Chapter Summaries

After seeing Gu Huaiwei’s memories, Sang Ying confronted him at the blood-soaked Mara Gate and learned that he planned to slaughter the Lower Realm to force her to earn Merit by killing him. Gu Huaiwei then revealed that the Heavenly Dao had been deceiving her and intended to use her to resolve disasters before discarding her.

• The Heart Devil Mirror expelled Sang Ying after showing her Gu Huaiwei’s memories, and Gu Huaiwei brought her back to the deserted Mara Gate.
• Sang Ying accused Gu Huaiwei of treating her as a tool to fulfill the destiny he had wanted for the Sang Ying in his memories.
• Gu Huaiwei admitted that he planned to leave only a hundred people alive after killing a hundred thousand, then have Sang Ying kill him to earn Merit and ascend.
• Sang Ying rejected his scheme and said she did not need his help to become an immortal.
• Gu Huaiwei told Sang Ying that the Heavenly Dao used the Child of the Heavenly Dao to resolve disasters and intended to discard her once the people were safe.

Gu Huaiwei revealed that the Children of the Heavenly Dao were created as expendable Heaven-mending stones and tried to persuade Sang Ying to follow his plan. Sang Ying rejected his control and fought him, leaving Gu Huaiwei seemingly on the verge of defeat.

• Gu Huaiwei told Sang Ying that the Heavenly Dao created its Children to repair the world and discarded them after they fulfilled their purpose.
• Gu Huaiwei urged Sang Ying to follow his plan, promising she could save those she cared about and ascend to the Upper Realm.
• Sang Ying challenged Gu Huaiwei's right to decide her future and said he had never been her master.
• Gu Huaiwei collapsed Mara Gate into ruins and sent tentacles to trap Sang Ying, but she escaped with the Dragon Abyss Sword's dragon shadow.
• Sang Ying attacked Gu Huaiwei, drove her sword into his back, and poured Divine Power into him, causing his tentacles to shrivel and his scales to loosen.

Sang Ying purged the Demonic Qi from Gu Huaiwei, but learned that he had only worsened a greater disaster threatening the Lower Realm. As the blazing sun scorched the devastated world, Jiang Zhuoxue’s group reached the storm’s source and found a huge, expanding black hole devouring the land.

• Sang Ying used the Dragon Abyss Sword and her Divine Power to drive the Demonic Qi from Gu Huaiwei, leaving him powerless and blind.
• Gu Huaiwei told Sang Ying that he was not the disaster threatening the Lower Realm, and she saw that the world had been reduced to yellow sand.
• The sun returned with scorching heat, setting clothing and tree trunks on fire and making the Endless Sea boil.
• Jiang Zhuoxue led the group through the dangerous sandstorm, with Duan Hanyi guiding them and Jiang Zhuoxue shielding them with Demonic Qi.
• Jiang Zhuoxue, Dong Fuzhu, Lan Fusheng, and Bai Kejin found a vast black hole at the storm’s source, expanding as it devoured the world.

Jiang Zhuoxue sent a small demonic plant to investigate the expanding black hole, but the powerful suction nearly swallowed it before he pulled it to safety. The group watched the Image-Retaining Stone and saw several pairs of differently colored eyes appear in the darkness.

• Jiang Zhuoxue decided to investigate the black hole, but Lan Fusheng, Dong Fuzhu, and the others stopped him from approaching it himself.
• Jiang Zhuoxue sent a branch of Green Vine, transformed into a small demonic plant, toward the black hole with an Image-Retaining Stone.
• The small demonic plant recorded the darkness above the hole, but the collapsing ground and suction trapped it until Jiang Zhuoxue pulled it back by its branch.
• Jiang Zhuoxue and the others retreated to safety and watched the recording beneath a cloud of Demonic Qi.
• Several pairs of eyes in different colors lit up inside the black hole.

After defeating Gu Huaiwei, Sang Ying questioned him about the gap in the world and left to find it, determined not to accept the fate he described. While Gu Huaiwei remained alone and powerless, Qi Yaoji arrived and tore his heart from his chest.

• Sang Ying refused to take Gu Huaiwei back to the cultivators' camp and settled him in a nearby courtyard.
• Sang Ying asked Gu Huaiwei where the gap in the world was, and he told her it lay at the foot of a mountain in the northwest of the Lower Realm.
• Gu Huaiwei warned Sang Ying that she would regret her choice, but she left with renewed resolve.
• Gu Huaiwei remained alone, remembering his lost disciple and regretting that he could not fulfill his wishes through another Sang Ying.
• Qi Yaoji confronted Gu Huaiwei and pulled his heart from his chest.

