Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou learned Hongjun’s plan for using the Investiture of the Gods to seize the Void Heaven Hall and received instructions to master the Cloud-Probing Hand. After their conversation, he retained every memory of Hongjun and realized he could act with greater independence.

• Hongjun learned how badly the Three Realms had changed and agreed to teach Zhang Xuezhou a way to steal back his treasures.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked about the Investiture of the Gods, and Hongjun explained that Houtu would try to rescue her former subordinates, giving him a chance to take the Void Heaven Hall with the Cloud-Probing Hand.
• Hongjun told Zhang Xuezhou to hold the Investiture of the Gods in his body, have it unsealed, and shout “Donghua” at Donghua while Hongjun handled the rest.
• Hongjun warned Zhang Xuezhou to act quickly because Houtu could forcibly retract the Void Heaven Hall and destroy his divine soul.
• Zhang Xuezhou awoke in Sinkhole No. 2 and found that he remembered the entire conversation, giving him the freedom to interpret Hongjun’s instructions himself.

After leaving Sinkhole No. 2, Zhang Xuezhou returned to the B13 Research Institute and heard about Kelanduo’s plans for governing the Thousand Islands Alliance. He agreed to cooperate with her proposed sacrifices despite warning that they could bring misfortune.

• Zhang Xuezhou reassured Ren Anran that Mallard’s control of his body might eventually help them separate, and said he would ask Zhang Hao to return and swap them back.
• Zhang Xuezhou left Sinkhole No. 2, saw hail across North Rehe, and read reports linking severe weather and disrupted flights to a cold front from Qinmeng.
• At the B13 Research Institute, Zhang Xuezhou learned that Luo Tianming and the others had advanced Luo Burang’s Gene Fighting Technique, though Luo Burang remained weak in prolonged combat.
• Ren Yisheng told Zhang Xuezhou that Kelanduo wanted to know whether sacrifices could help her govern the Thousand Islands Alliance through religion.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned that sacrifices had preceded Great Chanyu Junchen’s decline and death, but agreed to cooperate if Kelanduo accepted the risk.

Zhang Xuezhou helped Tuer Kelanduo stage a public miracle in Tutram City to strengthen the Tuer Religion’s influence over the Thousand Islands Alliance. The ritual succeeded when Tuer Alade’s severed hand was reattached, and Zhang Hao wondered whether Hu Yu would see the recording.

• Zhang Xuezhou flew to Tutram City, where Tuer Kelanduo asked him to use his Tuer God Grace ability to support a planned miracle.
• Tuer Kelanduo explained that Grand Elder Tuer Alade would sever his hand and that his twin brother could take his place if the ritual failed.
• Tuer Alade sawed off his hand with a chainsaw before the assembled councilors and chiefs, and Zhang Xuezhou used his ability to reattach it.
• Tuer Alade proclaimed that Divine Grace had favored him, while the witnesses shouted and marveled at the apparent miracle.
• Zhang Hao considered how the recording could help Tuer Kelanduo govern the Thousand Islands Alliance and wondered whether Hu Yu would see it.

Zhang Xuezhou and his companions discussed how Demon Venerable Hu Yu might be hiding outside the ice palace and how to deal with him. Zhang Xuezhou backed Zhang Huang’s plan to seek an agreement with Hu Yu if he was connected to Yu, while Zhang Hao remained wary.

• Zhang Hao warned Zhang Xuezhou that Hu Yu had likely left the ice palace and was gathering information, and outlined plans to draw him out or track him.
• Zhang Huang proposed contacting Hu Yu to explore whether he was connected to Yu and could be persuaded to stop or cooperate.
• Zhang Xuezhou supported Zhang Huang’s idea and gave him a Spirit Jade and Magic Stone as a test of whether Hu Yu could transform a mountain into the same materials.
• Zhang Hao doubted the plan but accepted Zhang Huang’s resolve, while Zhang Huang clarified that he would seek peace without risking his life recklessly.
• Zhang Hao prepared to switch places with Ren Anran and travel to the Yin-Yang Secret Land, hoping to develop or reclaim a physical body.

