Chapter Summaries

Xie Zhen waited outside the Supreme Sanctuary estate after Qi Yu was killed, while the Imperial City Bureau found no evidence tying him to the assassination. Before leaving the northern outskirts, Xie Zhen gave ancient Great Moon Kingdom writings to several departing groups, including Jade Purity Sanctuary, whose close ties to the Supreme Sanctuary made Shang Yi question his choice.

• Qi Yu was killed by a swift flying sword strike, and Iron Mask investigated the bloodied scene while the Supreme Sanctuary Master failed to respond.
• Xie Zhen appeared at the estate and denied responsibility for Qi Yu's death, while Lu Yuan realized his visit was also a warning about her role in leaking information.
• The Imperial City Bureau sealed the Supreme Sanctuary estate, and rumors blamed Xie Zhen for Qi Yu's death, but investigators found no evidence.
• Yuwen Zhong accepted a copy of ancient Great Moon Kingdom writings from Xie Zhen on behalf of Qian Heaven Palace.
• Wu Yue accepted another copy for the Martial Sect and thanked Xie Zhen for helping his group during the Northern Hunt.
• Xie Zhen gave Shang Yi a copy for Jade Purity Sanctuary, leaving her puzzled because her sect was closely connected to the Supreme Sanctuary.

Shang Yi accepted Xie Xuanyi’s swordsmanship gift and promised to report the Northern Hunt events, while Xie Xuanyi’s hidden alliance with Qin Baihuang and Iron Mask was revealed. Qin Baihuang demanded an answer over Qin Wanyang’s death, and Xie Xuanyi presented evidence that Yan Xie had killed him.

• Xie Xuanyi gave Shang Yi a swordsmanship outline and urged her to report the Northern Hunt truth, including what she knew about Chong Kan.
• After the gathering dispersed, Huang Su followed Xie Xuanyi to a red pavilion and discovered Qin Baihuang and Iron Mask waiting there.
• Qin Baihuang and Iron Mask explained that their planned assassination had used information from Yuan Jimo’s examination, and that Iron Mask would have to leave the Imperial City Bureau.
• Qin Baihuang confronted Xie Xuanyi about the deaths of the young prodigies and the Qin family’s sacrifice of Iron Mask.
• Xie Xuanyi denied killing Qin Wanyang and handed Qin Baihuang a bamboo slip as evidence that Yan Xie had killed him.

Qin Baihuang left the northern suburbs after assuring the little emperor that he would settle Qin Wanyang’s death with Yan Xie. The little emperor and Xie Xuanyi then discussed the Holy Empress’s seclusion and the coming Southern Borderlands demon-suppression campaign, which Xie Xuanyi warned could be a trap set by Lu Yuzhen.

• Qin Baihuang accepted the bamboo slip, reflected on his family and his lost chance to reconcile with Qin Wanyang, and blamed Yan Xie for his brother’s death.
• The little emperor told Qin Baihuang that he had arranged an escape route for Iron Mask, and Qin Baihuang departed with him.
• Xie Xuanyi entered the pavilion and learned that Chen Jingxuan was guiding the little emperor, who said Chen would eventually be invested as Imperial Preceptor.
• The little emperor explained that the Holy Empress was secluded in Ren Shou Palace and that the imperial family was preparing a campaign against the Paper Effigy Dao in the Southern Borderlands.
• Xie Xuanyi warned that Lu Yuzhen would make the campaign dangerous and said he would send Chen Jingxuan a detailed intelligence report about the Paper Effigy Dao.

Xie Xuanyi learned that the young emperor was a woman and that her younger brother, the Chu Emperor’s hidden son, lived in Great Li. She asked Xie Xuanyi to bring him back to Great Chu, but he left the red pavilion undecided as her worsening illness became clear.

• Xie Xuanyi revealed that he knew the young emperor was a woman, and she admitted Chen Jingxuan had told her to disclose the secret.
• The young emperor explained that her younger brother had been sent to Great Li and asked Xie Xuanyi to bring him back as the rightful heir.
• She said Chen Jingxuan believed the time was ripe for rebellion and that the hidden prince could ignite opposition to the Holy Empress.
• Xie Xuanyi said he could not agree without thinking it over, while the young emperor assured him she could arrange a discreet opportunity.
• The young emperor coughed blood, and Xie Xuanyi saw Black Baleful Intent damaging her organs before she asked the Snow Master to see him out.

