Chapter Summaries

Xie Xuanyi revealed that he had formed a Martial Dao Divine Embryo and recovered from his chronic disability, then fought Meng Kejian at Peach Blossom Spring. After Xie Xuanyi’s Domain killed the iron cavalry who attacked the refugees, he drew Meng Kejian away and crushed the latter’s saber strike in his bare hand.

• Xie Xuanyi faced Meng Kejian, who demanded that he submit to Great Li and attacked him with the Que Wu Blade.
• Xie Xuanyi rose from his wheelchair as the Martial Dao Divine Embryo remade his body, then used his renewed speed to evade Meng Kejian’s attacks.
• Meng Kejian ordered the iron cavalry to slaughter the refugees, but Xie Xuanyi’s Principle of Annihilation Domain killed the cavalry with windblown leaves.
• Xie Xuanyi urged the refugees to flee and sent Deng Baiyi with Mi Yun to find Chu Guo and escape.
• Xie Xuanyi led Meng Kejian away from Peach Blossom Spring and crushed his saber light with his bare hand.

Xie Xuanyi overwhelmed Meng Kejian after advancing into the Yin Spirit Realm, but Meng Kejian invoked Chen Chong’s Thunderous Echo Dao and unleashed a storm of lightning. Meanwhile, Deng Baiyi reached Chu Guo with Mi Yun and encountered Chen Chong, who revealed that Pelican was dead.

• Xie Xuanyi shattered Meng Kejian’s blade techniques with his Martial Dao Divine Embryo and waited as Meng Kejian prepared a powerful Dao technique.
• Meng Kejian invoked the Thunderous Echo Dao bestowed by Chen Chong and attacked Xie Xuanyi with lightning-wreathed Que Wu.
• Deng Baiyi carried the feverish Mi Yun through Peach Blossom Spring and found Chen Chong waiting beside Chu Guo at Zheng Fengsheng’s burial site.
• Chen Chong showed Chu Guo an image of Pelican fighting bandits in Pingzhi City and told him that she was dead.

Chu Guo learned that the female sword immortal who saved him was a Book Tower agent who died protecting him, while Chen Chong confronted Facheng at Peach Blossom Spring. Facheng revealed the Dao of Life and challenged Chen Chong’s assumptions, but said he was not the Chan Master Chen Chong sought.

• Chen Chong told Chu Guo that Pelican had been tortured to death after sacrificing her cover to save him, and Chu Guo realized whom she had protected.
• When thunder signaled the battle elsewhere, Chen Chong sent Du Yunzhong to aid Meng Kejian and threatened to kill Mi Yun unless someone appeared.
• Chen Chong’s countdown drew Facheng from the forest, and Facheng used the power of the Principle of Life to restore Mi Yun and put him to sleep.
• Chen Chong accused Facheng of hypocrisy and hurled a lightning spear through his shoulder, but Facheng remained standing as golden rain spread life and relief across Peach Blossom Spring.
• Facheng spoke through the power of the Dao of Life, corrected Chen Chong’s understanding, and said he could be The Chan Master but was not the Chan Master Chen Chong sought.

Facheng revealed that he was not the Chan Master but a monk whose life had been saved by a droplet of the Immortal Spring. After Chen Chong pierced his heart, Facheng offered him the spring and invited him to kill him to reach the Yang Spirit Realm, leaving Chen Chong facing an unexpected choice.

• Chen Chong and Facheng ascended into the heavens to fight, where Chen Chong drove his spear through Facheng’s heart.
• Facheng let the spear remain in his heart and sent his life force through it, explaining that Chen Chong had sought a deadly battle to ascend to the Yang Spirit Realm.
• Facheng recounted how his master cured his childhood illness with a droplet of the Immortal Spring and how he later comprehended three Buddhist divine abilities through Silent Meditation.
• Using Past Life Penetration, Facheng called to his master across the River of Destiny, and bubble-shadows gathered around him.
• Facheng told Chen Chong that the Chan Master was not one person and explained that he had brought down Round Light Temple himself rather than resist its destruction.
• Facheng offered Chen Chong the Immortal Spring and told him to kill him and take it so he could attain the Yang Spirit Realm.

