Chapter Summaries

Xie Xuanyi rescued Dao Nine from Celestial Drum at Pure White Mountain, then exposed Dao Nine’s disguise as Thousand-Fate Daoist. Dao Nine revealed that Pure White Mountain was made of transformed treasure artifacts and suggested the Paper Effigy Dao had been forced into war.

• Celestial Drum attacked the disguised Thousand-Fate Daoist with a magma waterfall, but Thousand-Fate Daoist stopped him from killing the people who had just left.
• Xie Xuanyi charged in and wounded Celestial Drum with Sword Qi, then faked a rescue to make Celestial Drum hold back and escaped with Thousand-Fate Daoist.
• Xie Xuanyi confronted Thousand-Fate Daoist on a distant mountain and identified him as Dao Nine, citing his behavior, the fake injury, and the Dao Furnace.
• Dao Nine admitted that Chu Man had helped him obtain Thousand-Fate Daoist’s body so the Paper Effigy Dao could infiltrate the Joyous Union Sect.
• Dao Nine revealed that Celestial Drum was Elephant Eight, a transformed Mystic Treasure, and that Pure White Mountain consisted entirely of treasure artifacts.
• Dao Nine told Xie Xuanyi that the Paper Effigy Dao had never had a choice in the war because the other side had started it.

Xie Xuanyi confronted Dao Nine, who had taken Thousand-Fate Daoist’s body and joined Lu Yuzhen’s Paper Effigy Dao, and attacked him after learning that the Demon-Sweeping war might help Lu Yuzhen obtain more bodies. Xie Xuanyi trapped Dao Nine with prepared Sword Qi and unleashed a decisive strike, leaving the battle unresolved as Dao Nine’s Dao Furnace shattered.

• Xie Xuanyi reasoned that Lu Yuzhen may have placed Dao Nine in Thousand-Fate Daoist’s body and intended the Demon-Sweeping war to provide shells for the Paper Effigy Dao’s Mystic Treasures.
• Dao Nine admitted he had killed fewer than three hundred people to restore his cultivation and revealed that many more victims lay buried beneath Little Barren Mountain.
• Xie Xuanyi attacked Dao Nine, whose late-stage Yin Spirit strength could not match Xie Xuanyi’s Martial Dao Divine Embryo and Principles of Life and Annihilation.
• Dao Nine used the Dao Furnace’s flames to block Xie Xuanyi’s Sword Qi and tried to flee, but Xie Xuanyi pierced through the flames and struck him.
• Xie Xuanyi revealed that he had concealed his killing intent and prepared a Sword Qi cage before the confrontation; he then combined his domains and launched a powerful strike as Dao Nine summoned the complete Dao Furnace.
• Sword Qi and molten lava collided, and the Dao Furnace shattered.

Xie Xuanyi killed Thousand-Fate Daoist and warned Jiang Que that the Paper Effigy Dao had infiltrated the expedition and lured Great Chu south. At Clear Furnace Mountain, Chu Man woke to learn that Lu Yuzhen had removed her Dao Furnace and given Dao Nine a life that had already ended.

• Xie Xuanyi fused Chronic Ailment with the Dao Realms of life and death, split Dao Nine’s furnace, and killed Thousand-Fate Daoist.
• Xie Xuanyi returned to Zhanjiao Mountain and told Jiang Que and Ye Qinglian that Thousand-Fate Daoist’s body had been controlled by the Paper Effigy Dao.
• Xie Xuanyi said the Pure White Mountain secret realm was a deception and urged Jiang Que to use the imperial family communication decree to warn the other Zhanjiao Mountains.
• Ye Qinglian and Jiang Que questioned how the Immaculate Revered One had injured Thousand-Fate Daoist, and Xie Xuanyi suggested that the Paper Effigy Dao was divided by internal strife.
• Chu Man recovered in the Longevity Pool, remembered her encounter with Xie Xuanyi, and went to meet Lu Yuzhen at Clear Furnace Mountain.
• Lu Yuzhen told Chu Man he had removed her Dao Furnace and given Dao Nine a life, which had ended quickly.

Chu Man learned that Lu Yuzhen had taken her Fetal Light and stored it, along with other powerful Soul Essences, inside the Clear Furnace. After she resisted the temptation to reclaim it, Lu Yuzhen let her see Dao Nine asleep in the damaged Dao Furnace and revealed an even more precious golden Fetal Light at the Clear Furnace’s core.