Xie Xuanyi returned to the Chen Estate and recognized how often he had postponed time with those close to him, so he promised Duan Zhao that he would take him to the Martial Sect. He then considered how to cultivate the Principle of Life alongside his other goals and learned that Ao Ying was preparing to enter seclusion and pursue the Revered One realm.

• Xie Xuanyi apologized to Duan Zhao for leaving him waiting and promised to take him to the Martial Sect the next day.
• Xie Xuanyi reviewed the Principles of Annihilation and Life and realized he would need to cultivate both the divine embryo and the Principle of Life.
• Ao Ying contacted Xie Xuanyi and warned him that Great Chu believed he had killed the Jiangning Heir, but Xie Xuanyi told her he had already returned to the Imperial City and that the blame had shifted to her.
• Xie Xuanyi promised to warn Ao Ying if Chong Kan headed north, and Ao Ying said she would enter seclusion to absorb the Great Moon Kingdom's true dragon blood and Cinnabar Plume City's Phoenix Eye.

Xie Xuanyi met Chen Jingxuan through the As-You-Wish Token and learned how the Chu siblings survived the Moonveil Realm assassination. Chen Jingxuan revealed that Square Circle Market began as a wager between the National Preceptors of Great Chu and Great Li, but the two rulers had expanded it into a vast instrument of influence and rivalry.

• Chen Jingxuan explained that he had hidden Chu Guo in Great Li while Chu Yin remained on Great Chu’s throne, protecting the siblings after the Moonveil Realm assassination.
• Chen Jingxuan warned that Chu Guo was in danger amid Great Li’s political instability, and Xie Xuanyi agreed to bring her back.
• Chen Jingxuan revealed that Great Chu’s Old State Preceptor and Great Li’s Mechanism National Preceptor founded Square Circle Market as part of a wager about whether the dynasties could preserve peace.
• Chen Jingxuan explained that Square Circle Market had split into rival factions, with its successors seeking control and its trade becoming a means of mutual infiltration.
• Chen Jingxuan revealed that the Holy Empress and Great Li’s ruler had cultivated Square Circle Market into a force that spanned both dynasties.

Xie Xuanyi accepted the dangerous Eastern Journey to Great Li and warned Chen Jingxuan that Lu Yuzhen was manipulating the Southern Borderlands campaign. After learning that envoys from the three great sects were heading to the imperial city, Xie Xuanyi decided to kill them all.

• Chen Jingxuan explained that the Buddhist envoy group's return journey to Great Li would provide cover for Xie Xuanyi and Iron Mask to leave Great Chu, and Xie Xuanyi accepted the mission.
• Xie Xuanyi warned Chen Jingxuan that Lu Yuzhen had manipulated the battle between the Martial Immortal and the Peacock Grandmaster and that the Holy Empress's campaign plans were ill-intentioned.
• Chen Jingxuan said the Southern Borderlands' three great sects were preparing to advance the demon-cleansing campaign and had sent wicked cultivator envoys toward the imperial city.
• Xie Xuanyi learned the envoys would likely meet Yuan Jimo and that several among them possessed half-step Yin Spirit Realm cultivation.
• Xie Xuanyi declared that he would kill every envoy from the three great sects.

Deng Baiyi continued practicing sword control at Carp Lake while worrying that Tang Zhaizhu had been confined at the Dao Sect’s Back Mountain. After refusing to attend Jade Purity Sanctuary’s celebratory banquet, she met a mysterious Dao child who recognized traces of Sword Palace sword arts in her technique and offered to teach her more.

• Deng Baiyi held her flying sword aloft for nearly a hundred breaths as Cheng Zhi praised her progress, but Deng Baiyi worried about Tang Zhaizhu’s disappearance.
• Cheng Zhi invited Deng Baiyi to Jade Purity Sanctuary’s banquet celebrating the disciples’ safe return from the Northern Hunt, but Deng Baiyi declined and stayed at Carp Lake to practice.
• Deng Baiyi used Sword Qi to keep her flying sword suspended for a hundred breaths, then prepared to try riding it.
• A young Dao child appeared in a banyan tree, questioned Deng Baiyi about her sword technique, and recognized traces of Sword Palace arts.
• Deng Baiyi refused to demonstrate her technique, but the Dao child insisted he would teach her something greater.

