Chapter Summaries

Xue Yang attacked Duàn Yì after interpreting his look as contempt, but Duàn Yì blocked the strike with a powerful ice wall and proved that his strength could rival Xue Yang’s. Xue Yang acknowledged Duàn Yì’s power and said he qualified to meet his master, while Duàn Yì remained unimpressed.

• Duàn Yì judged Xue Yang’s display of strength as a sign of insecurity, and Xue Yang noticed his expression.
• Xue Yang unleashed his Killing Intent and sent his Three Thousand Feet of White Hair rushing at Duàn Yì.
• Duàn Yì raised a three-foot-thick ice wall that shattered Xue Yang’s white hairs and sent a wave of cold back through them.
• Xue Yang dispersed the chill, regrew his hair, and regarded Duàn Yì more solemnly, saying he was qualified to meet his master.
• Duàn Yì withdrew the ice wall and reflected that his cultivation and Surging Waves Strength let him wield far more power than he had shown.

Ding Ling, Duàn Yì, and Ding Ran followed Xue Yang to the Demonic Hall in a desolate valley, where a woman played a terrifying bloodstained qin. The qin clashed with Ding Ran’s blood saber, revealing that both weapons possessed extraordinary power, though the qin overwhelmed the saber.

• Ding Ling ended Xue Yang’s test and asked him to lead them to Elder Jue Ming.
• Xue Yang guided Ding Ling, Duàn Yì, and Ding Ran across the mountains to the Demonic Hall in a desolate valley.
• Duàn Yì saw a beautiful woman playing a blood-red qin whose power seemed capable of slaughtering gods and saints.
• Ding Ran’s blood saber reacted to the qin, and their opposing spiritual forces stirred a tornado through the valley.
• Ding Ran’s blood saber used his true qi to cleave the tornado apart, then fell silent before the qin’s greater power.

Duàn Yì sensed a faint spirit within the Qingshuang Sword and gained new insight into the sword. At the Demonic Hall, Xue Yang introduced Qin Xin and warned Ding Ling that the Demon Qin could be stronger than her Crescent Moon Saber.

• Duàn Yì sensed sorrow from the Qingshuang Sword and realized it possessed a faint spirituality that briefly stirred his sword insight.
• Ding Ling reassured Ding Ran that the Blood Saber could grow stronger by absorbing the vital blood of powerful foes.
• Xue Yang led Duàn Yì, Ding Ling, and Ding Ran to the Demonic Hall, where they met Qin Xin playing the Demon Qin.
• Xue Yang introduced Qin Xin and warned Ding Ling that she would not defeat Qin Xin without mastering the Crescent Moon Saber.
• Ding Ling recognized the Demon Qin's terrifying power but remained determined to master her demonic blade and become invincible beneath heaven.

Xue Yang led Ding Ling, Duàn Yì, and Ding Ran into the Demonic Hall to meet Jue Ming, the mysterious master Ding Ling had come to find. Duàn Yì learned of Jue Ming’s history and his role in preserving the Demonic Sect’s martial arts, while Jue Ming remained motionless and unreadable.

• Xue Yang raised the bronze gate and warned Duàn Yì and Ding Ran to behave respectfully before leading the group inside.
• Qin Xin watched them enter with mixed hope and concern about what they might gain from Jue Ming.
• Duàn Yì saw that the Demonic Hall was bare and deathly quiet, with Jue Ming seated motionless on a jade platform.
• Xue Yang knelt before Jue Ming and introduced himself and the Blade Master.
• Duàn Yì recognized Jue Ming as the target of their journey and learned that he had once been chosen by Ying Woqiu to preserve the Demonic Sect’s martial arts.
• Duàn Yì learned that Jue Ming had hidden in the mountains after the Demonic Sect split and had trained Xue Yang and Qin Xin.

Ding Ling brought Ding Ran before Elder Jue Ming and asked him to pass on the Extinction Cross Saber, which could help Ding Ran control the dangerous Wuyi Demonic Saber. Elder Jue Ming agreed to test Ding Ran’s aptitude before granting the technique.

• Ding Ling, Ding Ran, Duàn Yì, and Xue Yang paid their respects to Elder Jue Ming, whose overwhelming power stunned Duàn Yì and Ding Ran.
• Duàn Yì realized Elder Jue Ming formed his speech by controlling and vibrating true qi with extraordinary precision.
• Ding Ling explained that Ding Ran had learned the Wuyi Demonic Saber but needed a countering art because its demonic nature harmed both its wielder and others.
• Elder Jue Ming said Ding Ran qualified to inherit the Extinction Cross Saber but required him to pass a test first.
• Elder Jue Ming asked Ding Ran whether he agreed to the test.

