Chapter Summaries

Xie Xuanyi watched the Martial Immortal and the Peacock Grandmaster clash, gaining insight into the Yang God realm and the possibility of using his own divine embryo to anchor his grotto-heaven. Lu Yuzhen then offered to take him to the dragon-subjugation battle in the Great Moon Kingdom.

• Lu Yuzhen told Xie Xuanyi that he had saved the Great Moon Kingdom for his sake and confirmed that he held the three missing chief ship examiners.
• Xie Xuanyi received Yuan Yi's warning that Great Chu was investigating the Northern Hunt deaths and that returning to Great Chu could be dangerous.
• The Martial Immortal and the Peacock Grandmaster fought until the Cloud Boat escaped Lilan Mountain, then both withdrew.
• Xie Xuanyi entered a half-hour meditation while watching the battle and gained insight into the Yang God realm.
• Lu Yuzhen explained that Xie Xuanyi might use his own divine embryo, rather than a flying sword, to hold down his Natal Grotto-Heaven.
• Xie Xuanyi agreed to watch the Great Moon Kingdom's dragon-subjugation battle, and Lu Yuzhen opened a gateway.

Lu Yuzhen brought Xie Xuanyi into the Great Moon Kingdom’s thousand-year dreamscape to watch Emperor Qi and Qing Li’s final battle, while teasing out the truth behind Xie Xuanyi’s past and his own role in it. As the battle neared its end, Emperor Qi asked Lu Yuzhen to help slay Qing Li, leaving Xie Xuanyi to see that the decisive move lay outside the battle itself.

• Lu Yuzhen sent Xie Xuanyi through the Spark Gate into the Great Moon Kingdom dreamscape, where they watched the endless war between Emperor Qi and Qing Li.
• Lu Yuzhen protected Xie Xuanyi as they crossed the battlefield, then sat with him near its center and promised to answer part of his question about his death after the battle ended.
• Xie Xuanyi challenged Lu Yuzhen about saving him, but Lu Yuzhen answered in riddles and questioned how Xie Xuanyi judged right and wrong.
• Lu Yuzhen asked whether Xie Xuanyi would still favor Qing Li if Emperor Qi had treated him as a brother and granted him insight and a Divinity Fruit; Xie Xuanyi said he hoped Qing Li would win because she had passed the Tribulation of Reincarnation.
• Lu Yuzhen warned that Qing Li’s victory was not certain because the decisive move was outside the game, then Emperor Qi asked him to help slay Qing Li in exchange for a generous reward.

Lu Yuzhen delayed choosing between Emperor Qi and Qing Li while Xie Xuanyi realized that Lu had already intended to help Qing Li. Lu then asked when Xie Xuanyi had first discovered him, and Xie explained how his unease during the Northern Hunt had led him to identify Lu as the one following him.

• Emperor Qi and Qing Li each tried to persuade Lu Yuzhen to help them, while Qing Li said she wanted only to go home.
• Xie Xuanyi challenged Lu Yuzhen's plan to wait for a higher offer and concluded that Lu had already decided to aid Qing Li.
• Lu Yuzhen asked Xie Xuanyi when he had discovered his presence, and Xie traced his suspicion back to the start of the Northern Hunt.
• Xie Xuanyi explained that Azure Falcon's death memories showed Wu Qiong's head had vanished from the burned Cloud Boat, revealing that someone had taken it under cover of a Grotto-Heaven.
• Lu Yuzhen admitted Xie Xuanyi had exposed him because his presence had stirred Xie's Heart Lake.

Lu Yuzhen helped Qing Li weaken Emperor Qi by trapping part of his As-You-Wish Dao Principle, then revealed that he intended to take over the Great Moon Kingdom through his White Paper Grotto-Heaven. Xie Xuanyi realized the kingdom’s people—not its ancient texts or Dao Principle—were Lu Yuzhen’s true prize, as the chapter ended with the fate of its resentful souls looming.

• Lu Yuzhen struck Emperor Qi with dragon lightning and trapped a portion of the As-You-Wish Dao Principle in his White Paper Grotto-Heaven.
• Lu Yuzhen sent his Pure White Sage manifestation into the battle between Qing Li and Emperor Qi, tipping the balance toward Qing Li at the cost of taking a devastating blow.
• Xie Xuanyi realized Lu Yuzhen’s white paper could form realms and suspected that Lu planned to absorb the Great Moon Kingdom into his Grotto-Heaven.
• Lu Yuzhen confirmed that the Paper Effigy Dao’s true sect gate was his White Paper Grotto-Heaven and said he intended to take over the kingdom after Emperor Qi’s death.
• Lu Yuzhen told Xie Xuanyi that the Great Moon Kingdom’s most precious treasure was its people, including the resentful souls trapped within the void.

