Recaps

Xu Xiao completed his changes to the Green Lantern Universe, and Xu Xuanpin sacrificed his Great Dao to trigger strange new rules as the universe entered its extinction phase. Xu Xiao revealed that he was the original and left through the World-Crossing Gate, while Death Essence was left to face the transformed universe.

• Xu Xuanpin and Death Essence continued their battle, while Xu Xiao used World Power to modify the Green Lantern Universe’s final rule.
• Xu Xiao completed the change, causing the universe to resume its collapse and enter the extinction phase.
• Xu Xuanpin sent Death Essence flying, then disintegrated his divine body and Great Dao into fragments that spread throughout the universe.
• Strange rules and a new, insubstantial vitality appeared in the universe after Xu Xuanpin’s sacrifice.
• Xu Xiao told Death Essence that Xu Xuanpin was his clone and that he was the original, then entered the World-Crossing Gate.

Xu Xiao revealed that he had been using the World-Crossing Gate to avoid Death Essence while arranging the Green Lantern Universe’s collapse to turn into chaos instead of oblivion. As the universe began resetting, he left Death Essence facing the same transformation and prepared for his own rebirth.

• Xu Xiao entered the World-Crossing Gate, where Death Essence could neither reach nor target him, and explained that he was waiting for the changes he had planned.
• Xu Xiao told Death Essence that the universe would return to chaos and revealed that he had anticipated the DC higher-dimensional beings’ attempt to trap him.
• Xu Xiao explained that he had injected fundamental rules into the Green Lantern Universe, disrupting its expected collapse into oblivion.
• Death Essence recognized that the restored rules would cause the universe to return to chaos and accused Xu Xiao of reshaping them.
• Xu Xiao thanked Death Essence for its sacrifice as the expanding colorless energy consumed other forces and the Green Lantern Universe entered chaos.

After the Green Lantern Universe collapsed into chaos, higher-dimensional beings realized Xu Xiao was using it as a furnace to cultivate a True Spirit Seed and create a new Creator God. They could only wait to see whether Xu Xuanpin and the preparations he and Xu Xiao had made would allow the dangerous gamble to succeed.

• The Green Lantern Universe dissolved into chaos, and the higher-dimensional beings recognized that their rules had sealed it off from the outside.
• The beings speculated that Xu Xiao had turned the universe into a chaos furnace to gather its rules and nurture his Great Dao through a True Spirit Seed.
• The beings explained that Xu Xuanpin was Xu Xiao’s specially prepared clone, and that the World-Crossing Gate had helped Xu Xiao prepare the Green Lantern source world for his advancement.
• The beings concluded they could only wait to learn whether Xu Xuanpin would succeed, and warned that Xu Xiao would face another battle with them afterward.
• The DC and Marvel beings continued fighting on the higher-dimensional battlefield as the universe remained quiet.

Xu Xiao arrived in the Journey to the West Great World, determined to cultivate his own strength while Xu Xuanpin remained in the DC Universe. He chose the Dao of Cultivating Perfection as his best path toward becoming a Golden Immortal and entered the city to face the Journey to the West Calamity.

• Xu Xiao appeared in an alley and used Telekinesis to remake his clothes before joining the crowds.
• Xu Xiao considered how time flowed differently across worlds and how Apocalypse could keep him informed about events in Marvel.
• Xu Xiao reviewed his various cultivation paths and judged the Dao of Cultivating Perfection his best route to surpassing his other powers.
• Xu Xiao reflected on the dangers of relying on raw strength and divine power, recalling Xu Xuanpin's battle against Death Essence in the DC Universe.
• Xu Xiao entered the Journey to the West Great World to pursue the Dao of Cultivating Perfection and face its calamity.

Xu Xiao explored the Southern Jambudvipa Continent and discovered its cities were protected by incense gods, human destiny, and guardian spirits, while Daoist cultivators roamed the wilderness. After criticizing the Western Sect, he met a powerful middle-aged Daoist who invited him to visit his sanctuary, and Xu Xiao agreed to follow him.

