Chapter Summaries

Xu Qi'an questioned the merfolk queen about Desolation and overseas threats, then obtained a map and a Transcendent merfolk pearl. While merfolk danced, he checked the Heaven and Earth Society messages, where Chu Yuanzhen asked about using Karmic Fire and the Holy Son advised him to lie flat.

• The merfolk queen told Xu Qi'an that strange spiritual essences covered Desolation and warned that an ancient God or Devil had hunted powerful descendants of Gods and Devils overseas.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox discussed Desolation's attempt to regain Transcendent Rank, and Xu Qi'an explained that he had driven Desolation back to the Nine Provinces.
• The merfolk queen gave Xu Qi'an a map marked with a deadly ancient battlefield and an undersea volcano, and she provided a Transcendent merfolk pearl for testing someone's feelings.
• Xu Qi'an had the merfolk queen hold the pearl, saw no reaction, and stored it in his Earth Book Fragment.
• Xu Qi'an received Chu Yuanzhen's question about using Karmic Fire without becoming Transcendent, and the Holy Son advised him to lie flat rather than struggle for advancement.

The Heaven and Earth Society discussed ways for Chu Yuanzhen to advance, and Xu Qi'an proposed using Heart Gu to supply emotions. Xu Qi'an then learned of an archipelago said to be formed from a dead Three-Headed Giant, while Li Lingsu’s attempt to take a break from his lovers turned into a plan for them to train him through combat.

• Li Lingsu decided to set aside Heaven Sect cultivation and pursue the Martial Dao, hoping to reach the Fourth Rank.
• Xu Qi'an suggested that Chu Yuanzhen use Heart Gu to draw on living beings’ emotions instead of relying on Karmic Fire, and the group agreed the method could work.
• Xu Qi'an told the Heaven and Earth Society he was on Merfolk Island, prompting Li Miaozhen to joke about his prospects there and Huaiqing to tease him about bringing back a Merfolk concubine.
• Li Lingsu told his lovers he would abstain until he advanced, but Chai Xing'er and Wenren Qianrou arranged for him to spar with Fourth Rank experts until he reached Transforming Force.
• Pearl told Xu Qi'an that the A'ersu Archipelago lay six hundred li south of Merfolk Island and was said to be the body of a Three-Headed Giant who died at sea after fighting the Immortal Bird.

Xu Qi'an learned about the A'ersu Archipelago and the weakening bloodlines of the descendants of Gods and Devils as his party sailed there. After finding patrol corpses and encountering a crazed little dragonkin, they realized the archipelago had come under attack.

• Pearl explained the A'ersu Archipelago's history and said its ruler was a third-rank great-perfection descendant of the Dragon tribe.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox revealed an ancient descendant of Gods and Devils had discovered the world was round, and Xu Qi'an showed he already knew.
• Pearl said she was traveling to A'ersu to obtain coral for white-scale disease and redroot, hoping to address losses among the merfolk.
• After three days at sea, Xu Qi'an's Earth Book lost its signal as the group entered A'ersu territory.
• The group found two dead Dragon tribe patrol guards drifting in the water, and Pearl concluded the archipelago seemed to be under attack.
• A crimson-eyed little dragonkin with twisted markings leaped at the Nine-Tailed Fox, who caught him with her tail.

Xu Qi'an, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, and Pearl discovered that a dragonman and Mo Yu had acquired similarly twisted patterns of foreign Spiritual Essence, prompting them to investigate the A'ersu Archipelago. There, they met a patrol led by Jiao, who recognized Mo Yu, and Pearl asked why the dead dragonman had changed.

• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox compared the patterns on the dead dragonman and Mo Yu, finding that both bore disordered marks of altered Spiritual Essence.
• Xu Qi'an and Pearl reasoned that Mo Yu and the A'ersu Archipelago's ruler might have explored the same place, then decided to sail there and investigate.
• Jiao led twelve dragonman guards through the waters while searching for a fallen dragonman who had been attacking the archipelago's inhabitants.
• Jiao's patrol surfaced beside Xu Qi'an's ship, where they saw the dead dragonman and recognized the transformed Mo Yu.
• Pearl identified herself as the merfolk queen and asked Jiao why the dragonman on the deck had changed.

