Chapter Summaries

Qi Yun returned from Azure Gate with the Fruition Status, and the Desolate Halberd True Lord praised his achievement and offered him a Golden Core. Distrusting the True Lord’s insistence that he take it under his supervision, Qi Yun noticed the Law Technique Panel awaken, then swallowed the pill anyway, leaving its effects and the True Lord’s intentions uncertain.

• Qi Yun reported that he had retrieved the Fruition Status, and the Desolate Halberd True Lord praised his courage and schemes in Azure Gate.
• The Desolate Halberd True Lord said their opposing Dao Paths prevented him from taking Qi Yun as his final disciple, then gave him the promised Golden Core.
• The True Lord urged Qi Yun to take the Golden Core immediately while he stood guard, prompting Qi Yun to recall the old True Person’s warning to trust no one, not even the True Lord.
• The Law Technique Panel awakened in Qi Yun’s Purple Mansion, and he decided to accept the pill despite his suspicions.
• Qi Yun thanked the True Lord, grasped the Golden Core, and swallowed it as the True Lord’s faint smile deepened.

Qi Yun absorbed Desolate Halberd True Lord’s Golden Core and formed a Primordial True Body. After praising Qi Yun’s transformation, the True Lord revealed that Wudao would succeed him in overseeing the Wuji Sacred Sect in the next epoch.

• The Golden Core’s power transformed Qi Yun’s body as the Law Technique Panel updated Great Luo Heaven with the Primordial True Body mechanism.
• Qi Yun completed his transformation and thanked Desolate Halberd True Lord for the Golden Core and his protection.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord teased Qi Yun about suspecting the core had been tampered with, and Qi Yun said he trusted the True Lord’s character.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord said his term overseeing the sect was nearing its end and named Wudao as his successor for the next epoch.

Desolate Halberd True Lord warned Qi Yun that Wudao Extreme Dharma True Lord, Black Mountain True Person’s master, would soon take control of the Wuji Sacred Sect and might enable Black Mountain to target him. He gave Qi Yun the Six Realms Heaven as a means to flee Xuanhuang, then went to confront Wudao about Qi Yun.

• Desolate Halberd True Lord told Qi Yun that Wudao Extreme Dharma True Lord would succeed him and was Black Mountain True Person’s master.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord warned Qi Yun that Wudao might not intervene on his behalf and urged him to prepare for Black Mountain’s increased power.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord gave Qi Yun the Six Realms Heaven so he could escape to other realms if the threat became unbearable.
• Qi Yun accepted the gift and warning, then left Desolate Halberd True Lord’s Dao domain.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord entered a cavern and confronted Wudao, who asked whether he had come to plead for Qi Yun.

Desolate Halberd True Lord warned Wudao True Lord not to target Qi Yun, but doubted Wudao’s promise to let the matter go. At the Green Mountain Daoist Temple, Qi Yun chose to remain in Xuanhuang and face the coming danger, keeping the [Six Realms Heaven] as a last resort.

• Desolate Halberd True Lord praised Qi Yun’s foundation and potential to become a True Lord, and Wudao True Lord acknowledged his Dao Foundation before demanding that Qi Yun’s humiliation of Black Mountain be addressed.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord accused Wudao True Lord of treating Black Mountain as a useful pawn, and Wudao promised not to hold Qi Yun responsible while saying he would keep Black Mountain in check.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord left after warning Wudao to know his limits, and Wudao wondered whether the Holy Sect could afford to support another True Lord.
• Qi Yun considered using the [Six Realms Heaven] to leave Xuanhuang, but reflected that retreat might undermine his Dao heart and that his [Primordial True Body] still needed tempering.
• Qi Yun resolved to stay in Xuanhuang, treating the coming storms as a trial for his Dao while keeping the [Six Realms Heaven] as a final escape route.

Desolate Halberd Heaven-Rending True Lord completed his five-hundred-year term presiding over the Wuji Sacred Sect, and Wudao Extreme Dharma True Lord took his place. Wudao’s chilling arrival and terse declaration left Qi Yun gravely vigilant as a new era began.

