Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou and the others returned to Sinkhole No. 2, where Huang Daoxian and Zhang Hao marveled at its abundant Spiritual Qi and the group examined the Wind and Thunder Saber. As Ren Anran prepared to send her divine soul through, she left her body beside the altar, ready to accompany Zhang Xuezhou.

• Zhang Xuezhou led the group through the distorted space into Sinkhole No. 2, where Huang Daoxian crossed easily and found the desolate realm rich in Qi of Heaven and Earth.
• Changkong Yinghao, Changkong Yinglian, and Li Qi noted that the weakened Spiritual Qi let them enter, while Ren Yisheng urged everyone to minimize risks to Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran.
• Zhang Hao and Zhang Huang were excited by the vast Spiritual Qi, and Zhang Huang headed toward the giant boulder to cultivate.
• Zhang Hao tried to grasp the Wind and Thunder Saber and concluded that its power required either mastery of the Wind Avoidance Instruction or compatibility with the force inside it; Zhang Huang also failed to wield it.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Anran to prepare for the crossing, and after injecting the Heavenly God General Medicine and partially casting the Supreme Purity True Technique, her divine soul stepped out of her body beside the altar.

Zhang Xuezhou used Zhu Jiuyin’s mark to help Ren Anran cross into the void, while Zhang Hao found evidence that Hongjun had recently advised Zhang Xuezhou and became confident they would succeed. As they disappeared, Zhang Hao questioned Huang Daoxian about the void and its white holes.

• Zhang Xuezhou circulated the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture, produced a mental-power scale, and had Ren Anran use it to communicate with Zhu Jiuyin.
• Zhang Xuezhou vanished from the altar, and Ren Anran’s Yang Corporeal Soul Body disappeared as her original body lost control while concentrating.
• Zhang Hao found a note in Ren Anran’s notebook written by Zhang Xuezhou, recognized Hongjun’s name, and concluded the crossing could not fail.
• Huang Daoxian emerged and described the void as a separation between dimensions, where black holes and white holes enabled travel between worlds and produced Void Gold.
• Zhang Hao led Huang Daoxian away to question him about white holes.

Zhang Xuezhou enlisted the ancient tree and Mallard to find a way to help Ren Anran cross the Void safely and reach the giant tree. The ancient tree remodeled its treehouse to receive guests and pulled Ren Anran to them, though her damaged Yang Corporeal Soul Body appeared close to falling apart.

• Zhang Xuezhou brought Mallard to the ancient tree and asked it to help Ren Anran reach the treehouse.
• The ancient tree explained that it could only help those contracted to it, but it could not form a contract with Ren Anran from so far away.
• Mallard urged the ancient tree to create a guest area, and the ancient tree remodeled the treehouse into inner and outer layers.
• The ancient tree used a pit as a portal, focused on Ren Anran's divine soul, and pulled her Yang Corporeal Soul Body through the Void.
• Zhang Xuezhou caught Ren Anran and realized the ancient tree had brought her safely to the halfway point, though her Profound Qi Heavy Armor was cracked.

Zhang Xuezhou persuaded the ancient tree to build a tavern-like shelter and provide restorative spring water for Ren Anran. After the ancient tree fell asleep, Ren Anran traveled back through the void under Zhu Jiuyin’s pull and collided with an enormous dragon-shaped being.

• Zhang Xuezhou convinced the ancient tree to reshape its temporary resting place into an enclosed tavern for future guests.
• The ancient tree provided a spring of restorative water, and Zhang Xuezhou used it to heal Ren Anran’s soul.
• The ancient tree advised Ren Anran to cast off what she carried so she could follow the current back, then vanished into the tree hollow to sleep.
• As the ancient tree’s influence faded, Zhang Xuezhou and Mallard were pulled away, and Ren Anran began traveling through the void under Zhu Jiuyin’s power.
• Ren Anran sped along the heavenly river and collided with an enormous dragon-shaped being.