As the Lower Realm’s heat and sandstorms worsen, Jiang Zhuoxue’s group discovers that monsters emerging from a hole underground are causing the devastation and can devour anything. The group flees with a warning while Jiang Zhuoxue, Lan Fusheng, and Bai Kejin hold off the creatures, and a monster attacking Dong Fuzhu is suddenly frozen in midair.

• Helian Mo proposed moving the Demon Race to the northern snowfields, but Fang Chi said the snow there had already melted and dried up.
• Sang Zheng received a communication from Jiang Zhuoxue’s group, who were fleeing through a storm of yellow sand.
• Jiang Zhuoxue stayed behind with Lan Fusheng and Bai Kejin to hold off the monsters, while Dong Fuzhu carried the communication talisman and fled to warn the others.
• Dong Fuzhu told the camp that the monsters had crawled out of a hole, brought the storm, and could devour people, spiritual power, and the entire Lower Realm.
• A small monster lunged at Dong Fuzhu, but frost abruptly covered it and stopped it in midair.

Sang Ying rescued Dong Fuzhu and Jiang Zhuoxue’s group from the monsters overrunning the Lower Realm. After reaching the expanding black hole and hearing a faint voice call to her, she leaped inside, leaving the others waiting for her return.

• Sang Ying killed the monster attacking Dong Fuzhu and told her to hide with the others.
• Sang Ying hurried to Jiang Zhuoxue, Lan Fusheng, and Bai Kejin, who were struggling against monsters that swallowed Spiritual Qi.
• Sang Ying cut down the three monsters and asked Jiang Zhuoxue and the others to take her to the breach in the Lower Realm.
• At the enlarged black hole, Sang Ying heard a faint voice calling to her and leaped into the darkness after telling the others to wait.

Sang Ying jumped into the black hole and discovered an underground cave inhabited by Desolate Beasts, learning from the Dragon Abyss sword spirit about their origins and weaknesses. Jiang Zhuoxue, Lan Fusheng, and Bai Kejin followed her into the hole, and the group reunited in the cave.

• Sang Ying jumped into the black hole, and Jiang Zhuoxue, Lan Fusheng, and Bai Kejin followed her.
• Sang Ying landed in the underground cave and killed a Desolate Beast with the Dragon Abyss Sword.
• Dragon Abyss told Sang Ying that Desolate Beasts appeared when the world's barrier was damaged and feared water and Spiritual Qi, though they could consume those threats.
• Sang Ying saw the cave's glowing crystals grow brighter as lines in the soil absorbed the dead Desolate Beast's remains.
• Jiang Zhuoxue landed beside Sang Ying, then he and Sang Ying caught Lan Fusheng and Bai Kejin as they fell into the cave.

Sang Ying and her companions discovered a vast underground city that appeared to have been abandoned in an instant, and learned it was connected to the Beastman clan. After the others fell asleep, Sang Ying returned alone to the altar to investigate the bronze sun mirror and the city's secrets.

• Sang Ying, Lan Fusheng, Bai Kejin, and Jiang Zhuoxue explored the cavern and emerged into a sprawling underground city.
• Sang Ying and the others searched the stone houses and found strange Beastman-like patterns, untouched food, and a booklet they could not read.
• Lan Fusheng led them to an altar bearing a dusty bronze mirror shaped like a sun, whose carvings showed a sacrifice and something emerging from the mirror.
• The sword spirit privately told Sang Ying that the city was connected to the Beastman clan and that her clan emblem fit an indentation behind the mirror.
• Sang Ying returned with the others to the cavern, waited until they fell asleep, and then went alone to the altar.

Sang Ying watched a message from the Beastmen reveal that a chosen warrior would face the returning sandstorms and monsters, then learned that saving the world required a providential person to sacrifice everything. As the Eternal City collapsed, she realized the Dragon Abyss Sword’s spirit was the Heavenly Dao and confronted it.

• Sang Ying fitted the clan emblem into the bronze mirror and activated a recording from a Beastman woman about her people abandoning the Eternal City after their god fell silent.
• The Beastman woman warned that sandstorms and monsters would return and said a warrior chosen by the celestial god would save the city.
• Jiang Zhuoxue found Sang Ying and told her he understood her choices, though he regretted their coming separation.
• The bronze mirror shattered, the altar collapsed, and flames rose as the Eternal City began to shake.
• The sword spirit explained that a person bearing providence could mend the world by surrendering their power, Merit, and providence, then urged Sang Ying to jump down with the sword.
• Sang Ying asked the sword spirit when the Heavenly Dao had descended upon the Dragon Abyss Sword.