• Chu Man feared Dao Nine had died, but Lu Yuzhen assured her that the Dao Furnace had not been destroyed and that Dao Nine would awaken again.
• Lu Yuzhen stopped Chu Man from reaching into the Clear Furnace and explained that its beating forms were Soul Essences and soul spirits, including the Fetal Light he had taken from her.
• Lu Yuzhen revealed that he had taken Thousand-Fate Daoist’s Sparrow Yin during Chu Man and Dao Nine’s mission, then crushed the decaying spirit and turned it into candlelight.
• Lu Yuzhen returned Chu Man’s golden Fetal Light, and she resisted swallowing it, offering it back because she wanted to remain at his side.
• Lu Yuzhen showed Chu Man Dao Nine sleeping inside the cracked Dao Furnace and revealed a far brighter golden Fetal Light at the Clear Furnace’s deepest core as his most precious collection.

Qin Baihuang and Qin Qianlian maneuvered against each other in their contest for the Qin Household headship as their forces gathered at neighboring foothold mountains. Qin Qianlian’s quiet camp revealed a powerful, mysterious child whose presence helped explain the campaign’s extraordinary scale.

• Qin Baihuang recruited a large force to Hanging Cone Mountain by offering treasure artifacts, then ordered an attendant to shoot down a crane carrying Longevity Hall disciple Su Hong.
• Su Hong delivered Qin Qianlian’s letter and invitation, but Qin Baihuang refused to read it and demanded that Qin Qianlian come to him instead.
• At Clear Duckweed Mountain, Su Hong told Qin Qianlian about Hanging Cone Mountain’s strength, and Qin Qianlian dismissed the reports while explaining why he had sent a polite messenger.
• Qin Qianlian and Su Hong discussed the unusually large campaign against the Paper Effigy Dao as Corpse Daoist respectfully accompanied a Daoist-robed child by the stream.
• Qin Qianlian suggested Ren Shou Palace believed the Paper Effigy Dao should not exist, and Su Hong questioned why other notorious sects deserved to exist.

Junshan Zhenren declined to accompany the Corpse Daoist to inspect the route to Pure White Mountain, relying on visions from his newly glimpsed Dao Domain. As Qin Qianlian’s royal summons token suddenly trembled, an urgent summons interrupted their discussion.

• The Corpse Daoist watched fish with Junshan Zhenren for an hour, then startled the red and black fish into swimming back into Tiger Stream Grotto-Heaven.
• The Corpse Daoist explained that the other Zhanjiao Mountains had inspected their routes and asked Junshan Zhenren and Qin Qianlian to inspect the path to Pure White Mountain.
• Junshan Zhenren refused, saying he already knew the Mystic Realm’s location and that the route inspection was unnecessary.
• Junshan Zhenren recalled visions from his Dao Domain that warned him of danger at Pure White Mountain and showed him the red fish surviving its fight.
• Junshan Zhenren asked whether the royal summons token had responded, and Qin Qianlian’s token immediately began trembling urgently.

Xie Xuanyi used a soul conference to warn the seven Zhanjiao Mountains that the Paper Effigy Dao had possessed the Thousand-Fate Daoist and might be more dangerous than they realized. As the assembled leaders questioned his evidence and motives, he confirmed that he wanted to halt the demon-cleansing campaign.

• Jiang Que activated the imperial communication token and convened the supervisors and their chosen attendees from the seven Zhanjiao Mountains.
• Xie Xuanyi described Round Turtle Mountain’s encounter with the Immaculate Revered One and explained that the Paper Effigy Dao had possessed the Thousand-Fate Daoist.
• The attendees debated whether the Paper Effigy Dao could control other Yin Spirits, while Qin Qianlian and a follower of the Prince of Jiangning argued that the group should not grow timid.
• Xie Xuanyi doubted the leaders would take his warning seriously because they had never faced Lu Yuzhen and he distrusted Lu’s motives.
• A Yin Spirit serving the Prince of Jiangning accused Xie Xuanyi of having suspiciously extensive knowledge of the Paper Effigy Dao and asked whether he meant to stop the campaign.
• Xie Xuanyi calmly confirmed that he wanted to halt the demon-cleansing campaign.

