Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou explained that the Prajna Heart Sutra could preserve spiritual souls but left cultivators vulnerable to control by Jieyin and Zhunti, while the Emperor and Empress weighed how to obtain its complete teachings. He asked the Emperor to accompany him to the Soaring Heavens for a risky breakthrough and memory recovery, leaving the Empress troubled by how often his cultivation depended on gambling.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained the Prajna Heart Sutra’s missing content, the sect masters’ control over its completion, and its power to keep spiritual souls from dispersing.
• Jiang Qi asked whether they could stop at the Divine Ability Realm, while Zhang Xuezhou said he wanted to advance as far as possible for the scripture’s benefits.
• The Empress recognized how the Prajna Heart Sutra might connect with reincarnation and soul-transformation techniques, and suggested visiting Jieyin and Zhunti.
• The Emperor rejected a rash assault on the Western Sect and said they would pursue the matter gradually, while studying Jiang Qi’s cultivation.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked the Emperor to accompany him to the Soaring Heavens for a Sole Self Realm breakthrough, help him seek the Jade Emperor’s aid in choosing a Divine Ability, and use the Haotian Jing to restore memories.
• The Empress worried that Zhang Xuezhou’s repeated cultivation risks meant he would eventually lose one of his gambles.

Zhang Xuezhou asked the Sovereign about his fused cultivation method and Fortune Techniques, learning that both carried grave risks if he advanced without care. The Sovereign weighed whether to gamble alongside him and summoned a monkey head from his chest.

• The Sovereign warned Zhang Xuezhou that his fused Law Power needed a core, or it could eventually melt his body, and urged him to find his true self before refining the great medicines of the True Self Realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked the Sovereign to teach him Fortune Techniques, and the Sovereign explained that Karmic Fortune could raise the odds of success or disaster but always had to be repaid.
• The Sovereign recalled how the collapse of the Great Zhou Dynasty and Heavenly Court had ruined those who relied on Fortune, and warned Zhang Xuezhou against treating it as a safe shortcut.
• The Sovereign considered whether to gamble alongside Zhang Xuezhou, then formed a seal and made a furry monkey head poke out of his chest.

The Imperial Lord decided to use the Six-Lifetime Reincarnation Method as an escape route from the Fortune Technique’s future troubles, leaving the hairy monkey to risk feigned death and rebirth. As the Imperial Lord refined the monkey’s body, Zhang Xuezhou revealed that Zhu Jiuyin had formed his Yang Corporeal Soul Dharma Form almost instantly, surprising the Imperial Lord.

• The Imperial Lord and the hairy monkey argued over whether to worry about the Fortune Technique’s future troubles before taking the next step.
• The Imperial Lord proposed that the hairy monkey use the Six-Lifetime Reincarnation Method to survive if the Imperial Lord’s gamble failed, and the monkey accused him of using him as bait.
• The hairy monkey explained to Zhang Xuezhou that the method placed its practitioner in feigned death, but that maintaining the state without dying for real was difficult.
• The Imperial Lord used Law Power to refine the hairy monkey’s body and said it was easy because the monkey had emerged from his own body.
• Zhang Xuezhou restored his Law Power and formed his complete Yang Corporeal Soul Dharma Form, then told the Imperial Lord that Zhu Jiuyin had refined it in moments.
• The Imperial Lord realized that Zhu Jiuyin had withheld the method for rapidly forming a Yang Corporeal Soul Dharma Form.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed the Ten Thousand Demons Stele and the complete Technique Within the Clouds with the Imperial Lord, who arranged to make a demand of the Yedie River Holy Land. After watching the Imperial Lord use the Six-Lifetime Reincarnation Method, Zhang Xuezhou recognized its resemblance to the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon's invasion and questioned the risks of choosing an unsuitable host.

• The Imperial Lord explained that the Ten Thousand Demons Stele had once belonged to the Heavenly Court, but Zhang Xuezhou said its Drowsiness Technique and other rewards were limited.
• The Imperial Lord arranged for Cai Ma to retain the right to make a demand of the Yedie River Holy Land so Zhang Xuezhou could seek the complete Technique Within the Clouds from Venerable Lei.
• The Imperial Lord completed the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique and sent the purple light drifting above Kunlun.
• The Imperial Lord explained that the Six-Lifetime Reincarnation Method invaded a host and slowly assimilated it to restore vitality, and Zhang Xuezhou noticed its similarity to the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon's method.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked what happened when the host's consciousness resisted or its body was too weak, and the Imperial Lord said the mismatch could cause divine-soul conflict or even death.

The Thearch found Zhang Xuezhou’s body cold and followed a trail into the darkness beyond space and time. There, he discovered Zhang Xuezhou and the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon locked in a struggle over their three souls and seven spirits.