Sang Ying learned that the aging Heavenly Dao needed her power to renew itself and restore the world, and that her own selfless nature had made her a Child of Heavenly Destiny. After seeing the devastation awaiting those she loved, she chose to jump into the flames, and Jiang Zhuoxue followed her.

• The Heavenly Dao told Sang Ying that it was dying, that her sacrifice would create a new Heavenly Dao, and that the Lower Realm could then regain the chance to ascend.
• The Heavenly Dao explained that Sang Ying's childhood visions had come from the world trying to save itself, and recalled how she had once vowed to become the sun if it vanished.
• The Heavenly Dao showed Sang Ying the future devastation and the suffering of her family, friends, and fellow cultivators as they fought the wind and sand.
• Sang Ying agreed to jump into the flames, silently mouthed something to Jiang Zhuoxue, and fell into the fire.
• Jiang Zhuoxue left an Image-Retaining Stone behind and jumped into the flames after Sang Ying.

As Desolate Beasts overwhelmed the Lower Realm, Lan Fusheng and Bai Kejin were trapped underground while people across the camp faced death and destruction. A miraculous rain then made the beasts vanish, restored the land, and replenished Spiritual Qi, leaving the survivors with hope that the disaster was ending.

• Lan Fusheng and Bai Kejin struggled to survive underground as falling crystals blocked five Desolate Beasts.
• The storm stopped, but Desolate Beasts surrounded the camp, draining the land and weakening its people and demons.
• Fang Chi and Hai Tingzhou faced a Desolate Beast together, while Bai Nianchou and the other defenders were besieged.
• Liu Duanyue died after passing the city lord's seal to his second son, and Jin Liner killed the five beasts that had slain Jin Le'er.
• Rain began falling as the underground cavern opened to sunlight, and the Desolate Beasts turned to sand and disappeared.
• The rain restored the greenery and Spiritual Qi, while rivers refilled the Endless Sea.

A month after the calamity, Dong Fuzhu and Lan Fusheng invited Jin Liner to their dao companion ceremony while everyone continued searching for Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue. The ceremony proceeded smoothly until a woman in black arrived uninvited, surrounded by Demonic Qi.

• Dong Fuzhu and Lan Fusheng visited Jin Liner and Bai Ze, bringing spiritual fruits and inviting Jin Liner to their dao companion ceremony.
• Dong Fuzhu told Jin Liner that they were still searching for Sang Ying and planned to wait for her and Jiang Zhuoxue to return.
• Jin Liner accepted the invitation, then explained to Bai Ze that he should call Sang Ying Elder Sister, though he had forgotten her.
• Dong Fuzhu and Lan Fusheng held their ceremony alongside Fang Chi and Hai Tingzhou, and the four couples completed their One Heart Contracts with Sang Zheng as witness.
• A woman in black arrived at the ceremony and reproached everyone for not inviting her.

Qi Yaoji attacked the gathered cultivators at the dao companion ceremony with refined Demonic Qi and declared her plan to conquer the Lower Realm. Sang Ying awoke powerless in a strange world, began building shelter, and discovered a child with the lower body of a sika deer.

• Qi Yaoji revealed that she was not Su Fuyun but Qi Yaoji, then flooded the sect with Demonic Qi and turned Helian Mo into a giant black wolf.
• Qi Yaoji seized the hall and announced that she would use Gu Huaiwei’s Heart of the Devil God to rule the Lower Realm.
• Sang Ying awoke buried in a desert with her Storage Bag gone and her Divine Power stripped away, but found the Dragon Abyss Sword beside her.
• Sang Ying entered a forest and began building a cabin by hand because she had no spiritual power or supplies.
• Sang Ying hid when she heard footsteps, then saw a child emerge from the bushes with the lower body of a sika deer.

Sang Ying finished building a house in a world with scarce Spiritual Qi and gradually befriended Yue, a young deer Beastman. After Yue mentioned her human teacher, she returned to her mother, who fled with her after learning Sang Ying was nearby.

• Sang Ying decided the world had no cultivators or great dangers and spent a month completing her wooden house.
• Yue returned several times, and Sang Ying offered her fruit and learned her name.
• Sang Ying asked Yue whether she could meet her human teacher and learn if anyone else came from Sang Ying’s world.
• A strange cry summoned Yue, and her mother appeared to scold her for wandering away from the gathering party.
• Yue told her mother she had met a person who gave her fruit, and her mother hurriedly carried her away from the forest.

