Original subtitles

Watch closely.

This man is Guang.

He burns with towering rage

to rule the whole world.

You're overthinking it.

In reality,

he toils until thirty,

only to fall gravely ill.

Without a protagonist's halo,

[Investiture of Deities] I have to rely on the stories.

Why can't

these protagonists just win with caution?

That's it.

Another botched ending.

My book...

[Prequel to the Primordial Investiture of Deities]

Standing out can get you stricken.

Moving rashly can get you hurt.

If only I could start over...

[Fate's Sundial Illusion] Thy heart is filled with remorse.

I grant thee rebirth through samsara.

Next stop:

the Primordial Wilds.

What? The Primordial Wilds?

Could it be

the perilous Primordial Wilds from the book?

The Way is complete at fifty,

yet fate only yields forty-nine.

Go now,

the only one who escaped fate.

This is the Primordial World.

Deadly tribulations lie everywhere.

[The world within the comic]

Watch closely.

I've come into the book.

Could this be a tutorial stage?

Cultivator A

fell into a forest swamp

and drowned.

Ah!

Cultivator B

was killed by a giant python while herb picking.

[Gasp! Hiss]

Cultivator C

seized a demon core and got hacked to death

by a companion.

[Whoosh]

Cultivator D

saved a damsel in distress and fell into a honey trap.

He died unjustly.

Ah!

Died in Tribulation. Died while watching.

A million ways to die in the Primordial Wilds.

Thank you, Fate, for the instruction.

[Tap]

Don't touch karma.

Steadiness comes first.

Fortunately, I've read the entire book.

[Scripture of Steadiness] I've grasped the method of survival.

There's nothing to fear in the book.

Seeking life from within death

is easier said than done.

The next comes

a brand-new chapter in the Primordial Wilds.

A brand-new storyline?

[33 years later]

[Into the Primordial World]

[Into the Ascendance Sect]

[Previous life]

Tian.

At your service.

Open the plan schedule.

Steadiness does not mean

mere hiding;

it is planning before acting.

[Plan Schedule: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

It's time

to take a junior

and start a new chapter.

Let me begin with this variable.

♪From primal chaos to the starry sky♪

♪In the whole world, we shall hold the balance♪

♪The cauldron tempers divine blades♪

♪The furnace refines the empty void♪

♪The Way is in mystic fate♪

♪Be brave enough to split the primal chaos wide open♪

[Pull Strings]

[Adapted from the novel by Yan Gui Zheng Zhuan]

[Episode 1]

[Ascendance Sect] ♪Chaos broke; the ancient beasts fell♪

[Jade Division, Ascendance Sect] ♪Millions of years flew by♪

♪No immortal terrace in sight♪

♪Only the songs of immortals are heard♪

[Qi Yuan, Lord of Jade Division]

Ling'e.

[Lan Ling'e]

This is the Divine Land,

the finest cultivation land in the Three Realms.

Behold these immortal mountains.

They're blessed with spiritual grace.

Truly grand indeed.

Truly grand.

Ling'e.

Be careful.

Consider this a test.

Have your senior repair the bridge later.

Ling'e.

Mentor.

It's all your senior's fault.

[Jade Division]

It has not been tended for quite some time.

Ling'e,

since today, you've become my disciple.

I require

that you cultivate diligently.

Do not slacken in the slightest.

Strive to succeed at your earliest.

Yes.

Mentor, have you attained immortality?

Soon.

During my early years of cultivation,

I made a slight mistake.

Come with me.

Okay.

[Hall of United Spirits]

I shall handle your initiation shortly.

Although we have

only three members,

the formalities must still be observed.

Mentor,

I have often heard you mention Senior.

What sort of person is he?

You've been at Mistveil Division for almost six months.

What rumors have you heard about him?

I have heard that...

As if he does not exist in the Ascendance Sect.

Exactly.

That little rascal

is always so secretive.

In the Primordial Wilds, the strong are revered.

Every promising disciple rises to prominence,

gaining renown, and shining brilliantly.

But he...

The more he cultivates, the less notice he draws.

The more he cultivates, the less notice he draws.

The more...

Mentor.

Mentor.

Mentor, Mentor!

This...

Mentor.

No wonder you have yet to attain immortality.

Mentor.

Mentor.

Mentor.

I'm feeling dizzy too.

[Li Changshou, disciple of Jade Division]

This place has always been

home to just Mentor and me.

[Good Luck, Certain Victory] Outsiders will trigger

the mechanisms I have set.