Zhang Xuezhou performed a Karmic Fortune sacrifice for Tuer Kelanduo, but the formation drew on the Thousand Islands Alliance’s power of faith instead of harming her. Through that faith, he sensed Demon Venerable Hu Yu’s method of anchoring his divine soul and realized Huang may have been one of Hu Yu’s test subjects.

• Tuer Kelanduo prepared the shrine and asked Zhang Xuezhou to sacrifice her so she could pursue the Gene Sequence and help the Thousand Islands Alliance enter the mainstream world.
• Zhang Xuezhou began the sacrifice, painted runes with Tuer Kelanduo’s blood, and had her recite a surrender document.
• Zhang Hao watched the unusual rite and wondered whether sacrificing an emperor could produce a practical result.
• Zhang Xuezhou sensed that the formation was drawing in the Thousand Islands Alliance’s power of faith as a substitute for Tuer Kelanduo.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that the faith anchored Demon Venerable Hu Yu’s divine soul and suspected Huang had been Hu Yu’s believer and test subject.

Zhang Xuezhou studied Hu Yu’s faith-based method of sustaining a divine soul and tried adapting it with Karmic Fortune. When Hu Yu noticed the sacrifices and challenged him, he flooded the array with faith, giving Zhang Xuezhou far more power to work with than he expected.

• Zhang Xuezhou reasoned that Karmic Fortune might imitate faith and keep his divine soul alive for a limited time, and he connected the method to Montes Arthur’s spiritual development.
• While refining Hu Yu’s sacrifices, Zhang Xuezhou continued experimenting with anchoring his divine soul until Hu Yu intervened and demanded to know who had started a divine war.
• Zhang Xuezhou invoked Xuanming’s authority, and Hu Yu chose to fight rather than retreat, confident that the World Origin made him invincible in his own world.
• Zhang Xuezhou imitated Xuanming’s arrogant manner, provoking Hu Yu into challenging him.
• Hu Yu poured the World Origin’s power of faith into the sacrificial array, sending a surge of human-shaped believers toward it at many times the previous rate.

Zhang Xuezhou used Demon Venerable Hu Yu’s endless supply of the Power of Faith to repeatedly imprint the void and create a subspace where he could conceal his soul. The sacrificial array eventually vanished, leaving Hu Yu convinced he had won even though Zhang had gained a way to escape mortal danger.

• Demon Venerable Hu Yu turned Zhang Xuezhou’s sacrificial array into a war of faith, confident that his World Origin could overwhelm Xuanming with endless power.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized Hu Yu’s attacks gave him an unlimited chance to experiment with imprinting the void.
• Zhang Xuezhou successfully created a subspace where he could hide his soul and tested that he could enter and leave it reliably.
• Zhang Xuezhou let the sacrifice continue while considering how much Karmic Fortune it might produce, though the array flags began to strain.
• Demon Venerable Hu Yu celebrated when the array and its radiance vanished, believing he had won despite gaining nothing substantial from the battle.

Zhang Xuezhou’s eight-day sacrificial ritual ended when the formation flags could no longer withstand the Karmic Fortune released, leaving Tuer Kelanduo exhausted but alive. He discovered the ritual could be repeated, and Tuer Kalanduo learned that she and her mother might benefit from connections to reach the Seventh Sequence.

• Tuer Kelanduo endured eight days without food or water inside the formation flags, learning the Grain Avoidance Instruction from Zhang Hao.
• The ritual ended in explosions and golden light, and Tuer Kelanduo collapsed as Zhang Xuezhou supported her mother.
• Zhang Hao marveled at the Karmic Fortune Tuer Kelanduo had produced, while Zhang Xuezhou found sixteen Karmic Fortune Pearls in his Fortune Technique space.
• Zhang Xuezhou said they would hold another ritual in half a month and advised Tuer Kelanduo to prepare her health and supplies.
• Tuer Kalanduo asked whether her mother and she could reach the Seventh Sequence, and Zhang Xuezhou told her to speak with Li Yingbo and An Ran.