Xu Qi'an, Pearl, and the Nine-Tailed Fox traveled to the A'ersu Archipelago to investigate why its dragonmen had fallen. Island Lord Nulang revealed that a mysterious island in the Ruins of Return had driven Mo Yu and his guards mad, while Desolation brought the Superintendent toward the ancient battlefield where the Gods and Devils may have fallen.

• Jiao told Pearl that Mo Yu and Nulang had explored a rumored treasure land, where Mo Yu and the guards fell before returning to the archipelago as killers.
• Xu Qi'an and his companions flew to Dragon City, where the azure bird Jing recognized the Nine-Tailed Fox and fled after recalling that she had roasted members of Jing's tribe.
• Island Lord Nulang welcomed the group and explained that an island had surfaced deep in the Ruins of Return, where he and Mo Yu encountered powerful beings resembling ancient Gods and Devils.
• Nulang said the island's presence distorted their spiritual essences, driving Mo Yu and the guards mad while he escaped in time.
• Desolation told the Superintendent that the Ruins of Return preserved the ancient battlefield of Gods and Devils, and Nulang concluded that the place might hold the secret of their fall.

Xu Qi'an learned that Gods and Devils Island might contain trapped Gods and Devils and prepared to explore it with Island Lord Furious Wave and the Nine-Tailed Fox. In Beichang, starving beggar Zhu Lai encountered Jingsi's Mahayana Buddhist congregation, whose teachings and charity drew him toward faith in Silver Gong Xu Qi'an, the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

• Island Lord Furious Wave told Xu Qi'an that Gods and Devils might remain trapped behind a barrier on the island, and that their presence had caused Mo Yu and the dragon guards to mutate.
• Island Lord Furious Wave warned that other Transcendent Realm descendants of Gods and Devils might gather at the South Sea's Ruins of Return, but Xu Qi'an welcomed the prospect of competition.
• Starving beggar Zhu Lai learned of Aranda's pilgrimage and went to the noticeboard, where a middle-aged Mahayana believer gave him water and invited him to hear the Dharma.
• The middle-aged man brought Zhu Lai to a hidden cellar, where Jingsi taught the Mahayana Dharma and explained its origins in Great Feng and its connection to Xu Qi'an and Arhat Du'e.
• Jingsi's teachings about equality and saving others softened Zhu Lai's skepticism, and the congregation gave him five copper coins after the sermon.
• Zhu Lai learned that new converts earned their recruiters five copper coins each and decided to believe in Mahayana Buddhism and the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

Xu Qi'an and his companions learned that Desolation had reached Gods and Devils Island, driven away the gathered descendants, and entered the island to seek something that could restore his strength. Island Lord Furious Wave judged that approaching the island would mean certain death and proposed turning back.

• Xu Qi'an enjoyed Crimson Fire Clams aboard the boat and promised the merfolk queen Pearl that he would help her if she ever needed it.
• The group encountered injured descendants of the Bu Clan, whose Grand Elder warned them that a giant, horned being had driven descendants away from Gods and Devils Island.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox identified the being as Desolation, and Xu Qi'an reasoned that he was seeking a way to regain his peak strength and return to Transcendent Rank.
• The Bu Clan Grand Elder explained that Desolation had forced his way through the island's ward and left Dragon Whale, Black Horse, and Blazing Flame Bird guarding the entrance.
• After learning that Transcendent descendants had already died, Island Lord Furious Wave urged the group to return rather than risk approaching the island.

Xu Qi'an, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, Pearl, and Island Lord Furious Wave reached Gods and Devils Island, where Desolation’s three followers barred their way. When the Black Horse and its allies attacked, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox killed all three in moments, leaving the gathered descendants of Gods and Devils stunned.

• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox decided to land on Gods and Devils Island despite the danger of Desolation regaining his strength.
• Island Lord Furious Wave identified the vast coastline as Gods and Devils Island, and Xu Qi'an spotted a silent six-armed giant within its mist.
• The Black Horse threatened the descendants of Gods and Devils gathered offshore and killed one who challenged its master.
• The Black Horse warned the approaching boat to stay away, but Xu Qi'an, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, Pearl, and Island Lord Furious Wave continued toward the island.
• The Black Horse, Blazing Flame Bird, and Dragon Whale attacked the boat, and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox stopped them with her tails.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox tore apart the Black Horse and Blazing Flame Bird and killed the Dragon Whale beneath the sea.

Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox entered Gods and Devils Island after he tore open its corrupting mist barrier. They crossed regions shaped by ancient Gods and Devils’ spiritual essence and found lava, where Xu Qi'an realized he had stepped on something.

• The Nine-Tailed Fox killed the Black Horse, Blazing Flame Bird, and Dragon Whale, draining their blood essence as the watching descendants of Gods and Devils recognized her power.
• Xu Qi'an resisted the island’s mist, tore open its barrier, and entered with the Nine-Tailed Fox while the Merfolk Queen and Island Lord Furious Wave stayed behind.
• Desolation sensed Xu Qi'an’s arrival and planned to kill him and consume his blood essence.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox found the island devoid of ordinary elements, and the black Flood Dragon was sliced apart by invisible hazards as they advanced.
• The pair crossed a region of lava; Xu Qi'an identified it as the spiritual essence of another ancient God or Devil and used it to temper his body.
• As Xu Qi'an started to leave the lava, he paused and said he thought he had stepped on something.

Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox crossed the dangerous ruins of the Gods and Devils, surviving chaotic space and recovering her separated body. They entered a dream domain, where Xu Qi'an escaped his tempting fantasy—only for the Nine-Tailed Fox to warn that Desolation had appeared behind him.

• Xu Qi'an found and kept a God or Devil's fiery vertebra as he and the Nine-Tailed Fox crossed several deadly regions of the ancient battlefield.
• Xu Qi'an entered a barren plain and vanished; the Nine-Tailed Fox followed and discovered that shifting fragments of space were teleporting and severing anything caught between them.
• Xu Qi'an carried the Nine-Tailed Fox through the spatial region and helped her find and merge with her regenerated lower body, which had consumed much of her blood essence.
• Xu Qi'an entered a misty dream domain and described a sweet dream in which he defeated his enemies, became a Martial God, and lived among his understanding confidantes.
• Xu Qi'an explained that he escaped the dream by recognizing that its events made no sense, but the Nine-Tailed Fox then spotted Desolation behind him.

Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox fought Desolation on Gods and Devils Island, but his overwhelming devouring power nearly killed them. The Superintendent helped them escape by revealing that a bone could weaken Desolation, and Xu Qi'an suspected the Superintendent was watching them.

• Desolation trapped Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox in the fog, but Xu Qi'an used his blood-draining ability and close-range attacks to wound Desolation.
• Desolation transformed into a black hole and began devouring everything nearby, leaving Xu Qi'an unable to escape or damage Him.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox used the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror to briefly weaken Desolation, and the Superintendent told Xu Qi'an to use the bone he had found in the lava.
• Xu Qi'an sent the bone into Desolation's black hole, weakening its suction long enough for him and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox to flee into the region of fragmented space.
• After confirming Desolation had not pursued them, Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox wondered how the bone affected Him and how the Superintendent knew Xu Qi'an had it.
• A butterfly formed from thin mist flew toward Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox as Xu Qi'an wondered whether the Superintendent was watching them.

The Superintendent explained the secrets of Gods and Devils Island and gave Xu Qi'an a spatial-transposition artifact to help him seize the object at its center from Desolation. He revealed that the Nine-Tailed Fox could gain a chance to reach First Rank by inheriting the Qingqiu Fox’s spiritual essence, while Huaiqing and Wei Yuan planned to weaken the Buddhist Order’s Fate; Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox then entered the Qingqiu Fox’s forbidden area.

• The Superintendent told Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox that the island’s center held the key to the first great calamity, and that Desolation sought it as well as a way to restore his strength.
• The Superintendent forged a spatial-transposition wrist cord from a magical artifact and the Nine-Tailed Fox’s hair, then gave it to Xu Qi'an to help him escape Desolation and steal the object.
• The Superintendent revealed that the Qingqiu Fox’s spiritual essence lay on the island, giving the Nine-Tailed Fox a chance to advance to First Rank, though her tails could die in her place.
• Huaiqing and Wei Yuan discussed the Buddha’s Dharma Assembly and decided to weaken the Buddhist Order by spreading Mahayana Dharma and encouraging Western Regions’ people to migrate to the Central Plains.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox entered the forbidden area where the Qingqiu Fox had fallen, despite her refusal to let him accompany her.

Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox crossed Gods and Devils Island and found the Qingqiu Fox’s remains, while Desolation continued toward the island’s central region. The Nine-Tailed Fox began absorbing the skull’s Spiritual Essence by the faster method so they could reach the core before Desolation.

• Desolation told the Superintendent that it intended to claim the Gatekeeper’s power, destroy Great Feng, and seize the Central Plains’ Fate.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox discussed the Superintendent’s possible identity as the Gatekeeper and why the Dao Venerable had spared the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox lineage.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox reached the Qingqiu Fox’s scattered remains and found its Spiritual Essence imprinted on its skull.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox placed the skull on her head and began refining its Spiritual Essence using the faster method, which would let her advance within a month.

The Silver-Haired Enchantress devoured the Qingqiu Fox’s Spiritual Essence and advanced to the First Rank, then joined Xu Qi'an in racing toward Desolation and the Gate of Light. They entered a region where time moved ten times more slowly, hoping to reach the Superintendent before Desolation could use him to open the gate.

• The Silver-Haired Enchantress fought the Qingqiu Fox’s Spiritual Essence within her sea of consciousness and devoured it, completing her advancement to the First Rank.
• Xu Qi'an congratulated the Silver-Haired Enchantress, who tested her improved Charm on him, dressed, and traveled with him to the central region of Gods and Devils Island.
• Desolation reached the Gate of Light atop a vast mound of Gods and Devils’ bones and told the Superintendent it planned to use him as the Gatekeeper to gain control of the gate.
• Xu Qi'an measured the time distortion near the gate and determined that time passed ten times more slowly there than outside.
• Xu Qi'an and the Silver-Haired Enchantress entered the slowed-time region and used spatial transportation to pursue Desolation.

Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox caught up with Desolation near a pillar of light at the center of Gods and Devils Island, where the object tied to the first great tribulation awaited them. Meanwhile, Wei Yuan, Zhao Shou, and Du'e arranged the migration of Mahayana Buddhists into Great Feng before the Dharma Assembly, and Du'e explained that the Buddha and Aranda's sacred mountain were one.

• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox discussed the Gods and Devils, the first great tribulation, and Xu Qi'an's strange Buddhist chants as they traveled through the island's slowed-time domain.
• Wei Yuan told Zhao Shou that more than three hundred thousand people in the Western Regions followed the Mahayana Dharma Church, and they planned to move the believers into Great Feng before the Dharma Assembly.
• Zhao Shou estimated how Mahayana Buddhism's Fate would be divided, and Wei Yuan proudly recalled having supported Xu Ningyan.
• Jingchen told Du'e that Great Feng would provide land, grain, and protection for the Mahayana Buddhists and establish their church as the state religion if the migration finished before the Dharma Assembly; Du'e agreed.
• Du'e told Jingchen that the Buddha was the sacred mountain and the sacred mountain was the Buddha, then hoped Xu Ningyan would return as a Half-Step Martial God.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox caught up with Desolation beside a pillar of light, and Desolation recognized Xu Qi'an's short-range teleportation as a spatial artifact.

Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox escaped Desolation’s slow-time domain and reached the mysterious Gate, which Xu Qi'an saw as a saber. Desolation revealed that he had sealed the Superintendent, but the Superintendent denied being the Gatekeeper and told Xu Qi'an to enter the Gate and become its new Gatekeeper.

• Desolation expanded his body to foil Xu Qi'an’s spatial transfer, then dragged himself across the slow-time domain’s boundary with his hooves.
• The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox used the Heaven-Encompassing Divine Mirror while Xu Qi'an summoned the Pagoda Treasure Tower, briefly confusing and restraining Desolation as they raced past him.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox reached the Gate, which she and Desolation saw as a Gate while Xu Qi'an saw a treasured saber.
• Desolation revealed that he had combined his six horns to seal the Superintendent and explained that he had used the contest to test whether the Superintendent was the Gatekeeper.
• The Superintendent told Xu Qi'an to take the Peace Saber and enter the Gate, then declared that the Gatekeeper could only come from the Martial Warrior System.
• Desolation demanded to know who the Superintendent was if he was not the Gatekeeper.