Allow me to examine you first.

Six senses, six worlds. Six roots, six desires.

Search.

Her soul is clean.

No soul possession.

No inner demons.

No gu planted, either.

What are you doing?

Where did that bell come from?

It was left to me by my late mother.

Your late mother?

My apologies.

There is one more step to complete.

[Part I: Basics] May I ask:

In your genealogy of 18 generations,

were there any grievously evil persons?

Who are you?

It seems there were none.

Have you ever made statements in public

disrespectful to the human race?

Where is my mentor?

And who is your mentor?

My mentor is...

Let her go!

Mentor!

Mentor!

Release her at once!

Mentor!

He...

Who rigs their own nest with so many traps?

Afraid of thieves, huh?

You are quite something now.

You have improved.

You even withstood the Softspirit Powder.

You underestimate me.

Let me tell you.

I have consumed more knockout powder

than the Great Restoration Pills you have ever taken.

Mentor, what is there to boast about?

A disciple of Jade Division

may be killed but not dishonored.

A disciple?

You failed to strive hard,

so I have to take another disciple.

Mentor, why are you kneeling?

I did not mean to kneel.

But I am too dizzy.

Mentor.

Senior.

I have had no parents since childhood.

I wandered everywhere.

Half a year ago, the Mistveil Division

took me in as an outer-sect probationary disciple.

They said it was probationary;

in truth, it was mere menial labor.

I endured all manner of humiliation.

I simply could not bear it any longer,

so I fled down the mountain.

Fortunately, Mentor passed by.

Mentor...

No.

Child.

The Mistveil Division has always been high-handed.

She's such a fine piece of jade,

and they tortured her so cruelly.

Look at her.

Look.

Look at her.

Look what they have done to her.

If we don't intervene,

who will?

In that case,

listen to this question.

Question?

If you're at the Ascension Stage IX,

and one day, you discover

a Qi refiner at the Ascension Stage VI

harassing a female disciple at the Refining Stage.

What should you do?

Wait, I... He...

A: Go and kill him.

B: Throw a magic instrument from afar.

C: Pretend you saw nothing.

Which do you choose?

No, wait!

Three... two...

One.

I'll go and kill him!

Be off with you, then.

Senior.

Insolent!

What are you doing?

This is no place for her.

What nonsense!

Please, sit.

At the last Sect Competition,

what was the Mistveil Division's ranking?

Testing me?

Among the 800 divisions,

their rankings never budge.

Griefbane Division, Skyrend Division, Mistveil Division...

And what of the Jade Division?

[800th in the Sect Competition]

As my prized disciple,

you have held fast to 800th place.

How dare you bring that up?

[800th in the Sect Competition] Half that shame

is yours.

Besides,

among the 800 Lords,

aren't you the only one

who has yet to become immortal?

Wait. After all that talk,

what does this have to do with Ling'e?

The gap in strength is enormous.

Yet we are to tend someone else's cold hearth?

Would that not just invite trouble?

Invite trouble...

You are simply afraid.

You never change.

You change too easily.

You make things up as you go.

You move without a trace.

Our sect is unfortunate.

You are...

Senior.

You are...

Senior.

Give me one more chance.

I can surely do it.

Listen to the question.

You: Ascension Stage IX.

Male disciple: Ascension Stage VI.

He's harassing a female disciple at the Refining Stage.

What do you do?

B: Throw a magic instrument at him.

Senior!

My leg.

Senior! Senior!

Mentor.

Well...

May Senior let me in now?

Not yet. Not now.

Do not worry, Ling'e.

Who am I?

I am the Lord of Jade Division.

My word is law here.

If need be, I shall stand guard here.

That wayward disciple will have to agree.

Thank you, Mentor.

But...

No need.

Since Senior dislikes me here,

I will not insist on staying.

Mentor, please take care.

I am leaving.

Ling'e.

Ling'e.

I rule the Jade Division.

You...

Have you no compassion at all?

When I found you back then,

you were no better off than her.

Yes, yes.

Taking me in back then

left you utterly exhausted,

so you couldn't focus on your own cultivation.

Stop being sarcastic.

My foundation was destroyed back then,

so my progress was always slow.

If not for the immortal elixirs you refined for me,

I could not even maintain my current stage.

In all the world, useless mentors like me

are few indeed.

But I can't ignore children

like you and Ling'e.

Cultivating immortality

is not merely about cultivation;

it is about humanity.

Isn't this Lan Ling'e?

Let me go!

