Chapter Summaries

Zhou Yi lived in seclusion at Heavenly Pool under the identity of Fisherman Yianbo, and news that his nine clans had been exterminated helped him complete the Emotionless Sword Art and break through to the Innate realm. Before entering seclusion to refine his True Qi, he accepted Gu Xiao and Gu Yun as disciples and gave them martial arts to cultivate.

• Gu Xiao and Gu Yun visited Zhou Yi at Heavenly Pool and told him that an expert had threatened to exterminate the Eastern Depot Chief's clan.
• Zhou Yi learned that his nine clans had already been exterminated, which lifted his emotional restraint and helped him complete the Emotionless Sword Art.
• Zhou Yi used the icy qi of Heavenly Pool to break through to the Innate realm.
• Zhou Yi told Gu Xiao and Gu Yun he would enter seclusion, and Gu Xiao begged him not to cast them aside.
• Zhou Yi accepted Gu Xiao and Gu Yun as disciples after warning them that his grudges could implicate them.
• Zhou Yi gave Gu Xiao the Formless Sword Qi and Gu Yun the Indestructible Golden Body to cultivate while he was in seclusion.

Zhou Yi emerged from a decade of secluded cultivation to find that the Northern Garrison Army had annihilated Marshal Xie's forces and forced the imperial court into a costly peace. At Heavenly Pool, he discovered a tomb erected by Gu Xiao and learned that the martial world believed him dead.

• Zhou Yi warned Gu Xiao and Yun to avoid evil, claimed he was entering dangerous seclusion, and sank beneath Heavenly Pool to cultivate.
• Years later, Zhang Liang and Feng Ze trapped Marshal Xie's imperial army in Snow Wolf Valley, where explosives, an avalanche, and artillery destroyed the force.
• Zhang Liang ordered the Northern Garrison Army to press south and negotiate for territory and compensation rather than continue fighting.
• The court's account reported that the Northern Garrison Army won a major victory, Marshal Xie died, and the court ceded land and paid fifteen million taels of silver.
• Zhou Yi broke through the frozen lake, found a tomb marked for Fisherman Yianbo, and wondered why Yun was not named on its stele.

After ending his long seclusion, Zhou Yi learned that Gu Family Village had moved to the capital and that the Northern Garrison Army occupied the region. He visited Tang Mingyuan in the Heavenly Prison, warned him that Emperor Taichang threatened his daughter Tong Tong, and left Tang resolved to fight back.

• Zhou Yi found the ruins of Gu Family Village and learned from a soldier that the Gu family had moved to the capital.
• Zhou Yi gathered news of the past sixteen years, learned that Xie had died, and traveled to the capital without contacting the Eastern Depot spies.
• Zhou Yi entered the Heavenly Prison at night and reunited with Tang Mingyuan, who had been imprisoned after taking the blame for the northern campaign's defeat.
• Zhou Yi agreed to check whether Tong Tong was safe and warned Tang Mingyuan that Emperor Taichang might kill her once Tang was no longer useful.
• Tang Mingyuan resolved to protect Tong Tong and began studying the Ghost Immortal Longevity Sutra.

Zhou Yi visited his former disciple Gu Xiao in the capital, only to learn that Gu Xiao had betrayed him and killed Yun'er. Zhou Yi survived Gu Xiao’s firearms attack and killed him, then returned to Xiao Xiang House while preparing to lure out a greater enemy.

• Zhou Yi visited Heavenly Prison, then gathered information at Xiao Xiang House and learned that Gu Xiao lived near the imperial palace.
• Gu Xiao reported his arrests to Emperor Taichang, then met Zhou Yi at home and claimed that Tang Mingyuan had killed Yun'er.
• Gu Xiao lured Zhou Yi into an ambush, bombarding his study with cannons and firearms in an attempt to kill him.
• Zhou Yi survived the attack, fought through the bullets with Sword Qi, and killed Gu Xiao as he tried to flee.
• Zhou Yi returned to Xiao Xiang House, found that killing Gu Xiao had advanced his Emotionless Sword Art, and resolved to wait for the enemy he had baited.

Zhou Yi, disguised as Fisherman Yianbo, joined Old Lu and Luo Shuo in a plot against Director Zhou, then revealed himself and attacked them. He killed Luo Shuo and apparently destroyed Old Lu’s ghost body, while other martial world experts gathered to scheme over the rumors of immortality.

