Chapter Summaries

Lu Qing sought Five Treasures Daoist’s advice on quickly earning Spirit Stones, needing at least one hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. After reuniting with him in Qing Niu Continent, Lu Qing learned that ordinary cultivation trades would not suit his situation, and Five Treasures Daoist suggested assassination bounties as an alternative.

• Lu Qing remembered Five Treasures Daoist might help him find a way to earn Spirit Stones and traveled with Xiao Li to Qing Niu Continent.
• Lu Qing cautiously contacted Five Treasures Daoist, verified that he was not being followed, and met him at a secluded mountain peak.
• Five Treasures Daoist welcomed Lu Qing and Xiao Li, explained how he had escaped the search after the Tian Shu Holy Mountain battle, and affirmed his trust in Lu Qing.
• Lu Qing asked Five Treasures Daoist for ways to earn at least one hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, and Five Treasures Daoist ruled out alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman-making as unsuitable.
• Five Treasures Daoist proposed assassination bounties as an unorthodox way for Lu Qing to accumulate Spirit Stones quickly.

Lu Qing decided to join Nether Palace as a peripheral assassin to earn Spirit Stones and gain access to its resources. After reaching a hidden stronghold in disguise, he passed the strength test and received a Jade Talisman for a trial scheduled in half a month.

• Five Treasures Daoist explained Nether Palace's assassin recruitment, dangerous trial, and bounty missions, and Lu Qing chose to participate.
• Lu Qing gave Five Treasures Daoist three wisps of Golden Core Level Strange Beast bloodline before leaving, and Five Treasures Daoist vowed to use them to perfect his secret technique and avenge his junior sister.
• Lu Qing told Xiao Li that Nether Palace suited his need for Spirit Stones and a new identity, then traveled to a stronghold hidden in a separate space.
• Lu Qing disguised himself as Lu An, entered the stronghold, and asked a Nascent Soul Second Tribulation Great Power to let him join the trial.
• Lu Qing cut through the formation around a stone pillar with sword light, obtained the Jade Talisman, and learned the trial would begin in half a month.

Lu Qing obtained a Trial Jade Talisman and traveled to the Nether Palace Trial Grounds, where he killed three cultivators who tried to rob him. As the trial was about to begin, he sold two extra talismans for Spirit Stones and waited for the valley to open.

• Lu Qing learned that the Nether Palace trial would begin in half a month and spent the waiting time cultivating.
• Lu Qing reached the trial valley, evaded a sneak attack, and killed three Golden Core cultivators who demanded his Trial Jade Talisman.
• Lu Qing collected the three men's belongings and concealed himself while other trial candidates arrived and fought over the limited talismans.
• Two candidates asked Lu Qing for extra Trial Jade Talismans, and he sold them two for ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones each.
• The time recorded on the Trial Jade Talisman arrived, and a fluctuation came from the valley.

Lu Qing entered Nether Palace’s trial grounds and learned that participants had to collect jade talismans over three days, with only ten advancing and humans, demons, and monster races competing together. As the first fights broke out, Cang Jue, the Nirvana Demon Lord’s son, seized the talismans of the demons around him and set his sights on others.

• A masked Nether Palace cultivator led Lu Qing and the other participants through a spatial entrance into a desolate realm filled with Death Qi.
• The masked cultivator announced that the ten participants holding the most Trial Jade Talismans after three days would pass, and revealed that humans, demons, and monster races were competing together.
• The jade talismans activated, displaying other holders’ locations and warning participants not to conceal or store their talismans.
• A Golden Core Middle Stage cultivator threw away his talisman and fled, while several Late Golden Core Stage cultivators fought to seize it.
• Cang Jue killed a Pig-headed Demon, took its talisman, and made the demons accompanying him surrender theirs.
• After gathering the demons’ talismans, Cang Jue looked toward the distance and prepared to target the other participants.

Cang Jue, an Elephant Clan expert, the Dao Xu Temple Dao Child, the Azure Palace Holy Maiden, and Lu Qing began collecting Trial Jade Talismans as powerful participants from all three clans entered the Nether Palace trial. Behind the trial, masked observers revealed that a mysterious lord had arranged it on a whim to find another nominal disciple.