Our outer disciple?

The Mistveil Division has come for her!

You will not intervene?

Fine, then I will.

Freeze!

Release me, you insolent disciple!

Patience, Mentor.

Just watch me handle this.

- What outer disciple? - Let me go!

She's only been here half a year,

a menial servant without a mentor.

How dare you

crack a senior's head open?

You are courting death.

What is this?

Trying to run?

[Yuan Heng, Mistveil Division] Thinking of Jade Division?

They won't have you either.

[Yuan Lang, Mistveil Division]

You little

piece of trash.

Yuan Man.

[Yuan Man, Mistveil Division] She broke my head to save you.

Why not play the hero too?

I would not dare.

Senior, I will go keep watch.

You struck me once.

I shall return tenfold.

Perfectly fair, isn't it?

Let me go. I must save that child.

The time is not yet right.

Calm down. Wait a little longer.

What are you waiting for?

A 98% chance.

What is it now?

Right now,

97%, perhaps.

97%? Why wait?

Less than 98%

means suicide.

Go!

What are you doing?

Let go of me! Let me see!

Why are you hitting me?

I didn't!

Who?

Was it you?

Was it you?

Was it you?

No, no.

Why are you hitting me again?

Why are you pushing me?

Clearly, you hit me.

Why are you hitting me?

Why are you hitting me? Why?

Stop!

Stop!

We're here to discipline Lan Ling'e.

Why hit me?

- You struck first. - Let me go!

- No, I... - Fine.

Lan Ling'e,

you won't get away today.

Who says so?

Mentor.

Easy now. Easy.

Right now, you have not joined

my division.

I am Qi Yuan,

Lord of Jade Division.

Kuai Si of Mistveil Division is my peer.

I entered the sect before him.

So, by seniority,

you should call me Uncle

or Granduncle.

Uncle? Please.

You're just an old man with a damaged foundation,

yet to undergo the Tribulation.

Isn't that so?

Exactly.

That's right.

You guys

hurt this little girl so badly.

I will not stand by.

Then what do you want?

We're purging our division.

What has it to do with you?

Exactly.

I have heard

of your division rules.

If I recall correctly,

you have a curfew, right?

Trying to scare me?

- I am scared. - Oh, no, Senior.

We were too busy fighting

and forgot to check the time.

For disciples of the Mistveil Division

who fail to return by sunset,

how many lashes was it again?

Senior, let's hurry back.

Any later, and it'll be too late.

Let's go, hurry!

Lan Ling'e,

if I don't teach you a lesson today...

No, no, not again.

I'm not leaving then.

Wait.

Didn't you hear it?

Listen more carefully.

The Grandlord's patrol crane.

The Grandlord resides in Griefbane Division.

The patrol crane patrols 800 divisions.

Today, it came here.

Hurry, pay respects!

What a coincidence.

This patrol crane

is also an old friend.

It said

that if you keep causing trouble,

it'll peck your eyes out.

Peck them out!

Senior.

See? You talk too much.

Yuan Qing is here.

Senior.

[Yuan Qing, head disciple of Mistveil Division]

Yuan Qing.

It's almost nightfall.

Why aren't you back yet?

It's all their fault.

They...

I understand.

You had your reasons; it's forgivable.

When we return, if Mentor punishes you,

I'll plead for you.

Thank you, Senior.

I'm Yuan Qing, disciple of Mistveil Division.

Greetings, Uncle Qi Yuan.

Yuan Qing,

no need for such courtesy.

Uncle,

Lan Ling'e is punished at our division.

By the sect's laws,

she may not join another division.

Please return Lan Ling'e.

Yuan Qing,

cultivation is about humanity.

We should honor affection.

Lan Ling'e has no formal mentor.

Why mind where she goes?

Uncle.

Forgive my blunt words.

You mimicked the Grandlord's patrol crane.

That was overstepping.

If I tell the Grandlord,

I fear

it may not favor you.

Yuan Qing, don't use him to scare me.

So what if he comes?

Kuai Si is my junior.

He... I...

She's here.

Wine is the bane of grief.

The Detached Master has nine disciples.

All bear the Jiu character. [*Jiu: wine]

She is young, with a high seniority.

She's the last disciple in the Griefbane Division.

Good at swordsmanship, fond of wine.

[Jiu Jiu, Griefbane Division] She is Aunt Jiu Jiu.

Aunt Jiu Jiu loves wine.

Our Pearl Brew has a wondrous scent.

She'll definitely come.