Lu Yuzhen revealed that he had nurtured Xie Xuanyi to claim the karma of his Immortal Spring, then offered him a choice over the fate of the Great Moon Kingdom’s nine million souls. The chapter ended with Xie Xuanyi facing Lu Yuzhen’s demand to absorb them or let Lu Yuzhen refine them himself.

• Lu Yuzhen explained that he planned to absorb the Great Moon Kingdom’s nine million dead souls into the White Paper Grotto-Heaven and seize Emperor Qi’s unfinished fortune of ascension.
• Xie Xuanyi refused Lu Yuzhen’s offer of the As-You-Wish Dao Principle and stabbed him with Chronic Ailment, but Lu Yuzhen healed the wound with his Immortal Spring and forced the sword back.
• Lu Yuzhen confessed that he had saved and guided Xie Xuanyi to make him grow, intending to claim the karma of Xie Xuanyi’s Immortal Spring when he reached the Yang Spirit Realm.
• Xie Xuanyi raised Zhao Chunyang’s Sword Qi lotus and tried to use it to summon his master, but it gave no response.
• Lu Yuzhen offered Xie Xuanyi two choices: watch him refine the Great Moon Kingdom’s nine million souls, or absorb them into the Sword Qi Grotto-Heaven himself.

Tang Fengshu confronted Grand Master Chongkan over his treatment of disciples, his handling of the Azure Prefecture crisis, and her relationship with Chen Jingxuan. Chongkan tried to force her to renounce Chen Jingxuan, then defeated and restrained her with thunder arts in the Back Mountain.

• Tang Fengshu learned that Grand Master Chongkan had driven Incense Offering Pavilion’s new disciples away after they struggled to draw talismans.
• Tang Fengshu met Chongkan in the Back Mountain and challenged his conduct, including his indifference to the deaths threatened in Carp Tide City.
• Tang Fengshu admitted she loved Chen Jingxuan and refused Chongkan’s demand to swear she would have no further contact with him.
• Chongkan declared that Tang Fengshu would remain imprisoned until she reformed, and Tang Fengshu accused him of using the same methods he had used against Yan Xie.
• Tang Fengshu attacked Chongkan, but he suppressed her with thunder arts until she was confined within a tiny space beneath a crushing lightning restraint.

Lu Yuzhen revealed the White Paper Grotto-Heaven and explained that Xie Xuanyi possessed an Immortal Spring Eye that could multiply Immortal Spring water at a cost. He asked Xie to join him in using it to save the Great Moon Kingdom if Emperor Qi chose mutual destruction, offering treasures that might advance Xie’s soul realm.

• Lu Yuzhen admitted that his claim about refining nine million people had been a lie meant to force Xie Xuanyi to make a choice.
• Xie Xuanyi entered Lu Yuzhen’s Purple Mansion, the White Paper Grotto-Heaven, and saw a distant mountain crowded with figures.
• Lu Yuzhen showed Xie Xuanyi his failed attempts to replicate the Immortal Spring and identified Xie’s treasure as an Immortal Spring Eye that could produce more water by paying a price.
• Lu Yuzhen warned that Emperor Qi might destroy the Great Moon Kingdom and its nine million departed souls if defeat became inevitable.
• Lu Yuzhen asked Xie Xuanyi to help save the kingdom by multiplying Immortal Spring water, offering soul treasures and heavenly materials as payment.

Qing Li and the souls of Emperor Qi’s victims overwhelmed him, while Lu Yuzhen’s White Paper Grotto-Heaven kept the As-You-Wish Great Dao incomplete. Emperor Qi detonated the Dao to burn the Great Moon Kingdom along with himself and Qing Li, and Lu Yuzhen turned to Xie Xuanyi to use the Immortal Spring Eye to save them.

• The souls Emperor Qi had sacrificed rallied to Qing Li, strengthening her true dragon as it broke through his defenses.
• Lu Yuzhen used the Immortal Spring to sustain the White Paper Grotto-Heaven and prevent Emperor Qi from completing his As-You-Wish Dao Principles.
• Qing Li caught and hurled the As-You-Wish great sun at Emperor Qi, leaving his defeat inevitable.
• Emperor Qi seized Qing Li and detonated the As-You-Wish Dao Principles, unleashing a destructive flood that began to consume the Great Moon Kingdom.
• Lu Yuzhen gathered water in his palm and told Xie Xuanyi that only the Immortal Spring Eye could stop the destruction.

