Chapter Summaries

Li Xuanxiao used the Myriad Souls Banner to fight Mountain King in a brutal duel, trading wounds until Mountain King retreated and lost. Li Xuanxiao defeated him and absorbed his divine soul into the banner.

• Mountain King charged at Li Xuanxiao through the ghosts summoned by the Myriad Souls Banner, while Li Xuanxiao absorbed its black mist.
• Mountain King struck Li Xuanxiao, but Li Xuanxiao kept driving the banner and exchanged injuries with him.
• Mountain King retreated rather than risk his life, and the black qi tore open his chest and bound him.
• Li Xuanxiao slammed Mountain King into the ground, corroded his face, and drove the Myriad Souls Banner into his head.
• The Myriad Souls Banner devoured Mountain King's divine soul, and Li Xuanxiao remained standing in the arena.

Li Xuanxiao killed Mountain King, revealed that he was a Shushan Disciple, and returned to the inn after winning a fortune. The Innkeeper decided to use Chen Liu to test him, while Li Xuanxiao continued pursuing the Ghost King and the Supreme Token.

• Li Xuanxiao killed Mountain King and absorbed his divine soul and flesh with the Myriad Souls Banner.
• When spectators questioned his identity, Li Xuanxiao declared that he was Li Xuanxiao, a disciple of Silver Sword Peak.
• The Innkeeper welcomed Li Xuanxiao back and offered to follow him, while Nangong Wan glared at her.
• Li Xuanxiao rested at the inn, recovered from his wounds, and continued collecting tokens as he sought the Ghost King and aimed to reach Spirit Transformation.
• The Innkeeper discussed the threat with her younger sister and decided to send Chen Liu against Li Xuanxiao, then went to see Chen Liu herself.

Chen Liu agreed to kill Li Xuanxiao after the disguised Innkeeper delivered the Ghost King's supposed order. Li Xuanxiao returned to the duel arena with the Myriad Souls Banner, where the crowd recoiled from its evil aura and he spotted the Innkeeper watching him.

• At a banquet, Chen Liu learned that Mountain King had been killed by a Shushan Disciple and heard the disguised Innkeeper's warning that Li Xuanxiao might endanger the Ghost Domain.
• Chen Liu suspected the Ghost King wanted him and Li Xuanxiao to weaken each other, but said he would kill the Shushan Disciple anyway.
• Nangong Wan warned Li Xuanxiao that Chen Liu was a formidable God Transformation Peak cultivator, and Li Xuanxiao confidently said he would defeat him once he entered Spirit Transformation.
• Li Xuanxiao brought the Myriad Souls Banner to the duel arena, where its black qi and wails alarmed the spectators.
• Li Xuanxiao noticed the Innkeeper in the crowd and calmly watched her despite suspecting she was plotting against him.

Chen Liu and Master Bai watched Ling Xuanxiao’s arena battles while weighing whether to challenge him. Chen Liu sent Fire Daoist to test Ling Xuanxiao, but Ling Xuanxiao defeated him and absorbed him into the Myriad Souls Banner.

• Chen Liu noticed the Myriad Souls Banner devouring the dead and considered taking it, but held back when he saw Master Bai watching him.
• Ling Xuanxiao continued winning in the duel arena and chose to keep fighting after his 342nd victory.
• Chen Liu agreed to let Fire Daoist challenge Ling Xuanxiao and warned him to proceed carefully.
• Ling Xuanxiao absorbed Fire Daoist’s ghostfire and countered his talismans with the Myriad Souls Banner.
• Ling Xuanxiao overwhelmed Fire Daoist, struck him down, and let the Myriad Souls Banner drag him inside.

Li Xuanxiao slaughtered his way through Ghost Domain, growing stronger until no one dared challenge him. After he refused invitations from Chen Liu and Master Bai, supernatural attacks began ravaging Ghost Domain, leaving its fate uncertain.

• Li Xuanxiao killed Fire Daoist and absorbed much of his cultivation through the Myriad Souls Banner, bringing him closer to Spirit Transformation.
• Over the next half month, Li Xuanxiao killed his opponents in Ghost Domain until the arena fell silent and no one dared challenge him.
• Chen Liu and Master Bai each invited Li Xuanxiao to a gathering, but he refused both invitations and returned to his room.
• That night, pale hands dragged a merchant caravan underground, while Yin Soldiers and Sea Monsters attacked elsewhere in Ghost Domain.
• In the following days, White-robed Female Ghosts and other supernatural forces appeared across Ghost Domain, killing countless cultivators.

Li Xuanxiao visited Master Bai and proposed joining forces to destroy Chen Liu, arguing that Chen Liu’s death would benefit Master Bai more than himself. Master Bai asked to hear Li Xuanxiao’s plan, leaving their alliance and next move undecided.