Jue Ming tested Ding Ran’s saber insight by asking him to interpret a dazzling saber strike. Ding Ran identified the Extinction Cross Saber’s two true cuts, while Duàn Yì offered a different reading and provoked Xue Yang.

• Ding Ran accepted Jue Ming’s test to prove himself worthy of the Extinction Cross Saber inheritance.
• Jue Ming unleashed a single display of saber radiance and asked Ding Ran how many sabers he had struck.
• Xue Yang counted 173 sabers, while Ding Ling realized that the number of swings was not the answer Jue Ming sought.
• Ding Ran said the 173 slashes were illusory, and that Jue Ming had struck two true sabers forming a cross.
• Jue Ming asked Ding Ling for her view, and she directed Duàn Yì to answer instead.
• Duàn Yì said Jue Ming had struck three sabers because his many arts had not merged perfectly, enraging Xue Yang, who found himself unable to raise his true qi.

Duàn Yì explained the hidden third strike in Jueming’s saber technique, helping Ding Ran pass the first test for the Extinction Cross Saber. Jueming’s second test demanded that Ding Ran fall deeply in love with a woman and kill her to forge an Extinction Demonic Heart, leaving Ding Ran and Ding Ling facing a terrible choice.

• Jueming praised Duàn Yì for discerning the three strikes hidden in his saber technique and said his talent lay in martial arts rather than sword or saber.
• Duàn Yì clarified that Ding Ran’s answer of two strikes also fit the Extinction Cross Saber, and Jueming declared Ding Ran had passed the first test.
• Jueming told Ding Ran that inheriting the saber required forging a demonic heart by falling deeply in love with a woman and killing her at the height of their happiness.
• Ding Ling regretted bringing Ding Ran to the Demonic Hall and silently hoped he would refuse the test.
• Duàn Yì reflected that he could never kill Guō Qíng, Helan Yue'er, or Yang Wuxia, and wondered whether Ding Ran would accept the cost of the inheritance.

Duàn Yì challenged Jue Ming’s claim that mastering the Extinction Cross Saber required an Extinction Demonic Heart, and Jue Ming explained that the saber’s creator had made it a prerequisite while leaving the practitioner to choose whether to reclaim his humanity. Ding Ran accepted that he was not suited to the saber and withdrew, leaving Duàn Yì convinced that the art chose its master.

• Duàn Yì questioned who had established that the Extinction Cross Saber required an Extinction Demonic Heart and argued that martial arts should be controlled by their practitioners.
• Ding Ling recognized that Duàn Yì’s reasoning echoed notes she had read about the Ding family’s Ruyi Sky Demon and Eight Consecutive Forms, which could be refined into the Divine Saber Slash.
• Jue Ming explained that the saber’s creator had explicitly required a complete Extinction Demonic Heart, though a practitioner could later break free of it and regain his humanity.
• Jue Ming told Ding Ran that his choice meant the saber was not fated for him, and Ding Ran saluted him before retreating behind Ding Ling.
• Duàn Yì reconsidered his assumptions and concluded that Jue Ming’s Cross Saber was only a means by which the Extinction Demonic Saber selected its true practitioners.

Ding Ling asked Elder Jue Ming to pass the Severing Pulse Sword Qi to Wuming, and revealed Duàn Yì’s true origins so he could meet the Demonic Sect’s requirements. Elder Jue Ming set a trial of crossing a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, and Duàn Yì eagerly accepted.

• Ding Ling asked Elder Jue Ming to consider Wuming for the Severing Pulse Sword Qi inheritance.
• Elder Jue Ming questioned Wuming’s identity and insisted that the recipient belong to the Demonic Sect.
• Ding Ling revealed Duàn Yì’s origins and his conflict with Zhuang Shili, after which Elder Jue Ming ruled that he qualified to inherit demonic arts.
• Elder Jue Ming required Duàn Yì to endure a sea of fire and a mountain of swords, then purge their energies without going mad.
• Duàn Yì laughed at the challenge and stepped forward to accept the trial.

Duàn Yì endured Jue Ming’s Sword Mountain Fire Sea and expelled the fire force and sword qi from his body, passing the test for the Severing Pulse Sword Qi. Jue Ming praised his aptitude and called him forward to the jade circular platform.

• Jue Ming created a Sword Mountain Fire Sea of burning fire force and invisible sword qi for Duàn Yì to endure.
• Duàn Yì stepped into the trial, suffering intense pain as the flames burned his footwear and the sword qi struck him.
• Ding Ling watched Duàn Yì anxiously, while Xue Yang wondered whether she had feelings for him.
• Duàn Yì crossed the fire and sword qi, then took seven steps and expelled the forces from his body with five crimson sword qis.
• Jue Ming said Duàn Yì was only the second swordsman in decades to endure the trial and praised his aptitude for the Severing Pulse Sword Qi.
• Duàn Yì eagerly walked toward the jade circular platform when Jue Ming called him forward as Wuming.

