Chapter Summaries

Chu Tianshu fought Yu Huangfen and Yuan Buyu while Lin Chucheng turned four powerful spirits against Yu Huangfen. After Chu Tianshu overwhelmed Yuan Buyu, Yu Huangfen struck him from behind with a saber as he faced Yuan Buyu’s blade storm.

• Yuan Buyu kept his distance during Chu Tianshu and Yu Huangfen’s fight, and Chu Tianshu sustained several saber wounds while tracking his threats.
• Lin Chucheng drove four powerful spirits, infused with his power, to attack Yu Huangfen, and Chu Tianshu joined them with the Sanqi Divine Sword.
• Chu Tianshu broke through Yuan Buyu’s sea-blue Gang Qi and battered him with a succession of strikes.
• Yuan Buyu’s scattered power erupted into a spinning ball of blue blades, forcing Chu Tianshu to deflect them at close range.
• Yu Huangfen used his Saber Intent to control Yuan Buyu’s power from afar, then slashed Chu Tianshu in the back with a swift saber strike.

Chu Tianshu used a forbidden technique to mutate his body and overcome Yu Huangfen’s duplicated saber attacks, then defeated him in close combat. As Yu Huangfen burned himself away, a gigantic sinister hand emerged and bore down on Chu Tianshu.

• Chu Tianshu drove blood needles into his body to activate the Dragon King Coming Ashore forbidden move, transforming into a crystalline, radiation-wielding form while retaining a clear mind.
• Yu Huangfen unleashed saber Qi that bounced off buildings and multiplied, but Chu Tianshu recognized the Returning Light technique’s weakness and deflected the attacks.
• Chu Tianshu used the saber Qi’s elasticity to charge at Yu Huangfen and overwhelm him with repeated Mountain Collapse Divine Palms.
• Chu Tianshu broke Yu Huangfen’s saber and shattered his body, but his final strike failed to destroy Yu Huangfen’s three-inch evil spirit shadow.
• Yu Huangfen burned himself away and summoned a vast bluish-black hand that grew to cover dozens of meters and descended on Chu Tianshu amid golden lightning.

Chu Tianshu broke the ritual sustaining the Ghost Mother Clan high priest’s attack, then returned to Nine Bends Stream and helped his allies defeat Earth Ruler. As the survivors celebrated their victory, Chu Tianshu discovered that his forbidden technique had cost him far more hair than he had realized.

• Chu Tianshu struck the hidden incense trace beneath the black hand, breaking the ritual connection and causing the attack to collapse.
• Chu Tianshu returned to Nine Bends Stream, where he and his allies had defeated Earth Ruler and the spirit-creature attendants.
• Chu Tianshu used the Sanqi Divine Sword to stab Earth Ruler, who charged forward before stiffening and falling.
• Chu Tianshu treated Feng Jianhua and White Horse, then learned that Yu Huangfen had summoned the great hand with a soul sacrifice, likely calling the Ghost Mother Clan’s high priest.
• Chu Tianshu celebrated that none of his allies had died, but Lin Chucheng and White Horse noticed his hair had turned white.
• Chu Tianshu caught a fallen lock of white hair and realized he might have lost more hair—and lifespan—than he knew.

After the battle at Nine Bends Stream, Lin Chucheng examined Chu Tianshu’s injuries and warned that his forbidden technique had shortened his lifespan. The survivors considered the dangers of their strange abilities and resolved to find the Heaven and Earth Palaces’ texts to learn how their altar created a beacon and how to avoid it.

• Lin Chucheng examined Chu Tianshu’s condensed crystals and warned that drawing them back into his body might ease his injuries, while the forbidden technique had reduced his lifespan.
• Lin Chucheng explained that he had divided his bestial essence Qi among four spirits to resist the growing tiger aspect of his cultivation.
• Lin Chucheng reflected that the battle had tempered the group and warned that humanity would face many strange divine abilities in the coming era.
• Chu Tianshu examined the token’s records of the Soul-Transferring Ancient Corpse and the two Fangfeng Evil Spirits, considering how their characteristics could be used.
• Wei Qidong urged the group to find the Heaven and Earth Palaces’ texts and learn how their altar produced a beacon so they could avoid its effect.

