Chapter Summaries

The White Emperor told Salun Agu that he suspected the First Chief Astrologer had been the Gatekeeper, prompting them to revisit the astrologer’s rise and death. Later, Xu Pingfeng agreed to a request from the White Emperor, while Xu Qi'an realized the Chai Clan’s map was no longer useful because Xu Pingfeng had already seen the Corpse Gu Tribe’s copy.

• The White Emperor explained that an ancient upheaval was approaching and that finding and killing the Gatekeeper was necessary to survive it.
• Salun Agu revealed that the First Chief Astrologer had rapidly developed unusual ideas about fate and created the Warlock System while campaigning with Great Feng’s Emperor Gaozu.
• The White Emperor suspected the First Chief Astrologer had been the Gatekeeper, and Salun Agu confirmed that the astrologer had truly died and his Dao had dissipated.
• The White Emperor sent Xu Pingfeng a message agreeing to his request, and Xu Pingfeng told Qi Guangbo that the time had come.
• Xu Qi'an asked Li Miaozhen and Li Lingsu to interpret the Chai Clan’s map, but neither recognized its patterns as mountain and river earth veins.
• Xu Qi'an inferred that Xu Pingfeng had already studied the Corpse Gu Tribe’s map before searching the Chai Clan, making the half-scroll map worthless.

Xu Qi'an reconsidered the ancient tomb’s requirements, arranged for Chai Xing'er to be sent to Li Lingsu, and amused himself aboard the ship. Meanwhile, Daoist Jinlian emerged from half a year of seclusion as a transcendent, and Chu Caiwei traveled with Yang Qianhuan toward Li Lingsu.

• Xu Qi'an learned that opening the ancient tomb required blood from a Chai Clan descendant and decided to send Chai Xing'er to Li Lingsu.
• Xu Qi'an used the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror and traded teasing remarks with its spirit while watching Mu Nanzhi aboard the ship.
• Daoist Bailian and her disciples witnessed Daoist Jinlian break through into the transcendent realm after half a year in seclusion.
• Daoist Jinlian learned from the disciples about the many disasters and upheavals that had occurred during his absence.
• Chu Caiwei continued traveling with Yang Qianhuan, who planned to visit his sworn brother Li Lingsu and discuss a scheme against Xu Qi'an.

Yang Qianhuan and Chu Caiwei encountered starving refugees and followed their leader, Lan Lan, to Li Lingsu’s mountain stronghold. Yang Qianhuan arranged to shelter the refugees and revealed his plan to raise an army and outshine Xu Qi'an, though he kept the details secret.

• Chu Caiwei gave steamed buns and water to a starving mother and child, who explained that bandits brought food to the refugees nearby.
• Lan Lan led riders to distribute buns, then brought Yang Qianhuan and Chu Caiwei to her stronghold to meet Li Lingsu.
• Li Lingsu introduced Yang Qianhuan and Chu Caiwei to Zhao Susu, Yu Hanxiu, and Lan Lan, who helped run the stronghold.
• Chu Caiwei explained that she and Yang Qianhuan had been banished after Yang planned to donate the Directorate of Astronomy’s wealth.
• Yang Qianhuan asked Li Lingsu to shelter the refugees, promising to buy provisions with the gold he had received.
• Yang Qianhuan said he planned to gather the refugees into an army and use the effort to eclipse Xu Qi'an.

Yang Qianhuan planned to surpass Xu Qi'an by quelling the rebellion, but Li Lingsu told him Xu Qi'an had already achieved deeds destined for history. At Silkworm Island, Xu Qi'an obtained Netherworld Silkworm Silk by trading three drops of his blood essence, and the ancient Netherworld Silkworm noticed a familiar presence on Mu Nanzhi.

• Yang Qianhuan announced his plan to gather displaced people, defeat the rebels, and win lasting fame greater than Xu Qi'an's.
• Li Lingsu revealed that Xu Qi'an had helped restore the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons and changed the fate of the Nine Provinces, leaving Yang Qianhuan stunned.
• Xu Qi'an, Mu Nanzhi, and Baiji entered the miasma-filled valley on Silkworm Island and drew out the giant Netherworld Silkworm.
• Baiji translated between Xu Qi'an and the Netherworld Silkworm, allowing them to agree on an exchange of silk for three drops of Xu Qi'an's blood essence.
• The Netherworld Silkworm regained its youthful appearance after drinking the blood and then sensed a familiar presence on Mu Nanzhi.

