Recaps

Gouchen explored the Star God Network and agreed to help the Gouchen Heavenly Palace team test its features. He activated the palace’s star power system and was engulfed by a pillar of light.

• Gouchen examined his information panel and wondered what the Great Luo and Taiyi advancement path meant.
• The female scribe showed Gouchen the Star God Network’s archives and demonstrated its friend requests and voice transmission function.
• Gouchen accepted the female scribe’s invitation to help test the network, while she explained plans for an automated Law Technique system.
• The female scribe told Gouchen that his final test was to assess the artificial star power produced by the Gouchen Heavenly Palace.
• Gouchen activated the star power descent function, and a silvery-white pillar of light enveloped him.

Lord Yanyao repelled a Gouchen Star Lord who crossed from another spacetime to claim the Dao, while Yinglong and Lu Huaijin discussed the limits of classifying cultivators by realm. The chapter left Yinglong lamenting that Great Xia still lacked a standardized written script.

• Lord Yanyao sensed the approaching Gouchen Star Lord and attacked him across space and time with an enormous arrow.
• The Gouchen Star Lord dodged Lord Yanyao’s first arrow, but a second struck him and drove him back before he could manifest a physical body.
• Yinglong and Lu Huaijin identified the attacker as the seventy-third Gouchen Star Lord, and Lu Huaijin speculated that he might be Old Gu.
• Yinglong said the Gouchen Star Lords were mostly Loose Immortals, while Lu Huaijin argued that fixed realm classifications could not account for cultivators’ different abilities and methods.
• Yinglong acknowledged the importance of cultivation techniques and other resources, then complained that Great Xia had still not standardized its common written script.

Fu Kui continued Great Xia’s reforms while reflecting on his limits and on the Dao Ancestor’s teaching about the ranks and paths of Dao Proving Ones. The chapter left him weighing his own cultivation against the established hierarchy, while Wu Jun stood as an example of a being whose true strength exceeded the categories that had once constrained him.

• Great Xia’s reforms advanced under Fu Kui, including compulsory education, while a lack of resources kept cultivation methods from reaching the masses.
• Wu Xian and Wu Luo discussed the cost of reform and urged Fu Kui to cultivate enough strength to overcome entrenched interests.
• Fu Kui recalled attending Li Boyang’s lecture in the Purple Firmament Palace about the Dao of Taiyi and the Dao of Daluo.
• Li Boyang distinguished Great Luo Dao Proving Ones, who could perceive and affect the Long River of Time, from Taiyi Dao Proving Ones, who could not.
• Li Boyang divided both paths into Loose Immortal, True Immortal, and Golden Immortal stages, while stressing that the categories were only references.
• The chapter contrasted those ranks with Wu Jun, whose successful Dao Proving had raised him from Great Luo Loose Immortal to Great Luo Golden Immortal and made him the strongest being of his era.

Gouchen used the [Thirty-Six Transformations] to adapt to and purify the impure star power from the [Gouchen Heavenly Palace], then infused it with lightning to create a new power. He left with greatly strengthened flesh and Yuan Qi reserves, while Fenglong watched in alarm.

• Gouchen detected impurities in the star power and opened his Heavenly Eye to purify it.
• Gouchen’s [Thirty-Six Transformations] made his cells evolve and filter the star power, while the female scribe watched his changes.
• Fenglong panicked as the God-Control Law kept him bound and his power was consumed to fuel Gouchen’s evolution.
• Gouchen told Fenglong to be quiet and used his Thunder Method to combine lightning with the purified star power.
• The new power rapidly strengthened Gouchen’s body and raised his Yuan Qi reserves beyond those of Heavenly Deities nurtured by heaven and earth.

Gouchen’s transformation gave his star power unique, ferocious attributes, inspiring Lu Huaijin to pursue its use in Mountain Folk cultivation while Yinglong warned against its dangers. As they responded to the breakthrough, the [Gouchen Heavenly Palace] lost its gravity and began to tremble.