• The Thearch reflected on how he had followed Zhang Xuezhou’s path in hopes of finding a way to advance and attain longevity.
• The Thearch discovered Zhang Xuezhou’s body was ice-cold and wondered whether the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon was trying to replace the Holy Son.
• The Thearch traced a trail through a place beyond time and space and entered a region lit by pearly lights.
• The Thearch saw Zhang Xuezhou and the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon fighting, and realized the demon had acted before Zhang Xuezhou had completed his preparations.
• The Thearch watched as the two continued their struggle, uncertain which one would prevail.

Zhang Xuezhou fought the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon in the strange space of their intertwined souls, using the Prajna Heart Sutra to counter the demon’s flames. As the demon remained determined to consume him, Zhang Xuezhou called for his teacher, whose shadow appeared and unsettled the demon.

• Zhang Xuezhou recalled how earlier events had weakened and provoked the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, including the spirit spring in Spirit Mountain’s Wind Cave.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon attacked each other through their three souls and seven spirits, with the demon using flames and penetrating cold.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried to distract the demon by mentioning Sect Master Jieyin’s rebirth, but the demon dismissed his words.
• Zhang Xuezhou recited the Prajna Heart Sutra and used Thought Power to offset some of the demon’s flames.
• The Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon warned that he would eventually consume Zhang Xuezhou, and Zhang Xuezhou called for his teacher.
• A shadow appeared, and the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon showed dismay.

Zhang Xuezhou and the Sovereign fought the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon together, with Zhang’s attacks steadily damaging him while the Sovereign supported him. The demon then carried Zhang toward Heaven Beyond Heaven and severed the Sovereign’s route back, leaving the Sovereign trapped and unable to sense his physical body.

• The Sovereign arrived after Zhang Xuezhou called for help and struck the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon with thunder, but the demon recovered with the aid of his believers’ chanting.
• The Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon tried to persuade the Sovereign to spare him by promising Immortality and rule over the Three Realms, while Zhang Xuezhou charged at him to keep the Sovereign engaged.
• The Sovereign joined Zhang Xuezhou in attacking the demon and realized that Zhang’s damage did not heal, so he supported Zhang as their injuries accumulated.
• The Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon warned the Sovereign about interfering and hinted at transcending to Heaven Beyond Heaven, prompting the Sovereign to ask how it could be done.
• The Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon swept his hand and fled with Zhang Xuezhou toward Heaven Beyond Heaven, cutting off the Sovereign’s way back and leaving him trapped.

After a clash with the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, Zhang Xuezhou returned to reality and prepared to gather allies and Fortune for another confrontation. He left to sacrifice to the flag and search for the demon, while planning to recruit Mengtesi Badun if possible.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke after a day of unstable physical readings and told Zhang Manqian and Ren Anran that he had fought the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to sacrifice Grian's blood for Karmic Fortune, seek Xuanming's help, and search the demon's lair in North Rehe.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Mengtesi Badun had not returned to Bulanpeida and suspected he was using their Qinmeng Secret Stone.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked about the unreachable Void Furnace and resolved to bring Mengtesi Badun along to help confront the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

Zhang Xuezhou performed a public ritual in which Grian was bound, bled, and made to read a surrender letter for the New Aomeijia Alliance. When Zhang Manqian brought out a bronze tortoise statue, Nagesi sensed Zhang Xuezhou’s powerful backing from the Great Thousand World and reconsidered his prospects; Zhang Xuezhou then approached him.

• Zhang Xuezhou bound Grian, drew blood to paint designs on him, and raised flags as onlookers wondered about the ritual.
• Grian read a letter of surrender for the New Aomeijia Alliance while the gathered leaders stayed silent.
• Zhang Manqian placed a bronze tortoise statue before Zhang Xuezhou, and Nagesi suffered a bloody backlash when he probed its presence.
• Nagesi realized Zhang Xuezhou could contact a powerful figure in the Great Thousand World and worried about the consequences of opposing him.
• Nagesi considered whether Zhang Xuezhou’s genetic drugs might offer him future advantages as Zhang Xuezhou rose and walked toward him.

Zhang Xuezhou sought Profound Qi Heavy Armor from Xuanming but learned that his attempt to obtain a Karmic Fortune Pearl had failed because the new ruler had not held the throne for eighty-one days. As Zhang prepared to leave without help, a faint voice offered him a lead on protecting himself from the expert targeting his divine soul.