Xu Qi'an learned from the Netherworld Silkworm that the Gods and Devils had slaughtered one another in an ancient catastrophe, and that Mu Nanzhi was the reincarnation of the Undying Divine Tree. The story then shifted to Qingzhou, where Yang Gong weighed a desperate proposal to feed Songshan County’s flying beasts human corpses as the defenders faced starvation.

• The Netherworld Silkworm recognized Mu Nanzhi as the Undying Divine Tree and told Xu Qi'an that the Gods and Devils had suddenly gone mad and killed one another.
• The Netherworld Silkworm said the Dao Venerable might know what caused the Gods and Devils’ madness, and identified the White Emperor’s race as the Lin, which a descendant of Great Desolation had devoured.
• The Netherworld Silkworm explained that eating Mu Nanzhi could only take a share of her spiritual essence, then Xu Qi'an left the island with Mu Nanzhi and Baiji.
• Li Mubai told Yang Gong that Songshan County’s defenders were running out of provisions because the Gu tribesmen and flying beasts consumed so much food.
• Yang Gong rejected using rebel corpses to feed the flying beasts, and Li Mubai urged the advisers to wait until the spring sacrifice as Qingzhou’s situation held.

Li Mubai and Yang Gong assessed the stalled campaign in Qingzhou, while Emperor Yongxing expected the coming spring sacrifice to mark the end of the cold disaster and the rebels’ decline. Huaiqing reflected on her marriage and exchanged messages through the Earth Book Fragment before Daoist Jinlian returned to the Heaven and Earth Society and raised a warning about the war.

• Li Mubai and Yang Gong concluded that Xu Ningyan’s actions had repeatedly disrupted the Yunzhou rebels’ plans, and Li Mubai asked Brother Lingzhan to write Xu Cijiu about taking extraordinary measures without using Yang Gong’s name.
• Emperor Yongxing ordered the spring sacrifice to be made a grand affair and summoned the ministers to discuss Qingzhou, believing the court had weathered its hardest period.
• The empress dowager asked Huaiqing whether she favored anyone, and Huaiqing later read a discussion on her Earth Book Fragment about the war and Yang Qianhuan’s ambitions.
• Daoist Jinlian returned from seclusion, heard Chu Yuanzhen’s account of recent events, and blamed Heilian for corrupting Zhende.
• After evading Lina’s questions about his past mistake, Daoist Jinlian warned the Heaven and Earth Society to be wary of something concerning the war in Qingzhou.

The Heaven and Earth Society discussed Heilian’s unexplained absence, the Buddha and Shenshu’s connection, and Xu Qi'an’s revelations about the Gods and Devils. Xu Qi'an urged the group to join him in Qingzhou, while Lina was left wondering why everyone had stopped replying.

• Daoist Jinlian warned that Heilian might ally with Xu Pingfeng and the Yunzhou rebels, and the members considered why he had not appeared.
• Xu Qi'an revealed that Xu Pingfeng was his father, and Chu Yuanzhen explained the history of Xu Pingfeng’s attempt to reclaim the Fate and Yunzhou’s rebellion.
• Xu Qi'an told Daoist Jinlian about the Buddha and Shenshu’s connection and shared his theories about the demon-sweeping war five hundred years earlier.
• Xu Qi'an reported that a descendant of the Gods and Devils had witnessed them go mad and slaughter one another, and said the Dao Venerable might know why.
• Daoist Jinlian mentioned visiting Number Eight, and Xu Qi'an called on the members to join him in Qingzhou to fight Xu Pingfeng and Heilian.
• Lina received no replies after teasing Daoist Jinlian, then took Xu Lingyin and the Strength Gu Tribe children hunting.

Song Qing delivered the Fate-Disordering Hammer to Zhong Li, while the White Emperor retrieved a spear from beneath the sea. Qi Guangbo ordered Yunzhou forces to reinforce the front and advance on Wan County, as Xu Cijiu discovered Miao Youfang had learned a version of Go from Mu Nanzhi.

• Song Qing gave Zhong Li the Fate-Disordering Hammer, which she alone could wield without suffering its fate-changing side effects.
• The White Emperor plunged into a sea whirlpool and emerged carrying a curved spear.
• Qi Guangbo sent Zhuo Haoran and other officers with reinforcements and orders to cut Songshan County's supply lines, then announced that the army would break camp and take Wan County.
• At Songshan County, Xu Cijiu found Miao Youfang and Mosang playing a simplified game they called Go.
• Miao Youfang said Mu Nanzhi had taught him the game, and Xu Cijiu silently resolved to tell her that Miao had called her ugly.

Xu Xinnian and his allies faced worsening supply shortages as enemy forces converged on Songshan County, while the fighting around Guo County and Wan Commandery intensified. Above Dongling City, Xu Pingfeng invited the Superintendent to play chess again after twenty years apart.

