Chapter Summaries

Xie Xuanyi extinguished Zhou Lu’s self-destruction and killed the attendant after exposing his cannibalism and attempted attack. He then joined Deng Baiyi and Chu Guo downstairs, where Chu Guo learned he had eaten human flesh and began vomiting again.

• Xie Xuanyi contained Zhou Lu’s self-destruction with his Martial Dao Divine Embryo, protecting the inn and the people below.
• Xie Xuanyi rejected the attendant’s thanks and confronted him about eating people while following the wicked cultivators.
• The attendant begged for mercy, then attacked Xie Xuanyi with a dagger and was killed by a hidden strand of Sword Qi.
• Xie Xuanyi descended to find Deng Baiyi and Chu Guo alive after they killed the twenty-seven people in the hall.
• Xie Xuanyi told Chu Guo that the food he had eaten was human flesh, prompting him to vomit again.

After Chu Guo and Xie Xuanyi defeated the cannibal bandits, Chu Guo refused treatment so he could learn from the pain of his wounds. He pressed Xie Xuanyi about whether he had been protected because of his father, and learned that his father was the Great Chu Emperor.

• Chu Guo vomited after discovering the inn had served him human flesh, and Xie Xuanyi told him to burn the inn and its dead occupants.
• Xie Xuanyi praised Chu Guo for killing the bandits, then criticized him for abandoning his sword forms and suffering serious wounds.
• Chu Guo refused Xie Xuanyi's healing and explained that past injuries had taught him lessons better than scolding could.
• Chu Guo asked whether Xie Xuanyi would have let him die, and Xie Xuanyi revealed that his divine sense had ensured no one there could kill him.
• Chu Guo asked who his father was, and Xie Xuanyi told him that his father was the Great Chu Emperor.

Chen Chong met Nalan Xuance, who used Nalan Qiutong’s body to question him about the battle at Round Light Temple and the death of Meng Kejian. Chen Chong revealed that the Chan Master was alive and that his own attempt to advance had failed, then concealed the full severity of his wound as he prepared for the consequences of appearing to have fallen from power.

• Nalan Qiutong confronted Chen Chong for handing Junshan Zhenren to the Daoist emissary without demanding supplies in return, and Chen Chong told her that Xie Zhen had already left Yuan Province.
• Chen Chong told Nalan Xuance that Meng Kejian had died at Xie Zhen’s hands, and Nalan Xuance took control of Nalan Qiutong’s body to question him about the Chan Master.
• Chen Chong confirmed that the Chan Master was alive, described losing to him at Round Light Temple, and showed Nalan Xuance the terrible wound from his failed advancement.
• Nalan Xuance postponed further action against Buddhism and left, while Chen Chong revealed that Facheng’s Immortal Spring could heal his wound but remained suppressed by his Thunderclap Dao Realm.
• Chen Chong recalled how he had lifted Yuan Province’s lockdown and staged his apparent failure to advance so Nalan Xuance and the rest of Li State would believe he had lost his chance at the Yang Spirit Realm.

After returning from the Li State mission, Xie Xuanyi learned that Chen Jingxuan planned to expose the Prince of Jiangning’s collusion with Great Li and weaken his power while secretly relocating Chu Guo. The chapter ended with Xie Xuanyi reflecting on his past, the truth he had told Chu Guo, and the extraordinary Yin Spirit breakthrough he attributed to two lifetimes of cultivation.

• Aboard the Azure Treasure Ship, Qian San praised Xie Xuanyi’s advancement and said the ship would dock at Jiangning under strict secrecy.
• In the Book Tower’s dream illusion, Chen Jingxuan explained that Qian San would expose the Prince of Jiangning’s collusion with Great Li while Xie Xuanyi stayed hidden.
• Chen Jingxuan revealed that the scandal would weaken the Prince of Jiangning’s forces, allow the Book Tower to take over Square Circle Market’s affairs, and help move Chu Guo to safety.
• Xie Xuanyi told Chen Jingxuan that he had taught Chu Guo swordsmanship and revealed that Xie Xuanyi had killed Chu Guo’s father; Chen Jingxuan accepted this and promised to investigate the Moonveil Realm’s mysteries.
• Chen Jingxuan urged Xie Xuanyi to remain out of sight for ten days and said he had arranged for Deng to hide while the Daoist sect was in chaos.
• Chen Jingxuan congratulated Xie Xuanyi on condensing life and death and cultivating a divine fetus, and Xie Xuanyi said his achievement came from two lifetimes of cultivation.