• Zhang Xuezhou entered his Fortune Technique state and asked Xuanming to provide Profound Qi Heavy Armor in exchange for his work overthrowing a large country.
• Xuanming refused to provide the armor without a Karmic Fortune Pearl, and the two argued over Zhang's unsuccessful ritual.
• Xuanming explained that Zhang had sacrificed the flag before the new ruler had been on the throne for eighty-one days, preventing the Karmic Fortune Pearl from forming.
• Zhang told Xuanming that a powerful expert who ravaged divine souls was threatening to kill him, but Xuanming could not help directly and noted that Huang Daoxian might be useful.
• Xuanming introduced Meng Zhang, who asked Zhang to make the parents hidden in his blood manifest, but Zhang declined and prepared to leave.
• A faint voice stopped Zhang and pointed him toward Nagesi's Doomsday Fragment as a possible defense for his divine soul.

Zhang Xuezhou borrowed Nagesi’s sword to protect himself while returning to his research institute in North Rehe, where he planned to investigate a possible threat. Ren Anran’s sketches then stirred vague memories of the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon’s lair.

• Zhang Xuezhou learned that the Doomsday Fragment in Nagesi’s sword could protect the soul and asked to borrow the sword for eleven days.
• Nagesi agreed to lend Zhang Xuezhou the sword and planned to accompany him while examining his genetic drugs.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Nagesi that an unknown enemy might be hiding in North Rehe and targeting him.
• Zhang Xuezhou tested the sword and heard Nagesi warn him to throw it away if its blade heated up.
• Ren Anran showed Zhang Xuezhou her sketches and explanations, prompting him to vaguely recall events in the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon’s lair.

After Zhang Xuezhou’s intervention ended the Aomeijia Alliance’s civil war, he left Bulanpeida with his companions after taking Grian’s blood. As they traveled toward the Scarlet Alliance State, Nagesi wondered whether Ren Anran’s sketches depicted a vast place connected to Sinkhole No. 2.

• Montes Clark and Montes Ganghao watched Zhang Xuezhou and the others leave, while Montes Bingo and the remaining Montes Lineage members discussed why they had taken Grian’s blood.
• The Montes Lineage members considered how the civil war’s end left a power vacuum and worried that their injured Sequence Holders might need treatment in the Scarlet Alliance State.
• Nagesi asked Zhang Xuezhou what Ren Anran’s sketches depicted, but Zhang asked Nagesi to describe his experience in Sinkhole No. 1 instead.
• Nagesi refused to discuss his past, then suspected that the sketches showed a scene from Sinkhole No. 2 and wondered how an entire expanse of land could have entered their world.

Zhang Xuezhou prepared to enter Sinkhole No. 2 and confront the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, deciding to risk bringing the demon’s staff despite the danger. He discovered that Mengtesi Badun had reached the Ninth Sequence and gained a domain, then persuaded him to join the fight.

• Zhang Xuezhou weighed using the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon’s staff to cross the distortion, accepting that the demon might be able to control it.
• Zhang Xuezhou took the staff and entered its fast-and-slow state, then observed Nagesi testing a drug at the research institute.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Ren Yisheng and Mengtesi Badun arriving by aircraft, and Mengtesi Badun’s domain disrupted the staff’s effect and damaged the aircraft.
• Mengtesi Badun recognized that Zhang Xuezhou had a domain and asked about the treasure he was holding.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Mengtesi Badun about Seven Spiders and the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, then persuaded him to help attack the demon at Sinkhole No. 2.

Zhang Xuezhou assembled high-Sequence allies to launch an urgent mission in a dangerous area, while Mengtesi Badun revealed that he had reached the Ninth Sequence and offered to share what he knew. They prepared to depart immediately, and Badun called Qimeng Haige to recruit him with the promise of Ninth Sequence knowledge.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Manqian he had already tested the locked-away scepter as an aircraft crashed and burned outside.
• Ren Anran warned the group about the heat, poisonous gas, and ten-kilometer climb, while the team discussed equipment and limits on who could enter.
• Zhang Xuezhou congratulated Mengtesi Badun on reaching the Ninth Sequence, surprising the gathered Sequence Holders.
• Zhang Xuezhou said the group could not wait for Zhong Rang and the others, and Ren Yisheng suggested inviting Qimeng Haige.
• Mengtesi Badun offered to share his Ninth Sequence knowledge with Qimeng Haige, then called him and urged him to join the mission.

Zhang Xuezhou led Mengtesi Badun, Nagesi, Ren Yisheng, and others through Sinkhole No. 2’s distorted space into the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon’s dangerous realm. As they assessed the threat and planned to approach a distant black pillar, the realm’s god discovered them.