• Gouchen’s power altered the star power flowing through the [Gouchen Heavenly Palace], and Lu Huaijin ordered the Mountain Folk and gods to record the changes.
• Lu Huaijin envisioned using refined stellar power to establish foundations for the Mountain Folk and eventually enable collective ascension, while Yinglong warned that Gouchen’s power was too ferocious for widespread use.
• Yinglong acknowledged that he had come partly to restrain Lu Huaijin, who dismissed him and headed for the palace’s central hub.
• The [Gouchen Heavenly Palace]’s gravity system suddenly collapsed, sending buildings and rocks floating.
• Yinglong transformed into a winged dragon, ordered everyone to follow emergency protocols, and organized evacuations and an investigation as the palace and starry sky continued to tremble.

Li Boyang and Xiluo noticed that Gouchen Heavenly Palace was under attack and discussed the rival Star Gods who might want to steal its technology or eliminate a rising competitor. Li Boyang predicted that the artificial star could grow into one of the Zhoutian Principal Stars or even rank among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Stars or Four Mansions.

• Li Boyang and Xiluo noticed the brightest star flickering as alarms spread across the Hundred Lands Mountain Range.
• Li Boyang explained that the Star God system forced competition, with later arrivals able to challenge and replace established Star Gods.
• Xiluo asked which Star Gods had attacked Gouchen Heavenly Palace, and Li Boyang listed those threatened by its technology or growing power.
• Li Boyang said Gouchen Heavenly Palace could expand as long as the mountain folk survived and might eventually become a principal star or rise even higher.

Gouchen and Nüshi discovered that the Gouchen Heavenly Palace had lost contact with the ground, and their attempts to identify the cause failed. Gouchen found that he could still access the Star God Network, but Nüshi’s encryption system prevented him from contacting other testers, so they decided to turn to Li Jingshu for help.

• Gouchen used his Heavenly Eye to locate the Gouchen Heavenly Palace after the Star God Network disconnected, but he saw only an endless expanse of starlight.
• Nüshi tried to divine what had happened, but could only determine that the palace had temporarily lost contact with the ground rather than fallen.
• Gouchen revealed that his Bio-Armor could still connect to the Star God Network and suggested contacting other testers.
• Nüshi admitted that her unfinished communication system and completed encryption system prevented them from sending friend requests to the other testers.
• Nüshi identified Li Jingshu as the person in charge of the entire project, while noting that Li Jingshu preferred to be called Xuanming.

Li Jingshu stayed hidden at the Mountain God Reservoir while star gods interfered with the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace project. She revealed that she was letting events unfold to draw out the powerful figures acting behind the scenes.

• Chi Fou urged Li Jingshu to take charge after trouble arose over the Cloudtop Heavenly Palace, but Li Jingshu said the conflict had been inevitable.
• Chi Fou complained that Single Horn Si had repeatedly searched for Li Jingshu, and Li Jingshu admitted the old bull had often covered for her.
• Chi Fou showed Li Jingshu Nüshi, Gouchen, and the retired old village chief waiting anxiously in the ancestral temple, then jokingly suggested using Meng Po's Soup to make the old chief young again.
• Li Jingshu explained that she was allowing the star gods' pawns to act so she could lure the true forces behind the interference out of hiding.

Divine Lord Meng Zhang warned Li Boyang that Luo Qiao’s teachings lacked the educational foundations needed to help his listeners think independently. Li Boyang agreed that Luo Qiao’s approach was flawed but chose to let him learn from his mistakes, noting that some promising students were already emerging.

• Luo Qiao taught cultivation methods to the creatures gathered at Golden Ao Island under his principle of teaching without discrimination.
• Divine Lord Meng Zhang visited Penglai Island and discussed Luo Qiao’s teaching with Dong Jun, who was Li Boyang in disguise.
• Divine Lord Meng Zhang argued that Luo Qiao should first promote basic education so his listeners could read, understand, and develop their own cultivation paths.
• Divine Lord Meng Zhang warned that, without a broader understanding of the world, Luo Qiao’s students might become a mob of powerful but unthinking beings.
• Li Boyang admitted that Luo Qiao’s methods were wrong but defended his good intentions and said he would allow him to learn through mistakes.
• Li Boyang said some of Luo Qiao’s students were promising despite Divine Lord Meng Zhang’s concerns.

