Recaps

Xue Yun regained consciousness after Li Xuanxiao stopped him from opening the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, then broke through to the Body Integration Realm and sacrificed his natal flying sword to reseal it. The Old Emperor overwhelmed Shu Mountain’s defenders and moved to attack Li Xuanxiao, but an unknown voice intervened at the last moment.

• Xue Yun tried to unlock the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, but Li Xuanxiao ambushed and subdued him with sword intent, poison, and the Mechanical Puppet.
• The loosened seals stirred more than one hundred thousand demons and fiends, and demons from the first three levels broke out of the pagoda.
• The Old Emperor appeared with the Myriad Souls Banner and began absorbing the escaping demons while fighting Sweeping Grandfather and Shu Mountain’s elders.
• Xue Yun broke free, awakened to what he had done, and reached the Body Integration Realm after comprehending the Dao at the brink of death.
• Xue Yun split his natal flying sword, using one half to reseal the Demon Suppressing Pagoda and sending the other into Li Xuanxiao’s brow as he told him to protect Shu Mountain.
• The Old Emperor defeated Shu Mountain’s four Tribulation Crossing Stage cultivators and sent a wave of demonic qi toward Li Xuanxiao, but an unknown speaker asked what he was doing to their disciple.

Lingxu defeated the Old Emperor’s attack on Shu Mountain, but the Old Emperor escaped through a spatial rift. As outsiders mocked Shu Mountain’s crisis, Lingxu’s thunderous declaration warned that Shu Mountain would punish anyone who opposed it.

• Lingxu dispersed the Old Emperor’s demonic attack, told Li Xuanxiao to take Xue Yun’s body away, and pursued the fleeing Old Emperor.
• Lingxu struck the Old Emperor with a punch and destroyed the spirits released from the Myriad Souls Banner, but the Old Emperor escaped through a spatial rift.
• Li Xuanxiao recorded his suspicion that the black shadow was the Old Emperor and noted his ability to move through space.
• Outsiders at Shu Mountain’s martial competition grounds mocked the sect’s turmoil while Shu Mountain’s guards kept them in check.
• Lingxu declared that Shu Mountain suppressed demons and protected the common people, then threatened anyone who dared oppose Shu Mountain.

After Xue Yun’s death, Li Xuanxiao began refining his senior brother’s natal flying sword and prepared to act against the Old Emperor, whose Myriad Souls Banner had grown stronger. Jia Sidao encountered Ye Yunzhou and Elder Sun on their way back to Great Sui, where Elder Sun revealed that Jia Sidao was to become Ye Yunzhou’s teacher.

• Happy Old Man sent Baili to make Li Xuanxiao obsessed with her so she could obtain the natal sword that opened the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
• Lingxu ordered Li Xuanxiao to keep Xue Yun’s death secret, and Li Xuanxiao resolved to deal with the Old Emperor after learning that his banner had absorbed demons from the pagoda’s first three floors.
• Li Xuanxiao began refining Xue Yun’s flying sword in seclusion, while Jia Sidao planned to use his incarnation to pursue the Old Emperor without involving Shu Mountain directly.
• Elder Sun advised Ye Yunzhou to strengthen Great Sui and told him that the Emperor intended to find him another master.
• Ye Yunzhou and Elder Sun met Jia Sidao fishing by a lake, and Elder Sun identified him as Ye Yunzhou’s intended teacher.

Li Xuanxiao divided his consciousness into three, using Jia Sidao to approach Great Sui’s Fifth Prince and Zhang Haoran to enter Great Xia’s Monster Suppressing Division while he remained on Shu Mountain refining his eldest martial brother’s Natal Sword. The chapter left each incarnation poised to pursue a different plan.

• Jia Sidao accepted Ye Yunzhou as a willing student and directed him toward the Liaodong flood-relief mission as a test.
• Ye Yunzhou agreed to go to Liaodong, and Elder Sun decided to report the matter to the Great Sui Emperor.
• After Treasure Isle drifted away, Jia Sidao sneaked into the forest and resolved to lay plans in Great Sui against Great Xia.
• Old Zhang adopted Zhang Haoran after rescuing him from a fox demon, and Zhang Haoran grew into a gifted cultivator who prepared to take the Monster Suppressing Division examination.
• Li Xuanxiao divided his consciousness into Jia Sidao, Zhang Haoran, and an incarnation who stayed on Shu Mountain to refine his eldest martial brother’s Natal Sword.

