Chapter Summaries

Xie Xuanyi and Ao Ying learned from Zhong Wu how Emperor Qi’s As-You-Wish Dao shaped the Great Moon Kingdom and sealed the imperial hall. Xie Xuanyi approached Emperor Qi’s throne, seeking to use the remaining Dao Principles to manifest the Divinity Fruit, and challenged Emperor Qi to answer him.

• Zhong Wu revealed that he and three companions had slain Emperor Qi as he attempted to ascend, though the battle killed his comrades and left the palace frozen in Emperor Qi’s grotto-heaven.
• Xie Xuanyi asked about Emperor Qi’s Dao Principle, and Zhong Wu explained that the As-You-Wish Dao could fulfill desires and inspire hope, but also deepen the endless hunger of living beings.
• Ao Ying realized the hall remained unchanged because it was permeated by the As-You-Wish Dao Principle, while Zhong Wu warned her not to approach the throne or touch Emperor Qi’s remnant body.
• Xie Xuanyi told Zhong Wu that he sought the Divinity Fruit and wondered whether the hall’s remaining Dao Principles could manifest it.
• Xie Xuanyi handed Qing Li to Ao Ying, approached the throne, and asked Emperor Qi what would happen if he touched his remnant body.

Xie Xuanyi uncovered Emperor Qi’s identity and learned that the As-You-Wish Great Dao had slowed time in the sealed Natal Grotto-Heaven to keep him alive. Emperor Qi offered him a Divinity Fruit in exchange for killing Ao Ying and Qing Li, but Xie Xuanyi attacked Emperor Qi instead and revealed himself as a Kingslayer.

• Xie Xuanyi deduced that Zhong Wu was Emperor Qi and that the four generals’ betrayal had failed to kill him.
• Xie Xuanyi explained that Emperor Qi had used the As-You-Wish Great Dao to seal the Natal Grotto-Heaven and slow time while clinging to life.
• Emperor Qi offered Xie Xuanyi a genuine Divinity Fruit and demanded that he kill Ao Ying and Qing Li to obtain it.
• Xie Xuanyi pierced Emperor Qi with his golden sword and revealed his Chronic Ailment and Annihilation Principle.
• Xie Xuanyi told Emperor Qi that he was also a Kingslayer.

Xie Xuanyi revealed his identity to Ao Ying and ordered her to use Phoenix Eye to drain Emperor Qi’s essence blood, which might let her refine the sealed Natal Grotto-Heaven. As Xie Xuanyi held back Emperor Qi’s remnant consciousness and its ancient generals, Ao Ying was overwhelmed by the soul pressure and could not climb the hall steps.

• Ao Ying realized that Xie Zhen was the supposedly dead Xie Xuanyi and feared he would take her Crimson Dragon Luck.
• Xie Xuanyi told Ao Ying that Phoenix Eye could draw Emperor Qi’s essence blood and might refine the Natal Grotto-Heaven, then forced her to choose between attempting it and facing him.
• Ao Ying rushed toward the upper hall, but Emperor Qi’s remnant consciousness commanded the ancient generals to stop her.
• Xie Xuanyi shattered one general’s palm with Chronic Ailment and held back the remnant consciousness as the corpse mountain began to collapse.
• Emperor Qi’s soul pressure gravely wounded Ao Ying, and she told Xie Xuanyi that she could not climb the steps.

Xie Xuanyi helped Ao Ying withstand Emperor Qi’s remnant and sent her to the throne, where she used the Phoenix Eye to draw essence blood. Through the Phoenix Eye, Ao Ying discovered that the figure nailed to the throne was a dragon descendant killed by Dragon-Slaying Principles, and that she shared his scales.

• Xie Xuanyi used his divine sense and a droplet of the Immortal Spring to stabilize Ao Ying and clear Emperor Qi’s pressure from her Heart Lake.
• Emperor Qi tried to seize Ao Ying, but Xie Xuanyi cut off a silver statue’s arm, trapped the remnant with Sword Qi, and threw Ao Ying toward the throne.
• Ao Ying fed her flesh and blood to the Phoenix Eye, which opened a void passage past the four silver guardians and carried her to the throne.
• Ao Ying pressed her palm against the figure on the throne, and the Phoenix Eye began drawing its essence blood as it gradually submitted to her.
• Ao Ying saw through the Phoenix Eye that the palace and its guardians were ruined, and that the figure on the throne wore dragon scales beneath a robe pierced by a spear inscribed with Dragon-Slaying Principles.
• Ao Ying touched the figure’s arm and heard her fingertips scrape against dragon scales like her own.

