Chapter Summaries

Li Qingshan learned that Yan Ruyu’s faction had been attacked and would seek refuge at Jade Pool, where they were expected in three months. Lin Qingyao ordered Jade Pool to honor Li Qingshan’s promise, then left flustered after probing his feelings for Yan Ruyu, while Li Qingshan anticipated trouble from the unknown force pursuing her faction.

• Li Qingshan told Lin Qingyao that he had once helped Yan Ruyu’s faction and promised them shelter at Jade Pool.
• Messenger Qing Lin reported that an unknown, powerful force had attacked Yan Ruyu’s faction, and the Azure Flood Dragon King planned to escort them to Jade Pool within three months.
• Li Qingshan agreed to receive Yan Ruyu’s faction and make the necessary arrangements.
• Lin Qingyao rejected the elders’ concerns and ordered Jade Pool to prepare to shelter Yan Ruyu’s faction, insisting that Jade Pool honor its promises.
• Lin Qingyao asked whether Li Qingshan had helped Yan Ruyu because he was taken by her beauty; he answered that he acted by his heart and kept his promises.
• Lin Qingyao hurried out of the hall, while Li Qingshan considered the danger posed by the force pursuing Yan Ruyu’s faction.

The Azure Flood Dragon King convinced the Peacock King that sending Yan Ruyu to Jade Pool under Li Qingshan’s protection was the best way to keep her safe and strengthen the demon race. Yan Ruyu accepted the plan, aware that her uncle hoped she might form a closer bond with Li Qingshan, and prepared to leave in a month.

• The Peacock King questioned whether entrusting Yan Ruyu to the human holy land of Jade Pool was safe, but the Azure Flood Dragon King argued that Li Qingshan and Jade Pool could protect her from enemies targeting her imperial bloodline and Chaos Green Lotus.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King proposed that Yan Ruyu’s connection with Li Qingshan could grow into an alliance through marriage, and the Peacock King agreed to follow his plan.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King visited Yan Ruyu and confirmed that she would depart for Jade Pool in a month.
• Yan Ruyu worried that seeking protection at Jade Pool would burden Li Qingshan, but the Azure Flood Dragon King said Li Qingshan had chosen to protect her with full understanding of the risks.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King hinted that Yan Ruyu should follow her heart, and she accepted the journey while resolving to act cautiously and uphold her status as an imperial descendant.

Yan Ruyu wrestled with her conflicted feelings about seeking refuge with Li Qingshan at Jade Pool, while Ye Fan reunited with his Earth classmates on Zixia Peak and learned how Li Qingshan had brought them there. The gathering ended in cheerful banter as the Black Emperor grew displeased at being left out.

• Yan Ruyu reflected on her people's coming move to Jade Pool, her duty to them, and her complicated feelings toward Li Qingshan.
• Pang Bo, Zhang Ziling, Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, Lin Jia, and Li Xiaoman gathered on Zixia Peak and welcomed Ye Fan, the Black Emperor, and Duan De.
• Ye Fan asked how his classmates had come from Lingxu Cave Heaven, and Zhou Yi and the others explained that Li Qingshan had arranged for Jade Pool to protect them.
• Pang Bo recounted how Li Qingshan had saved him from the Azure Emperor's descendant and advised him to rebuild his unstable foundation at Jade Pool.
• Ye Fan approved of Pang Bo's decision to cultivate patiently, and the group teased one another until the Black Emperor grew displeased at being ignored.

Ye Fan and his companions reunited at Zixia Peak, where the Black Emperor and Duan De joked about Li Qingshan and the Jade Pool Holy Maiden before Li Qingshan arrived. He teased the pair about their plans to investigate Jade Pool’s formations and ancient tombs, leaving the gathering in laughter.