Li Xuanxiao juggled his disguises while investigating Baili, the woman connected to Eldest Senior Brother Xue Yun’s death. He found her bathing in a secluded grove and told her that Xue Yun had perished.

• As Jia Sidao, Li Xuanxiao advised Ye Yunzhou that good governance depended on enforcing laws and choosing the right people.
• As Zhang Haoran, Li Xuanxiao told a Monster Suppressing Division examiner how to prepare for facing a stronger demon.
• Li Xuanxiao reflected on the strain of maintaining multiple identities and searched through letters from Di Nüfeng, Liu Qiushui, and Baili.
• Li Xuanxiao read Baili’s letter urging Xue Yun not to open the Demon Suppressing Pagoda for her sake, then decided to settle his senior brother’s karmic bond.
• Li Xuanxiao found Baili bathing in a secluded lake and introduced himself as Xue Yun’s junior brother.
• Baili asked where Xue Yun was, and Li Xuanxiao told her that Xue Yun’s body and Dao had perished.

Baili manipulated Li Xuanxiao into staying with her by pretending to grieve and attempt suicide, then traveled with him before parting. She later told Happy Old Man that Li Xuanxiao had taken the bait, while Happy Old Man concluded he was ordinary and ordered Baili to approach Mo Ye.

• After learning that Xue Yun was dead, Baili fainted and later acted distraught, while Li Xuanxiao stayed to comfort her.
• Baili claimed she wanted to travel alone, but Li Xuanxiao returned in time to stop her apparent suicide and continued traveling with her.
• After traveling together, Baili and Li Xuanxiao parted, and Baili told him they might meet again.
• Outside the Central Continent, Baili told Happy Old Man that Li Xuanxiao had taken the bait and that their separation would deepen his feelings for her.
• Happy Old Man decided Li Xuanxiao seemed ordinary and instructed Baili to approach Mo Ye, a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

Li Xuanxiao killed Baili’s first clone, disrupting her plan to approach him, while Baili and Happy Old Man decided to send another clone after him. Half a month later, a beautiful barefoot girl crossed paths with Li Xuanxiao at Shu Mountain, and he treated their encounter as a don’t-laugh challenge.

• Li Xuanxiao killed Baili’s first clone with silver needles, poison, a curse, and a formation, then collected the scent and fled.
• Baili realized her clone had died and told Happy Old Man that the killer had destroyed its soul without searching it.
• Happy Old Man urged Baili to focus on Shu Mountain, while Baili decided her remaining clone would approach Li Xuanxiao.
• The master of Happy Tower, another of Baili’s clones, complained about being assigned to seduce Li Xuanxiao and ordered her subordinates to investigate him.
• Half a month later, a barefoot girl in green brushed past Li Xuanxiao at Shu Mountain, and he thought the encounter was a don’t-laugh challenge.

Liu Ruyan reunited with Li Xuanxiao and used her divine ability to make him remember them as childhood sweethearts and former betrothed. Li Xuanxiao let her stay in his thatched hut near Shu Mountain, and the two reminisced about their village as the chapter ended.

• Liu Ruyan implanted memories of her and Li Xuanxiao as childhood sweethearts into his mind, then told him she had fled an arranged marriage to the Flowing Water Sect's elderly sect master.
• Liu Ruyan persuaded Li Xuanxiao to find her a place to stay by reminding him of their childhood bond and threatening to accuse him of molesting her.
• Li Xuanxiao offered Liu Ruyan his thatched hut at the foot of the mountain and brought her daily necessities from Silver Sword Peak.
• Liu Ruyan learned that Li Xuanxiao claimed to be at Foundation Establishment and asked him to work toward Golden Core so he could protect her.
• Li Xuanxiao and Liu Ruyan recalled people from their village while looking at the stars.

Li Xuanxiao reunited with Liu Ruyan, then discovered that none of his many diaries mentioned her and concluded that his memories had been altered. He left himself a warning about the hidden enemy and returned to confront Liu Ruyan, ending with an unexpected flying kick.