Zhang Xuezhou recovered in the Yin-Yang School’s secret land, then flew toward the Xieluosi River Holy Land to find Zhu Jiuyin and help Ren Anran’s spirit. He arrived to find Donghua and other powerful cultivators blocking the way, so he hid among the demon birds and waited for an opening.

• Zhang Xuezhou realized Ren Anran’s Yang Corporeal Soul needed cultivation and decided she should seek Zhu Jiuyin rather than follow him to Mount Tai.
• Zhang Xuezhou formed wings with the Technique Within the Clouds and broke the sound barrier, but his flight rapidly consumed his Demon Power.
• Zhang Xuezhou reached the Xieluosi River Holy Land and saw Donghua, Xuannü, Shangyuan, the Western Sect’s leaders, and others gathered around the Eight-Scenery Carriage.
• Zhang Xuezhou hid among the demon birds because he was too depleted to confront the assembled cultivators and feared their battle could harm Ren Anran’s spirit.
• A demon bird called Zhang Xuezhou by the name Cousin Black Feather, reminding him of his friend at the holy land.

Zhang Xuezhou sought a way into Goat Strength Demon King's palace to find pills and avoid confronting Donghua and the others directly. With Lingyu's help, he found the Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman, who led him through an underground waterway and into the palace.

• Zhang Xuezhou reunited with Lingyu and learned Demon King Feiyu was away, then accepted one of Lingyu's Hundred Herbs Pills.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned Goat Strength Demon King had left to gather herbs with Demon Kings Huli and Luli, and asked Lingyu about the Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman.
• Lingyu led Zhang Xuezhou to the Cold Water Pool, where she waited while he went to find the Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman.
• Zhang Xuezhou subdued the Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman and ordered her to guide him through the underground waterways to Goat Strength Demon King's palace.
• The Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman led Zhang Xuezhou through a hidden channel, and he emerged from a well inside the palace.

Zhang Xuezhou recovered by consuming the Demon Kings’ stored pills while he waited for Donghua and the Western Sect Masters to attack Zhu Jiuyin’s stronghold. Donghua’s forces began fighting the Dragon Kings of the Five Lakes, and bloody water surged over the palace as the battle intensified.

• Zhang Xuezhou found the Goat Strength Demon King’s hidden jar of Thousand Herbs Pills, ate most of them, and sent the Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman back to warn Lingyu not to wander.
• Zhang Xuezhou kept watch while digesting the pills and worried that Donghua’s plan would endanger Zhu Jiuyin and disrupt his own plans for Ren Anran.
• Donghua argued with the Dragon Kings of the Five Lakes, who refused to open the gate without Zhu Jiuyin’s order.
• Donghua impersonated the Emperor and secured Sect Master Jieyin and Sect Master Zhunti’s agreement to fight the Dragon Kings.
• Sect Master Jieyin and Sect Master Zhunti fought the Dragon Kings of the Five Lakes, using their Law Treasures to counter the dragons’ attacks.
• The two Western Sect Masters plunged into the lake, and a violent underwater battle sent muddy, bloody water cascading into Zhang Xuezhou’s palace.

Zhang Xuezhou watched as Sect Master Zhunti and Sect Master Jieyin overwhelmed the Dragon Kings of the Five Lakes, killing two while Donghua prepared to open the secret place and capture Zhu Jiuyin. The Empress questioned Donghua’s plan to use Bai, whose soul was trapped in the Spirit-Gathering Banner, but Donghua said Bai only needed to lend a hand.

• Zhang Xuezhou watched the battle and considered using the Primordial Chaos Limitless Grand Formation to help the Dragon Kings or escape.
• Sect Master Zhunti killed the Golden Dragon King, while the remaining Dragon Kings cried out for help and warned that Haotian had come to slaughter them.
• Sect Master Zhunti and Sect Master Jieyin killed the Wood Dragon King with their Law Treasures, leaving the other Dragon Kings facing certain defeat.
• Donghua said the deaths of the Dragon Kings would remove their control of the gate to the secret place, allowing the group to inspect Zhu Jiuyin’s body.
• Donghua lit Myriad Spirits Incense beside the Spirit-Gathering Banner, where Bai appeared among the wailing souls, and told the Empress that Bai only needed to lend a hand.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the secret realm and used Zhu Jiuyin’s blood to take temporary control of part of the Primordial Chaos Limitless Grand Formation. He prepared to trap Donghua and the others while waiting for Ren Anran to arrive.