• The Black Emperor and Duan De claimed credit for helping Ye Fan and gossiped that Li Qingshan had rushed off to meet Lin Qingyao.
• Ye Fan and his companions heard Li Qingshan being announced and went to welcome him at the courtyard entrance.
• Li Qingshan joined the gathering, greeted everyone, and invited them to sit.
• Li Qingshan confronted the Black Emperor and Duan De about their gossip, and they each blamed the other.
• Li Qingshan exposed the Black Emperor’s interest in Jade Pool’s formations and Duan De’s interest in its ancient tombs, making everyone laugh.

Li Qingshan reunited with Ye Fan and the others at the Jade Pool, reassured them that he had protected their families on Earth, and explained what would be needed to return home. He left them with hope that he could find a way back within several years, and the group renewed their resolve to return.

• Li Qingshan welcomed Ye Fan and the others, explained why he had arranged for them to settle at the Jade Pool, and answered their questions about cultivation.
• Li Qingshan told Ye Fan and the others that he had informed their families on Earth of their journey and secretly arranged protection for them.
• Li Qingshan said returning to Earth required Saint Realm cultivation and precise starry-sky coordinates, likely found through an ancient Five-Colored Altar.
• Li Qingshan promised he would have a way to find the road home in five or six years at the earliest, or within ten-odd years at most.
• Pang Bo, Zhang Ziling, Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, Lin Jia, and Li Xiaoman said they wanted to return to Earth, and Ye Fan thanked Li Qingshan.

News spread that Li Qingshan would undergo the Immortal Three King tribulation of Severing the Dao in the Northern Region Outer Sea, astonishing the Big Dipper. Former rivals and witnesses to his rise reflected on the gulf between him and other young elites as he prepared to settle karmic debts.

• Li Qingshan reunited with Ye Fan and his old friends from Earth on Zixia Peak and gave them a place of peace.
• News that Li Qingshan would Sever the Dao in the Northern Region Outer Sea swept through Jade Pool and across the Big Dipper.
• Jiang Yifei reflected on Li Qingshan's rise and concluded that the golden age might become a stage for him alone.
• Zhao Fa accepted Li Qingshan's impending tribulation as a natural next step after his earlier slaying of a Mighty Figure.
• Ji Haiyue remembered his defeat by Li Qingshan and felt a strange pride at having fought him and survived.
• Feng Xi sighed that the coming golden age seemed more like Li Qingshan's own golden age.

Li Qingshan’s planned tribulation in the open sea alarmed powers across the Big Dipper, and the Assassin Divine Dynasties plotted to strike while he was vulnerable. At the Azure Flood Dragon King’s abode, the Golden-Winged Little Peng King learned that Yan Ruyu would seek refuge at the Jade Pool and was rebuked for proposing to marry her.

• Powers across the Big Dipper feared Li Qingshan’s coming tribulation, while emissaries of Human World and Hell planned a coalition attack during it.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King told the Old Peng King that Yan Ruyu would travel to the Jade Pool in a month for protection.
• The Golden-Winged Little Peng King objected to Yan Ruyu relying on a human and proposed that his clan seek her hand in marriage.
• The Old Peng King silenced and scolded his grandson, warning that Li Qingshan far surpassed him and that his proposal was foolish.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King said Yan Ruyu’s journey had been decided and could not be changed.

At the Jade Pool Holy Land, Li Qingshan prepared to undergo the Severing the Dao tribulation and settle his karmic debts. He resolved to break free of the inheritances that had guided him and forge a path in which his own will became the Heavenly Dao.

• Jade Pool disciples watched Li Qingshan cultivate and worried about the dangers of his coming tribulation beyond the Northern Region.
• A female disciple brought Li Qingshan Scarlet Cloud Spirit Fruits, and he thanked her before returning his attention to the Immortal Pool.
• Li Qingshan recalled that he was ready to sever his Dao now that the Purple Mountain inheritance was settled and his affairs were complete.
• As Li Qingshan examined the imperial scriptures and secret arts he had cultivated, he recognized that relying on established Great Daos could become a restraint.
• Li Qingshan resolved to sever his dependence on inherited paths and establish his own Dao, declaring his aim to make his will the Heavenly Dao.