Divine Lord Meng Zhang learned that Yunxiao and her sisters Qiongxiao and Bixiao were Innate Deities who had awakened through Li Boyang’s Dao teachings. On Yingzhou Island, Bixiao sensed a chance to become a Big Dipper Star Lord through Gouchen Heavenly Palace, and Qiongxiao proposed that they investigate it in the Hundred Lands Mountain Range.

• Li Boyang introduced Yunxiao, mistress of Penglai Island, and described her sisters Qiongxiao and Bixiao, mistresses of Fangzhang and Yingzhou Islands.
• Yunxiao explained that the three islands had formed from a shattered grotto-heaven and that the sisters had awakened after listening to Li Boyang preach the Dao.
• Bixiao sensed that Gouchen Heavenly Palace was connected to the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper and felt she might become one of its remaining Star Lords, though she doubted her ability.
• Bixiao recalled the mysterious little white dragon’s strength and suspected it was no weaker than their Teacher.
• Qiongxiao told Bixiao that Gouchen Heavenly Palace had recently restored communications and suggested they use the opportunity to visit the Hundred Lands Mountain Range.

The Longbo Kingdom prospered under the Hundred Lands Mountain Range’s support, and Yao Xi invested heavily in educating its few children. On a bustling harbor island, Bixiao visited Longbo Square with Qiongxiao, who showed her the trading hub and its strange wares.

• The Longbo Giants gained wealth, resources, and cultivation opportunities through their alliance with the Hundred Lands Mountain Range, while their population remained small.
• Yao Xi arranged elite teachers and extensive instruction for Longbo children, with plans to take them to hear the Dao Ancestor preach.
• Bixiao and Qiongxiao strolled through the Longbo Kingdom’s only island open to outsiders, which served as a busy transit hub.
• Qiongxiao revealed that she and Eldest Sister had helped build Longbo Square while Bixiao was in secluded cultivation.
• Qiongxiao led Bixiao through the crowded market and explained items including thin cloud gauze, a Puppet doll, a fake night pearl, and a foul-tasting Divine Movement Pill.

Bixiao and Qiongxiao toured a port where traffickers sold intelligent beings, until Zhao Gongming arrived and pursued the offenders with his black tiger, Xuantan, and a Dragon-Binding Rope. Qiongxiao explained that Zhao belonged to the Three-Eyed Clan and described their Heavenly Eyes, then revealed that one of them had once wounded Eldest Sister.

• Bixiao questioned why no one intervened against the traffickers, and Qiongxiao explained that the Three-Eyed Clan dealt with them when they noticed.
• Zhao Gongming appeared in the market, and the frightened vendors fled after he called out their counterfeiting.
• Zhao Gongming sent Xuantan after the traffickers and used a Dragon-Binding Rope to capture them.
• Bixiao realized Zhao Gongming had tamed an Ominous Deity, and Qiongxiao confirmed that he was from the Three-Eyed Clan.
• Qiongxiao explained the Three-Eyed Clan's Heavenly Eyes and said one of their members had once wounded Eldest Sister, though she suspected Eldest Sister had been at fault.

At Penglai Island, Divine Lord Meng Zhang questioned Li Boyang about the fallen Great Unity Star and the contest for the vacant Imperial Star position. Meng Zhang left after warning Li Boyang not to turn the East Sea into a battlefield.

• Divine Lord Meng Zhang asked Li Boyang how he and Yunxiao had met, then explained that he had traced the Great Unity Star’s fall to Li Boyang and Great Unity’s conflict.
• Li Boyang acknowledged that he had joined the future Purple Tenuity Emperor in striking down the Great Unity Star, whose fragments became Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou.
• Meng Zhang asked whether Yunxiao and the Three Immortal Islands were incarnations of the Great Unity Star, but Li Boyang said they were separate.
• Meng Zhang linked tremors among the Big Dipper stars to a contest for the vacant Imperial Star position and worried that the Zhoutian Star God System could descend into chaos.
• Li Boyang said the supporting star of the Purple Tenuity Star had already begun to rise, and Meng Zhang inferred that he had come to suppress the Three Immortal Islands as well as pursue Luo Qiao.
• Meng Zhang departed Penglai Island after warning Li Boyang not to make the East Sea a battlefield.

