Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou reunited with Hongku at the Yedie River Holy Land, where he concealed his recent visit to Kunlun and discussed their pill-refining agreement. His casual claim that he was working with Li Shaojun to refine Life-Extending Golden Elixirs drew the attention of a spying lantern and brought a glowing figure to them.

• Dao Lord identified Zhang Xuezhou as Wu Jin and asked Hongku to look after him at the Yedie River Holy Land.
• Hongku recognized Zhang Xuezhou by his voice and tone, then confirmed their agreement to refine pills and split the profits.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that his mismatched body came from taking the wrong medicine and joked with Hongku about how he had reached the Sacred Land.
• Hongku told Zhang Xuezhou that Venerable Lei had stopped giving public lectures after repeated failures to extend his life.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he was working with Li Shaojun to refine Life-Extending Golden Elixirs, and a spying lantern descended as a jade-glowing figure appeared nearby.

Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Hongku to let him return to Chang'an City by promising a higher success rate for their Fortune Pills. Venerable Lei sought a way into Zhang Xuezhou’s life-extending elixir venture, and the group prepared to travel together.

• Venerable Lei arrived and asked Zhang Xuezhou to let him invest in the life-extending elixirs because he feared he had little time left.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he would need to discuss Venerable Lei’s participation with Li Shaojun and offered to introduce them in Chang'an City.
• Hongku questioned whether the elixirs were real, and Zhang Xuezhou refused to let him join that risky venture, offering instead to refine Fortune Pills with him.
• Zhang Xuezhou argued that returning to Chang'an City would still satisfy the Dao Lord’s instruction to keep him under watch, and promised to compensate Hongku if their pill yield fell below sixty percent.
• After Venerable Lei guaranteed that he would look after Zhang Xuezhou, Hongku agreed to let him leave the Yedie River Holy Land.

Zhang Xuezhou traveled back toward Chang'an City with Hongku and Venerable Lei, setting aside his plans to visit the Xieluosi River Holy Land. As they rode, Venerable Lei explained the missing body-refining portion of the Technique Within the Clouds, leaving Zhang Xuezhou eager to learn it but worried about its risks and effects on his appearance.

• Zhang Xuezhou abandoned his plan to visit the Xieluosi River Holy Land and headed for Chang'an City with Hongku and the Black and White Twin Horses.
• Hongku discussed his plans to refine Fortune Pills while the group made their slow journey along the road.
• Hongku asked Zhang Xuezhou about his progress with the Technique Within the Clouds, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that his version was incomplete and unsafe to cultivate.
• Venerable Lei explained that the Technique Within the Clouds required body refining at later stages and warned that it could make a cultivator ugly.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Venerable Lei to teach him the complete technique, and Venerable Lei began explaining it during their journey.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to Chang'an with Hongku and Venerable Lei, discussing the conflicts between Xiong State and the Great Han Dynasty along the way. After reaching the city, Venerable Lei carried Zhang Xuezhou inside under cover of darkness, while Hongku wondered about Zhang Xuezhou’s strange condition and looked forward to the benefits of their bargain.

• Zhang Xuezhou urged Hongku and Venerable Lei to teach Xiong State to farm and avoid war, but they explained that its climate and deep-rooted grudges made peace and agriculture unlikely.
• Hongku asked how they should proceed upon reaching Chang'an, and Zhang Xuezhou said he would arrange the Fortune Pill and ask Li Shaojun to discuss the Life-Extending Golden Elixir at Shanglin Park.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Venerable Lei waited until nightfall, then Venerable Lei carried Zhang Xuezhou into Chang'an while Hongku stayed behind.
• Hongku considered Zhang Xuezhou’s strange qi, apparent loss of control over his body, and forgotten cultivation practices, and suspected upheaval in Kunlun might have harmed him.
• Hongku remained uncertain whether Zhang Xuezhou was the Kunlun Holy Son but was excited about the Fortune Pills he expected to obtain.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to Chang'an in a changed body and asked Rong Tianding to arrange a marriage so he could regain usable Law Power. Rong Tianding proposed moving their household to Yang Mausoleum Town, but that night Zhang Xuezhou was not transported back to reality when expected.

• Venerable Lei brought Zhang Xuezhou to the Rong Household, where Rong Tianding barely recognized his altered appearance.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Rong Tianding that marrying again was the only way to unlock his Law Power, and Rong Tianding agreed to arrange it quickly.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon still had reason to kill him, so Rong Tianding suggested relocating to Yang Mausoleum Town.
• Rong Tianding described how the Emperor had summoned agricultural officials to develop Yang Mausoleum Town and said the Rong family could sell houses in Chang'an to finance the move.
• When the usual time for Zhang Xuezhou to return to reality arrived, he remained in Chang'an instead.