Lin Qingyao brought Li Qingshan a Spirit-Protecting and Soul-Guarding Pill and urged him to face his tribulation safely in the Jade Pool, but he explained why he had to venture into the Northern Region Outer Sea. After she left, Li Qingshan vowed to begin settling his grudges after Severing the Dao.

• Lin Qingyao gave Li Qingshan the pill and asked why he insisted on facing his tribulation in the dangerous Northern Region Outer Sea.
• Li Qingshan said he needed to temper himself without protection and planned to draw out his enemies and settle karmic debts away from innocents.
• Lin Qingyao asked whether future enemies were driving his urgency, and Li Qingshan told her his Dao was for transcendence and that the time to Sever the Dao had come.
• Lin Qingyao left the Immortal Pool Secret Realm, and Li Qingshan silently watched her go while holding the pill.
• Li Qingshan declared that his reckoning would begin after Severing the Dao, and his fighting spirit stirred the Immortal Pool.

Li Qingshan arrived at the Northern Region Outer Sea, where desperadoes mistook him for an easy target. He crushed Scarface Liu and his four companions with a single step and continued into the dangerous waters.

• Li Qingshan appeared at the border of the Northern Region and surveyed the perilous Outer Sea.
• Scarface Liu and his companions discussed the powerful visitors gathering in the Outer Sea and spotted Li Qingshan alone.
• Scarface Liu ignored a companion’s warning and led his crew aboard a bronze ship to attack Li Qingshan.
• Li Qingshan took one step and crushed the bronze ship and all five cultivators aboard.
• The nearby desperadoes watched in terror as Li Qingshan walked away.

Li Qingshan entered the Northern Region Outer Sea to undergo the Severing the Dao tribulation as powerful factions gathered to watch. He crushed a joint ambush by Human World and Hell with the Heaven-Overturning Seal, then continued toward his chosen tribulation site while the assembled forces stayed silent.

• News of Li Qingshan’s coming tribulation spread across the Big Dipper Star Domain, drawing powerful factions and observers to the outer sea.
• Li Qingshan entered the Annihilation Astral Wind Belt, where five assassins from Human World and Hell waited to kill him.
• The assassins attacked together, but Li Qingshan’s golden vital blood dissolved their strikes and his Heaven-Overturning Seal crushed them.
• Li Qingshan challenged the watching forces to attack, but none answered.
• Li Qingshan continued toward his chosen tribulation site as the observers watched in fear.

Ye Fan intervened when Ji Biyue pursued and tried to kill Ji Ziyue, then fought off her death warriors and fled with the injured woman. Trapped at the Demon-Swallowing Strait, they plunged inside as Li Qingshan's Immortal Three Severing the Dao tribulation began, forcing Ji Biyue to wait outside.

• Ye Fan discovered Ji Biyue and four death warriors pursuing the wounded Ji Ziyue, and Ji Biyue ordered a warrior to kill him after finding his hiding place.
• Ye Fan killed the death warrior who attacked him, then shielded Ji Ziyue and fought off the remaining warriors, knocking Ji Biyue's precious jade wheel back with his fist.
• Ye Fan fled with Ji Ziyue as Ji Biyue pursued them, and he refused to abandon her despite her urging him to escape alone.
• Cornered at the Demon-Swallowing Strait, Ye Fan carried Ji Ziyue into its darkness rather than face Ji Biyue outside.
• Li Qingshan's heavenly tribulation began, and Ji Biyue withdrew to watch the strait's entrance while Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue took shelter within.

Li Qingshan challenged the Great Dao in his Severing the Dao tribulation, enduring a vast heavenly punishment that forced distant onlookers to flee. As the tribulation manifested Emperor Weapon imprints and chains of law, he fought back with his Yin-Yang Dao Diagram and Five-Colored Divine Light.