In the library tower, Chu Yin asked Chen Jingxuan to let her meet her younger brother, Xie Zhen, and he agreed to a brief visit. He brought her to the Moonveil Realm and explained how Great Chu’s four dragon veins shaped the dynasty’s fortune and how her father had sought to unite them to usher in a golden age.

• News spread through Jiangning that Xie Zhisui had colluded with Nalan Xuance and betrayed the Great Chu envoys, while the court waited to see how Ren Shou Palace would respond.
• Chu Yin and Chen Jingxuan discussed the political fallout in Jiangning and the unresolved Imperial City Bureau assassination case.
• Chu Yin asked Chen Jingxuan if she could see Xie Zhen, her younger brother, and he allowed her a meeting lasting half an incense stick.
• Chen Jingxuan brought Chu Yin into the Moonveil Realm, where she recognized the scene from a mural in her father’s royal retreat.
• Chen Jingxuan explained that four dragon veins converged beneath the Imperial City and that Chu Yin’s father had sought to unite them and distribute their fortune throughout the world.

Chu Yin entered Chen Jingxuan’s grotto-heaven, where he had recreated the Moonveil Realm and revealed that her younger brother was there. Xie Xuanyi returned to the Great Grain Sword Palace in disguise, learned that the Book Tower was spreading the story of his battle at Qixia Mountain, and realized Iron Eyes had survived.

• Chen Jingxuan told Chu Yin that his grotto-heaven recreated the Moonveil Realm and led her to her younger brother beneath the source tree.
• An old man in a carriage bound for the Great Grain Sword Palace offered to tell the story of Xie Zhen’s battle against the iron cavalry for one tael of silver, and Xie Xuanyi paid him.
• Xie Xuanyi reached the Sword Palace with the young trial candidates and gave the old storyteller two more silver coins.
• Xie Xuanyi recognized the old man as a Book Tower covert agent and learned that the Book Tower planned to spread the battle story to build momentum against the Prince of Jiangning.
• The old man said the story had been compiled by a lord surnamed Tie, and Xie Xuanyi concluded that Iron Eyes had escaped alive.

Xie Xuanyi hid on Golden Turtle Peak to avoid visitors and watch the Jiangning crisis unfold, while Zhao Tongtian worked on a sword formation for Qi Lie. The chapter ended with Xie Xuanyi asking about the little girl and sensing the sealed, ever-burning sun in the Back Mountain.

• Xie Xuanyi told Zhao Tongtian that he had come to Golden Turtle Peak to rest and observe how the Jiangning situation developed.
• Zhao Tongtian offered to support Xie Xuanyi in seeking justice for the ambush on the master of Lotus Peak's Mystic Water.
• Xie Xuanyi explained that he planned to stay out of sight for a few days and asked to borrow Golden Turtle Peak's grounds.
• Zhao Tongtian complained that Xie Xuanyi's cultivation was disrupting his work on Thunder Unveiling, a sword formation intended for Qi Lie.
• Zhao Tongtian agreed to let Xie Xuanyi stay until Thunder Unveiling was completed, and Xie Xuanyi asked how the little girl was doing.

Xie Xuanyi returned to Golden Turtle Peak and told Vermilion Bird that the Sword Qi Mark had dispersed and Zhao Chunyang was in closed-door seclusion. Vermilion Bird refused to leave, and Jiang Huang recognized Xie Zhen and called out to him.

• Vermilion Bird watched Jiang Huang practice her fist stances before sensing Xie Xuanyi's arrival at the Sword Qi seals.
• Xie Xuanyi admitted that Zhao Chunyang's Sword Qi Mark had dispersed, leaving Vermilion Bird uncertain about his intentions.
• Xie Xuanyi told Vermilion Bird that Zhao Chunyang was in closed-door seclusion and suggested it was a good chance to leave the Great Grain Sword Palace.
• Vermilion Bird refused to leave and insisted that he liked staying there.
• Jiang Huang stopped practicing, saw Xie Zhen, and called out to him happily.

