Chapter Summaries

Qin Yu faced the Illusory Dream of Past Regrets, which recreated the people and moments he had lost and offered him a perfect chance to undo his regrets. He acknowledged his grief but chose to accept the life he had lived and continued onward, leaving the trial unresolved beyond his decision to walk away from the illusion.

• After the first layer shattered, black fog recreated Qin Yu’s past and opened the second trial, the Illusory Dream of Past Regrets.
• The illusion brought back people from Qin Yu’s life and rewrote partings and failures into a perfect continuation of the past.
• Qin Yu approached his old friends and heard one tell him that there was still time to make everything right.
• Qin Yu admitted that he regretted some choices and wished his lost friends were still with him.
• Qin Yu held an old friend’s hand, then let go, saying that regret and loss were part of his life and that he would not trade his lived past for perfection.
• Qin Yu walked past his old friends without looking back.

Qin Yu passed the Illusory Dream of Past Regrets by accepting his real past without clinging to the wish to start over, then entered the third trial, True Self Returns to Nothingness. As the trial stripped away his appearance, identity, cultivation, and Dao, he waited without resisting, while the test had yet to reach the self itself.

• Qin Yu rejected the perfect past and watched the Illusory Dream of Past Regrets collapse, passing the second trial.
• Cultivators who failed the first trial awoke trapped by the spatial restraint, while others remained asleep in deeper trials.
• A man who had passed the greed trial but could not part with his deceased mother failed the trial of past regrets.
• Qin Yu entered boundless stillness, where memories and the identities that defined him appeared and revealed the third trial.
• Qin Yu let the illusion strip away his body, names, achievements, cultivation, and Dao without resisting, but the trial continued.

Qin Yu passed the True Self Returns to Nothingness illusion by accepting that he could continue on the Dao without clinging to the need to exist, and the third trial shattered. In the prison, many cultivators awakened in defeat while only a handful remained asleep and advancing toward the Ultimate trial.

• Qin Yu faced the illusion’s demand to relinquish his memories, cultivation, and the self called Qin Yu, recalling how Clinging to Knowing had trapped him during the Ultimate trial in the Wanyan Ancestral Land.
• Qin Yu accepted his past without denying it and said that the road and the Dao would remain even if he no longer existed.
• Qin Yu let his memories and identities dissipate, declaring that he would walk the Dao if he existed and need no proof if he returned to nothingness.
• Qin Yu’s awareness returned with his memories and cultivation intact, and the True Self Returns to Nothingness illusion shattered as he passed the third trial.
• Cultivators across the prison awakened after failing the trials, while an elderly man concluded that the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas chose the steadiest Dao heart rather than the strongest cultivator.
• Only a handful remained unawakened, still progressing toward the Ultimate trial and its final test of the self.

Qin Yu passed the third trial, severing his final attachment to his own existence, and entered the Being As It Is Secret Realm through the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas. Thousands of cultivators and the Five Great Heavenly Prodigies also passed the trial and were drawn into the gate.

• Qin Yu accepted the loss of his memories, Dao foundation, and sense of self in the final illusion, then awakened as the ancient gate acknowledged him and lifted his restraints.
• The guiding light carried Qin Yu through the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas and into the Being As It Is Secret Realm.
• Thousands of cultivators who passed all three trials awakened across the black mist and streamed into the ancient gate.
• Ju Lingyuan, Chi Xiyue, Hua Yanyang, Shangguan Shumu, and Shangguan Hongyin each let go of their final attachment to the self and broke the third illusion.
• The Five Great Heavenly Prodigies rose into the air and entered the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas.

Qin Yu entered the Being As It Is Secret Realm, a vast world bearing ancient traces of the Venerable of the Great Dao's Root and Fruit, and found that the cultivators had been scattered across it. The chapter left Qin Yu and the other newcomers listening as a distant, continuous rumble shook the realm.