Star Lord Tanlang Zhenwu investigated the strange disturbance among the northern stars and suspected it was connected to a Mountain Folk heavenly palace launched with the Dao Ancestor’s involvement. At Longbo Square, Bixiao learned that the Mystic Garden Gate connected distant spaces and that Qiongxiao had been invited to observe its construction.

• Zhenwu, seeking to advance his Dao of Slaughter, became Star Lord Tanlang while pursuing his ambitions beyond simply proving the Dao.
• Zhenwu saw the Purple Tenuity Star shifting position and wondered who had changed the expected succession after Great Unity’s fall.
• Zhenwu suspected the disturbance was tied to the Dao Ancestor and the Mountain Folk’s latest heavenly palace, then decided to investigate the Hundred Lands Mountain Range.
• Zhenwu used Shrinking the Earth to an Inch to travel a thousand li toward the mountain range.
• Bixiao examined the Mystic Garden Gate at Longbo Square and learned from Qiongxiao that it connected distant spaces and had been modeled after the Dao Ancestor’s Heaven and Earth Ring.
• Qiongxiao told Bixiao that their Teacher had invited her and Eldest Sister to observe the gate’s construction and urged them to remember its designs for future use.

Qiongxiao led Bixiao through the clearance process to enter the Hundred Lands Mountain Range and showed her the Living Map and the Three-Eyed Clan’s advanced technology. Qiongxiao explained that the Three-Eyed Clan freely shared knowledge because they inherited the Dao Ancestor’s ideals, while the Longbo Giants largely kept their wisdom to themselves.

• Bixiao regretted missing recent events while she was in seclusion, and Qiongxiao revealed that Yunxiao was designing a Law Treasure to make travel easier.
• Qiongxiao took Bixiao to apply for passage through the Mystic Garden Gate, where they received Navigation Maps after verifying their identities.
• Bixiao examined the Living Map’s danger zones, temples, public spaces, and transport instructions, while Qiongxiao described more advanced maps that could function as cosmos pouches.
• Bixiao wondered why the Three-Eyed Clan shared valuable knowledge and technology, and Qiongxiao said they inherited the Dao Ancestor’s ideals and confidently spread wisdom.
• Qiongxiao contrasted the Three-Eyed Clan’s generosity with the Longbo Giants, saying that only their teacher was willing to educate them and that even the kingdom’s outstanding witch focused only on her own people.

Qiongxiao and Bixiao entered the Hundred Lands Mountain Range and witnessed its harmonious blend of nature, industry, and advanced constructions. After a Mountain-Moving Strongman scanned the outsiders for illegal entrants, the sisters boarded ferries to continue toward the range’s heart, where more checkpoints awaited.

• Bixiao and Qiongxiao admired the mountain range’s forests, orchards, factories, and estates, then spotted a colossal Bronze Beast moving mountains.
• Qiongxiao explained that the Mountain-Moving Strongman was an artificial Heavenly Deity built with complex mechanisms and formations, and warned Bixiao against challenging it.
• The Mountain-Moving Strongman scanned the outsiders with beams of Dipper light, checked their Navigation Maps, and resumed its work after finding no illegal entrants.
• Luxurious ferries arrived to carry the outsiders across the Thread of Sky, while Bixiao noticed that the Strongman’s display had deterred many ill-intentioned visitors.
• Qiongxiao and Bixiao continued deeper into the Hundred Lands Mountain Range, encountering checkpoints and marveling at the Mountain Folk’s formidable foundations.

Lord Yanyao sensed two remarkable goddesses among the outsiders arriving at River Pillow Peak, while Gouchen argued that Li Jingshu should not risk the Mountain Folk’s lives and deduced that the Star Gods were involved. Gouchen summoned his unusually capable Huodou, leaving Lord Yanyao impressed by what the hunting hound had become.

• Lord Yanyao noticed two star-connected goddesses among the outsiders, but said someone had obscured heaven’s secrets and that neither goddess seemed to be a Dao Proving One from another time or space.
• Gouchen told Lord Yanyao that Li Jingshu should not gamble with the Mountain Folk’s lives, and said the Dao Ancestor would have found a safer solution.
• Gouchen inferred that the Star Gods were at the heart of the matter after studying the Gouchen Heavenly Palace’s public archives, and Lord Yanyao awkwardly changed the subject to the Huodou.
• Gouchen whistled, summoning his Huodou from the horizon with over a hundred sleepy bugs fluttering beside it.
• Lord Yanyao marveled that the Huodou had survived on his dangerous territory, and Gouchen said it was more than a hunting hound.