• Li Xuanxiao fondly recalled his past with Liu Ruyan and planned to help her cultivate in secret.
• Li Xuanxiao searched his diaries and their backups, finding no record of Liu Ruyan in any of them.
• Li Xuanxiao concluded that someone had implanted false memories of Liu Ruyan and left himself a warning before descending the mountain.
• Liu Ruyan reflected on the emotions in the implanted memories and recalled Li Xuanxiao's youthful promises to marry her.
• Li Xuanxiao appeared before Liu Ruyan and announced, "Xuanxiao Flying Kick!!"

Li Xuanxiao stayed on Shushan after destroying Liu Ruyan, while Zhang Haoran killed a bull demon who had abducted a woman and faced retaliation from Niulan Mountain. After Zhang Haoran defeated seven demons sent to avenge the bull, the local Shushan Garrison Commander offered him a place under his protection.

• Li Xuanxiao decided to remain on the mountain for several years after destroying Liu Ruyan, leaving outside affairs to Jia Sidao and Zhang Haoran.
• Zhang Haoran attacked the bull demon of Niulan Mountain, severed its arm, killed it, and freed the captured woman.
• The Monster Suppressing Division’s Deputy Commander considered handing Zhang Haoran over, but warned him to flee instead.
• Zhang Haoran killed seven Niulan Mountain demons who came to take revenge, then hung their heads outside the county yamen.
• At a banquet with the Deputy Commander and Niulan Mountain’s ancestor, Shushan Garrison Commander Zhang Qianshan demanded an apology but invited Zhang Haoran to work under him.

Zhang Haoran killed the bull demon sent after him, prompting Zhang Qianshan to plan retaliation by reporting him to Shu Mountain. When Zhang Qianshan returned to Shu Mountain for a meeting, he was seized and taken to the Law Enforcement Hall.

• Zhang Qianshan invited Zhang Haoran to join him, but Zhang Haoran left the banquet despite a disciple's threats.
• Zhang Qianshan sent the bull demon after Zhang Haoran, and poisoned crossbow bolts from behind the demon killed it.
• Zhang Haoran sent the bull demon's severed head crashing into the banquet, enraging Zhang Qianshan.
• Zhang Qianshan decided to report Zhang Haoran to Shu Mountain as a demon and heretic, but a sword token summoned him back before he wrote the letter.
• Zhang Qianshan returned to Shu Mountain, where several people subdued him and escorted him to the Law Enforcement Hall.

Li Xuanxiao reformed Shu Mountain’s regional inspector system while preparing for a future threat from the Old Emperor. The story then shifted to Su Mu, who was reborn after Lu Zhaoyao killed her and who saw him tenderly teaching Cui Wanwan.

• Li Xuanxiao drafted reforms to divide and supervise regional inspectors’ authority.
• Shu Mountain launched a six-month anti-corruption campaign, punished and imprisoned offending disciples, reformed the inspector system, and opened a direct appeal channel.
• Li Xuanxiao considered the Old Emperor’s growing strength and the danger posed by the Myriad Souls Banner.
• Su Mu recalled Lu Zhaoyao killing her and her junior brother, then realized she had been reborn.
• Su Mu met her sister Su Wan and returned to sword practice at Little Bamboo Peak.
• Su Mu saw Lu Zhaoyao patiently teaching Cui Wanwan swordsmanship, unlike the harsh way he had once treated Su Mu.

After being reborn, Su Mu watched Lu Zhaoyao practice swordsmanship with Cui Wanwan without feeling the jealousy that had once clouded her heart. Her sword comprehension surged, and she shocked the sect by asking to postpone her marriage agreement with Lu Zhaoyao.

• Cui Wanwan explained that Lu Zhaoyao had wanted to teach her swordsmanship, while Su Mu calmly said she did not need to explain herself.
• Su Mu recalled how Lu Zhaoyao had once urged her to give Cui Wanwan her mother's keepsake sword, and resolved to live for herself in this life.
• Su Mu's Sword Qi erupted as her sword comprehension advanced, and she cut off a lock of Cui Wanwan's hair while warning her to be careful.
• Su Mu told Su Wan that she wanted to enter seclusion to contemplate her sword intent and asked to postpone her marriage agreement with Lu Zhaoyao.
• Su Wan and the gathered disciples were shocked, and Lu Zhaoyao looked astonished when Su Mu confirmed her decision.

