Chapter Summaries

Chi Jie renounced his place in Penglai and returned to Mount Ziyi, while Xicheng and his allies trapped and destroyed the black vapor in the Great Void. The chapter ended with the enemy’s smoke dispersing and the white lotus vanishing.

• Ji Jie returned his token to Penglai, took the name Chi Jie, and went to Mount Ziyi to enter secluded cultivation.
• Chi Jie instructed the elder to offer Penglai immortal brew to any Qixia Temple disciple who came and requested Primordial Fire Brew.
• The elder and the woman in red discussed Qixia Daozi’s unusual origins, Siming Qizhen, and the danger of Chengzu’s impending attainment of the Dao.
• After three days, the youth in blue invoked the Purple Thunder Hammer and Yugu Drum to drive the black vapor through the Great Void.
• Mianning fled with the carriage as Xicheng and the youth in blue cornered the black vapor with the white lotus, jade ruyi, cyan sword, and purple lightning.
• Xicheng’s rosy light and the allies’ weapons destroyed the black vapor, and it vanished with the white lotus into the Great Void.

Mianning and Jiangzhen discussed the strange Law Power Qixia’s Qixia brat had displayed before Jiangzhen gave Mianning the promised calligraphy. At Mount Zhongnan, Xicheng confronted the blood demon, wounded him with a peachwood sword, and seized his blood blade before retreating behind Qixia Temple’s gate, while the demon turned his thoughts toward Su Yao.

• Mianning arrived on a white lotus and exchanged words with Jiangzhen about the Investiture of the Gods and the Qixia brat’s unusual Law Power.
• Jiangzhen gave Mianning a wooden box containing promised calligraphy, then departed as Mianning flew toward Su Yao.
• At Mount Zhongnan, Xicheng came out through Qixia Temple’s gate and taunted the blood demon, who was trapped beneath the mountain.
• Xicheng revealed his regret over the harm his past mistake had caused Qixia Temple and explained that he had left a strand of golden nature on the mountain as a safeguard.
• Xicheng stabbed the demon’s left eye with his peachwood sword, deflected the demon’s blood blade with an apricot-yellow light, and captured it in a sword case.
• Xicheng returned behind the closed mountain gate, and the blood demon retreated to the ruined temple, hoping Su Yao would soon attain the Golden Core.

Qingyang sent Zhang Ziting and Zhu Xuejie to Nanzhao, then sensed Su Yao outside Yongzhou City and prepared to act. There, Su Yao questioned Mianning about Proclaiming Earth's journey south and explained why he revered Qing Taizu's political order and legacy.

• Qingyang endured the pain of carrying Ask Amid the Clouds to the Hall of Ancestors and identified Zhu Xuejie as someone from the Zhu Household.
• Qingyang ordered the serpent to take Zhang Ziting and Zhu Xuejie to Nanzhao, then reflected on Su Yao's priorities and the difficult sword.
• Qingyang sensed a familiar presence outside Yongzhou City, grew furious, and gathered power through Ask Amid the Clouds and the formation.
• Su Yao asked Mianning why he had brought him outside Yongzhou City, and Mianning asked what he thought of Taizu.
• Su Yao recounted Taizu's unification, reforms, and support for diverse teachings, concluding that Taizu had rebuilt the Human Dao Attainment Position for the common good.

Mianning explained the history behind the Human Dao’s decline and the plan to help Chengzu complete his rule so he could depart, revealing that Su Yao had been chosen to face the opposition to Proclaiming Earth’s journey south. He sent Su Yao to Yongzhou to meet his birth parents, but Su Yao entered the city focused on pursuing a secret opportunity rather than on family ties.