Xu Qi'an used the Peace Saber to break the barrier and merge it with the light saber, while the Nine-Tailed Fox fought Desolation to buy him time. After the barrier fell, Xu Qi'an tried to escape with the wounded fox, but Desolation’s black hole caught up with them.

• Xu Qi'an realized the Peace Saber could cut through the barrier surrounding the pillar of light and entered the enclosed area.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox transformed into a giant white fox and fought Desolation, but he overpowered her and tore away one of her tails.
• Xu Qi'an sent the Peace Saber to merge with the light saber, causing the barrier and pillar of light to collapse.
• Xu Qi'an rescued the wounded Nine-Tailed Fox and used spatial jumps to flee from Desolation’s black hole.
• Desolation’s devouring suction enveloped Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox as they attempted another escape.

Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox escaped Desolation on Gods and Devils Island, and the island began to collapse as they left. The Superintendent revealed that Xu Qi'an had obtained the Gate and could become its Gatekeeper, while Zhu Lai led a disguised Mahayana Buddhist migration out of Beichang City.

• Desolation's devouring force overwhelmed the Peace Saber, so Xu Qi'an teleported himself and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox away; the saber's artifact spirit fell asleep.
• Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox emerged from Gods and Devils Island, where they told the waiting Merfolk Queen and Island Lord Furious Wave that they had fought Desolation.
• Gods and Devils Island began breaking apart, and Xu Qi'an and the others fled by ship as the descendants of Gods and Devils followed.
• The Superintendent's thought appeared from Xu Qi'an's glass bead and explained that obtaining the Gate qualified him to become the Gatekeeper.
• Zhu Lai led a disguised caravan of Mahayana Buddhist followers out of Beichang City, but two soldiers stopped him at the city gate.

Mahayana Buddhist followers began leaving the Western Regions for the Central Plains as the Buddhist leaders prepared a mass Dharma Assembly at Aranda. At sea, the Superintendent began explaining the second great tribulation to Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox, but ended by asking what they thought heaven and earth were.

• Zhu Lai bribed guards who demanded travel permits, then led his disguised caravan out of the city toward the Central Plains.
• Bodhisattva Liuli and Bodhisattva Guangxian discussed the Buddha's plans, Xu Qi'an's journey overseas, and their intention to conquer Great Feng after the Dharma Assembly.
• Jialuoshu began the Dharma Assembly at Aranda, and the gathered followers joined in chanting as the sacred mountain seemed to come alive.
• Xu Qi'an sent Island Lord Furious Wave and Queen Pearl away, then raised a sound-blocking barrier before speaking privately with the Superintendent and the Nine-Tailed Fox.
• The Superintendent explained that Xu Qi'an needed the Peace Saber to become the Gatekeeper and said the second great tribulation differed from the first.
• The Superintendent asked Xu Qi'an and the Nine-Tailed Fox what they believed heaven and earth were, and Xu Qi'an turned to the fox, saying the Superintendent was testing her.

The Superintendent explained how the Great Tribulations, the Heavenly Dao, and the Dao Venerable’s cultivation paths were connected, revealing why Xu Qi'an had been chosen as the Gatekeeper. The chapter ended as Buddhist Dharma Idols formed at Mount Aranda and a pair of enormous eyes opened on the mountain’s back.

• The Superintendent explained that the first Great Tribulation began when a gate appeared, driving the gods and devils to slaughter one another as they sought to become the Heavenly Dao.
• The Superintendent revealed that the Dao Venerable’s Heaven, Earth, and Human paths were attempts to replace the Heavenly Dao, and Xu Qi'an connected Fate and the Incense-Fire Divine Dao to those attempts.
• Xu Qi'an learned that the Superintendent chose him as Gatekeeper because martial warriors stood apart from the Five Elements and could not replace the Heavenly Dao.
• Xu Qi'an asked why Transcendent Ranks could not be allowed to become the Heavenly Dao.
• At Mount Aranda, believers’ prayers gathered into several Buddhist Dharma Idols as a pair of enormous, eyelashless eyes opened on the mountain’s back.