Chapter Summaries

Li Chu and the Qi Family’s cultivators entered a secret realm where they were supposed to cut through a Huaxu Wutong Tree to attract the Golden Phoenix. Li Chu accidentally destroyed the tree, and as the Golden Phoenix appeared, he offered to compensate Qi Kexiu with another tree.

• The Qi Family brought Li Chu, Du Lanke, Chen Huaji, and other cultivators into the secret realm to compete with the Chu Family for the Golden Phoenix’s guidance.
• Qi Kexiu explained that the cultivators had to cut through the Huaxu Wutong Tree’s Tree Coat to release its aura and promised rewards for effective strikes.
• Li Chu struck the tree with his Flying Fire Meteor, blasting through its trunk and toppling it.
• Qi Kexiu confronted Li Chu but restrained his anger after realizing how powerful Li Chu’s sword strike was.
• The Golden Phoenix appeared, and Li Chu offered to provide Qi Kexiu with a replacement tree.

Li Chu helped the Qi Family win the Golden Phoenix’s favor by transforming into a handsome tree, then entered the second layer, where cultivators had to hunt demons to keep their protective fires burning. He set out to lure a demon alongside Niu Sandao, but his first sword strike sent Niu flying and left him injured.

• Chu Xiangyu watched the Golden Phoenix turn away from the Chu Family after Li Chu transformed into a tree on the Qi Family’s island, and he told Chu Ci to investigate the tree.
• The Golden Phoenix carried the Qi Family into the second layer, where Qi Kexiu questioned Li Chu about his origins.
• Chen Huaji learned that the fire in his group would soon go out unless they hunted Evil Spirits, and the Qi Family steward pressured him to lure one into the light.
• Li Chu’s group heard the rules from a young disciple, and Niu Sandao volunteered to scout the darkness before agreeing to go with Li Chu.
• A shadow attacked Li Chu and Niu Sandao in the dark, but Li Chu killed it with his Chunyang Sword; the blow’s force sent Niu Sandao flying and left him injured.

Li Chu and Niu Sandao returned to the fire with a Blood Demon Crystal after killing an Evil Spirit, then Li Chu ventured back into the darkness to hunt more. He exposed and destroyed an Evil Spirit disguised as Chen Huaji, and continued onward with his sword ready.

• At Kunlun's White Jade Capital, the Sixth Elder learned that the immortal tree on Treasure Tree Peak had bloomed another Glazed Flower.
• Li Chu healed Niu Sandao with the Little Bodhi Mantra, and they found a Blood Demon Crystal dropped by the Evil Spirit they had killed.
• Niu Sandao tossed the crystal into the fire, strengthening its flames, while the others celebrated their return.
• Li Chu left the group to hunt more Evil Spirits and encountered a figure appearing to be Chen Huaji.
• Li Chu recognized the figure as a fake when its backstab broke against him, then killed it with one sword strike and caught the dropped Blood Demon Crystal.

Li Chu continued killing Evil Spirits in the darkness and met Chen Huaji, while Qi Kexiu returned to the fire with a haul of Blood Demon Crystals. As golden light suddenly erupted nearby, Qi Kexiu and his retainers stared in shock and wondered if they were seeing a sun.

• Li Chu picked up a Blood Demon Crystal and encountered Chen Huaji, who claimed he had fled from teammates forcing him to lure Evil Spirits.
• Li Chu accepted Chen Huaji's explanation and agreed to travel with him.
• Qi Kexiu and two Qi Family retainers killed a Double-Headed Evil Flood Dragon with talismans and collected its Blood Demon Crystal.
• Qi Kexiu led the retainers back to their fire and tossed in a pouch filled with Blood Demon Crystals, causing the flames to flare brightly.
• As Qi Kexiu's retainers discussed Li Chu's strength, boundless golden light erupted nearby and left them wondering if they were seeing a sun.

Li Chu entered a projection of ancient Huaxu Kingdom, where he became Yingli, the kingdom’s number one handsome man, imprisoned for refusing to dance at the Spring Splendor Ceremony. After learning that Changzi might be caught up in the High Priest’s plan to create a new Huaxu Kingdom, Li Chu escaped his cell and ordered Cangkong to lead him to the High Priest.