• Old Lu offered Fisherman Yianbo the Ghost Immortal Longevity Sutra in exchange for joining a plan to lure Director Zhou out, and Luo Shuo agreed to help avenge his master.
• Zhou Yi pretended to accept the alliance, then attacked Old Lu with his Sixteen-Foot Golden Body and shattered the skulls protecting him.
• Old Lu’s ghost body broke into scattered smoke, and Zhou Yi unleashed Sword Qi to slaughter the fleeing wisps.
• Luo Shuo attacked Zhou Yi and tried to escape as blade light, but Zhou Yi blasted him down and crushed him to death.
• Zhou Yi took Luo Shuo’s blade manual and left the ruins of Xiao Xiang House, while a group of martial world elders discussed killing him to obtain immortality.

After mastering the supreme art of becoming one with the blade, Zhou Yi grew alarmed by how effortlessly his martial comprehension had advanced since reaching the Innate Realm. He returned to the imperial palace and found Little Liang alive in the Scripture Pavilion, leaving Little Liang to bring him the finest martial arts manuals.

• At the Imperial Mausoleum, Zhou Yi read the blade manual and unexpectedly mastered the art of becoming one with the blade, then realized his martial cultivation had become strangely effortless.
• When a gray-clothed elder challenged him for trespassing, Zhou Yi killed him with blade light and flew toward the capital, troubled by the change in himself.
• Several days later, Zhou Yi entered the Scripture Pavilion as sword light and tested the old eunuch who was sorting its books.
• The old eunuch revealed himself as Little Liang, knelt before Zhou Yi, and explained that years of reading had coincided with his steadily improving martial cultivation.
• Zhou Yi recognized that Little Liang was nearing the Innate Realm and ordered him to bring out the finest supreme arts.

Zhou Yi strengthened his martial arts, reunited with Zhou Ping'an, and learned how his adopted son had gained power by helping defeat the Xie family. Their conversation turned to Gu Xiao and the emperor’s origins, ending with Zhou Ping'an asking why Zhou Yi had not placed a Zhou descendant on the throne.

• Zhou Yi took the Scripture Pavilion’s supreme manuals and learned from Little Liang that Old Lu had demonstrated aura observation and artifact refinement.
• Zhou Yi met Zhou Ping'an after more than twenty years apart and heard how the Zhou family had risen under his adopted son’s influence.
• Zhou Ping'an admitted that he had warned the King Who Pacifies the North about the court’s plans, contributing to the northern army’s defeat and the Xie family’s downfall.
• Zhou Ping'an explained that Gu Xiao had killed his junior brother after discovering the woman’s connection to the emperor, then claimed the credit and became commander of the Pacification Office.
• Zhou Ping'an revealed his suspicion that the emperor was not of imperial blood, and Zhou Yi confirmed that he had switched the Crown Prince as a child.
• Zhou Ping'an asked Zhou Yi why he had not replaced the emperor with a descendant of the Zhou family.

Zhou Yi advised Zhou Ping'an against seeking the throne directly and urged him to use the Empress’s death and Emperor Taichang’s expected demise to install a new ruler. He then asked Eunuch Yuan to help the Zhou family search for surviving grandmasters, while concealing that he was chiefly hunting Eunuch Hai for a martial art that could restore his manhood.

• Zhou Yi warned Zhou Ping'an that a Zhou descendant on the throne would likely turn against the Zhou family, then outlined how the court’s weakness could be exploited to change rulers.
• Zhou Yi gave Zhou Ping'an a secret command token and ordered him to arrange the Empress’s death so it would appear accidental, then inform Chancellor Tang and wait for Emperor Taichang to die.
• Zhou Yi visited Eunuch Yuan in the palace and revealed his youthful appearance, prompting Eunuch Yuan to recognize him as Little Yi.
• Zhou Yi asked Eunuch Yuan to assist the Zhou family after Emperor Taichang’s expected death and said he wanted to find the grandmasters who survived the battle in the capital.
• Zhou Yi concealed his real goal: finding Eunuch Hai and taking his martial secret art to restore his manhood.

