Chapter Summaries

Lu Yuan accepted Lu Xueqi’s demand for a deadly duel at the Seven Peaks Tournament while planning to fake his death and withdraw from the world. He returned to Great Bamboo Peak and comforted the tearful Tian Ling Er.

• Lu Xueqi agreed to end their confrontation for now, destroyed the rose, and challenged Lu Yuan to a fight to the death at the Seven Peaks Tournament.
• Lu Yuan considered the Heavenly Books and the gaps in his cultivation, then decided the tournament gave him a chance to fake his death and retreat from public life.
• Lu Yuan accepted Lu Xueqi’s ultimatum, and she prepared to face the duel while venting her anger on the rose with the Sky Azure Sword.
• Lu Yuan flew back to Great Bamboo Peak and found Tian Ling Er searching for him in tears.
• Lu Yuan apologized to Tian Ling Er for making her worry, and she hugged him and burst into sobs.

Lu Yuan reconciled with Tian Ling Er and spent six days teaching her a wide range of rules and spells before his departure, leaving her mentally and physically exhausted. As Great Bamboo Peak headed to Tongtian Peak for the Seven Peaks Tournament, Lu Xueqi quietly regarded the sky as though she were seeing it for the last time.

• Lu Yuan forgave Tian Ling Er and promised to teach her the Flying Thunder God and everything else she could learn before he left.
• During six days of intensive training, Lu Yuan taught Tian Ling Er the Rules of Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, Wind, Lightning, and Space, overwhelming her with lessons and tests.
• Song Daren, Zhang Xiaofan, and the other Great Bamboo Peak disciples endured combat training with Su Ru and Tian Buyi in preparation for the Seven Peaks Tournament.
• On the tournament's seventh morning, Tian Ling Er collapsed asleep in Su Ru's arms, and Lu Yuan explained that she was recovering from mental exhaustion caused by the lessons.
• Su Ru and Tian Buyi led the Great Bamboo Peak disciples toward Tongtian Peak, while Lu Xueqi told Wen Min that the sky was beautiful, thinking she might be seeing her final days of scenery.

As the Seven Peaks Tournament began, Dao Xuan and Wan Jianyi prepared for Wan Jianyi’s return to Qingyun Sect and considered how the sect could grow stronger without falling into internal conflict. Lu Yuan was drawn away from Tian Ling Er by Lu Xueqi, who asked him not to hold back when they faced each other and revealed that she would rather die by his hand than take her own life.

• Dao Xuan met Wan Jianyi outside the ancestral hall, and Wan Jianyi chose to wait there while Dao Xuan went to the tournament.
• The disciples gathered on Tongtian Peak, where Great Bamboo Peak’s small delegation stood out and Tian Ling Er chased away Small Bamboo Peak disciples who crowded around Lu Yuan.
• Lu Xueqi asked Lu Yuan to come with her, and Tian Ling Er let him go after he learned the matter was connected to their previous meeting.
• On Rainbow Bridge, Lu Xueqi told Lu Yuan she could not find a way to defeat him and asked him not to hold back.
• Lu Xueqi told Lu Yuan she would rather die by his hand than live in humiliation or take her own life, then thanked him.

Lu Yuan and Lu Xueqi ended their conversation before the Seven Peaks Tournament, but the Water Kirin’s sudden eruption disrupted the disciples entering the venue. The Water Kirin greeted Lu Yuan affectionately and carried him toward the tournament grounds, leaving the disciples stunned and Lu Xueqi watching his strength.

• Lu Xueqi left after speaking with Lu Yuan, and Tongtian Peak disciples began leading the gathered disciples toward Rainbow Bridge.
• Azure Water Pool churned, and the Water Kirin’s pressure overwhelmed the disciples as Dao Xuan assured the other peak leaders that Lu Yuan and Spirit Venerable would not harm them.
• The Water Kirin surged from the pool, licked Lu Yuan, and allowed him to pat its forehead and speak with it.
• Lu Yuan rode the Water Kirin toward the tournament grounds and told the disciples to cross the bridge without fear.
• Wen Min, Song Daren, Qi Hao, Zeng Shushu, and other senior disciples shielded the crowd from the falling water, while Tian Ling Er parted the water with Lu Yuan’s technique.
• Lu Xueqi watched Lu Yuan ride away and quietly wondered whether this was his strength.

Lu Yuan attended Qingyun Sect’s reorganized Seven Peaks Tournament and discussed luck with Lu Xueqi while the contestants gathered. Zhang Xiaofan drew a blank slip at the opening lottery, leaving Dao Xuan and the waiting disciples unsure how to respond.