• Qin Yu emerged from the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas onto an immense ancient plain and surveyed the secret realm's layered lands, skies, and star seas.
• Qin Yu noticed ancient trenches, cut mountains, golden markings, and a colossal ring-shaped mark left by the Venerable of the Great Dao's Root and Fruit.
• The black hole scattered cultivators across the secret realm, separating Qin Yu from Chi Xiyue and the other leaders of the four great lineages.
• Newly arrived cultivators marvelled at the realm's scale, while an elder warned his group not to touch its ancient traces carelessly.
• A distant rumble shook the ground and clouds, then grew into a continuous roar that silenced the cultivators.

Qin Yu and the cultivators in the Being As It Is Secret Realm were attacked by a massive tide of primordial divine beasts and divine beast supremes. As the battle spread across the ancient plain, several groups fought back, but a bone-armored supreme’s nine dark moons broke through the attacks of three Eternal Silence Realm cultivators.

• Qin Yu sensed countless powerful beasts approaching and warned that a divine beast supreme tide was coming.
• The beast tide poured over the mountains from every direction, and the scattered cultivators scrambled to prepare for the attack.
• Black-gold divine rhinoceroses charged into the cultivators, who wounded one and then scattered to avoid the herd.
• Crimson-feathered birds attacked from above, while cultivators pierced one with a spear formed from their Fate Soul origins.
• A nine-headed serpent and a giant beast carrying an ancient city attacked separate groups, and cultivators brought both under concentrated assault.
• A bone-armored divine beast supreme unleashed the radiance of its nine dark moons, shattered cultivators’ defenses, and forced three Eternal Silence Realm experts to intercept it.

Shangguan Wan'er led more than ten thousand Shangguan Lineage disciples in defending their landing site from successive beast tides. When a terrifying presence approached and the beasts parted before it, she ordered the disciples to form a massive defensive array, leaving them waiting for the trial’s guardian to emerge.

• Shangguan Wan'er rallied the scattered Shangguan Lineage disciples and organized them into ranks as beast tides attacked from three sides.
• The Shangguan Lineage used coordinated Fate Soul attacks to repel wave after wave of beasts and kill several supreme divine beasts.
• Shangguan Wan'er noticed blood briefly turning into luminous mist and felt a strange dislocation in her Fate Soul.
• A distant roar halted the battlefield, and the beasts bowed and parted as a presence more powerful than the earlier supreme divine beasts approached.
• Shangguan Wan'er ordered the disciples to retreat into a formation, and more than ten thousand cultivators combined their origins to raise a vast defensive array.
• The guardian of the Twelve Zodiac Illusion Realm’s trial began approaching behind the dust while Shangguan Wan'er and the disciples braced for its arrival.

Shangguan Wan'er and the Shangguan Lineage braced their formation as an overwhelming presence approached through the beast tide. A palm-sized grayish-white beast appeared, and a white-browed elder identified it as Gongpiluo Huang.

• Shangguan Wan'er suppressed the formation’s fear-induced instability and ordered the disciples and elders to hold their positions.
• A deep rumble shattered the mountain peaks, and the divine beasts stopped and opened a path through the beast tide.
• A grayish-white breath emerged from the dust, erasing dust and dimming the lingering True Annihilation Dao patterns.
• A palm-sized grayish-white beast appeared, while the surrounding beasts bowed and an immense outline of its true form stretched across the sky.
• A white-browed elder recognized the beast’s rat-shaped star marking and cried out, “Gongpiluo Huang?!”

Shangguan Wan'er and the elders recognized the gray-white beast as Gongpiluo Huang, a Primordial Beast Luminary whose presence meant something had been denied a beginning. As it opened its eye, its Beginningless ancient rhyme began erasing the origins of the Shangguan Lineage's defensive formation, leaving the disciples under threat.

