Chapter Summaries

Chen Qing killed Elder Yang, who accepted his death and transformed into a sarira, then offered mercy to the Buddhist forces in Jiangnan. A battle Buddha offered him five hundred elite arhats in exchange for answers, and Chen Qing agreed to hear his questions.

• Chen Qing's sword strike killed Elder Yang, who reflected on death and let go of his fear.
• Elder Yang entered nirvana and became a sarira, asking Chen Qing to spare Buddhist temples that surrendered and wishing him success.
• Chen Qing accepted the sarira and offered the arhats and Buddhas a chance to surrender or leave, warning them not to harm Jiangnan.
• A battle Buddha emerged from the temple and asked Chen Qing questions, offering him five hundred elite arhats in return.
• Chen Qing agreed to answer the battle Buddha's questions.

The Vajra Buddha learned that Elder Heavenly Secrets was Elder Liu’s incarnation and that Elder Liu had been preparing to seize the Spacetime Jade and the Buddha Lord’s power. In the Future Buddha’s domain, Kagura confronted Heavenly Secrets, who rejected her because she was from Dongying.

• The divine generals reacted with shock as they learned Elder Liu had used Chen Qing’s resemblance to the King of Qin and worked with him to deceive his rivals.
• Chen Qing told the Vajra Buddha that Elder Heavenly Secrets was Elder Liu’s incarnation, planted beside the King of Qin to monitor him and locate the Spacetime Jade.
• Chen Qing explained that Elder Liu’s true Dao was the future, and the Vajra Buddha realized Elder Liu would gain possession of the Spacetime Jade.
• Mr. Heavenly Secrets entered the Future Buddha’s domain with the Spacetime Jade and withered the lotus flowers, confronting Kagura and the assembled gods and Buddhas.
• Heavenly Secrets said he had decided to move against the Buddha Kingdom after concluding that the Heavenly Demon could not be stopped and that Elder Yang had become unfit to wield the Past Buddha’s power.
• Kagura asked whether she had lost Heavenly Secrets’ approval, and he said she would have been worthy if she were not from Dongying, causing her lotus platform to wither.

Elder Liu reclaimed the Past Buddha’s power as Kagura and the Future Buddha’s domain faded away, then challenged the beings watching from beyond the heavens. The Demon Domain held back, while Elder Long ordered the Heavenly Court to attack the mortal world in ten days.

• Elder Liu apologized to Kagura, who accepted her fate and asked him to spare her demonized clone; he agreed to do so once.
• Kagura and the Future Buddha’s followers perished as the domain withered, allowing Elder Liu to reclaim its power.
• Elder Liu gathered the three Buddha Lords’ vow powers and the Spacetime Jade, then challenged the monsters beyond the heavens.
• The demon lords debated Elder Liu’s recklessness but chose not to confront him.
• Elder Long recognized that Elder Liu had surpassed him and ordered the Heavenly Lake fully activated for an attack on the mortal world in ten days.

Chen Qing outlined the coming surge in spiritual energy and urged his allies to prepare for a decisive struggle against the ancient powers. He assigned surrendered Buddhist forces to rebuild Tian Heng’s army and ordered his commanders to train troops quickly before launching an offensive for newly emerged lands.

• Chen Qing explained that the world would expand dramatically when spiritual energy surged, awakening ancient realms and monsters, and warned that the forces had at most half a month to prepare.
• Chen Qing predicted that the Heavenly Court might rapidly revive its divine generals by sacrificing the demons from beyond the heavens.
• Chen Qing assigned half of the surrendered arhats to Tian Heng, who gratefully accepted command of the reinforcements.
• Chen Qing ordered Tian Heng to help Shen Er train the Underworld’s soldiers within ten days, including the fallen West Sea soldiers enlisted there.
• Chen Qing announced that his forces would seize newly emerged regions and their resources to gain the initiative.

After the capital’s crisis ended, the emperor, Ziyue, and the King of Qin discussed the damage caused by the ambitions of a few people and the choices ahead. Ziyue urged the emperor to follow his convictions, and the King of Qin left with a warning that the Daoist School could not be trusted.

• The old Yuchi family head reported that a third of the capital’s families planned to leave, then departed when the emperor asked to speak privately with Ziyue and the King of Qin.
• The old Yuchi family head worried that his second son had been held back by family loyalty and now languished in his courtyard, while Yuchi Feihong had chosen to join Chen Qing.
• Ziyue told the emperor that their past failure had caused three cycles of reincarnation and tragedy in another world, and that the current conflict needed an ending.
• Ziyue reflected that the ambitions of people seeking immortality had extinguished humanity’s chance to develop spacefaring technology and had endangered both worlds.
• Ziyue encouraged the emperor to do what he believed right, and he admitted that he had wronged the King of Qin but did not regret it; the King of Qin said he felt the same.
• The emperor warned the King of Qin that the Daoist School might be unreliable, despite the factions’ need for its help against the powerful Buddhist School and ancient foes.