Deng Baiyi met a childlike Reincarnated Adept who offered to teach her swordsmanship, but she refused to break her promise to Xie Zhen. After guiding her cultivation and inviting her to accompany him to the imperial capital, he disappeared, and Cheng Zhi recognized his likeness as Junshan, a legendary master of two sanctuaries.

• Deng Baiyi realized the Daoist child was a Reincarnated Adept, but refused to reveal Xie Zhen's swordsmanship outline in exchange for lessons.
• The Reincarnated Adept cleared blockages in Deng Baiyi's acupoints and explained that talismans could help her sword fly.
• The Reincarnated Adept invited Deng Baiyi to travel with him to the imperial capital, warning that the Daoist Order might move against Xie Zhen and suggesting she help prevent a clash.
• Cheng Zhi returned with food and a swordsmanship outline from Shang Yi, and Deng Baiyi asked whether Reincarnated Adepts existed.
• After seeing Deng Baiyi's drawing, Cheng Zhi identified the child as Junshan, an exceptional great sword cultivator who had once mastered two sanctuaries.

Deng Baiyi learned that the sword instructor in her dreams was Junshan Zhenren, while Junshan visited Back Mountain and confronted Grandmaster Chongkan over his treatment of Tang Fengshu. Junshan rejected Chongkan’s Dao and said that living happily mattered more than cultivation, leaving their disagreement unresolved.

• Cheng Zhi recognized Junshan Zhenren from Deng Baiyi’s portrait, and Deng explained that he had taught her swordsmanship in her dreams.
• Junshan met Grandmaster Chongkan at Back Mountain, where Tang Fengshu was imprisoned in a lightning cage.
• Tang Fengshu mocked Chongkan, who intensified the lightning strikes despite Junshan’s attempt to intervene.
• Junshan summoned flying swords from the wild grass to shield Tang Fengshu, but Chongkan’s lightning reduced them to ashes.
• Chongkan asked whether Junshan agreed with his Dao, and Junshan said he did not.
• Junshan told Chongkan that living happily mattered more than cultivation and recalled Master Xiaoyao’s words about being carefree for a moment.

Xie Xuanyi waited for Li Chen’s retaliation while instructing Duan Zhao in sword practice. After Chen Jingxuan sent him the location of thirteen Southern Borderlands evil cultivators, Xie Xuanyi prepared to leave the Imperial City and kill demons.

• Xie Xuanyi considered Li Chen’s silence temporary and continued visiting the Martial Sect with Duan Zhao while Huang Su guarded them.
• Duan Zhao asked why his Upward Sword Form was too slow, and Xie Xuanyi advised him to keep practicing rather than reveal the meridian issue Huang Su might hear.
• Chen Jingxuan told Xie Xuanyi that thirteen Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivators were at Tai Ridge, including three quasi-Yin Gods and a true disciple of the White Wraith of Yin Mountain.
• Xie Xuanyi told Duan Zhao to prepare to leave the city, then picked up the umbrella sword as ominous weather gathered over the Imperial City.

On Tai Ridge, Huai Ting, Wu Yin, and Cang Yin waited for an Imperial City Bureau Special Enforcer while discussing their negotiations with Great Chu. Huai Ting and Wu Yin decided to use the delay to attack a caravan guarded by Great Grain academy disciples, and Wu Yin descended to begin the assault.

• A storm and fallen tree stopped a merchant caravan whose guards carried the crimson sword tassels of Great Grain academies.
• Huai Ting, Wu Yin, and Cang Yin waited on the summit for the Special Enforcer, who was delayed by another half hour.
• Wu Yin proposed attacking the caravan, and Huai Ting agreed, saying the deaths could test whether Great Chu was negotiating in good faith.
• Huai Ting agreed to let Wu Yin be alone with Cang Yin on the return journey, while also expressing interest in her himself.
• Wu Yin told the ten Heavenly Puppet Sect disciples to watch, then leaped down through the rain toward the caravan.

Xie Xuanyi arrived at Tai Ridge and rescued a caravan from Wu Yin, a heretic cultivator seeking revenge for his junior brother Wu Qiong. After Duan Zhao safely evacuated the civilians, Xie Xuanyi prepared to face the gathered heretic cultivators with him.