• Li Chu detonated a large cache of Blood Demon Crystals, illuminating the secret realm and triggering the sacred light that transported him and others to the third layer.
• Li Chu awoke in a Huaxu Kingdom prison as Yingli and learned from Wu Lan that he had refused to perform at the Spring Splendor Ceremony.
• Li Chu pieced together Yingli’s memories: his younger sister Changzi had disappeared after entering the State Religion High Priest’s tutelage, and he had resisted the High Priest in protest.
• Cangkong told Li Chu that the High Priest planned to create a new Huaxu Kingdom and that Changzi might be in a mysterious place connected to the plan.
• Li Chu used his spiritual power to leave his cell and confronted Cangkong, telling her to lead him to the State Religion High Priest.

Li Chu escaped the prison with Cangkong, discovered that the State Religion High Priest had transformed prisoners into monsters, and set out to confront her. At the temple, he met Chen Huaji, whose mission was to protect the High Priest, and they agreed to compete over their conflicting goals.

• Li Chu froze the guards, took a sword, and made Cangkong lead him toward the State Religion Forbidden Mountain.
• Li Chu subdued State Religion disciples and found Changzi imprisoned among demonized captives; she explained that the High Priest used the Eye of the Primordial Demon to transform them.
• Cangkong warned Li Chu that State Religion disciples surrounded the cave, so he carried her away on his sword and left her unconscious inside Huaxu Kingdom's city walls.
• Li Chu went to the State Religion Temple to find the High Priest and encountered Chen Huaji, who revealed he served as her trusted aide and had a mission to protect her.
• Li Chu and Chen Huaji recognized that their missions conflicted, and Li Chu proposed that they compete fairly.

At the Spring Splendor Ceremony, the First Seat summoned the Eye of the Primordial Demon to transform Huaxu Kingdom, but Li Chu cut it apart with his sword. He rescued the High Priest and promised the chief he would take responsibility for the kingdom’s approaching apocalypse.

• The sovereign and the State Religion High Priest arrived at the Spring Splendor Ceremony as the crowd complained about its dull performances.
• The First Seat announced that Huaxu Kingdom faced destruction and summoned the Eye of the Primordial Demon to bring about nationwide sublimation.
• Li Chu’s white sword light sliced the giant eyeball in half, causing it to vanish and leaving the First Seat’s plan in ruins.
• The monarch’s army regained control of the ceremony grounds while Li Chu carried the High Priest away on his sword.
• The High Priest questioned whether the events had been Li Chu’s plan, and he explained that he had meant to kill her before deciding to protect Huaxu Kingdom.
• Li Chu told the chief he would handle the apocalypse, adding that if one sword was not enough, he would use another.

Li Chu saved Huaxu Kingdom by splitting Zhenguo Mountain and received the Huaxu Sutra in the Secret Realm. Back at Virtuous Cloud Temple, Yu Qi'an revealed that the Wood Man King had been a blind carpenter, leaving his original identity unexplained.

• The Huaxu ruler struggled to contain the aftermath of the High Priest’s abduction as Zhenguo Mountain erupted and black flames threatened the capital.
• Li Chu struck Zhenguo Mountain with a sword, destroyed the evil reviving beneath it, and saved Huaxu Kingdom.
• Chen Fuhuang’s divided spirit rewarded Li Chu and the others with ancient manuals, including the Huaxu Sutra; he also gave Chen Huaji a divine weapon and expelled Niu Sandao for questioning him.
• Li Chu and Du Lanke returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple and told Yu Qi'an and Li Maoqing what had happened.
• Yu Qi'an explained that the Wood Man King had been a carpenter who made wooden men, and revealed that he had also been blind.

Yu Qi'an explained the Wood Man King's history, and Li Chu suspected the blind man he had met was the Wood Man King plotting against the Eight Demons. Li Chu discovered that Little Yue'er's growing fortune was blessing people around her, so he gave her and Fox Girl the Huaxu Sutra to cultivate; Wang Longqi then declared himself a believer in the Moon-Worshiping Sect.