• The Holy Sect gathered in Great Void Mirror Heaven to witness Desolate Halberd True Lord step down and Wudao assume authority.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord appeared in his formal Dharma form, received the sect’s respects, and spoke of his five hundred years presiding over the sect.
• Desolate Halberd True Lord departed through a flecked-gold rift after casting a final, meaningful glance toward Qi Yun.
• Wudao descended onto the platform amid black clouds, silenced the conch, and declared that he would preside over the sect for five hundred years, with all matters continuing as before.
• The gathering dispersed as Mirror Heaven returned to normal, while Qi Yun remained calm but deeply vigilant.

Qi Yun learned from the newly awakened Cai Shen that finding a lead on a Fruition Status required locating Cai Shen’s true body, so he set out for the south. Black Mountain True Person arrived with allies to confront Qi Yun, only to find his temple stripped bare and Qi Yun’s friends safely absent.

• While tempering his Primordial True Body, Qi Yun considered how to win over Wudao True Lord and avoid Black Mountain’s retaliation.
• Cai Shen awoke and explained that he could produce Fruition Statuses only for someone with True Lord cultivation and a high-ranking Great Tang post, but he could help Qi Yun find a lead if Qi Yun went south to find his true body.
• Black Mountain True Person led a group of aggrieved Holy Sect True Persons to Qi Yun’s Green Mountain Daoist Temple to settle old scores.
• The group found the temple deserted and emptied of its portable valuables, with a note from Qi Yun saying he was away on a long journey.
• Black Mountain’s group learned that Qi Yun’s allies had also left or shut themselves away, leaving them unable to act without risking Wudao True Lord’s displeasure.

Qi Yun arrived at Bluestone Town and learned that overseas Buddhist cultivators had transformed Southern Yin through forced conversion and were preparing a vast ritual tied to ley lines, ancient ruins, and sacrifices. To infiltrate their guarded territory, he manifested the Great Light Manifestation and declared that he would pose as a Buddhist cultivator.

• Qi Yun flew to the mountains near Bluestone Town on True Person Ling’s transformed true form and met with Situ Huaji and Wu Changsheng.
• Situ Huaji and Wu Changsheng reported that Buddhist influence had overwhelmed Southern Yin, that a golden light domain hindered infiltrators, and that the cultivators were gathering resources for a mysterious formation or ritual.
• Qi Yun assessed the dangers of Southern Yin while Cai Shen warned that reaching his original body would be nearly impossible under the Buddhist cultivators’ surveillance.
• Qi Yun said he could approach the Buddhist stronghold if he became a Buddhist cultivator too.
• Qi Yun manifested a Great Light Manifestation that made him appear like a high-ranking Buddhist cultivator, astonishing Cai Shen.

Qi Yun discovered that his Primordial True Body could use the Immortal Light in his Ancestral Aperture to transform his cultivation and appearance into another Dao, allowing him to pass as a Buddhist master. He entered Southern Yin alone to seek an old object and a clue, and found the territory unnaturally quiet and orderly under what seemed to be a region-wide Buddhist influence.

• Qi Yun explained to Cai Shen and Cai Kun that his Primordial True Body could switch between Daoist and Buddhist cultivation by using an orthodox inheritance as a guide.
• Qi Yun used the Great Radiance Glazed Treasure Scripture from Arhat Mingxin to transform his Dao resonance, Law Power, and appearance into those of a Buddhist master.
• Qi Yun decided to enter Southern Yin alone, while True Person Ling, Situ Huaji, and Wu Changsheng stayed near the border to gather intelligence and provide support.
• Qi Yun disguised himself as a wandering monk and crossed into Southern Yin, where residents greeted him with obedient reverence.
• Qi Yun observed that Southern Yin’s towns and people were unnaturally orderly and subdued, and suspected a powerful formation or ritual was influencing the whole region.

Qi Yun traveled through Southern Yin and saw how overseas Buddhist cultivators had reshaped its land, customs, and people. In Yingtian City, he discovered a tense standoff between Buddhist forces and local righteous sects, and recalled True Person Xuanping, who had gone into hiding among the righteous path.

