Chapter Summaries

Lu Li prepared a virtual Blue Star world to receive his family and other visitors from home, projecting their souls into it. He reunited with Lu Yao and Liu Xiulan in an imagined version of the homecoming he had missed, and let himself rest from his burdens for a little while.

• Lu Li reassured Lu Dahai that Liu Xiulan could return to Blue Star whenever she wished, then activated the fish-shaped jade pendant to bring fifteen people across worlds.
• Lu Li used the Heart of Primordial Beginning and Mirage Soul Pearl to create a realistic virtual Blue Star where mortal souls could live safely.
• Lu Li recognized that Lu Yao could sense her surroundings as a soul and projected all fifteen visitors into the virtual world.
• In the virtual Blue Star, Lu Yao went home to help Liu Xiulan prepare dinner while they waited for Lu Li.
• Lu Li arrived at the door as if returning from work, reunited with Liu Xiulan and Lu Yao, and allowed himself to enjoy a family meal in the dreamlike world.

Lu Li used the fourth-tier soul treasure to reunite with his mother, sister, and old Great Xia comrades in a lifelike illusion, then completed the cross-world consciousness upload. After he reported the Dao Academy’s stalled development, Li Qingshan warned him that the Western Continent was about to face a major upheaval.

• Lu Li ended the family illusion, restored Liu Xiulan and Lu Yao’s memories, and told them they could make this world their home.
• Lu Li brought Lu Yao to the illusion’s command hall, where Li Yuanchao and the other old comrades greeted him and joined forces with him.
• Wang Zhiwen and the other researchers began setting up Spirit Machinery projects in the illusion, while Li Yuanchao worked on strategy and Lu Li gave Lu Yao a Soul Dao cultivation method.
• Lu Li exited the illusion and reported that the cross-world consciousness upload had succeeded, noting that the Dao Academy’s progress had reached a bottleneck.
• Li Qingshan told Lu Li that predictive models pointed to a tremendous upheaval in the Western Continent.

Lu Li ordered the Dao Academy’s third academy-wide joint campaign exercise to prepare for the looming Prefecture-Breaking War. The disciples rapidly assembled beneath the academy’s eight banners, while Ye Chenfeng observed their impressive growth.

• Li Qingshan told Lu Li that the peaceful first fifty years of their hundred-year plan had succeeded and that the Western Continent was nearing a crisis point.
• Lu Li anticipated using the Prefecture-Breaking War to seize the Demon Manor’s wealth, recruit cultivators, and establish the Dao Academy as a third power.
• Lu Li ordered Primordial Beginning to launch the Awakening of Insects-50 exercise across the blessed lands, involving the entire Dao Academy.
• The academy announced the exercise, and its disciples halted their activities and organized beneath the eight division banners.
• Ye Chenfeng arrived and greeted the assembled disciples, noting Dong Qing and Jiang Wuxie’s rapid advances to Golden Core.

Lu Li unveiled the Beyond Heaven Dao Academy’s first warship and led its disciples aboard, where he called his core team to a strategic council. The vessel departed Litian, ready for the academy’s next operation.

• Elder Jian reflected on the Dao Academy’s many disciples with powerful fate configurations and the guidance that had kept Ye Chenfeng safe.
• Xu Xiong instructed Qian Dabao to coordinate logistics with Li Nanci and follow his lead during the full-scale exercise.
• The main peak opened to reveal the Dao Academy’s enormous God Command-grade warship, and Lu Li ordered the disciples to board.
• The disciples took their assigned stations while spirit machinery puppets maintained and resupplied the vessel.
• Lu Li reviewed the warship’s capabilities as it sailed out of Litian, then summoned all halls, banners, and elders to the Spirit Nexus Hall for a strategic council.

Lu Li assigned Dong Qing and Jiang Wuxie to command a full Dao Academy exercise simulating a raid on Heavenly Wolf Blessed Land. As the warship and disciples advanced, their unconventional tactics and the other disciples’ abilities impressed Lu Li, who wondered how they would fare in a genuine life-or-death crisis.