• Yu Qi'an told Li Chu and Li Maoqing that the Wood Man King had been a carpenter called Ghost Axe before Sword Casting City gouged out his eyes and expelled him.
• Li Chu suspected the blind man he had encountered was the Wood Man King, and Li Maoqing and Yu Qi'an guessed that he planned to betray the Eight Demons and seize the Fuhuang Demon Body for his own purposes.
• Little Yue'er told Li Chu that people had been following her and bowing to her, so Li Chu followed her to school and found villagers worshiping her in hopes of having their wishes granted.
• Li Chu saw that Little Yue'er's seven-colored fortune was falling like rain and blessing those nearby, and Li Maoqing explained that this resembled a legendary lingering blessing of fortune.
• Li Chu gave Little Yue'er and Fox Girl the Huaxu Sutra so they could cultivate and protect themselves, while Wang Longqi bowed to Little Yue'er and announced that he belonged to the Moon-Worshiping Sect.

Wang Longqi sought help at Virtuous Cloud Temple after a female ghost repeatedly followed him, calling him a faithless man. With help from Li Chu and Li Maoqing, the ghost recovered enough memories to identify Yan Wuxie of the Yan Family of the Seven Families of Southern Heaven as the man she was seeking.

• Wang Longqi recounted how a red-clothed female ghost appeared at the Wang residence, followed him, and left his family convinced he had wronged her.
• Wang Longqi explained that the ghost had haunted him nightly for several days, and Li Maoqing suggested she might have mistaken him for someone else and needed stronger Yin Qi to recover her memories.
• Wang Longqi brought the ghost to Virtuous Cloud Temple, where she swallowed a Yin-Gathering Pill and regained some clarity.
• Li Chu asked the ghost whether she recognized Wang Longqi, and she realized she had mistaken him for the faithless man she sought.
• The female ghost named Yan Wuxie of the Yan Family of the Seven Families of Southern Heaven, leaving Wang Longqi visibly unsettled.

Lian’er told Li Chu that Yan Wuxie had murdered her and their daughter, so Li Chu went to Yanling City to confront him. After Yan Wuxie admitted the crime and mocked the law, Li Chu killed him, and Yan Ren’s father arrived demanding to know why his son was disrespecting Uncle Li.

• Lian’er recounted how Yan Wuxie had pushed her and their daughter off a mountain, and Li Chu agreed to seek justice.
• Li Chu, Wang Longqi, and Du Lanke traveled to Yanling City and found Yan Wuxie at a banquet in Rouge Fragrance Pavilion.
• Wang Longqi and the others briefly mistook another young man for Yan Wuxie, then Li Chu confronted the real Yan Wuxie about Lian’er and her daughter.
• Yan Wuxie admitted that he had killed Lian’er and her daughter, while Yan Ren claimed the Yan Family made the law in Yanling City.
• Li Chu killed Yan Wuxie with the Chunyang Sword, then identified himself as Li Chu of Virtuous Cloud Temple.
• Yan Ren threatened Li Chu as the Yan Family arrived, but a man outside shouted at him for speaking disrespectfully to Uncle Li.

Li Chu’s group received Yan Family Third Grandmother’s support after Li Chu admitted killing Yan Wuxie, while Yu Qi’an warned State Preceptor Li Maoqing about scheming against his disciple. Yan Linan then sent Yan Ren to find and recruit the powerful secret-realm expert before the seven families entered the Huaxu Secret Realm.

• Yan Linan arrived with Yan Family Third Grandmother and beat Yan Ren twice while defending Li Chu.
• Li Chu admitted killing Yan Wuxie, and Third Grandmother confirmed that Yan Wuxie deserved death for abandoning his wife and daughter.
• Third Grandmother asked Li Chu to send her regards to Yu Qi’an, then left after warning Yan Linan to discipline the Yan Family’s second branch.
• Yu Qi’an told Li Maoqing that Li Chu was not connected to immortal fate and warned him against plotting against Li Chu.
• Yan Linan told Yan Ren that the family head’s succession depended on the ancestors and Third Grandmother’s influence, then ordered him to recruit the powerful expert who had helped the Qi Family in the Huaxu Secret Realm.