Chu Tianshu and the others searched the Heaven and Earth Palaces’ archives and found ancient records linking Great Yu, the Youdu Edict, and the realms beyond the Spirit Realm. The chapter ended with Chu Tianshu suggesting the records might reveal how to use the Dragon Stele.

• Helai explained that his Second Split Soul let him divide his attention among many captives, and Bai He awakened the restrained deacons so they could be forced to reveal the palaces’ book collections.
• Chu Tianshu, Feng Jianhua, and the others examined the books, and a passage about Great Yu led Chu Tianshu to recognize eight characters matching those on the Youdu Edict.
• Chu Tianshu pieced together ancient accounts describing Youdu as a realm of pure Dao and Cross-Realm Ascension as crossing into Youdu before flying out to other worlds.
• Chu Tianshu wondered what disaster had prompted ancient experts to devise a plan to survey all worlds, while Feng Jianhua urged him to remember the unresolved ideas without becoming overwhelmed by them.
• Chu Tianshu suggested the records about Great Yu might help them in the present, and Feng Jianhua asked whether they could explain how to use the Dragon Stele.

Bai He and the others learned that the Great Yu Dragon Stele could protect people’s core Fortune, allowing them to blunt the Wangliang Divine Lord’s exchange ritual in batches. After the first exchange was partially blocked, the Wangliang Divine Lord traced the interference to the people searching the records and recognized the Youdu Edict.

• Bai He and the others found a record describing a rite through which a virtuous person could learn how to use the Great Yu Dragon Stele.
• Bai He reported that the Stele could preserve people’s core Fortune, making it possible to exchange citizens between the worlds in batches and let each batch return after forty-nine days.
• Master White Horse urged the group to use the Heaven and Earth Palaces’ authority to keep the exchanged people and Fangfeng clanspeople at peace while they planned their response.
• Chu Tianshu fell asleep and dreamed of the Wangliang Divine Lord’s presence before waking himself and cutting the dream short.
• The Wangliang Divine Lord launched the century-long exchange rite, but it stalled after exchanging only part of the Fortune of people in the two worlds.
• The Wangliang Divine Lord examined the connections surrounding the obstruction and recognized the Youdu Edict among the people searching the records.

After returning to reality, Chu Tianshu became the focus of Wangliang Divine Lord’s efforts to identify a surviving Youdu Edict tied to his authority. Wangliang traveled to Yu Mountain and asked its high priestess to help him retrieve an old possession.

• Chu Tianshu woke in the great hall, drank the medicinal soup Feng Jianhua had prepared, and returned to reality.
• Wangliang Divine Lord reviewed Chu Tianshu’s actions and concluded that he carried a Youdu Edict, then reasoned that the Edict connected to Wangliang’s own authority might still exist.
• Wangliang Divine Lord decided to retrieve his Edict and use its mysteries to gain new means.
• At Yu Mountain, a boatman outwitted a donkey ghost that had used a bait boy, killed it, and drank the green juice from its head.
• Wangliang Divine Lord met the Ghost Mother Clan’s high priestess and proposed that she serve as his high priestess and help retrieve an old possession.

On the day the first exchange students arrived from the Spirit Realm, Chu Tianshu helped Feng Baili settle into reality and prepared him to address the public. While refining a new combat technique, Chu Tianshu was unexpectedly pulled across the worlds before his scheduled crossing.

• Chu Tianshu watched the city prepare for the exchange and saw a Spirit Realm resident appear in the reflection of a young man's window, where a drone began guiding him through registration.
• Chu Tianshu and his companions located Feng Baili, and Chu Tianshu took him to a school and encouraged him to share his expertise with the public.
• Chu Tianshu brought Feng Baili to a livestream studio, then waited nearby while Feng reviewed the script and the guests prepared.
• Chu Tianshu completed the Nine Springs Mountain Collapse Combat Calculation and practiced sensing and controlling the force of raindrops, leaving the nearby windows spotless.
• Chu Tianshu's Youdu Token suddenly flared, and he vanished from the sofa, leaving the two-headed snake behind.