Xie Xuanyi reunited with Jiang Huang, whose cultivation under Ci Jing had awakened her Phoenix bloodline, while he challenged Ci Jing's resentment toward Great Grain Sword Palace and reminded him of the Lotus Revered One. As Xie Xuanyi and Jiang Huang walked through the Sword-Refining Pool, Jiang Huang described a dream in which Xie Xuanyi died and vowed to avenge him.

• Jiang Huang joyfully reunited with Xie Xuanyi, while Ci Jing warned him not to deceive or keep her in the mountains.
• Xie Xuanyi reminded Ci Jing that the Lotus Revered One had saved him, prompting Ci Jing to let Xie Xuanyi leave with Jiang Huang.
• Zhao Tongtian told Ci Jing he was suppressing him to save him from the Demon Kingdom's factions, but Ci Jing rejected his protection and threatened to attack the sword array.
• Xie Xuanyi absorbed refined Sword Qi from the broken weapons along the bamboo path as Jiang Huang told him that Ci Jing treated her kindly.
• Jiang Huang told Xie Xuanyi she had dreamed he was hunted and died at the bottom of the sea, then vowed that she would avenge him.

Xie Xuanyi reassured Jiang Huang while Zhao Tongtian defeated Ci Jing and revealed that Xie had comprehended the third level of the Principle of Annihilation. Zhao hoped the Lotus Revered One had reincarnated and proposed a truce with Ci Jing, leaving their years-long conflict at a turning point.

• Xie Xuanyi comforted Jiang Huang as Zhao Tongtian and Ci Jing began fighting at Golden Turtle Peak.
• Zhao Tongtian overwhelmed Ci Jing with Sword Qi and treated his silence as submission before telling him Xie Xuanyi had comprehended the Principle of Annihilation.
• Zhao Tongtian explained that the Lotus Revered One had mastered the second level of Annihilation and had planned to challenge its third level, Heaven's Mandate, before the Northern Border battle.
• Ci Jing speculated that the Lotus Revered One had reincarnated, and Zhao Tongtian admitted he hoped she had found a way to cultivate anew.
• Zhao Tongtian said he would use the Celestial Globe to divine the Lotus Revered One's remaining soul and asked Ci Jing to consider a truce.

The Ren Shou Palace stripped the Jiangning Xie Clan of its hereditary title, while Chen Jingxuan struggled to interpret a chaotic omen and the Qin Clan prepared to receive Qin Qianlian. Qin Qianlian skipped his homecoming banquet and met Qin Baihuang in the Weapon Forging Division, where he spoke of visiting their dead younger brother.

• The Ren Shou Palace demoted the Jiangning Xie Clan and reduced its stipend, prompting the Qin Clan retainers and other allies to leave Jiangning.
• Sang Zheng reported the decree to Chen Jingxuan and said the Dao Sect had accepted his three calling cards, though he had not met Sanctuary Master Tang or Grand Master Chongkan.
• After Sang Zheng left, Chen Jingxuan lay beneath the Celestial Globe’s tangled golden threads, unable to interpret its omen despite sacrificing his lifespan to divine it.
• The Qin Clan held a lavish banquet for Qin Qianlian’s return, but he never appeared, leaving the assembled guests waiting until dusk.
• Qin Qianlian visited Qin Baihuang in the Weapon Forging Division and revealed that he had met Chen Jingxuan and others before coming to see him.
• Qin Qianlian asked why Qin Baihuang did not ask about their younger brother, whom he had visited despite his death and missing corpse.

Qin Qianlian confronted Qin Baihuang over Qin Wanyang’s death and the Qin Clan head election, then attacked and defeated him. At the chapter’s end, Jiang Qihu reached the library tower and found Chen Jingxuan facing a mysterious Daoist woman across the Celestial Globe.

• Qin Baihuang said Qin Wanyang had died at the hands of the Demon Race, while Qin Qianlian questioned his account and accused him of putting friendship with Xie Zhen’s circle before the Qin Clan’s interests.
• Qin Qianlian attacked Qin Baihuang and shattered his armor with a palm strike, then demanded that he withdraw from the coming Qin Clan head election.
• Qin Baihuang explained the constraints he had faced as the legitimate eldest son and said Qin Qianlian’s challenge had given him a reason to pursue the clan head position.
• At Yuanqing Pavilion, Jiang Qihu received Sang Zheng’s message that Qin Qianlian had visited the library tower and that its formation remained active after he left.
• Jiang Qihu hurried to the library tower, where the formation opened and revealed Chen Jingxuan facing a Daoist-robed woman across the Celestial Globe.