• The white-browed elder identified the gray-white beast as Gongpiluo Huang, one of the twelve Primordial Beast Luminaries.
• Shangguan Wan'er recalled that Kumbhira had once severed the first thought in Wuji and warned that Gongpiluo Huang's appearance meant an existence or lineage should not have a beginning.
• Shangguan Wan'er ordered the elders, stewards, and more than ten thousand disciples to steady the formation as the beast tide fell silent.
• Gongpiluo Huang opened its left eye and spread Beginningless ancient rhyme across the formation's outer barrier.
• The formation's patterns began dissolving from their origins, its light barrier fractured, and the white-browed elder declared that the ancient rhyme was severing the formation's foundation.

Gongpiluo Huang’s Beginningless resonance annihilated Shangguan Lineage disciples and crippled their defensive formation. Shangguan Wan’er stabilized the breach, but Gongpiluo Huang then corrupted the Fate Souls of tens of thousands of divine beast Supremes, sending the entire beast tide charging toward the lineage.

• Gongpiluo Huang’s gaze erased dozens of Shangguan Lineage disciples and tore a major breach in the southeastern formation position.
• Shangguan Wan’er and the elders reinforced the damaged barrier, while an elder explained that forcibly repairing severed markings drew Fate Souls into the Rift of Beginningless.
• Shangguan Wan’er ordered the disciples to stop tracing the severed markings and reinforce the intact parts of the formation, barely stabilizing it.
• Gongpiluo Huang sent out its divine sense and corrupted the Fate Souls of the dormant divine beast Supremes, turning their eyes crimson and driving them into a frenzy.
• Shangguan Wan’er ordered the lineage to defend the formation as tens of thousands of berserk Supremes charged toward its damaged barrier.

Gongpiluo Huang drove tens of thousands of divine beast Supremes into a massive assault on the Shangguan Lineage's defensive formation. Shangguan Wan'er and the disciples fought to hold the barrier as the relentless attacks weakened it, while she watched Gongpiluo Huang at the heart of the beast tide.

• Gongpiluo Huang directed the divine beast Supremes to charge the Shangguan Lineage's formation from every side.
• Shangguan Wan'er ordered the disciples to reinforce the barrier as lightning, moonlight, falling stars, and a six-headed beast's attacks battered it.
• Shangguan Lineage elders and disciples combined their Fate Soul origins and martial abilities to resist the assault and wound the six-headed divine beast Supreme.
• The beast horde's continued charges cracked and weakened the formation, while the Shangguan Lineage's counterattacks brought down many beasts.
• Shangguan Wan'er poured Eternal Silence origin into the formation and kept her attention on Gongpiluo Huang, whom she sensed was driving the assault.

Gongpiluo Huang's ancient resonance spread through the Shangguan Lineage's grand formation, erasing elders and stewards and driving the formation toward collapse. As the divine beast supremes lost their wills and continued attacking, Shangguan Wan'er prepared to spend her Fate Soul origin power to stop their assault.

• Gongpiluo Huang's ancient resonance reached the damaged southeastern formation, causing stewards and Shangguan Chengyue to dissolve along with their Fate Souls.
• The resonance struck more elders and stewards, opening gaps in the grand formation and forcing Shangguan Lineage disciples to retreat toward its center.
• Shangguan Wan'er and the remaining elders formed a Fate Soul barrier to block Gongpiluo Huang's divine sense from spreading further.
• Shangguan Wan'er realized the divine beast supremes were losing their wills and attacking the formation without regard for their injuries.
• Shangguan Wan'er decided to activate the Shangguan Lineage's guardian divine ability with her own Fate Soul origin power, despite the risk to her Dao foundation.

Shangguan Wan'er unleashed her Stillness Heaven Wheel Slash and killed more than half the attacking divine beast supremes, but the effort gravely injured her and left the Shangguan Lineage’s formation near collapse. As the survivors faced Gongpiluo Huang, it began opening its right eye, which Shangguan Wan'er knew was tied to the power of Endless.