• Lu Li used the Heart of Primordial Beginning to display the Dao Academy’s personnel and supplies, then proposed that Dong Qing and Jiang Wuxie jointly command the exercise.
• Dong Qing and Jiang Wuxie accepted the command, planned their strategy with Ye Chenfeng and the others, and directed the warship to gather the Dao Academy’s forces.
• Nearly twenty thousand outer court disciples boarded, and the Dao Academy’s force headed toward Heavenly Wolf Blessed Land as its clansmen prepared to resist.
• Dong Qing and Jiang Wuxie sent giant puppets and Golden Core cultivators straight toward Heavenly Wolf while other disciples raided supplies and fought the remaining Demon Beasts.
• Lu Li watched the commanders and core disciples display their abilities and wondered what would happen if they faced a genuine life-or-death crisis.

Lu Li reflected on why his small Dao Academy had gathered six suspected Heavenly Mandate Bearers and considered the unusual traits of Changming, Changye, and Li Nanci. As all six were together for a strategic discussion, Lu Li felt an inexplicable unease that something might happen.

• Lu Li wondered how his Dao Academy had gathered so many people with special Fate Patterns and considered whether his own presence had drawn them together.
• Lu Li suspected Changming's difficult travels and sudden change in personality pointed to a hidden protagonist-like story.
• Lu Li noted that Changye had helped establish the Treasure Auction Pavilion and carried a mysterious little green bottle.
• Li Nanci admired the Law Ship, and his Heart of Second Primordial issued him a mission to demonstrate strategic talent and win Lu Li's favor.
• Lu Li realized all six suspected Heavenly Mandate Bearers were gathered together for the first time and worried that their presence might cause something to happen.

Zongzheng Lie led eleven Void Return True Lords into the Demon Manor to seize a chance to strengthen human rule, while Ao Qing completed his refinement of karmic sin and began transforming into a dragon. Ao Qing’s roar announced his return from seclusion, and Zongzheng Lie rushed toward Azure Pool in alarm.

• Zongzheng Lie gathered eleven Void Return True Lords at Hanging Blade Pass and led them into the Demon Manor to capture Azure Pool and the cultivator surnamed Lu.
• Suanni sensed the human cultivators moving toward the Demon Manor and wondered whether they were testing Ao Qing’s condition.
• Ao Qing swallowed the blood lake’s resentment and Baleful Intent, refined his accumulated karmic sin, and showed signs of transforming into a dragon.
• Ao Qing’s roar echoed across the Demon Manor and the Western Continent, summoning its demons and announcing that he had emerged from seclusion.
• Zongzheng Lie recognized the danger, summoned his lifebound Law Treasure, and sped toward Azure Pool with the other cultivators following.

Lu Li learned that Ao Qing had launched the Prefecture-Breaking War and ordered the sect to mobilize under the Startles the Abyss Plan. The sect concealed itself among the demon armies and finished preparing for war, leaving Lu Li with all 21,213 units ready to march.

• Heavenly Wolf told Lu Li that Ao Qing had ordered the demon armies to march on the two prefectures, and Lu Li informed Great Xia through the jade pendant.
• Lu Changming and Lu Changye could not discern whether fortune or disaster awaited Lu Li, describing his signs as tangled and confused.
• Lu Li ordered Heavenly Wolf, Golden Ape, and Nether Toad to lead the demon forces toward the border while concealing their plans and awaiting his signal.
• Lu Li activated the Startles the Abyss Plan and ordered the sect to disguise itself among the demon armies, issue equipment and supplies, and prepare its strategic weapons.
• The Heart of Primordial Beginning reported that the preparations were complete and all 21,213 units across the sect were war-ready.

As the Prefecture-Breaking War began, Lu Li coordinated Great Xia’s wartime mobilization and led the Dao Academy disciples into the moving demon army. With the Demon Manor’s forces marching on Jingxi Prefecture, Zongzheng Lie realized the chaos had made Lu Li nearly impossible to find.