Chen Qing explained the four ancient powers and how the Heavenly Court’s ability to project troops across the continent prevented large-scale wars. He concluded that the Daoist School had allied with them to break the balance and that the Heavenly Court had to be dealt with first.

• Chen Qing named the Heavenly Court, Buddha Kingdom, Demon Domain, and Daoist School as the world’s four ancient powers and described their territories.
• Chen Qing explained that the Heavenly Court controlled hundreds of celestial bodies orbiting the continent, giving it vast territory.
• Chen Qing told his aides that the Heavenly Court could project soldiers anywhere unprotected and observe major battles from above.
• Chen Qing explained that the Heavenly Court’s intervention discouraged large-scale wars, while its limited footholds on the continent made occupation risky.
• Chen Qing said the Daoist School had approached them to break the balance and insisted that the Heavenly Court had to be dealt with first.

Chen Qing explained how the factions could counter the Heavenly Court by predicting where it would establish a foothold and secretly preparing spatial arrays. He narrowed its likely targets to the Southern Barbarians or Northern Wasteland, but warned that Elder Long might defy expectations.

• Tian Heng questioned how they could target the Heavenly Court, and Chen Qing argued that it would eventually need footholds to avoid the cost of repeatedly projecting troops.
• Chen Qing outlined a plan to predict the Heavenly Court's target city and hide spatial warlocks who could establish transport coordinates in advance.
• Chen Qing ruled out Cloud Capital, Jiangnan, Great Jin, the Demon Domain, and the East Sea as likely first targets, leaving the Northern Wasteland and Southern Barbarians.
• Chen Qing said the Northern Wasteland offered valuable ancient demons but that Northern Wolf City was too exposed to make a good first foothold.
• Chen Qing judged the Southern Barbarians more likely in theory, but cautioned that Elder Long might not follow conventional expectations.

Chen Qing questioned whether the Heavenly Court’s seemingly obvious invasion route into the Southern Barbarians was really so simple. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Emperor’s forces prepared for the unavoidable fourth version, debated attacking Jiangnan, and ended with Ziwei asking how they should make their move.

• Chen Qing considered the Southern Barbarians the Heavenly Court’s likely target but doubted Elder Long’s plan was that simple.
• The Heavenly Emperor learned from Ziwei that Heavenly Lake was ready to refine the prepared great demons and that the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers could recover within ten days.
• The Heavenly Emperor warned the divine generals that the Heavenly Demon’s descent could not be stopped and that the Heavenly Court would be the first faction struck.
• The divine generals debated attacking Jiangnan, but the female divine general warned that Ziyue had strengthened its Blazing Yang Grand Formation and that the cost of an assault would be enormous.
• Ziwei identified the Southern Barbarians as the Heavenly Court’s best remaining option, then asked the Heavenly Emperor how to proceed, noting that Elder Liu and Chen Qing would expect such a move.

Elder Liu's faction assessed the Heavenly Court's likely expansion choices as the powers prepared for the demon statue's arrival. Chen Qing anticipated a contest over the Northern Wasteland and Jiangnan, leaving the outcome to which side could better predict the other's moves.

• Elder Liu's awakened Buddhas judged the Southern Barbarians' territory a strong defensive base for the Heavenly Court but warned Chen Qing could block its passes.
• Elder Liu proposed that the Heavenly Court might instead target the Northern Wasteland or Jiangnan, and said its choice depended on Chen Qing's plans.
• Chen Qing told Shen San that Elder Long was likely to seek the Northern Wasteland or Jiangnan and that their interests made a confrontation inevitable.
• Chen Qing explained that securing Northern Wolf City would require enough troops to leave Jiangnan vulnerable to the Heavenly Court.
• Tian Heng understood that the contest would be decided by which side better predicted the other's intentions.

Bai Lie faced growing pressure to help the million Southern Barbarian refugees gathered outside Southeast Pass, where venomous insects and hunger had driven them from their homes. He considered admitting the women and children but decided to ask his superiors first.

• The Southern Barbarians lost nearly two-thirds of their population as mutated insects and dangerous miasma made survival increasingly difficult.
• More than a million refugees gathered outside Southeast Pass, where the door god and defensive formations offered protection from demons and venomous insects.
• Bai Lie worried that feeding or admitting the refugees could endanger his post, though he remembered his own family’s flight to Jiangnan and felt sympathy for the starving children.
• Bai Lie’s deputy generals urged him to let the refugees in, or at least admit the women and children, and Bai Lie decided to consult his superiors.