Xie Xuanyi and Lu Yuzhen survived Emperor Qi’s Great Dao eruption by using Immortal Spring to shield the Great Moon Kingdom’s living inhabitants and the True Dragon. As Xie Xuanyi gained insight into the Principle of Life, the souls of the kingdom’s dead gathered around him and helped him condense its incomplete fragment.

• Emperor Qi’s As-You-Wish Great Dao erupted into Dao-fire, and Lu Yuzhen used his paper body and Xie Xuanyi’s Immortal Spring Eye to protect the nine million living inhabitants.
• After the flames subsided, Xie Xuanyi and Lu Yuzhen found Emperor Qi’s Dharma Form still standing, pierced by the True Dragon, and went to aid the wounded dragon.
• Lu Yuzhen soothed the True Dragon’s burns with Immortal Spring while Xie Xuanyi meditated on the connection between life and annihilation.
• The departed souls of the Great Moon Kingdom gathered around Xie Xuanyi’s Immortal Spring Eye, and their faith power helped him form an incomplete fragment of the Principle of Life.
• Lu Yuzhen recognized that Xie Xuanyi had gained a supreme principle and that his long-sought Sword Dao had reached completion.

Xie Xuanyi comprehended the Principle of Life as the souls of Great Moon flowed into his Heart Lake, but he could not save Mu Niu or the other dead from fading away. He confronted the dying Emperor Qi, learned that the emperor still regretted only failing to kill Qing Li and ascend, and was asked by Lu Yuzhen to strike the final blow.

• Xie Xuanyi absorbed the departed souls of Great Moon and condensed his first fragment of the Principle of Life.
• The Principle of Life revealed the dead citizens’ memories and slowed their souls’ dispersal, while Xie Xuanyi realized that the Dao could be used beyond killing.
• Xie Xuanyi recognized Mu Niu among the fading souls, learned of his brutal life, and watched him disappear despite trying to preserve him.
• Xie Xuanyi left his Heart Lake and asked Lu Yuzhen to let him speak with the dying Emperor Qi.
• Emperor Qi admitted he regretted failing to kill Qing Li and ascend, and Lu Yuzhen invited Xie Xuanyi to deliver the final blow.

Xie Xuanyi joined Life and Annihilation Principles with Qing Li’s true dragon Dao to kill Emperor Qi. As Qing Li’s remaining strength faded, she recovered the As-You-Wish Dao Principle and offered it to Xie Xuanyi to condense into the Divinity Fruit he sought.

• Xie Xuanyi infused Chronic Ailment with the Principles of Life and Annihilation, then accepted Qing Li’s aid to strike Emperor Qi.
• Qing Li poured her perfected true dragon Dao into the sword, and Xie Xuanyi cleaved Emperor Qi and his throne in two.
• Qing Li’s divided soul returned to her body, and she asked Xie Xuanyi whether he had seen the dead souls, including Mu Niu and Shanman.
• Qing Li’s strength ran out as the secret realm opened to outside light, and she began to fade.
• Qing Li had Lu Yuzhen release the As-You-Wish Dao Principle from the White Paper Grotto-Heaven, gathered its fragments, and offered them to Xie Xuanyi.

Xie Xuanyi learned how Emperor Qi had sacrificed Great Moon to capture a true dragon and seek immortality, then discovered that Qing Li had been drawn from a distant era and would soon vanish. He gave up the Divinity Fruit and tried to use the As-You-Wish Dao Principle and Immortal Spring to keep the little mute girl in the mortal world.

• Qing Li offered Xie Xuanyi a Divinity Fruit formed from the As-You-Wish Dao Principle, but he asked to return it to the Dao Principle instead.
• Xie Xuanyi asked whether Qing Li came from Emperor Qi's era, and Qing Li showed him the Great Moon Kingdom's history through its black Killing Intent.
• Xie Xuanyi witnessed how Emperor Qi sealed Great Moon, sacrificed its people, and used the As-You-Wish Dao Principle to summon a true dragon for his attempt at immortal ascension.
• Qing Li confirmed that she had come from a distant past and would have to return, while she and Xie Xuanyi suspected that Lu Yuzhen also did not belong to this era.
• Xie Xuanyi revealed that he wanted the As-You-Wish Dao Principle to keep the little mute girl's remaining soul in the mortal world, then added his drop of Immortal Spring to the attempt.