• Li Xuanxiao considered targeting Chen Liu or Master Bai to break through his cultivation bottleneck.
• Li Xuanxiao entered Master Bai’s territory and refused the offered wine and food.
• Li Xuanxiao proposed working with Master Bai to destroy Chen Liu, citing his conflict with Chen Liu and Master Bai’s long-standing rivalry with him.
• Master Bai questioned Li Xuanxiao’s motives, and Li Xuanxiao argued that Master Bai would gain the most if Chen Liu died.
• Master Bai asked Li Xuanxiao to explain his plan.

Li Xuanxiao arranged with Master Bai to injure Chen Liu before their duel, while Master Bai secretly planned to kill Li Xuanxiao if he won. After a ten-day battle between Chen Liu and Master Bai was stopped by the innkeeper, Li Xuanxiao reached five hundred consecutive victories and Chen Liu entered the duel arena to face him.

• Li Xuanxiao told Master Bai he could kill Chen Liu if Master Bai helped injure him before their duel, and Master Bai agreed.
• After Li Xuanxiao left, Master Bai told Tiger General he would help weaken Chen Liu and kill Li Xuanxiao if he won the duel.
• Master Bai and Chen Liu fought a fierce battle in the southern Ghost Domain that continued for ten days.
• The innkeeper disguised herself as the Ghost King's envoy and used the Ghost King's token to stop the fighting.
• Li Xuanxiao reached five hundred consecutive victories, requiring Chen Liu to challenge him or risk losing his position as Left Protector.
• Chen Liu stepped into the duel arena and found Li Xuanxiao waiting there.

Li Xuanxiao trapped Chen Liu inside a darkness created by the Myriad Souls Banner as their duel began in earnest. While spectators watched and placed bets, Nangong Wan wagered all her spirit stones on Li Xuanxiao, leaving the duel unresolved.

• Li Xuanxiao summoned the Myriad Souls Banner and covered the dueling arena in dense yin energy and darkness.
• Chen Liu introduced himself as a former Xuantian Sword Sect disciple, then summoned his natal flying sword as Li Xuanxiao’s banner absorbed the souls of the dead.
• Master Bai and Tiger General discussed their plans to seize Chen Liu’s territory and ambush Li Xuanxiao, while Master Bai admitted he could not predict the duel’s outcome.
• Big Jade Tooth bet on Li Xuanxiao, despite most spectators favoring Chen Liu.
• Nangong Wan followed Li Xuanxiao’s instructions and wagered all her spirit stones on his victory.

Chen Liu fought Li Xuanxiao for days inside the Myriad Souls Banner’s domain, but his strength was depleted after his earlier battle with Master Bai. Li Xuanxiao used the arena’s array formation to turn Chen Liu’s final attack against him, then won the duel as Master Bai ordered a charge.

• Chen Liu cleaved through successive waves of wronged souls while Li Xuanxiao used the Myriad Souls Banner to wear down his Sword Qi.
• After days of battle, Chen Liu’s Dharma Idol Golden Body dimmed, and Li Xuanxiao sent the slain Mountain King and Fire Daoist to attack him.
• With his strength nearly gone, Chen Liu launched his Dharma Idol at the black mist and destroyed his natal flying sword to break through.
• The black mist revealed an array formation that Li Xuanxiao had secretly merged with the banner, and its backlash made Chen Liu fall, powerless.
• Li Xuanxiao plunged the Myriad Souls Banner into Chen Liu, and Master Bai ordered his forces to charge.

Ling Xuanxiao killed Chen Liu in the duel arena, then Master Bai ordered his men to attack. After absorbing Chen Liu’s cultivation through the Myriad Souls Banner, Ling Xuanxiao defeated the Tiger General and turned on Master Bai, leaving their battle raging in the sky.

• Ling Xuanxiao killed Chen Liu, and Master Bai ordered the Tiger General and his concealed subordinates to attack.
• Master Bai’s men clashed with the arena guards while three assassins attacked Ling Xuanxiao and were killed by his black qi.
• The Tiger General transformed into a massive white-browed tiger, but Ling Xuanxiao drained his life force and left him a dried corpse.
• Ling Xuanxiao attacked Master Bai, who blocked his strike as their clash tore through nearby cultivators.
• Master Bai tried to retrieve his Dharma Seal, but Ling Xuanxiao’s black qi restrained it and forced Master Bai to cough up blood.

Li Xuanxiao killed Master Bai after defeating Chen Liu, establishing himself as the Ghost Domain’s new king. He returned to the inn with Nangong Wan and demanded that the innkeeper reveal how to meet the Ghost King and whether the Ghost King was alive.