• Xu Xiao traveled across the Southern Jambudvipa Continent and sensed that its laws suppressed powers other than immortal arts.
• Xu Xiao discovered that major cities had gods sustained by incense, while smaller settlements relied on human destiny and guardian spirits for protection.
• Xu Xiao encountered many Daoist Qi refiners and concluded that the Southern Jambudvipa Continent held powerful cultivators of its own.
• A middle-aged Daoist appeared behind Xu Xiao, agreed with his criticism of the Western Sect, and explained that he had followed him because Xu Xiao carried the presence of an old acquaintance.
• The middle-aged Daoist invited Xu Xiao to his Daoist sanctuary, and Xu Xiao accepted and followed him into the air.

Xu Xiao arrived in the Journey to the West world and was brought to meet Great Emperor Zhenwu, who recognized a presence connected to Guangchengzi in Xu Xiao’s cultivation inheritance. Zhenwu explained that he had followed Xu Xiao to investigate the unexpected appearance of someone connected to the Jade Void Palace.

• Xu Xiao descended onto Mount Wudang and met a middle-aged Daoist whose abode was filled with Spiritual Energy and incense-born power of wishes.
• The Daoist led Xu Xiao into the main hall, where Xu Xiao recognized the divine figure as Great Emperor Zhenwu.
• Great Emperor Zhenwu saw through Xu Xiao’s show of nervousness and invited him to sit and talk.
• Zhenwu said he had sensed a familiar presence in Xu Xiao and followed him after failing to divine his origins.
• Xu Xiao guessed that the presence came from Guangchengzi, and Zhenwu confirmed that Guangchengzi and his master were fellow disciples.
• Zhenwu explained that he had traced Xu Xiao’s connection to the Jade Void Palace and wanted to investigate why a bearer of its inheritance had appeared.

Xu Xiao told Great Emperor Zhenwu the truth about his connection to Guangchengzi and his arrival in the Journey to the West world. Zhenwu accepted him as a junior brother and invited him to stay at his cultivation ground, leaving Xu Xiao wondering why Zhenwu seemed disappointed that he would not interfere in the Journey to the West Calamity.

• Xu Xiao explained that he had inherited some of Guangchengzi's remains and was a transmigrator, rather than Guangchengzi's disciple.
• Great Emperor Zhenwu welcomed Xu Xiao as a junior brother of the Three Pure Ones Daoist School.
• Zhenwu asked whether Xu Xiao had come to interfere in the Journey to the West Calamity, and Xu Xiao said he only wanted to seek immortality and cultivate.
• Xu Xiao noticed Zhenwu's disappointment and wondered whether the Heavenly Court secretly wanted someone to disrupt the calamity.
• Zhenwu offered Xu Xiao a place to stay at his cultivation ground and scriptures to study.

Xu Xiao spent a hundred days studying Daoist classics at the Zhenwu Daoist Sanctuary and reflecting on how Dao and methods differed. He asked the Great Emperor Zhenwu for guidance on choosing his main path and began demonstrating his knowledge, withholding only the Dao of Desire.

• Xu Xiao studied The Secret of the Golden Flower, the Yellow Court Classic, and the Seven Techniques of the Hidden Talisman, considering how cultivating the Dao differed from mastering protective methods.
• Xu Xiao followed a quiet routine at the sanctuary, studying scriptures, practicing sword techniques, and discussing the Dao with Zhenwu's disciples.
• Taohua summoned Xu Xiao to the Three Pure Ones Hall at the Great Emperor Zhenwu's request.
• Xu Xiao asked Zhenwu which Dao he should pursue, concerned that choosing a path might bring conflict with its existing practitioners.
• Zhenwu invited Xu Xiao to describe the other paths he had studied so he could offer guidance, and Xu Xiao demonstrated his knowledge while concealing the Dao of Desire.

Zhenwu offered Xu Xiao a choice of seven Daoist scriptures and explained that he hoped outsiders like Xu Xiao could become variables in the approaching Journey to the West Calamity. Grand Master Xuandu then revealed that he had a cultivation path suited to Xu Xiao and showed him a mottled Dao mark before asking him to decide whether to work for him.