• Lu Yuan arrived at the tournament grounds, where Dao Xuan had arranged four simultaneous fighting areas, spectator stands, and contestant seating.
• Lu Yuan joined the Great Bamboo Peak contestants, while Lu Xueqi sat beside him and Tian Ling Er rested in front of him.
• Lu Xueqi asked Lu Yuan about his luck, and he explained that improving it could require paying a price; he chose not to use the Eye of Fate to influence the draw.
• Zeng Shushu arrived, asked Lu Yuan whether Lu Xueqi or Tian Ling Er was his Dao Companion, and received no answer before Dao Xuan began the lottery.
• Zhang Xiaofan drew a blank slip and asked Dao Xuan whether he had drawn a Blank Sign, leaving the crowd awkwardly frozen.

Zhang Xiaofan drew the only Blank Sign and advanced without a fight, while Tian Ling Er began her first-round match using a water-manipulating technique modeled on Lu Yuan’s Origin Art. After Tian Ling Er won, Tian Buyi deflected Shui Yue’s questions about how she had learned it.

• Zhang Xiaofan drew the Blank Sign, confirmed it was genuine, and advanced to the second round without fighting.
• Tian Buyi used Sound Transmission into Secrecy to tell Zhang Xiaofan to leave the drawing line and take his place among the competitors.
• The disciples drew their lots, and Dao Xuan announced that the first number would face the last, placing Lu Yuan in the fourth batch, Tian Ling Er in the first, and Lu Xueqi in the sixth.
• Tian Ling Er seized control of her Small Bamboo Peak opponent’s Water Curtain and turned it into a vortex, securing a quick victory.
• Shui Yue asked Tian Buyi how Tian Ling Er had learned Lu Yuan’s technique, and Tian Buyi claimed she had picked it up by spending time with Lu Yuan before Tian Ling Er left the arena.

Lu Yuan dominated the Seven Peaks Tournament while the disciples advanced through four rounds, and Zhang Xiaofan unexpectedly drew the Blank Sign to secure a place among the top eight. The tournament ended for the day with the final eight set, while Lu Yuan wondered whether Xiao Yicai still wanted to leave Blood Refinement Hall.

• Lu Yuan stood motionless as his spells turned a Tongtian Peak disciple’s attacks against him and dragged him from the arena.
• Qingyun Sect’s spectators ranked Lu Yuan first, followed by five great geniuses and a group of quasi-geniuses, and predicted who would reach the top eight.
• Tian Ling Er, Wen Min, Lin Jingyu, Zhang Xiaofan, and the other advancing disciples survived the next rounds as Song Daren, Fang Chao, and Duan Lei were eliminated.
• Zhang Xiaofan drew the Blank Sign in the fourth round and secured a top-eight place, while Wen Min lost to Tian Ling Er and Qi Hao won after avoiding the strongest opponents.
• Lu Yuan considered Xiao Yicai’s growing attachment to Blood Refinement Hall and worried that the undercover disciple might no longer want to leave.

Lu Xueqi worried that she could neither avoid Lu Yuan nor defeat him, and their encounter by Rainbow Bridge left her more unsettled. After she left, Lu Yuan confronted Tian Ling Er and Zhang Xiaofan, then pressed Zhang Xiaofan to reveal his long-hidden feelings for Tian Ling Er.

• Lu Xueqi brooded over the tournament and concluded that she would eventually have to face Lu Yuan, despite fearing the consequences.
• Lu Yuan approached Lu Xueqi at Rainbow Bridge, teased her about a past incident, and challenged her talk of a life-and-death match; she left without accepting his offer to take responsibility.
• Lu Yuan called out Tian Ling Er and Zhang Xiaofan, who had secretly followed Lu Xueqi and Tian Ling Er, and told them he had questions to ask.
• Tian Ling Er asked Lu Yuan about his relationship with Lu Xueqi, then clung to him after misunderstanding his answer as proof that Lu Xueqi might take him away.
• Lu Yuan immobilized Zhang Xiaofan and urged him to confess what he had hidden from Tian Ling Er, but Zhang Xiaofan remained silent, so Lu Yuan prepared to speak for him.

Lu Yuan helped Zhang Xiaofan confess to Tian Ling Er, who firmly rejected him, then accepted Tian Ling Er’s confession under an agreement that delayed a final commitment until she knew his true self. After they watched the stars together, they joined the Seven Peaks Tournament, where Lu Yuan drew number four and teased Lu Xueqi about their upcoming match.