Tang Fengshu reunited with Chen Jingxuan in the Book Tower after Qin Qianlian brought her there, and Chen saw the injuries she had suffered under Chong Kan. Tang Fengshu asked Chen to leave his post as National Preceptor and the imperial city with her, but his silence left her understanding that he would not.

• Jiang Qihu found Tang Fengshu alive in the Book Tower and left unsettled by the encounter.
• Qin Qianlian brought Tang Fengshu to meet Chen Jingxuan, then departed.
• Chen Jingxuan recognized Tang Fengshu’s injuries and offered to inspect her divine soul, but she refused.
• Tang Fengshu asked Chen Jingxuan to give up his title and leave the imperial city with her.
• Chen Jingxuan did not answer, and Tang Fengshu said she understood and apologized for the trouble.

Xie Xuanyi took the young Jiang Huang to Qingping City for three peaceful days before returning to Great Grain Sword Palace. Jiang Huang’s awakened primary soul confronted him over hiding his identity from the girl, and the chapter ended with her challenging how he would explain her fate to her.

• Xie Xuanyi brought Jiang Huang to Qingping City, where they spent three days enjoying ordinary city life.
• Jiang Huang said they should return because Ci Jing had agreed to the trip and she wanted to keep her word.
• Xie Xuanyi promised to visit Jiang Huang often and bring her buns from Qingping City.
• Jiang Huang’s primary soul awakened, recognized that Xie Xuanyi had recovered his Yin Spirit cultivation, and accused him of deceiving the girl.
• Jiang Huang warned that she would harm everyone involved if Xie Xuanyi died, while Xie Xuanyi said he would protect the girl and punish those who had committed evil.
• Jiang Huang questioned how Xie Xuanyi could claim to exchange true hearts while concealing his identity, and he fell silent.

Xie Xuanyi told Zhao Tongtian he intended to cast off the identity of Xie Zhen and warned him that a great tribulation might threaten the Great Grain Sword Palace. He then visited Qi Lie on Jade Screen Peak, revealed his powerful advances in cultivation, and delivered a sword formation forged by Zhao Tongtian.

• After Jiang Huang's divine soul and the little girl fell asleep, Xie Xuanyi returned to the inn and considered reclaiming his true name.
• Xie Xuanyi returned Jiang Huang to Golden Turtle Peak and told Zhao Tongtian he wanted to shed the identity of Xie Zhen.
• Xie Xuanyi warned Zhao Tongtian that his Heart Lake senses pointed to a coming tribulation, and Zhao Tongtian urged him to trust someone worthy before revealing his identity.
• Xie Xuanyi climbed Jade Screen Peak and went to Qi Lie's Thunder Pool cultivation grounds, where Qi Lie discovered that Xie Xuanyi had reached the Yin Spirit Realm and cultivated a Martial Dao Divine Embryo.
• Xie Xuanyi gave Qi Lie the Thunder Unveiled sword formation forged by Zhao Tongtian and said he had prepared another gift.

Xie Xuanyi revealed his identity to Qi Lie and explained why he had come to Jade Screen Peak, entrusting him with the future of the Great Grain Sword Palace. After their emotional reunion, Xie Xuanyi entered the Thirty-Three Grotto-Heavens to meet Jiang Miaoyin.

• Qi Lie recognized Xie Xuanyi’s old wine gourd and realized the black-clad youth before him was his long-lost senior brother.
• Xie Xuanyi entered the Thirty-Three Grotto-Heavens with Qi Lie, who was responsible for guarding the prison of demons and criminals.
• Xie Xuanyi told Qi Lie that he had chosen him as the upright backbone who could support the Great Grain Sword Palace through the coming calamity.
• Xie Xuanyi apologized for hiding his identity, and Qi Lie said that learning his senior brother was alive was the best gift he could receive.
• Qi Lie gave Xie Xuanyi a jade slip and returned to the Thunder Pool Dojo, leaving Xie Xuanyi at the grotto-heaven entrance.
• Xie Xuanyi removed the Faces of the Multitude before going to meet Jiang Miaoyin.