• Li Qingshan released his suppressed cultivation and faced the Great Dao, prompting a sea of destructive lightning to engulf him.
• Li Qingshan's primordial spirit swallowed the lightning and refined it as the tribulation's presence spread across the outer sea.
• Tribulation watchers fled as the expanding cloud engulfed slower cultivators, then watched in disbelief as it contracted and gathered again.
• The tribulation cloud manifested imprints of Emperor Weapons, prompting the surviving watchers to retreat farther away.
• Li Qingshan fought the lightning forms with his body, divine abilities, and Yin-Yang Dao Diagram, recovering from his wounds through the Eight-Nine Profound Art.
• Li Qingshan dissolved the Order Divine Chains with his Five-Colored Divine Light and absorbed the resulting essence Qi.

As Li Qingshan underwent his Severing the Dao tribulation, an unknown Extreme Dao Weapon targeted him, prompting the Jade Pool’s Western Emperor Pagoda and the Beginningless Bell to intervene. The Emperor Weapons settled into a dangerous standoff, with Li Qingshan still at the center of the tribulation.

• A cold, slaughterous will from beyond the heavens targeted Li Qingshan as he endured the lightning tribulation.
• The Jade Pool’s Western Emperor Pagoda appeared over the outer sea and shielded Li Qingshan from the distant threat.
• The unknown Extreme Dao Weapon confronted the fully awakened Western Emperor Pagoda, shaking the Big Dipper Star Domain and rousing other Emperor Weapons.
• A third Extreme Dao presence moved to intervene against the Western Emperor Pagoda, but the Beginningless Bell stopped it and stabilized the surrounding space.
• The Western Emperor Pagoda continued protecting Li Qingshan while the unknown weapon restrained itself, leaving the Emperor Weapons in a tense balance.

Li Qingshan endured a prolonged heavenly tribulation, severed his dependence on others’ Dao, his own methods, and the myriad Dao, and forged the six seals into a path of his own. He survived the emperor-shadow tribulation and completed the first stage of his Yuanshi Dao, leaving him with a clear path toward further transcendence.

• Li Qingshan endured immortal lightning, resisted the erasure of his existence, and used his Five Great Secret Realms to withstand the innate five-elements formation.
• Li Qingshan declared three severances and defeated the Dao imprints of ancient emperors, including Great Emperor Wushi, before another wave of nine young Great Emperor lightning figures appeared.
• Li Qingshan developed the Wuji Seal, Four Symbols Seal, Void Seal, and Yin-Yang Seal as he survived the emperors’ attacks, then advanced the Heaven-Overturning Seal and created the Heaven-Opening Seal to complete all six seals.
• Li Qingshan’s Present Self disintegrated as his Departed Self and Dao Self manifested across time; his three selves ultimately reunited, forming his own Dao and restoring his true body.
• Li Qingshan completed the emperor-shadow tribulation, absorbed the remaining lightning, and declared that his body was the foundation of the Great Dao and his Dao was Yuanshi.

Li Qingshan endured a fourteen-day heavenly tribulation while his protectors feared its final trials might be even more dangerous. Elsewhere, Lin Qingyao rescued Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue from Ji Biyue’s trap, and the thunder finally began to weaken, suggesting Li Qingshan’s tribulation might be nearing its end.

• The Jade Pool Saint and Gu Tianshu watched Li Qingshan battle the Ancient Great Emperors’ Humanoid Lightning, and the Jade Pool Saint predicted he could break through several Immortal Platform stages if he survived.
• Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue waited in Devil-Devouring Canyon as the Nine Nether God-Trapping Formation threatened to close around them, and Ye Fan’s jade pendant began to guide help toward them.
• Lin Qingyao and the Jade Pool cultivators arrived with the Black Emperor, and Lin Qingyao shattered Ji Biyue’s formation to free Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue.
• Ji Biyue saw that Lin Qingyao had foiled her ambush and fled toward the Ji Family to avoid Ji Ziyue’s return.
• The Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons’ pressure receded, and the thunder around Li Qingshan’s tribulation began to weaken, raising hopes that it was nearing its end.