Zhang Xuezhou remained stranded in Zheng Wukong’s world, unable to use his Law Power or retrieve items from his storage bag, and promised to help treat Zheng Wukong in exchange for the Cynomorium he needed. As the chapter ended, he planned to ask Yi Shuo for help while also dealing with his body’s worsening lock and his household’s move to Yang Mausoleum Town.

• Zheng Wukong examined Zhang Xuezhou and pressed him to provide the Cynomorium and medicine, worried that his illness left him little time.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Yi Shuo could help find a woman to treat his illness, and Rong Tianding said her rest period might begin the next day.
• Rong Tianding explained that Zhang Household Village’s residents were selling their homes and moving their household registrations to Yang Mausoleum Town.
• Zheng Wukong suspected Zhang Xuezhou’s troubles had forced the move, then grew eager when Zhang promised Life-Creating Fortune Pills and Life-Extending Elixirs.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to ask Yi Shuo to find someone, while acknowledging that restoring his body and Law Power would take longer than expected.

Rong Tianding organized Zhang Household Village to relocate to Yang Mausoleum Town while Zhang Xuezhou anxiously failed to sense his return to reality. Yi Shuo visited after breaking through to the Divine Ability Realm and agreed to help find women whose Pure Yin Constitution and cultivation could treat his sealed Law Power, leaving him startled when she used herself as an example.

• Rong Tianding gathered the villagers and explained why moving their households to Yang Mausoleum Town would make registration and relocation easier.
• Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly tried to travel back to reality and worried that he and the others trapped in Sinkhole No. 2 might be dead or stranded.
• Yi Shuo visited Zhang Xuezhou after reaching the Divine Ability Realm and explained that Zheng Wukong's illness prevented him from helping.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Yi Shuo to find a woman with a Pure Yin Constitution, and she warned that women with higher cultivation would be more effective.
• Yi Shuo agreed to help, then asked whether Zhang Xuezhou would spend everything to marry her if she met his requirements.
• Zhang Xuezhou protested when Yi Shuo began demonstrating the Female Constitution Discernment Technique on herself.

Zhang Xuezhou rejected Yi Shuo’s offer of marriage, insisting he sought a cure and planned to find a Pure Yin Constitution cultivator as “human medicine.” He continued struggling with the prospect of losing one of the two worlds he was tied to, while Rong Tianding told him Li Shaojun might arrive that night to watch his troubles.

• Zhang Xuezhou rejected Yi Shuo, explaining that he wanted to recover through a transactional arrangement rather than marry her.
• Yi Shuo left to find a suitable woman for Zhang Xuezhou, dejected by his rejection.
• Rong Tianding questioned Zhang Xuezhou’s plan to divorce one woman before marrying another, and Zhang explained his belief in lifelong faithfulness to one spouse.
• Rong Tianding remarked that Zhang Xuezhou seemed to have cured his illness because he had gone a full day without fainting.
• Zhang Xuezhou worried that he might have to survive in only one world and lose the people and attachments in the other.
• Rong Tianding told Zhang Xuezhou that Li Shaojun would likely come that night to watch the show.

Zhang Xuezhou recruited Li Shaojun to help deceive Venerable Lei and secure rare medicinal ingredients, offering to reveal a secret in return. Li Shaojun discovered that Bai’s curse would make the harm from his past deaths rebound on him unless Bai was rescued, so he begged Zhang Xuezhou to help.

• Li Shaojun arrived to boast about reaching the Sole Self Realm, and Zhang Xuezhou asked him to cooperate in refining a Life-Extending Elixir for Venerable Lei.
• Li Shaojun hesitated over the risks, but he agreed after Zhang Xuezhou promised him a secret and they sealed their deal with a slap of their palms.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Shaojun what had happened at Fengxi Marsh, and Li Shaojun realized Bai had cursed him.
• Li Shaojun explained that Bai had transferred the harm from his past deaths, which would rebound on him if Bai was no longer there as an intermediary.
• After arguing over how often Zhang Xuezhou’s affairs had gotten him killed, Li Shaojun revealed he knew where Bai was held and begged Zhang Xuezhou to save him.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed Li Shaojun’s perilous bond with Bai and told him to persuade Venerable Lei to steal Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root. After Li Shaojun left to carry out the plan, Zhang Xuezhou arranged for Rong Tianding to find him a suitable wife but postponed visiting his child.

• Li Shaojun begged Zhang Xuezhou to help rescue Bai, whose death could bring about Li Shaojun’s own death.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he wanted Lei Ming to steal Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root from the Eastern Heavenly Gate Secret Land, and Li Shaojun explained that it was used to make Law Treasure shoes.
• Zhang Xuezhou instructed Li Shaojun to claim the lotus root was needed for Life-Extending Golden Elixirs and sent him toward Chang’an City to meet Lei Ming.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Rong Tianding to find him a suitable wife and arrange for A Qiao to train her.
• Rong Tianding told Zhang Xuezhou that A Qiao had brought his child to the residence, but Zhang Xuezhou decided to wait a few days before visiting.