• As demons and Yin Souls swarmed the Eight-Scenery Carriage, Zhang Xuezhou spotted an opening and raced through the bronze gate into the secret realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Zhu Jiuyin unconscious while expelling pill toxins and realized defeat was otherwise certain.
• Zhang Xuezhou jabbed Zhu Jiuyin’s vulnerable head, collected the spurting blood on a glazed-glass formation device, and hurried down the fiery passage.
• Zhang Xuezhou placed the device in position, recited Zhu Jiuyin’s incantation, and gained control of a third of the Primordial Chaos Limitless Grand Formation.
• Zhang Xuezhou planned to trap Donghua and the others with the formation while searching for Ren Anran and waiting for her arrival.

Ren Anran arrived in the Three Realms as a divine soul, and Zhu Jiuyin mistook her for a Dao Child sent by Hongjun. While she formed a Yang Corporeal Soul and requested the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture, Zhu Jiuyin began teaching her, but a sudden disturbance in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains alarmed him.

• Ren Anran recovered after crashing into Zhu Jiuyin, and he believed she was a Dao Child sent by Hongjun.
• Zhu Jiuyin brought Ren Anran Spirit Jade, and she used its Spiritual Qi to begin forming a Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation.
• Ren Anran asked Zhu Jiuyin for the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture so she could help Zhang Xuezhou without waiting months to finish condensing her body.
• Zhu Jiuyin carefully conveyed his cultivation knowledge to Ren Anran, believing she was testing his progress under Hongjun's guidance.
• Zhu Jiuyin sensed the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains' formation change and felt the hot spring on his mountain begin to cool.

Donghua used the Primordial Chaos Limitless Grand Formation and the Spirit-Gathering Banner to draw Zhu Jiuyin out of the buried secret realm and take control of him. He prepared to bring Zhu Jiuyin back to Kunlun to be refined into an Immortality Elixir.

• Donghua explained that the formation could trap Zhu Jiuyin but was not suited to killing individual cultivators, then instructed the sect masters to open a small passage after the mountains collapsed.
• Sect Master Zhunti used the Azure Lotus to bore into the mountain, and Donghua sent the Spirit-Gathering Banner into the passage to widen it with the souls inside.
• Donghua told the empress that his cultivation had changed his disposition and that he intended to suppress the white snake after returning to Kunlun.
• After waiting, Donghua sensed Zhu Jiuyin’s weakened condition and reached for the Spirit-Gathering Banner as Zhu Jiuyin’s dragon head emerged from underground.
• Donghua used the banner to command Zhu Jiuyin, while Sect Master Jieyin and Sect Master Zhunti realized he had controlled Zhu Jiuyin through the white snake.

Donghua seized control of Zhu Jiuyin and led him away, leaving Zhang Xuezhou to search for Ren Anran. After learning that Zhu Jiuyin might have gone to Sacred Peak, Zhang Xuezhou flew there, suspecting Ren Anran would enter the Three Realms nearby.

• Zhang Xuezhou realized Donghua had used the Soul-Upsetting Beast Control Technique through Bai to take over Zhu Jiuyin's dragon body.
• Zhang Xuezhou watched Zhu Jiuyin leave under Donghua's control and worried that Donghua would use Immortality Elixirs to win allies and hunt him down.
• Zhang Xuezhou escaped the hidden land, found Lingyu and the Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman Demon, and sent Lingyu to find her father.
• The Mottled-Robed Mandarin Fish Woman Demon told Zhang Xuezhou that Lu Baibai was at Sacred Peak, where Zhu Jiuyin might have gone to discuss the Dao.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized Ren Anran might enter the Three Realms at Sacred Peak and flew there at great speed.