After emerging from seclusion, Su Mu ended her engagement with Lu Zhaoyao, but his forceful kisses convinced her that he still loved her. She decided that preventing Cui Wanwan from entering the Demon Suppressing Pagoda would avert the tragedy, while Li Xuanxiao overheard her mention rebirth.

• Months after postponing her engagement, Su Mu emerged from seclusion and told Meng Ting she planned to dissolve it and stop pursuing Lu Zhaoyao.
• Su Mu told Lu Zhaoyao their engagement was over, but he rejected her decision and forcibly kissed her twice before leaving.
• Su Mu interpreted Lu Zhaoyao's kisses as proof that he still loved her and resolved to prevent Cui Wanwan from entering the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
• Li Xuanxiao became alert after seemingly hearing someone mention rebirth.

After being reborn, Su Mu kept her marriage agreement with Lu Zhaoyao, while his affection for Cui Wanwan left Li Xuanxiao baffled by the tangled relationships. Su Mu tried to speak privately with Lu Zhaoyao, but he chose to stay beside Cui Wanwan instead.

• Su Mu told Su Wan she would proceed with her marriage agreement to Lu Zhaoyao, and Su Wan advised her not to cling too stubbornly to affection.
• After the sect approved the marriage, Cui Wanwan fell into Lost Cliff, and Lu Zhaoyao rushed after her and rescued her from the cliff.
• Li Xuanxiao removed the crooked-necked tree that had saved Cui Wanwan and wondered why Su Mu still planned to marry Lu Zhaoyao despite his apparent affection for Cui Wanwan.
• A Young Elder accused Su Mu of causing Cui Wanwan to enter the Spirit Beast Garden, but Cui Wanwan said she had gone to find a wedding gift for Su Mu and Lu Zhaoyao.
• Su Mu asked to speak privately with Lu Zhaoyao, but he refused to leave Cui Wanwan, so Su Mu agreed to wait.

Su Mu told Lu Zhaoyao she had been reborn and warned that Cui Wanwan would die in the Demon Suppressing Pagoda unless it was opened. Lu Zhaoyao agreed to enlist Li Xuanxiao, who was alarmed that Su Mu knew about the Natal Sword hidden inside him.

• Su Mu told Lu Zhaoyao that Cui Wanwan’s fate was tied to the Demon Suppressing Pagoda and that opening it could save her.
• Lu Zhaoyao refused to cancel his engagement with Su Mu and proposed opening the Pagoda before using the Shushan Sword Formation to contain the released demons.
• Su Mu and Lu Zhaoyao visited Li Xuanxiao on Silver Sword Peak and asked him to help open the Demon Suppressing Pagoda with Xue Yun’s Natal Sword.
• Li Xuanxiao questioned how Su Mu knew about the sword and raised the dangers of opening the Pagoda.
• Su Mu assured Li Xuanxiao that the Shushan disciples would capture the escaped demons and told him to practice controlling the sword, even if he got hurt.

Li Xuanxiao tried to stop Lu Zhaoyao and Su Mu from opening the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, then hid Cui Wanwan to keep her safe until their wedding. On the night before the wedding, the pair decided to defy him and demand Xue Yun’s Natal Sword, prompting Li Xuanxiao to activate the Shushan Sword Formation.

• Li Xuanxiao warned Lu Zhaoyao and Su Mu about the dangers of opening the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, but Lu stormed off when Li urged him to clarify matters with Cui Wanwan.
• Su Mu claimed her sister Su Wan could persuade Li to help, but Su Wan visited Silver Sword Peak and fled in a panic.
• Li abducted Cui Wanwan and gave her a pill that would keep her asleep for half a year, then arranged for Lu and Su to guard her until their wedding.
• After three quiet months, Lu decided he could not risk Cui Wanwan’s life and left to force open the Demon Suppressing Pagoda; Su joined him, and they agreed to retrieve the Natal Sword.
• Lu and Su confronted Li at his cottage and demanded Xue Yun’s Natal Sword, but Li refused and urged them to reconsider.
• Li lost patience with the pair and activated the Shushan Sword Formation.