Bixiao and the others discussed the extraordinary Huodou and the Mountain Folk as they arrived at Flying Sky Stockade’s Heavenly Palace Launch Platform. In the control center, Wu Zhen anticipated that Wu Xian had come because of the Gouchen Heavenly Palace and explained how she handled his intrusion.

• Bixiao and the other passengers wondered whether the fire-walking Huodou was descended from a god, while an elderly man explained the Mountain Folk’s symbiotic contracts and their preferred name.
• The group reached the immense, mechanically operated Heavenly Palace Launch Platform atop Flying Sky Stockade, where Bronze Beasts hauled materials for semiautomated factories.
• Wu Zhen complained that Wu Xian had come to Flying Sky Stockade again, and her assistant suggested revoking his access privileges.
• Wu Zhen said Wu Xian was a Divine Witch whose fear of trouble, especially trouble involving Great Xia, kept him within the rules.
• Wu Zhen suspected Wu Xian had come for the Gouchen Heavenly Palace, whose growing commotion had delayed his visit longer than she expected.

Gouchen revealed that he and Fenglong had created a single-use Heaven and Earth Ring, using the complete Heaven and Earth Talisman Incantation inscribed on Fenglong. Despite Lord Yanyao warning that their experiment violated a taboo and could be deadly, Gouchen and his companions stepped through the unstable portal into an unfamiliar starry sky.

• Gouchen explained that he wanted to transform Huodou Laicai with dragon hound blood so it could grow stronger and remain by his side.
• Gouchen pressed Lord Yanyao to identify the Star God targeting Gouchen Heavenly Palace, but Lord Yanyao warned him that a greater being was behind the attack.
• Gouchen manifested a ring of light and explained that he had been trying to reproduce the Mystic Garden Gate.
• Lord Yanyao recognized the ring as a Heaven and Earth Ring and discovered that Fenglong bore the complete Heaven and Earth Talisman Incantation across his body.
• Lord Yanyao condemned Gouchen and Fenglong for refining a treasure from a living being, but Gouchen and Fenglong entered the unstable ring before he could stop them.
• Huodou and the Sleepy Bugs followed Gouchen into the unfamiliar starry sky.

Gouchen and Fenglong crossed into the starry sky, where Gouchen warned that absorbing stellar power could make them beholden to a Star God. Fenglong agreed to their bargain and headed toward the Gouchen Heavenly Palace, beginning the approach to a coming battle.

• Gouchen endured the starry sky’s cold and suffocation by switching to internal breathing, while Fenglong protected him and Huodou with a lightning domain.
• Gouchen explained that the stars’ power was dangerous to absorb because each strand belonged to a Star God, and Fenglong abandoned his plan to take it in.
• Fenglong reminded Gouchen of their agreement to split the Gouchen star power equally if they reached the Gouchen Heavenly Palace.
• Fenglong set off toward the Gouchen Heavenly Palace after Gouchen scolded him for ordering Laicai ahead, and lightning and starlight heralded the approaching battle.

Wu Zhen identified Fenglong as Gouchen’s shikigami and ordered the observatory’s armament module activated to help him. As Fenglong fought an emissary of the Shanggui Star, Gouchen warned that more Malign Baleful Intent Star emissaries were answering its summons.

• Wu Zhen’s assistant identified Fenglong as Gouchen’s shikigami, a thunder specialist and Hundred Lands University alumnus.
• Wu Zhen decided to help Gouchen and ordered the assistant to activate the observatory’s armament module.
• The emissary of the Shanggui Star appeared before Fenglong, and Gouchen lent him pure lightning Yuan Qi to strengthen his attack.
• The emissary’s Taiyin starlight pierced and destroyed Fenglong’s lightning dragons.
• Gouchen explained that the Shanggui Star summoned other Star Gods, and stellar power began gathering behind the Gouchen Heavenly Palace.

