Chapter Summaries

Chen Xun named the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion Bei Gong Hong Shi, nicknamed it Little Crimson, and welcomed it into his family with Big Black Ox and Little Crane. A month later, Little Crimson revealed that the Heaven Severing Great Ravine came from a catastrophe from beyond the heavens and began recounting the spirit beasts’ ancient war with Great Li’s humans.

• Chen Xun introduced Big Black Ox and Little Crane to the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion and accepted it as family.
• Chen Xun named the lion Bei Gong Hong Shi and gave it the nickname Little Crimson.
• A month later, Chen Xun asked Little Crimson how the Heaven Severing Great Ravine had formed.
• Little Crimson said the ravine began when something fell from beyond the heavens and warned that discussing it could bring disaster.
• Little Crimson revealed that its clan had been wiped out and that spirit beasts bore a blood feud with Great Li’s human race.
• Little Crimson recounted how humans sent spirit beasts to scout the ravine, sparking a devastating war that the scattered beast clans ultimately lost.

The Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion revealed its clan’s persecution by Great Li and explained how it survived by cultivating concealment and divine consciousness. After testing Little Crimson with an Extinguishing Divine Stone, Chen Xun concluded that its ancient bloodline could suppress Extinguishing Divine Power and might connect the Northern Border spirit beasts to the clans that fled Great Li.

• The Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lion told Chen Xun and Big Black Ox that Great Li had hunted its clan nearly to extinction and that it had abandoned its clan to avoid revenge and conflict.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox realized that Little Crimson had never shown them its true appearance and learned that it mainly cultivated transformation and concealment, using its clan’s flame radiance to control divine consciousness.
• Chen Xun asked Little Crimson whether Great Li’s spirit beasts could suppress Extinguishing Divine Power, and Little Crimson said it knew of none that remained.
• Chen Xun exposed Little Crimson to strands of Extinguishing Divine Wind from an Extinguishing Divine Stone, and Little Crimson’s flame radiance suppressed the power and slightly changed its divine consciousness.
• Chen Xun concluded that the Flame Radiance Crimson Ancient Lions had discovered their ability to wield Extinguishing Divine Power and fled with other spirit beasts into the Northern Border, possibly through Teleportation Arrays.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox learned that Little Crimson’s divine sense could help it break through to the Transformation God Stage, then welcomed it into their traveling group as they headed for Great Li. Two years later, Little Crimson had grown close to them and received an artifact to conceal it from divine sense detection.

• Little Crimson explained that surpassing the limits of one’s divine sense could speed a breakthrough to the Transformation God Stage, though it made the heart demon tribulation more dangerous.
• Chen Xun asked how Little Crimson cultivated, and it said it survived by stealing spirit herbs and sometimes digesting spirit stones.
• Chen Xun outlined a plan for robbing cultivators with Big Black Ox handling formations, Little Crimson stealing, and Little Crane piloting their escape; Big Black Ox then shared their past adventures with Little Crimson.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox took Little Crimson toward Great Li, and Chen Xun reassured it that it would not go hungry; Little Crimson gave its name as Bei Gong Hong Shi and pledged not to regret joining them.
• Little Crimson warned Chen Xun that Nascent Soul spirit beasts would resist being used as mounts, then tried to persuade the group to turn back before Chen Xun and Big Black Ox beat it.
• Two years later, Chen Xun gave Little Crimson a Thousand Silk Spiritual Vine artifact that concealed it from divine sense detection, and it remained close to him and Big Black Ox without asking for their supplies.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson arrived in Deer Terrace City in Great Li and learned about the state’s Teleportation Arrays. After deciding to pursue their long-term goals, they entered the city’s array hall and approached a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

• An old man outside Deer Terrace City saw Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson enter the city.
• Chen Xun discussed their goals with Big Black Ox and Little Crimson, including learning about Teleportation Arrays, seeking Spirit Transformation methods and Buddhist teachings, and gathering news about the Bank of the Milky Way.
• A passerby mistook the trio for beggars and tossed them copper coins, prompting Chen Xun and Big Black Ox to laugh while Little Crimson examined the money.
• The trio gathered information about Deer Terrace City’s Teleportation Array and learned that the Spirit Pivot Commerce Association controlled the arrays and that travel between great states required Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson entered the array hall and approached a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who addressed Chen Xun as Senior.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson traveled through Buddhist provinces, visiting temples and debating their teachings. They found an unusual, dilapidated temple with no Buddha statues and six Golden Core Stage cultivators, and decided to investigate.