Xie Xuanyi entered the Ice Soul Grotto-Heaven to find Jiang Miaoyin and drove off Snow Hag, while Jiang Miaoyin found peace in the Great Peace Dao left by Jade Screen Peak’s founding ancestor. When Xie Xuanyi reached her, Jiang Miaoyin revealed that the figure before her was another illusion and pierced it with her sword.

• Xie Xuanyi found Snow Hag impersonating Jiang Miaoyin and demanded to know whether Jiang Miaoyin had entered the Ice Soul Grotto-Heaven.
• Snow Hag mocked Xie Xuanyi for his diminished cultivation and admitted that Jiang Miaoyin had come to study the Sword Qi stele.
• Xie Xuanyi pierced Snow Hag with Chronic Ailment and drove her away with his Martial Dao Divine Embryo and sword intent.
• Jiang Miaoyin comprehended the founding ancestor’s Great Peace Dao and began to quiet the guilt that had troubled her for ten years.
• Xie Xuanyi arrived at Jiang Miaoyin’s secluded spot, but she recognized him as an illusion and recalled the Great Snow Sword Array he had once given her.
• Jiang Miaoyin stabbed the illusory Xie Xuanyi with a silver-white flying sword, and the figure collapsed into snow.

Jiang Miaoyin defeated the Snow Hag’s illusion and reunited with Xie Xuanyi, who told her about a possible Sword Palace calamity and named Lu Yuzhen as a suspicious figure. Meanwhile, Lu Yuzhen learned that Chu Man had been gravely wounded during Dao Nine’s mission to kill Thousand-Fate Daoist and healed her at the Longevity Pool.

• Jiang Miaoyin exposed the Snow Hag’s imitation of Xie Xuanyi because it could not deceive Chronic Ailment, and the Snow Hag dispersed her divine sense.
• Xie Xuanyi arrived, confirmed Jiang Miaoyin was safe, and told her about the future calamity he had glimpsed in the River of Destiny.
• Xie Xuanyi suggested that Qingzhu’s betrayal ten years earlier might have been too coincidental and told Jiang Miaoyin he had encountered Lu Yuzhen.
• Dao Nine reported that he and Chu Man had infiltrated the Joyous Union Sect for sixty-one days and killed Thousand-Fate Daoist, then revealed that Chu Man was near death.
• Lu Yuzhen rushed to the Longevity Pool and used Immortal Spring to heal Chu Man’s nearly severed neck.
• Dao Nine said Chu Man’s injury was an inevitable price of the mission and claimed he could find another master if she died.

Lu Yuzhen explained Dao Nine’s next task and assured him that Chu Man would recover in the Longevity Pool. At the Sword Qi stele, Jiang Miaoyin confessed her long-held love to Xie Xuanyi, while making clear she did not expect him to return her feelings.

• Lu Yuzhen told Dao Nine that Chu Man needed to recuperate in the Longevity Pool and directed him to help build the mountain gate before the Demon-Sweeping campaign.
• Lu Yuzhen explained that digesting Thousand-Fate Daoist’s head would expand Dao Nine’s range and bring him closer to gaining a physical body.
• Xie Xuanyi stayed beside Jiang Miaoyin as she tried and failed to enter meditation at the Sword Qi stele.
• Jiang Miaoyin told Xie Xuanyi that her troubled thoughts came from him and confessed that she liked him.
• Jiang Miaoyin said she knew Xie Xuanyi did not share her feelings and had spoken only because she feared losing the chance to confess.

Jiang Miaoyin confessed her feelings to Xie Xuanyi, who admitted he had always known and liked her but had never understood his own heart in his previous life. He told her he would put the Great Dao first and protect Lotus Peak, then attacked the Snow Hag for spying on them.

• Jiang Miaoyin gathered her courage and confessed her feelings to Xie Xuanyi.
• Xie Xuanyi recalled how Jiang Miaoyin had watched over him and told her he had always known she liked him.
• Xie Xuanyi admitted that he liked Jiang Miaoyin too, but had not understood his feelings in his previous life.
• Xie Xuanyi told Jiang Miaoyin he wanted to prioritize the Great Dao and keep Lotus Peak, especially her, safe from another tragedy.
• Xie Xuanyi struck the Snow Hag hiding in the snow, and she fled after he ordered her to leave.