Facheng used his three Buddhist divine powers to show Chen Chong a future in which the Annihilation of Buddhism led to a massacre in Su Yang City and a break between Chen Chong and Nalan Xuance. He urged Chen Chong to kill him and take the Immortal Spring, hoping to prevent that future.

• Facheng’s divine powers carried Chen Chong into a vision of Su Yang City after its people and monks were massacred by Yuan Province’s iron cavalry.
• Facheng explained that monks had fled to Su Yang, where Nalan Xuance’s forces would target anyone suspected of keeping a Buddha-heart, killing more than twenty thousand civilians along with 1,143 monks.
• Facheng revealed that Nalan Xuance sought to destroy the Buddha in people’s hearts and take its place as Great Li’s greatest hero, while Chen Chong’s growing power would make them rivals.
• Facheng told Chen Chong that Nalan Xuance would blame him for the Immortal Spring and that their alliance would collapse, leaving Chen Chong’s command and reputation at risk.
• Facheng admitted he had shown Chen Chong the future in hopes of stopping the Annihilation of Buddhism, then asked Chen Chong to kill him, refine the Immortal Spring, and ascend to the Yang Spirit realm.

Chen Chong learned that The Chan Master was dead and refused the Immortal Spring, but the Chan Master’s lingering soul appeared and answered his challenge. Meanwhile, newly advanced Xie Xuanyi overwhelmed Meng Kejian and Du Yunzhong, establishing himself as an extraordinary Yin God.

• Facheng told Chen Chong that The Chan Master had died, and Chen Chong gave Facheng the Immortal Spring before preparing to leave.
• Chen Chong vowed to prevent the disaster in Su Yang City, but The Chan Master’s lingering soul appeared and warned him that losing a battle for breakthrough would cost his life.
• Chen Chong attacked The Chan Master, who used a Buddhist kingdom and a vast golden palm to suppress him.
• Du Yunzhong arrived to help Meng Kejian, but Xie Xuanyi punched through Du Yunzhong’s spear and drove both generals back.
• Meng Kejian and Du Yunzhong recognized that Xie Xuanyi had cultivated a Martial Dao Divine Embryo and the Principles of Life and Annihilation, making him possibly the strongest Yin God in a thousand years.

After ascending to the Yin Spirit Realm, Xie Xuanyi tested his Martial Dao Divine Embryo by enduring Du Yunzhong and Meng Kejian’s combined Thunderous Echo attack. Once the lightning weakened, he summoned the embryo and struck back, leaving Meng Kejian’s serpent Dharma Form beheaded.

• Xie Xuanyi suppressed Chronic Ailment’s Sword Intent and faced Du Yunzhong and Meng Kejian as they attacked together with their Dharma Forms and stacked Thunderous Echo Dao.
• Du Yunzhong’s bear Dharma Form restrained Xie Xuanyi while Meng Kejian’s lightning and freezing Dao Realm struck him.
• Xie Xuanyi endured the lightning with his body, repeatedly rebuilding his destroyed flesh through the Principle of Life as the Immortal Spring and Martial Dao Divine Embryo sustained him.
• Meng Kejian ignored Du Yunzhong’s call to retreat and tightened his serpent Dharma Form around Xie Xuanyi, determined to kill him.
• Xie Xuanyi rose as the lightning weakened, manifested his golden Martial Dao Divine Embryo, and beheaded Meng Kejian’s giant serpent with a sword strike.

Xie Xuanyi killed Meng Kejian and left Du Yunzhong to flee as he turned toward the Buddhist kingdom surrounding Peach Blossom Spring. After reuniting with Deng Baiyi and handing his umbrella sword to Chu Guo, he entered the barrier to confront Chen Chong.

• Xie Xuanyi killed Meng Kejian, shattering the thunder realm, and Du Yunzhong fled rather than fight him.
• Xie Xuanyi left Du Yunzhong alive and headed toward the Buddhist kingdom at Peach Blossom Spring.
• Deng Baiyi prepared a teleportation talisman array while Chu Guo waited with Mi Yun at the edge of the Buddhist kingdom.
• Xie Xuanyi reunited with Deng Baiyi, confirmed that he had won and killed Meng Kejian, and gave Chu Guo his umbrella sword.
• Xie Xuanyi approached the Buddhist barrier, told Chu Guo that Chen Chong was the person he wanted to see, and entered.

