Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou spoke with Zhou about the Fifth Element and the obstacles to attaining sainthood in the Three Realms, then confirmed his own breakthrough to the True Self Realm. He discovered that purging the World Origin’s lingering poison had caused his Hu Yu Domain to grow rapidly.

• Zhou told Zhang Xuezhou that mastering the Fifth Element could grant control over time and space, and named Silidio, the Dragon of Time and Space, as a possible lead.
• Zhou concluded that Saint Hongjun would prevent Zhang Xuezhou from entering sainthood through the Fifth Element in the Three Realms, and resolved to wait for him in the void.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized that his Yin-Yang School cultivation had brought him into the True Self Realm through Infant Transformation.
• Zhang Xuezhou observed that his Poison Avoidance Instruction had cleared lingering World Origin poison, and his Hu Yu Domain grew to more than twice its former range.

Ren Anran negotiated with Hu Yu while disguised as Zhang Xuezhou, but Hu Yu used the agreement as cover to attack her. After shattering her frozen body and overpowering Zhang Huang, Hu Yu charged toward the aircraft carrying his Cloud Wings.

• Ren Anran offered Hu Yu a peace agreement and proposed that they swear a Great Heart Demon Oath.
• Hu Yu recited Ren Anran's oath, then had her agree to carve the pact into a stone stele.
• As Ren Anran approached the stele and carved it with the Stone Transformation Technique, Hu Yu attacked her with his domain.
• Zhang Huang attacked Hu Yu in anger, but Hu Yu recovered from his injuries and shattered Ren Anran's frozen body.
• Hu Yu froze Zhang Huang with his domain, then transformed into a giant white tiger and charged toward the aircraft holding his Cloud Wings.

Ren Anran and the others prepared to trap Hu Yu in Laiyata City while Zhang Xuezhou tried to keep him occupied. Zhang Manqian waited for a safe opening to strike with the Wind and Thunder Saber, and Tuer Kalanduo stood ready to detonate the explosives.

• Ren Anran returned to her body after Hu Yu destroyed her Yang Corporeal Soul Body and warned that Zhang Xuezhou was the only one able to contend with him.
• Ren Anran ordered Tuer Kalanduo to wait until Zhang Manqian withdrew before detonating the explosives beneath Laiyata City.
• Tuer Kalanduo asked Ren Anran about the unfolding events, and Ren Anran reassured her that Zhang Xuezhou would win.
• Tuer Kalanduo used the surviving surveillance equipment to track Hu Yu and Zhang Huang, while Zhang Manqian waited with the Wind and Thunder Saber.
• Ren Anran said they should wait at least ten minutes for Zhang Xuezhou to hold Hu Yu's attention, and Tuer Kalanduo started a countdown.

Zhang Xuezhou used the Power of Faith to lure Hu Yu into another divine war while preparing a trap. Hu Yu broke free of the sacrificial illusion and found himself back in Laiyata City, facing a white saber.

• Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly activated the sacrifice, drawing on the Power of Faith to begin the divine war as planned with Ren Anran and the others.
• Hu Yu sent his army of faith believers into the opposing divine kingdom and used the battle to test its defenses while spending his expendable Tiger Souls.
• Hu Yu reflected on his past battles with Zhang Xuezhou and used the World Origin to create more believers, producing a little over ten million.
• Hu Yu sensed danger and struggled to escape the divine war, breaking through the darkness that had trapped him.
• Hu Yu saw Laiyata City again and found a very white saber before him.

Hu Yu recalled how choosing the Holy White Cloud Wings had let the Tiger Saint surpass him, then used the Wind and Thunder Saber to advance his Principle. As the saber wounded him, the World Origin within Hu Yu dispersed, leaving him weakened and unsure what had caused it.

• Hu Yu remembered choosing the Holy White Cloud Wings over the Wind and Thunder Saber, a decision that let the Tiger Saint gain an advantage over him.
• Zhang Huang hurled filth at Hu Yu and fled to give Zhang Manqian time to escape, while Hu Yu retrieved the Wind and Thunder Saber.
• Hu Yu struggled with the saber and felt his Principle developing, believing it could help him reach a new extreme.
• Black Bifeng tore Hu Yu’s claw, and he discovered that his World Origin had stopped replenishing him and seemed to have vanished.
• Hu Yu suspected that repeated blows from the Wind and Thunder Saber had counteracted the World Origin and caused it to disperse.

Zhang Manqian and Zhang Huang escaped Hu Yu by detonating explosives in Laiyata City, but the blast buried Zhang Huang and cut off contact with Zhang Manqian. Zhang Xuezhou arrived to confront Hu Yu, who had gained the power of a Principle, and summoned the Void Heaven Hall, which then plunged from the sky under a barrage of white lightning.