Zhang Xuezhou reunited with Ren Anran in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and learned that Zhu Jiuyin had taught her the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture, letting her cultivate a water-like Yang Corporeal Soul. After hearing her assessment of his choices, Zhang Xuezhou decided to prioritize helping her recover, while Ren Anran reassured him she could keep cultivating with Spirit Jade.

• Zhang Xuezhou reached Zhu Jiuyin’s hot spring and called for Ren Anran, whose voice answered from the water.
• Ren Anran explained that Zhu Jiuyin had given her the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture and that she had used it to form her Yang Corporeal Soul from the hot spring water.
• Zhang Xuezhou retrieved Ren Anran’s four pieces of Spirit Jade and told her about the complicated situation he faced.
• Zhang Xuezhou laid out his options: seek a Spiritual Qi tide at the Xieluosi River Holy Land or return the Six Talismans of the Tai Steps to Emperor Qin’s Mausoleum to restore the Yin-Yang Secret Land.
• Ren Anran advised Zhang Xuezhou to pursue the Spiritual Qi tide, saying she could continue cultivating with Spirit Jade even if she could not immediately regain her strength.
• Ren Anran became a cloud of white mist and drifted into Zhang Xuezhou’s hand, reassuring him that she could at least regain a normal human form.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to Zhu Jiuyin’s secret land with Ren Anran to draw Spiritual Qi from the Primordial Chaos Limitless Grand Formation, hoping to restore his body and help her forge a Yang Corporeal Soul Form. After the smaller-than-expected Spiritual Qi storm began, Zhang Xuezhou sensed that something was wrong.

• Zhang Xuezhou found Zhu Jiuyin absent from the Xieluosi River Holy Land and entered the secret land with Ren Anran, where Dead Souls attacked them.
• Ren Anran explained that the Dead Souls from the Sovereign’s Spirit-Gathering Banner could be tamed and used to strengthen living people, so Zhang Xuezhou decided to collect and nourish them.
• Zhang Xuezhou guided Ren Anran through the rising earthfire to the reverse side of the secret land and told her to stay near a boulder while he reached the formation core.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Acupoint-Fixing Technique to release Spiritual Qi from the formation, and he and Ren Anran began absorbing it to recover and cultivate.
• After regaining more than half of his Law Power and Demon Power, Zhang Xuezhou noticed that something was amiss.

Zhang Xuezhou stabilized the Primordial Chaos Limitless Grand Formation as Yedie River Holy Land and Nine Spirits Holy Land joined Xieluosi River Holy Land, while Ren Anran recovered in the Spiritual Qi rain. The chapter left him hopeful when Ren Anran offered to help free his Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation from Zhu Jiuyin’s framework.

• Zhang Xuezhou watched Yedie River Holy Land and Nine Spirits Holy Land approach as the Spiritual Qi storm turned into rain and Ren Anran’s body rapidly recovered.
• Zhang Xuezhou kept the Acupoint-Fixing Technique in place, and the three secret lands settled into a stable triangular arrangement within the formation.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered the lions in Nine Spirits Holy Land and told Ren Anran he would take her away if danger arose.
• Ren Anran completed her transformation and asked Zhang Xuezhou to cultivate the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture with her.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he had found the key to breaking the shackles Zhu Jiuyin had placed on his Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran cultivated the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture amid the Spiritual Qi rain, but their progress diverged at the seventh layer because their Yang Corporeal Souls remained connected to their physical bodies in different ways. As Zhang Xuezhou realized he could not simply follow Ren Anran's method, Zhu Jiuyin returned to the hidden land in despair after losing control of his body.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran advanced the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture to the seventh layer and found that their Yang Corporeal Souls developed differently.
• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that his physical body made his cultivation a hybrid of bodily and scripture-based power, unlike Ren Anran's cultivation without his body present.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided he would need to discuss his stalled progress with others rather than copy Ren Anran's method.
• Zhu Jiuyin lamented that a dragonkind had taken over his physical body and that his soul could no longer return to it.
• Zhu Jiuyin headed through the earthfire passage to seal himself inside the hidden land and ran into Zhang Xuezhou and the others.