With Lord Shiyi away, Wen Keming and Bai Lie decided to admit Southern Barbarian women and children into the Southeast Commandery while keeping able-bodied adults outside. The gate opened to receive the refugees, but some of the adults among them had strangely colored eyes.

• Bai Lie warned Wen Keming that refugees were increasing, monsters were growing bolder, and Southern Barbarian children had been harmed.
• Bai Lie proposed admitting women and children while leaving able-bodied adults beyond the gate, and Wen Keming agreed to open Jiayun County to them.
• Wen Keming and Bai Lie each offered to take responsibility for the decision before setting out to coordinate the reception.
• The deputy general announced that women and children would be admitted, except for children taller than a cartwheel.
• The Southern Barbarian refugees wept and kowtowed in relief as Bai Lie ordered the formation opened.
• Among the kneeling adults, some had eyes with strange colors resembling the starry sky.

Bai Lie oversaw the evacuation of Southern Barbarian women and children into the city, but sensed a trap and ordered his soldiers to regroup. Hidden experts struck before they could form ranks, and Wood Wolf of Kui paralyzed Bai Lie while his men rushed toward him.

• Bai Lie warned his overconfident soldiers to stay alert as they opened the city gates and began bringing Southern Barbarian women and children inside.
• The soldiers spread out to manage the vast crowd, and Bai Lie suddenly ordered them to leave the children and form ranks.
• Hidden attackers revealed themselves, and their overwhelming pressure made it difficult for Bai Lie to breathe.
• An enemy pierced Bai Lie's heart meridian, leaving him unable to move or warn his soldiers as they charged back toward him.
• The attacker identified himself as Wood Wolf of Kui, one of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions.

The Heavenly Court’s forces captured South Pass and prepared to clear the remaining troops in Southeast Commandery before returning to defend Tiannan Pass. In Nanming Prefecture, Shen Yuan woke from a terrifying vision and sought word of Shen San, sensing that something serious had happened.

• The White Tiger Star Officer’s Divine Generals slaughtered South Pass’s defenders, including Bai Lie, and collected their Blood Essence.
• The White Tiger Star Officer ordered his forces to advance along three roads from Southeast Pass, eliminate the remaining troops in Southeast Commandery, and then return to Tiannan Pass.
• The White Tiger Star Officer revealed his desire to hunt down the White Tiger Sorcerer in Jiangnan and sent word that the southeast had fallen.
• Shen Yuan woke drenched in sweat, shaken by a terrifying feeling that something was watching him.
• Shen Yuan went to an Underworld temple and asked Chen Xiao whether Shen San had returned from a meeting in Liuzhou.
• Shen Yuan asked Chen Xiao to notify him when Shen San returned, but did not explain that a nightmare had prompted his visit.

After learning that Southeast Commandery had fallen, Shen Yuan went with Chen Ying to escape a possible attack on the Four Spirits. He saw through the apparent dean’s disguise during their teleportation, leaving him trapped with an impostor in spatial turbulence.

• Shen Yuan's mother urged him to marry, then greeted Chen Ying when she arrived to see him.
• Chen Ying told Shen Yuan that Southeast Commandery had fallen and that Huang Xin and Bai Lie were dead.
• Chen Ying warned that Shen Yuan was a target as one of the Four Spirits and led him into a spatial formation, leaving his mother behind.
• The formation sent Shen Yuan and Chen Ying into spatial turbulence instead of Liuzhou.
• Shen Yuan identified the supposed Chen Ying as an impostor by recognizing that his spatial formation was inferior to the real dean's.

Shen Yuan confronted the White Tiger Star Officer, who had disguised herself as Chen Ying and tried to seize the White Tiger Sorcerer’s inheritance. While they remained trapped in chaotic space, the Three-Eyed Divine General arrived at Southeast Pass and learned she was missing.

• The White Tiger Star Officer revealed her true form and confronted Shen Yuan, who told her she was inferior to Chen Ying.
• The White Tiger Star Officer considered how gaining Shen Yuan’s White Tiger inheritance could make her a complete Dao Venerable, but worried about the risks to her mission and her own survival.
• Shen Yuan taunted the White Tiger Star Officer for being unable to take him out of chaotic space, and she could not harm him because he carried the White Tiger Spell.
• The Three-Eyed Divine General arrived at Southeast Pass and asked Wood Wolf of Kui where the White Tiger Star Officer was.
• Wood Wolf of Kui claimed that the White Tiger Star Officer was recovering at Southeast Pass, and the Three-Eyed Divine General ordered him to lead the way to her.

The Three-Eyed Divine General ordered Wood Wolf of Kui to shut down the city gate formation so he could search for the White Tiger Star Officer. Trapped with Shen Yuan in chaotic space, the White Tiger Star Officer proposed sharing their powers, then resorted to force when he doubted her motives.