• Zhenwu offered Xu Xiao seven Daoist scriptures as a principal cultivation method and said he could choose one or suggest another path.
• Zhenwu explained that the Three Pure Ones regarded Xu Xiao as family because of his Yuxu inheritance, while his status as a transmigrator made him a possible variable in the Journey to the West Calamity.
• Zhenwu drew Xu Xiao into his mind to meet Grand Master Xuandu, who said he had sought Xu Xiao out to offer him a great opportunity.
• Xu Xiao cautiously agreed to hear Grand Master Xuandu's proposal without committing himself to it.
• Grand Master Xuandu said he had a path suited to Xu Xiao's ability to travel among myriad worlds, then revealed a mottled Dao mark in Xu Xiao's Sea of Consciousness.

Grand Master Xuandu revealed that a previous transmigrator had used a Dao mark to distort cause and effect, then offered Xu Xiao that power as the Journey to the West Calamity approached. Xu Xiao accepted that he would serve as a chess piece and learned his task: complete the journey west while preventing the monkey from joining Buddhism.

• Xu Xiao recognized that the mottled Dao mark forcibly altered fate, while Xuandu explained that Taibai had taken it from a transmigrator three hundred years earlier.
• The Dao mark showed Xu Xiao how its former owner had disrupted events across lower worlds before the gods and Buddhas suppressed him.
• Xuandu explained that the transmigrator had been punished for trying to seize fortune in the origin world and said the mark might be useful for the coming Journey to the West Calamity.
• Xuandu told Xu Xiao that he had been chosen because Lady Nüwa approved of his character, Guangchengzi's legacy connected him to the Three Pure Ones, and Xuandu could not see through him.
• Xu Xiao asked what Xuandu wanted him to do, and Xuandu instructed him to complete the journey west while keeping the monkey from joining Buddhism.

Xu Xiao agreed to join the Journey to the West Calamity in Zhu Bajie's place after securing Grand Master Xuandu's promises about his duties, safety, and avoiding reincarnation as a pig. He then accepted Zhenwu's explanation that entering the struggle against Buddhism would earn him merit and the favor of Taoist immortals, and prepared to take part.

• Xu Xiao reasoned that Zhu Bajie was the only member of the journey west who could be replaced, but refused to take Tianpeng's place if it meant being reborn as a pig.
• Xu Xiao listed conditions for joining the journey, including clear instructions, protection from the Western Sect and Heavenly Court, and help if his plans went wrong.
• Grand Master Xuandu accepted Xu Xiao's conditions, assured him that no one could scatter his soul, and left the remaining arrangements to Zhenwu.
• Xu Xiao teased Zhenwu for bringing him into the scheme, then said he would enter the game for the Taoist cause.
• Zhenwu said Taoist immortals would owe Xu Xiao a favor whether he succeeded or failed, and Xu Xiao recognized the struggle over faith and incense offerings as too important for the gods to yield.

Xu Xiao asked Zhenwu about the Journey to the West Calamity and learned that it had only recently been approved, leaving him time to prepare before the journey began. Zhenwu gave Xu Xiao a gourd of immortal pills and advised him to cultivate until he formed his Dharma Body, then use the pills to reach the Heavenly Immortal realm and serve in the Heavenly Court.

• Xu Xiao asked Zhenwu to explain the Journey to the West Calamity and its current progress.
• Zhenwu explained that the Western Sect sought to settle its karma by spreading Buddhism eastward, and urged Xu Xiao to punish demons that preyed on humans in Western Godaniya.
• Zhenwu told Xu Xiao that the journey had only just been settled and that the spirit born from the calamity had not yet emerged.
• Xu Xiao realized he had centuries to grow stronger and considered meeting the monkey before its rise to power.
• Zhenwu gave Xu Xiao a gourd of immortal pills as an apology for telling their master about him without permission.
• Zhenwu advised Xu Xiao to form his Dharma Body before using the pills to reach the Heavenly Immortal realm, then serve as an official in the Heavenly Court.

Xu Xiao learned that Jin Chanzi’s reincarnations had begun and that the Daoist Sect wanted him to take a Heavenly Court post to influence the Journey to the West Calamity. Reassured he would not be listed in the Investiture of the Gods, he agreed, while Grand Master Xuandu and Zhenwu revealed they intended to use him as an outsider able to alter fate.