• Cang Jue eagerly asked the demons following him to help slaughter the humans in the trial, and they agreed.
• An Elephant Clan expert subdued demon cultivators and took their Trial Jade Talismans, while wondering why all three clans had been placed together.
• The Dao Xu Temple Dao Child and the Azure Palace Holy Maiden collected human cultivators' talismans and questioned Nether Palace's purpose.
• Lu Qing noticed groups gathering talismans, suppressed dozens of Golden Core cultivators with his sword intent, and warned them the trial was dangerous before flying off to find more.
• Masked observers watched the participants and revealed that a mysterious lord had arranged the trial because he wanted to take another nominal disciple.

Nether Palace observers watched the trial and reassessed Lu Qing after he defeated a powerful Golden Core Eight Revolutions cultivator with two streams of sword qi. Meanwhile, Cang Jue drove back Azure Palace's Holy Maiden and Dao Xu Temple's Dao Child using a powerful demon artifact, then pursued them as the observers feared for their safety.

• The Nether Palace figures debated the trial's likely winner, favoring Cang Jue, Azure Palace's Holy Maiden, or an Elephant Clan participant, while judging Lu Qing a possible top-ten contender.
• Lu Qing flew toward a cluster of Trial Jade Talismans and confronted a White-Robed Youth wielding an ice-dragon spirit artifact.
• Lu Qing shattered the ice dragon with sword qi, subdued the White-Robed Youth, and took all his Trial Jade Talismans.
• The observers were astonished by Lu Qing's strength and acknowledged him as a contender for first place.
• The observers saw Cang Jue overpower Azure Palace's Holy Maiden and Dao Xu Temple's Dao Child, who killed nearby demons to escape together.
• The figures identified Cang Jue's weapon as a possibly High-Grade Demon Artifact and watched him pursue the fleeing pair.

Cang Jue caught up to the Holy Maiden of Azure Palace and the Dao Child of Dao Xu Temple, then used his Black Bone Claw to grievously injure the Dao Child despite agreeing to fight without magic treasures. Meanwhile, Lu Qing waited for a powerful cultivator carrying more than two hundred Trial Jade Talismans, and the Nether Palace figures watched both encounters unfold.

• The Nether Palace figures discussed Cang Jue's suspected High-Grade Demon Artifact as he pursued the Holy Maiden of Azure Palace and the Dao Child of Dao Xu Temple.
• The Holy Maiden of Azure Palace and the Dao Child of Dao Xu Temple stopped fleeing and prepared to fight Cang Jue together.
• Lu Qing noticed a cultivator carrying more than two hundred Trial Jade Talismans heading toward him and stayed put to wait.
• Cang Jue caught up with the pair, rejected the Dao Child's attempt to make him fight without magic treasures, then agreed to let them fight using only their cultivation and Daoist Arts.
• The Dao Child of Dao Xu Temple attacked with Starry Sky Coverage, but Cang Jue tore through it with his Black Bone Claw and smashed him aside.
• The Holy Maiden of Azure Palace caught the gravely injured Dao Child and used an Ice Soul Talisman to suppress the Demonic Qi as Cang Jue laughed at them.

Cang Jue crippled the Dao Xu Temple Dao Child through deception and prepared to torment the Azure Palace Holy Maiden, while Lu Qing defeated Shangguan Menghe by reflecting his Illusion Technique and spared his life. As Lu Qing and the Elephant Clan youth headed toward Cang Jue, the Azure Palace Holy Maiden began her desperate fight against him.

• Cang Jue mocked the wounded Dao Xu Temple Dao Child while the Azure Palace Holy Maiden treated him and the watching figures recognized that Cang Jue had tricked his opponent from the start.
• Shangguan Menghe suffered backlash from his Illusion Technique after it failed against Lu Qing, who took his Trial Jade Talisman and Storage Magic Treasure before dispelling the illusion and leaving him alive.
• The mysterious figures discussed Lu Qing’s strength and principles as he and the Elephant Clan youth headed toward Cang Jue’s location.
• The Azure Palace Holy Maiden rejected the Dao Xu Temple Dao Child’s plea to flee and stood to face Cang Jue, who threatened to humiliate her and hand her over to the demons.
• The Azure Palace Holy Maiden removed her white jade hairpin and offered it as her hair fell loose, changing the color of heaven and earth.

