Recaps

Li Boyang asked the Netherworld Lord to take on the concept of his death so he could sever his karmic ties and advance toward the Dao, despite the risk of disappearing forever. The Netherworld Lord agreed, and as Li Boyang vanished into an earlier era, the Lord glimpsed the Dao.

• Li Boyang explained that relinquishing his death would sever his karmic ties and help the Netherworld Lord advance, but would leave him with no chance of resurrection.
• Li Boyang said the unity of knowledge and action mattered even more than Fasting of the Mind and Sitting in Forgetfulness, and asked the Netherworld Lord to help him take his final step.
• The Netherworld Lord agreed and explained that he had respected Li Boyang too much to seize his Primordial Spirit, and had allowed its three portions to reach Xuandu, Luo Qiao, and the Supreme Lord Lao.
• Li Boyang walked toward an ancient era as his body and the concept of his death disappeared, while the Netherworld Lord took on the resulting karma and some of Li Boyang's achievements.
• The Netherworld Lord watched Li Boyang vanish, then looked toward the distant age of chaos and recognized the Dao.

Li Boyang left the Long River of Time, and the Dao Ancestor watched Heaven Beyond Heaven collapse as the Dao Proving Ones fought over the shattered Great Dao stele. The chapter ended with Xiluo and the Dao Ancestor facing the rift as the sanctuary broke apart.

• Li Boyang relinquished death and departed into chaos, leaving a fleeting image that stirred longing among living beings across time.
• Xiluo threatened the Dao Proving Ones who eyed the Great Dao stele, and Lü Yan stood beside her with his Pure Yang Treasure Sword drawn.
• A rift opened through Heaven Beyond Heaven, and a Dao Proving One who had proposed preserving memories fell into the Long River of Time.
• The Dao Ancestor said he had been waiting for Li Boyang's final decision as Heaven Beyond Heaven collapsed into fragments of space-time.
• The Great Dao stele cracked apart, and the Dao Ancestor kicked a fragment to Lü Yan before the Dao Proving Ones reached for the shards.

After Heaven Beyond Heaven collapsed into the Long River of Time, Li Boyang confronted the Dao Ancestor and learned that he had become an independent being with desires of his own. Li Boyang sent him into the river as a mortal boy, then reflected on what it meant to seek the Dao.

• Li Boyang appeared in the ruined Heaven Beyond Heaven and met the Dao Ancestor atop the remaining Stele of the Great Dao.
• Li Boyang identified the Dao Ancestor as his heart that sought the Dao, while Xiluo and Lü Yan realized the implications of their connection.
• The Dao Ancestor admitted that he had developed selfish desires and felt incomplete because he did not know why he sought the Dao.
• Li Boyang said their karma had already been severed and swept the Dao Ancestor into the Long River of Time, where the [Jade Disc of Creation] reduced him to a white-haired boy.
• Li Boyang watched the Long River of Time and reflected that one had to relinquish the heart that sought the Dao to attain the Great Dao.

Li Boyang bid farewell to Xiluo before leaving the Three Realms, and the Wuqi Civilization endured across successive epochs while exploring beyond them. In a later Heavenly Court Epoch, Li Boyang returned, restoring the Dao Proving Ones’ memories and reuniting with Xiluo.

• Xiluo confronted Li Boyang about his hidden origins, and he told her he came from another world but sought transcendence to discover what lay beyond Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao.
• Li Boyang promised Xiluo he would return, then departed as Heaven Beyond Heaven crumbled; after her memories vanished, Xiluo claimed the shattered Stele of the Great Dao as the “Treasure Distribution Rock.”
• The Mountain Folk became the Wuqi Civilization, explored beyond the Three Realms, and preserved their civilization through successive epoch renewals.
• In the Heavenly Court Epoch, Xiluo and Wangshu discussed the Heavenly Emperor and the Dao of Taiyi while Xiluo declined to attend the Peach of Immortality Gathering.
• A tremendous crash sounded across the Three Realms, the Dao Proving Ones recovered their memories, and Xiluo saw the red-haired youth return as Li Boyang declared, “I'm back!”