Chapter Summaries

Lu Ya faced the yaksha king Vaishravana and invoked the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife, while observers on Flying Peak discussed Lu Ya’s past and reincarnation. Li Boyang then traced the hidden workings behind Great Unity’s plans to a gorge in the Hundred Lands Mountain Range near the South Sea.

• Vaishravana stopped a newly revived flying yaksha and challenged Lu Ya, declaring that they would settle who was strongest beneath the Dao Proving Ones.
• Lu Ya called on his Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife and repeated the command, “Treasure, please turn around again!”
• At Flying Peak, Yinjiao complained that Lu Ya wielded his technique more skillfully than he did, while Wangshu and Jinjiao discussed Lu Ya’s abilities and his role in the battle twenty thousand years earlier.
• Li Boyang explained that Lu Ya’s reincarnation had been an experiment and suspected Great Unity was behind the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures and its remaining fruits.
• Li Boyang calculated the hidden workings of heaven and located them at a gorge in the Hundred Lands Mountain Range near the South Sea.

Lü Yan tracked Ao Mo’s trail to Severed Sea Gorge, a secluded abode where gods who rejected the Mountain Folk’s society lived beyond the Mystic Garden Barrier’s oversight. After explaining why he felt responsible for Ao Mo, Lü Yan entered the gorge and encountered Tengshe, its powerful guardian.

• Lü Yan recognized Severed Sea Gorge as a possible route Ao Mo had taken toward the South Sea and considered how the gorge’s status as a monitoring blind spot complicated his search.
• Nüshi urged Lü Yan not to risk himself over Ao Mo, but Lü Yan said he felt responsible for having pushed Ao Mo toward madness and did not want to see Hanzhi grieve.
• Lü Yan entered Severed Sea Gorge despite knowing its gods would resist his search.
• Tengshe rose from the river whirlpool, and Lü Yan recalled her history of conflict with the Mountain Folk and her exile to the gorge.

Lü Yan confronted Tengshe about Ao Mo’s whereabouts and uncovered her lingering feelings for Ao Fei as the reason she was protecting him. He warned that Ao Mo was pursuing revenge and urged Tengshe to reveal where he had gone, but the chapter ended before she answered.

• Lü Yan explained that the Star God Network and Central Council records had documented Tengshe’s presence and work at Severed Sea Gorge.
• Tengshe admitted that Ao Mo had passed through her territory but refused to reveal his destination, saying she would only avoid obstructing Lü Yan.
• Lü Yan challenged Tengshe about her hostility toward Jiugui, and she acknowledged disliking her but denied taking that anger out on Ao Mo.
• Lü Yan accused Tengshe of protecting Ao Mo because she had loved Ao Fei and taken him in before he chose Jiugui.
• Tengshe raised a storm and threatened Lü Yan, but he warned that her protection could push Ao Mo further into the Demon Path.
• Lü Yan argued that Ao Mo would keep building strength before seeking revenge on the South Sea Dragon Race and demanded Tengshe tell him where Ao Mo had gone.

Ao Mo reached Subduing Dragon Island to claim the Dragon Pearl his birth father had left behind, relying on his Water Traveling Dragon Transformation and knowledge of the island’s restraints. He broke through the chains meant to imprison dragons, and a golden light shone from the reverse scale beneath his jaw.

• Ao Mo surveyed the barren, chain-covered Subduing Dragon Island and recognized it as his destination.
• Ao Mo recalled that the South Sea Dragon Race’s cultivation methods included forming Dragon Pearls, and that Ao Fei had left his own Dragon Pearl on the island.
• Ao Mo rejected Jiugui’s plan for him to use the Dragon Pearl as a way back to the South Sea Dragon Race.
• Ao Mo transformed completely into a dragon and flew over the island as its chains sprang taut and a storm gathered.
• Ao Mo broke through the chains and swallowed one, while golden light glimmered from the reverse scale beneath his jaw.