After Emperor Pingkang took the throne, Zhou Ping'an gained power and Zhou Yi hunted down his old enemies, learning that their missing bodies were tied to Eunuch Lu’s ghostly cultivation method. Years later, Zhou Yi tracked down Eunuch Hai and threatened his family unless he surrendered the secret art of yin reaching its extreme and giving birth to yang.

• After the emperor died and Pingkang ascended the throne, Zhou Ping'an became Chief Minister and later Grand Preceptor.
• Zhou Yi attacked Prajna Temple, killed its monks, and forced Vajra Immortal to answer for the absent bodies in his enemies’ tombs.
• Vajra Immortal explained that Eunuch Lu’s method gathered Spirit Souls and transformed practitioners into ghosts to prolong their lives, then Zhou Yi killed him.
• Over the following years, Zhou Yi hunted down the enemies identified by the court’s spies, while rumors spread that he was a god or Buddha.
• In Sishui City, Zhou Yi found Eunuch Hai, whose gambling grandson had exposed the family through pawned palace jewelry.
• Zhou Yi threatened Eunuch Hai’s family and offered to spare one descendant if Eunuch Hai surrendered the secret art of yin reaching its extreme and giving birth to yang.

Zhou Yi killed Eunuch Hai after learning his secret art, then rose to unmatched power as Zhou Ping'an prepared to claim the throne. The chapter ended with Zhou Yi allowing his son to ascend while remaining devoted to martial arts and fishing.

• Eunuch Hai gave Zhou Yi the Extreme Yin Giving Birth to Yang art and asked him to spare his grandson, Yu'er of Ye City.
• Zhou Yi mastered the art, restored his male body, and advanced his martial cultivation before killing Eunuch Hai while promising to spare his grandson.
• During the capital rebellion, Grand Tutor Zhou crushed the revolt, Emperor Pingkang died, and Zhou Ping'an later became Prince Chu and took charge of court affairs.
• Six years later, Zhou Ping'an visited Zhou Yi at Longevity Mountain and reported the emergence of a young Little Sword God in Jiangnan.
• Zhou Ping'an told Zhou Yi that Emperor Long'an intended to abdicate in his favor, and Zhou Yi warned him that people would always come after those in power.
• Zhou Yi gave Zhou Ping'an leave to take the throne, then used his True Qi to create a river in the air for the carp he had caught.

Zhou Yi recorded his life in diaries to keep his memories and sense of self intact as decades passed and his power continued to grow. After witnessing Great Zhou decay into famine and corruption, he killed the Guangxi Emperor, took the throne, and began a purge and sweeping reforms.

• After Zhou Ping'an founded the Zhou dynasty, Zhou Yi began writing diaries to preserve his memories and guard against his growing detachment.
• At Emperor Ping'an's request, Zhou Yi split North Pacifying City with one sword, then grieved as his relatives and old acquaintances died over the years.
• Zhou Yi regularly reread his diaries and visited the Zhao family's ancestral graves as Great Zhou passed through successive reigns.
• During the Guangxi era, Zhou Yi saw starving refugees and widespread decay, then killed the Guangxi Emperor and declared that he wanted to be emperor.
• Zhou Yi proclaimed himself emperor as Zheng Tong, purged half the officials, rebuilt the Eastern Depot, and imposed land reforms across the realm.
• Ten years later, Great Zhou had returned to prosperity.

The Sixth Prince and Prince Kang conspired with nobles and officials to overthrow Emperor Zhengtong, aided by a ghostly being that forced them to raise troops at dawn. Meanwhile, Zhou Yi continued personally governing Great Zhou and ordered an investigation into the Governor of Suzhou’s ties to the Lu Family.

• The Sixth Prince met Prince Kang and other masked conspirators at Nameless Manor, where they agreed to rebel against Emperor Zhengtong over his plans to abolish their privileges.
• The Sixth Prince revealed that he had found a being said to rival the Old Ancestor, and a ghostly presence entered the hall and killed several conspirators.
• The ghostly being ordered the survivors to raise troops at dawn and lure the Imperial Guards from the palace, threatening them with a Soul-Devouring Curse if they disobeyed.
• Prince Kang and the conspirators discussed justifying a new sovereign by claiming Emperor Zhengtong had usurped the throne, citing Minister Cui’s account of the late emperor’s origins.
• At the Hall of Diligent Governance, Zhou Yi approved the Hengchang Trading Company’s railway project in Suzhou and ordered the Eastern Depot to investigate the Governor of Suzhou’s possible crimes and dealings with the Lu Family.