• Li Yingbo and the others wondered why Mengtesi Badun had become unusually cooperative, but Montes Arthur said he did not know the reason.
• Song Bu'er warned everyone to prepare first aid, while reflecting on the growing dangers facing sequence holders and Song Xianzhong’s stalled research.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the staff to carry the group through the distorted space into the hot, dust-filled realm.
• Nagesi judged the Fire Meteor’s master far beyond human strength, and Mengtesi Badun said the being had likely not recovered fully after its destruction.
• As Mengtesi Badun prepared to lead the group toward a black pillar, a voice boomed from the sky and Nagesi identified its speaker as a god.

Zhang Xuezhou and his companions fought through swarms of clay figures at the foot of the black mountain while he struggled to regain control of the Dead Souls from the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon. The group began climbing as Zhang Xuezhou gathered more Dead Souls, but the battle for control remained underway.

• Zhou Rihui kicked a clay figure away, but it rose again and rejoined the swarm.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged the group to stay together and reach the black mountain while Ren Anran warned them to remain close to him.
• At the mountain, Zhang Xuezhou summoned the Dead Souls and told the group to crack the clay figures so the spirits could enter and destroy them.
• Zhang Xuezhou discovered that the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon controlled some of the Dead Souls, so he fought to reclaim them from the bottom up.
• The group broke the clay figures as the Dead Souls burrowed inside and destroyed them, and Zhang Xuezhou began rising through the air with his growing forces.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran led the Dead Souls up the Dead Soul Pillar, using the Immeasurable Jade Wall to overcome its guards and reach the distorted great hall. As the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon fought back, Zhang Xuezhou realized the Emperor Lord had entered the hall and was keeping the demon occupied.

• Ren Anran caught up with Zhang Xuezhou and used the Immeasurable Jade Wall to confuse high-level Dead Souls, helping their horde climb faster.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized the female Dead Soul called "What," who remembered him and led the armored Dead Souls toward the great hall.
• The Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon called "What" Zhuoya and ordered her to destroy the intruders, but the Dead Souls charged into the hall and were struck down.
• The Demon Thought duck warned that their sacrificial group could not hold the crowned enemy, and Zhang Xuezhou realized the Emperor Lord had entered the hall.

Zhang Xuezhou led the group into the great hall to confront Hongku, using the Dead Souls’ own creed to disrupt their defenders. The group reached the hall, where Hongku watched from a towering throne as chains attacked them.

• Zhang Xuezhou directed the Dead Souls into the great hall while Ren Anran, Ren Yisheng, and Mengtesi Badun prepared to follow him.
• Ren Anran, Ren Yisheng, Mengtesi Badun, and Zhang Xuezhou entered the hall, where Ren Anran was immediately struck by an attack.
• Ren Yisheng used a Mental Storm to destroy one red-skinned Dead Soul, but more than a hundred ceremonial-robed Dead Souls and their chains attacked.
• Zhang Xuezhou repeated the Dead Souls’ creed, confusing some defenders and turning others against their companions.
• Ren Yisheng spotted Hongku, a thirty-foot-tall gray clay figure seated on a star-speckled throne, as Hongku accused Zhang Xuezhou of turning his priests against him.

Zhang Xuezhou and his allies fought the red-skinned Dead Souls in the red hall while Mengtesi Badun’s domain protected them. Qimeng Haige’s attack provoked the clay figure, which rose and unleashed a deafening roar, leaving the group a brief opening to counterattack.

• Ren Anran used the Boundless Jade Disc and Ren Yisheng attacked with Mental Storm as Mengtesi Badun’s staff shadows defended the group against the Dead Souls.
• Qimeng Haige emerged from the crowd and joined the fight after Ren Yisheng warned him to stay within Mengtesi Badun’s domain.
• Qimeng Haige’s steel needles struck the clay figure without penetrating it, then killed the talking bird and drew the figure’s attention.
• The clay figure’s gaze overwhelmed Qimeng Haige with negative emotions, but Ren Yisheng’s Dragon Elephant Combat Technique helped him recover.
• The clay figure rose and unleashed a thunderous roar that deafened Qimeng Haige, and the group seized the opening to attack through the red-skinned Dead Souls.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others struck at the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, leaving it badly damaged but still dangerous. The green-headed duck switched sides and rallied the Dead Souls against the demon, while the emperor remained trapped inside the mud figure.

• Mengtesi Badun concentrated his strength into a strike with the black staff, but the giant mud figure caught it and then struck back, leaving Mengtesi Badun vomiting blood.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the staff and ordered Zhuoya to attack, disrupting the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon and helping cave in half its face.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned the green-headed duck, which revealed that the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon had sealed the emperor inside the mud figure to refine him and feed him to the Throne of Eternal Life.
• The green-headed duck switched sides and ordered the red-skinned Dead Souls to attack and bind the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.
• The Dead Souls sent red chains into the mud figure, but golden flames rapidly melted the chains as the duck continued urging them to attack.