The Azure Palace Holy Maiden exhausted her strength fighting Cang Jue, who suppressed her attempt to self-detonate her Golden Core and prepared to take her away. Lu Qing and the Elephant-nosed Man arrived, but Cang Jue threatened them, and Lu Qing identified the High-Grade Demon Artifact behind his strength.

• The Azure Palace Holy Maiden empowered her Chilong Hairpin with her origin blood essence and a secret technique, but Cang Jue's Black Bone Claw burned its Artifact Spirit and left her gravely weakened.
• Cang Jue tore away the Azure Palace Holy Maiden's veil and declared that he would take her to the Demon Realm as his forbidden plaything.
• The Azure Palace Holy Maiden tried to self-detonate her Golden Core, but Cang Jue used the Black Bone Claw to suppress her and attached a Suppression Demon Talisman to her.
• Lu Qing and the Elephant-nosed Man arrived from different directions, giving the Azure Palace Holy Maiden and the Dao Xu Temple Dao Child a brief trace of hope.
• Cang Jue demanded that the newcomers surrender their Trial Jade Talismans and submit, while the Elephant-nosed Man refused and offered to hand over his talismans only if defeated.
• Lu Qing examined Cang Jue's information and learned he wielded a High-Grade Demon Artifact, before Cang Jue turned on him for staring.

Lu Qing rescued the Holy Maiden of Azure Palace from Cang Jue and mocked him despite his High-Grade Demon Artifact. Cang Jue fused the artifact with his body and appeared before Lu Qing at terrifying speed, beginning their next clash.

• Lu Qing used a sword strike as a feint to break Cang Jue's seal on the Holy Maiden of Azure Palace and carry her away.
• Cang Jue attacked Lu Qing with the Black Bone Claw, but Lu Qing escaped its suppression with the Holy Maiden and returned to taunt him.
• Lu Qing imprisoned the injured Holy Maiden of Azure Palace in the Li Fire Cauldron as Cang Jue unleashed his full strength.
• Cang Jue fused the demon artifact with his body, transformed into a ferocious form, and vanished before reappearing in front of Lu Qing at tremendous speed.

Lu Qing revealed that his Protective Body Sword Formation had only been a test before trapping Cang Jue in his Sword Dao Domain. He wounded Cang Jue with one of its seven stars, then prepared to attack with the remaining six as Cang Jue’s demon artifact rapidly healed him.

• Cang Jue relentlessly attacked Lu Qing, but his bone claw could not break through Lu Qing’s inexhaustible sword-qi defense.
• Nascent Soul Realm observers identified Lu Qing’s defense as a powerful sword formation and realized he cultivated the Way of the Sword Formation.
• Lu Qing blasted Cang Jue away, expanded a domain across ten miles, and revealed that he had created it by combining sword arts with his understanding of domains.
• Lu Qing’s Sword Dao Domain manifested countless stars and suppressed Cang Jue, while its seven brightest stars gathered terrifying Sword Intent.
• Lu Qing sent one star streaking down at Cang Jue, leaving him grievously wounded, but the Black Sky Demon Claw rapidly healed him.
• Lu Qing declared that Cang Jue could not withstand seven sword strikes and prepared the other six stars to attack.

Lu Qing used the Seven Stars Sword Formation to obliterate Cang Jue, then killed the demons and devils who tried to flee. As Lu Qing examined Cang Jue’s black bone claw, the artifact began to mutate with the aura of the Nirvana Demon Lord.

• Lu Qing unleashed seven linked streams of sword light, destroying Cang Jue and leaving only the black bone claw behind.
• Lu Qing killed several dozen fleeing demons and devils with a single sweep of sword qi, while the Elephant-nosed Man chose to stay still.
• The Dao Child of Dao Xu Temple wondered whether only Chen Qing could match Lu Qing’s power.
• The watchers in the mysterious space debated Lu Qing’s sword technique and suspected a powerful figure had guided him.
• The watchers saw Lu Qing examine the black bone claw, which began to mutate as the Nirvana Demon Lord’s aura emerged.