Zhou Yi left the Hall of Diligent Governance and met Old Lu in the abandoned Cold Palace, where his former attendant’s betrayal led to their long-delayed reunion. Old Lu revealed that he had sworn to Heaven to kill Zhou Yi, leaving their confrontation poised to begin.

• Zhou Yi ordered the Imperial Guards to help fight the city fires and promised compensation for the people’s losses.
• Zhou Yi went to the Cold Palace with Little Lu and questioned him about his family and their prosperity.
• Zhou Yi confronted Little Lu over his betrayal, and Little Lu confessed that a demon had threatened his clan and forced him to steal palace secrets.
• Old Lu possessed Little Lu and attacked Zhou Yi, who killed Little Lu with true qi before Old Lu revealed himself.
• Old Lu asked why Zhou Yi remained emperor, and Zhou Yi explained that keeping busy with state affairs slowed the changes in his mind and self.
• Old Lu declared that he had sworn to Heaven to kill Zhou Yi, and more than a hundred tortured heads emerged from his black mist.

Zhou Yi defeated Old Lu’s ghostly attack, but Old Lu then invaded his Spirit Soul with the memories of dozens of people. As Old Lu tried to seize Zhou Yi’s body, a mysterious green branch unleashed ancient memories that swept away the invading identities, and Zhou Yi returned with his True Qi transformed into Mana.

• Old Lu revealed that he served Heaven’s Will and attacked Zhou Yi with ghost faces, but Zhou Yi destroyed him and shattered the clouds over the palace.
• Old Lu reappeared inside Zhou Yi’s Spirit Soul, explaining that he was a lingering memory attached to Heaven’s Will and began eroding Zhou Yi with other people’s memories.
• Zhou Yi struggled to distinguish his identity as memories of heroes from many lifetimes flooded his mind.
• Old Lu rushed toward a bright spiritual spark in Zhou Yi’s Spirit Soul, hoping to devour it and gain eternity.
• The spark revealed itself as a green branch whose tens of thousands of years of memories swept away the invading memories, and Zhou Yi returned with Mana.

Zhou Yi returned to Jiuzhou with the power to command Heaven and Earth and discovered that Han Chao had inherited the golden corpse’s Corpse Immortal legacy. Zhou Yi and the yellow ox attacked Han Chao, but his corpse qi let him rapidly regenerate.

• Zhou Yi offered sacrifices on the Vast Continent, gained immense merit, and opened a passage between worlds.
• Zhou Yi shared his merit with the yellow ox, the Spirit Ginseng Child, and Kunlun Grotto-Heaven’s jujube tree and grapevine, which became Qingfeng and Mingyue.
• Zhou Yi tested his new authority over Heaven and Earth by traveling instantly to Jiuzhou and entering its corpse-qi-shrouded lands.
• Zhou Yi encountered Han Chao, learned that Han Chao had taken the golden corpse’s cultivation, and challenged him over abandoning his oath to continue humanity.
• Zhou Yi and the yellow ox struck Han Chao with divine wind, divine light, and a charge, but Han Chao repeatedly regenerated from the corpse qi.

Zhou Yi killed Han Chao, purged the Nine Continents of corpse demons and corpse qi, and spent more than nine hundred years restoring the land. A message from the Reincarnation Compass then revealed that its transmigrator had died before reaching the realm needed to activate it, though Zhou Yi found the returned world's cultivation system intriguing.

• Zhou Yi used his Jianmu flying sword to defeat Han Chao, tracked him across the Nine Continents, and called down tribulation lightning to destroy the corpse demons and prevent Han Chao from possessing them.
• Han Chao detonated his Void Return Spirit Soul, but Zhou Yi used his merit treasures to contain the blast and eliminate him.
• Zhou Yi absorbed the Nine Continents' corpse qi and estimated it would take seven or eight hundred years to cleanse the land; he sent the Reincarnation Compass into the void and began secluded cultivation.
• More than nine hundred years later, the corpse qi had dissipated, forests had spread across the Nine Continents, and plants and animals had begun forming the first Demon Race.
• Zhou Yi received the compass's report that its transmigrator had lived for a thousand years in his first life but died before reaching the realm that could trigger the compass, and he examined the world's unusual cultivation methods.