• Qi Yun spent more than two months traveling south and observed Buddhist influence transforming Southern Yin’s landscape, culture, and people.
• Qi Yun reached Yingtian City and noticed many resentful righteous path cultivators gathering alongside Buddhist monks.
• Qi Yun entered the city using an ordination certificate modeled on those of the Great Radiance Sect and found the streets prosperous but tense.
• Qi Yun overheard locals say righteous cultivators were being prevented from leaving and that sect leaders had not returned from meetings in the imperial city.
• Qi Yun concluded that Buddhist expansion threatened the local sects’ interests and traditions, then remembered True Person Xuanping, who was hiding among the righteous path.

Qi Yun learned that the True Lords might have tolerated Southern Yin’s Buddhist transformation because overseas Buddhist cultivators could communicate with an existence above True Lord. After considering the danger of a large-scale ritual, he traveled to the Central Buddha Kingdom and arrived at the entrance to the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm.

• True Person Xuanping told Qi Yun that rumors from the Hao Ran Holy Land and the Heavenly Secrets Sect linked the True Lords’ consent to the overseas Buddhist cultivators’ ability to contact an existence above True Lord.
• Qi Yun asked Senior Cai whether a realm above True Lord existed, and Cai Kun confirmed it had appeared in the Great Tang era and warned that a path to it could drive the True Lords to sacrifice entire sects and populations.
• Cai Shen suggested that the Buddhist cultivators’ rites, vows, and Southern Yin’s human Dao fortune might combine into a ritual for communicating with the supreme, leading Qi Yun to suspect that the temples and earth-vein arrangements were preparations.
• Qi Yun left his inn before dawn and traveled south for seven days along roads and through settlements increasingly shaped by Buddhist worship.
• Qi Yun reached the former capital, now the Central Buddha Kingdom, and arrived at the jade archway marked Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm.

Qi Yun entered the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm as Fahai, and his Great Radiance Sect power violently repelled the realm’s spiritual blessing. Arhat Huijue accepted him as the reincarnation of the Great Radiance Sect’s former master and invited him to the World-Honored One’s Chan Assembly.

• Qi Yun’s Great Light Manifestation erupted at the Sacred Realm’s entrance and burned away the spiritual influence attempting to enter his brow.
• Mountain-Bearing Arhat and Arhat Huijue confronted Qi Yun, who introduced himself as Fahai, a disciple of Mingxin from the Great Radiance Sect.
• Arhat Huijue recognized the Great Radiance Sect’s ancient lineage and warmly invited Qi Yun to attend the upcoming Chan Assembly.
• Arhat Huijue told Mountain-Bearing Arhat that the Sacred Realm’s origin and Martial Uncle Liaozheng’s Past-Life Knowledge confirmed Qi Yun was likely the reincarnation of Sect Master Mingxin.

Qi Yun settled into the Cloud-Resting Chan Monastery after learning that Cai Kun’s main body was sealed near the summit of Spirit Mountain by the power of one or more True Lords. With the World-Honored One’s Chan Assembly three months away, Qi Yun planned to use his assumed identity as Fahai to gather information and approach the sealed Imperial Weapon.

• Arhat Huijue and Mountain-Bearing Arhat escorted Qi Yun through the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm and showed him its sacred sites.
• Huijue gave Qi Yun a token and explained that the World-Honored One’s Chan Assembly would begin in three months at Little Thunderclap Temple.
• Qi Yun chose a secluded room at the Cloud-Resting Chan Monastery and searched it for surveillance before speaking with Cai Kun.
• Cai Kun said his main body was sealed near the summit by a powerful barrier arranged by a True Lord, possibly with multiple True Lords involved.
• Qi Yun decided to maintain his Fahai identity, study scriptures, and use the Chan Assembly to gather information and get closer to the seal.
• Qi Yun went to the monastery’s side hall to study, while Cai Shen secretly extended his perception throughout the sacred realm.