• Xu Xinnian worried that Songshan County's provisions would run out within ten days as Mosang and Miao Youfang discussed the future and Mosang boasted that Lina was known as the Flying Swallow Heroine.
• A Heart Gu Master warned Mosang that enemy reinforcements had joined the rebels and were advancing toward Songshan County.
• Sun Xuanji signaled an enemy attack at Guo County after the Qingzhou army withdrew there to regroup against Ji Xuan's forces.
• Zhang Shen learned that a large enemy column led by a commander named Qi was approaching Wan Commandery and declared that the generals would finally face each other.
• Xu Pingfeng met Bodhisattva Jialuoshu above the clouds and asked his former teacher, the Superintendent, to play chess with him again.

The Superintendent and Xu Pingfeng traded revelations over a game of stones before a mysterious beast questioned the Superintendent’s identity. As the war spread across several fronts, Xu Qi'an received Ringing Gold Stone from Yierbu and learned that the First Chief Astrologer had been named Chai Xinjue.

• Xu Pingfeng accused the Superintendent of being the Gatekeeper, and the Superintendent revealed that Noble Consort Chen had helped Xu Pingfeng gather information and that he had helped eliminate Zhende.
• A massive white-scaled beast appeared behind the Superintendent and asked what the first Superintendent had been if the Superintendent was the Gatekeeper.
• At Songshan County, Xu Erlang directed the defense against the rebels, Miao Youfang saved him from Zhuo Haoran’s attack, and a flock of crimson giant birds approached the city.
• At Guo County, Ji Xuan revealed that he had refined Dongling’s civilians into a Blood Pill, consumed it, and declared that Qingzhou would fall within three days.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox told Xu Qi'an that a Spirit Wisdom Master had come looking for him, and they discussed the possibility that Great Desolation had devoured the descendants of the gods and devils.
• Yierbu delivered genuine Ringing Gold Stone to Xu Qi'an and identified the First Chief Astrologer as a Central Plains man named Chai Xinjue.

Xu Qi'an connected the Chai Clan’s great tomb to the First Chief Astrologer, while the White Emperor challenged the Superintendent’s identity as the Gatekeeper. The chapter ended with the White Emperor, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and Xu Pingfeng joining forces to attack the Superintendent.

• Xu Qi'an told Mu Nanzhi and Baiji that the great tomb belonged to the First Chief Astrologer, Chai Xinjue, and suspected Xu Pingfeng knew the Chai Clan’s ancestry.
• Salun Agu consulted the Shaman God and concluded that there was only one Great Desolation.
• Bodhisattva Guangxian and Bodhisattva Liuli used the snake’s blood and a golden droplet to raise a blazing sun inside Aranda.
• The White Emperor theorized that the First Chief Astrologer founded the Warlock System as the Gatekeeper’s mission, then asked the Superintendent to reveal his true identity.
• The Superintendent turned the White Emperor’s water-spirit attack into a sword and struck it, after which Bodhisattva Jialuoshu summoned two Dharma Idols and Xu Pingfeng activated a formation to join the White Emperor in attacking him.

The Superintendent, Xu Pingfeng, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and the White Emperor fought above the sea of clouds as the Superintendent revealed the God-Striking Whip and Xu Pingfeng’s ally Heilian joined the battle. The Superintendent appeared to summon the Confucian Sage, and merciless eyes opened above the battlefield.

• Xu Pingfeng and the Superintendent exchanged sword strikes, but the Superintendent pursued him through teleportation and shattered his protective artifacts.
• Bodhisattva Jialuoshu and the White Emperor pinned the Superintendent with a punch and lightning while Xu Pingfeng’s formations disrupted him.
• The Superintendent crushed the lightning and used the God-Striking Whip to lash Xu Pingfeng, the White Emperor, and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu.
• Heilian emerged from the corrupting liquid that had protected Xu Pingfeng’s Primordial Spirit, and Xu Pingfeng taunted the Superintendent about his Heavenly Secrets Disc.
• The Superintendent put on a Confucian cap and took up a carving knife, then cried that he summoned the Confucian Sage as merciless eyes opened above the battlefield.

The Superintendent summoned the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul and fought Xu Pingfeng, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, Heilian, and White Emperor. After killing Jialuoshu and surviving White Emperor’s attack, he pinned White Emperor with the Confucian Crown and drove the carving knife toward its skull, just as a blazing sun rose in the west.