• Lu Yuan told Tian Ling Er that Zhang Xiaofan secretly loved her and explained that he wanted Zhang Xiaofan to face his feelings before terrible news arrived.
• Tian Ling Er rejected Zhang Xiaofan, who confessed his love and admitted he felt inferior to Lu Yuan before leaving in sorrow.
• Tian Ling Er confessed that she liked Lu Yuan, and Lu Yuan said he liked her too but proposed that they wait until she discovered his complete and truest self before deciding on a relationship.
• Lu Yuan, Tian Ling Er, and the Water Kirin watched the stars through the night, then Lu Yuan and Tian Ling Er ate and headed to the Seven Peaks Tournament.
• Tian Ling Er drew number one, Zhang Xiaofan number two, Lin Jingyu number three, Lu Yuan number four, and Lu Xueqi number five; Lu Yuan teased Lu Xueqi about their coming match.

The Seven Peaks Tournament quarterfinals began, with Tian Ling Er defeating Zeng Shushu, Zhang Xiaofan losing to Chang Jian after a fierce fight, and Qi Hao easily defeating Lin Jingyu. Lu Xueqi faced Lu Yuan in the final match and immediately began summoning divine lightning, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Shui Yue suspected that Lu Yuan and Lu Xueqi had a complicated relationship, but Tian Buyi refused to comment.
• Tian Ling Er used water mirrors and Amber Silk to exhaust and defeat Zeng Shushu.
• Zhang Xiaofan fought Chang Jian fiercely but lost because his cultivation and techniques could not overcome Chang Jian's advantage.
• Qi Hao defeated Lin Jingyu with his ice-elemental spells while Lin Jingyu's Dragon Slaying Sword refused to cooperate.
• Lu Xueqi began her match against Lu Yuan by invoking divine lightning with the Sky Azure Sword.

Lu Xueqi used the Divine Sword Lightning Control True Art against Lu Yuan, but he disrupted it and revealed the overwhelming power of his Myriad Laws Domain. When she refused to surrender, Lu Yuan borrowed Lin Jingyu’s Dragon Slaying Sword and prepared to answer her attack with the Slaying Ghosts and Gods technique.

• Lu Xueqi began charging the Divine Sword Lightning Control True Art while Lu Yuan let her continue, and Dao Xuan suspected they knew each other’s strength.
• Lu Yuan controlled the lightning in the clouds and broke Lu Xueqi’s spell, causing her to spit blood and lose control of the Sky Azure Sword.
• Lu Yuan explained that his Myriad Laws Domain let him command all laws within it and urged Lu Xueqi to surrender, but she rose again and resumed the spell.
• Lu Xueqi declared that he could not crush her conviction, and Lu Yuan admired her pride before deciding to shatter it.
• Lu Yuan summoned Lin Jingyu’s Dragon Slaying Sword, took it from him, and announced that he would use the Slaying Ghosts and Gods technique.

Lu Yuan defeated Lu Xueqi’s Divine Sword Lightning Control True Art with the authentic Slaying Ghosts and Gods, then caught her as she fell. When Lu Xueqi tried to kill herself, Lu Yuan stopped her by letting her sword pierce his heart and kissed her.

• Lu Yuan wielded the Dragon Slaying Sword with true Slaying Ghosts and Gods, stunning the elders and making Cang Song question how he had learned it.
• Lu Xueqi summoned heavenly lightning, but Lu Yuan split it apart with a single sword strike and caught her as she fell.
• The disciples teased Lu Yuan and Lu Xueqi about their closeness, while Lu Xueqi asked why he had chosen to save her.
• Lu Yuan urged Lu Xueqi to raise her sword against him, but she lowered it and then tried to cut her own throat.
• Lu Yuan stopped Lu Xueqi by letting the Sky Azure Sword pierce his heart, then kissed her.

Lu Yuan stopped Lu Xueqi from taking her own life by letting her pierce his heart, then used his final moments to explain that the Spatial Barrier was his spell and make several requests. He declared himself a Qingyun Sect traitor and vanished with the Taixu Bone Sword, leaving Lu Xueqi alone on the arena.