Zhang Xuezhou reflected on his freedom from the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon and considered a way to advance his cultivation. When Yi Shuo and Rong Tianding brought him Ji Wuyan as a potential partner to help treat his condition, Mallard announced that their minds had connected.

• Zhang Xuezhou watched his healthy son being cared for and reflected on how his life and family circumstances had changed.
• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon could now be killed without his own death being tied to the demon's fate.
• Zhang Xuezhou planned to combine Zhu Jiuyin's cultivation method with the Primordial Chaos Limitless Formation to speed up his advancement.
• Yi Shuo and Rong Tianding brought Ji Wuyan, a martial artist who was willing to have a child with Zhang Xuezhou, to meet him.
• Zhang Xuezhou hesitantly agreed to proceed with Ji Wuyan after he passed out, and Mallard announced that their minds had synchronized and connected.

Zhang Xuezhou crossed back to reality as Mallard took over his sickly body, then found the Imperial Lord’s divine soul near death. He persuaded the despairing Imperial Lord to follow him by appealing to his anger over the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon taking the Empress.

• Mallard and Zhang Xuezhou crossed through the passage and exchanged places, with Mallard heading to occupy Zhang Xuezhou’s sickly body.
• Zhang Xuezhou encountered the Imperial Lord, who asked whether the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon had taken over Zhang Xuezhou’s body and whether the Empress knew the truth.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the Imperial Lord that he had escaped Kunlun and offered to take him to the real world, but the Imperial Lord said his soul would scatter in nine days and rejected possession.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged the Imperial Lord to follow him and invoked the hatred of having the Empress stolen to rekindle his anger and resolve.

After awakening in a transformed Sinkhole No. 2, Zhang Xuezhou healed himself with Spiritual Qi but could not effectively treat the severely injured sequence holders. He learned that Donghua’s altar had brought him back, while the sinkhole’s endlessly circulating Heaven and Earth resembled an ancient world after chaos.

• Zhang Xuezhou awoke amid red grass and rain as Ren Anran explained that his injuries had been severe and Ren Yisheng could not heal him properly.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Grain Avoidance Instruction to draw on the sinkhole’s abundant Spiritual Qi and recover from his burns and internal weakness.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried the Supreme Purity True Technique on Mengtesi Badun, Nagesi, Qimeng Haige, and Ren Yisheng, but his current mastery could not effectively heal them.
• Ren Anran told Zhang Xuezhou that the duck had built a crude altar according to Donghua’s description and that the successful test had brought him back before the duck disappeared.
• Zhang Xuezhou searched for Donghua’s missing scepter, while the sovereign’s soul identified the transformed sinkhole as resembling the ancient world after chaos.

After the explosion destroyed the Soul-Locking Pillar, Zhang Xuezhou questioned the survivors about what had happened and searched for a way to travel through the chaos world and bring in food. The Emperor grew hopeful about regaining his cultivation, but became uneasy as he listened to the group's discussion about escaping.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked where the staff had gone and questioned the group about the explosion, while Ren Anran explained that its force had escaped upward and destroyed the Soul-Locking Pillar.
• Qimeng Haige said the black stone mountain had absorbed much of the blast, and Nagesi denied that the fire crystal in his mouth had caused it.
• Zhou Rihui and Changkong Yinghao described the mountain's collapse, while Changkong Yinglian and Li Qi spoke about the poisonous plants and the group's hunger.
• Zhang Xuezhou guessed that Donghua's Soul-Locking Pillar, tree chair, and scepter had burned together.
• The Emperor became hopeful that he could regain his former cultivation by finding a body, then grew uneasy as he heard the others discuss getting out and bringing in food.

With the group trapped in Sinkhole No. 2, Zhang Xuezhou explained that he could not yet use his Control over Fast and Slow to bring everyone out, and he tested the local plants for sustenance. As he prepared to attempt crossing the distorted space alone, he asked Ren Anran how to find a body for the Imperial Lord.

• Zhang Xuezhou told the group that the missing scepter and destroyed Soul-Locking Pillar left them trapped, while Mengtesi Badun explained his metal domain and why Zhang Xuezhou could not transport them all.
• Nagesi feared they would remain stranded, and Li Qi and Changkong Yinghao complained that the group was running out of food.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhou Rihui ate dark red grass, and Zhang Xuezhou discovered it temporarily restored strength despite its poisonous effects.
• Zhang Xuezhou drank some lake water and decided to test whether he could pass through the distorted space and return with supplies.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Ren Anran how to obtain a body for someone at Jishi who had died of illness and become brain-dead, prompting her to realize that the Imperial Lord was present.