Ao Jia awoke after three years of healing from his battle with the Nine-Headed Serpent and explained to the clam maiden why he had risked himself to bring Ao Fei back. Sensing something unusual on Subduing Dragon Island, he decided to go despite her pleas, insisting that Ao Fei was his younger brother.

• The clam maiden told Ao Jia that he had slept for three years and that his injuries from the Nine-Headed Serpent had not healed.
• Ao Jia explained that he had accepted the mission because Ao Fei would have died otherwise, and said he did not need Ao Fei's gratitude.
• Ao Jia declared that he would change the South Sea Dragon Race and reject the South Sea Dragon King's practice of forcing the princes to fight for supremacy.
• The clam maiden realized Ao Jia had awakened because he sensed something unusual on Subduing Dragon Island and asked him to stay away.
• Ao Jia said he had to go because Ao Fei was his younger brother, and the clam maiden promised to wait for his return.

Ao Mo found Ao Fei bound at the center of Subduing Dragon Island and learned that the Dragon Pearl had been used to remake the chains as a trap. As Ao Mo struggled and vowed to kill him, Ao Fei calmly accepted the possibility of his death.

• Ao Mo reached the island’s center and found Ao Fei chained to a pillar, then angrily confronted him for surviving while Jiugui died.
• Ao Fei hinted that Jiugui had never told Ao Mo the truth, but Ao Mo rejected his words and attacked him.
• The Dragon-Binding Chains seized Ao Mo and drained his Primordial Qi, cutting off his connection to Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.
• Ao Fei explained that his father had reforged the chains with Ao Fei’s Dragon Pearl, turning them into a trap for anyone seeking it.
• Ao Mo realized Ao Fei had originally meant to lure Jiugui into the trap and roared that he would kill him, while Ao Fei remained calm and accepted his fate.

Ao Jia freed Ao Fei from the Coiling Dragon Pillar while stopping Ao Mo, but Ao Mo erupted with power after recognizing the Mahoraga as Jiugui, who had returned because of her fixation on Ao Fei. Ao Fei finally resisted his imprisonment and unleashed frost that froze Subduing Dragon Island and the surrounding ocean.

• Ao Jia arrived at Subduing Dragon Island, drove Ao Mo into the Coiling Dragon Pillar, and freed Ao Fei.
• Ao Jia rebuked Ao Fei for trying to die, while Ao Fei said he would rather die than remain imprisoned.
• Ao Mo broke free of Ao Jia’s pin and attacked after accusing him of killing his mother.
• Ao Fei recognized the Mahoraga merged with Ao Mo as Jiugui and realized she had returned from the Six Desire Heavens because of her fixation on him.
• Ao Fei roared, shook the Dragon-Binding Chains, and covered Subduing Dragon Island and the surrounding ocean in ice.

Ao Fei’s past revealed how he escaped the South Sea Dragon Race, was taken by Jiugui, and later found love with Tengshe. At Black Water Pool, Lü Yan and Tengshe sensed Ao Fei’s presence near Subduing Dragon Island, while Ao Zhen withdrew after pointing them toward him.

• Ao Fei told Sagara the truth about being treated as a gift and chose to flee, and Sagara showed him a route to the Hundred Lands Mountain Range.
• Jiugui intercepted Ao Fei and abducted him to Black Water Pool, but he escaped during her pregnancy and found temporary shelter in the Hundred Lands Mountain Range through Ao Zhen.
• Ao Fei pursued Tengshe, confessed his past and the dangers attached to him, and began a sincere relationship with her.
• Tengshe and Jiugui fought repeatedly over Ao Fei, until Ao Fei chose to return to Black Water Pool.
• Lü Yan and Tengshe sensed Ao Fei’s presence in the snow near Subduing Dragon Island, and Ao Zhen turned back into Black Water Pool without waiting for them.

Ao Fei battled Ao Jia on Subduing Dragon Island while Ao Qin prepared to resurrect the sealed Dragon Lord Ji Meng. Xiangliu revealed that he had helped bring Ao Qin into the open, leaving the South Sea Dragon King facing a new threat.