Zhang Xuezhou learned that Demon Venerable Hu Yu had been incapacitated by the sacrifice and stranded aboard an evacuated ship, then traveled to North Rehe to check on Hu Hao and the research into the Wind and Thunder Saber. Zhang Manqian demonstrated a tiger-like fighting style that might let her wield part of the saber’s power against Demon Venerable Hu Yu.

• Li Yingbo told Zhang Xuezhou that Grian had evacuated the ship carrying the incapacitated Demon Venerable Hu Yu, leaving it drifting at sea.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Yingbo he planned to visit Hu Hao at the A1 Research Institute because Demon Venerable Hu Yu was pursuing him.
• Zhang Xuezhou arrived at the A1 Research Institute, welcomed Void Furnace, and learned that Zhang Manqian had modified herself with blood serums to test her compatibility with the Wind and Thunder Saber.
• Zhang Manqian sparred with Zhou Xin and showed Zhang Xuezhou a punch that carried the force of a pouncing tiger.

Zhang Xuezhou discovered how Zhang Manqian could activate the Wind and Thunder Saber and planned to bring Yi Shuo to the real world to help her cultivate. After Zhang Xuezhou crossed worlds and reunited with Ren Anran’s Yang Corporeal Soul, Ren Anran absorbed its memories and instinctively entered the Realm of True Self.

• Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Anran, and Zhang Hao concluded that Zhang Manqian could activate the Wind and Thunder Saber through bloodline compatibility, tiger might, and the Wind Avoidance Instruction.
• Zhang Xuezhou proposed shaping a Yang Corporeal Soul Body for Yi Shuo so she could come to the real world and help Zhang Manqian practice the One Hundred and Eight Thousand Acupoints Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou arranged for Ren Yisheng and Zhang Hao to travel between worlds, and he crossed over with Zhang Hao as Ren Anran watched.
• Ren Anran welcomed the returning portion of her divine soul and merged with its Yang Corporeal Soul Body and memories of life in Chang'an City.
• Ren Anran’s body instinctively circulated her technique as she absorbed the memories, bringing her into the Realm of True Self.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to the Three Realms with Zhang Hao and formed a temporary Yang Corporeal Soul Body for him. He learned that Hongjun had shown little concern for Zhu Jiuyin, who then asked to confront the person responsible for his death.

• Zhang Xuezhou reasoned that Hongjun could reach the Three Realms greenhouse but not the real world, and considered using the Void Heaven Hall against Demon Venerable Hu Yu.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Hao completed their exchange and returned to the residence in Chang'an City.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture and Spirit Jade to form a temporary Yang Corporeal Soul Body for Zhang Hao.
• Yi Shuo asked where Ren Anran had gone, and Zhang Xuezhou told her An Ran had returned.
• Zhu Jiuyin learned that Hongjun had offered no special response to his death and became dejected.
• Zhu Jiuyin recognized Zhang Hao and asked who had killed him; Zhang Xuezhou offered to take him to confront Donghua.

Zhang Xuezhou learned that the Investiture of the Gods held hundreds of souls and sought to communicate with one prisoner who bore a grudge against Zhunti and Jieyin. He also discussed Huo Qubing’s lingering mental damage from sacrifice and offered several cultivation methods to treat it.

• Liu Xuan asked to hide inside the Investiture of the Gods so he could travel with Zhang Xuezhou, but gave up after learning the treasure could obliterate souls.
• Huo Qubing told Zhang Xuezhou that hundreds of people were imprisoned in the Investiture of the Gods and described one coherent prisoner who cursed Zhunti and Jieyin.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Huo Qubing to promise the prisoner that Yang Jian was seeking Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root and that cooperation could let him take revenge after his body was remade.
• Liu Xuan explained that Huo Qubing’s sacrifice had left persistent mental damage, and Zhang Xuezhou recommended Mental Strengthening, Dragon Coils Around the Pillar, True Fire Refines the Golden Body, or the Prajna Heart Sutra.