• Mianning recounted how successive rulers and dynasties shaped the Human Dao, how the Qin Emperor disrupted it, and how Taizu later restored it before departing.
• Mianning explained that Chengzu sought to imitate the Qin Emperor, and that Jade Void Palace was backing Proclaiming Earth’s southern campaign while other factions agreed that Purple Mansion cultivators would not intervene.
• Su Yao asked why Mianning had brought him to Yongzhou, and Mianning addressed the rosy light from the southwest before telling Su Yao to find his birth parents and learn why he had been abandoned on the Great Qing River.
• Mianning revealed that Su Yao had been selected after the Golden Court Dao child proved too softhearted, and that the factions had even extended Su Yao’s parents’ lives to bring him into the matter.
• Mianning sent Su Yao to the gates of Yongzhou City, where Su Yao decided he felt no familial bond with his birth parents and continued into the city for a hidden opportunity.

Su Yao found the Su Residence and met the elderly woman who had given birth to his body, though she treated him with fear and hatred. After he offered to deliver her dead son, she brought him home, where her husband questioned him about his family before an interruption left Su Yao astonished.

• Su Yao found the Su Residence empty and followed the woman from the well back to the house.
• The woman recognized Su Yao, told him that her son had been harmed by an evil spirit, and asked him to deliver the dead.
• Su Yao agreed to stay without payment, and the woman showed him the room where her grandson lived.
• That night, the woman's husband returned and invited Su Yao to share a vegetarian meal.
• The old man asked whether Su Yao's parents were alive, and Su Yao said he had been abandoned at birth; a sound interrupted them and left him astonished.

Su Yao listened as an elderly woman sang about the supernatural birth of her son, the family’s fear of him, and how she abandoned him in the Great Qing River. He realized she was his mother and learned that Daozheng’s account of his parents’ choice had concealed the pain of his birth and abandonment.

• The old man explained that his wife had once been a renowned performer and watched as she took the stage to sing.
• The woman sang of her terrifying pregnancy and childbirth, while the old man recalled how the family feared the infant and kept her from holding him.
• Su Yao realized that the woman had secretly nursed him, then abandoned him in the Great Qing River after being frightened by his eyes.
• The woman finished her song by explaining why she had left him and how the memory had haunted her for decades.
• The old man named the play Tale of the Sage's Gestation, and Su Yao wept as he remembered Daozheng saying his parents had resorted to a last measure amid clan turmoil.

Su Yao learned how his birth parents had lost him and performed rites for the child they believed had died, while quietly helping his family before leaving without revealing who he was. He accepted that their kinship was shallow and felt his Dao body finally relax as Su Mingcheng noticed his resemblance to Su Shouzhuo.

• Su Shouzhuo told Su Yao that Gu Lanyin had seen rosy light before becoming pregnant, and that they later had another son, Su Jiye.
• Su Yao arranged to perform rites for the departed child, and three days later he recited scriptures while Gu Lanyin and Su Shouzhuo attended.
• Su Jiye returned with his son, Su Mingcheng, and froze when he saw Su Yao, who secretly gave them protective talismans and offered Gu Lanyin calming incense.
• Su Yao left without acknowledging his parents, deciding that seeing them once was already a blessing, while Su Mingcheng remarked that he resembled Su Shouzhuo's portrait.

After leaving his parents in Yongzhou, Su Yao was ambushed by a Confucian great master seeking revenge over his disciple, but Mianning intervened and drove the man away. Su Yao and Mianning returned toward Qixia Mountain, leaving the city and its fading lanterns behind.

• Mianning noticed a Confucian master waiting ahead of Su Yao and hurried to intervene.
• Su Yao reflected that he had fulfilled his duty to his parents and remained indebted to Daozheng for raising him.
• The great master trapped Su Yao and demanded that he enter the Heaven of Following Desire, but Su Yao taunted him and invoked Senior Brother Guangli.
• Mianning attacked the great master from behind, injured him, and forced him to flee toward Jiankang.
• Mianning warned Su Yao about the grudge with the Confucian School, then summoned a white lotus to take them away.
• Su Yao joked with Mianning about his dog-beating staff as they flew into the Great Void.

After Su Yao returned to Nanzhao with Mianning, the rosy light over Qixia Mountain faded, and Qingyang returned to the mountain with gifts for the Daozi. In the aftermath of the attack on the Daozi, powerful figures discussed the incident and considered aligning themselves with Qixia.