Li Xuanxiao beat Su Mu and Lu Zhaoyao after they tried to persuade him to open the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, then covered up their deaths with forged evidence. He warned Lingxu that someone might be plotting against Shu Mountain, but Lingxu dismissed the concern and told him to focus on cultivation.

• Li Xuanxiao attacked Su Mu and Lu Zhaoyao when they refused to abandon their plan to open the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, and he activated the Shushan Sword Formation to kill them.
• Li Xuanxiao showed Lingxu an Image Stone recording the confrontation and claimed Su Mu and Lu Zhaoyao had attacked him first.
• Li Xuanxiao told Lingxu that he had destroyed their bodies and souls and forged evidence suggesting the Xuan Yi Sect had killed them.
• Li Xuanxiao warned Lingxu that someone might be plotting against Shu Mountain, but Lingxu dismissed the danger and urged him to cultivate.

After the Xuan Yi Sect was destroyed and Su Mu died, Li Xuanxiao returned to cultivation, then discovered his Nascent Soul was holding his flying sword. He sent a clone to accept a mission with Qin Wenke, while Di Nüfeng prepared to expand the Heavenly Fiend Hall.

• Li Xuanxiao reported Lu Zhaoyao and Su Mu's case to Lingxu, who repeatedly revised the Sect Leader's Secret Order out of unease.
• The Lu Family and Su Family joined Shu Mountain in destroying the Xuan Yi Sect, where Lu Zhaoyao and Su Mu died; Li Xuanxiao delegated tasks to Zhao Lu and Feng Liuli and sent Zhao Lu to comfort Su Wan.
• Li Xuanxiao returned to seclusion to refine his flying sword and digest the Nascent Soul's power, wary that the apparent opportunity might bring disaster.
• Three years later, Li Xuanxiao discovered that the Nascent Soul in his Purple Mansion was hugging his flying sword, and kept his main body in seclusion while sending a clone to accept a mission.
• At the Sword Holding Pavilion, Li Xuanxiao accepted Qin Wenke's offer to carry out a demonic-sect infiltration mission together after Qin pointed out that he usually took missions alone.
• Di Nüfeng urged the Heavenly Fiend Hall members to recruit more people now that Supreme City was gone and Asura Hall had been crushed.

Qin Wenke and Ling Xuanxiao infiltrated a demonic cult, only to be tricked into taking out loans and sent to perform exhausting manual labor for the Righteous Alliance and Dingyuan Gate. After several days of work, they sensed killing intent aboard a Flying Ship, leaving Qin Wenke expecting a fight but denied any medicinal supplies.

• Qin Wenke and Ling Xuanxiao signed up for the demonic cult using false names, but Qin Wenke discovered the cult had taken their identifying details to arrange predatory loans.
• Ling Xuanxiao revealed that the usury alliance had blacklisted him, while Qin Wenke realized he might be cursed if he failed to repay his debt.
• The demonic cult sent Qin Wenke and Ling Xuanxiao to chop down spiritual trees on the Righteous Alliance's back mountain, then collected payment from a Righteous Alliance disciple.
• The vice cult leader took them to plant Spiritual Rice for Dingyuan Gate, and after several days of labor, the recruits boarded a Flying Ship.
• Qin Wenke sensed killing intent and asked a cult disciple for pills, but the disciple told him to drink more water.

Li Xuanxiao and Qin Wenke worked as laborers for a Demonic Cult branch, then were sent to headquarters as outstanding representatives. There, they learned they would enter a cultivation trial whose rules struck Li Xuanxiao as familiar.

• The Demonic Cult joined Lingyun Hall’s confrontation with the Heavenly Dao Palace, spent two days trading insults, then withdrew before the battle began after collecting payment.
• Qin Wenke grew furious at the cult leader and deputy cult leader for exploiting them, but Li Xuanxiao persuaded him to wait.
• For three months, Li Xuanxiao and Qin Wenke carried out the branch’s schemes and odd jobs, earning recognition as its outstanding representatives.
• The cult leader sent them to headquarters, where they joined disciples from other branches aboard a Flying Ship.
• A Demonic Cult envoy described a forest trial with suppressed cultivation, collectible techniques and pills, shrinking safe zones, and a final ranking of the top three; Li Xuanxiao thought its rules seemed familiar.