Zhang Xuezhou investigated how Nezha had entered the Investiture of the Gods and whether he could escape its seal, hoping the treasure might help him evade Houtu. Nezha’s unusual immunity to divine-soul erosion suggested a possible way to buy time after Zhang Xuezhou unsealed the Void Heaven Hall.

• Huo Qubing contacted Nezha through the Investiture of the Gods and learned that Nezha had been sealed there after his head was destroyed.
• Nezha told Huo Qubing that he could see the outside but could not pass through the golden light separating them.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Nezha to keep searching for a way out and told the New Emperor that the treasure might help him survive Houtu’s influence.
• Huo Qubing reported that Nezha suspected his Lotus Body’s immunity to divine-soul erosion was connected to his survival inside the treasure.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized Nezha might be able to help him appear dead to Hongjun and Houtu after the Void Heaven Hall’s lock on his divine soul was lifted.

Zhang Xuezhou flew toward Western Aparagodaniya Continent with the New Emperor and met Divine Lord Zhenyuan, who joined their plan to confront the Western Sect. Near the Kunlun Secret Land, Zhang Xuezhou attacked an imperial sovereign in golden robes, and a sudden flash of silver light was followed by sword light covering the ruins.

• Zhang Xuezhou told the New Emperor about the Investiture of the Gods and the fortuitous opportunity awaiting Nezha, while the New Emperor hoped to obtain an Immortality Elixir and study the Prajna Heart Sutra.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that an Immortality Elixir could extend the empress dowager's lifespan but would not necessarily cure her illness, and the New Emperor set aside the idea of using it to save her.
• The Heaven-Riding Shuttle landed at Divine Lord Zhenyuan's Daoist temple, where Zhang Xuezhou and the New Emperor met him and discussed their abilities and plans to challenge Sect Master Jieyin.
• Divine Lord Zhenyuan accepted the New Emperor's participation, and the three headed toward Western Aparagodaniya Continent, eager to seize Spirit Jade and obtain an Immortality Elixir.
• Near the Kunlun Secret Land, Zhang Xuezhou shouted at and punched an imperial sovereign in golden robes; after the figure dodged, silver light flashed and sword light enveloped the ruins.

Zhang Xuezhou and the New Emperor attacked Donghua, suspecting that an evil demon had taken over the emperor’s body. After the impostor escaped underground, Zhang exposed the Willow God’s weakness and entered its passage, leaving the New Emperor and Divine Lord Zhenyuan to guard the entrance.

• Zhang Xuezhou and the New Emperor attacked Donghua, who dodged their blows and escaped into a passage formed by the Willow God’s roots.
• Divine Lord Zhenyuan confronted the Willow God, while Zhang Xuezhou explained that an evil demon had invaded the emperor’s body as his spirit wandered the great void.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Demonic Sound Technique to tell the Willow God that Donghua was an impostor, prompting the Willow God to compare him with its memories of the emperor.
• The Willow God opened an underground passage, and Zhang Xuezhou entered it with the Spirit Wood Staff while the New Emperor and Divine Lord Zhenyuan stayed behind to guard the entrance.
• Divine Lord Zhenyuan noticed the emperor’s blood on the ground and realized the New Emperor had wounded Donghua in their brief exchange.

Zhang Xuezhou confronted Donghua in the ruined secret land, but Donghua triggered its destruction to take them both down. As the secret land plunged toward a collision, Zhang Xuezhou and Wangliang tried to protect themselves, and the impact struck.