Duàn Yì memorized the Severing Pulse Sword Qi method while Ding Ling negotiated with Elder Jue Ming for Xue Yang to descend the mountain. Ding Ling failed to secure Qin Xin’s release, then urged Elder Jue Ming to take Duàn Yì as a disciple, and Duàn Yì realized she hoped to counter Qin Xin’s potential claim to lead the Demonic Cult.

• Elder Jue Ming recited the Severing Pulse Sword Qi method to Duàn Yì, who memorized it and began analyzing it.
• Ding Ling asked Elder Jue Ming to let Xue Yang descend the mountain and aid the Northern Demonic Cult, and Elder Jue Ming agreed.
• Ding Ling asked to take Qin Xin and her demonic zither with her, but Elder Jue Ming refused and vouched for Qin Xin’s character.
• Ding Ling asked whether Elder Jue Ming would accept Duàn Yì as a disciple.
• Duàn Yì deduced that Ding Ling wanted him close to Elder Jue Ming and Qin Xin so he could help counter Qin Xin’s possible bid for leadership of the Demonic Cult.

Jue Ming refused Ding Ling’s request to take Duàn Yì as a disciple, but offered to guide him while he stayed on the mountain. After a month of training, Duàn Yì prepared to cultivate Severing Pulse Sword Qi and asked Jue Ming whether its meridian-forging process would harm his existing cultivation.

• Jue Ming declined to formally accept Duàn Yì as his disciple but promised to answer his martial arts questions.
• Duàn Yì accepted Jue Ming’s offer to guide him, frustrating Ding Ling’s plan.
• Ding Ling left the mountain with Ding Ran and Xue Yang, leaving Duàn Yì, Jue Ming, and Qin Xin there.
• Duàn Yì spent a month studying martial arts under Jue Ming and observed Qin Xin cultivating with the demonic qin.
• Duàn Yì asked Jue Ming whether forging a sword meridian for Severing Pulse Sword Qi would damage his foundation or internal cultivation.

Jue Ming explained how Duàn Yì could reconcile Severing Pulse Sword Qi with his Ice Profound Energy and guide the sword meridians toward Great Accomplishment. After receiving advice on choosing a single-meridian path, Duàn Yì left the Demonic Hall to study what he had learned.

• Jue Ming explained that Severing Pulse Sword Qi clashed with Duàn Yì's Ice Profound Energy because the two kinds of true qi had different origins.
• Jue Ming advised Duàn Yì to connect the sword meridians with his regular meridians so his foundational true qi and sword qi could transform into each other.
• Duàn Yì identified the missing links between the sword meridians and the body's regular meridians, and Jue Ming explained how to connect their circuits.
• Duàn Yì asked whether to cultivate Ten Meridian Sword Qi or specialize in one meridian, and Jue Ming recommended specializing in one.
• Duàn Yì thanked Jue Ming and left the Demonic Hall to ponder his guidance.

Duàn Yì used insights from Severing Pulse Sword Qi, the Hundred Buddhas Painting, and the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts to devise a way to link sword veins, Buddhist veins, and regular meridians. He successfully forged a sword vein in his right arm, but still needed to create the remaining veins and connect them all.

• Duàn Yì sensed sword intent cleaving the stream and reflected on the mysteries of Severing Pulse Sword Qi.
• Duàn Yì combined the principles of the Hundred Buddhas Painting and his other cultivation methods to plan a system of interconnected artificial and natural meridians.
• Duàn Yì endured intense pain as he used Ice Profound Energy and the Severing Pulse Sword Qi method to forge a sword vein in his right arm.
• Duàn Yì formed Severing Pulse Sword Qi and tested it by holding the stream apart with a sword strike for three seconds.
• Duàn Yì resolved to forge a matching sword vein and Buddhist veins, then connect them with his regular meridians.

Duàn Yì watched Elder Jue Ming decide whether to let Qin Xin leave the mountain to avenge her murdered family. Elder Jue Ming agreed on the condition that Wuming accompany her as a protector, leaving Duàn Yì bewildered about why the matter involved him.

• Elder Jue Ming warned Qin Xin that her inexperience and insufficient Killing Intent could put her revenge mission at risk.
• Qin Xin begged to descend the mountain, explaining that she wanted to avenge her family before her dead younger brother's birthday.
• Duàn Yì reflected on his own unfinished vendettas and felt ashamed that he had not acted despite having the strength to do so.
• Elder Jue Ming agreed to let Qin Xin go and said Wuming would accompany her for protection, though he must not take part in her revenge.
• Qin Xin accepted Elder Jue Ming's conditions, while Duàn Yì waited in confusion to learn why he was involved.