• Qingyang rejected the boy’s defense of the test and told him the three masters should address their own affairs before meddling with Qixia.
• The boy gave Qingyang a jade bottle and two jade boxes won by the Jade Void Palace’s young master in a wager for the Daozi.
• Liu and Li told the commandery governor that Zheng Jiazhao had tried to attack the Daozi in Yongzhou, and the governor flew off to report him.
• Que Nuo offered Noon Sparrow Mountain’s support to Qixia, while the Hepu Witch Tribe’s elder said his people would apologize when Qixia opened its mountain and visit Yunmeng to repay an old debt.

Gui Hong, Nuoli, and the giant serpent clashed with Nanzhao’s forces over Chu Yishan’s death near Golden Ao Mountain. A terrifying power drained the battlefield of color, immobilized everyone, and seized Gui Hong in an enormous hand.

• Meng Shixi accused Qixia Temple of killing Chu Yishan, but Gui Hong denied responsibility and mocked her lack of proof.
• Nuoli and the giant serpent rejected Meng Shixi’s accusations, and the serpent attacked her, prompting Xue Min to shield the Nanzhao group.
• Meng Shixi ordered everyone to attack, and the giant serpent, Nuoli, and Gui Hong fought back while sending Zhang Ziyan and Zhu Xuejie away.
• A color-draining power swept across the battlefield, freezing everyone except Gui Hong, who fled before returning in terror.
• An enormous hand broke through Gui Hong’s defenses and seized him, while the immobilized fighters watched helplessly.

Mianning subdued Gui Hong and drove off the Nanzhao cultivators, then showed Xue Min an image revealing that Chu had been killed after approaching Golden Ao Mountain. The other cultivators departed, while Mianning reprimanded Gui Hong, Nuoli, and the giant serpent before heading down to the mountain.

• Gui Hong broke free from Mianning's giant palm, and Mianning ordered Meng Shixi and Xue Min to leave.
• Xue Min challenged Mianning's right to harm Purple Mansion cultivators, so Mianning showed him an image of a greedy man turning into a clay statue and crumbling to ash.
• Gui Hong explained that the dead man had witnessed Proclaiming Earth, but Mianning silenced him when he spoke disrespectfully of the Orthodox God.
• Xue Min left with Meng Shixi and the other Purple Mansion experts, saying Nanzhao would send an apology gift for Chu's death.
• Mianning reprimanded Gui Hong, Nuoli, and the giant serpent; Gui Hong left for Qixia Mountain, and the serpent departed after asking Nuoli to pass along the Zhang and Zhu families.
• Nuoli cursed after being left alone, then descended toward Golden Ao Mountain when Mianning called him.

Mianning returned Su Yao and two new followers to Golden Ao Mountain, entrusted Su Yao with the mountain’s formation token, and helped restore a dormant Shengyu egg. Su Yao organized the newcomers and the mountain’s defenses, leaving Golden Ao Mountain visible again beside Cibi Lake.

• Mianning brought Su Yao, Zhang Ziyan, and Zhu Xuejie through the formation to Golden Ao Mountain, then gave Su Yao the formation token, couplets, inscriptions, and Autumn Steed.
• Mianning exchanged a Three-Turn Golden Core for two drops of Nuoli’s Essence Blood and used them with Plain Moon Autumn-Containing Marrow to restore the Shengyu egg’s vitality.
• Mianning told Su Yao the Shengyu egg would hatch within half a month, then left with Nuoli.
• Su Yao ordered Liu Yunhe to arrange cave abodes for Zhang Ziyan and Zhu Xuejie, and instructed Han Ziyi and Li Siyi to erect archways and mount the inscriptions and couplets.
• Su Yao examined the formation’s powers, then used the token to disperse the gray light concealing Golden Ao Mountain.

Su Yao invited nearby rulers, officials, and notable immortals to visit, then used the prism to refine the Shengyu egg into his third talisman. Five days later, the talisman was complete and greatly expanded his sea of Qi.