Qi Yun attended the Arhat Dharma Assembly after failing to sense the location of his true body in Spirit Mountain. He discovered that five hundred Arhats had gathered on the Dharma Demonstration Platform, where an elderly monk appeared to open the assembly.

• Qi Yun spent more than a month exploring accessible areas of Spirit Mountain and secretly asked Cai Kun to locate his true body, but Cai Kun could only confirm that it was somewhere within the sacred realm.
• Arhat Huijue invited Qi Yun to the Arhat Dharma Assembly, and Qi Yun agreed to observe the gathering.
• Huijue led Qi Yun to the Dharma Demonstration Platform, where Qi Yun counted five hundred Foundation Establishment Arhats and studied their appearances and likely Dharma lineages.
• An elderly monk in a golden kasaya appeared on a rising white jade lotus dais, and the five hundred Arhats fell silent as the Dharma assembly was about to begin.

At a Dharma gathering of five hundred Arhats, Qi Yun listened as the monks openly exchanged Buddhist teachings and gained new insights into cultivation. The gathering adjourned for a break, leaving Qi Yun impressed by the Buddhist cultivators’ strength and wary of their highly organized system.

• An emaciated old monk lectured on the Immovable Wisdom King and the cultivation of immovable wisdom, deepening Qi Yun’s understanding of Buddhist teachings.
• Arhats shared and debated their Dharma lineages, displaying diverse Buddhist principles and wondrous manifestations.
• Qi Yun realized the Buddhist cultivators’ open exchange of knowledge had helped them build a powerful and cohesive cultivation system.
• The old monk adjourned the gathering and announced that the Arhats could resume discussions or test their abilities in the Dharma Testing Ground.
• Arhat Huijue asked Qi Yun what he had gained, and Qi Yun praised the gathering while recognizing the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm’s strength and depth.

Qi Yun absorbed the Buddhist wisdom of five hundred Arhats during a three-day Dharma assembly and discovered the true power of his [Primordial True Body]. He formed a [Great Radiance Mahasthamaprapta Dharma Body] and left the assembly newly aware that he could create many Dao Lineage Dharma Bodies without compromising his original self.

• Five hundred Arhats expounded Buddhist teachings for three days and nights, deepening Qi Yun's Buddhist Dao Intention and nearly drawing his mind toward the identity of Fahai.
• Cai Kun sensed Qi Yun's Buddhist presence becoming dangerously real and prepared to wake him, but Qi Yun assured him that he remained clear-minded.
• Qi Yun used the fundamental Law Seal of [Great Luo Heaven] to separate a compassionate Buddhist manifestation from his Divine Soul, creating the [Great Radiance Mahasthamaprapta Dharma Body].
• Qi Yun realized that the [Primordial True Body] could form independent Dao Lineage Dharma Bodies once he understood a lineage deeply enough, while his original self remained the source commanding them.
• Qi Yun recognized Spirit Mountain as a valuable place for refining Dao Intention spiritual objects and looked toward the Arhats with a rare smile.

After recognizing the danger of the overseas Buddhists’ plans and the True Lords behind them, Qi Yun rejected Cai Kun’s advice to withdraw and proposed infiltrating their ranks. He planned to use his convincing Buddhist Dharma Body and identity to gain a higher position in the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, declaring his strategy: “Seek gold.”

• Qi Yun reflected on the gains from the Arhat Dharma Assembly and the dangers surrounding the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm.
• Cai Kun warned Qi Yun that the overseas Buddhist cultivators’ campaign in Southern Yin was part of a perilous scheme involving True Lords and urged him to retreat.
• Qi Yun agreed that their original plan to seize Cai Kun’s sealed original body was no longer viable.
• Qi Yun proposed joining the overseas Buddhists instead, using his Great Radiance Mahasthamaprapta Dharma Body and accepted identity to advance within their ranks.
• Qi Yun revealed his new plan in two words: “Seek gold.”

Qi Yun planned to use the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm’s Buddhist resonance to help his Great Radiance Mahasthamaprapta Dharma Body seek the Golden Core without first acquiring a Fruition Status or Immortal Aspect. After Cai Kun agreed to support the risky experiment, Qi Yun quietly surveyed the sacred realm and mapped resources for the coming pill refinement.