• Zhenwu showed Xu Xiao Jin Chanzi’s first reincarnation and explained that Buddhism had begun planting hidden pieces in the east.
• Xu Xiao worried that taking a Heavenly Court post would put him on the Investiture of the Gods, but Zhenwu promised he would not be listed.
• Xu Xiao accepted the arrangement and returned to cultivation after asking Zhenwu and Grand Master Xuandu to handle the preparations.
• After Xu Xiao left, Grand Master Xuandu appeared and Zhenwu reported that Xu Xiao had agreed to help.
• Grand Master Xuandu explained that he hoped Xu Xiao would reverse a major event in the Journey to the West Calamity, weakening Buddhism across the myriad worlds.

Xu Xiao comprehended the Reversing the Dao of Cause and Effect and learned to gather Power of Variables by quietly changing fated events. He condensed the Dao to minor accomplishment and prepared to form his Dharma Body and take an immortal pill.

• Xu Xiao studied the mottled Dao mark and concluded that reversing cause and effect meant guiding events and gathering variables rather than challenging the Heavenly Dao by force.
• Xu Xiao used his Golden Pupil of Myriad Phenomena to examine the Journey to the West World’s major fates and identify small changes that could accumulate Power of Variables.
• Xu Xiao saw possible alternate timelines and realized that the Dao could extract possibilities the Heavenly Dao had not adopted.
• Xu Xiao condensed golden threads of altered cause and effect into a ribbon, completing the Reversing the Dao of Cause and Effect to minor accomplishment and becoming undetectable to methods of perception and deduction.
• Xu Xiao decided to condense his Dharma Body and then swallow an immortal pill.

Xu Xiao condensed a Dharma Body by merging his Dao marks into his Nascent Soul and endured the gathering lightning without hesitation. His completed Dharma Body could reverse cause and effect, and he prepared to break through to the Heavenly Immortal realm.

• Xu Xiao began condensing his Dharma Body in a side hall on Mount Wudang, drawing in Spiritual Energy and merging his Dao marks into his Nascent Soul.
• Dark clouds gathered over the sanctuary, and Great Emperor Zhenwu told the golden boy and jade girl to keep the disciples away from the side hall.
• Xu Xiao continued forming his Dharma Body as the Heavenly Dao’s lightning punishment gathered overhead.
• Golden threads of cause and effect wrapped around Xu Xiao’s expanding Nascent Soul and transformed into a mystical robe covered in Dao patterns.
• Xu Xiao completed a Dharma Body that transcended cause and effect, then resolved to break through to the Heavenly Immortal realm.

Xu Xiao swallowed Laojun’s Golden Cores and became a Heavenly Immortal, triggering an immense tribulation that combined several calamities. He calmly withstood the divine wind and Heartfire Tribulations, then faced the first bolt of purplish-red lightning.

• Xu Xiao swallowed the Golden Cores and steadily raised his cultivation until he became a Heavenly Immortal.
• Taohua, the golden boy, and Mount Wudang’s disciples noticed the tribulation clouds growing vast and realized Xu Xiao faced an Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
• Cultivators from nearby sanctuaries gathered outside the tribulation’s range to watch, while beings above the heavens turned their attention toward Mount Wudang.
• Xu Xiao left the side hall and recognized that multiple tribulations had merged because his cultivation had advanced too quickly for the Heavenly Dao to react.
• Xu Xiao resisted the Divine Wind and Heartfire Tribulations, suppressed the desire flame, and captured some of its essence.
• The tribulation lightning struck Xu Xiao with a bolt of purplish-red lightning.

Xu Xiao endured the Six-Nine Heavenly Immortal Lightning Tribulation with his body alone and completed his transformation into a Heavenly Immortal. Great Emperor Zhenwu sealed Mount Wudang to keep outsiders from learning who had undergone the tribulation.

• Xu Xiao stood in the lightning and let it temper his Magic Power, fleshly body, and Dao principles, realizing the tribulation brought benefits as well as danger.
• The Zhenwu Daoist Sanctuary’s observers admired Xu Xiao’s strength, and Great Emperor Zhenwu judged that he might fight an ordinary Golden Immortal if he learned combat divine abilities.
• The tribulation clouds faded after the final bolt, and Xu Xiao sat cultivating as his Heavenly Immortal cultivation became evident.
• Great Emperor Zhenwu activated the sanctuary’s formation and closed Mount Wudang to outsiders as Xu Xiao completed his tribulation.
• Zhenwu refused visitors’ questions about Xu Xiao and drove away those who persisted with a shout of divine might.