• Wu Yin trapped the caravan in bloodfire and ordered its people to kneel, but an unseen force held up the old caravan owner and a voice told him not to kneel.
• Xie Xuanyi arrived, identified Wu Yin as Wu Qiong's senior brother, and declared that the heretic cultivators would die there.
• Wu Yin attacked the caravan with bloodfire, and Xie Xuanyi blocked the attack and opened a spatial gateway for Duan Zhao to evacuate everyone.
• Duan Zhao returned after safely transporting the caravan and academy disciples, then told Xie Xuanyi that he wanted to fight ten enemies.

Xie Xuanyi faced Wu Yin’s Nether Soul Grotto-Heaven and Soul-Annihilating Array while Duan Zhao fought ten Grotto-Heaven evil cultivators atop Tai Ridge. Xie Xuanyi shattered Wu Yin’s attack with his Principle of Annihilation and destroyed three powerful corpse puppets.

• Xie Xuanyi sent Duan Zhao to fight the ten Grotto-Heaven evil cultivators, while his Sword Qi separated Huai Ting and Cang Yin from the battlefield.
• Duan Zhao charged into the enemy group with a heavy sword covered in thunder talismans as Xie Xuanyi secretly controlled the sword pool to protect him.
• Wu Yin opened his Nether Soul Grotto-Heaven and summoned three perfected Grotto-Heaven Nether Souls and numerous living corpses to attack Xie Xuanyi.
• Wu Yin and the three Nether Souls formed the Soul-Annihilating Array, whose soul tide struck Xie Xuanyi as Huai Ting and Cang Yin watched.
• Xie Xuanyi analyzed the array and countered it with his seventy-percent-complete Principle of Annihilation, then destroyed three peak Cave Heaven corpse puppets with a flick of his fingers.

Xie Xuanyi revealed the Principle of Annihilation and killed Wu Yin and Huai Ting during the battle at Tai Ridge, while Cang Yin was exposed as a Paper Effigy Dao agent. After recognizing Chu Man and learning of her ties to Lu Yuzhen, Xie Xuanyi declared that he intended to kill her too.

• Xie Xuanyi destroyed Wu Yin's corpse puppets, pierced his Ghostly Soul Principle, and forced him to escape with his Two-Heart Puppet.
• Wu Yin revealed that Xie Xuanyi wielded the Principle of Annihilation, but Xie Xuanyi pursued and killed him despite Huai Ting detonating eleven treasures.
• Xie Xuanyi survived the explosions with his golden body, while Cang Yin struck Huai Ting with a zither string and revealed herself as a Paper Effigy Dao agent.
• Xie Xuanyi recognized Cang Yin as Chu Man and learned that her teacher was Lu Yuzhen, the Dao Master.
• Chu Man warned Xie Xuanyi that the Imperial City Bureau would arrive soon, but he said he intended to kill her.

Xie Xuanyi confronted Chu Man at Tai Ridge, but her Dao Furnace and Dao Nine blocked his attack. Chu Man revealed that Lu Yuzhen had arranged for the Buddhist delegation led by Miao Zhen to help eliminate the Southern Borderlands cultivators, and warned Xie Xuanyi that Miao Zhen’s imminent arrival made a fight dangerous.

• Xie Xuanyi attacked Chu Man with his Principle of Annihilation, but her Bloodred Sage avatar summoned the Northern Sea Mausoleum Dao Furnace, which Dao Nine used to block his sword.
• Chu Man explained that she had refined the Dao Furnace into her Lifebound Artifact and said Lu Yuzhen intended to delay demon-cleansing until the Southern Borderlands cultivators could be killed under a legitimate pretext.
• Chu Man warned Xie Xuanyi that his Heart Lake’s unease came from the approaching Buddhist delegation, not Li Chen or the Imperial City Bureau’s special envoy.
• Chu Man identified Miao Zhen as the delegation’s leader and said he had killed more than a hundred Yin Mountain cultivators and slain a newly advanced Yin Spirit Revered One while still a Grotto-Heaven cultivator.
• Chu Man said Miao Zhen was likely a bodhisattva’s reincarnation and had crossed west to seize the top position on the Prodigy Board.