Xie Xuanyi warned Great Chu’s factions that the Paper Effigy Dao might have infiltrated the Three Great Sects, then revealed his strength by defeating Revered White Jade with one slap. After leaving the meeting, he openly challenged Xie Zhisui, while rumors of his breakthrough spread and Yuan Yi privately recalled seeing his Dharma Aspect.

• Xie Xuanyi told the gathered Yin Spirit Revered Ones that the Three Great Sects’ receiving envoys might be compromised and urged them to treat the demon purge with caution.
• Revered White Jade accused Xie Xuanyi of using the campaign to pursue a personal grudge, then attacked him; Xie Xuanyi broke his attack and sent him flying with a slap.
• The gathered factions congratulated Xie Xuanyi on reaching the Yin Spirit realm, and some reconsidered whether to trust the Three Great Sects or delay the campaign.
• Xie Xuanyi told Xie Zhisui he would seek him out and withdrew from the meeting; Xie Zhisui and the injured Revered White Jade also left.
• News of Xie Xuanyi’s strength spread across the Zhanjiao Mountains, and Yuan Yi heard rumors about his cultivation while privately remembering his radiant, golden-sun Dharma Aspect.

As the Southern Borderlands demon suppression was delayed, Qin Qianlian met secretly with Yan Xie, who planned to act before the delay disrupted his schemes. Junshan secretly overheard them, while Yan Xie then went to Pure White Mountain, where Elephant Eight’s guess suggested he had damaged the Yin-Yang Mirror.

• Su Hong rebuked Longevity Hall disciples for gossiping about Xie Zhen and defended his role in delaying the demon suppression.
• Qin Qianlian met Yan Xie in the shadows and learned he intended to leave to stabilize their plans while the campaign was postponed.
• Yan Xie sensed he might be watched, but Qin Qianlian dismissed the possibility that Junshan could detect him; after Yan Xie left, Junshan opened his eyes, revealing he had been listening.
• Ink Four welcomed Yan Xie into Pure White Mountain after receiving the Dao Master’s order to let him pass.
• Elephant Eight told Ink Four that Yan Xie’s severe punishment might have been because he damaged the Yin-Yang Mirror, prompting Ink Four to reconsider the story of Yan Xie’s expulsion.

Lu Yuzhen met Yan Xie at Pure White Mountain and awaited a distinguished visitor, who arrived in a golden carriage. He introduced Yan Xie to the visitor as Great Chu’s future State Preceptor, and the visitor treated the claim as settled.

• Mirror Three told Lu Yuzhen that Yan Xie had arrived, interrupting Lu Yuzhen’s massage and zither session with Chi Wu and another woman.
• Yan Xie blamed Lu Yuzhen’s artifacts for exposing the Paper Figure Art and delaying the demon purge, but Lu Yuzhen insisted the setback was within his plan.
• A golden carriage drawn by Eight Dragon Horses arrived through the domain barrier, and its young, powerful occupant drew Yan Xie’s attention.
• Lu Yuzhen introduced Yan Xie to the carriage’s occupant as the man who would replace Yan Xin as Great Chu’s next State Preceptor.
• The carriage’s occupant congratulated Yan Xie and said he hoped they could become friends, though he withdrew his hand before they could shake.

Lu Yuzhen revealed Great Sage Bai Ze’s secret realm to a young man in a golden carriage and confirmed their deal to meet Xie Zhen, even if it meant killing him. Mister Yan realized Pure White Mountain was a trap designed to slaughter Great Chu cultivators, while Lu Yuzhen suggested that a Paper Effigy Dao victory during the three-day delay could provoke an impulsive attack.

• Lu Yuzhen opened Pure White Mountain’s hidden realm for the young man in the golden carriage, who inspected it and asked to meet Xie Zhen.
• Mister Yan recalled his plan to defeat Chen Jingxuan and recognized that Lu Yuzhen’s help served his own need for revenge.
• Lu Yuzhen warned that the failed assassination of Xie Zhen in Lingqu City had made recruiting him unlikely, but the young man insisted on meeting him and agreed that Lu Yuzhen could kill him if he refused to submit.
• After the young man departed, Mister Yan understood that Pure White Mountain’s secret realm was a trap meant to kill Great Chu cultivators entering without sufficient cultivation.
• Lu Yuzhen questioned whether the three-day delay would turn against Great Chu, since a Paper Effigy Dao victory might drive its cultivators to attack recklessly.