• Shangguan Wan'er summoned her Fate Soul heavenly wheel and sent a vast sword tide crashing into the beast tide.
• Shangguan Wan'er’s swords slew more than half the divine beast supremes and forced the remaining beasts to scatter, but she exhausted her Fate Soul origin and collapsed.
• The white-browed elder and two other elders caught Shangguan Wan'er and brought her back to the damaged formation.
• The surviving Shangguan Lineage disciples assessed their losses while Gongpiluo Huang remained motionless at the head of the beast tide.
• Gongpiluo Huang began opening its right eye, and Shangguan Wan'er recalled that the eye suppressed Endless and that opening both eyes would throw the laws of time and cause and effect into chaos.

Gongpiluo Huang’s Beginningless and Endless resonances devastated the Shangguan Lineage’s formation, forcing its members to sacrifice their weapons’ origin power to keep it standing. Shangguan Wan’er began leading a retreat toward a northwestern rift, but Gongpiluo Huang awakened a second beast star spot and summoned an ancient umbrella above the formation.

• Gongpiluo Huang’s opposing ancient resonances severed the formation patterns’ causal connections and shattered several defensive positions.
• The white-browed elder ordered the lineage members to pour their divine weapons’ origin power into the formation, temporarily restoring its barrier at great cost.
• Shangguan Wan’er suppressed her injuries with pills and directed the lineage to move the formation northwest toward a rift to escape the beast tide.
• The white-browed elder and two other elders took the forward defensive line as the wounded and disciples shifted into an orderly formation retreat.
• Gongpiluo Huang awakened the ox-shaped second star spot, reshaping the mountains and weighing down heaven and earth with its immense presence.
• A gray-white ancient umbrella appeared above the formation core, bearing twelve ribs with distinct primordial Dao resonances.

Gongpiluo Huang opened an ancient umbrella over the Shangguan Lineage’s shattered formation, sealing the sky and releasing primordial rain that eroded defenses and injured Fate Souls. With the formation close to collapse, Shangguan Wan'er and Elder White Brow rose to attack the umbrella and try to open a path for their clanspeople.

• Gongpiluo Huang pointed toward the Shangguan formation, causing the ancient umbrella to expand and cast its shadow across the battlefield.
• Shangguan Wan'er ordered the clanspeople to hold formation and poured her remaining Eternal Silence origin power into its foundation.
• A gray-white droplet fell from the umbrella and began eroding the formation’s Fate Soul light screen, then a downpour spread across the defenses.
• The primordial rain corroded formation patterns and origin weapons, injured several stewards, and caused a True Annihilation Realm disciple to collapse and die.
• Elder White Brow warned Shangguan Wan'er that replenishing the formation with origin power only accelerated the rain’s erosion.
• Shangguan Wan'er and Elder White Brow agreed to attack the umbrella and rose into the air together.

Shangguan Wan'er and Elder White Brow failed to break the grayish-white umbrella, and the Shangguan Lineage's formation began to collapse. With thousands of clanspeople facing death, Elder White Brow released the resentful ancient creature sealed inside his Dao weapon, which recognized him upon emerging.

• Shangguan Wan'er and Elder White Brow combined their attacks against the umbrella, but its Primordial patterns absorbed their sword and bell, destroying both weapons without damaging the canopy.
• The eastern formation wall shattered, Primordial rain seeped into the defenses, and Elder White Brow saw that the formation could no longer protect the Shangguan Lineage.
• Elder White Brow awakened his sealed Dao weapon with his blood essence despite Shangguan Wan'er's warning, then released the ancient creature imprisoned inside it.
• The enormous creature emerged from the blood-red vortex, deflecting the Primordial rain with its savage presence while Shangguan Wan'er and Elder White Brow watched in shock.
• The creature fixed its gaze on Elder White Brow, recognized him as its former captor, and laughed with hatred.

The unknown creature emerged from the blood-red vortex and confronted Elder White Brow, whose Shangguan Lineage was trapped beneath the gray-white umbrella. After the creature attacked the defenders, the umbrella’s primordial rain began eroding its bone armor, and it realized the rain could threaten its origin.