• Master Bai tried to escape after destroying his magical artifacts, but Li Xuanxiao stopped him and absorbed his body and spiritual power.
• The dueling grounds fell silent as the cultivators realized Li Xuanxiao had killed both Master Bai and Chen Liu, the Ghost King’s two protectors.
• Li Xuanxiao took Nangong Wan back to the inn, where the other guests had fled in fear.
• Li Xuanxiao questioned the innkeeper about meeting the Ghost King and seized her throat when she claimed not to know.
• The innkeeper froze as Li Xuanxiao gave her one last chance to tell him where the Ghost King was and whether he was alive.

After killing Chen Liu and Master Bai, Li Xuanxiao forced the innkeeper, Xue Jian, to reveal that the Ghost King was dead and that she and her sister Xue Li had ruled in his place. He claimed the Ghost Domain, then recuperated in the Ghost King's Mansion as Nangong Wan and the sisters helped secure his new rule.

• Li Xuanxiao subdued Xue Jian while Nangong Wan defeated and captured Xue Li, prompting Xue Jian to reveal the Ghost King had died after failing to remove a brand left by the former headmaster of Shu Mountain.
• Xue Jian explained that she and Xue Li were the Ghost King's adopted daughters and had concealed his death while governing the Ghost Domain.
• Li Xuanxiao declared himself the new king, ordered Xue Jian to issue an edict in the Ghost King's name, and assigned the sisters to serve him.
• After Chen Liu and Master Bai died, their subordinates fought over their territories until the Ghost King's edict placed those lands under Li Xuanxiao's rule.
• Li Xuanxiao stayed in the Ghost King's Mansion to recover and digest the cultivation he had absorbed, while Nangong Wan and the Xue Jian sisters consolidated his control of the Ghost Domain.

Li Xuanxiao learned that the Ghost Domain was one of nine regions sealed by ancient laws and decided to destroy the other regions’ rulers at their next gathering. He and Xue Jian arrived at the meeting, where the other masters indulged in grotesque luxuries and noticed Li Xuanxiao.

• Xue Jian explained that nine Integrated Body Great Talents had created the regions and that their masters met every hundred years to maintain the barrier.
• Li Xuanxiao announced that he would wipe out the other regions’ masters, and Xue Jian warned that the regions were bound by a blood oath to attack anyone who threatened one of them.
• A month later, Li Xuanxiao left the Ghost Domain with Xue Jian and told Nangong Wan to watch over it.
• At the gathering, Xue Jian claimed the Ghost King was in seclusion and said she had come as his envoy.
• The red-haired master of Blazing Prison and the other rulers drank wine made from refined heads, then asked Xue Jian who Li Xuanxiao was.

Li Xuanxiao revealed himself as a Shushan Disciple and attacked the eight masters of the other regions, summoning Chen Liu and Master Bai from the Myriad Souls Banner. Shuoyue Ye's White Phosphorus Great Serpent swallowed Li Xuanxiao, but black qi exploded from its mouth as the banner spun.

• Li Xuanxiao told the other eight masters that he had killed Chen Liu and Master Bai, then identified himself as a Shushan Disciple.
• Li Xuanxiao gave the red-haired man a box that exploded, knocking him down and unleashing compressed black qi.
• Li Xuanxiao summoned the Myriad Souls Banner, and Chen Liu and Master Bai emerged to attack the other masters.
• Shuoyue Ye's White Phosphorus Great Serpent tracked Li Xuanxiao through his clones and swallowed him.
• Black qi erupted from the serpent's mouth as it tried to suppress Li Xuanxiao, and the Myriad Souls Banner spun rapidly.

Li Xuanxiao escaped the White Phosphorus Great Serpent by unleashing the Myriad Souls Banner from inside it, then wounded the serpent and attacked Shuoyue Ye. As the battle spread to the other Domain Lords, Xue Jian struggled to survive the devastation, and Li Xuanxiao declared that the bloodiest stage had begun.

• Li Xuanxiao revealed that he had let the White Phosphorus Great Serpent swallow him so he could unleash the Myriad Souls Banner from within its laws and tear open its jaws.
• Li Xuanxiao hurled the Myriad Souls Banner into the White Phosphorus Great Serpent's eye socket, badly wounding it.
• Li Xuanxiao seized Shuoyue Ye by the throat, but Shuoyue Ye produced a substitute from his mouth that Li Xuanxiao swallowed in black qi.
• Li Xuanxiao turned toward the other Domain Lords as Nether Soul Ancestor and a fiery-haired cultivator moved to fight him.
• Xue Jian sheltered beneath a small patch of intact ground while the battle's energy erased cultivators, ravaged the barrier region, and reduced its buildings to dust.
• A lone figure stood amid the ruins as someone shouted, "I won! I won!!"