• Chen Xun paid six thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones to teleport with Big Black Ox and Little Crimson to Cangwu City, then paid to travel onward to Dinghui Province.
• The three spent a year visiting temples and donating incense money as they encountered many conflicting Buddhist doctrines.
• Chen Xun joked that all the Buddhas they had visited would bless them, and Big Black Ox came around to the idea.
• The three discovered Chan Sound Temple, where Chen Xun sensed six Golden Core Stage cultivators and no Buddha statues.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox decided to visit Chan Sound Temple despite Little Crimson's warning, and the man playing chess noticed them approaching.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox asked an abbot what merit truly meant, hoping to understand the belief that had guided them for over two thousand years. The Abbot explained that merit was cultivating oneself with heart and action as one, leaving Chen Xun and Big Black Ox to absorb a new understanding.

• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson met the Abbot at an ancient temple, where Chen Xun asked why there was no Buddha statue to receive offerings.
• The Abbot recognized Chen Xun’s obsession and questioned why a Dao cultivator sought Buddha and what he believed merit to be.
• Chen Xun described helping others and donating wealth as merit, but the Abbot distinguished those deeds as justice and hidden virtue instead.
• The Abbot said merit had not originated with Great Li Buddhism and warned that Chen Xun and Big Black Ox were fixated on appearances.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox apologized for their forceful responses and explained that merit mattered because they hoped their departed friends could be reincarnated without regrets.
• The Abbot defined merit as cultivating oneself with heart and action as one, and noted that many paths in the Great Li Cultivation World spoke of merit.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson stayed at Chan Sound Temple and learned why its abbot rejected conventional Buddhist worship. They settled in the forest outside while the temple’s disciples dealt with their scarcity of resources, which Jiang Zhao Cheng said his clan’s aid kept from forcing the temple to disband.

• The abbot explained the Five Great Ancient Immortal Sects and welcomed Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson to remain at Chan Sound Temple.
• Fan Wang told the visitors that the temple had become desolate because the abbot rejected worshipping Buddha in temples and criticized the major Buddhist sects for worshipping different Buddhas.
• Jiang Zhao Cheng greeted Chen Xun and tried to recruit him as a junior disciple, but Fan Wang reminded him that the three visitors were only guests.
• Ma Xiao reported that Fifth Junior Brother had eaten their spirit beasts, and Jiang Zhao Cheng punished both of them by withholding their food for the next month.
• Jiang Zhao Cheng reflected that his Jiang Clan’s monthly aid kept Chan Sound Temple operating, while Chen Xun and Big Black Ox meditated in the forest and Little Crimson watched the temple with its divine sense.

The Blue-Clothed Man recalled how his master had once been a peerless genius and resolved to investigate what had changed him. Meanwhile, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox reinterpreted merit as something that arose within themselves and decided their good deeds would still benefit people in their next lives.

• The Blue-Clothed Man dismissed reports that the Seventh Young Master was contesting the Star-Shifting Mysterious Stone Mine and told his visitors he would return to the Commerce Association after reaching the Nascent Soul realm.
• The Blue-Clothed Man remembered how Master had saved him and his mother, then found Master again four hundred years later changed and diminished, and resolved to learn what had happened.
• Little Crimson hid in its cave after seeing two Nascent Soul Cultivators visit the temple and waited for Chen Xun and Big Black Ox to finish meditating.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox concluded that merit came from cultivating their hearts and that they would still do good deeds even without external rewards.
• Chen Xun told Big Black Ox to have the little booklet record their explanation of merit, while admitting he might ask the abbot about Buddha another day.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox visited the Abbot of Chan Sound Temple to ask whether merit could enable reincarnation, and his counsel helped them resolve their doubts about faith and the Dao. Before they left for the sea, the Abbot asked them to deliver a message to Bai Li Zhong Hu if they crossed the Heavenly Pass beyond the sea.

• Little Crimson warned Chen Xun and Big Black Ox that a masked Nascent Soul cultivator was inside the temple, but they chose not to get involved and stayed to resolve their doubts.
• Chen Xun asked the Abbot whether merit could allow reincarnation, and the Abbot admitted he could not give a definite answer.
• The Abbot told Chen Xun and Big Black Ox that Buddhas, immortals, and gods were not external beings to rely on, urging them to place their hopes in their True Hearts and maintain reverence for all things.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox accepted the Abbot’s advice, felt their long-held obsession lift, and thanked him for imparting the Dao.
• Chen Xun told the Abbot that he, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson planned to go fishing at sea, and the Abbot asked them to tell Bai Li Zhong Hu that he had broken their appointment if they crossed the Heavenly Pass.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson obtained a Buddhist sending-off technique, then adapted it into a devastating three-style spell before leaving Great Li for West Sea State. They arrived in Peaceful Cloud City short on Spirit Stones, where a green-robed Golden Core woman watched them.