• The unknown creature fixed its ancient hatred on Elder White Brow as Shangguan Wan'er warned that its power was growing.
• A raindrop from the gray-white umbrella burned a dent into the creature’s armor, and it studied the umbrella before attacking the formation.
• The creature vanished and reappeared above hundreds of Shangguan Lineage disciples, killing and injuring many with six crimson bone blades.
• Shangguan Wan'er’s sword images failed to stop the creature, and Elder White Brow demanded that it target him instead of the younger generation.
• The umbrella’s rain eroded the creature’s armor and reached its inner origin, making it abruptly clench its fist.

The unknown creature unleashed its Ancient Prison Blood Proliferation attack against Gongpiluo Huang’s giant umbrella, but the umbrella’s Primordial resonance shattered its chains and bone avatar. Elder White Brow recalled how he and Shangguan Lingxiao had once sealed the creature and admitted he had freed it in hopes that it would help the Shangguan Lineage escape.

• The unknown creature attacked the gray-white umbrella with twelve bone chains and a giant bone figure, briefly forcing the canopy upward.
• The umbrella’s ancient ox-shaped resonance strengthened, broke the chains, collapsed the bone figure, and hurled the creature backward.
• Elder White Brow recognized the creature as an Ancient Prison Remnant Descendant from the ruins he had explored with Shangguan Lingxiao tens of millions of years earlier.
• Elder White Brow recalled how he and Shangguan Lingxiao had sealed the wounded creature inside a Dao weapon after a fierce battle.
• Elder White Brow told Shangguan Wan'er that he had freed the creature to give the Shangguan Lineage a chance to escape, and Shangguan Wan'er began to respond.

The Eternal Prison Skeleton Ancient Scion broke its remaining seals and gathered the battlefield’s corpses into a vast blood prison. As Gongpiluo Huang watched from afar, the Scion unleashed Twelve Remains Prisons' Return to Burial against the gray-white umbrella trapping the Shangguan Lineage.

• Elder White Brow and Shangguan Wan'er concluded that they had to risk releasing the unknown being because the Shangguan Lineage’s formation was near collapse.
• Gongpiluo Huang turned its attention to the Ancient Prison Remnant Descendant, and the two ancient beings silently examined each other across the battlefield.
• The Eternal Prison Skeleton Ancient Scion released its sealed origin, shattering its remaining restraints and frightening Shangguan Wan'er and Elder White Brow.
• The Scion formed an enormous blood prison that drew in the bones and Fate Souls of the divine beast supreme corpses across the battlefield.
• The Scion invoked Twelve Remains Prisons' Return to Burial, transforming its twelve back spines into enormous skeletal forms beneath the umbrella.

The Eternal Prison Skeleton Ancient Scion shattered Gongpiluo Huang’s vast gray-white umbrella, ending the Primordial rain that had been eroding the Shangguan Lineage’s battered formation. After identifying Gongpiluo Huang as one of the twelve Seals of End and Beginning, the two ancient beings prepared to fight, with Gongpiluo Huang’s Beginningless resonance stirring as the chapter ended.

• The Eternal Prison Skeleton Ancient Scion used its twelve Ancient Prison Skeleton Aspects and a crimson-black bone blade to crack and destroy the vast gray-white umbrella.
• The umbrella’s destruction revealed daylight and stopped the Primordial rain from eroding the Shangguan Lineage’s formation, giving its surviving disciples a moment of relief.
• The Eternal Prison Skeleton Ancient Scion challenged Gongpiluo Huang and declared that it was one of the twelve Seals of End and Beginning cast upon the Twelve Zodiac Aspects by the Source of Wuji.
• Gongpiluo Huang replied that meeting an Eternal Prison Skeleton Ancient Scion was good luck and calmly faced its provocation.
• The Eternal Prison Skeleton Ancient Scion summoned Ancient Prison origin power and surrounded itself with twelve bone rings and crimson-black chains.
• Gongpiluo Huang watched as the Beginningless shadowy abyss in its left eye stirred and released a wisp of gray-white ancient resonance.