Zhang Xuezhou brought the Emperor to the Jishi Medical Center to transfer him into a body grown through embryo technology. The Emperor awoke in the new body, marveling at the discovery as Tuer Kelanduo fled in terror.

• The Emperor learned that Zhang Xuezhou’s world had no storage pouches and questioned how its society had developed.
• Zhang Xuezhou traveled to the Jishi Medical Center and asked Tuer Kelanduo to release the cultivated body from its tank.
• Tuer Kelanduo warned Zhang Xuezhou about the body’s accelerated growth and began removing its artificial membrane.
• The Emperor opened the body’s eyes and praised embryo technology for providing a replacement body.
• Tuer Kelanduo screamed and fled after the newly awakened Emperor spoke.

Zhang Xuezhou explained the real world's fragmented cultivation systems to the Sovereign, who assessed their weaknesses and agreed to help improve them. The Sovereign accepted Zhang Xuezhou's offer of cooperation as they both relied on each other for protection and progress.

• Zhang Xuezhou told the Sovereign that familiar cultivation methods could not be replicated without the right environment and resources.
• Zhang Xuezhou described the Yin-Yang Realm Technique, Gene Sequence, and Mental Strengthening, and the Sovereign identified their shortcomings.
• The Sovereign praised the Gene Sequence's rapid development but warned that relying on Ferocious Beast extracts could make its inheritance impossible to sustain.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked the Sovereign to guide their research, and the Sovereign agreed to help despite his own difficulties.
• Zhang Xuezhou offered his hand and asked the Sovereign to cooperate against Donghua's warrant, while the Sovereign asked him to protect Wanjin; the Sovereign clasped his hand.

Zhang Xuezhou returned from North Rehe with the Sovereign, whose resemblance to him led Zhang Manqian and Ren Wuyang to mistake him for a hidden younger brother. After Zhang Xuezhou discussed spatial distortion and his unusual abilities with the Sovereign, he introduced him to Zhang Manqian and Ren Wuyang, leaving the Sovereign to begin learning from them.

• Zhang Xuezhou returned with the Sovereign, and Ren Wuyang wondered whether he was Zhang Manqian's younger brother.
• Zhang Manqian explained that Zhang Xuezhou's exceptional progress came from an unrepeatable fortuitous opportunity linked to Sinkhole No. 2.
• The Sovereign told Zhang Xuezhou that spatial turbulence could explain the distortion and suggested finding what connected the chaotic small world to the giant tree.
• The Sovereign advised Zhang Xuezhou that his rare ability to speed up and slow down required repeated practice, and asked about learning the Mental Strengthening Chapter from Ren Wuyang.
• Zhang Xuezhou introduced the Sovereign to Zhang Manqian and Ren Wuyang, and the Sovereign gave his name as Hao.
• Zhang Manqian photographed the Sovereign, who praised her device before remembering he could not use Demon Power to teach it.

Trapped in Sinkhole No. 2, Zhang Xuezhou explained that the area’s Spiritual Qi could keep the survivors alive despite their food shortage. He and Ren Anran began investigating the unstable world for clues and resources, while the group considered whether its Spiritual Qi could help them advance in the Sequence.

• Zhou Rihui and the other survivors worried that they would run out of food again while Zhang Xuezhou remained incapacitated.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the group that the area’s Spiritual Qi could sustain them as long as they conserved energy and could still breathe.
• Qimeng Haige considered whether the Spiritual Qi might let him follow Mengtesi Badun’s path to the Ninth Sequence.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he would investigate the area around the great hall, and Ren Anran agreed to send her Yang Corporeal Soul to seek information from the Emperor.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran discussed the Chaos Qi in the area, prompting the weakened survivors to join the search for useful resources.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran searched the desolate prison world while discussing cultivation, then Zhang Xuezhou spent over forty hours recounting his life in the other world. When Ren Anran asked how he would oppose Donghua, Zhang Xuezhou admitted he had no clear plan and rejected her suggestion of a marriage alliance.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran walked through the muddy, barren landscape and discussed Control, realms, Sequences, and Technique Methods.
• Ren Anran asked Zhang Xuezhou about his life in the other world, and he agreed to tell her the story from the beginning.
• Zhang Xuezhou recounted his experiences for more than forty hours, while the other searchers gradually left to continue looking for Fire Meteor's hidden treasure.
• Ren Anran asked how Zhang Xuezhou planned to withstand Donghua, who was impersonating Divine Emperor Haotian, and suggested forming an elite group or making a marriage alliance.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he had no benefits with which to bind allies and explained that the ancient Sacred Land leaders had no meaningful ties to their distant descendants, making a marriage alliance impractical.