• Chen Xun offered the abbot Local Specialties in exchange for a Buddhist technique for sending someone on their ascension, and the abbot created its first half.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox seized the technique, restrained the abbot long enough to leave a Storage Bag, and fled Chan Sound Temple.
• One month later, Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson combined the technique with their own methods and used the Ascension Three Styles to erase a Crane Spirit Tree.
• Chen Xun led the group west, and two months later they left Great Li’s ten Buddhist states and reached West Sea State.
• The three arrived in Peaceful Cloud City with Chen Xun out of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, and a green-robed Golden Core woman watched them near the Teleportation Array.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson explored a coastal city, learned about sea beasts and their valuable Demon Cores, and sold spiritual herbs to fund their travels. After bonding with Little Crimson, Chen Xun announced they would set out for the West Sea the next day.

• Chen Xun declined an offer from the Wind Riding Merchant Association to join its sea-going hunters.
• Chen Xun and his companions watched the association auction an Earth Treasure Porpoise and learned about sea beasts and Demon Cores.
• Chen Xun tried to sell two Thousand Year Jade Stamen Night White Ganoderma, bargained with a Pill Refining Pavilion, and left when the offer remained too low.
• Over three days, Chen Xun sold enough belongings to gather travel funds and bought several incomplete maps.
• Chen Xun asked Little Crimson why it had never asked for spiritual herbs or the Extinguishing Divine Stone, and reassured it that they would not leave it behind.
• Chen Xun announced that they would set out for the West Sea the next day, and Little Crimson eagerly agreed.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson left Great Li and sailed into the West Sea aboard their Giant Flying Boat. After marveling at the ocean, they cast a net and caught a haul of ordinary seafood, beginning their life at sea.

• Chen Xun and his companions bought sea-beast and spiritual-herb guides and learned about dangers in the West Sea.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson traveled to Guiyi City and flew out to the West Sea.
• Chen Xun summoned the Giant Flying Boat, and Big Black Ox set its Five Elements Array Flags as they prepared to sail.
• Chen Xun ordered Big Black Ox and Little Crimson to cast their Thousand Silk Spiritual Vine net into the sea.
• The companions hauled in ordinary fish, shrimp, and crabs along with a Qi Condensation Stage turtle, which Big Black Ox released back into the sea.
• Chen Xun decided to cook the catch while their Giant Flying Boat hovered steadily above the waves.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson claimed an uncharted island and defeated a giant ape that attacked them. As they relaxed by the shore, five ghost-lamp boats approached and their black-robed passengers asked to borrow the Giant Ship, leaving Chen Xun to challenge them.

• Chen Xun declared the uncharted island their territory, and he, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson searched it for treasures and dangers.
• A white giant ape attacked the three, but Big Black Ox struck it down and Little Crimson grievously wounded it with his Nascent Soul strength.
• Chen Xun told Little Crimson to leave the ape on the beach, then privately suspected it had appeared through a Teleportation Array.
• The three relaxed through a violent sea storm until five ghost-lamp boats approached the shore with black-robed figures aboard.
• An old woman asked to borrow the Giant Ship, and Chen Xun asked whether they had come to cause trouble.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox confronted a powerful group of Great Li evil cultivators who attacked them with the Mystic Yin Extinguishing Fiend Spirit Array. The battle left Big Black Ox fighting three Nascent Soul cultivators while Chen Xun overwhelmed the attackers on shore.

• Chen Xun identified the newcomers as Great Li evil cultivators, and Big Black Ox prepared to defend their group with its Five Elements Divine Chains.
• The black-robed cultivators formed the Mystic Yin Extinguishing Fiend Spirit Array and launched a barrage of killing blades at Chen Xun, Little Crimson, and their Giant Ship.
• Big Black Ox used its Five Elements Array Flags and Divine Light to block the attack, then fought three Nascent Soul cultivators in the sky.
• Two black-robed Nascent Soul cultivators attacked Chen Xun with Extinguishing Divine Magical Artifacts, but his spiritual-power barrier stopped their strikes.
• The old woman ordered the Ghost Infant summoned, but Chen Xun's Nascent Soul phantom smashed its Netherflame hand and overwhelmed its ghostly aura.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson annihilated a group of Fallen Soul Hall cultivators and plundered their Storage Rings. As they sorted the spoils and planned to help Little Crimson cultivate, Fallen Soul Hall’s Purple-haired Man discovered that five Nascent Soul cultivators had died and vowed to investigate.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox subdued the black-robed cultivators, and the three companions used the Ascension Array to annihilate them.
• Little Crimson collected the Storage Rings, and Big Black Ox broke their restrictions while Chen Xun examined their contents.
• The companions found sea charts, evil cultivation manuals, medicinal herbs, and more than two hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, then began sorting the spoils.
• Chen Xun decided to help Little Crimson raise its cultivation, while Big Black Ox and Little Crimson celebrated their windfall.
• At Fallen Soul Hall, the Purple-haired Man learned that five Nascent Soul cultivators had died without leaving any trace and decided to investigate in secret.