Zhu Jiuyin confronted Zhang Xuezhou after losing control of his body and learned that powerful figures had attacked him, while Ren Anran rapidly advanced in the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture. He realized outsiders were entering the Three Realms and recalled Hongjun’s warning, leaving him to pin his remaining hopes on Ren Anran.

• Zhu Jiuyin broke down upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou and the others, then attacked Zhang Xuezhou and was knocked back.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhu Jiuyin that powerful cultivators had come to kill him and that his soul had escaped the destruction of his body.
• Zhu Jiuyin realized his original body was decaying and that the creature occupying it would also be doomed.
• Zhu Jiuyin watched Ren Anran rapidly cultivate the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture to its eighth level and form a Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation with sixty percent of the original body's strength.
• Zhu Jiuyin deduced that outsiders had entered the Three Realms and remembered Hongjun’s warning that their invasion could bring calamity.
• Zhu Jiuyin accepted that his own fate was likely sealed and turned his hopes toward Ren Anran.

After Ren Anran reached the ninth level of the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture, she discovered that her Yang Corporeal Soul Body could switch between Realm Techniques freely. Zhang Xuezhou recognized that her ability might let them find a way to achieve yin-yang fusion, while Zhu Jiuyin remained dependent on her for hope.

• Zhu Jiuyin lamented that the Spiritual Qi rain had stopped and asked Zhang Xuezhou how he had used the colored glass to control the formation.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained how he had stabilized the formation and told Zhu Jiuyin that Yang Corporeal Soul Bodies could survive after their physical bodies died.
• Zhu Jiuyin accepted Zhang Xuezhou's report about Dou Ying and Guan Fu but chose to keep waiting for Ren Anran.
• Ren Anran broke through to the ninth level of the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture as the Spiritual Qi dwindled.
• Ren Anran told Zhang Xuezhou that she could switch Realm Techniques without strain, and he realized her ability might enable them to find a path to yin-yang fusion.
• Zhu Jiuyin could not understand Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran speaking in the Scarlet Alliance State Language and concluded that they were outsiders.

Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Zhu Jiuyin to reveal a forgotten treasure, the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle, and discovered that controlling its weight required dividing force into many equal portions. He managed to lift it and planned to seek Ying Fusu’s help mastering it before returning to Chang'an City.

• Zhu Jiuyin questioned Zhang Xuezhou about coming from outside, and Zhang Xuezhou used Ren Anran and Hongjun to explain himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Zhu Jiuyin to reveal any remaining treasures, reminding him of an item he had forgotten.
• Zhu Jiuyin led Zhang Xuezhou to the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle, which he had sometimes used as a chamber pot.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that the bottle’s weight could be managed by dividing force into thirty-six or more portions, then barely lifted it.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to ask Ying Fusu for help controlling the bottle and planned to return to Chang'an City.

Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Anran, and Zhu Jiuyin traveled toward Chang'an as Ren Anran learned about Zhang Xuezhou’s life and witnessed the devastation of war. Near the city, Zhang Xuezhou cautiously avoided the Demon-Revealing Mirror and entered by carriage.

• Ren Anran collected four bottles of living souls before stopping her cultivation because she lacked Spirit Jade, and Zhang Xuezhou carried the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle out of the secret land.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran flew toward Chang'an with Zhu Jiuyin, who hoped to see how Dou Ying and the others were faring.
• Ren Anran questioned Zhang Xuezhou about his life and relationships, and he explained that he hoped to explore worlds together and help them prosper.
• Ren Anran saw war-ravaged regions, homeless disaster victims, and the graves of those who had died, and she grew quiet as she compared the world with reality.
• Zhang Xuezhou landed outside the Demon-Revealing Mirror’s range and hired a carriage to enter Chang'an cautiously.