Nirvana Demon Lord manifested an avatar in the Nether Palace’s Trial Space and tried to kill Lu Qing for slaying Cang Jue. Venerable Grey Robe intervened, drove Nirvana Demon Lord off, and left the fate of Lu Qing and the others unresolved.

• Nirvana Demon Lord’s avatar emerged from the Black Bone Claw and identified Lu Qing as the one who had killed his son’s true body.
• Nirvana Demon Lord summoned the Black Bone Claw and unleashed a massive palm strike that threatened Lu Qing, the Elephant-nosed Man, and Dao Child of Dao Xu Temple.
• Venerable Grey Robe appeared, froze the surrounding area, and challenged Nirvana Demon Lord for intruding into Nether Palace’s Trial Space.
• Venerable Grey Robe and Nirvana Demon Lord argued over Cang Jue’s death and the threat of a wider conflict between Nether Palace and the Demon Realm.
• Venerable Grey Robe attacked with a Space Vortex and overwhelmed Nirvana Demon Lord’s avatar.
• Nirvana Demon Lord poured his black flames into the Black Bone Claw, broke free of the vortex, and escaped through a tear in space.

Lu Qing survived Nirvana Demon Lord’s attack with the help of a Grey-robed Elder, then continued the trial and secured an overwhelming lead in Trial Jade Talismans. After settling into seclusion to await the end, he saw a pillar of light appear as the trial concluded.

• Nirvana Demon Lord burned a soul fragment to empower the Black Bone Claw and escape the Grey-robed Elder’s Spatial Great Vortex.
• The Grey-robed Elder praised Lu Qing, asked him to release the Holy Maiden of Azure Palace, and let him leave; Lu Qing freed her and departed.
• The Grey-robed Elder gave the Holy Maiden healing pills before disappearing, while the Elephant-nosed Man quietly left the area.
• Lu Qing hunted down trial participants, generally sparing humans and demon race cultivators but killing demonic creatures, and amassed about sixty percent of the Trial Jade Talismans.
• Lu Qing considered whether his Myriad Tribulations Undying Heavenly Witch Body could refine Demonic Qi, then entered a mountain cave to await the trial’s end.
• Three days later, a pillar of light appeared in the Trial Space as the trial ended.

Lu Qing passed the Nether Palace trial, received a Nether Jade Token, and exchanged his first-place reward for spirit stones before being sent away. The Nether Palace’s leaders could not discern his origins and chose not to recruit him, while You Ying prepared to seek another candidate as his disciple.

• Lu Qing and nine other trial passers arrived at the Nether Palace’s headquarters, where the Fierce Beast Mask man gave each of them a Nether Jade Token and sent them away.
• The Fierce Beast Mask man kept Lu Qing behind as the trial’s first-place winner and offered him a cultivation method, magic treasure, or pills as a reward.
• Lu Qing asked to exchange his reward for spirit stones and received three thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones before being teleported away.
• The Fierce Beast Mask man and the other observers concluded that an Exotic Treasure or powerful force concealed Lu Qing’s origins, and they speculated that his background could be formidable.
• You Ying told the White Figure that he had declined to recruit Lu Qing because the youth was an unpredictable anomaly, then revealed that he had another potential disciple in mind.
• You Ying and the White Figure left to visit the trial site where You Ying’s prospective disciple had participated.

After passing the Nether Palace trial, Lu Qing explored the Divine Soul Space and learned how its Mission Hall operated. He discovered a bounty on himself and chose Gongshu Lian as his first target, but learned he must raise his Assassination Rank before accepting that mission.

• Lu Qing returned from the trial, revealed his reward of three thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to Xiao Li, and entered the Divine Soul Space through his Nether Jade Token.
• Lu Qing explored the Mission Hall, found enormous bounties on himself and other powerful figures, and regretted destroying Cang Jue before claiming the reward for his head.
• Lu Qing decided to accept the bounty on Gongshu Lian to weaken the Gongshu Family and earn spirit stones.
• The rabbit-masked woman told Lu Qing he could not accept the C-Grade assassination mission while he remained a D-Grade killer.
• Lu Qing learned that completing D-Grade missions earned Mission Points and that reaching B-Grade could let him apply for an assessment to officially join the Nether Palace.