• Lu Li contacted Great Xia, and Li Qingshan confirmed the plan and announced the nation’s full wartime mobilization.
• Great Xia prepared its industry, spiritual power, and material conversion network to turn resources Lu Li sent back into weapons and strength.
• Lu Li reviewed his plan to seize the Demon Manor’s blessed lands and Dongting domains for their accumulated resources.
• Lu Li ordered the Heavenly Wolf Blessed Land to move, and the other forces across the Demon Manor began assembling their armies.
• Five million demons and enslaved human cultivators marched toward Jingxi Prefecture, while Zongzheng Lie lamented that the chaos had ruined his chance to find Lu Li.

Zongzheng Lie abandoned his search for the cultivator surnamed Lu and led the human Void Return cultivators toward Jingxi Prefecture, but Ao Qing intercepted them and attacked. As Ao Qing sought to hold them for Suanni’s demon army, Zongzheng Lie invoked the Pacify the West Prince’s Seal and called on humanity’s destiny to help capture the dragon.

• Zongzheng Lie weighed searching for the cultivator surnamed Lu against returning to protect Jingxi Prefecture as the Prefecture-Breaking War began.
• Ao Qing emerged from seclusion and intercepted Zongzheng Lie and the other Void Return cultivators as they fled the Demon Manor.
• Ao Qing attacked with sin-powered dragon breath, aiming to pin the human cultivators down while Suanni’s million-strong demon army invaded the Western Continent.
• Zongzheng Lie and the other True Lords unleashed their Law Treasures, but Ao Qing overpowered them and began suppressing their formation.
• Zongzheng Lie presented the Pacify the West Prince’s Seal and called upon humanity’s destiny to help him capture Ao Qing.

Zongzheng Lie invoked the Human Dao Karmic Luck in the Pacify the West Prince's Seal and struck Ao Qing, leaving both sides gravely wounded. Ao Qing fled toward his demon army while Zongzheng Lie and the other cultivators escaped toward Jingxi Prefecture, and Ao Qing ordered the demons to assemble and breach the pass.

• Ao Qing sent nine sinful dragons to seize the Pacify the West Prince's Seal, while Jingfeng, Canyue, and the other Void Return True Lords fought to buy Zongzheng Lie time.
• Zongzheng Lie called on Human Dao Karmic Luck, summoning a majestic phantom that brought its Law Seal down on Ao Qing.
• Ao Qing tore out two of his own reverse scales and used them to meet the phantom's strike, causing the void to collapse and both sides to emerge badly wounded.
• Jingfeng urged Zongzheng Lie to retreat, and Ao Qing decided to flee toward the gathering demon army rather than keep fighting.
• Zongzheng Lie and the cultivators fled toward Jingxi Prefecture as Ao Qing ordered all demons to assemble and breach the pass.

As the Prefecture-Breaking War intensified and Ao Qing ordered the demons to breach the passes on their own, Lu Li suspected the flood dragon had encountered trouble and organized reconnaissance among the disguised Dao Academy disciples. Elder Jian, impressed by the Academy’s unusual systems and Lu Li’s influence, began to believe Lu Li might be an immortal descended to the mortal world and that serving him could bring Elder Jian his own chance at immortality.

• Demon Ancestor Heavenly Wolf told Lu Li that Ao Qing had ordered the demons to breach the passes independently after gathering at the prefectural border.
• Lu Li suspected Ao Qing’s order was connected to the distant clash and instructed Ultimate Primordial Beginning to alert the disciples, investigate the demon forces, and summon Yuanhao.
• Ye Chenfeng sent the Shadow-Glancing Banner into five-person teams to scout demon numbers, routes, and terrain while avoiding danger.
• Elder Jian reflected on the Dao Academy’s unfamiliar systems and devices, then recalled the rumor that Yuanhao had called Lu Li an immortal descended to the mortal world.
• Elder Jian began to believe Lu Li might truly be an immortal and that meeting him could lead to Elder Jian’s own opportunity for immortality.