Xie Xuanyi found Chen Chong unconscious after the battle that had pushed him into the Yang Spirit Realm, and tried to kill him before he could awaken. Facheng stopped the sword and urged Xie Xuanyi to spare Chen Chong, leaving him to weigh the monk’s appeal to fate and future opportunity.

• Xie Xuanyi saw that Chen Chong had survived The Chan Master’s strike and advanced to the Yang Spirit Realm, though he remained badly injured and unconscious.
• Xie Xuanyi drew Chronic Ailment and drove it toward Chen Chong’s heart, but Facheng appeared and caught the blade with his bare hand.
• Xie Xuanyi explained that he had suspected Facheng’s connection to The Chan Master after seeing a talisman marked with the Principle of Life.
• Facheng warned that killing Chen Chong would bring future chaos and leave Li State unable to help Chu resist the Demon Kingdom.
• Xie Xuanyi rejected Facheng’s arguments and renewed his sword strike, but Facheng urged him to spare Chen Chong because he could be crucial to Xie Xuanyi’s future breakthrough into the Heavenly Human Realm.

Xie Xuanyi learned that Facheng was an incarnation of The Chan Master's will and witnessed a future catastrophe that threatened Buddhism. Facheng urged him to spare Chen Chong as Buddhism’s chosen tribulation-resolver, but Xie Xuanyi remained focused on returning safely to Great Chu.

• Facheng revealed that he was an incarnation formed from The Chan Master's consciousness and the Immortal Spring, and that The Chan Master had died.
• Facheng showed Xie Xuanyi a vision of Su Yang City destroyed by iron cavalry and explained that he had tried to turn Chen Chong toward saving its people.
• Facheng explained that Mi Yun was meant to answer Buddhism’s great tribulation and Chen Chong to resolve it, while Xie Xuanyi was destined to answer Great Grain Sword Palace’s tribulation.
• Facheng pleaded with Xie Xuanyi not to kill Chen Chong, but Xie Xuanyi said he cared only about returning safely to Great Chu.
• Xie Xuanyi argued that Chen Chong’s forces had slaughtered Buddhist monks and that Mi Yun would have died at Qixia Mountain without his intervention.

Xie Xuanyi questioned Facheng about Brahma Sound Temple’s role in Li State’s succession struggle and the origins of the Chan Master’s Immortal Spring. Facheng revealed that the Chan Master had created the spring through his own cultivation before dissolving into the River of Destiny.

• Xie Xuanyi spared Facheng and asked whether Brahma Sound Temple had interfered in Li State’s imperial power struggle.
• Facheng explained that the Chan Master had met the Ninth Prince, who begged him to treat the gravely ill ruler, and that the meeting drew the temple into the struggle.
• Xie Xuanyi asked why Nalan Xuance had launched the Annihilation of Buddhism, but Facheng said he did not know Nalan Xuance’s motive.
• Facheng showed Xie Xuanyi the Chan Master giving drops of Immortal Spring to several people before his figure vanished in the River of Destiny.
• Facheng revealed that the Chan Master’s Immortal Spring had come from his own cultivation of the Dao of Life.

Xie Xuanyi met the Chan Master within the River of Destiny, who gave him a living cicada before the vision ended. Back in the Buddhist Nation barrier, Chen Chong was sent through the void, while the cicada awakened and flew into the sky.

• Facheng asked Xie Xuanyi to spare Chen Chong and said he would send him away using his final divine ability.
• Xie Xuanyi remained in the River of Destiny after Facheng's Past Life Penetration ended and encountered the Chan Master.
• The Chan Master said they had met again and gave Xie Xuanyi something that fell into his hands amid the raging river.
• Xie Xuanyi returned to the Buddhist Nation barrier as Chen Chong was carried through the void by the Immortal Spring and the barrier's power.
• Xie Xuanyi discovered that the Chan Master's gift was a living golden cicada, which awakened and flew toward the sky.

After the Buddhist kingdom vanished, Miao Zhen arrived through a fire-tempered gateway and reunited with Mi Yun. Xie Xuanyi learned that Nalan Xuance had arranged a second ambush beyond Qixia Mountain, and that Chen Jingxuan had secretly arranged for the Fire Lord to rescue Miao Zhen.