After Qing Li departed for her own era, Xie Xuanyi faced a choice between refining the Great Moon Kingdom’s doomed souls for power or using the As-You-Wish Dao Principle to shelter them. He chose to preserve the souls, challenging Lu Yuzhen’s plans and asking whether Lu truly wanted his karma to go astray.

• Qing Li explained that the Immortal Spring and her own presence did not belong to this era, then departed after giving Xie Xuanyi a pure-white hairpin made from its vapor.
• Lu Yuzhen found Xie Xuanyi mourning Qing Li and urged him to cultivate, then proposed refining the nine million souls of the Great Moon Kingdom for karmic power.
• Xie Xuanyi realized Lu Yuzhen had offered him the souls to spur him to cultivate the Immortal Spring and eventually reach the Yang Spirit Realm.
• As the souls emerged from the void and began to perish, Xie Xuanyi considered using the As-You-Wish Dao Principle to give them a place to dwell instead of forming a Divinity Fruit.
• Lu Yuzhen objected that the souls would die eventually, but Xie Xuanyi refused to refine them and asked whether Lu wanted his karma to grow crooked.

On Lilan Mountain, Xie Xuanyi and Lu Yuzhen discussed the fallen Great Moon Kingdom, the coming struggle in the Southern Borderlands, and the dangers awaiting Xie Xuanyi after the Northern Hunt. Lu Yuzhen departed after warning Xie Xuanyi to stay out of his coming massacre, leaving him to return to Great Chu and watch the Daoist sects.

• Xie Xuanyi used the As-You-Wish Dao Principle and Immortal Spring to ferry the Great Moon Kingdom's souls into the Sword Qi Grotto-Heaven, while Lu Yuzhen accepted his choice.
• Lu Yuzhen explained that the Great Moon Kingdom's reemergence would draw Great Chu and the Demon Kingdom into conflict, and Xie Xuanyi said he would return to the Northern Territory Great Wall on his own.
• Lu Yuzhen revealed that he had sent the Heavenly Puppet Sect holy son's head to Ink Daoist and was bringing the Paper Effigy Dao into the Southern Borderlands conflict.
• Lu Yuzhen promised to leave White Wraith and those tied to the North Sea battle for Xie Xuanyi, while Xie Xuanyi rejected their common cause.
• Xie Xuanyi guessed that Lu Yuzhen had hidden three Yin Spirit examiners as a possible bargaining chip with Great Chu, but Lu Yuzhen gave no clear explanation.
• Lu Yuzhen warned Xie Xuanyi to watch the Daoist sects and stay out of the Southern Borderlands campaign, then departed in a scattering of white paper.

After the Northern Hunt returned with devastating losses, rumors accused Xie Zhen of killing three prominent prodigies, and the Imperial City Bureau detained the survivors while investigating. Yuan Jimo pressured Yuan Yi to give false testimony against Xie Zhen, but she refused and exposed his fear of the Supreme Sanctuary Master.

• The Imperial City learned that more than half the young cultivators had died in Cinnabar Plume City's ambush and that Xie Zhen was accused of killing Fang Hang, Xie Sheng, and Qin Wanyang.
• The Supreme Sanctuary Master and Xie Zhisui arrived in the Imperial City seeking Xie Zhen, but he was not among the returning Cloud Boats.
• Iron Eyes guarded the Hundred Flowers Valley residence while the Imperial City Bureau continued its investigation, and Lu Yuan learned that Yuan Yi had been detained for Yuan Jimo's questioning.
• Yuan Jimo urged Yuan Yi to testify against Xie Zhen, promising that she and Hundred Flowers Valley could avoid trouble if she cooperated.
• Yuan Yi refused to provide false testimony and accused Yuan Jimo of trying to give the Supreme Sanctuary Master evidence against Xie Zhen out of fear.

Yuan Jimo tried to pin the deaths of Fang Hang and the others on Xie Zhen, but Xie Zhen returned openly to the imperial capital and faced Fang Hang’s master, Li Chen. When Li Chen used a thunder-sound art to force the truth from him, Xie Zhen admitted before the crowd that he had killed Fang Hang.