• Zhang Xuezhou entered the secret land and used Wangliang’s voice to provoke Donghua into revealing his presence behind the bronze throne.
• Donghua threatened to die with Zhang Xuezhou, then caused the secret land to plunge into darkness and descend rapidly.
• Wangliang revealed that Willow God had been torn apart and that the Divine Emperor had gone mad; three other Kunlun gods also spoke and sang as destruction approached.
• Zhang Xuezhou raised his defenses and called for help, while Wangliang and the other gods provided a beast hide, an earthen prison, and an ancient zither for protection.
• Wangliang squeezed into the earthen prison beside Zhang Xuezhou, but the secret land collided and crushed everything around them.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan and the New Emperor discovered that the Willow God was dying beneath Kunlun, then met Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and Nanji, who were searching for the Divine Emperor. After realizing their accounts of the Divine Emperor and Zhang Xuezhou conflicted, they used the Divine Emperor’s blood to locate him.

• Divine Lord Zhenyuan dug into the ground and found the Willow God's twisted roots, concluding that the deity was near death.
• The New Emperor and Divine Lord Zhenyuan discussed how the Divine Emperor had refined the Immortality Elixir and why Zhang Xuezhou had attacked him.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and Nanji arrived with devices to build a new Western Heavenly Gate traversal formation, explaining that the Two Elders of the West had trapped immortals and destroyed the old gate.
• The New Emperor told Celestial Venerable Yuanshi that Zhang Xuezhou and the Divine Emperor had gone underground and showed him the Divine Emperor's blood.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi used a blood-tracking technique, and the Law Power pointed toward the western mountains.

Zhang Xuezhou survived Donghua’s attempt to take them both down when the Kunlun secret land collapsed, but found no trace of Donghua or explanation for his actions. Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and the others reached the ruined council hall, where they found the Sovereign’s corpse and considered whether Donghua had been targeting Yuanshi.

• Zhang Xuezhou climbed out of the ruins and searched the Sovereign’s remains and the surrounding secret land for Donghua, but found no trace of him.
• The New Emperor and his companions called to Zhang Xuezhou and broke through the wreckage to reach him.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi entered the ruined council hall and saw the Sovereign dead in the bronze throne.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Celestial Venerable Yuanshi that Donghua had shouted about dying together before the secret land collapsed.
• Nanji wondered whether the Sovereign had caused the disaster while adjusting the Western Heavenly Gate, while Zhang Xuezhou considered that Donghua might have been trying to kill Celestial Venerable Yuanshi.

Zhang Xuezhou welcomed the Immortal Court and Kunlun cultivators to investigate the Emperor Lord’s death, hoping they would uncover clues about Donghua. The group entered the underground passage, while the New Emperor and Divine Lord Zhenyuan remained outside wondering what Donghua had intended.

• Zhang Xuezhou greeted the Jade Emperor, the Empress, Xuannü, and the others, presenting himself as Shuo Immortal and explaining that the Emperor Lord might have been crushed when the secret land went out of control.
• The Jade Emperor, Lady Bixia, and the Empress crawled into the passage to inspect the remains, and Xuannü privately asked Zhang Xuezhou whether the dead man had truly been the Emperor Lord.
• Zhang Xuezhou avoided answering Xuannü and entered the passage, hoping the visitors would find traces of Donghua.
• The New Emperor and Divine Lord Zhenyuan stayed outside, and Divine Lord Zhenyuan wondered what Donghua’s purpose had been.

The Empress and the others examined the secret realm’s wreckage and learned how Zhang Xuezhou claimed to have survived. Celestial Venerable Yuanshi attempted to summon the Emperor’s soul, but found that the Emperor was completely dead, as if his soul had vanished long before his body.

• The Empress, Xuannü, and Lady Bixia inspected Taowu’s shattered remains in the collapsed secret realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Taowu, Chong, Changqin, and Wangliang had protected him, and he asked whether they could summon the Emperor’s soul.
• The Empress asked the Jade Emperor to summon her husband, but he said Celestial Venerable Yuanshi was better suited to the task.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi arrived and, after hearing what had happened, reluctantly agreed to try summoning the Emperor’s soul.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi touched the Emperor’s corpse and sensed that his body and divine soul were utterly dead, with no soul left to summon.