• Xie Xuanyi stopped Deng Baiyi from activating the Teleportation Talisman, recognizing that the fire-tempered clouds heralded an ally rather than an enemy.
• The Fire Lord emerged from the gateway, and Mi Yun tearfully reunited with his Martial Uncle, Miao Zhen.
• The Fire Lord explained that Nalan Xuance had used Chen Chong at Qixia Mountain while arranging another force to watch Miao Zhen beyond Yuan Province.
• Xie Xuanyi concluded that Nalan Xuance had sought to expose Brahma Sound Temple's hidden strength by targeting both the Buddhist Son and Mi Yun.
• Miao Zhen thanked the Fire Lord for saving him from the forces of Qian Province and the One Blade Sect, and learned that Chen Jingxuan had devised the plan.

Miao Zhen learned that Fire Lord had secretly broken Nalan Xuance’s assassination plot and saved him, while Xie Xuanyi explained why Fire Lord had avoided openly confronting Chen Chong. Mi Yun revealed that Junshan had been intercepted by Chen Chong, but Fire Lord reported that the Daoist sect had sent an envoy to negotiate for his release.

• Fire Lord emerged from the void, and Miao Zhen thanked him for intervening against the One Blade Sect elder and the Principle of Annihilation.
• Fire Lord explained that Chen Jingxuan had sent him to adapt to events and that he had avoided fighting Chen Chong to protect the Book Tower’s plans.
• Xie Xuanyi accepted Fire Lord’s decision, noting that his hidden intervention had saved Miao Zhen without exposing Fire Lord or threatening the peace between Chu and Li State.
• Miao Zhen asked about Junshan, and Mi Yun revealed that Chen Chong had intercepted him during the ambush at Qixia Mountain.
• Miao Zhen learned through Mi Yun’s transmitted memories that Junshan had risked his life for the Brahma Sound Temple and felt indebted to him.
• Fire Lord told Miao Zhen that the Daoist sect had sent an envoy to Yuan Province to negotiate for Junshan, making it unlikely that Nalan Xuance and Chen Chong would further provoke them.

The Fire Lord helped Xie Xuanyi, Miao Zhen, Mi Yun, and Chu Guo escape to the desert at the border of Yuan and Yu Provinces, then departed. Xie Xuanyi and Miao Zhen continued south, where Miao Zhen congratulated Xie Xuanyi on reaching the Yin God realm.

• The Fire Lord brought Miao Zhen and Mi Yun through a Quenching Gate to the desert and explained how they could return to Qu River or Brahma Sound Temple.
• Miao Zhen thanked the Fire Lord and set out with Mi Yun, while Xie Xuanyi confirmed he could make his own way back to Great Chu.
• The Fire Lord told Xie Xuanyi that Chu Guo was a descendant of Great Chu's dragon vein and explained that Yan Xin had arranged for him to grow up in Li territory.
• The Fire Lord said Qian San would receive Chu Guo at Qu River and that the House of Books would arrange a safe place for him in Chu.
• After the Fire Lord left, Xie Xuanyi and Miao Zhen walked into the desert together, and Miao Zhen congratulated Xie Xuanyi on his breakthrough into the Yin God realm.
• Xie Xuanyi credited stubbornness, luck, and fortune for his advancement, noting that Meng Kejian's suppression of his Principle of Annihilation had made it possible.

Xie Xuanyi told Miao Zhen that the Chan Master had died and showed him the golden cicada the Chan Master had given him in the River of Destiny. Miao Zhen recalled the Chan Master’s tale of having been a golden cicada in a past life, leaving Xie Xuanyi to consider the strange connection.

• Xie Xuanyi promised to visit Brahma Sound Temple and fight Miao Zhen once his injuries had healed.
• Xie Xuanyi told Miao Zhen that the Chan Master was dead and explained how Chen Chong had advanced to Yang God after encountering the Chan Master’s remnant thought.
• Xie Xuanyi formed an image of the golden cicada the Chan Master had shown him in the River of Destiny, but Miao Zhen could not identify its meaning.
• Miao Zhen explained that the Chan Master had secluded himself in the Crimson Pearl Cicada Kingdom and had once told him about a dream of his past life as a golden cicada.
• Miao Zhen questioned whether reincarnation was real, then stopped as he recognized that he himself had already lived a second life.