Li Qingshan entered the Primordial Heavenly Court at the heart of the lightning tribulation and used its destructive divine fire to forge the Pangu Banner and the Heaven and Earth Central Wuji Apricot-Yellow Flag. Both embryonic Emperor Weapons gained newly born artifact spirits, and the Apricot-Yellow Flag’s protective power shielded him from the thunderbolts.

• Li Qingshan broke through the lightning tribulation and reached the Primordial Heavenly Court beyond the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• A divine fire dragon attacked Li Qingshan, and he used the Heaven-Opening Seal to suppress it.
• Li Qingshan drew out Xuanhuang Mother Qi and forged the Pangu Banner, inscribing his Heaven-Opening Dao and giving birth to its artifact spirit deity.
• Li Qingshan forged the Heaven and Earth Central Wuji Apricot-Yellow Flag with the remaining Xuanhuang Mother Qi and his Wuji Seal’s protective Dao, creating a second artifact spirit deity.
• The Apricot-Yellow Flag’s protective divine intent spread around Li Qingshan, causing the thunderbolts to vanish against its dark-yellow Qi.

Li Qingshan battled the lightning imprints of several Immortal Medicines in the Ancient Heavenly Court, using his seals and newly forged treasures to withstand their overwhelming Dao laws. Surrounded by their combined killing formation, he unleashed Split Heaven Cleave Earth, shattering the imprints and leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• Li Qingshan advanced into the Heavenly Court’s core, awakening the Chaos Lightning Pool and its lightning imprints of Immortal Medicines.
• Li Qingshan used the Heaven-Overturning Seal against the Divine Phoenix, the Wuji Seal against the Ginseng Fruit Tree, and the Four Symbols Seal against the Nine Marvels Immortal Medicine.
• The True Dragon imprint attacked Li Qingshan, but the Pangu Banner’s Chaos Sword Qi split it apart, while Li Qingshan used the Yin-Yang Seal to resist the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree’s myriad Dao resonance.
• Li Qingshan fought the Immortal Medicine imprints through repeated assaults, then deliberately exposed a brief weakness to draw them into a coordinated attack.
• Li Qingshan unleashed Split Heaven Cleave Earth, destroying the Divine Phoenix imprint and breaking through the domains and attacks of the Nine Marvels Immortal Medicine, Ginseng Fruit Tree, True Dragon, and Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree.

Li Qingshan faced the Desolate Heaven Emperor’s imprint, which tried to erase him from reality, and survived by striking back with the Heaven-Opening Seal. The imprint vanished after leaving him a gift, and Li Qingshan entered a five-colored cocoon as his transformation began.

• The Desolate Heaven Emperor’s imprint emerged from the River of Time and Space and fixed its attention on Li Qingshan.
• The imprint tried to cut Li Qingshan out of reality, but Li Qingshan used the Pangu Banner and Heaven-Opening Seal to tear open a gap and preserve his existence.
• The Desolate Heaven Emperor’s imprint vanished, and its remaining feathers of light entered Li Qingshan to heal and transform him.
• Five-Colored Divine Light formed a cocoon around Li Qingshan as his body and five great secret realms fused and changed.
• After the tribulation ended, the cocoon devoured vast amounts of heaven-and-earth essence and starlight while observers watched, awaiting its emergence.

Thirty-two mighty figures attacked Li Qingshan’s cocoon, but the Zhoutian Star Formation stopped their first assault. They forced their way through at terrible cost, leaving twenty-eight attackers inside the star curtain as Li Qingshan’s nirvana continued.

• Thirty-two mighty figures encircled Li Qingshan’s cocoon and launched a combined attack to seize its life essence and secrets.
• Eighteen star banners formed the Zhoutian Star Formation and swallowed the attackers’ treasures before they could reach the cocoon.
• The Saint of the Jade Pool and Gu Tianshu watched the assault and discussed how Li Qingshan had baited his enemies, while hidden threats waited nearby.
• The attackers searched for a weakness in the formation, and a giant struck the star curtain with his bronze hammers, briefly denting it before being hurled back.
• The thirty-two attacked together, and four died as twenty-eight broke through the star curtain.