• The Superintendent summoned the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul and used the carving knife to break through Bodhisattva Jialuoshu’s defenses, killing him with a strike to the forehead.
• Xu Pingfeng fired a formation-powered cannon at the Superintendent, who redirected the blast between them and eventually sent it toward Heilian.
• White Emperor attacked the Superintendent from behind, took his heart, and swallowed it, but the Superintendent regenerated it with a pill.
• Heilian summoned the Daoist Order’s four great Dharma Idols, then held back as the Superintendent faced White Emperor.
• The Superintendent used the Confucian Crown to freeze White Emperor and thrust the carving knife through its defenses; as White Emperor neared death, a blazing sun rose in the west.

The Superintendent defeated the Mahavairocana Tathagata Dharma Idol with the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul, though the clash left him severely weakened. He gathered the Power of All Living Beings and faced Xu Pingfeng, Heilian, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and the White Emperor, challenging them to attack.

• Xu Pingfeng retreated from the Mahavairocana Tathagata Dharma Idol’s light while the Superintendent killed the White Emperor and confronted the Buddha with the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul.
• The Superintendent and the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul pierced the Mahavairocana Tathagata Dharma Idol with the Carving Knife, destroying it and shaking Aranda.
• Bodhisattva Guangxian, Bodhisattva Liuli, Arhat Du'e, and Asuro sensed the upheaval at Aranda, while Asuro and Du'e suspected the Superintendent had outmaneuvered them.
• Shenshu heard a call for help and discussed the battle with the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, then agreed to attack Aranda the next day before she ordered him back into the pagoda.
• The Superintendent recovered from the golden blast and faced Xu Pingfeng, Heilian, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, and the White Emperor, then drew on the Power of All Living Beings and challenged them to attack.

The Superintendent fought Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, Daoist Priest Heilian, Xu Pingfeng, and the White Emperor, weakening each with his mastery of the Power of All Living Beings and the God-Striking Whip. After revealing that he had planned against his teacher from the beginning, Xu Pingfeng hinted that he had a way to defy the Superintendent’s foresight.

• Daoist Priest Heilian attacked the Superintendent with four Dharma Idols, but the Superintendent dismantled them and forced Heilian to expose his Power of Corruption.
• The Superintendent used public outrage to overwhelm Heilian, but Bodhisattva Jialuoshu and Xu Pingfeng rescued him and restrained the Superintendent.
• The Superintendent broke the spatial seal with Salun Agu's shepherding whip, then forced the White Emperor’s lightning to explode inside its mouth, leaving it unable to fight.
• Xu Pingfeng trapped the Superintendent in destructive formations, but public resentment shattered Xu Pingfeng’s consciousness; the Superintendent then struck him with the God-Striking Whip.
• Bodhisattva Jialuoshu engaged the Superintendent in close combat while the other fighters remained badly injured, and Xu Pingfeng explained that killing his teacher had been central to his plans.
• Xu Pingfeng asked why the Superintendent had chosen to support the lineage in Hidden Dragon City and challenged him to calculate how a mere disciple could dare oppose a Heavenly Mandate Master.

Xu Pingfeng revealed the First Chief Astrologer's centuries-old plan and used a bronze artifact to trap the Superintendent, but White Emperor pierced and apparently absorbed him. The Superintendent’s fate remained uncertain as Great Feng’s Fate collapsed and Xu Qi'an felt his disappearance; Zhong Li and Song Qing then suffered sudden chest pains.

• Xu Pingfeng explained how the First Chief Astrologer’s artifact and a plan to steal Great Feng’s Fate had enabled his alliance with the lineage from five hundred years ago.
• Xu Pingfeng, Daoist Priest Heilian, and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu trapped the Superintendent inside the bronze artifact, where the Superintendent fought back and disrupted the artifact with the Heavenly Secrets Disc.
• White Emperor pierced the Superintendent with a horn and absorbed his body, but Xu Pingfeng and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu said the Superintendent could not die while Great Feng survived.
• Yang Gong, Sun Xuanji, Emperor Yongxing, and people across the realm felt the heavens change as Great Feng’s Fate collapsed.
• Xu Qi'an felt the Superintendent’s disappearance while flying toward Qingzhou, and Zhong Li found the Fate-Disordering Hammer entry in the Superintendent’s manuscript before she and Song Qing felt chest pain.

After the Superintendent’s death, Xu Qi'an and the other powers learned of the disaster as Qingzhou’s defenses collapsed. Xu Pingfeng and Bodhisattva Jialuoshu prepared to recover before advancing, while Yang Gong led Qingzhou’s remaining forces toward Yongzhou.