After the desert calamity, Xie Xuanyi and Deng Baiyi set out with Chu Guo for the Qu River, where they hoped to board a ship before Nalan Xuance could locate them. Xie Xuanyi chose the journey as a chance to teach Chu Guo swordsmanship, secretly making the young man’s umbrella sword heavier as they walked.

• Miao Zhen speculated that the Chan Master’s Golden Cicada might conceal a message, but admitted he could not understand its purpose.
• Miao Zhen departed the desert with the unconscious Mi Yun, while Xie Xuanyi watched them go with Deng Baiyi and Chu Guo.
• Xie Xuanyi said they had two hundred miles to reach a ship on the Qu River and only three days to get there.
• Xie Xuanyi led the group on foot, claiming that Nalan Xuance’s Iron Curtain might detect them if they flew on swords.
• Xie Xuanyi shielded Deng Baiyi from the desert wind with his Martial Dao Divine Embryo while secretly pressing down on Chu Guo’s umbrella sword to make him train as they walked.

Xie Xuanyi brought Chu Guo and Deng Baiyi to a desert inn in Yu Province, where he deliberately exposed their wealth to draw the attention of a band of thieves. He told them they would have to kill or be killed, leaving Chu Guo to steel himself by eating as the danger closed in.

• Xie Xuanyi led Chu Guo and Deng Baiyi through the desert to an isolated inn, where they encountered a crowd of armed desperadoes.
• Xie Xuanyi paid in gold ingots for lavish food and a private dining space, drawing the inn's guests' attention to their wealth and Deng Baiyi's beauty.
• Chu Guo overheard the thieves discussing how to rob and attack them, while Deng Baiyi prepared to fight.
• Xie Xuanyi revealed that he had brought them there so Chu Guo and Deng Baiyi could learn to kill, and warned that they would either kill the thieves or be killed.
• Chu Guo stared at the food, took several deep breaths, and began eating in great mouthfuls.

Chu Guo began Xie Xuanyi’s trial by eating and then ambushed the Yuan Province bandits, while Deng Baiyi fought the Wu Province Qi Refiners. Xie Xuanyi confronted the innkeeper, revealed that he had once spared him after destroying the Demon Caves, and entered a private room where a woman called him her benefactor.

• Chu Guo ate his fill before Xie Xuanyi assigned him to fight the Yuan Province bandits while Deng Baiyi took the Wu Province group.
• Chu Guo tricked the bandit chief with a false story, then drew Spring Breeze Wild Grass and killed him with one stroke.
• Chu Guo killed another bandit but was struck from behind, and Deng Baiyi broke an arrow aimed at him before attacking the Wu Province Qi Refiners with a talisman.
• Xie Xuanyi kept watch over Chu Guo and Deng Baiyi, then went upstairs and paid the innkeeper for the damage before revealing his former appearance.
• Xie Xuanyi ordered the innkeeper to kneel and kowtow, then entered a private room where a woman greeted him as her long-awaited benefactor.

Xie Xuanyi confronted Qu Li and Zhou Lu over their years of killing and eating travelers after he had spared them from the Demon Caves. When they attacked him, he easily subdued them and began to execute Qu Li, leaving Zhou Lu crushed beneath his power.

• Xie Xuanyi accused Zhou Lu and Qu Li of abandoning their promise to live virtuously after he saved them from the Demon Caves.
• Zhou Lu and Qu Li admitted they had cultivated Yin Mountain’s arts by eating people, claiming their victims had deserved death and that they had needed to survive.
• Qu Li attacked Xie Xuanyi while Zhou Lu grabbed his legs and summoned her soul banner.
• Xie Xuanyi’s Martial Dao Divine Embryo destroyed Qu Li’s arm and forced him to his knees, while Xie Xuanyi seized Zhou Lu’s soul banner and pinned her down.
• Xie Xuanyi formed a sword from Sword Qi and thrust it toward Qu Li as Zhou Lu pleaded for mercy.