Miao Zhen arrived at Tai Ridge and stopped Chu Man from escaping, but she called on the Dao Lord and fled through a paper-filled doorway into the grotto-heaven. He then joined Xie Xuanyi and Duan Zhao on the summit, slaughtered the remaining evil cultivators, and challenged Xie Xuanyi over his connection to the Paper Effigy Dao.

• Chu Man tried to escape through a doorway, but Miao Zhen arrived with the Divine Foot Technique and pinned her and the Dao Furnace in place with his monk's staff.
• Chu Man called for the Dao Lord, and the doorway turned white and unleashed a storm of paper that blocked Miao Zhen's attacks until it closed with her inside.
• Miao Zhen crossed to the summit and killed the evil cultivators fighting Duan Zhao, while Xie Xuanyi destroyed two surviving Heavenly Puppet Sect cultivators with the Principle of Annihilation.
• Miao Zhen confronted Xie Xuanyi about Great Chu's apparent disregard for its dignity and the Paper Effigy Dao demoness calling him Guest Elder.
• Xie Xuanyi asked whether Miao Zhen had cultivated the Divine Ear Technique as well as the Divine Foot Technique.

Xie Xuanyi fought Miao Zhen atop Tai Ridge, revealing that he was both a body refiner and a wielder of two Principles. After Xie Xuanyi repelled a hidden sword attack, a child in Daoist robes emerged and spoke regretfully about Qi Yu’s death.

• Miao Zhen questioned Xie Xuanyi about his supposed ties to the Paper Effigy Dao, and Xie Xuanyi denied that the title of guest elder meant anything.
• Miao Zhen attacked with the Singing Sand Staff, and Xie Xuanyi used his body-refinement strength and Principle of Life to withstand the staff’s pressure.
• Miao Zhen unleashed the Lion’s Roar, striking Xie Xuanyi’s soul and sending him flying while Duan Zhao watched.
• A hidden attacker launched Sword Qi at Xie Xuanyi, who destroyed it with the Principle of Annihilation.
• Xie Xuanyi called for the attacker to show himself, and a child in Daoist robes appeared and regretted that Qi Yu had not stayed at the Supreme Sanctuary to practice swordsmanship.

Xie Xuanyi encountered the reincarnated Junshan Zhenren on Tai Ridge, where Junshan explained that his sword strike had settled his karmic debt over Qi Yu rather than sought revenge. Miao Zhen and Junshan then fought, and both tried to recruit Xie Xuanyi to help defeat the other.

• Li Chen confronted Huang Su outside the imperial city, but Huang realized he was not in a hurry to reach Xie Zhen and intended to keep her occupied.
• Junshan Zhenren arrived on Tai Ridge and joined Xie Xuanyi and Miao Zhen inside a barrier that hid their conversation from Duan Zhao.
• Junshan admitted that he had taught Qi Yu and said his earlier sword strike had settled the karma between him and Xie Xuanyi.
• Miao Zhen attacked Junshan with the Singing Sand Staff and prayer beads, turning Tai Ridge's summit into a fierce battle between the two reincarnated adepts.
• Junshan asked Xie Xuanyi to help him overwhelm Miao Zhen, while Miao Zhen invited Xie to join forces against Junshan.

Xie Xuanyi was dragged into a fierce fight between Junshan Zhenren and Miao Zhen, then helped Junshan overpower the Buddhist monk and escape through a chain of teleportation talismans. They finally arrived at a tavern near the imperial city, where a young woman in white was waiting for Xie Xuanyi.

• Xie Xuanyi tried to leave Tai Ridge, but Junshan Zhenren and Miao Zhen joined forces and pulled him into their battle.
• Duan Zhao watched the fight as the Brahma Sound Temple delegation, Daoist fairy maidens, and Copper Bone arrived at Tai Ridge.
• While fighting Junshan and Miao Zhen, Xie Xuanyi reflected on how his new life differed from their reincarnations and chose to help Junshan attack Miao Zhen.
• Junshan Zhenren opened a void gateway and led Xie Xuanyi and Miao Zhen away, then stranded Miao Zhen at their first destination while he and Xie Xuanyi escaped through another gateway.
• Junshan Zhenren and Xie Xuanyi teleported seven times before reaching a tavern near the imperial city, where Xie Xuanyi sat across from a young woman in white.