Xie Xuanyi exposed Emperor Qi’s lies and revealed the truth behind the dragon-slaying battle as Emperor Qi reclaimed the As-You-Wish Dao Principles. As Emperor Qi’s remnant prepared to restore his grotto-heaven, Xie Xuanyi suggested the dragon had completed her ascension through rebirth, and Qing Li confirmed that what she had seen was real.

• Xie Xuanyi explained that Emperor Qi had lured outsiders into the hall to break the dragon-blood shackles and that the supposed regicide had actually been an attempt to trap a true dragon for Emperor Qi’s ascension.
• Emperor Qi recounted his failed ambush of the dragon, while Xie Xuanyi explained how her blood shattered the grotto-heaven and left Emperor Qi trapped for a thousand years.
• Emperor Qi drew the scattered As-You-Wish Dao Principles back to himself, revealing the ruined hall and the withered dragon-descendant’s body beneath the illusions.
• Xie Xuanyi challenged Emperor Qi’s claim of victory, suggesting the dragon had been reborn in Great Moon and completed her ascension while Emperor Qi remained trapped.
• Ao Ying and Qing Li were overcome with sorrow as the withered figure on the throne faded, and Qing Li said, "It was real."

Wu Yue sheltered the survivors in the mountains while Yuwen Zhong and Shang Yi each set out to find stranded disciples, carrying maps and tokens to help them. Lin Yu recognized Qin Wanyang’s manipulations, and Shang Yi left pondering whether Xie Zhen—and his master Xie Xuanyi—could be judged as good or evil.

• Wu Yue led the survivors to a remote mountain refuge, and Yuwen Zhong left with Qin Wanyang and a group of Rogue Cultivators to search the Great Moon City for Qian Heaven Palace disciples.
• Lin Yu warned that Qin Wanyang was pursuing fortune rather than helping Yuwen Zhong, admitted he had been deceived, and Wu Yue promised to seek help for the Lin Family after the Northern Hunt.
• Shang Yi told Wu Yue she would leave to search for Supreme Sanctuary disciples while her junior sisters stayed under his protection.
• Wu Yue gave Shang Yi a Banished Immortal Token containing Xie Zhen’s map, which she accepted despite her misgivings about him.
• Shang Yi asked what kind of person Xie Zhen was, and Wu Yue described Xie Xuanyi as a True Person whose victims generally deserved to die.

Yuwen Zhong learned that Qin Wanyang had deceived him to pursue an opportunity, while King Dove was caught in the Great Moon Well’s eruption and witnessed Qing Li emerge with the true dragon. Qing Li recovered her memories and faced Emperor Qi, who resumed their ancient war and vowed to kill her so he could become the Heavenly Dao.

• Chen Li sent Yuwen Zhong a message confirming that the Qian Heaven Palace cultivators were safe outside the city, and Yuwen Zhong realized Qin Wanyang had lied about seeing them.
• Qin Wanyang admitted he had led the group toward a golden opportunity, but Yuwen Zhong left to find his junior brothers while Qin Wanyang continued toward the main city with the Rogue Cultivators.
• Shuang E reported the human cultivators’ movements to King Dove, who ordered him to kill them all.
• As King Dove prepared to leap into the Great Moon Well, its Dao Principles erupted and erased one of his arms before a true dragon dharma form emerged from the abyss.
• Qing Li recovered her memories after Phoenix Eye broke the throne’s restraints, and she stood atop the dragon as the ancient battlefield reappeared.
• Emperor Qi resumed his battle against Qing Li and declared that killing her could let him complete the As-You-Wish Great Dao and become the Heavenly Dao.

Qing Li fought Emperor Qi over the fate of the Great Moon Kingdom while protecting Xie Xuanyi and Ao Ying. She killed Grand Master Chongkan’s remnant consciousness, but Emperor Qi seized control of King Dove and forced Qing Li to leave Xie Xuanyi to continue on alone.

• Qing Li told Xie Xuanyi that Emperor Qi sought to become the Heavenly Dao and remake the Great Moon Kingdom, then used her power to protect Xie Xuanyi and Ao Ying.
• Qing Li brought Xie Xuanyi and Ao Ying to Grand Master Chongkan’s fleeing remnant consciousness, and Xie Xuanyi ordered her to kill it.
• Qing Li destroyed Chongkan’s remnant consciousness and then attacked King Dove, but Emperor Qi intervened and took control of King Dove with the As-You-Wish Dao Principle.
• King Dove attacked Qing Li under Emperor Qi’s influence, and Qing Li told Xie Xuanyi to proceed without her while she held off Emperor Qi’s divine sense.