• Yuan Jimo concluded that Xie Zhen had killed Fang Hang and Xie Sheng and decided to blame him for all three deaths, despite lacking willing witnesses.
• Copper Bone told Yuan Jimo that Xie Zhen had returned to the imperial capital, causing the master of Supreme Sanctuary to cancel their meeting and go after him.
• Xie Zhen arrived openly on a flying sword, went to Yuanqing Pavilion, and waited as a crowd gathered outside.
• Li Chen entered Yuanqing Pavilion, confronted Xie Zhen, and used Supreme Sanctuary’s thunder-sound art to force him to answer whether he had killed Fang Hang.
• Xie Zhen calmly admitted that he had killed Fang Hang.

Xie Xuanyi publicly admitted killing Fang Hang, and Huang Su arrived to shield him from Supreme Sanctuary Master Li Chen. Xie Xuanyi revealed a recording showing Fang Hang and Xie Sheng trying to kill him, but Li Chen demanded the full truth as the Prince of Jiangning arrived.

• Xie Xuanyi admitted that he had killed Fang Hang, prompting Li Chen to attack him with thunder arts.
• Huang Su arrived on Dusting Clouds, shattered Li Chen’s attack, and warned him not to harm Xie Xuanyi.
• Huang Su challenged Supreme Sanctuary to settle the dispute through cultivators of equal standing rather than Li Chen attacking Xie Xuanyi.
• Xie Xuanyi showed Li Chen and the gathered crowd a recording of Fang Hang and Xie Sheng trying to kill him, explaining that he had killed Fang Hang in self-defense.
• Li Chen argued that the recording was incomplete and said the Prince of Jiangning also had a right to know what happened.
• The Prince of Jiangning arrived at West Peace Street.

Xie Zhisui arrived on West Peace Street and publicly denied that Xie Zhen had killed Xie Sheng, while Xie Zhen presented a recording implicating the demon Ao Ying. The confrontation ended when Chong Kan ordered Li Chen to let the matter rest, and Li Chen withdrew.

• Xie Zhisui shattered the first soul slip and declared that Xie Sheng had died at a Demon Cultivator's hands, not by Xie Zhen's.
• Xie Zhen presented another slip showing Ao Ying draining Xie Sheng's Crimson Dragon Luck and claimed she had killed him.
• Li Chen challenged Xie Zhen over his account, while Xie Zhen offered to reveal a complete recording.
• Chong Kan sent Li Chen a command to end the matter, then appeared above the clouds in a black robe.
• Li Chen submitted to Chong Kan's authority, put away his talismans, and left Yuanqing Pavilion and West Peace Street.

Xie Xuanyi revealed to Huang Su and Qi Lie that Chong Kan had withdrawn the Supreme Sanctuary Master to keep the truth about Crimson Dragon Luck hidden. Huang Su and Qi Lie stayed in the imperial capital to protect Xie Xuanyi, who wondered what other business had brought Qi Lie there.

• After the Supreme Sanctuary Master and Prince of Jiangning left Yuanqing Pavilion, Xie Xuanyi reserved the restaurant and departed with Huang Su.
• Huang Su discovered the third bamboo slip was blank, and Qi Lie appeared, explaining that Chong Kan had ordered Li Chen to withdraw.
• Xie Xuanyi told Huang Su and Qi Lie that Xie Sheng was Chong Kan's pawn and that Crimson Dragon Luck was Chong Kan's planted Dao Fruit, then named Ao Ying as Xie Sheng's killer.
• Qi Lie warned Xie Xuanyi that Chong Kan and Li Chen remained dangerous, while Huang Su and Qi Lie promised to stay in the imperial capital and guard him.
• Xie Xuanyi learned that the Heavenly Law Enforcer had sent Qi Lie to the imperial capital and wondered what other matter he had come to handle.

After the Imperial City Bureau released the Northern Hunt cultivators, Xie Xuanyi visited Hundred Flowers Valley and questioned Lu Yuan about the informant who had exposed Xie Zhen. As the hour of the Rooster arrived, a sudden sword wind crossed into the neighboring Supreme Sanctuary estate and killed Qi Yu just after his release.

• Yuan Jimo released Yuan Yi and told her that others besides him wanted to deal with Xie Zhen.
• Yuan Yi returned to the estate and found Xie Xuanyi waiting with the Hundred Flowers Valley disciples.
• Xie Xuanyi asked about the Imperial City Bureau’s soul examinations and hinted that someone had leaked Xie Sheng’s message, making Lu Yuan uneasy.
• Xie Xuanyi noted that the Supreme Sanctuary’s disciples were about to finish their examinations and raised his cup to celebrate with Hundred Flowers Valley.
• At sunset, a sharp sword wind crossed into the Supreme Sanctuary estate and pierced Qi Yu’s forehead as he returned from detention.