• Zhang Manqian slashed Hu Yu 1,630 times before retreating by aircraft, while Zhang Huang remained behind with him.
• Zhang Xuezhou ordered the explosives in Laiyata City detonated after Zhang Manqian and Zhang Huang had moved beyond the blast's safe distance.
• The explosion devastated the city, buried Zhang Huang, and severed communications with Zhang Manqian.
• Zhang Xuezhou arrived and drew Hu Yu's attention while the others planned to dig Zhang Huang out of the wreckage.
• Hu Yu revealed that the explosion had helped him guide a Principle, and Zhang Xuezhou called out for Donghua to appear.
• A floating city emerged, and after Hu Yu questioned whether Donghua was one of the Four Saints, it plunged through the sky amid falling white lightning.

Zhang Xuezhou endured the Heavenly Thunder Pool’s rampage in the Void Heaven Hall and used it to advance his Golden Body, while Hu Yu was caught in the same devastating assault. After Houtu left, Zhang Xuezhou continued growing beyond nine zhang and sensed a new path opening before him.

• The Heavenly Thunder Pool spilled its lightning across the Void Heaven Hall, and Zhang Xuezhou chose to use the assault to cultivate his Golden Body.
• Hu Yu mistook the power striking him for revenge by Xuanming and raged as the lightning damaged his body and disrupted his World Origin.
• Zhang Xuezhou rapidly retraced his progress, growing his Golden Body to nine zhang while the Poison Avoidance Instruction helped protect him.
• Houtu’s voice faded as she left, and Zhang Xuezhou used the Lightning Avoidance Instruction to survive the continuing bombardment.
• Zhang Xuezhou’s Golden Body grew beyond nine zhang, and he sensed a new level of cultivation taking shape.

Zhang Xuezhou endured an endless lightning bombardment while Hu Yu grew stronger and believed he was ascending through dimensions. After learning from 'Zhou' about demonic lightning tribulations, Zhang Xuezhou realized Hu Yu was trapped in the Heart Demon Tribulation because his body had passed but his divine soul had not.

• Zhang Xuezhou completed the Twelve-Zhang Golden Body Instruction, but the heavenly lightning kept blasting him and Hu Yu underground.
• Hu Yu endured the lightning with power drawn from the World Origin, believing his body was changing and that he was gaining a fortuitous opportunity.
• As the lightning faded, Hu Yu saw a multicolored passage and believed he had achieved Dimensional Ascension.
• Hu Yu's tiger roar injured Zhang Xuezhou, who sent his divine soul into the hidden void and found 'Zhou' waiting there.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked 'Zhou' about lightning tribulations and learned that the final strike of the Eight-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was the Heart Demon Tribulation.
• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that Hu Yu's body had passed the tribulation, but his divine soul remained trapped in the Heart Demon Tribulation.

After surviving the tribulation and reaching Dimensional Ascension, Zhang Xuezhou tried to contain the frenzied Hu Yu by dragging him into a distorted space. The chapter ended with Hu Yu regaining awareness inside the unstable space, where both men faced being crushed unless Hu Yu withdrew his domain.

• Zhang Xuezhou returned from the void after speaking with "Zhou," who declined his offer to reincarnate in the real world.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw that the lightning had stopped and celebrated his Dimensional Ascension, while Hu Yu attacked him in a frenzy.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to subdue Hu Yu and send him into the distorted space near Laiyata City, then opened a passage through the collapsed cavern.
• Zhang Xuezhou endured Hu Yu's attacks, seized him, and dragged him toward the stone chamber as Ren Anran warned that the hall seemed controllable and the lightning had stopped.
• Hu Yu began to recover his awareness as Zhang Xuezhou shoved him into the distortion, where Zhang Xuezhou warned him to withdraw his domain or they would both be crushed.

Zhang Xuezhou dragged Hu Yu through warped space and into the secret realm, with Ren Anran's help breaking their stalemate. Hu Yu appeared in a higher-dimensional world and was pursued by Tiger Saint, while Zhang Xuezhou seized a five-colored ice-crystal gemstone from Hu Yu.

• Hu Yu woke during the struggle and attacked Zhang Xuezhou as spatial currents twisted both their bodies.
• Hu Yu emerged into a strange world, believed he had ascended, and heard Tiger Saint claim the world as his own.
• Ren Anran's mental attack briefly distracted Hu Yu, allowing Zhang Xuezhou to use the Innate One Qi Technique and cross into the secret realm with him.
• Ren Anran tried to separate Hu Yu from Zhang Xuezhou, but the clash's lingering force nearly shredded her Yang Corporeal Soul Body.
• Zhang Xuezhou used Cloud-Probing Hand to pierce Hu Yu and hook a five-colored ice-crystal gemstone onto his finger.