As Qing Li held back Emperor Qi’s spreading As-You-Wish Great Dao, Xie Xuanyi escaped the main city with Ao Ying and returned her Crimson Dragon Luck after secretly planting it with a Sword Qi-triggered gu. He stopped before fleeing Rogue Cultivators and ordered Ao Ying to kill them, leaving her first task under his control.

• Qing Li cracked the Great Dao prison around the main city while King Dove attacked her, and Xie Xuanyi fled with Ao Ying as iron cavalry pursued them.
• Ao Ying proposed that they separate and asked Xie Xuanyi to return her Crimson Dragon Luck; he warned that accepting it would end their alliance, and she took it anyway.
• After Ao Ying swallowed the luck, Xie Xuanyi revealed that he had planted a gu in it that only Lotus Peak’s cultivation method could remove.
• Xie Xuanyi stopped when Rogue Cultivators fleeing the iron cavalry called for his help, then ordered Ao Ying to kill them all.

Xie Xuanyi and Ao Ying slaughtered the Rogue Cultivators corrupted by the As-You-Wish Dao Principle, then uncovered Qin Wanyang hiding nearby with a recording talisman. Xie Xuanyi recognized the Dao Sect influence behind the Young Prince and prepared to kill him despite the danger of provoking the Qin Household.

• Xie Xuanyi ordered Ao Ying to kill the approaching Rogue Cultivators, and she slaughtered most of them while their cries for help concealed corrupted minds and a potential suicide attack.
• Xie Xuanyi killed the two fleeing cultivators and explained that he had anticipated their treachery rather than understood the As-You-Wish Dao Principle.
• Xie Xuanyi detected and tore apart a talisman array, exposing Qin Wanyang, whose Divine Reflection Talisman had recorded the slaughter.
• Xie Xuanyi confronted Qin Wanyang about the Three Dust Incense Array and suspected that True Person Smoke Evil's divine sense was guiding him.
• Qin Wanyang warned that killing the Young Prince could provoke the Qin Household, but Xie Xuanyi dismissed the threat and said the news would never get back.

Xie Xuanyi killed Qin Wanyang after Yan Xie’s residual consciousness took control of the prince, then offered Ao Ying a chance to return to the Demon Kingdom as his informant. Bound by a Soul Oath and Sword Gu, Ao Ying departed with the Phoenix Eye and Crimson Dragon Luck, while Xie Xuanyi urged her to grow strong enough to become a Grandmaster.

• Xie Xuanyi sent Ao Ying to attack Qin Wanyang, whose body Yan Xie’s residual consciousness controlled, while he watched for Yan Xie’s hidden plans.
• Xie Xuanyi used Chronic Ailment to behead Qin Wanyang, burned the corpse, and searched the head for memories before Yan Xie’s consciousness vanished.
• Ao Ying feared Xie Xuanyi would take her to Great Chu, but he offered to let her return to the Demon Kingdom with the Phoenix Eye and Crimson Dragon Luck because the Sword Gu bound her life to him.
• Ao Ying accepted Xie Xuanyi’s Lotus Token and swore a Soul Oath requiring her to tell him the truth and serve as an informant in the Demon Kingdom.
• Ao Ying admitted she had enemies throughout the Demon Kingdom, and Xie Xuanyi urged her to become a Grandmaster so she could withstand them.

Xie Xuanyi searched the Daoist Sect group for remnants of Yan Xie's divine sense and demanded to inspect them with Soul Shock. He gave the cultivators ten breaths to submit or die, while Ao Ying watched from his flying sword.

• Ao Ying explained that Yan Xie had once ranked among the top five on the demon-domain Yin God List, and Xie Xuanyi deduced that Yan Xie might have planted divine sense in Qin Wanyang's companions.
• Xie Xuanyi took Ao Ying north to find the Supreme Sanctuary cultivators, telling her to watch and learn how he handled the matter.
• Yuwen Zhong led Daoist Sect and Qian Heaven Palace cultivators through the storm toward the south, and Xie Xuanyi arrived to confront them.
• Xie Xuanyi said a demonized cultivator's divine sense was hidden among the Daoist Sect disciples and demanded they submit to Soul Shock for inspection.
• Qi Yu refused and challenged Xie Xuanyi, who summoned a vast array of flying swords and gave the group ten breaths to submit or die.