Wine!

Go!

Target: Jade Division.

Now I'm 98% sure.

This is the scent.

Let's talk.

What's going on?

Aunt.

It was them.

They...

And they came to bully me!

Aunt, I...

Junior Jiu Jiu,

I can bear witness.

Look, look!

Seeing is believing.

Oh, my heavens!

Look what they've done to this poor girl.

But she also struck my senior's head!

The witnesses and evidence are all here.

Yuan Qing,

do you have anything else to say?

Aunt,

I have been foolish.

I only listened to one side of the story

and harmed Junior Ling'e.

I know my mistake now.

Junior Ling'e.

It was all my fault before.

I let you suffer unfairly.

Now that the truth is clear,

if you will return with me,

I will clear your name with Mentor.

Weren't you the ones who made me leave?

So, now, I am leaving.

That is what I wanted to hear.

Ling'e has not bowed to a mentor.

She is free to go where she wishes.

Yuan Qing,

what do you think?

She is backing the Jade Division.

Then...

We shall follow your words.

Yes.

You...

You harassed your peers, fought outside,

and stayed out so late.

You've brought shame to our division.

All of you, go back and be punished!

Yes, Senior.

Stop!

That's it?

Anything wrong with my actions?

Please enlighten me.

You smashed this jar of fine wine.

Aren't you going to apologize to it?

This...

I accept punishment willingly.

Ten jars.

Give me now.

Ten?

This...

Worth the trip.

Thanks.

Going back.

Mentor, am I really safe?

Heavens.

So, how did Aunt Jiu Jiu

just happen to pass by

and save me?

Right, and that crane too.

I arranged all that.

Mentor, you really are...

Ling'e, you're truly naive.

It was him.

He...

Do you know what you did wrong?

What?

When you see a Qi refiner at the Ascension Stage VI

harassing a female disciple,

you'll choose to go kill him.

How can you know he wasn't hiding his strength?

That's a beast who'd commit such a vile act.

Would he be so honest?

Am I wrong to hurl a magic instrument at him?

How do you know he doesn't have one?

If he is a Great Immortal,

with power above yours,

and you anger him, how will you escape?

Moreover,

you are a female disciple yourself.

If that brute turns and harasses you,

what can you possibly do?

In the Primordial World, all is uncertain.

You think you are saving someone,

but you are only harming yourself.

You think you are doing good,

but you are courting your own ruin.

Love can breed hate.

Helping can be harmful too.

Rash actions always lead to tragedy.

Then, I was wrong.

To survive,

there is only one method.

Stay away from all disputes and karma.

Focus on protecting yourself.

If everyone protects themselves

and harms no one else,

wouldn't the world be wonderful?

So,

you know the answer?

I do.

Tell me loudly.

What should you do?

I...

I'll pretend I didn't see it

and go find you.

Junior.

Please.

[Steady]

So much delicious food.

Come.

Mentor.

Shouldn't you have tea first?

To the old tree sprouting anew

and new additions to the family.

You never have a kind word.

Good.

Senior,

please have some tea.

Did you know that the Mistveil Division

would come for her?

To have Ling'e stay here,

we had to face this sooner or later.

Senior, you wanted me to stay?

Then why set up all those plans?

Your senior here

learns nothing else,

but when it comes to sly schemes,

if he ranks second in the Ascendance Sect,

no one dares rank first.

I'm telling you.

Remember one word:

Steady.

[Steady] Senior,

you are truly far too steady.

Senior.

Open that lid.

I made it just for you.

You're not teasing me, are you?

You forgot it yourself, didn't you?

Today is the seventh day of the third month.

Your birthday.

The day I found you.

Senior.

Happy birthday.

Ages pass in a finger snap.

Why struggle over it?

[33 years ago] The world is vast.

Let's seek peace.

Come back with me.

You'll eat your fill every day.

Why won't you heed my words?

Those who cultivate the Way

should keep kindness in their hearts.

We cannot leave the dying unaided.

This little rascal is heavy.

Why should I save him?

He seems stronger than I am.

Sheep, follow me.

Mentor.

These thirty long years,

you have toiled hard.

You are truly disgusting.

Heavens above.

Take this wayward disciple.

You've got a new disciple.

True.

Ling'e has stayed.

And today is Changshou's birthday.

Let us have some wine.

Oh, it's this way.

Century-old Pearl...

Brew.

Stop right there.

This is my century-old Pearl Brew.

Did you give it to Jiu Jiu?

Mentor.

