Chapter Summaries

Aboard the Martial Sect’s ship, Zhou and Wu Yue watched Martial Immortal’s jade token shatter, signaling that his Divine Sea had ruptured. The Martial Sect’s grief and shock hardened into killing intent as the ship neared the Great Chu treasure ship.

• Qian San, Qin Qianlian, and Shu Ning questioned Martial Immortal’s absence and considered whether the three great sects and the Paper Effigy Dao had targeted him.
• Qian San identified an approaching ship as the Martial Sect’s, and Qin Baihuang sensed the grief and resolve of its passengers.
• Wu Yue recalled that Zhou’s jade token could summon Martial Immortal and feared for the Martial Sect’s future.
• The jade token cracked apart, and Zhou recognized that Martial Immortal’s Divine Sea had ruptured.
• Zhou revealed the shattered token to the Martial Sect disciples, whose shock and grief turned into fury and killing intent.

The Great Chu treasure ships gathered above the expanding Earth Abyss, where Zhou revealed that the Martial Sect's jade plaque had shattered and shared his master's latest message. As everyone tried to understand what had happened to Wu Yue, a black Sword Qi struck the Martial Sect ship and revealed a frail old man in a red robe.

• Shang Yi boarded the Martial Sect treasure ship and realized that its solemn atmosphere came from the shattered jade plaque.
• Zhou told Jiang Que and the other overseers that Wu Yue's jade plaque was linked to his divine sea, but urged everyone to focus on escaping the Earth Abyss.
• Jiang Que argued that Wu Yue and Lu Yuzhen may have fought a brutal battle, and Zhou said Wu Yue had been seeking a second Yang Spirit Realm cultivator to help sweep away demons.
• A black Sword Qi tore through the clouds and struck the Martial Sect treasure ship, setting its flag and deck ablaze.
• Ye Qinglian recognized the crimson flames as the Martial Ancestor's, and a frail old man in a red robe appeared as the flames faded.

After Ancestor Ye arrived gravely wounded, he warned Great Chu’s survivors that Lu Yuzhen had trapped them and that entering the secret realm was their only chance to survive. The treasure ships descended into the Earth Abyss and crashed onto a vast underground lake beneath the Bai Ze Secret Realm’s towering stone guardians.

• Ancestor Ye told Ye Qinglian and the others to land their ships, explaining that pursuers would soon arrive and that the secret realm offered their only chance to survive.
• Ancestor Ye entered a state of silent extinction as Hundred Flowers Valley disciples guarded him, while the Earth Abyss prevented them from restoring his vitality.
• Qin Qianlian and Qin Baihuang agreed that Great Chu had no choice but to land the ships, and Zhou ordered the fleet to descend.
• Great Chu’s treasure ships entered the dark Earth Abyss, lost contact through their transmission artifacts, and fell faster as the abyss’s pull intensified.
• The Martial Sect ship and the other vessels crashed onto a vast black lake, exhausting their Essence Stones and leaving them damaged.
• Qin Baihuang recognized the Bai Ze Secret Realm beneath the blazing plaque and saw two enormous stone statues standing above the lake.

After Ancestor Ye awakened, he revealed that Martial Immortal had died in battle and shared the events inside the White Paper Barrier with Zhou. He entrusted Zhou with command while he recovered, and Zhou began investigating Xie Zhen’s disappearance and possible links to the attack.

• Ancestor Ye told Zhou and the gathered disciples that Martial Immortal had died in battle, then passed the battle’s memories to Zhou.
• Ancestor Ye said he needed time to recover and entrusted Zhou with managing the situation outside.
• Ancestor Ye ordered Hundred Flowers Valley to follow Zhou’s command before sealing himself inside a flower bud of sword intent.
• Zhou asked whether Round Turtle Mountain’s people had all remained present when the three great sects attacked, and learned that Yuan Yi and Xiao Qi had left beforehand.
• Zhou pointed out that Xie Zhen was missing and asked Ye Qinglian and Jiang Que to explain where he was.

Zhou revealed Ancestor Ye’s final vision, which showed a black-robed figure with Lotus Peak sword intent striking during the battle against the three great sects. The assembled cultivators recognized the figure as likely Xie Zhen, and Zhou asked how they would respond to the apparent traitor.

• Prince of Jiangning questioned Xie Zhen’s absence and suggested he might have conspired with the three great sects.
• Jiang Que defended Xie Zhen, while Qin Baihuang and the Xu Family’s Yin Spirit urged the cultivators not to turn against one another without proof.
• Zhou said his shifu’s death had left him unable to ignore the truth and projected Ancestor Ye’s final vision into the sky.
• The vision showed false saints joining the battle and a black-robed figure using Lotus Peak sword intent to attack Ancestor Ye.
• Xu Nianning and the other cultivators recognized the sword intent as pointing to Xie Zhen, and Zhou asked what they would do about the apparent traitor.

Xie Xuanyi entered the Earth Abyss and found the gates of the Bai Ze Secret Realm, where he tried using the White Marsh Finger Bone as a key. Meanwhile, Lu Yuzhen and Chi Wu watched him and discussed their plan to provoke his rage, while Lu Yuzhen revealed that Ancestor Qin had wounded him and was nearing the end of his life.