Tathagata sent Bodhisattva Guanyin to search the realms for a newly emerged adept, while Xu Xiao completed his breakthrough to Heavenly Immortal and learned that he would receive a Heavenly Court post that could let him monitor the Journey to the West. Zhenwu took Xu Xiao to meet the Heavenly Emperor, telling him to conceal his Daoist affiliation for now and trust that their master would arrange his role in the calamity.

• Tathagata sensed a new adept who could evade cause, effect, and fate, and sent Bodhisattva Guanyin to search the realms for them.
• Xu Xiao emerged from meditation after breaking through from Dharma Body to Heavenly Immortal, and Great Emperor Zhenwu praised his concealment technique.
• Xu Xiao decided not to reverse the heavenly tribulation, wary of exposing his Power of Variables and attracting the attention of powerful figures.
• Zhenwu warned Xu Xiao that reversing cause and effect could not defy the Sages or the Heavenly Dao, and advised him to leave some flaws in his concealment.
• Zhenwu told Xu Xiao that their master had arranged a post for him as Nine Heavens Duty Officer of the Sky-Patrolling Bureau, giving him grounds to monitor variables in the Journey to the West Calamity.
• Zhenwu told Xu Xiao to present himself as a promising cultivator from the lower realm rather than a disciple of the Three Pure Ones Daoist School, then took him toward the Heavenly Court to meet the Heavenly Emperor.

Zhenwu brought Xu Xiao into the Heavenly Realm to receive his register and introduced him to powerful officials who tested his abilities. The chapter left Xu Xiao and Zhenwu arriving at the Ling Xiao Treasure Hall.

• Zhenwu led Xu Xiao through the Northern Heaven's Gate and into the Ziwei Enclosure.
• Great Emperor Ziwei tested Xu Xiao's concealed fate, praised his Dao, and gave him a Star God Guide that let him sense the stars and contact Ziwei.
• Wang Lingguan tested Xu Xiao with Samadhi True Fire, which Xu Xiao's Dao of Reversing Cause and Effect silently dispelled.
• Zhenwu warned Xu Xiao that some in the Heavenly Court opposed his involvement in the Journey to the West and told him to judge others' tests for himself.
• Zhenwu led Xu Xiao to the Ling Xiao Treasure Hall.

Xu Xiao faced the Jade Emperor and the assembled Heavenly Court officials as Zhenwu recommended him for a post in the Sky-Patrolling Bureau. The Jade Emperor appointed him Nine Heavens Duty Officer, but Guanyin arrived with a Buddhist greeting just as Xu Xiao was about to accept the appointment.

• Zhenwu brought Xu Xiao before the Jade Emperor and recommended him as a candidate for the Sky-Patrolling Bureau.
• The Jade Emperor examined Xu Xiao, but Xu Xiao concealed his presence and the laws of cause and effect he cultivated.
• Taibai Jinxing, Supreme Laojun, and other Daoist officials supported Xu Xiao’s appointment.
• The Jade Emperor appointed Xu Xiao Nine Heavens Duty Officer of the Sky-Patrolling Bureau and awarded him one flat peach and three Golden Cores.
• Guanyin entered the hall with the Buddha’s decree and congratulated the Heavenly Court, leaving the assembled officials in silence.

Guanyin visited the Ling Xiao Hall to deliver the Buddha’s message and questioned Xu Xiao about his origins, suspecting he might be a Daoist Sect pawn. After Xu Xiao received his Heavenly Court office, Zhenwu warned him about the Western Sect and offered to help him obtain protective divine abilities before his patrols began.