After consuming the souls of eight cultivators, Li Xuanxiao collapsed with catastrophic injuries, but the Myriad Souls Banner rebuilt his body. Three days later, he led Xue Jian to Withered Bone Marsh, where the city defenses opened for his arrival.

• Li Xuanxiao used the Myriad Souls Banner to devour eight powerful cultivators, pushing the banner to peak saturation before collapsing from his injuries and the backlash.
• The Myriad Souls Banner used black mist and figures from within itself to repair Li Xuanxiao while Xue Jian stood guard under their threat.
• After about three days, Li Xuanxiao awakened, asked how long he had been unconscious, and told Xue Jian to leave with him.
• Li Xuanxiao and Xue Jian arrived at Withered Bone Marsh, where the Lin Family ruled over a city preparing for its lord’s thousandth birthday through forced labor and heavy taxes.
• A streak of black mist struck the city’s defenses, and the formation opened on its own.

Li Xuanxiao stormed into the Withered Bone Marsh Forest, using the Myriad Souls Banner to overwhelm its defenders and absorb their forces. After displaying Shuoyue Ye’s corpse and destroying the Lin Family, he sealed the forest and left its cultivators trapped as his wronged souls hunted them.

• Li Xuanxiao dropped Shuoyue Ye’s disguise and unleashed the black mist, which seized the city’s guards and turned them into his subordinates.
• When several powerful cultivators surrounded him, Li Xuanxiao showed them Shuoyue Ye’s corpse, prompting most to flee and the rest to surrender.
• Li Xuanxiao slaughtered his way to the Lin Family’s city center and reduced its palace to scorched earth, drawing nearly all its descendants into the Myriad Souls Banner.
• After recovering some strength and absorbing part of Shuoyue Ye’s power and memories, Li Xuanxiao used the Lin Family’s formation core to seal the Withered Bone Marsh Forest.
• The trapped cultivators joined forces to attack Li Xuanxiao, but his wronged souls continued hunting them through the sealed forest.

After recovering, Li Xuanxiao used the Myriad Souls Banner to slaughter cultivators across eight regions, then entered seclusion as Nangong Wan managed the territories he had conquered. The story shifted to Li Xuanxiao with Di Nüfeng, where he reflected on having less than seventy years to live and considered how his Self Corpse might avenge Shu Mountain.

• Li Xuanxiao recovered his strength and purged region after region, killing nearly half the cultivators across eight regions in a few months.
• Nangong Wan brought food to Li Xuanxiao in seclusion and reported that she had quelled rebellions and sent people to kill those fleeing the Nine Great Regions.
• Li Xuanxiao told Nangong Wan to let the refugees go and said he believed the Heavenly Dao would not tolerate him, but assured her that he would not die soon.
• Nangong Wan pledged to follow Li Xuanxiao even into hell, and he laughed off her vow.
• Li Xuanxiao returned to the present with Di Nüfeng and reflected that his lifespan had fallen below seventy years.
• Li Xuanxiao considered that his Self Corpse might avenge Shu Mountain after his death, though he feared the catastrophe it could bring with the Myriad Souls Banner.

Li Xuanxiao traveled through Cangzhou with Di Nüfeng and Cao Changjing, uncertain about his dwindling days and future. He decided to return to Central Continent, while Cao Changjing planned to establish a sect, and Di Nüfeng’s effortless slaughter of a flock of Cloud Falcons left Cao Changjing retracting his interest in her.

• Cao Changjing told Li Xuanxiao he planned to buy a mountain in Cangzhou and establish a sect.
• Li Xuanxiao said he would return to Central Continent and invited Cao Changjing to find him there if needed.
• Cao Changjing teased Li Xuanxiao about Di Nüfeng and asked if he could pursue her, making Li Xuanxiao freeze.
• Di Nüfeng noticed a flock of Cloud Falcons overhead and destroyed them by hurling pebbles at them.
• Di Nüfeng happily announced that the fallen birds would provide food, and Cao Changjing told Li Xuanxiao to forget what he had said.

Li Xuanxiao and Di Nüfeng traveled back toward the Central Continent aboard a smuggling flying ship, where a monk’s sermon about mortality prompted Li Xuanxiao to admit he wanted to return to the past. The monk told him the past could not be retrieved and urged him to live without dwelling on it.

• Li Xuanxiao reflected on Shu Mountain’s destruction, the troubles that followed, and the years of lifespan he had spent saving Di Nüfeng.
• Di Nüfeng noticed Li Xuanxiao’s low spirits and persuaded him to visit an old monk telling stories at the flying ship’s market.
• The gray-robed monk argued that all cultivators, regardless of their power or lifespan, eventually died.
• Li Xuanxiao asked what lay beyond death and said he wanted to return to the past.
• The gray-robed monk told Li Xuanxiao that the past could not be retrieved and advised him to live out the rest of his life without dwelling on it.