Zhang Xuezhou pulled the World Origin from Hu Yu, stripping away Hu Yu’s regenerative power and securing victory in their battle. He and Ren Anran planned to use Hu Yu’s likeness to send the troublesome cultivators in Qinmeng to the Three Realms, while bringing Zhang Hao, Yi Shuo, and the others back.

• Zhang Xuezhou accidentally extracted Hu Yu’s World Origin with Hongjun’s Cloud-Probing Hand and realized Hu Yu could no longer recover as before.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered whether the World Origin could be used without yin, yang, and the Five Elements, then escaped Hu Yu’s domain by using the Following Like a Shadow Technique.
• Ren Anran warned Zhang Xuezhou about the remaining cultivators in Qinmeng, and he proposed using her imitation of Hu Yu to send them away to the Three Realms.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran agreed to claim Hu Yu had won the battle and that Zhang Xuezhou had submitted, keeping Badun from learning the truth until their plan was complete.
• Ren Anran studied Hu Yu’s body to reproduce his appearance while Hu Yu pleaded and apologized, though she knew he was unlikely to recover.

Zhang Xuezhou explored the Void Heaven Hall, hoping to discover what Hongjun wanted from Houtu’s treasure. After finding most of its rooms empty, he entered one that struck his consciousness and revealed a Demon Race cultivation text in runes.

• Zhang Xuezhou resealed the distorted region with a boulder and asked Ren Anran whether Huangdao had been found, but Huangdao remained hidden.
• Zhang Xuezhou formed a Yang Corporeal Soul Body to enter the Void Heaven Hall and inspected its lightning pool and lever with Ren Anran.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran searched the hall’s buildings and found several rooms empty, while speculating about why Hongjun wanted the treasure.
• Zhang Xuezhou entered another empty room, where a bell-like impact shook him and runes appeared overhead, describing a Demon Race cultivation technique.

Zhang Xuezhou realized that the Void Heaven Hall granted access based on appearance and helped Ren Anran imitate Houtu to gain authorization. They prepared to uncover the jade wall and try to seize control of the hall before Houtu could respond.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran explored the Void Heaven Hall, but its techniques seemed less valuable than they had hoped, so they planned to cultivate the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture as a fallback.
• Zhang Xuezhou transformed his legs into a snake’s tail and discovered that the hall granted him authorization level zero based on his form.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Ren Anran to imitate Houtu, using a drawing he made from her image on the jade wall as a reference.
• Ren Anran entered a room in Houtu’s likeness and received authorization level three, allowing her to see the Void Gold, the inheritance, and the room’s cultivation environment.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran prepared to uncover the jade wall so Ren Anran could try to take control of the Void Heaven Hall before Houtu intervened.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran used the jade disc in the Void Heaven Hall to evade Houtu and secure control of the hall. They left the treasure hidden in the void, while Donghua’s chances of ascending in the Three Realms remained poor amid the conflict between Houtu and Hongjun.

• Zhang Xuezhou summoned the jade disc, spoke with Houtu, and stalled long enough for Ren Anran to emerge and swallow him.
• Ren Anran hid Zhang Xuezhou and drew the dark curtain, cutting off Houtu’s view of the Void Heaven Hall.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that his resistance to Houtu’s mental pressure showed his power had grown close to hers.
• Ren Anran’s Yang Corporeal Soul took on Houtu’s appearance, and she used her new control to withdraw the Void Heaven Hall into the void.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran discussed Donghua’s search for the World Origin and concluded that Houtu and Hongjun’s conflict would make his ascension unlikely.

Zhang Xuezhou tried to wear away Hu Yu’s mark on the World Origin while Ren Anran prepared to recruit the Fire Meteor cultivators. As Zhang Xuezhou brought Yi Shuo into Sinkhole No. 2, the World Origin shed its ice-crystal shell and appeared in Huangdao’s Three Palaces.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran agreed to study the Void Heaven Hall and arrange for the Fire Meteor cultivators to cross permanently into their world.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran returned to their bodies and continued sending messages suggesting they were on peaceful terms with Hu Yu.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried to consume Hu Yu’s mark on the World Origin with the Ecliptic Three Palaces Technique and the Grain Avoidance Instruction while Ren Anran headed to the Qinmeng Continent to approach Seven Spiders and the other cultivators.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew toward the Scarlet Alliance State and found that refining the World Origin had reduced gravity’s pull on him, though he still could not sense the Space-Time Element.
• After bringing Yi Shuo into Sinkhole No. 2, Zhang Xuezhou saw the World Origin peel away its ice-crystal layers and move from his palm into Huangdao’s Three Palaces.

Zhang Xuezhou refined Hu Yu’s World Origin with Yi Shuo’s acupuncture, completing the Poison Avoidance Instruction and discovering that the Origin had manifested as Void Gold within him. After stabilizing his body, he crossed to the Three Realms and found that the crossing had changed.

