Chapter 42 opens with a flashback to the battle of the previous chapter. It's been almost a year since the battle, and Master Lao has returned to Heaven. He's happy to see his old friend, but he's not satisfied. He wants to know how he can get to the next level of the universe, the "taoist palace" . Master Lao tells him to go to the "Jade Pool sacred land" , which is about a thousand miles away from the Eastern wasteland.