• The Three-Eyed Divine General ordered Wood Wolf of Kui to shut down the formation at the city gates, and the White Tiger Star Officer sensed the danger from afar.
• The White Tiger Star Officer offered to share her White Tiger Demon Body and blood with Shen Yuan in exchange for his White Tiger Spell.
• Shen Yuan deduced that she needed to return quickly or face consequences, and refused to cooperate without proof he could trust her.
• The White Tiger Star Officer stripped off her clothes, ordered Shen Yuan to shut up, and pounced on him.

The Three-Eyed Divine General and Wood Wolf of Kui visited the White Tiger Star Officer, who wounded Wood Wolf and concealed Shen Yuan in her quarters. After they left, Shen Yuan accused her of using a charm technique.

• Wood Wolf of Kui eagerly led the Three-Eyed Divine General into the White Tiger Star Officer’s quarters, where she struck Wood Wolf with a wind blade.
• The White Tiger Star Officer explained that she was recovering and complained that the Heavenly Court had kept her from seeking the White Tiger Sorcerer in Jiangnan.
• The White Tiger Star Officer wounded Wood Wolf again for failing to announce the Divine General’s arrival, and the Divine General took him along when he departed.
• The White Tiger Star Officer waited until the Divine General was gone, then dispelled the spatial barrier concealing Shen Yuan in her room.
• Shen Yuan accused the White Tiger Star Officer of using a charm technique, and she laughed at him.

Shen Yuan learned that the White Tiger Star Officer had used an ancient method to fuse their Spirits, then faced a choice about their cooperation. Meanwhile, the Three-Eyed Divine General prepared to take the Southern Barbarians, and Chen Ying reassured Mother Shen while keeping her safe.

• The White Tiger Star Officer explained that she had used an ancient method involving intercourse to fuse their Spirits, and Shen Yuan admitted that he had enjoyed it.
• Shen Yuan told the White Tiger Star Officer he would choose Jiangnan if forced to choose, and she offered him two options.
• Wood Wolf of Kui complained to the Three-Eyed Divine General about the White Tiger Star Officer, but admitted he had no proof against her.
• The Three-Eyed Divine General ordered his forces to take the Southern Barbarians and said the Heavenly Court would no longer rely on the Heavenly Lake or let outsiders control the Four Spirits.
• Chen Ying told Mother Shen that Shen Yuan was safe and had gone to attend to business, then reassured her about his prospects as a candidate for Grand Underworld Lord.

The White Tiger Star Officer shared the Heavenly Court’s southeast deployments with Shen Yuan while continuing to pursue him, and Chen Qing’s group concluded that she was waiting to see whether Jiangnan could prove its strength. Chen Qing’s forces faced a choice between challenging the Heavenly Court in the southeast and recalling Xu Hu from the Northern Wasteland.

• The White Tiger Star Officer told Shen Yuan how her forces were deployed across Yunzhou, Tiannan Pass, and the southeast, and explained the abilities of Maori Rooster and Biyue Crow.
• The White Tiger Star Officer pursued Shen Yuan, while Chen Qing, Chen Ying, Shen Qi, Shen Shiyi, and the others watched through Shen Qi’s eye until Chen Ying stopped them.
• Chen Qing and Shen Er reasoned that the White Tiger Star Officer had shared intelligence as a sign of goodwill but would abandon Jiangnan if it failed to oppose the Heavenly Court’s advance.
• Chen Ying suggested that the White Tiger Star Officer join Jiangnan, but Chen Qing said she was waiting to see whether Jiangnan could demonstrate its strength.
• Shen San asked whether Chen Qing should recall Xu Hu to face the Heavenly Court, raising the risk of giving up the Northern Wasteland.

Xu Hu received a letter urging him to abandon North Sea City and bring the Fighter Army back to Jiangnan, but he suspected it was forged and refused to move without Chen Qing’s direct order. The Heavenly Court concluded that Jiangnan lacked the strength to stop its advance, though Elder Long remained wary of Chen Qing’s unpredictable methods.

• A deputy general delivered Xu Hu a letter claiming Jiangnan was under threat and ordering him to withdraw from Northern Wolf and reinforce Jiangnan.
• Xu Hu refused to mobilize, arguing that the letter could be forged because Chen Qing had not sent a direct voice transmission.
• Xu Hu warned his generals that the Fighter Army was Jiangnan’s strongest remaining force and could not be risked on uncertain orders.
• Divine General Thousand Eyes reported to the Heavenly Emperor that the Fighter Army had not moved after a snow eagle carried a letter into North Sea City.
• Ziwei argued that Chen Qing would not abandon his northern territories to confront the Heavenly Court, while Elder Long remained cautious about underestimating him.