Ye Chenfeng, Dong Qing, and Jiang Wuxie coordinated the Dao Academy’s concealed forces as they tracked the demon army and protected the main force. Dong Qing heard a sinister voice tied to her pact, while Jiang Wuxie’s blood-ring greatsaber stirred as he promised it a future feast of blood and souls.

• A Shadow-Glancing Banner disciple deployed a Spirit Machinery hummingbird to scout the demon army and upload reconnaissance data to the Heart of Primordial Beginning.
• Dong Qing concealed the Army-Breaking Banner beneath the Heaven-Veiling Instrument and ordered her disciples to guard the main force and eliminate threats without exposing themselves.
• A sinister voice in Dong Qing’s mind praised her pact and called her toward a sacrificial rite, but she noticed nothing amiss and resumed watching the demon army.
• The Dao Academy’s twenty thousand-odd disciples took concealed positions, with Jiang Wuxie’s Mountain-Subduing Banner guarding Lu Li and the logistical units.
• Jiang Wuxie recalled wanting to stand beside the headmaster and promised his blood-ring greatsaber that it would one day feast on the blood and souls of living beings; the saber shuddered and flashed dark crimson.

The three logistical banner masters prepared their teams for the Prefecture-Breaking War while handling their own affairs. Li Nanci struggled with the impossible quests from his Heart of Second Primordial, Qian Dabao worshipped a mysterious statue, and Lu Changye used a small green bottle on an ancient beast bone.

• Li Nanci tried to change his Heart of Second Primordial’s quest to having Dao Academy disciples refine and repair a thousand artifacts, but it proposed an impossible plan for smelting ghost crystals and lightning-struck iron.
• Qian Dabao sorted Qihuang Banner supplies and prayed to an ancient-looking statue, whose golden light entered his brow without his noticing.
• Lu Changye organized Demon Beast materials for the Beast-Taming Banner and found a beast bone three years short of becoming a valuable talisman-artifact material.
• Lu Changye took out his small green bottle and dropped two drops of mysterious liquid onto the beast bone.

Lu Changming analyzed the demon armies’ advance while struggling with a promise he had made years earlier, unaware that a mysterious force was gathering around Lu Li and the Dao Academy’s banner masters. The force drew the attention of colossal beings beyond the Western Continent, while Zongzheng Lie and Ao Qing sensed a new wild card in the war.

• Lu Changming reviewed intelligence showing the demon armies would reach the border of two prefectures within three months and relayed his assessment to Lu Li.
• Lu Changming recalled his promise to a female cultivator’s Lineage and wondered whether he could fulfill it without relying on his master.
• A mysterious presence emerged from the seven banner masters other than Chen Ke and gathered around Lu Li, though neither Lu Li nor Elder Jian understood it.
• The presence’s ripples reached colossal figures beyond the Western Continent, who agreed that a wild card had entered their game and chose to play on at the ninth tribulation eye.
• As the Dao Academy scattered into units among the advancing demon armies, Zongzheng Lie sensed a new root of human fortune and Ao Qing celebrated the wild card as a chance to survive.

Ao Qing and Zongzheng Lie hurried back while the human and demon upper ranks were gravely wounded, leaving both sides reliant on their forces below. Jingxi Prefecture mobilized to defend its three pass walls as a million-strong demon army gathered, and Ao Qing appeared above it.

• Ao Qing decided to exploit the upper ranks' injuries and lead a coordinated assault on Western Prefecture after reaching the demon army.
• Zongzheng Lie worried over the unfamiliar fortune emerging in the Western Continent and rushed back to Jingxi Prefecture to recover.
• The human and demon forces were left with almost no healthy Void Return cultivators able to influence the war.
• The Liu Household sent its young cultivators to the pass walls, while the Hidden Light Sword Sect's Chen Yanzhou led her disciples there and left Elder Su to guard the sect.
• Jingxi Prefecture's clans, sects, and authorities mobilized cultivators and evacuated civilians as the demon army gathered beyond the passes.
• Ao Qing appeared from the void above the million-strong demon army beyond the three great pass walls.