• Zhang Xuezhou forced the World Origin to remain trapped in Huangdao’s Three Palaces rather than let it return to Hu Yu.
• Yi Shuo used acupuncture and Medical School Law Power to strengthen Zhang Xuezhou as he refined the World Origin.
• Zhang Xuezhou changed from the Grain Avoidance Instruction to the Poison Avoidance Instruction and completed its One Hundred and Eight Thousand Acupoints.
• Zhang Xuezhou balanced the dark and white radiance within him, discovered a speck of golden Void Gold, and sensed that his Fleshly Body had entered a special state.
• Zhang Xuezhou continued adjusting his body until the next crossing, then guided it to the Three Realms and discovered that it had changed.

Zhang Xuezhou explained the changes to his body and his World Origin refinement to Mallard, then heard Ren Yisheng’s warning that the Three Realms were dangerous for them. As Zhang Xuezhou prepared to return, Hongjun revealed that Houtu was searching the Three Realms, making her the obstacle he would face.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Mallard to watch his body and suppress any unusual movements while avoiding unnecessary interference.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained Hu Yu’s defeat and his uncertain refinement of the World Origin, and Mallard promised to help keep them safe.
• Ren Yisheng recounted seeing the hardship of ordinary people in Chang’an City and urged Zhang Xuezhou to consider the people’s livelihood.
• Ren Yisheng warned Zhang Xuezhou that Zhang Hao’s wife had said Lady Houtu and Sage Hongjun might kill them once they were no longer useful.
• Zhang Xuezhou tested his new ability to act in the void and sensed that the Three Realms had changed as he approached.
• Hongjun warned Zhang Xuezhou that Houtu was searching the Three Realms, and Zhang Xuezhou realized she—not Hongjun—was the obstacle awaiting him.

After returning to the Three Realms, Zhang Xuezhou learned that Houtu had marked him and sought advice from Zhang Hao and the imperial consort about her descent. He decided to face Houtu himself, while Zhang Hao planned to return to the other world in a month and the imperial consort wondered whether Donghua’s body-shaping opportunity could help him remain in the Three Realms.

• Zhang Xuezhou considered whether to hide from Houtu or meet her, then asked Zhang Hao and the imperial consort about her past descents.
• Zhang Hao and the imperial consort warned Zhang Xuezhou that Houtu’s attacks were reputed to be lethal and that they did not know what identity she would assume.
• Zhang Xuezhou rejected Zhang Hao’s offer to act as bait and said he would face Houtu himself, while explaining his plans to lure Seven Spiders and other cultivators.
• Zhang Hao decided to return to the other world in a month after recognizing how difficult it would be to rebuild his cultivation and lifespan there.
• The imperial consort wondered whether Haotian could shape a body as Donghua had and hoped that the opportunity might let Zhang Hao stay in the Three Realms.

Zhang Xuezhou asked Dong Zhongshu to locate Lady Houtu’s mortal body, and the spell pointed toward a secret land on Spirit Mountain, possibly the Eight Treasures Merit Pool. Zhang Xuezhou raced ahead to investigate while the empress followed, considering the dangers of Lady Houtu’s descent.

• Zhang Xuezhou flew to Guangchuan and persuaded Dong Zhongshu to use his tracking spell to find Lady Houtu.
• Dong Zhongshu’s spell revealed a scorpion surrounded by water, lotus flowers, and a bird, and he concluded Lady Houtu was in a distant Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land.
• Zhang Xuezhou reasoned that Spirit Mountain’s Eight Treasures Merit Pool was the likely location where Lady Houtu was forming her body.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned to Chang'an City and told Zhang Hao and the empress that Lady Houtu might be at Spirit Mountain.
• The empress set out in the Eight-Scenery Carriage, while Zhang Xuezhou sped ahead in a streak of golden light.
• The empress drove the carriage faster but never saw Zhang Xuezhou again, and she wondered whether Lady Houtu’s descent would go smoothly.

Zhang Xuezhou arrived outside Mahabodhi Temple, where the Immortal Court's forces were stalled over how to attack Spirit Mountain. He wanted a battle to begin so he could enter its hidden realm and search for Lady Houtu and Donghua, and Celestial Venerable Yuanshi summoned him to join the discussion.

• Zhang Xuezhou reached Mount Meru and found dozens of Immortal Court cultivators gathered outside Mahabodhi Temple, still waiting to attack.
• The New Emperor and Divine Lord Zhenyuan explained that Nezha's death had left the Immortal Court without a leader willing to charge, while Zhunti guarded the transit array's entrance.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that the Immortal Court could not locate Spirit Mountain's shifting hidden realm by flight, and he admitted he did not know the way there.
• The New Emperor urged Zhang Xuezhou to help start a fight, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed because he wanted to search for Lady Houtu and Donghua.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi called Zhang Xuezhou over to discuss the attack, valuing his past strength as a cultivator.