Chu Xiangyu hired Li Chu to help the Chu Family secure a treasure in the altered Huaxu Secret Realm, and Li Chu agreed to bring Zhao Liangchen along. Zhao Liangchen revealed that he had fallen in love and was working to earn money for a future with his beloved.

• Chu Xiangyu offered Li Chu one hundred thousand taels to enter the Huaxu Secret Realm for the Chu Family, with another hundred thousand promised if Li Chu found the item they needed, and Li Chu accepted.
• Li Chu told Yu Qi'an and Li Maoqing about the invitation, and Yu Qi'an suggested that he bring Little Yue'er to the secret realm during her spring break.
• Zhao Liangchen visited Li Chu and asked to join the expedition; Li Chu agreed after explaining that he had already accepted the Chu Family's invitation.
• Zhao Liangchen told Li Chu and Du Lanke that he had fallen in love and planned to earn money for a house and carriage so he could build a future with his beloved.
• Zhao Liangchen's anxious thoughts about growing old, poor, and unmarried left Du Lanke in tears.

Chu Xiangyu recruited Li Chu to enter the Huaxu Secret Realm, while Yan Ren secretly hired assassins to kill him. After Li Chu’s transformation drew the Golden Phoenix and brought the team into the Second Heaven, he set out with Little Koi but found that no Evil Spirits appeared near her.

• Chu Xiangyu and Chu Ci discussed the price of practicing the Huaxu Sutra and the treasure rumored to make it possible for men.
• Yan Ren visited Virtuous Cloud Temple, fled after mistaking Li Chu’s eagerness for a threat, and decided to hire assassins to kill him in the secret realm.
• Li Chu accepted the Chu Family’s invitation, and Yan Ren arranged for ten peak-Myriad Phenomena assassins to infiltrate the Chu Family’s team.
• At the Huaxu Secret Realm, Li Chu transformed into a handsome tree, and the Golden Phoenix carried the Chu Family’s island into the Second Heaven.
• Li Chu arrived at the Second Heaven with Little Koi, Du Lanke, and Zhao Liangchen, then took Little Koi into the Black Mist to look for Evil Spirits.
• When they encountered no Evil Spirits, Li Chu realized they seemed to be avoiding Little Koi and sent her back to the campfire.

Zhang San and Venerable Black Wolf secretly hunted Li Chu for the Yan Family’s bounty, but Li Chu killed both ambushers with ease and found no Blood Demon Crystals. Outside the Huaxu Secret Realm, Yan Ren remained confident that his ten hired masters would succeed.

• Zhang San used a Soul-Chasing Seal to track Li Chu and prepared a formation to ambush him alone for the extra bounty.
• Li Chu sensed Zhang San’s trap and killed him with the Chunyang Sword, then wondered why the attacker had dropped no Blood Demon Crystal.
• Venerable Black Wolf used his scent-tracking ability to find Li Chu while distracting the other hired masters through their communication crystal.
• Venerable Black Wolf ambushed Li Chu with a giant wolf head, but Li Chu destroyed it with a Red Dragon sword strike and continued onward without finding a Blood Demon Crystal.
• Yan Ren nervously awaited news outside the secret realm, while his household guard assured him that ten peak Myriad Phenomena masters could not fail.

Li Chu and his companions entered the Huaxu projection, which had evolved into a changed kingdom five hundred years after its earlier events. As Li Chu discovered his new identity and a mob surrounded him and Little Koi, he killed a demon that burst from a mountain, then stopped the fleeing crowd.

• Chu Xiangyu killed a Black-Armored Flood Dragon and met Li Chu, who declined his invitation to join him.
• Li Chu returned to the safe point with Blood Demon Crystals from his fourth trip, and he, Old Du, Zhao Liangchen, and Little Koi entered the Huaxu projection.
• Li Chu learned that he was Li Sanzhao, Huaxu Kingdom's number one handsome man, and that the little imperial princess had fled with him from the South Wall Sect.
• A mob accused Little Koi of hostility toward men and condemned Li Chu as a traitor, while Li Chu sensed a threat emerging from the mountain.
• A demonic shadow burst from an exploding peak, and Li Chu killed it with a Flying Fire Meteor before ordering the crowd to stop as they tried to flee.

