Divine Emperor, but Great Brightness Buddha warned him of a trap, and Divine Emperor perished before he could act.
• Ehuang connected Shi Xuan’s cultivation technique with Fengdu’s Fate Destroying Scroll and began investigating the hidden scheme behind Shi Xuan.
• Shi Xuan searched Fengdu’s Primordial Spirit for the final step of the scroll’s refinement method, then killed Fengdu Imperial Sovereign completely.
• Shi Xuan struck the Divine Emperor Great World with the Two Forms Dao Destroying Sword, turning it into a hell, and departed.

Meng Nishang gathered the Penglai Sect’s leaders to prepare for the Divine Emperor’s possible attack, but news arrived that the Divine Emperor had fallen and Shi Xuan returned. Shi Xuan revealed that he had overcome Dao Heart Decay and wielded the Life and Death Auspicious Cloud, which manifested a Book of Life and Death.

• Meng Nishang told the Penglai Sect’s True Lords and True Persons that Shi Xuan had attacked the Divine Emperor and offered to protect them if things went wrong.
• Mo Yuan observed signs of Dao Heart Decay in Shi Xuan, while Meng Nishang believed he must have a hidden way to defeat the Divine Emperor.
• As True Lord Xu prepared to move the sect to the Tongtian Great World, Meng Nishang reported that the Divine Emperor Palace had collapsed and the Divine Emperor might have fallen.
• Meng Nishang said a black-and-white sword light had entered the Divine Emperor Great World, dispersed its laws, and freed the Prayer Power Avatars.
• Shi Xuan returned to the End of the World Pavilion, and Meng Nishang asked whether he had overcome Dao Heart Decay.
• Shi Xuan revealed his Life and Death Auspicious Cloud and formed a Book of Life and Death that displayed True Lord Xu’s remaining time before his second decay.

Shi Xuan demonstrated the Book of Life and Death’s power, offering to erase names from it and performing acts of reincarnation after attaining Half-step Golden Immortal. He sent Zhou Dielan into a new life, rescued the True Spirits of fallen sect members, and left Penglai Sect’s True Persons and True Lords recognizing him as a Great Spiritual Power User.

• Shi Xuan revealed that erasing a name from the Book of Life and Death granted longevity but permanently halted cultivation and risked the True Spirit’s destruction, and he offered the sect’s members one chance to choose.
• Ling Ri asked Shi Xuan to erase both his name and Ao Li’s, and several external Primordial Spirits and Enfeoffed Deities followed.
• Zhou Dielan asked Shi Xuan to send her into Reincarnation so she could pursue the path of rescuing those in suffering, and Shi Xuan rebirthed her in Luojing City.
• Shi Xuan used the Six Paths of Reincarnation to gather Pan Zikai’s True Spirit and restore other fallen True Persons to reincarnation, but he could not recover Yu Ruoshui’s dispersed True Spirit.
• Penglai Sect’s True Persons and True Lords bowed to Shi Xuan and congratulated him on becoming a Half-step Golden Immortal free from decay and tribulation.

Shi Xuan explained the trials of Dao Heart Decay, announced an Enlightenment Ceremony, and gave Chu Wan'er the Cosmic Light Bell to cultivate her path of time. When he rang it, the sound spread through Yuyu Heaven and revealed that he had achieved Half-step Golden Immortal.

• Shi Xuan encouraged the Penglai Sect’s True Lords and True Persons to hold fast to their original hearts, then warned them that Dao Heart Decay was personal and that learning another’s circumstances could create an obstruction.
• Shi Xuan agreed to hold an Enlightenment Ceremony ten years later, invite the Dao Lords and Future Buddha Ancestor, and open a path connecting the Penglai Lower Courtyard in the Seven Immortals Great World to Yuyu Heaven.
• Shi Xuan advised Chu Wan'er to cultivate the Innate Time Great Dao, gave her a method for refining a time-type Magic Tool, and lent her the Cosmic Light Bell.
• As Yuyu Heaven’s sects feared the Divine Emperor Great World’s attack on the Penglai Sect, Shi Xuan rang the Cosmic Light Bell and its sound carried across the realm.
• After the bell rang eighty-one times, Xiao Zhenzi concluded that Shi Xuan had achieved Half-step Golden Immortal, astonishing the True Lords and True Persons gathered in the Myriad Immortals Great Hall.

Xia Jing announced that Ancestor Tian Xuan had proved the Dao of Great Luo and opened a spacetime road between the Penglai Lower Courtyard and the Immortal Realm. Shi Xuan told Granny Yu he had passed Dao Heart Decay, and she revealed that Qingyunzi’s other Innate Dao Ancestor friend was the River Chart.