• Ao Fei asked Ao Jia why he had let his mother die, then demanded that Ao Mo be released from their feud.
• Ao Jia sent Ao Mo flying and attacked Ao Fei, whose icy breath met Ao Jia's flames as their battle shattered Subduing Dragon Island and exposed its chains.
• Ao Qin watched the battle shake the Crystal Palace and declared that the Dragon Lord Ji Meng would be resurrected.
• Xiangliu appeared before Ao Qin, revealed himself as one of Xiangliu's heads and Jiugui's younger brother, and said Jiugui would avenge herself.
• Ao Qin realized Xiangliu had pushed him into the open and vowed that killing him would not be easy.

Ao Zhen confronted Wu Xian at the one-use passage to Witch Mountain and defended his role in the South Sea Dragon Race’s turmoil as a means of securing peace for the Hundred Lands Mountain Range. After their transaction ended, Wu Xian warned him not to sacrifice the greater prize, and Ao Zhen watched the battle at Subduing Dragon Island, convinced that lasting stability for the South Sea Dragon Race was his goal.

• Ao Zhen arrived at Black Water Pool and saw Witch Mountain’s Ginseng Fruit Tree turning fleeing members of the Eight Legions into fruit.
• Wu Xian appeared through the golden ring, and Ao Zhen argued that he had helped Ao Mo fulfill his wish so the Dragon King of the South Sea would die and the Dragon Lord would not be resurrected.
• Ao Zhen declared their transaction complete, but Wu Xian reminded him that he was destined to inherit the name Wu Zhen and become one of the Ten Witches of Spirit Mountain.
• Wu Xian asked who had received the Bora Flower and noted that Ao Fei seemed abnormal, while a red dragon and a white dragon fought at Subduing Dragon Island.
• Ao Zhen rebuked Wu Xian for asking too many questions, and Wu Xian vanished with the golden-ring passage after warning him not to lose the greater prize over something small.
• Ao Zhen turned toward Subduing Dragon Island and said that lasting stability for the South Sea Dragon Race was his greater prize.

Wu Xian explained why he planned to resurrect Suirenshi, the founding ancestor of Great Xia, using a fruit of the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures. After Wu Peng demanded to know the full plan, Wu Xian began recounting how it started with the Sage’s tour of the heavens.

• Wu Peng teased Wu Xian about his dangerous schemes while showing him the Five Manors Temple and its transformed Ginseng Fruit attendants.
• Wu Xian said the fruit of the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures could resurrect Sui, while Wu Peng warned that Sui had willingly accepted death.
• Wu Xian insisted that bringing Sui back was essential to reforming Great Xia and making him its eleventh Witch King.
• Wu Peng agreed that the Six Witches of Kaiming would help, but demanded Wu Xian reveal the entire plan and how he obtained the Bora Flower.
• Wu Xian began his account, describing how he witnessed the Sage’s tour of the heavens and the East Sea battle, where Divine Lord Meng Zhang and Venerable Xuanming displayed their power and Mahākāśyapa fell.

Wu Xian explained how his scheme had brought the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures into the world and produced seven supreme Dao Fruits, then revealed that he planned to use Ao Mo to reach them. Wu Peng agreed to join the dangerous plan as long as it did not involve Wuzhuang Temple.

• Wu Xian recounted how he had captured Mahākāśyapa's Bora Flower and cultivated the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures in the Sea of Alaya Consciousness.
• Wu Xian explained that Jiugui's unexpected return as a Mahoraga had put the disrupted plan back on track and allowed the tree to bear seven Dao Fruits.
• Wu Peng asked what Wu Xian intended to do next, and Wu Xian said the Bora Flower would let him pluck the fruits once Ao Mo awakened.
• Wu Xian revealed that he planned to make Ao Mo believe Jiugui could be revived, knowing Ao Mo would risk going to the Heavenly Realm for his mother.
• Wu Peng warned Wu Xian not to fail and agreed to help, provided the plan did not involve Wuzhuang Temple.