Chu Tianshu arrived in a room where Yu Danxia was being drugged and prepared for the Zhao family’s young master, then freed her and learned about the world’s unrest and the Meteor Gods and Devils’ search for a successor. The chapter left Chu Tianshu surprised by rumors that the ancient martial artist had lived for three or five sixty-year cycles.

• Chu Tianshu appeared in the Zhao household’s room and stopped two maids from preparing the drugged Yu Danxia for Young Master Zhao.
• Chu Tianshu used his power to restore Yu Danxia’s cultivation and clear the drug, and she thanked him after breaking the bead in her mouth.
• Yu Danxia explained that she had confronted the Zhao family over the ruin of her relatives, who had been crushed by the family’s wine-tax collection.
• Yu Danxia described the Yuan Dynasty’s tax farming and the widespread unrest, then told Chu Tianshu that the Meteor Gods and Devils had come to Suzhou and Hangzhou to choose a successor.
• Chu Tianshu questioned Yu Danxia’s report that the Meteor Gods and Devils had been famous for several sixty-year cycles, with rumors claiming he had lived for three or five.

At the Zhao residence, Qin An and Zhao Jintang discussed preparing Zhao Yuma to compete for Meteor Gods and Devils’ power, with Yang Chengwu’s help. Their plans were interrupted when Yang Chengwu noticed that a side courtyard had gone suddenly silent, and the two men went to investigate a possible Qingcheng Sect intrusion.

• Qin An and Zhao Jintang hosted Yang Chengwu and praised Zhao Yuma’s progress in the Yin-Yang Zen Art.
• Qin An proposed empowering Zhao Yuma with ninety percent of his own strength and having him claim the Ningdu Sect’s marrow jade so he could compete to inherit Meteor Gods and Devils’ power.
• Yang Chengwu warned that the Grand Preceptor had sent a young prince to compete, but Qin An argued that raising a powerful ally could protect them as the world descended into chaos.
• Yang Chengwu noticed that all sound had vanished from a side courtyard, and Qin An suspected that Qingcheng Sect members had come looking for their captive heroine.
• Yang Chengwu and Qin An rose to confront the suspected intruders.

Chu Tianshu confronted Qin An and the Zhao household after learning about Zhao Yuma’s crimes, crippling Zhao Yuma and killing Zhao Jintang when Qin An revealed he was Yuma’s father. He defeated Qin An with ease and left him kneeling while preparing to examine Qin An and Yang Chengwu for their unusual connection to primordial Qi.

• Chu Tianshu ended his conversation with Yu Danxia and went outside to face Qin An, Yang Chengwu, and the Zhao father and son.
• Chu Tianshu shattered Zhao Yuma’s legs with a force sent through the ground, and Qin An revealed that Yuma was his son.
• Qin An killed Zhao Jintang with an angry roar and charged at Chu Tianshu with his Thunder Lord Zen technique.
• Chu Tianshu stopped Qin An’s attack, spun him like a drill, and aimed him at Yang Chengwu until Yang Chengwu surrendered.
• Chu Tianshu forced Qin An to kneel and began examining him, then told Yang Chengwu to come forward so he could check his pulse.

Chu Tianshu defeated the Zhao household’s guards, uncovered Qin An’s plan to awaken Zhao Yuma’s inherited bloodline, and killed Qin An. After Yu Danxia challenged Yang Chengwu’s defense of the villains, Chu Tianshu ordered her to retrieve the Ningdu Sect’s Marrow Jade.

• Chu Tianshu knocked more than a hundred Zhao household guards unconscious and seized Yang Chengwu.
• Chu Tianshu examined Yang Chengwu and another captive, realizing their unusual affinity for primordial Qi came from ancient beast bloodlines.
• Chu Tianshu deduced that Qin An planned to awaken Zhao Yuma’s inherited bloodline with a power infusion before having him refine the Ningdu Sect’s Marrow Jade.
• Chu Tianshu killed Qin An and told Yu Danxia to dispose of him and Zhao Yuma, keeping the father and son together.
• Yang Chengwu defended Qin An’s devotion to his son, but Yu Danxia condemned him for the suffering the Zhao family had caused her and her family.
• Chu Tianshu dismissed Yang Chengwu’s appeal for pity and asked Yu Danxia to bring him the Ningdu Sect’s Marrow Jade.