Xie Xuanyi used a sword formation and soul-shaking techniques to expose and kill disciples possessed by Yan Xie's remnants, proving Shang Yi's guarantee of the Dao Sect's innocence wrong. He ended by asking what she would offer as collateral for her earlier promise.

• Shang Yi arrived just before Xie Xuanyi's swords fell and used her treasure Zhaorong to block his attack, exhausting its stored sword intent and her own reserves.
• Shang Yi and Yuwen Zhong vouched for the Dao Sect disciples, but Xie Xuanyi rebuked them and struck Qi Yu when he challenged him.
• Xie Xuanyi formed a sword formation around the Dao Sect and Qian Heaven Palace, then called for Yan Xie to reveal himself with a Soul Shock.
• Xie Xuanyi's sword bell exposed Yan Xie's remnant divine sense inside several young disciples, and his swords killed four possessed disciples, including three from the Supreme Sanctuary and one from Qian Heaven Palace.
• Yuwen Zhong and Shang Yi recognized the possessed remnant as Smoke Heretic True Person's, while the disciples discovered that the victims' Heart Lakes had been destroyed.
• Xie Xuanyi reminded Shang Yi that she had vouched for the Dao Sect disciples and asked what she would use as collateral.

Xie Xuanyi ended the confrontation with the Daoist disciples and gave Shang Yi evidence about Fang Hang and Xie Sheng’s deaths, including Chongkan’s involvement. He then warned Ao Ying that she might be blamed for Xie Sheng’s death and promised to monitor the Daoist Sect for signs that Chongkan would cross north.

• Xie Xuanyi dismissed his sword formation, refused Yuwen Zhong’s request for an escort, and gave Shang Yi a bamboo slip while admitting he had killed Fang Hang.
• Xie Xuanyi showed Shang Yi partial footage of Xie Sheng’s death, revealing Chongkan’s divine sense and explaining that Ao Ying had killed Xie Sheng and taken the Crimson Dragon.
• Shang Yi promised to report the bamboo slip’s contents to her sect, but Xie Xuanyi advised her to destroy it and tell only her master if necessary.
• Xie Xuanyi reunited with Ao Ying and explained that he had directed blame for Xie Sheng’s death toward her to protect himself.
• Xie Xuanyi promised to alert Ao Ying if Chongkan left the Daoist Sect, and reflected that he now had two reliable contacts there: Tang Fengshu and Deng Baiyi.

Tang Fengshu returned to the Dao Sect with Deng Baiyi, whose skill in talismans opened the mountain gate formation. Tang Fengshu then asked Shu Ning to teach Deng Baiyi swordsmanship and faced pressure to reconcile with Grand Master Chongkan over her connection to Chen.

• Deng Baiyi reverse-dismantled the Dao Sect's mountain gate formation with her Foundation Establishment vital energy, and the sanctuary masters came to welcome Tang Fengshu.
• Tang Fengshu canceled the welcome banquet and brought Deng Baiyi to Jade Purity Sanctuary to learn swordsmanship while Shu Ning was in seclusion.
• After seven days, Shu Ning met Tang Fengshu and urged her to visit Grand Master Chongkan and end her contact with Chen to ease their conflict.
• Tang Fengshu asked Shu Ning to teach Deng Baiyi swordsmanship, explaining that they were both willing to try regardless of the outcome.

Xie Xuanyi sent Ao Ying out of Great Moon Kingdom while staying behind as the Peacock Grandmaster’s five-colored Dao Principles approached. Yuwen Zhong, Shang Yi, and the other survivors reached Wu Yue’s Void-Breaking Formation, but the Peacock Grandmaster’s power appeared as they began to escape.

• Xie Xuanyi brought Ao Ying to a spatial fissure and offered her Immortal Spring water vapor, but she refused and prepared to leave alone.
• Ao Ying used the Phoenix Eye, strengthened by the true dragon blood it had absorbed, to shatter the void and teleport away.
• Xie Xuanyi detected the Peacock Grandmaster’s five-colored Dao Principles spreading through the sand and stayed behind after sending Ao Ying away.
• Shang Yi and Yuwen Zhong led their group through the wind and sand, fighting iron cavalry and mindless Rogue Cultivators who attacked and self-destructed.
• The group reached Wu Yue and the survivors at a distant barren mountain, where a Void-Breaking Formation had been completed and news arrived that the Martial Sect’s Sect Master was coming.
• As the formation began teleporting everyone out, five-colored Dao Principles poured into the shattered void.

