Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou watched from inside the Purple Cloud Palace as Celestial Venerable Yuanshi was blocked from entering, then struggled to protect the secret realm from a catastrophic explosion. The blast left Yuanshi injured, and he forced Ao Sheng to help withstand the lightning and fire while Zhang regretted missing the Life-Creating Fortune Pills.

• Zhang Xuezhou saw that Celestial Venerable Yuanshi could not enter the hall, though the jade ruyi had brought him to its doorway.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered using Gongsun Hong's Time-Space ability to escape but realized Gongsun Hong was trapped in a hallucination and lacked the power to activate it.
• A Mohist Mechanism City device exploded, unleashing devastating blasts and flames across the secret realm.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi used his Auspicious Cloud Technique and a blue-black banner to defend the Purple Cloud Palace and the secret realm, but the destructive forces injured him.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi healed Ao Sheng with a pill and compelled him to endure the lightning and fire as a shield.
• Zhang Xuezhou regretted failing to find the Life-Creating Fortune Pills when he had searched Celestial Venerable Yuanshi's pockets.

Ao Sheng endured the Lightning-Fire Tribulation while blocking the breach caused by the Mohists' Mechanism City, and Celestial Venerable Yuanshi healed his injuries with Three Lights Divine Water. Trapped in the Purple Cloud Palace, Zhang Xuezhou tried to wake Gongsun Hong and Li Shaojun, then heard Li Shaojun recite Daoist teachings about the Dao, nonbeing, and being.

• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi turned the fire from the Mohists' Mechanism City into Ao Sheng's Lightning-Fire Tribulation and made the dragon block a breach in his Auspicious Cloud Technique.
• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi took a Life-Creating Fortune Pill and used Three Lights Divine Water from his Eight Treasures Glazed Bottle to heal himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou envied Celestial Venerable Yuanshi's healing medicine but returned to Time-Space to search for a way to escape the Purple Cloud Palace.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried different ways to activate Time-Space and then slapped Gongsun Hong and Li Shaojun to wake them.
• Li Shaojun began reciting Daoist teachings about the Dao, nonbeing, and being as he struggled to wake up.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun searched for a way to escape the isolated hall and help Gongsun Hong, who remained trapped by a mind-affecting effect. After Li Shaojun taught him the Highest Clarity True Technique, Zhang Xuezhou successfully used it on Gongsun Hong.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that the Mohists' Mechanism City had exploded, leaving the hall sealed off while Celestial Venerable Yuanshi fought the fire outside.
• Li Shaojun realized they could not operate Time-Space and repeatedly slapped Gongsun Hong, hoping to wake him.
• Li Shaojun described the Highest Clarity True Technique, which could soothe madness and agitation, and recited its instructions to Zhang Xuezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that the technique resembled a mental Gene Fighting Technique and applied his understanding of Realm Suppression to learn it.
• Zhang Xuezhou used green Law Power to cast the Highest Clarity True Technique on Gongsun Hong, whose expression softened.

With time running out in the Mechanism City, Gongsun Hong gambled on the Vast Righteous Qi Chapter and Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity to break through to the Sole Self Realm and escape with Time-Space. As he reached the breakthrough, he sensed two uninvited presences trying to enter his body.

• Gongsun Hong weighed his slim options for restoring his Law Power and escaping, while Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun had no way to use Time-Space.
• Gongsun Hong began reciting the Vast Righteous Qi Chapter and shut out Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun as he focused on breaking through.
• Gongsun Hong felt opposing powers flow through his Heaven and Earth Bridges, and the barrier to the Sole Self Realm broke apart.
• Gongsun Hong sensed two presences approaching from above and below, both trying to enter his body while warning one another angrily.

Gongsun Hong triggered Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity while trying to break through to the Sole Self Realm, but Zhang Xuezhou sensed two Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons entangled with him. Zhang Xuezhou asked Li Shaojun for help, and Li Shaojun brought out Soul-Seizing Powder, hoping it could counter beings without physical bodies.

• Gongsun Hong drew red light from above and black light from beneath as his Law Power grew stronger during Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity.
• Zhang Xuezhou sensed Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons moving toward Gongsun Hong and suspected their presence was connected to the Mohists' Mechanism City.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized two demons seemed to be entangled with Gongsun Hong, whose breakthrough left him vulnerable to their influence.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Li Shaojun how they could protect Gongsun Hong from the demons taking over his body.
• Li Shaojun produced a jar of Soul-Seizing Powder, which he believed might affect the bodiless demons.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun used Soul-Seizing Powder and Soul-Luring Powder to expose the yin entities inside Gongsun Hong and disrupt their struggle for his body. A bluish-black ghostly face revealed that only Gongsun Hong entering the Sole Self Realm might let them escape the Purple Cloud Palace, so Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun forced the ghost's ashes and powders into Gongsun Hong to suppress the other intruder.