• Su Yao told Liu Yunhe to send invitations to Nanzhao's ruler, local officials, nearby Purple Mansion clans, and notable gods, including fallen clans, while excluding shaman tribes and the education commissioner.
• Su Yao used his formation token to let Han Ziyi, Li Siyi, Ziyan, and Xuejie enter and leave the Soul-Losing Radiant Fire Formation freely.
• Su Yao sent Little Red and Little Orange to guard his cave, then confirmed Mianning had left no means behind before beginning to refine the Shengyu egg.
• Su Yao used the prism and a method formula to draw the Shengyu's primordial Qi into himself and seal its essence as a talisman.
• After five days of refinement, Su Yao found the completed gray-and-yellow talisman on the prism's third face and named it Drinking from the Marsh and Bearing the Abyss.

Su Yao completed the talisman "Drinking from the Marsh and Bearing the Abyss," strengthening his reserves and joining his three talismans into a mutually supportive configuration. He then mastered the third Secret Method, "Unfurling Splendor," before the Prism’s third face lit up and released a golden-yellow beam into his cave abode.

• Su Yao sensed that "Drinking from the Marsh and Bearing the Abyss" increased both the capacity and depth of his Qi Sea, helping his Law Power endure in prolonged battles.
• Su Yao recognized that his three talismans formed a Three Powers configuration: "Consume the Sun and Dine on Rosy Clouds" refined spiritual essence, "Luminous Sword Heart" unleashed killing power, and "Drinking from the Marsh and Bearing the Abyss" stored reserves.
• Su Yao used the inspiration from completing the talisman to begin mastering the third Secret Method, "Unfurling Splendor," as golden rosy light formed in his Qi Sea.
• After half a month, Su Yao completed "Unfurling Splendor," and his Immortal Foundation began to resemble a crude rosy cloud feather robe rather than a cloak.
• As Su Yao was about to rise, the Prism trembled, its third face illuminated, and a golden-yellow beam streamed from the talisman into the cave abode.

Su Yao welcomed the newly hatched Shengyu, named Xiao Huang, and completed his seclusion before turning to preparations for Pear Garden’s opening. As the ceremony drew near, Liu Yunhe suggested obtaining attendants from the Flower-Shifting Palace’s Spirit Wood Children.

• A Shengyu hatched in Su Yao’s cave with a mutated Fu Water foundation, and Su Yao named it Xiao Huang.
• After Little Red and Little Orange welcomed Xiao Huang, Su Yao resumed cultivating but failed to reach the fourth level of Rising Profusion.
• Su Yao emerged from seclusion and approved Liu Yunhe’s ceremony schedule, asking him to advance the Nanzhao ruler’s daughter’s seat if she attended.
• Li Siyi proposed taking in attendants to manage Pear Garden’s chores, and Liu Yunhe recommended Spirit Wood Children from a Biyou branch residence.
• Su Yao asked which lineage controlled the residence, and Liu Yunhe answered that it belonged to the Flower-Shifting Palace.

Su Yao sent Zhang Ziyan and Zhu Xuejie to Flower-Shifting Palace to negotiate for spirit-wood child attendants and entrusted them with Pear Garden’s assets. The pair departed with Su Yao’s token and a jade box of spiritual items, beginning an assignment meant to test and train them.

• Liu Yunhe told Su Yao that Flower-Shifting Palace’s Nanzhao branch had a decent reputation and traded spirit-wood child attendants for valuable items.
• Su Yao summoned Zhang Ziyan and Zhu Xuejie and explained that they would travel to Flower-Shifting Palace’s branch residence.
• Su Yao gave Zhang Ziyan his Mysterious Gate token and entrusted him with the spiritual items and responsibility for Pear Garden’s assets and transactions.
• Zhang Ziyan admitted that his Storehouse Metal Immortal Foundation made him want to hoard treasures, but accepted the assignment after Su Yao pressed him.
• Su Yao instructed Zhu Xuejie to observe the negotiations and warned her that he would hold her accountable if the mission went wrong.
• Zhang Ziyan and Zhu Xuejie accepted Su Yao’s orders and departed for Flower-Shifting Palace.