• Huang Yifei and the Penglai Lower Courtyard’s elders discussed their declining recruitment and the difficulty of producing Primordial Spirit True Persons.
• Xia Jing descended and announced that Ancestor Tian Xuan had proved the Dao of Great Luo, inviting sect representatives to his ceremony in ten years and to consult cultivation arts.
• Xia Jing opened a spacetime road from the Penglai Lower Courtyard to the Immortal Realm, while True Person Haori and others saw its power and learned what had happened.
• Shi Xuan prepared for seclusion and contacted Granny Yu, who recognized that he had passed Dao Heart Decay.
• Granny Yu told Shi Xuan that Qingyunzi’s other Innate Dao Ancestor friend, besides the Star River Dao Ancestor, was the River Chart.

Shi Xuan and Granny Yu traced River Diagram Dao Ancestor’s role in the schemes surrounding Shi Xuan and the Fate Destroying Scroll, then considered the danger posed by the Dao Ancestors’ competing plans. After Granny Yu departed to temper herself, Shi Xuan began cultivating, determined to rely on his own strength to escape being used as a chess piece.

• Shi Xuan identified River Diagram as the hidden force behind several events in his past, and Granny Yu explained how River Diagram had manipulated the Fate Destroying Scroll, Ehuang, Fengdu Imperial Sovereign, and Ānanda Tathāgata.
• Shi Xuan and Granny Yu reasoned that Ānanda Tathāgata had been severely wounded and that the current balance of power made further action unlikely, while warning that Ehuang, Life and Death Dao Ancestor, and Maitreya’s Buddha Ancestor could still disrupt River Diagram’s plans.
• Granny Yu praised Shi Xuan for reaching Half-step Golden Immortal before nine thousand years of age, then said her approaching Dao Heart Decay would differ from the ordinary kind.
• After Granny Yu departed to temper herself, Shi Xuan suspected River Diagram had created the Circumstellar Star Dou Sword Art and considered whether Kong Ran and Five Elements Dao Ancestor were connected to River Diagram and Life and Death Dao Ancestor.
• Shi Xuan decided that his cultivation was the means to escape being a chess piece and began visualizing Void Creation while contemplating his Perfected Dao Foundation.

Shi Xuan studied how to perfect his Dao Foundation and began cultivating the Acquired Great Daos derived from Yin Yang, quickly witnessing several of their true meanings. Meanwhile, invitations to his Great Luo Enlightenment Ceremony spread across the Void Universe, and the Penglai Sect prepared to bring its disciples and visitors to the Immortal Realm.

• Shi Xuan concluded that perfecting his Yin Yang Dao Foundation required witnessing the true meanings of its derived Acquired Great Daos or finding their origins in the Void Universe, and he resolved to seek them in the Chaotic Primordial Era.
• After three years of cultivation, Shi Xuan witnessed parts of the true meanings of Thunder, Lightning, Light, Darkness, Two Forms, Void Cavern, and Wind, raising his Dao practice to four hundred thousand years.
• Nine Spirits delivered Shi Xuan’s invitation to the Chaos Heavenly Palace, where Divine Lord Dongnuan and Golden Roc learned that Shi Xuan had attained the Great Luo realm, and the Chaos Heavenly Emperor agreed to attend the ceremony.
• The Penglai Sect’s invitations drew commitments to attend from the Chaos Heavenly Emperor and several other Half-step Golden Immortals, while many Dao Lords and the Future Buddha Ancestor planned to send disciples.
• At the Penglai Lower Courtyard, Dai Jikang approved the Bamboo Mountain Sect’s journey to the Immortal Realm and allowed True Person Haori and other external Primordial Spirits to travel there with them.

Dai Jikang and the others from the Seven Immortals Great World crossed the Spacetime Path and arrived at the Penglai Sect’s Immortal Realm for Ancestor Tian Xuan’s Dao-proving celebration. They entered the Shangqing Shenxiao Realm as powerful True Lords and Dao Lords arrived, leaving them awed by the gathering of immortals.

• Dai Jikang led the group through the Spacetime Path’s forty-nine great doors, whose spacetime tremors tested and tempered the cultivators.
• The group reached Guest Greeting Island and discovered that its spiritual energy was less abundant than the Seven Immortals Great World’s; Dai Jikang explained that Primordial Spirit cultivators relied less on spiritual energy.
• Han Yue, sect master of the Guizhen Sect, met Dai Jikang and learned that the visitors belonged to the Penglai Lower Courtyard.
• Kuang Qingshan welcomed the group and offered to guide them into the Shangqing Shenxiao Realm.
• True Lord Hui Xuanzi arrived on an enormous golden dragon, followed by many other True Immortals and Celestial Immortals.
• Wu Dao Shan Ren arrived amid Qinglian flowers, and Dai Jikang and the others watched the many distinguished guests gather for Ancestor Tian Xuan’s celebration.