• Xu Pingfeng, Bodhisattva Jialuoshu, White Emperor, and Daoist Priest Heilian withdrew to recover after defeating the Superintendent, and Xu Pingfeng planned to refine Qingzhou’s Fate.
• Protector Yuan told Xu Qi'an that Sun Xuanji believed the Superintendent was dead and that Qingzhou would likely be abandoned for Yongzhou.
• Heaven Gu Granny foresaw that Great Feng had lost its Superintendent, and Salun Agu recognized that the Gatekeeper was gone and Great Desolation had returned.
• Bodhisattva Guangxian told Bodhisattva Jialuoshu to have Xu Pingfeng visit Aranda before they marched north, and Jialuoshu agreed to wait until they recovered.
• Emperor Yongxing learned that the Superintendent was missing as the imperial princes and commandery princes requested an audience.
• Yang Gong received reports of Qingzhou’s defeats and ordered a retreat to Yongzhou, where the remnants of the army would face the Yunzhou army.

Sun Xuanji returned gravely wounded with evidence of the Superintendent's apparent death, while Qingzhou's fall plunged Emperor Yongxing and his ministers into fear and talk of peace. As Huaiqing rejected surrender, Qi Guangbo prepared to consolidate Qingzhou and proposed exploiting the court's panic through peace negotiations.

• Sun Xuanji returned to the Directorate of Astronomy with fatal injuries after investigating the Superintendent's apparent death, and Song Qing informed Zhong Li.
• Emperor Yongxing received Yang Gong's report of Qingzhou's fall and the defenders' retreat to Yongzhou, then heard Song Qing confirm that the Superintendent had likely fallen.
• Emperor Yongxing fell ill from fright, dismissed reliance on Silver Gong Xu, and considered a minister's proposal to sue for peace.
• Liu Hong consulted Huaiqing, who warned that peace would only delay defeat and declared her preference for resistance over submission.
• Qi Guangbo ordered his generals to consolidate Qingzhou, approved Ge Wenxuan's proposal to spread news of the Superintendent's death, and discussed Ji Xuan's plan to recruit martial artists.
• Qi Guangbo proposed offering peace negotiations to exploit the Great Feng court's fear.

Qi Guangbo planned peace talks to weaken Great Feng and divide Xu Qi'an from Emperor Yongxing, while Xu Qi'an learned the Superintendent had likely been sealed and sought Zhao Shou's advice on saving the dynasty. Zhao Shou outlined four priorities, and the chapter ended with Li Miaozhen asking whether rumors of Qingzhou's fall and the Superintendent's death were true.

• Qi Guangbo proposed peace talks to extract money, grain, and possibly territory from Great Feng, while using the negotiations to drive a wedge between Xu Qi'an and Emperor Yongxing.
• Xu Qi'an met Zhao Shou, who said the Superintendent was likely sealed and learned from Xu Qi'an that White Emperor had targeted the Superintendent as the Gatekeeper.
• Zhao Shou warned that a Transcendent Rank had intervened and advised Xu Qi'an to make up for Great Feng's combat deficit, become a player, solve its food shortage, and resurrect Wei Yuan.
• Xu Qi'an left Clear Cloud Mountain considering the four challenges and the final missing item needed for Wei Yuan's resurrection.
• Li Miaozhen messaged the Earth Book group, asking whether reports that Qingzhou had fallen and the Superintendent had been killed were true.

After Qingzhou fell and Xu Qi'an was sealed, the Heaven and Earth Society members accepted that Great Feng faced likely defeat and vowed to stand by him. Meanwhile, Yunzhou prepared a peace delegation that included Xu Qi'an's siblings, and Emperor Yongxing welcomed news of negotiations as the court debated the offer.

• Huaiqing told the Heaven and Earth Society that Qingzhou had fallen and Xu Qi'an was likely sealed after fighting Xu Pingfeng, Jialuoshu, White Emperor, and Heilian; Xu Qi'an explained the First Chief Astrologer's role and the secret of the Gatekeeper.
• Hengyuan, Li Lingsu, Chu Yuanzhen, and Lina each committed themselves to helping Xu Qi'an or fighting for Great Feng, while Huaiqing and Li Miaozhen remained resolute.
• Li Lingsu told Yang Qianhuan that Qingzhou had fallen and the Superintendent was sealed, and Yang asked him not to tell Caiwei.
• Ji Xuan confronted Ge Wenxuan about choosing Ji Yuan as Yunzhou's peace envoy, then learned that Yuanshuang and Yuanhuai would accompany the delegation to make Xu Qi'an hesitate.
• Emperor Yongxing told the court that Yunzhou had requested peace negotiations, after Yao Hong accused Yang Gong of opposing the talks.