• Guanyin entered the Ling Xiao Hall, failed to divine Xu Xiao’s origins, and questioned him about his cultivation and background.
• Guanyin conveyed the Buddha’s wish for the Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain to cooperate, then urged Xu Xiao to patrol diligently before leaving.
• Nezha criticized the Buddhist Sect’s impatience, while Taibai Jinxing cautioned him and Zhenwu warned Xu Xiao that variables and dangers remained.
• The Jade Emperor gave Xu Xiao three days to prepare before patrolling the Three Realms, and Xu Xiao received his register, name entry, and divine seal.
• Zhenwu warned Xu Xiao that the Western Sect had noticed him and offered to take him to the Divine Ability Pavilion to request protective arts.

Zhenwu escorted Xu Xiao to the Sky-Patrolling Bureau and then took him to the heavily guarded Divine Ability Pavilion to choose cultivation techniques and divine abilities. After the pavilion’s formation recognized Zhenwu’s token and Xu Xiao’s official seal, the two entered.

• Zhenwu brought Xu Xiao to the Sky-Patrolling Bureau in the seventeenth heaven, where its officials and guards welcomed their new superior.
• Xu Xiao told the waiting officials he would formally take office in three days, then left with Zhenwu without entering the bureau.
• Xu Xiao explained that he disliked flattering subordinates and preferred to seek guidance from Zhenwu.
• Zhenwu took Xu Xiao to the Divine Ability Pavilion in the twenty-first heaven and explained that the Ziwei Enclosure’s Heavenly Cycle Star Formation guarded it.
• Zhenwu presented the Northern Emperor’s token, and the formation recognized Xu Xiao’s duty-officer seal and opened a path into the pavilion.

Xu Xiao visited the Divine Ability Pavilion with Zhenwu, who helped him choose abilities suited to his work as a Heaven Inspector and his Dao of Cause and Effect. Xu Xiao received three arts and began absorbing their insights, leaving with Zhenwu's advice to keep studying them and align them with his Great Dao.

• Xu Xiao asked Zhenwu to sort through the pavilion's countless divine abilities and recommend suitable choices.
• Zhenwu recommended the All-Heaven Star Translocation Divine Ability for travel and offered Xu Xiao his own Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation Demon-Subduing Sword Art as an additional gift.
• Xu Xiao examined the cause-and-effect arts and chose the Cause and Effect Tribulation Sword, a fragment of a divine ability created by Lady Nüwa.
• Zhenwu explained the sword's origins and difficulty, then used his token to send the All-Heaven Star Translocation Divine Ability and Cause and Effect Tribulation Sword into Xu Xiao.
• Zhenwu advised Xu Xiao to study the arts and bring them into accord with his Great Dao, and Xu Xiao nodded.

Xu Xiao took up his post at the Sky-Patrolling Bureau and discovered that its All-Heavens Star Mirror could reveal the cause and effect and fates of beings across the Three Realms. He used the mirror to alter a mortal’s fate and watched to see what would happen.

• Xu Xiao formally began work at the Sky-Patrolling Bureau, where Wen Yuan welcomed him and handed him the bureau’s case files.
• Xu Xiao learned that the bureau monitored changes across the Three Realms and that its previous duty officer had been removed after failing to detect a disturbance in a lower world.
• Wen Yuan introduced Xu Xiao to the All-Heavens Star Mirror, a treasure that reflected the heavens and revealed causal connections and fates.
• Xu Xiao connected his Dao of Cause and Effect to the mirror and explored its visions of the Three Realms and countless worlds.
• Xu Xiao used the mirror and Reversing the Dao of Cause and Effect to quietly alter a line of cause and effect belonging to an ordinary mortal in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent.

Xu Xiao used the All-Heavens Star Mirror to change Li Laoshi’s fate from dying in poverty to becoming the wealthiest man in the region, then watched as the causes formed. Li Laoshi ate a mysterious flower in a cave beneath Yin Mountain, gained strength, and unearthed a chest of silver while working his field.

• Xu Xiao changed Li Laoshi’s recorded fate in the All-Heavens Star Mirror and watched new ties of cause and effect form around him.
• Li Laoshi entered a cave beneath Yin Mountain while searching for water and ate a small white flower he found inside.
• Li Laoshi returned to his field and discovered he had become much stronger and could dig the hard ground with ease.
• Li Laoshi dug into the wasteland beside his field, struck an iron chest with his hoe, and found it packed with silver.