Li Xuanxiao entered a rule-space trial run by a demonic cult and used its strange rules to win first place despite a powerful Tribulation Crossing Stage opponent. His prize was a meeting with the cult leader, and the envoy told him to flatter the leader by slandering Liu Qiushui of Asura Hall.

• Qin Wenke tried to withdraw from the trial but was slapped and kicked off the Flying Ship, while Li Xuanxiao followed him into the forest.
• Li Xuanxiao collected pills and abilities, advanced to the Body Integration Realm, and survived by ambushing exhausted cultivators; Qin Wenke was eliminated after claiming that all three portrait options were his.
• Li Xuanxiao tricked the River God’s axe test by jumping into the river and emerging as three versions of himself, then used them to defeat the Tribulation Crossing Stage powerhouse.
• Li Xuanxiao won first place and was told his grand prize was a meeting with the cult leader, while Qin Wenke congratulated him and asked for half the rewards.
• The envoy advised Li Xuanxiao to praise the cult leader and viciously slander Liu Qiushui of Asura Hall, prompting Li Xuanxiao to turn away as an evil laugh rang out.

Ling Xuanxiao reunited with Di Nüfeng, who wanted to kill him, and used their old Great Dao oath to keep her in check. He proposed that she help him deal with the Old Emperor of Great Xia in exchange for lifting the oath and sharing the spoils, leaving her shocked by his offer.

• Ling Xuanxiao encountered Di Nüfeng while posing as a demon cult disciple, and the demon cult envoy retreated after noticing her anger.
• Di Nüfeng threatened to kill Ling Xuanxiao, but he claimed he was a clone protected by a substitute straw effigy.
• Di Nüfeng tried to lure Ling Xuanxiao into revealing his next destination, but he reminded her of the Great Dao oath she had made.
• Ling Xuanxiao showed Di Nüfeng the thick book of her oaths and invited her to sit for tea.
• Ling Xuanxiao offered to lift their oath and share the spoils if Di Nüfeng helped him deal with the Old Emperor of Great Xia, and she was stunned.

Li Xuanxiao persuaded Di Nüfeng to join his plot against the Old Emperor of Great Xia by appealing to Heavenly Fiend Hall’s ambitions. They reached a cooperative agreement, but their handshake stirred unfamiliar feelings in Li Xuanxiao.

• Li Xuanxiao explained his plan to kill the Old Emperor of Great Xia and invited Di Nüfeng to share in the spoils.
• Di Nüfeng revealed that her Image Stone had recorded their conversation, but Li Xuanxiao argued that the recording could not prove his claims.
• Li Xuanxiao praised Di Nüfeng and urged her to broaden Heavenly Fiend Hall’s ambitions by helping overthrow Great Xia.
• Di Nüfeng agreed to cooperate on the condition that their Great Dao Oath would end once the plan succeeded.
• Li Xuanxiao shook Di Nüfeng’s hand, felt an unfamiliar stirring in his heart, and hurriedly recited the Calming Incantation.

After Great Xia wiped out her newly recruited followers, Liu Qiushui was left alone and exhausted until Li Xuanxiao found her. He asked whether they would let the Old Emperor of Great Xia’s attack go unanswered.

• Liu Qiushui sent her followers to seek Asura Hall’s headquarters and recruit new members in exchange for rewards.
• Liu Qiushui returned to find her new force massacred, and the sole survivor blamed people from Great Xia before she gave him a quick death.
• Liu Qiushui mourned the collapse of her sect and sent a paper crane with medicines to Li Xuanxiao at Shu Mountain.
• Li Xuanxiao arrived as a clone, explained that Zhang Wenxuan had cured him and Shu Mountain had not exposed his past, and reunited with Liu Qiushui.
• Li Xuanxiao asked Liu Qiushui whether they would retaliate against the Old Emperor of Great Xia.