• Lu Yuan let Lu Xueqi's Sky Azure Sword pierce his heart, and the Spatial Barrier kept Dao Xuan and the others from reaching them.
• Lu Yuan explained that the barrier was his Spatial Barrier and asked everyone to stop attacking while he spoke.
• Dao Xuan tried to calm Lu Yuan, but Cang Song learned that Wan Jianyi was alive and demanded answers before Dao Xuan subdued him.
• Lu Yuan asked to keep the Dragon Slaying Sword, left the Myriad Laws Domain inheritance and a Jade Gourd for Tian Ling Er, and told Lu Xueqi that she had won.
• Lu Yuan pulled the Sky Azure Sword from his chest, declared himself a Qingyun Sect traitor, and bowed to Tian Buyi, Su Ru, and the others.
• Lu Yuan activated the Taixu Bone Sword and disappeared as the Spatial Barrier vanished, leaving Lu Xueqi alone with the fallen Sky Azure Sword.

Lu Yuan stormed Spirit Mountain, slaughtering Heavenly Sound Temple disciples and erecting indestructible Stone Tablets to mark the victims of the temple’s past atrocities. After confronting and killing Pu Fang, he continued up the mountain, preparing to face the elders ahead.

• Lu Yuan descended the mountain alone while Blood Refinement Hall mobilized thousands and Incense Valley chose not to interfere.
• Lu Yuan attacked Heavenly Sound Temple, killing its disciples with the Dragon Slaying Sword and Taixu Bone Sword after they refused to explain the deaths at Grass Temple Village and Fox Qi Mountain.
• Lu Yuan planted a Stone Tablet at the foot of Spirit Mountain and declared that he would erect 244 tablets for the victims from Grass Temple Village as he climbed.
• Lu Yuan set a fallen disciple’s magic treasure beneath his foot, then confronted Pu Fang, who tried to persuade him to stop.
• Lu Yuan fought Pu Fang, cut through the Stupa Golden Bowl, severed Pu Fang’s arm, and killed him with Spatial Severance.
• Lu Yuan continued up the mountain, conserving Kamui and Spatial Severance for the three remaining members of the Pu generation and the elders beneath Heavenly Sound Temple’s Jade Wall.

Lu Yuan fought through Heavenly Sound Temple’s hidden forces to reach Nameless Yuan, while Nameless Yuan revealed why he had refused to fight and advised the monks about Lu Yuan’s strengths. Lu Yuan and Nameless Yuan then clashed, and both the Dao Child and Buddhist Child fell as Devil Child Lu Yuan carried a coffin up the mountain.

• Nameless Yuan told Pu Hong that Pu Zhi had slaughtered Grass Temple Village, explained why he could not fight Lu Yuan, and outlined Lu Yuan’s formidable abilities.
• After Lu Yuan raised 243 stone tablets, more than 130 old monks attacked him; he defeated them while sparing as many as he could and raised the 244th tablet.
• Nameless Yuan left Heavenly Sound Temple and met Lu Yuan at the gates, where Lu Yuan said he had come to take him away.
• Nameless Yuan summoned a massive golden palm, and Lu Yuan flew upward with his sword to meet the attack.
• Violet qi spread across a hundred thousand li as the Dao Child and Buddhist Child fell, while Devil Child Lu Yuan carried a coffin up the mountain.

Pu Hong mourned the devastation of Heavenly Sound Temple after Lu Yuan and Buddhist Child Fa Yuan died, believing the temple had lost its future. Devil Child Lu Yuan then arrived to retrieve both bodies, warning that Blood Refinement Hall was coming and declaring that its leader would not exploit their rivalry.

• Pu Hong reflected on how Lu Yuan’s attack had devastated Heavenly Sound Temple and lamented that Fa Yuan and the temple’s future were gone.
• A black coffin and the Soul-Seizing Halberd fell into the temple grounds, followed by Devil Child Lu Yuan, who announced that someone else had come to face the monks.
• Devil Child Lu Yuan warned Pu Hong that Blood Refinement Hall’s leader had brought fewer than ten thousand elite cultivators to attack Heavenly Sound Temple.
• Devil Child Lu Yuan took Lu Yuan’s body and swords, then prepared to carry away Fa Yuan’s corpse despite Pu Hong’s threat to resist.
• Devil Child Lu Yuan placed both bodies together, raised the Soul-Seizing Halberd, and led the cry to see off the Dao Child and Buddhist Child as the crowd echoed him.

Blood Refinement Hall raised the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation outside Heavenly Sound Temple while Liu Yuan’s followers discussed why Lu Yuan had attacked the temple and learned he had chosen death after a misunderstanding with a fierce girl. Liu Yuan honored Lu Yuan and the Buddhist Child as old friends, acquaintances, and worthy enemies.