Su Yao activated the Soul-Losing Radiant Fire Formation when the lake god of Cibi Lake stirred up the water, then sent Liu Yunhe to offer Azure Water Pills and a neighborly invitation. The lake god agreed not to provoke Qixia Temple but demanded that the Lu Household provide Witch Talismans cultivators to open a secret realm for him.

• Su Yao saw Cibi Lake’s winds and waves rise and activated the Soul-Losing Radiant Fire Formation to protect Golden Ao Mountain.
• Su Yao reasoned that the lake god was testing him and chose to respond with courtesy rather than descend to the water palace.
• Su Yao sent Liu Yunhe to the water palace with Azure Water Pills and a message that Cibi Lake and Pear Garden should remain on good terms.
• The lake god said he did not wish to provoke Qixia Temple and dismissed the dead water minister as foolish.
• The lake god demanded that the Lu Household provide Witch Talismans cultivators to open a secret realm, after which Qixia Temple could deal with them as it pleased.

Liu Yunhe reported that the lake god wanted the Lu Household to raise Witch Talisman cultivators, but Su Yao refused to break his cultivation ban or bargain first. Five days later, Zhang Ziyan and Zhu Xuejie returned with seventeen spirit embryos from the Flower-Shifting Palace, including one suspiciously gifted defective specimen.

• Liu Yunhe told Su Yao that the lake god had demanded more Lu Household Witch Talisman cultivators and had stayed silent after Liu Yunhe restated the twenty-year ban.
• Su Yao concluded that the lake god wanted him to bargain first and decided to wait, believing the lake god would not dare disrupt the mountain's opening.
• Five days later, Zhang Ziyan and Zhu Xuejie arrived at Golden Ao Mountain with seventeen jade boxes containing spirit embryos.
• Su Yao inspected the embryos and found that sixteen were healthy, while one was smaller and paler than the rest.
• Zhang Ziyan explained that the Flower-Shifting Palace's steward had insisted on giving them the defective embryo, prompting Liu Yunhe to suspect the gift had a hidden motive.

Su Yao discovered that the Flower-Shifting Palace’s seemingly defective spiritual embryo was actually a superior specimen, and received a letter from Lianyue announcing her gift and future visit. He assigned the spiritual embryos and reorganized the Pear Garden’s duties, leaving his subordinates to prepare for the mountain gate’s opening.

• Su Yao sensed that the smallest spiritual embryo held far richer spiritual essence than the other sixteen, and Zhu Xuejie gave him Lianyue’s letter explaining the gift.
• Su Yao entrusted all seventeen spiritual embryos to Li Siyi, who promised to nurture them until they were born before the mountain gate opened.
• Su Yao rewarded Zhang Ziyan with the Azure Edge sword and golden sand, and rewarded Zhu Xuejie with Radiant Brightness and cinnabar sand.
• Su Yao put Zhang Ziyan in charge of White Sand Mountain’s assets and the Pear Garden’s daily supplies, giving him fifty boxes of cinnabar sand for its treasury.
• Su Yao assigned Zhu Xuejie to work with Han Ziyi on mountain patrols, investigations, and visits to the mountain gods and earth gods.

On the day Pear Garden opened, Nanzhao princess Ziheng arrived at Golden Ao Mountain, where Su Yao watched her procession and reflected on the coming upheaval. He explained that many factions, including the Mysterious Gate, now had plans for Nanzhao and the surrounding lands.

• Guests admired the Nine Heavens Auspicious Cloud Banner as they gathered for Pear Garden's opening.
• Princess Ziheng arrived at Golden Ao Mountain with a grand procession, and Liu Yunhe escorted her and her party up the mountain.
• Su Yao recited a poem while watching the princess's royal banner pass below.
• Li Siyi told Su Yao that the princess had arrived, but Cibi Lake had sent no one.
• Su Yao warned Li Siyi that turmoil would spread through Nanzhao, Annan, Pagan, and the western witch kingdoms as rival powers sought influence and merit.