Yue Tianze agreed to meet the new human, Sang Ying, after Yue vouched for her kindness. He fell into one of Sang Ying’s traps on his way to her home, and she began helping him out.

• The Ming Deer Clan chief asked Yue Tianze to meet the human Little Yue had found and determine whether she posed a threat.
• Yue said Sang Ying was kind because she had given her fruit and spoken gently, so Yue Tianze agreed to visit her the next morning.
• Yue Tianze traveled alone into the forest to find Sang Ying’s wooden house.
• Sang Ying discovered Yue Tianze at the bottom of one of her traps, and he identified himself as a fellow Daoist.
• When Yue Tianze said he could not climb out, Sang Ying lowered a vine basket for him to use.

Sang Ying rescued Yue Tianze and learned that he had once been a heavenly god and had come from the cultivation world. Meanwhile, Qi Yaoji ruled over the captured cultivators, while Gu Huaiwei insisted Sang Ying would return and Qi Yaoji would regret underestimating her.

• Sang Ying pulled Yue Tianze from the trap and brought him to her cabin to rest.
• Yue Tianze told Sang Ying he had arrived in this world before her and warned her that surviving alone could be dangerous.
• Sang Ying revealed she could draw in Spiritual Qi, and Yue Tianze said he had once been a heavenly god.
• Sang Ying recognized Yue Tianze as a Child of the Heavenly Dao from the God Race.
• Qi Yaoji kept Sang Zheng and other prominent cultivators chained outside the Demon Lord Hall and forced others to serve her.
• Gu Huaiwei told Qi Yaoji that Sang Ying would return and that Qi Yaoji would regret her actions.

Sang Ying accompanied Yue Tianze to the Calling Deer Tribe, where she learned more about his past and the Beastmen’s history. After welcoming them, Chief He asked Sang Ying to stay and help the tribe in the coming Salt Scramble War.

• Yue Tianze told Sang Ying how he had sealed the Devil Race and awakened in this world, and they discussed whether it was the world God Emperor Xi had separated.
• Sang Ying transferred Spiritual Qi to Yue Tianze to help his frail body and considered teaching the Calling Deer Tribe about food.
• Chief He welcomed Sang Ying and Yue Tianze to the Calling Deer Tribe and hosted a feast, where Sang Ying fed most of her food to the little girl Yue.
• Chief He brought Sang Ying and Yue Tianze to his stone house and asked Sang Ying to stay because the Salt Scramble War was about to begin.

Sang Ying declined the Calling Deer Tribe chieftain’s request to compete in the Salt Scramble, arguing that winning third place would not solve the tribe’s weakness. Instead, she developed a cultivation method for Beastmen, and her early results left her looking forward to the contest.

• The Calling Deer Tribe chieftain explained that his tribe had ranked last in the Salt Scramble for three years and asked Sang Ying to compete for them.
• Sang Ying refused to enter, pointing out that the tribe might not be able to claim or keep the salt even if she won third place, but offered another way to help.
• Sang Ying told Yue Tianze she would adapt cultivation for Beastmen, and he agreed that the method might work if they could absorb Spiritual Qi.
• Sang Ying examined Yue and other Beastmen, discovered a jade-like Beast Core in Yue, and charted their meridians.
• Yue Tianze drew Qi into his body, while most of the Beastmen Sang Ying selected also succeeded and some cultivated faster than he did.
• Sang Ying concluded that this world might favor Beastmen and began looking forward to the Salt Scramble.

The White Lion Tribe prepared for the Salt Scramble as Bai Ya considered joining her father, while the Calling Deer Tribe traveled to the salt pool under Ling’s leadership at home. The four tribes gathered, and their warriors began provoking one another before the contest started.

• Bai Ya ordered a water-fetching Beastman to bring water to her cave, where an unconscious human she had rescued lay, and asked about the Salt Scramble in three days.
• Bai Ya said she wanted to accompany her father to the gathering, while her maid assured her the White Lion Tribe’s warriors would compete for first place.
• The Calling Deer Tribe’s chief left Ling in charge of the tribe and led the warriors, Sang Ying, Yue Tianze, and Yue toward the salt pool.
• The Calling Deer Tribe arrived first, followed by the Giant Ape Tribe and the Flame Tiger Tribe, while the White Lion Tribe arrived last.
• Before the Salt Scramble began, some Beastmen stepped forward to provoke the other tribes.