Chen Xun and his companions set sail for the Forbidden Sea—Demon Nest, planning to gather abandoned treasures while avoiding danger. As they travel under Big Black Ox’s concealment array, Chen Xun gave Little Crimson precious spirit herbs and promised to help him reach Spirit Transformation.

• Chen Xun identified the Forbidden Sea—Demon Nest as their next destination, and the companions cleared their traces before leaving the island.
• Chen Xun explained that they would explore the ancient battlefield to collect corpses, Storage Rings, and abandoned ships rather than compete for inheritances.
• Big Black Ox concealed their Giant Ship with the Five Elements Array, allowing it to speed across the sea unseen.
• Chen Xun gave Little Crimson a Storage Bag of Nascent Soul Treasure Medicine and urged him to cultivate despite Little Crimson’s reluctance.
• Chen Xun promised to take Little Crimson into the Spirit Transformation realm, and Little Crimson accepted the spirit herbs and vowed to follow him.

Half a year later, Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson sailed toward the Forbidden Sea, encountering sea beasts and deadly Purple Mist on the way. After Chen Xun and Big Black Ox dispersed one cluster of Purple Mist, they entered the Forbidden Sea to collect the corpses of cultivators.

• A Nascent Soul Bluefin Sea Beast attacked the fleet, destroying a ship before fleeing from the old cultivators who fought back.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson watched from their concealed Giant Ship as the fleets approached the Forbidden Sea and deadly Purple Mist killed cultivators.
• Big Black Ox tested the Purple Mist with Five Elements Power, but Chen Xun stepped in and used Five Elements Decomposition Power to free the will trapped inside it.
• Chen Xun ordered Big Black Ox to move on after other cultivators noticed the Purple Mist had dispersed.
• The trio entered the Forbidden Sea aboard their concealed Giant Ship and headed for an uninhabited area to collect corpses.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson sailed into the Forbidden Sea, where ancient wills suppressed them, and discovered a massive ghostly ship. As Chen Xun and Big Black Ox fought the ship’s Purple Mist, Little Crimson searched its cabin and was attacked by a streak of blood light.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox were battered by the Forbidden Sea’s ancient wills, so they and Little Crimson donned the Bandit Set to ease the pressure.
• Chen Xun told Big Black Ox and Little Crimson to pluck while he dealt with the Purple Qi Remnant Will, and they sailed deeper into the mist.
• Little Crimson spotted a huge wrecked ship that Chen Xun and Big Black Ox could not see, and Big Black Ox steered Crane Head away from its path.
• The ancient ship emerged beside them as purple qi rose from the sea, and Chen Xun and Big Black Ox battled its Purple Mist while Little Crimson inspected the cabin.
• Little Crimson probed the cabin’s black bloodstains with his Flame Radiance divine sense, and one stain turned into a streak of blood light and slashed at him.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson escaped the awakening ancient ship with an ancient Storage Ring and discovered a blood letter hinting at a forgotten war. After Chen Xun and Big Black Ox learned that Extinguishing Divine Power could suppress the Purple Mist, they set off to explore and plunder more of the Forbidden Sea.

• Little Crimson found a Storage Ring on a skeleton inside the ancient ship and fled with Chen Xun and Big Black Ox as the ship's terrifying will began to awaken.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox discussed the Purple Mist and Little Crimson's unusual ability to see through its illusions, then admitted they could not have defeated the will aboard the ship.
• Chen Xun and his companions opened the Storage Ring and found a blood-forged token marked "War Realm Camp" and an unsent blood letter addressed to Yue Er.
• Chen Xun read the letter's fragment about the future of the Cultivation World and Great Li, then carefully put it away, visibly affected by its sorrow.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson continued across the Forbidden Sea, using Extinguishing Divine Power to counter the Purple Mist as they searched for more treasures.

Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson confronted an ancient ship and a drifting fleet in the Forbidden Sea, suppressing the ship’s purple qi while Little Crimson collected the dead cultivators’ Storage Rings. After performing rites for the dead, they escaped with a vast haul of Spirit Stones, and Chen Xun declared that he had finally understood cultivation.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox stopped an ancient ship while Little Crimson flew to the fleet and collected 132 Storage Rings.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox suppressed the ancient ship’s Purple Qi Remnant Will without touching the ship itself.
• The trio performed rites for the dead Great Li cultivators, whose bodies turned into starlight and disappeared.
• Chen Xun, Big Black Ox, and Little Crimson returned to the Giant Ship and escaped as the empty fleet continued following the ancient ship.
• Big Black Ox opened the Storage Rings, revealing enormous quantities of Spirit Stones that filled the deck.
• Chen Xun meditated over the windfall and said that inexhaustible cultivation resources were what cultivation truly meant, while Little Crimson feared that he and Big Black Ox had suffered Qi Deviation.