Wen Nianxi led True Person Haori and the other Primordial Spirits toward the Western Wilderness, while Dai Jikang and the Penglai Lower Courtyard cultivators explored the End of the World Pavilion’s vast selection of cultivation methods. The Lower Courtyard chose Divine Firmament True Dao Attainment Treasure Scripture and other techniques, then learned that Chu Wan'er had already exchanged for the Three Lives Fate Purple Palace Heavenly Tome.

• Wen Nianxi persuaded True Person Haori and the others to travel together to the Western Wilderness in search of opportunities.
• Dai Jikang, Han Yue, and their companions visited the End of the World Pavilion, where they discovered numerous methods that could reach Primordial Spirit and Dao Integration.
• Dai Jikang's group uncovered three ultimate cultivation methods, including the Penglai Sect's Divine Firmament True Dao Attainment Treasure Scripture.
• Dai Jikang chose the early portion of Divine Firmament True Dao Attainment Treasure Scripture, the Secretly Transmitted Immortal Slaying Sword Box, and several Primordial Spirit methods for the Lower Courtyard.
• Huang Yifei asked Chu Wan'er which method she had chosen, and she said she had already exchanged for the Three Lives Fate Purple Palace Heavenly Tome.

Shi Xuan welcomed several Half-step Golden Immortals and exchanged insights on the Dao, receiving a powerful communication treasure from Wu Dao Shan Ren. As his Enlightenment Ceremony began, representatives from Dao Ancestor sects arrived in force.

• Wu Dao Shan Ren, Azure Firmament Immortal, and Empress Xuannü visited Shi Xuan, and they discussed the Dao with him and Mo Jingqiu.
• Wu Dao Shan Ren told Shi Xuan about his old enmity with the Extreme Evil Demon Lord and gave him a portion of the Eyes of Myriad Worlds' Souls so they could communicate through the Chaotic Primordial Era.
• Empress Xuannü offered Shi Xuan her help, and Azure Firmament Immortal said Mo Jingqiu would travel to prepare for Lifespan Decay before making plans with him.
• Six more Half-step Golden Immortals arrived over the next two days, and Xia Jing and Qing Suo welcomed sect representatives on the morning of Shi Xuan's ceremony.
• Shen Chenxi and Lian Yu arrived with representatives of Dengji Gate, followed by Water-Fire Dao Lord and representatives of the Five Elements Sect, bringing the number of visiting Half-step Golden Immortals to eleven.

Shi Xuan celebrated his proof of the Great Luo Dao by revealing his Life and Death Auspicious Cloud and teaching the gathered immortals about Life and Death Impermanence. His exposition transformed the arena with visions of Hell, death, and new life, leaving Xu Yu immersed in the Dao and transformed into a butterfly.

• Dengji Gate and the Five Elements Sect arrived at the Shangqing Shenxiao Realm, exchanged greetings, and entered the Penglai Sect.
• Purple Ying and Qing Suo invited Shi Xuan to expound the Dao, and he appeared before the gathered ten thousand immortals.
• Shi Xuan revealed his Life and Death Limitless Transcendence Auspicious Cloud, startling many cultivators and confirming rumors about his origins.
• Shi Xuan began teaching Life and Death Impermanence, while visions of Hells, death, and the emergence of life unfolded across the arena.
• Xu Yu and the other listeners became immersed in Shi Xuan’s exposition, and Xu Yu found herself transformed into a butterfly.

Xu Yu passed through the Six Paths of Reincarnation during Shi Xuan’s lecture, recovered her memories, and touched the Divine Marrow of the Wood Dao. The lecture ended with cultivators thanking Shi Xuan, while news of his rise to Dao Lord spread and the Penglai Sect became one of the foremost sects in the Void Universe.

• Xu Yu experienced successive lives as a butterfly, spider, Asura, tree, and other beings, growing confused about who she was.
• As a princess awaiting her wedding, Xu Yu heard a bell, regained her memories, and left for the mountain in search of her original self.
• Xu Yu broke free from Reincarnation and, reflecting on her experience, touched a trace of the Divine Marrow of the Wood Dao.
• Water-Fire Dao Lord Zhu Hongtu and Eight Dao Lords recognized that Shi Xuan’s use of Life and Death Reincarnation had given the cultivators a rare chance to clear their minds and strengthen their Dao hearts.
• The cultivators thanked Shi Xuan after he ended the lecture, and Wu Dao Shan Ren and several Half-step Golden Immortals departed.
• News of Shi Xuan becoming a Dao Lord spread across the Myriad Worlds, and the Penglai Sect rose among the leading sects of the Void Universe.