The State Religion High Priest and the First Imperial Princess tried to awaken Taowu at Zhenguo Mountain, but Li Chu had already slain the beast. After Zhao Liangchen revealed that the Second Imperial Princess controlled the South Wall Sect and planned to invade the royal city, the group received conflicting missions in the Secret Realm.

• The State Religion High Priest explained that she had lured the South Wall Sect toward Zhenguo Mountain to awaken and control Taowu, then cast a spell to summon it.
• The State Religion High Priest and the First Imperial Princess saw no sign of Taowu and wondered where it had gone.
• Li Chu questioned the South Wall Sect members after killing Taowu and met their arriving leader, Zhao Liangchen.
• Zhao Liangchen told Li Chu and Little Koi that the Second Imperial Princess secretly controlled the South Wall Sect and had ordered an attack on the Little Imperial Princess, followed by an invasion of the royal city.
• Li Chu, Zhao Liangchen, and Little Koi sensed conflicting Secret Realm missions: Li Chu was to quell the royal turmoil, Zhao Liangchen was to support the Second Imperial Princess, and Little Koi was told to go home and sleep.

The Second Imperial Princess exposed and punished Steward Du, but Li Chu and Little Koi rescued him and learned that their conflicting missions tied them to opposing sides of Huaxu’s succession struggle. That night, the Second Imperial Princess killed the Huaxu Monarch and declared herself the new ruler, only to be interrupted by a voice saying, “Stop.”

• The Second Imperial Princess accused Steward Du of spying for the First Imperial Princess and ordered him chopped up, but Steward Du escaped on a flying sword before she knocked him down.
• Li Chu arrived with Little Koi, claimed Steward Du as his friend, and secured permission to leave with him after the Second Imperial Princess recognized Li Chu as Huaxu’s number one handsome man.
• Old Du told Li Chu that he had become a palace male and an undercover agent for the First Imperial Princess, while Little Koi slept and her mission urged her to help the First Imperial Princess defeat the Second Imperial Princess.
• The Second Imperial Princess attacked the Huaxu Monarch, revealed her mastery of the Huaxu Sutra’s eighth level, and killed her mother.
• The Second Imperial Princess ordered her subordinates to announce the monarch’s death and her succession, then heard an unseen voice tell her to stop.

The First Imperial Princess and the State Religion High Priest regrouped after the Second Imperial Princess’s coup, then followed Du Lanke into the palace hall and found the Second Imperial Princess captured. As the High Priest tried to stop her from sitting on the throne, Du Lanke distracted her, and the First Imperial Princess finally sat on the Golden Phoenix Chair.

• The State Religion High Priest told the First Imperial Princess that eight Elders had joined the Second Imperial Princess, while the First Imperial Princess revealed that spies had taken over her palace attendants.
• The First Imperial Princess and the State Religion High Priest realized the Second Imperial Princess had surrounded the palace and planned to escape, but Du Lanke arrived and proposed striking at her while her guards were weak.
• Du Lanke led the group through unguarded palace gates to the hall, where he subdued the Second Imperial Princess and her guards.
• The First Imperial Princess prepared to sit on the Golden Phoenix Chair, but the State Religion High Priest held her up and warned that the coup was not yet over.
• Du Lanke distracted the State Religion High Priest with an argument and shoved her, making her release the First Imperial Princess, who landed on the throne.

Li Chu and his companions completed the Huaxu Secret Realm mission and received rewards, while Little Koi woke to find herself welcomed as Huaxu’s new sovereign. Afterward, Yan Linan devised a pact to keep the other families from hiring Li Chu.

• Old Du revealed the palace coup had been staged, and Li Chu froze the State Religion High Priest and the First Imperial Princess while the Second Imperial Princess watched.
• Little Koi woke to find Huaxu officials proclaiming her the new sovereign after they reported the other members of the royal family dead.
• Chen Fuhuang’s projection rewarded Li Chu with a prescription for men to cultivate the Huaxu Sutra, Old Du with a spacious Book-Carrying Bag, Zhao Liangchen with a Fortune Bowl, and Little Koi with an Immortal Phoenix Gall.
• Yan Linan beat Yan Ren for wasting the family’s funds on assassins, then proposed that the seven families pledge not to be the first to use Li Chu.