On Round Turtle Mountain, Xiao Qi lured Yuan Yi away from the patrols and revealed herself as a powerful Yin Spirit Realm cultivator targeting Xie Zhen. She trapped Yuan Yi in an isolated Dao domain, but a flying sword suddenly tore through the barrier and fell between them.

• Xiao Qi visited Yuan Yi at midnight, and Yuan Yi agreed to leave the mountain with her to practice sword moves.
• During their sparring, Xiao Qi revealed that she far surpassed Yuan Yi in cultivation and had lured her away from Round Turtle Mountain.
• Xiao Qi raised an isolated barrier with her gauze-net treasure and used controlled wind blades to threaten Yuan Yi.
• Yuan Yi deduced that Xiao Qi's real target was Xie Zhen and revealed that she had no way to summon him.
• A flying sword split Xiao Qi's barrier and landed between Yuan Yi and Xiao Qi.

Xie Xuanyi guided Yuan Yi through a confrontation with Xiao Qi, who had lured her away under a disguise. At his direction, Yuan Yi used the third form of the Green Vine Chapter and pierced Xiao Qi, a Yin Spirit Revered One.

• Yuan Yi reflected on how her family's collapse and her survival at Northern Sea Mausoleum drove her to cultivate and help her family rebuild in Azure Prefecture.
• Xie Xuanyi watched the disciples on Round Turtle Mountain and used his attention to Yuan Yi to detect and counter Xiao Qi's trap.
• Following Xie Xuanyi's instructions, Yuan Yi cooperated with Xiao Qi, left the mountain gate, and revealed her disguise in a remote place.
• Xiao Qi tried to restore her domain barrier and attacked Yuan Yi with a giant hand formed from wild wind.
• Xie Xuanyi instructed Yuan Yi to keep using the third form of the Green Vine Chapter, while his dead branch blocked Xiao Qi's wind.
• Yuan Yi's sword pierced Xiao Qi despite Yuan Yi being only in the Qi Guiding Realm.

Xie Xuanyi defeated Xiao Qi inside her Wind Scythe Realm and deduced that she was a sentient treasure artifact serving Lu Yuzhen. He then discovered that Xiao Qi’s real objective had been to move the realm away from Round Turtle Mountain while keeping him occupied.

• Xie Xuanyi stopped Yuan Yi after she wounded Xiao Qi, explained the Principle of Annihilation, and taught Yuan Yi how it could sever things.
• Xiao Qi attacked Xie Xuanyi from behind, but he severed her arm with the Principle of Annihilation and took control of the fight.
• Xie Xuanyi identified Xiao Qi’s life-bound artifact as a long flute and suspected that she could survive through a substitute-death technique.
• Xie Xuanyi realized Xiao Qi had used the battle to move the Wind Scythe Realm, and the cracked realm revealed that it had traveled far from Round Turtle Mountain.

Xie Xuanyi defeated Xiao Qi’s White Paper Avatar near Pure White Mountain and used Soul Search to uncover intelligence about the Paper Effigy Dao’s treasure-artifact venerables. Xiao Qi destroyed the avatar before he could learn more, and Xie Xuanyi warned Yuan Yi that the night’s danger had only begun.

• Xie Xuanyi brought the Wind Scythe Realm to the borderlands near Pure White Mountain and held Xiao Qi’s White Paper Avatar captive.
• Xie Xuanyi used the Principles of Life and Annihilation to identify Xiao Qi’s avatar and threaten her with Soul Search.
• Xie Xuanyi searched Xiao Qi’s Sea of Consciousness and learned the names and true forms of several Paper Effigy Dao venerables, including Elephant Eight and Xiao Qi.
• Xiao Qi detonated her White Paper Avatar, nearly destroying the hill, while Xie Xuanyi protected Yuan Yi and escaped unharmed.
• Xie Xuanyi told Yuan Yi that the night had only just begun.

Xie Xuanyi sent Yuan Yi down the mountain while he stayed behind to meet Mirror Three, a powerful Immaculate Revered One of the Paper Effigy Dao. Mirror Three revealed that he had let Xiao Qi die because beings like them might not truly be alive, even in human form.