Mo Jingqiu left Yuyu Heaven to continue her cultivation journey, but a mad Fourth Tribulation Demonic Dao Heavenly Sovereign escaped his chains and attacked her along the way. Shi Xuan’s hidden protection killed the attacker, and Mo Jingqiu continued on unharmed.

• Mo Jingqiu bid farewell to Shi Xuan, who foresaw that her travels would be perilous but rewarding as she approached Lifespan Decay.
• A Fourth Tribulation Demonic Dao Heavenly Sovereign broke the God Locking Demon Chain, escaped his sect, and flew toward Yuyu Heaven seeking Shi Xuan.
• Mo Jingqiu departed Yuyu Heaven and traveled through the void toward a distant Great Thousand World.
• The escaped Heavenly Sovereign slowed time and devastated a Great Thousand World, but Mo Jingqiu dispelled the effect with her Nine Bends Heavenly River Calamity Divine Light.
• The Heavenly Sovereign attacked Mo Jingqiu before she could activate the Spacetime Beacon Gate, but Shi Xuan’s protective power summoned the Eighteen Levels of Hell and destroyed him.
• Shi Xuan watched from Penglai Sect and wondered whether the encounter had been a coincidence.

Mo Jingqiu survived an attack by a mad Fourth Tribulation Heavenly Sovereign, and Shi Xuan suspected the incident was a deliberate test aimed at her. After centuries of cultivation, Shi Xuan prepared to travel the Chaotic Primordial Era to perfect his Dao foundation, where an ancient man awakened and questioned a flame about making him force Shi Xuan to reveal his full strength.

• Mo Jingqiu told Zhao Cheng that Shi Xuan had killed the mad Heavenly Sovereign, and Zhao Cheng returned to help restore Hui Ming Great World.
• Shi Xuan told Mo Jingqiu that someone likely engineered the attack to test her, and she vowed to continue traveling cautiously.
• Five hundred and ninety years later, Shi Xuan perceived the true meaning of the Acquired Devouring Great Dao and prepared to seek a way to perfect his Dao foundation.
• Shi Xuan encouraged Chu Wan'er, left instructions and messages for his companions, and stepped into the Chaotic Primordial Era.
• An emaciated old man emerged from a black coffin and asked a flame whether it had made him force Shi Xuan to use his full strength.

Dao Lord Pindu agreed to test Shi Xuan after Dao Lord Wanfang promised him protection and a chance to claim the Innate Life and Death Dao Embryo. As Shi Xuan traveled through the Chaotic Primordial Era, he encountered Ren Lige and Murong Yingxue, who recognized him despite his extraordinary rise in cultivation.

• Dao Lord Wanfang persuaded Dao Lord Pindu to force Shi Xuan to reveal his full strength, suggesting Shi Xuan might possess the Innate Life and Death Dao Embryo.
• Dao Lord Pindu demanded protection before acting, and Dao Lord Wanfang empowered him with a flame that could shield him once from the aftermath of a battle between Dao Ancestors.
• Dao Lord Pindu decided to create an opportunity for Shi Xuan to confront an old woman making her final preparations, then left his black coffin and crossed the Chaotic Primordial Era.
• Shi Xuan entered the Chaotic Primordial Era protected by his Life and Death Limitless Transcendence Auspicious Cloud, and lesser beings and monsters gave way before him.
• Ren Lige and Murong Yingxue encountered Shi Xuan and recognized him as their former acquaintance from the Five Elements Sect, marveling that he had become a Dao Lord in just over five thousand years.

Shi Xuan met Ren Lige and Murong Yingxue, learned of nearby Dao-Lost Chaos sites, and discovered that Huaquan had perished, freeing the Youyu Sect from hiding. He then entered the Dao-Lost Chaos of the Acquired Lust Great Dao to extract the essence associated with the union of yin and yang.

• Murong Yingxue and Ren Lige were astonished to see Shi Xuan had become a Half-step Golden Immortal since they last met.
• Shi Xuan asked them about single-Great-Dao Dao-Lost Chaos, and Murong Yingxue listed sites formed from the Acquired Lust, Innate Destruction, and Acquired Illusion Great Daos.
• Ren Lige asked about Huaquan, and Shi Xuan used his Primordial Spirit’s book to learn that Huaquan had perished in Dao Heart Decay more than a thousand years earlier.
• Ren Lige and Murong Yingxue rejoiced that Huaquan’s death meant the Youyu Sect no longer needed to hide in the Chaotic Primordial Era.
• After Shi Xuan departed, Ren Lige and Murong Yingxue wondered why his Dao Fruit Auspicious Cloud embodied Life and Death when they believed he was a disciple of the Five Elements Dao Ancestor.
• Shi Xuan reached the Dao-Lost Chaos of the Acquired Lust Great Dao and used the Life and Death One Qi Great Capture to draw from it.