The Peacock Grandmaster descended on Lilan Mountain and sealed the Northern Hunt cultivators beneath the Five-Colored Great Dao. Xie Xuanyi deliberately challenged him, and Lu Yuzhen appeared to shield Xie Xuanyi from the Grandmaster’s attack.

• The Peacock Grandmaster’s Five-Colored Great Dao suppressed the Void-Breaking Formation, destroyed the communication tokens, and trapped the cultivators on the barren mountain.
• Xie Zhen arrived at the formation, prompting Yuan Yi to hope he might save them again.
• Xie Xuanyi told the others that only another Yang Spirit cultivator could oppose the Peacock Grandmaster, then called out to provoke him.
• The Peacock Grandmaster unleashed a five-colored attack as Xie Xuanyi flew toward him through the Dao Principles.
• Lu Yuzhen appeared before Xie Xuanyi and took the Grandmaster’s blow, then asked why Xie Xuanyi had insisted on this and dismissed the others’ possible deaths.

Xie Xuanyi confronted Lu Yuzhen over whether to abandon the cultivators trapped on the mountain, while Lu Yuzhen held off Peacock Grandmaster. Lu Yuzhen agreed to save the survivors and escort them back to Great Chu in exchange for a secret condition from Xie Xuanyi.

• Xie Xuanyi revealed that he had used himself as bait because he trusted Lu Yuzhen to intervene, and Lu Yuzhen appeared in a paper body as the Five-Colored Great Dao struck him.
• Lu Yuzhen manifested the Pure White Sage and blocked Peacock Grandmaster's attack, forcing the grandmaster to reassess the fight.
• Lu Yuzhen proposed handing over the cultivators and leaving, but Xie Xuanyi refused and threatened to reveal the secret of the Immortal Spring if Peacock Grandmaster killed them.
• Lu Yuzhen offered to save the cultivators on the condition that Xie Xuanyi agreed to a small secret request, promising to get them safely back to Great Chu.

Lu Yuzhen negotiated with Peacock Grandmaster, returning King Dove after removing the As-You-Wish Dao Principle from his Heart Lake. Peacock Grandmaster left to stop Great Chu’s reinforcements, while Lu Yuzhen and Xie Xuanyi discussed how the Little National Preceptor’s case file had drawn attention to Lu.

• Lu Yuzhen asked Xie Xuanyi whether he could agree to Peacock Grandmaster’s terms, and Xie refused to surrender Ao Ying but agreed to let King Dove go.
• Lu Yuzhen seized King Dove from the As-You-Wish Grotto-Heaven and delivered him to Peacock Grandmaster, who restrained his fury at seeing his disciple’s ruined condition.
• Peacock Grandmaster offered to hold back Great Chu’s reinforcements for one battle if Lu Yuzhen removed the As-You-Wish Dao Principle from King Dove’s Heart Lake.
• Lu Yuzhen used the Pure White Sage’s dharma manifestation to extract the Dao Principle, and King Dove woke in Peacock Grandmaster’s arms.
• Peacock Grandmaster promised to stop the Great Chu Yang Spirit and departed with King Dove.
• Xie Xuanyi accused Lu Yuzhen of cherishing his life, and Lu remarked that the Little National Preceptor’s case file might soon make him famous throughout the world.

Lu Yuzhen rescued the trapped survivors and watched Peacock Grandmaster and the Martial Immortal fight without either risking a decisive strike. He told Xie Xuanyi how to explain their dealings to Great Chu, then said he acted simply to be happy.

• Lu Yuzhen sent the people trapped in the Void-Breaking Formation out of the paper-filled Grotto-Heaven, and the Martial Immortal arrived to escort the survivors away.
• Yuan Yi worried about Xie Zhen and suspected the mysterious Yang Spirit who intervened was the Paper Effigy Dao Master.
• Lu Yuzhen and Xie Xuanyi watched Peacock Grandmaster and the Martial Immortal clash, while Lu Yuzhen explained that both restrained themselves because he was present.
• Lu Yuzhen told Xie Xuanyi to portray him as a madman and disclose what he knew about the Paper Effigy Dao to earn Great Chu's trust.
• When Xie Xuanyi asked what he was seeking, Lu Yuzhen replied that he did everything for the sake of being happy.