As Ao Mo sank beneath Subduing Dragon Island, Mahoraga’s power merged with him and brought forth Jiugui’s memories. He learned how his mother’s past led her to Ao Fei, and saw that her supposed abduction of him had been deliberate and that their child had been born from her love.

• Ao Mo sank unconscious toward the seabed as Mahoraga’s power protected him and merged with him.
• Ao Mo experienced Jiugui’s memories, from her childhood and rule over the South Sea to her retreat at Black Water Pool and her later study of cultivation.
• Ao Mo learned that Jiugui intercepted the Bora Flower and deliberately abducted Ao Fei after taking an interest in him.
• Jiugui grew attached to Ao Fei and chose to have a child with him, despite expecting to die while carrying out Xiangliu’s task.
• Ao Mo witnessed memories of Ao Fei’s childhood and the maternal love Jiugui had shown him.

Ao Fei fought Ao Jia while sacrificing himself to summon an unknown Dao Proving One, and Ao Jia unleashed his powerful Samadhi True Fire. Sagara contained the flames and struck the South Sea Dragon King Ao Qin and Xiangliu out of the scene, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Ao Jia recognized that Ao Fei was sacrificing himself to summon a Dao Proving One and demanded to know who had forced him into it.
• Ao Fei said the choice was his own and revealed that an unknown existence was reviving through him as he unleashed Samadhi True Fire.
• Lü Yan and Tengshe witnessed Ao Jia's flames burn across the sea and recalled how they had killed Jiugui three years earlier.
• A pillar of Buddhist light contained Ao Jia's flames, and Sagara drew the heat into the Mutton-Fat Jade Purifying Vase.
• Sagara hurled the vase into the Crystal Palace, striking Ao Qin and Xiangliu before they could enter the fight, then vanished without acknowledging Mahoraga.

Ao Fei’s return to Black Water Pool set off a chain of events that led to his imprisonment, while Ao Zhen’s memories revealed how he inherited Wu Zhen’s legacy and gained the means to pursue the Bora Flower plan. The chapter left Ao Zhen’s future tied to Wu Zhen’s challenge to become the strongest dragon.

• Ao Fei chose to return to Black Water Pool, and his decision led to Ao Mo’s escape, Jiugui’s death, and Ao Fei’s imprisonment.
• After Jiugui’s death, Ao Zhen worried that Wu Xian would discover the plan had lost the Bora Flower, so he relied on his preparations to reproduce its essence.
• Ao Zhen’s dragon-snake heritage let him foresee his death, and Wu Zhen appeared before him as he struggled to break out of his shell.
• Wu Zhen marked Ao Zhen as her heir and urged him to contend for the title of strongest dragon.

Ao Zhen’s witchcraft inheritance and Mind-Aspect Barrier shaped a backup plan involving a replica Bora Flower, but the unstable flower endangered Ao Fei and could not summon the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures. Ao Fei accepted his fate, hoping that keeping the truth from Ao Mo would spare his son.

• Ao Zhen developed his Mind-Aspect Barrier under Nü E’s guidance, building it to reproduce natural phenomena through accumulated knowledge.
• Ao Zhen prepared a half-real, half-false Bora Flower, and Ao Fei volunteered to use it in Jiugui’s place.
• Wu Xian remained unaware that Jiugui had once held the real Bora Flower until Mahoraga returned from the Heavenly Realm.
• Ao Jia brought Ao Fei back to Subduing Dragon Island and suppressed him before he could adapt to the unstable Bora Flower.
• Xiangliu, Ao Zhen, and Ao Fei concluded that the replica could not draw the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures into the world and was pushing Ao Fei toward rebirth as one of the Eight Legions of the Desire Realm.
• Ao Fei accepted death as a release and believed Jiugui’s concealed truths should remain hidden from Ao Mo.

Ao Mo witnessed Ao Fei’s power surge as the being inside him awakened and was identified as Suirenshi. Ao Fei regained control with extraordinary clarity, then told Suirenshi that he was only an unforeseen tool, not the one who had sought to resurrect him.