Lu Qing accepted ten D-Grade Nether Palace missions and began with the Black Heart Bandits, using Xiao Li and his Earth Vein Yuan Magnetic Power to find their hidden lair. After discovering the bandits had tortured and cannibalized people, he subdued them and prepared to torment them with illusions before killing them.

• Lu Qing learned that B-Grade assassins could apply to join the Nether Palace, so he postponed his attempt to kill Gongshu Lian and accepted ten nearby D-Grade missions instead.
• Lu Qing and Xiao Li traveled to the Black Heart Bandits' cave, where Xiao Li located the bandits and Lu Qing used the Earth Spirit Pearl's power to navigate the underground caverns and bypass their warning formations.
• Lu Qing discovered the bandits abusing women and eating human remains, including the remains of children, and restrained everyone in the cavern with his Earth Vein Yuan Magnetic Power.
• Lu Qing released the bandit leader, learned through an illusion that he had eaten many people, and rejected the leader's pleas that he was merely following orders.
• Lu Qing vowed to make the bandits suffer through horrific illusions, then sent his soul consciousness into the leader and the others.

After finding the Black Heart Bandits’ victims dead, Lu Qing flew to Ning Yuan Sect to confront Sect Master Ning Jizi, whom he learned had secretly directed the bandits. He captured Ning Jizi and began tormenting him in an illusion, leaving the sect’s disciples immobilized and warning them not to interfere.

• Lu Qing emerged from the cavern enraged after the surviving women chose to end their lives, then decided to seek out Ning Yuan Sect.
• Lu Qing shattered Ning Yuan Sect’s protective array and split a palace and its mountain peak to force Ning Jizi out of seclusion.
• Lu Qing identified Ning Jizi and threw down Duan Xin’s head, revealing that Duan Xin had led the Black Heart Bandits.
• Lu Qing accused Ning Jizi of using Duan Xin and the bandits to supply his cultivation of evil arts, then severed Ning Jizi’s hands and feet and seized him.
• Lu Qing suppressed the Ning Yuan Sect disciples and warned them not to resist before trapping Ning Jizi in an illusion to make him suffer.

Lu Qing discovered that the atrocities of the Black Heart Bandits had awakened the killing intent needed to perfect his Little Heaven Piercing Sword Qi, and he continued completing Nether Palace missions. The chapter ended with an outpost elder surprised that Lu Qing had finished ten D-Grade missions in less than a month.

• Lu Qing killed Ning Jizi and took his corpse and the Black Heart Bandits leader’s head, while the Ning Yuan Sect’s elders decided to report the attack to the Holy Alliance.
• Lu Qing realized that using the Little Heaven Piercing Sword Qi had influenced his killing intent, then merged that intent into it and perfected it as Heaven Piercing Sword Qi.
• Lu Qing explained that he had attacked the Ning Yuan Sect because Ning Jizi alone knew of its connection to the Black Heart Bandits, and he continued traveling with Xiao Li to complete missions.
• Over the next month, Lu Qing completed several missions, including ten D-Grade missions, and returned to a Nether Palace outpost to claim his rewards.
• The old man inspected Lu Qing’s Nether Jade Token and reacted with surprise at how quickly he had completed the ten missions.

Lu Qing cultivated in seclusion until his physical body reached Golden Witch Completion, bringing his dharma power, body, and Divine Soul Power to Golden Core Completion. He then entered the Nether Palace’s Divine Soul Space and accepted C-Grade assassination missions against Gongshu Lian and Qiao Rong.

• Lu Qing entered a concealed mountain cave and used thousands of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to cultivate his witch body for half a month.
• Lu Qing broke through to Golden Witch Completion and sensed that his dharma power, physical body, and Divine Soul Power had all reached Golden Core Completion.
• Lu Qing entered the Nether Palace’s Divine Soul Space and found a bounty offering ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for Qiao Rong, Gongshu Yu’s mother.
• Lu Qing decided to accept the Qiao Rong bounty alongside his planned mission to assassinate Gongshu Lian, partly to repay Nangong Yuanwu.
• The Rabbit Mask Woman registered both C-Grade missions and warned Lu Qing that failing to complete them within a year would cost him points and his Nether Palace membership.