Ao Qing arrived at Hanging Blade Pass and ordered the demons to slaughter the Western Continent's cultivators after breaching its defenses, while Zongzheng Lie returned to Jingxi Prefecture gravely wounded and prepared its defenses. Lu Li ordered the Dao Academy disciples to leave the demon army and hide, where they waited in silence for his command.

• Ao Qing appeared at Hanging Blade Pass, commanded his demon army to attack the three defensive walls and kill the Western Continent's cultivators, then began forming a vast blood-colored formation above the pass.
• Zongzheng Lie returned to Jingxi Prefecture, warned its three remaining Void Return cultivators to hold the prefecture, and ordered the prince's estate guards to reinforce the three walls before retreating to heal.
• Lu Li used the Heart of Primordial Beginning to order every Dao Academy disciple to leave Heavenly Wolf's demon army, disperse, and remain silent until he gave a personal command.
• Heavenly Wolf raised dust to cover the disciples' escape as they scattered into hiding across the mountains and rivers.
• Five Dao Academy disciples concealed themselves beneath a camouflage net, and their leader warned a frightened junior by writing, "Wait for our sect master's command to topple the heavens!"

Hua Baichuan arrived at Hanging Blade Pass and was overwhelmed by the sight of the demon horde, while Hu Lie learned that the defenders faced a ten-to-one disadvantage. The demons then appeared before the walls and began their assault.

• Hua Baichuan enlisted for the Prefecture-Breaking War, hoping to earn resources and escape the hardships of rogue cultivation.
• Hua Baichuan climbed the wall, saw the vast demon sea and blood cloud, and suffered an inner demon that shattered his Dao heart.
• Defenders sealed low-level cultivators' divine sense after several newcomers and even some Golden Core True Lords broke under the sight of the horde.
• A Nascent Soul Cultivator reported to Hu Lie that more than two million demons faced Hanging Blade Pass, outnumbering its defenders ten to one.
• Dozens of enormous demons appeared outside the walls, and their roar signaled the assault across all three defensive walls.

As demons assaulted the three passes, Hu Lie and the defenders fought to hold them back while conserving their strength and supplies. Learning that the Void Return demons could not appear, Lu Li ordered the Dao Academy disciples to attack the Demon Manor and plunder its blessed lands.

• Thirty Spirit Transformation Demon Lords and a vast demon army attacked the three passes, and Hu Lie rallied the defenders to fight.
• The defenders raised their formations and unleashed ballistae and talisman cannons, inflicting heavy losses on the demon vanguard.
• Hu Lie ordered the defenders to alternate their volleys and rotate their formations to conserve supplies and maintain the barriers.
• Lu Li learned that Ao Qing was gravely wounded and the Void Return demons could not show themselves, so he changed the plan.
• Lu Li ordered all eight banners to move together and plunder the Demon Manor while its forces were occupied.

Lu Li mobilized the Dao Academy to seize the Three Tiger Blessed Lands and reflected on how his fish-shaped jade pendant might transform when he reached Nascent Soul. The expedition’s forces set out, with Dong Qing leading the Army-Breaking Banner as the vanguard.

• Primordial Beginning reported that the Dao Academy’s banners would assemble near the Three Tiger Blessed Lands in ten days, while Ye Chenfeng’s Shadow-Glancing Banner investigated the demons and remaining stockpiles.
• Lu Li summoned the law warship, and the Dao Academy’s disciples began boarding, scouting, and clearing out demons under his command.
• Lu Li examined his fish-shaped jade pendant and considered how it might become a Life-Bound Law Treasure when he formed his Nascent Soul.
• The main Dao Academy force departed for the Three Tiger Blessed Lands aboard the law warship.
• Dong Qing and Ye Chenfeng led the Army-Breaking Banner and Shadow-Glancing Banner ahead aboard a reconnaissance law boat, with Dong Qing urging her soldiers to fight to the death for Lu Li.