• Zhang Xuezhou urged Li Shaojun to scatter Soul-Seizing Powder around Gongsun Hong, and the yin entities inside Gongsun Hong began to thrash in pain.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Shaojun to use Soul-Luring Powder, which pulled a bluish-black ghostly face out of Gongsun Hong's body.
• The ghostly face warned Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun that they were helping an otherworldly being seize a body and asked them to retrieve its ashes from the Northern Sea Eye.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that they were trapped in the Purple Cloud Palace and depended on Gongsun Hong entering the Sole Self Realm to escape.
• The ghostly face agreed to help suppress the other intruder if they fed its ashes to Gongsun Hong, so Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou poured powders and water into his mouth.

Gongsun Hong endured two powerful presences invading his body as Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun tried to drive them out with Outer Core medicines. One presence seized control and tried to escape through Time-Space, but Sage Hongjun’s intervention cut off the passage.

• Gongsun Hong’s soul grew stronger as two presences fought over his body, while one continued trying to take control.
• Li Shaojun poured Soul-Luring Powder and Soul-Seizing Powder into Gongsun Hong, and Zhang Xuezhou forced him to swallow the mixture with water.
• The presence controlling Gongsun Hong activated Time-Space, but Zhang Xuezhou tripped him and Li Shaojun bound him with a Law Treasure rope.
• The presence summoned a mechanical puppet, which struck Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun and knocked them down.
• The presence tried to enter Time-Space again, but white light filled the Purple Cloud Palace and the land beyond the purple mist vanished.
• The presence recognized Sage Hongjun’s intervention and looked horrified.

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi struggled to protect the Purple Cloud Palace from the ongoing explosions of the Mohists' Mechanism City, while Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun fled a possessed wooden figure inside the hall. The possessed Gongsun Hong tried to recruit the bluish-black ghost face to help him escape, leaving both sides in danger.

• Celestial Venerable Yuanshi used the Auspicious Cloud Technique and his treasures to shield the Purple Cloud Palace from the explosions, and Master briefly removed a rain of fire with spatial transfer.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun ran from the wooden figure controlled by the possessed Gongsun Hong, whose twelve green bamboo swords attacked them.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Li Shaojun to use a Fire Technique, but Li Shaojun feared that another Heavenly Demon would seize his body if he fell.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun called on the bluish-black ghost face for help, while the possessed Gongsun Hong warned and threatened him into cooperating.
• The bluish-black ghost face fled from a pursuing green bamboo sword as the possessed Gongsun Hong tried to enlist him and secure a chance to escape.

Yao tried to persuade the green-faced ghost to cooperate and help him obtain a body, while Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun attempted to keep them apart. After Li Shaojun attacked Yao with a jar of foul powders, the ghost grew more willing to cooperate, and both beings turned their attention to Zhang Xuezhou.

• Yao revealed his name and promised the green-faced ghost he could help it obtain a body, while Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun warned the ghost not to trust him.
• Li Shaojun smashed the hall's furnishings as he fled, prompting Yao to send ten green bamboo swords after him and one each after Zhang Xuezhou and the ghost.
• A green bamboo sword struck Li Shaojun, and Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to heal him.
• Li Shaojun charged Yao with a jar of foul powders, but the mechanism puppet and swords struck him down, spilling the contents over Yao.
• After seeing Li Shaojun's ruined body, the green-faced ghost voiced doubts about taking it over and began to consider cooperating with Yao.
• Yao and the green-faced ghost agreed that obtaining a body was their goal and turned their attention to Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhang Xuezhou prevented Yao from taking control of him by provoking him and fighting back, while the bluish-black ghost face accepted a wooden body as an alternative. The ghost face then turned on Yao and pinned him to the floor, leaving him trapped in Gongsun Hong’s body.

• After Li Shaojun died, Zhang Xuezhou warned Yao and the bluish-black ghost face that he would kill himself rather than let either take him alive.
• Zhang Xuezhou charged Yao with a table and forced him to pull back the bamboo swords rather than risk killing him.
• The bluish-black ghost face demanded proof that Yao could provide a wooden body, and Yao offered him the mechanical wooden man.
• The bluish-black ghost face entered the wooden man and introduced himself as Old Shen, then stabbed Yao through both legs and pinned his hands with two more swords.
• The bluish-black ghost face said he would not let Yao control his life and death, leaving Yao trapped and struggling in Gongsun Hong’s body.

Zhang Xuezhou and Daoist Shen tried to force 'Yao' to help them use Time-Space to escape the Purple Cloud Palace hall while protecting Gongsun Hong's body. They prepared for a dangerous passage, with neither side trusting the other.