Do you know how long I saved it?

Mentor.

- It's fine liquor, but don't drink it. - Out!

You never give me any peace.

I swear...

Mother. Brother.

I've reached my new home.

[Mistveil Division]

[Hall of Virtue]

Will Yuan Qing survive this?

Senior.

How is it?

Mentor is raging inside.

How long has it been?

Yuan Qing,

these eighty lashes of the Golden Whip

are for acting on your own

and disgracing our division.

You're their senior.

You must set an example.

I know my mistake.

[Kuai Si, Sect Elder, Lord of Mistveil Division]

Though I am still

one step from the Aureate Stage,

who is Qi Yuan to challenge me?

Once I have the chance,

I can reduce him to dust.

Mentor.

Yet after this disturbance,

we did gain something.

Go on. Tell me.

From start to finish,

the Grandlord never appeared.

Aunt Jiu Jiu spoke for him.

From this, we can infer

that the Grandlord

is still in secluded cultivation.

The Detached Master is always punctual.

He never delays emerging from seclusion.

Could it be

that he ran into some trouble?

I believe

extraordinary times bring unique chances.

In our division,

I trust

you alone.

Three years later, the Training Assembly

is when you'll shine for our division.

Those who are worthy

may stay here.

Useless disciples are nothing

but walking corpses.

You are their senior.

Handle it as you see fit.

Yuan Man is the chief culprit.

Yuan Qing must be making an example.

He is ruined.

Carry him down the mountain.

Hurry, carry him away.

[Steady]

Tian.

At your service.

Open the interface.

[Previous life]

[Into the Ascendance Sect]

[Into the Primordial World]

[Reincarnation ferry]

[Li Changshou's past and present lives.mov]

[33 years ago]

I have one final warning.

A warning?

You'll go to the Great Tribulation's eve

as Li Changshou, an immortal cultivator,

and face countless threads of karma.

Great tribulation?

The comic never got this far.

The Primordial World will suffer the Great Tribulation.

The world will be ruined, full of corpses.

The mortal realm

will be turned

into a purgatory.

Li Changshou,

do you like

the Great Tribulation?

When this sundial completes a turn,

the Great Tribulation opens.

All karma in this world

will lead there in the end.

Keep that in mind.

What if this thing breaks?

I jest.

The time has come.

You will soon be Li Changshou.

Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Then...

How am I to survive?

Once you make a choice,

karma is born,

and every karma

leads you

toward an end that concerns a life.

Sorry, let me interrupt.

In my past life, I was gravely ill.

In this life,

how can I live safe and sound

and stay alive?

Fate only yields forty-nine; only one can escape fate.

Find the realm ruling all living beings.

What is that?

The Celestial Court.

The Celestial Court?

For these 33 years,

I never slackened in my training,

alchemy,

and artifact refinement,

and with modern knowledge,

I created many artifacts

beyond this age's imagining.

That gave me some confidence to cope.

Oh, Fate.

Since then,

I have been Li Changshou for 33 years.

[Fate]

All these years,

[Don't touch karma] I avoid all karma,

lie low and take no risks,

and quietly build myself up

to gather enough trump cards

to reach the Celestial Court before the tribulation.

[Fate, Lie low and take no risks, Don't touch karma]

[Fate, A woman, Connection] Karma leads to the Great Tribulation.

After the Great Tribulation,

[Full of corpses]

[Primordial World] the Celestial Court will rule all.

Tian.

At your service.

Open the plan schedule.

[Plan Schedule, 1, Take in a junior to open a new chapter]

Junior Ling'e,

I hope you won't waste my brain cells.

[1. Lan Ling'e joins the sect]

[2. Find the Skyscraping Vine to reach the Celestial Court]

The opportunity

lies at the Training Assembly

three years from now.

♪See mortal joys and sorrows♪

♪Reunions and partings, as fate unfolds♪

♪Alas, love has many twists and turns♪

♪Memories filled with sorrow♪

♪Slowly, wishes turn to regret♪

♪You've gone afar, like mist fading♪

♪Tearfully, this life's bond is not over♪

♪Past fragments vanish into night♪

♪Down a few more cups of wine♪

♪Through land and sea, I ask you to come♪

♪For honor's sake, upright and grand♪

♪Alas, our story is short♪

♪Slowly, wishes turn to regret♪

♪You've gone afar, like mist fading♪

♪Tears fall, this fate's not done♪

♪Past fragments vanish into night♪WEBVTT

♪Past fragments vanish into night♪