• Qi Yun explained to Cai Kun that he intended to use the sacred realm’s Buddhist resonance to help his Dharma Body seek the Golden Core.
• Cai Kun questioned whether the Dharma Body could succeed without a Buddhist Fruition Status or Bodhi Immortal Aspect, and Qi Yun said he wanted to test a new path.
• Cai Kun accepted Qi Yun’s plan and agreed to accompany him in pursuing the unprecedented method.
• Qi Yun traveled through the permitted areas of the sacred realm, speaking modestly with Arhats while secretly using his Law Technique Panel to sense and record resources.
• Qi Yun mapped spiritual resources, including Zen wood spirituality beneath a bodhi tree and a spring linked to the Water of Eight Merits vein, as preparation for the coming pill refinement.

Qi Yun refined a Stone Buddha Heart in a secluded grotto, where Jinchi caught him and tried to extort his secret art. Qi Yun shattered Jinchi’s Dao Foundation and sealed him inside Great Luo Heaven, intending to use his Buddhist cultivation to advance his Dharma Body.

• Qi Yun refined the Stone Buddha Heart and increased the progress of his Great Radiance Mahasthamaprapta Dharma Body.
• Jinchi entered the grotto, questioned Qi Yun about the vanished spiritual object, and demanded to learn his refining art in exchange for overlooking the rule violation.
• Qi Yun refused, explaining that the method came from his Root Bone and could not be taught.
• Jinchi revealed his Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation and attacked Qi Yun with a golden cage of Sanskrit shackles.
• Qi Yun used Wield Myriad Laws to tear apart Jinchi’s Dao Foundation, then opened Great Luo Heaven and suppressed him inside it.
• Qi Yun left the grotto, planning to use Jinchi’s Buddhist essence to advance his Dharma Body.

Qi Yun stripped Arhat Jinchi of his Buddhist cultivation and condensed it into nineteen Arhat Sariras, which Fahai used to complete the Great Radiance Mahasthamaprapta Dharma Body. Fahai’s transformation created a nascent Pure Land in [Great Luo Heaven], and Qi Yun left him to consolidate it.

• Qi Yun used [Wield Myriad Laws] and [Seize Profound Meaning] to strip Arhat Jinchi of his Buddhist origin, attainments, and divine ability insights.
• Qi Yun condensed Jinchi’s extracted cultivation into nineteen Arhat Sariras, and Jinchi’s remaining consciousness was annihilated in the chaos Qi.
• Fahai appeared and accepted the sariras, claiming he would use them to seek gold and attain the Fruition Status of a Bodhisattva.
• The [Law Technique Panel] updated the Great Radiance Mahasthamaprapta Dharma Body to version 2.0, completing Fahai’s Dharma Body and bringing forth a nascent Pure Land.
• Qi Yun told Fahai to consolidate the Pure Land, then withdrew his will and opened his eyes in the monastery guest room.

Qi Yun ambushed and killed Arhat Guangli and Arhat Jueyi in his Domain Heaven, taking their thirty-three sariras. Back at Cloud-Resting Chan Monastery, he concealed his role as Arhat Huijue questioned him and secretly took a trace of his Qi signature, while Qi Yun remained confident that his refined techniques could not be traced.

• Arhat Guangli and Arhat Jueyi gathered Vow Power Essence from the Sentient Beings' Vow Lamp and praised its abundant yield in the Central Plains.
• Qi Yun trapped the two Arhats in his chaotic Domain Heaven, stripped away their powers, killed them, and collected their thirty-three sariras.
• Arhat Huijue visited Qi Yun in the scripture hall, questioned him about his cultivation, and advised him to remain at the monastery during preparations for the Chan Assembly.
• As he left, Arhat Huijue secretly captured a trace of Qi Yun's Qi signature, which Cai Kun noticed.
• Qi Yun continued copying scripture and concluded that the Law Technique Panel's refinements would leave him beyond even a True Lord's ability to investigate.