• Xie Xuanyi gave Yuan Yi a dead branch containing the Principle of Annihilation and told her to go west without looking back.
• Yuan Yi left the mountain, and Xie Xuanyi made sure she descended safely before confronting the pavilion.
• Xie Xuanyi warned the unseen presence not to target Yuan Yi, then Mirror Three emerged and said the Paper Effigy Dao only wanted him.
• Xie Xuanyi recognized Mirror Three as the Profound Mirror and questioned why he had allowed Xiao Qi to die.
• Mirror Three said that beings like them might not be truly alive, so they could not welcome death.

Xie Xuanyi confronted Mirror Three, who revealed that an extraordinary figure had arranged their meeting and tried to draw him into a performance. When Xie Xuanyi attacked, Mirror Three reflected his sword strike into the sky, where it triggered a change that revealed the pavilion’s connection to the State of Li.

• Mirror Three told Xie Xuanyi that a powerful figure wanted to meet him and had offered an irresistible price.
• Xie Xuanyi asked how great the offer was, and Mirror Three answered that Lu Yuzhen had instructed him to point at the sky and ground.
• Xie Xuanyi unleashed an Annihilation Sword Qi strike, but Mirror Three used his paper-snow mirrors to deflect it into the sky.
• Mirror Three said Lu Yuzhen had expected Xie Xuanyi to refuse to cooperate and had arranged the meeting at the mountain for that reason.
• Black snow began falling and melting the white snow, and the pavilion’s plaque revealed the character Li.

Xie Xuanyi fought Mirror Three and discovered that the Profound Mirror could block and reflect the Principle of Annihilation. Mirror Three explained how the Buddha-Light Aura in abandoned Zhanjiao Mountains could open a gate from Li State, and a chariot pulled by eight Dragon Horses arrived carrying a distinguished guest to meet Xie Zhen.

• Xie Xuanyi attacked Mirror Three with a punch, but Mirror Three dodged and was only grazed by the Principle of Annihilation.
• Xie Xuanyi and Mirror Three exchanged punches, and the Profound Mirror blocked and reflected Xie Xuanyi's Principle of Annihilation.
• Mirror Three explained that The Chan Master had swept the Zhanjiao Mountains three hundred years earlier, leaving Buddha-Light Aura that could serve as precise void anchors.
• Xie Xuanyi realized the Paper Effigy Dao had arranged for Mirror Three to activate the Buddha-Light Aura and open a gate to Li State.
• Eight Dragon Horses pulled a chariot through the golden gate, and Mirror Three respectfully presented Xie Zhen to its occupant.

The Crown Prince of Li State arrived at Zhanjiao Mountain to meet Xie Xuanyi after his clash with Mirror Three. He sent Mirror Three away and, despite Xie Xuanyi expecting hostility, said he had come to thank him.

• A golden carriage pulled by eight Dragon Horses arrived at the mountain, and Mirror Three warned the Crown Prince that Xie Xuanyi was dangerous.
• The Crown Prince declined Mirror Three's offer to accompany him and ordered him to take the paper snow away.
• Mirror Three gathered the paper snow and left, leaving the Crown Prince and Xie Xuanyi alone.
• Xie Xuanyi assessed the Crown Prince's carriage and suspected the meeting could not be friendly, given Nalan Xuance's plans and the turmoil in Li State.
• The Crown Prince addressed Xie Xuanyi as Mountain Lord Xie and said he had come to thank him.

The Crown Prince of Li State revealed that Xie Xuanyi’s past victory in Qian Province had exposed a traitor and helped him thwart the Ninth Prince, then tried to repay that debt by recruiting Xie Xuanyi. Xie Xuanyi refused, identified the Crown Prince as the one behind the Lingqu City assassination, and prepared to leave, but the Crown Prince warned that he could no longer return.

• The Crown Prince explained that Xie Xuanyi’s defeat of seven retainers in Qian Province had exposed a Ninth Prince spy and helped him guard against his brother’s plans.
• The Crown Prince offered Xie Xuanyi wealth, status, and power in exchange for joining Li State, then accused him of ruining Li State’s plans and causing heavy losses.
• Xie Xuanyi withstood the Crown Prince’s Imperial Blood pressure, refused his offer, and opened a rift through the barriers around Zhanjiao Mountain.
• Xie Xuanyi accused the Crown Prince of sending the Lingqu City assassin, and the Crown Prince admitted it and described the assassin’s death as an assigned duty.
• Xie Xuanyi split open the void to leave Zhanjiao Mountain, while the Crown Prince warned him that he could no longer return.