Chu Tianshu took control of the Zhao household, ordered porridge and winter clothing distributed to refugees, and forced Yang Chengwu to send for the Marrow Jade. As crowds gathered in Suzhou and Hangzhou, a Beggars' Sect elder watched from an alley and reflected on the many powerful figures converging on the city.

• Chu Tianshu subdued the Zhao household’s defenders and ordered Yang Chengwu to have a trusted subordinate bring the Marrow Jade.
• Chu Tianshu assigned the Zhao household’s staff to open ten porridge sheds and distribute winter clothing to refugees.
• Yang Chengwu wrote the letter under Chu Tianshu’s watch, unable to conceal his fear or tamper with it.
• Refugees hurried to the Zhao residence for porridge, and one old man reassured them that it was not poisoned because poison cost money.
• A burly old beggar watched the crowds and recalled the martial artists, sects, and other notable figures gathering in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Chu Tianshu investigated a mysterious beggar’s presence at the Zhao residence, then tracked down Diba Deng and Sun Liang in a ruined house. He offered a plan for Sun Liang’s illness and asked Diba Deng where his powerful cultivation came from.

• An old beggar confirmed the Zhao residence’s porridge was unpoisoned, sensed Chu Tianshu nearby, and vanished from the alley.
• Chu Tianshu noticed a powerful observer outside and discussed the Beggars’ Sect’s hidden leader with Yu Danxia and Yang Chengwu.
• A young beggar named Diba Deng collected rice from the Zhao residence and returned to Sun Liang in an abandoned house.
• Diba Deng encouraged Sun Liang about his disfigured face, but an unseen voice warned that Sun Liang’s meridians would soon kill him.
• Chu Tianshu appeared in the room, said he had a plan for Sun Liang’s illness, and asked Diba Deng where his cultivation came from.

Diba Deng recounted the Beggars' Sect’s history and explained how he traded twenty years of cultivation for Marrow Jade from a mysterious person. Chu Tianshu recognized that person’s speech as natural Mandarin and suspected they possessed another Youdu Edict, then considered whether its trading power could help the aging Meteor Gods and Devils.

• Diba Deng explained how Wu Erlang mastered the I Ching Six Harmonies Heart Method, improved the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, and led the Beggars' Sect.
• Diba Deng revealed that his dying master had passed on his power and that he later traded twenty years of cultivation for Marrow Jade from a mysterious person.
• Diba Deng said he met the mysterious person in Miao Territory and remembered their speech resembling Central Plains Phonology.
• Chu Tianshu spoke in Mandarin, and Diba Deng confirmed that it sounded like the mysterious person’s natural pronunciation.
• Chu Tianshu suspected the mysterious person was a transmigrator with another Youdu Edict and wondered whether its trading function could benefit the aging Meteor Gods and Devils.

Chu Tianshu continued using the Zhao family’s wealth to aid refugees while shaping his reputation in the jianghu, then arranged for Yang Chengwu to transfer his power to Yu Danxia. Yu Danxia absorbed the power and Marrow Jade, while Prince Gusi entered the city and judged that Chu Tianshu could be useful to him.

• The Zhao family’s grain stores sustained a week of porridge distribution, and displaced people found work in its businesses as rumors spread about Chu Tianshu’s supposed mission to accumulate virtue.
• Diba Deng denounced the jianghu heroes who mocked Chu Tianshu, while Chu Tianshu welcomed the reputation he had deliberately cultivated.
• Yang Chengwu agreed to transfer his power to Yu Danxia after Chu Tianshu promised to spare his infant daughter and return her to her birth mother.
• Chu Tianshu gave Yu Danxia Marrow Jade, and Yang Chengwu transferred his remaining power to her before dying.
• Yu Danxia absorbed the power and Marrow Jade, releasing sword Qi through the roof and into the sky.
• Prince Gusi entered the city, noticed the sword Qi, and concluded that Chu Tianshu had ability but could be manipulated into serving him.