• The bluish-black ghost face, possessing the mechanical wooden man, attacked 'Yao' and accused him of breaking his word.
• Daoist Shen questioned 'Yao' about the wooden body, but 'Yao' refused to explain and argued that Daoist Shen had also threatened him.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged them to drive 'Yao' out, wake Gongsun Hong, and leave the hall using the Time-Space treasure.
• 'Yao' insisted that only he could guide the passage, while Zhang Xuezhou and Daoist Shen warned him that Celestial Venerable Yuanshi might return and punish them all.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Daoist Shen exchanged what they knew about the treasure's risks, then prepared for a failed passage as Daoist Shen kept 'Yao' under control.

Li Shaojun watched Zhang Xuezhou, Yao, and Daoist Shen prepare to escape through Time-Space, while suspecting Zhang was secretly in control. Daoist Shen’s chosen route was diverted to an encounter with Daoist Hongjun, and he returned to the Purple Cloud Palace charred as the others continued toward their destinations.

• Li Shaojun observed Yao recover from the powders while Daoist Shen worked on the mechanical man and Zhang Xuezhou performed a sacrificial dance that summoned a golden dragon.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to partially heal Gongsun Hong’s body, then carried Li Shaojun as the group prepared to travel through Time-Space.
• Yao explained that the available destinations included impassable black areas, ocean-blue areas, and fiery red areas; Daoist Shen chose a red area, while Zhang Xuezhou chose to follow Yao to the ocean.
• The group leaped into Time-Space, but Daoist Shen’s route veered into an encounter with Daoist Hongjun, whom he feared from his imprisonment in the Northern Sea Eye.
• Daoist Shen escaped back to the Purple Cloud Palace, where a charred wooden-man body was spat out of the red area, leaving him unsure whether to follow the others.

Zhang Xuezhou, Li Shaojun, and Gongsun Hong were swept through a spatial transfer after Hongjun intervened and extracted Yao from Gongsun Hong. They arrived in an unfamiliar secret land, where Zhang Xuezhou sensed Spiritual Qi and Li Shaojun suspected they had reached one of the Three Pot Islands.

• Zhang Xuezhou recognized the voice of the Purple Cloud Palace hall master, while Li Shaojun realized their secret dealings with Bai might have been exposed.
• Yao, controlling Gongsun Hong, cursed Hongjun over the Heavenly Craft Clan’s stolen treasures and demanded the Chaos Divine Bell, but Hongjun said he did not know where it had drifted.
• A white light pulled Yao’s red glow out of Gongsun Hong, while Hongjun and Yao argued over the shuttle device and the number of transfer targets.
• Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou emerged onto an island-like stretch of land, and Li Shaojun returned to help Zhang support the injured Gongsun Hong.
• Zhang Xuezhou sensed Spiritual Qi and concluded they were in a secret land, prompting Li Shaojun to consider whether they had reached Penglai, Yingzhou, or Fangzhang.

After the group entered the uncharted Three Pot Islands secret realm, Li Shaojun treated Gongsun Hong while Zhang Xuezhou healed his limbs. Gongsun Hong recovered enough to plan an exploration, and he realized Yao’s lingering connection might extend his life and help him advance further.

• Li Shaojun explained that no one had truly explored the Three Pot Islands secret realm, though he doubted what they would find there.
• Li Shaojun cleared the Yin gloom from Gongsun Hong, and Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to treat his injuries.
• Gongsun Hong accepted that his cultivation had reached the Sole Self Realm, despite losing his chance to obtain Time-Space and suffering grave injuries.
• Gongsun Hong ordered the group to search for people or demons, find an exit, and then seek Spirit Jade and other treasures.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun flew in opposite directions to scout the secret realm while Gongsun Hong rested by a tree.
• Gongsun Hong sensed that Yao’s connection to an unknown force was sustaining his life and might make advancing the Unity of Celestial Person and Heaven easier.

Zhang Xuezhou found no signs of life in the secret land, but Li Shaojun discovered a spirit spring with remarkable restorative effects. The group headed to collect its water, and Gongsun Hong began to hope it might help him pursue longevity.

• Zhang Xuezhou searched the secret land, found no living creatures, and discovered a tough tree that might be suitable for building a boat.
• Li Shaojun told Zhang Xuezhou and Gongsun Hong that he had found a clear spring whose water restored his strength and replenished his Law Power.
• Gongsun Hong identified the spring as a spirit spring and said its nourishing effects surpassed Spiritual Qi and were easier to absorb than Spirit Jade.
• Li Shaojun lamented that Zhang Xuezhou could carry away a large quantity of water in his gourd, but Zhang Xuezhou urged him to collect the treasure before someone else did.
• Gongsun Hong eagerly followed the others toward the spring, hoping it could restore his health and give him a chance at longevity.