Gouchen and Fenglong fought the apostles summoned by the Death Omen Star, but the Death Omen Herald unleashed the Sound of Celestial Bodies and turned Fenglong’s wind and lightning against him. Fenglong’s body became living thunderstorms that engulfed Gouchen, leaving him under attack.

• The Death Omen Herald’s apostles overwhelmed Fenglong’s summoned lightning dragons, and Gouchen summoned humanoid beetles to protect himself.
• The apostles opened a passage through spacetime and sent more monsters toward Gouchen, but Laicai transformed and attacked them.
• The Death Omen Herald gathered stellar power and unleashed the Sound of Celestial Bodies, making Fenglong’s wind and lightning rebel against him.
• Eyes appeared throughout Fenglong’s body and tore it apart, turning him into living thunderstorms that rushed toward Gouchen.
• The living thunderstorms engulfed Gouchen before he could defend himself.

Inside Gouchen Heavenly Palace, Yinglong and Lu Huaijin’s forces fought off star-born apostles as a Dao-Proving Star God prepared to descend and banish the palace. Yinglong struck Shanggui Star’s reflection with a self-refined inner elixir, revealing a new offensive path, but Lu Huaijin warned that the attack would not be enough to stop the true immortal.

• Yinglong and the Mountain Folk held the battlefront inside Gouchen Heavenly Palace, healing casualties while star-born apostles’ bodies accumulated among the ruins.
• A distorted point in space severed Gouchen Heavenly Palace from the celestial star system, and Lu Huaijin realized a Dao-Proving Star God was preparing to descend.
• Yinglong and Lu Huaijin agreed they needed to prevent the Star God’s true body from arriving, though Lu Huaijin said they were no match for a Taiyi True Immortal.
• Yinglong launched his self-refined dragon pearl at Shanggui Star’s reflection, causing it to shudder and making weaker apostles collapse.
• Lu Huaijin recognized the dragon pearl as an inner elixir combining pill-refining and artifact-refining methods, and Yinglong confirmed he had refined it as a pure offensive weapon.
• Lu Huaijin warned that the inner elixir’s destruction would waste Yinglong’s effort, while noting that its attack was less effective than he believed.

Lu Huaijin used the Tushita Edict to summon golden divine light that trapped Shanggui Star’s projection in a struggle, while Li Boyang watched from Yunmeng Marsh and considered limiting her access to his Tushita incarnation. The chapter left the golden light and starlight still contending at Gouchen Heavenly Palace.

• Shanggui Star’s projection ensnared Yinglong’s dragon pearl with star power, weakening him and shrinking the battle zone.
• Lu Huaijin cast the Tushita Edict · Golden Light Divine Incantation, and golden light from Tushita Heaven disintegrated the apostles.
• Shanggui Star’s projection fought the golden light, which began forcibly dragging it into Gouchen Heavenly Palace.
• Li Boyang sensed Lu Huaijin’s technique from Yunmeng Marsh and realized she had borrowed the power of his Tushita incarnation.
• Li Boyang decided to restrict the Golden Light Incantation, though Xiluo warned that its remaining power could still be dangerous.

Lu Huaijin’s edict stripped Shanggui Star Lord of his Star Lord position, causing Shanggui Star to die and hurtle toward the Gouchen Heavenly Palace. As the survivors evacuated and Lu Huaijin moved to cover their retreat, Gouchen saw the Tushita Palace appear briefly and recalled the legend, “The Sage patrolled the heavens, and the Three Realms bowed.”

• Shanggui Star transformed into an enormous eye as Shanggui Star Lord lost his position and the star began falling faster toward the Gouchen Heavenly Palace.
• Lu Huaijin revealed that her edict had banished Shanggui Star Lord from the Star Gods’ system, and Yinglong ordered everyone to evacuate.
• Yinglong directed Fengyu, Qinglong, and Lü Chuan to activate the formation and strip the Heavenly Palace down to the Central Repository.
• Lu Huaijin flew toward the falling Shanggui Star to cover the retreat while Gouchen, fighting outside, was caught off guard by its appearance and gravity.
• Fenglong was reborn within Gouchen, and Gouchen spotted the Tushita Palace before it vanished and recalled the ancient legend of the Sage.