Chu Tianshu treated Sun Liang, learned why he and Diba Deng had helped refugees, and began sparring with Diba Deng to study the Dragon-Subduing Divine Palms. Their training ended when Prince Merit and Virtue Sage invited Chu Tianshu to a banquet for the Gods and Devils gathering, which he had scheduled for that night despite the event being nine days away.

• Chu Tianshu continued Sun Liang’s treatment in a mud pool and asked him and Diba Deng about the attack on the city gate and their help for the refugees.
• Sun Liang explained that fire poison had driven him to act and described his father’s death after finding the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng Emperor; Chu Tianshu returned the ginseng and said he would have a use for Sun Liang’s experience with scholars.
• Chu Tianshu asked Diba Deng to spar so he could study the Dragon-Subduing Divine Palms, and he advised Diba Deng to build on his natural strengths.
• Chu Tianshu and Diba Deng exchanged palm techniques until a gate attendant delivered an invitation from Prince Merit and Virtue Sage to attend a banquet that night.
• Chu Tianshu noted that the prince had scheduled the Gods and Devils gathering nine days before the fifteenth day of the tenth month.

Chu Tianshu attended a banquet at the darughachi’s residence, where Prince Merit and Virtue Sage executed corrupt officials and tried to recruit him into the court’s plans. As Chu Tianshu questioned the purpose of the gathering, Meteor Gods and Devils arrived and claimed Yan Tiemu'er could extend his life.

• Chu Tianshu met Sikong Baili on the way to the darughachi’s residence, and they entered the garden together.
• The abbot of Wolf Mountain told Chu Tianshu that Prince Merit and Virtue Sage had discovered widespread corruption in the local troops.
• The darughachi attacked the prince, but the Human-Faced Dogs killed him and the Han officers who had joined his revolt.
• Prince Merit and Virtue Sage asked Chu Tianshu to serve the court and revealed that the gathering of martial artists was part of a larger plan involving Meteor Gods and Devils.
• Chu Tianshu questioned whether the banquet had been arranged for him alone, and Meteor Gods and Devils appeared, warning him not to oppose the court and claiming Yan Tiemu'er could prolong his life.

Chu Tianshu rejected Prince Merit and Virtue Sage’s offer and unleashed a technique that destroyed the darughachi’s garden, allowing him to escape the gathered martial experts. As Meteor Gods and Devils pursued him, Merit and Virtue Sage realized the destruction had been a feint, and Chu Tianshu appeared behind him with killing intent.

• Prince Merit and Virtue Sage offered Chu Tianshu a life-extending pill that would place him under his master’s command, but Chu refused.
• The gathered experts surrounded Chu Tianshu with a fog-like formation, and Merit and Virtue Sage claimed Chu’s lack of allies was his greatest weakness.
• Chu Tianshu resonated with the moisture in the air and shattered the brocade box, unleashing a shock wave that demolished the garden and nearby buildings.
• Chu Tianshu tossed a leaf to distract Meteor Gods and Devils, then escaped while the experts watched in shock.
• Meteor Gods and Devils realized Chu’s attack had been a technique rather than a full display of internal force and pursued him.
• Merit and Virtue Sage recognized the escape as a feint, but Chu Tianshu appeared behind him, ready to kill.

Chu Tianshu fought Prince Merit and Virtue Sage, whose Heavenly Book of the Blood Dao let him endure the first blow and unleash blood-powered flying claws. Chu Tianshu turned that attack against him and destroyed him, while Meteor Gods and Devils spotted a sword flying on its own nearby.

• Prince Merit and Virtue Sage survived Chu Tianshu's surprise palm strike because the Heavenly Book of the Blood Dao had strengthened his meridians and blood vessels.
• Chu Tianshu used shifting forces to send Merit and Virtue Sage spinning back toward the pavilion and kicked away the dog children who attacked him.
• Merit and Virtue Sage stopped his spin and unleashed blood-powered flying claws and chains at Chu Tianshu.
• Chu Tianshu seized the moisture in the flying claws and sent the force back through them, making Merit and Virtue Sage explode into a skeleton.
• Meteor Gods and Devils saw a sword flying by itself among the trees and heard Merit and Virtue Sage's scream.