• Ao Mo sensed a strange connection to Ao Fei as the being within him awakened and used Summon Wind and Call Rain to disperse the Samadhi True Fire.
• Ao Jia swallowed the remaining fire while Ao Fei stared toward Sagara’s departure, unaware of the danger around him.
• The awakened being recognized Ao Mo as a descendant of Jiugui and Xiangliu, prompting Ao Mo to identify him as Suirenshi.
• Suirenshi realized he had arrived in a later age and inferred that someone was trying to resurrect him.
• Ao Fei regained control of his body, experienced a sudden leap in intelligence, and told Suirenshi he was merely an unforeseen tool.

Suirenshi urged Ao Fei to stop surrendering to despair, reminding him that people still cared for him, and revealed that he had never wanted to be revived because he was not truly dead. The chapter explained how Xiangliu’s failed plan gave Ao Fei a Great Luo-like perspective that connected him to Suirenshi three thousand years in the past.

• Suirenshi told Ao Fei that his choices and the concern of his family proved he was not a tool and still had people who cared about him.
• Suirenshi pointed out Lü Yan and Tengshe on the battlefield as people who worried about Ao Fei, and Ao Fei questioned why he was making revival harder.
• Suirenshi said he had not wanted to return to life and claimed he had spoken with Ao Fei only days earlier, prompting Ao Fei to realize their past conversations had occurred in dreams.
• Three years earlier, Xiangliu used the Bora Flower to give Ao Fei a Great Luo-like perspective that let his consciousness travel beyond the Long River of Time.
• Ao Fei’s wandering consciousness connected him to Suirenshi three thousand years earlier, and his future knowledge sparked Suirenshi’s interest even though Xiangliu’s attempt to change history failed.

Suirenshi revealed that he had traveled from three thousand years in the past into Ao Fei’s body, then summoned the Dao Ancestor to discuss time, cultivation, and the pursuit of transcendence. He left the group contemplating why people cultivate and what distinct path Li Boyang had chosen.

• Suirenshi told Ao Fei that he was alive three thousand years in the past and had been dragged into the future by Ao Fei.
• Suirenshi transformed into human form over the South Sea, drawing Yuan Qi and prompting Lü Yan to recognize the Dao Ancestor’s presence.
• Suirenshi contacted the [Haotian Mirror] and brought the Dao Ancestor’s projection to the South Sea, where Li Boyang recognized his power.
• Suirenshi explained that Li Boyang sought transcendence by gathering the wisdom of all living beings and had allowed the Long River of Time to develop for that purpose.
• Suirenshi challenged Li Boyang’s stages of cultivation by citing the Ancient Gods and the future Buddhist school as paths that followed different principles.
• Suirenshi asked Li Boyang why he had chosen a different path from mortals, gods, and Dao Proving Ones.

Suirenshi and Li Boyang began a debate on the Dao that was broadcast across the Three Realms, drawing the attention of gods, ghosts, shamans, and mortals. The great shamans realized the figure was Suirenshi from three thousand years earlier, appearing through Ao Fei, while Wu Zhen mobilized the Heavenly Palace to record the event and send cultivators to the South Sea.

• Suirenshi manifested a sky screen through the Wondrous Tree of Seven Treasures, and Supreme Lord Lao and the Netherworld Lord extended its broadcast across the heavens and the Netherworld.
• The Netherworld Lord announced that Suirenshi and the Dao Ancestor were debating the Dao, prompting ghosts, deities, and living beings across the realms to watch.
• Wu Xian opened a passage to the Heavenly Realm and confirmed that its forces had stopped fighting to watch the sky screen.
• Wu Xie identified the figure as Suirenshi from three thousand years earlier, appearing through Ao Fei rather than having come back to life.
• Wu Xian suspected Ao Zhen or Xiangliu had altered his plan to change Suirenshi's mind, while Wu Luo welcomed the debate as a grand occasion.
• Wu Zhen ordered the Heavenly Palace to record every detail of the debate and dispatch nearby cultivators to the South Sea.