Zhang Xuezhou, Li Shaojun, and Gongsun Hong rested at a spirit spring in the Fangzhang Secret Realm, where the water healed injuries and restored Law Power. They realized the spring’s ten-foot-square size explained the realm’s name, and Zhang Xuezhou planned to mark the place after exploring it.

• Li Shaojun led the group to the spirit spring, where Gongsun Hong and Zhang Xuezhou drank and began recovering.
• Zhang Xuezhou filled his gourd with spring water and agreed to stay with Li Shaojun while Gongsun Hong recuperated.
• Gongsun Hong noticed that the secret realm had no animals or insects, and warned the others that its silence might signal danger.
• Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Li Shaojun to teach him the Jade Purity True Technique in exchange for half the water in his gourd.
• Li Shaojun realized that the spring’s ten-foot-square size revealed why the place was called the Fangzhang Secret Realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou recalled leaving a mark at the Purple Cloud Palace and decided to mark the Fangzhang Secret Realm after exploring it.

Zhang Xuezhou rested and cultivated near the Fangzhang spring while waiting for Li Shaojun and Gongsun Hong, then discovered a creature’s roots trying to drag him into a hole beneath a tree. He escaped the roots and turned the earth around the hole to stone, but the creature’s identity remained unknown.

• Zhang Xuezhou let Sleepy Bug feed on an ironwood tree and cultivated the Grain Avoidance Instruction while waiting for Gongsun Hong to recover.
• He flew to the Fangzhang spring for water but found Li Shaojun and Gongsun Hong missing, so he waited and continued cultivating.
• A beautiful woman appeared before Zhang Xuezhou as he grew drowsy, but he recognized the vision as an illusion and woke himself fully.
• Zhang Xuezhou noticed roots coiled around him and let them drag him toward a hole beneath a large tree to find their source.
• He slipped free of the roots and turned the earth around the hole to stone, trapping its entrance.

Zhang Xuezhou burned one tree demon with the Golden Crow Great Emperor's feather, then discovered that Fangzhang Island's secret realm was filled with moving trees. Suspecting the tree demons had a leader, he entered the underground passage and found Li Shaojun and Gongsun Hong unconscious beside a root, with shoots growing from their mouths and his water gourd.

• Zhang Xuezhou trapped a tree demon's roots with the Stone Transformation Technique and burned the tree with the Golden Crow Great Emperor's feather.
• He saw countless tree demons moving across the secret realm and called for Li Shaojun, but received no answer.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized the tree demons seemed weak individually and suspected one of them was their leader.
• He returned to the black hole and dropped into the underground passage with the burning feather.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Li Shaojun and Gongsun Hong lying beside a thick root, with shoots growing from their mouths and a leaf sprouting from his water gourd.

Zhang Xuezhou confronted a root that had attacked the water gourd and caused deadly sprouts to grow inside Li Shaojun and Gongsun Hong. As the gourd’s vine fought the root, Li Shaojun revived and tried to counter the danger, but a deceptive vision of Ren Anran appeared to Zhang Xuezhou.

• Zhang Xuezhou pulled the sprout from Li Shaojun’s mouth, killing him, and found roots and flesh clinging to it.
• An azure dragon appeared, but Zhang Xuezhou used Break to reveal it as a coiling tree root that had bound the two men and attacked the water gourd.
• The gourd’s tender leaves grew into a vine and wrapped around the root, while Zhang Xuezhou warned Li Shaojun that other tree demons might reach them.
• Li Shaojun revived and argued with Zhang Xuezhou about the spirit spring water, then swallowed medicine to suppress the sprout growing inside him.
• Li Shaojun cast the Six Ding Divine Fire Technique, but Zhang Xuezhou saw a beautiful woman change into Ren Anran, indicating that the mental intrusion had worsened.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun fought the demonic tree in Fangzhang's underground roots, but Li Shaojun was killed and the flames failed to stop the creature. Zhang Xuezhou sent Sleepy Bug into the root, and the battle left the water gourd swelling and cracking as its stored water burst out.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the Eye of the Ba Snake and the Highest Clarity True Technique to dispel the mental influence on himself and Li Shaojun.
• Li Shaojun attacked the feeler-covered vine with the Six Ding Divine Fire, but its feelers drained him until he looked like a corpse.
• Zhang Xuezhou unleashed the Golden Crow demonic fire, then sent Sleepy Bug to bore into the horned-dragon-shaped root.
• The root transformed into creatures and people as it attacked the vine's water gourd, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized that its feelers were the real threat.
• The gourd grew nearly ten feet tall and cracked, releasing a furious surge of water from within.