• Wild Dog Daoist ordered more than 6,600 Blood Refinement Hall disciples to raise the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, with Qin Wuyan, Old Man Nian, and Xiao Yicai serving as secondary cores.
• Liu Yuan remained outside Heavenly Sound Temple to protect the operation while Xiao Yicai asked why Lu Yuan had massacred the temple.
• Wild Dog Daoist explained that Pu Zhi had massacred Grass Temple Village to pursue immortality, and that Lu Yuan had uncovered the scheme after his Junior Brother joined Qingyun Sect.
• Wild Dog Daoist said the Buddhist Child had tried to make Heavenly Sound Temple admit its past wrongdoing, but the temple’s refusal had left him caught between it and Lu Yuan.
• Liu Yuan revealed that Lu Yuan had sought death because he refused to kill a girl who challenged him to a fight to the death after a misunderstanding, and Xiao Yicai struggled to contain his grief.
• Liu Yuan poured wine onto the ground to honor Lu Yuan and the Buddhist Child.

Liu Yuan used the Blood Refinement Hall’s Ten Thousand Immortals Formation to bombard Heavenly Sound Temple, forcing its monks to abandon their fight against Devil Child Lu Yuan and defend the temple. The attack broke through the weakened mountain-protecting formation and devastated the temple, while the Blood Refinement Hall withdrew in scattered teams; news of the battle shook the world the next day.

• Liu Yuan gathered the Blood Devouring Pearl’s power into a purple-black orb while Devil Child Lu Yuan prepared to escape the temple.
• The monks of Heavenly Sound Temple sensed Liu Yuan’s attack, and Pu Hong ordered the mountain-protecting formation activated as Devil Child Lu Yuan fled.
• Pu Hong discovered that Lu Yuan’s 244 Stone Tablets had crippled the formation’s defenses.
• Liu Yuan’s attack shattered the mountain-protecting formation and overwhelmed Heavenly Sound Temple’s layered defenses, devastating its outer grounds.
• Liu Yuan ordered the 6,601 Blood Refinement Hall members to disperse into teams and withdraw, while Qin Wuyan followed them.
• One day later, news of Heavenly Sound Temple’s destruction spread and shook the world.

After learning the truth behind Lu Yuan’s death and Heavenly Sound Temple’s destruction, Dao Xuan told Wan Jianyi and the others what had happened. Wan Jianyi rejected compromise, and Qingyun Sect exposed the truth, beginning Heavenly Sound Temple’s irreversible decline and the Era of Great Strife.

• Xiao Yicai sent Dao Xuan a detailed letter revealing the truth about Lu Yuan, Grass Temple Village, and the attack on Heavenly Sound Temple.
• Dao Xuan entered the ancestral hall with Cang Song, Shui Yue, and Tian Buyi, then explained how Pu Zhi had massacred Grass Temple Village and how Lu Yuan had sacrificed himself.
• Tian Buyi challenged Shui Yue over the conflict between their disciples, while Wan Jianyi read Xiao Yicai’s letter and demanded to know how Qingyun Sect would respond.
• Dao Xuan proposed making peace with Heavenly Sound Temple to preserve Lu Yuan’s reputation, but Wan Jianyi insisted that the truth be made public and offered to take responsibility.
• Qingyun Sect rejected Heavenly Sound Temple’s demands and revealed the truth, prompting many commoners to leave its territory and marking the start of Year One of the Era of Great Strife.

After Lu Yuan’s death, Lu Xueqi learned that Qingyun Sect would preserve his identity as a traitor and that she would be praised as the hero who executed him. She resolved to live and work to clear his name, while Great Bamboo Peak and Dragon Head Peak descended into turmoil over the truth.

• Shui Yue told Lu Xueqi that restoring Lu Yuan’s good name would undermine his final wish, and that Qingyun Sect would treat her as a hero rather than punish her.
• Lu Xueqi promised to live and devote herself to helping Lu Yuan escape the traitor identity, then agreed to eat and prepare for the Seven Peaks Tournament.
• Lu Xueqi asked about Tian Ling Er and Great Bamboo Peak, and Shui Yue admitted that Tian Ling Er had cried herself unconscious repeatedly.
• At Great Bamboo Peak, Tian Ling Er accused Zhang Xiaofan of smiling over Lu Yuan’s death and blamed him, Lu Xueqi, and the others for Lu Yuan’s fate.
• Tian Buyi knocked Zhang Xiaofan unconscious after sensing something was wrong, while Su Ru restrained Tian Ling Er and carried her away for being out of control.
• At Dragon Head Peak, senior brothers held back the sobbing Lin Jingyu, who was trying to go to Heavenly Sound Temple for revenge.