Jue Ming recounted how Huang Wengang found the Heavenly Demonic Qin and suffered as it drained his martial power after failing to corrupt him. Huang Wengang took the qin into seclusion to seek a way to neutralize its demonic nature, leaving Duàn Yì to wonder why Qin Xin could wield it without the same effects.

• Jue Ming told Duàn Yì that Huang Wengang had been a gifted Demon Sect sound-art expert chosen by Sect Leader Ying to find the Heavenly Demonic Qin.
• Huang Wengang found the qin after years of searching and warned Jue Ming that its demonic nature urged him to kill and destroy.
• When Huang Wengang resisted its influence, the Heavenly Demonic Qin drained his martial power, and a Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Pill saved his life.
• Huang Wengang used the pill to survive as an ordinary man, and the qin's demonic nature subsided after absorbing his power.
• Unable to destroy the qin, Huang Wengang withdrew into the mountains to seek a way to neutralize it and rebuild his martial arts.

Jue Ming explained the Heavenly Demonic Qin’s history, including Huang Wengang’s sacrifice and Qin Xin’s father’s retreat from the martial world. He revealed that Qin Xin had poisoned her father, leaving Duàn Yì stunned.

• Jue Ming explained that Huang Wengang planned to sacrifice his soul to suppress the Heavenly Demonic Qin’s demonic nature and let someone inherit its power.
• Jue Ming said Huang Wengang chose Qin Xin’s father as his adopted son, and his soul sacrifice succeeded in removing the qin’s demonic nature.
• Qin Xin’s father used the Heavenly Demonic Qin’s power but eventually returned home to live an ordinary life with his family.
• Jue Ming told Duàn Yì that enemies poisoned Qin Xin’s father because they could not defeat him directly and knew his family was his weakness.
• Jue Ming revealed that Qin Xin herself had poisoned her father, shocking Duàn Yì.

Duàn Yì and Qin Xin reached Anding City after three days of travel and stopped to rest before continuing to Wei Prefecture. While they waited at a restaurant, they witnessed a notorious gambler beating his impoverished wife after she begged him to spare their child’s school tuition.

• Duàn Yì promised Jueming that he would protect Qin Xin on their journey down the mountain.
• Duàn Yì and Qin Xin arrived in Anding City, where Duàn Yì arranged rooms and ordered a feast so they could rest for a day.
• Qin Xin sat quietly by the restaurant window while Duàn Yì returned with their room plaques.
• Duàn Yì and Qin Xin saw a woman beg her husband not to gamble away their child’s tuition money.
• The Heartless Man kicked his wife across the street, as bystanders explained his history of gambling, neglect, and abuse.

Qin Xin killed a man who abused and neglected his wife and son, then offered to help the bereaved family. After Duàn Yì reassured her, Qin Xin visited him and began to share the story of her blood vendetta.

• Qin Xin killed the woman's husband by shooting a pebble through his brow, and the horrified onlookers fled.
• Duàn Yì warned Qin Xin that the woman's life might become harder without her husband, but Qin Xin insisted she had saved the mother and son and offered to give them silver.
• Qin Xin asked whether Duàn Yì thought her unreasonable, and he reassured her that the man deserved to die and that the woman might find a happier life without him.
• An inn waiter moved Duàn Yì and Qin Xin to their reserved rooms after the murder disrupted the dining hall.
• Qin Xin asked what Elder Jue Ming had told Duàn Yì about her, then said she wanted to tell him about her past.

Qin Xin told Duàn Yì how Song Gaoxuan, Wu Dewei, and Gao Zhewen used her romance with a hired man to poison her father and seize the Heavenly Demonic Qin. Her father drove off the attackers, sent her away with the qin, and told her to seek Jue Ming, leaving Qin Xin burdened with guilt and determined to take revenge.

• Qin Xin explained that her father had retired from the martial world and lived peacefully with his family before befriending Song Gaoxuan, Wu Dewei, and Gao Zhewen.
• Song Gaoxuan, Wu Dewei, and Gao Zhewen coveted the Heavenly Demonic Qin and arranged for a handsome man to court Qin Xin so they could use her to poison her father.
• Qin Xin fell in love with the man and unknowingly brought home the poison he presented as supplements, administering it to her father on his birthday.
• Song Gaoxuan, Wu Dewei, and Gao Zhewen revealed their plot and attacked Qin Xin's family to take the Heavenly Demonic Qin.
• Qin Xin's father used his remaining strength to repel the attackers, sent Qin Xin away with the qin, and instructed her to seek Jue Ming before dying.