• Xie Xuanyi followed his Heart Lake into the Earth Abyss and found the giant gates marked with the words "White Ze."
• Xie Xuanyi recognized the mausoleum inscription from the Northern Sea Mausoleum and took out the White Marsh Finger Bone, but it failed to open the gates.
• Lu Yuzhen and Chi Wu watched Xie Xuanyi through a sphere and discussed how he would not join either Li Kingdom or the Paper Effigy Dao.
• Lu Yuzhen explained that he wanted to see Xie Xuanyi's rage awaken, since Xie Xuanyi still had people and places he wanted to protect.
• Lu Yuzhen told Chi Wu that Ancestor Qin had to pass on Great Chu's martial fortune, then reassured her that he was still alive.

Lu Yuzhen explained how he had prepared Thousand-Fate Daoist to give Dao Nine a chance to truly live, and revealed that Chi Wu would be next. Chi Wu accepted the chance, though it would take him far from Pure White Mountain.

• Lu Yuzhen dressed after leaving the Longevity Pool and invited Chi Wu to walk with him up Pure White Mountain.
• Lu Yuzhen showed Chi Wu Dao Nine’s unfinished cauldron in the Clear Furnace and explained that Dao Nine’s death was real.
• Chi Wu questioned why Lu Yuzhen had given Dao Nine the chance to live first, and Lu Yuzhen said fairness did not exist on Pure White Mountain.
• Lu Yuzhen explained that he had spent ten years preparing Thousand-Fate Daoist as a fate-changing vessel compatible with Dao Nine.
• Lu Yuzhen told Chi Wu he would be the second artifact spirit given a chance to live, but would have to leave Pure White Mountain.
• Chi Wu said he wanted to live.

After the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum separated the treasure ships, Qin Qianlian’s party reached a palace filled with precious treasures, where attempts to claim them triggered deadly guardians and sealed the hall. Xie Xuanyi found the slaughtered crew of Vessel B-52 and a dying Longevity Hall disciple who mistook him for Xie Zhen and killed himself, leaving Xie Xuanyi amid the burning ship.

• The crew aboard Vessel B-52 drifted through the dark lake and spotted a palace-like shore.
• Qin Qianlian and the Hanging Cone Mountain cultivators reached a palace where treasures floated beneath twelve pillars guarded by armored giants.
• Revered Bao Cheng tried to take the Dragon Heart Fruit, and a giant severed his arm; Qian San defeated the guardian and swallowed the fruit.
• The remaining guardians awakened, killing cultivators who rushed for the treasures, while Qin Qianlian noticed the hall had sealed and questioned the sun above it.
• Xie Xuanyi entered the mausoleum, found the massacred crew of Vessel B-52, and discovered a dying Longevity Hall disciple beneath the broken mast.
• The disciple called Xie Xuanyi a villain, ignited his divine soul, and died in an explosion that set the treasure ship ablaze.

Xie Xuanyi discovered that the last surviving member of Longevity Hall’s demon-slaying party was Song Yu, but she self-destructed rather than accept help from the man she had seen slaughter her companions. Through Soul Searching, he learned that a black-clad man who looked exactly like him had destroyed Vessel B-52’s formation ten years earlier; the chapter ended with Xie Xuanyi absorbing Song Yu’s memories of Great Chu’s recent arrival in the Earth Abyss.

• Xie Xuanyi found Song Yu hidden inside a pocket-realm Mystic Treasure beneath the wrecked treasure ship and tried to save her.
• Song Yu ignited her Divine Sea, and Xie Xuanyi entered her mind with Soul Searching before she died.
• Xie Xuanyi saw Yin Mountain’s Ren Zhong standing beside a black-clad man who looked exactly like him as the man shattered Vessel B-52’s formation with a Golden Sword.
• Xie Xuanyi understood that Song Yu had viewed him as the villain who had killed her senior brothers, not as a rescuer.
• Xie Xuanyi absorbed Song Yu’s memories of Ancestor Ye’s fall into the Earth Abyss and the reactions of Zhou, Prince of Jiangning, Ye Qinglian, Jiang Que, and the other Great Chu Yin Spirits.

Qin Qianlian destroyed the hall’s formation pivot and subdued the armored giants, but the remaining cultivators continued fighting over the treasures. As Qin Baihuang and Qian San tried to calm them, a green-robed woman arrived with a qin, corpse puppets, and the Corpse Daoist, stirring the chaos anew.

• Qin Qianlian asked Qian San to distract the armored giants while he attacked the hall’s sun, and Qian San’s bronze seal confirmed it was the formation pivot.
• Qin Qianlian shattered the bone fragment serving as the pivot with Righteous Heart Lightning, stopping the twelve armored giants and breaking the formation.
• Qin Qianlian took the Blood Sandalwood and Bodhi Seed, while Qin Baihuang and Qian San stayed behind to try to save the survivors and calm their greed-stricken minds.
• Qian San played Qin Baihuang’s Heart-Calming Flute, briefly easing the chaos among the Hanging Cone Mountain cultivators.
• A dark cloud carrying the sound of a qin entered the hall, revealing a green-robed woman with rows of corpse puppets and the fawning Corpse Daoist beside her.

The Heavenly Puppet Sect arrived at the great hall and attacked the cultivators fighting over its treasures. Qin Qianlian killed Corpse Daoist but was struck by Plague Daoist’s poison, then rode out to fight Plague Daoist as the battle continued inside the hall.

• Plague Daoist arrived with the Heavenly Puppet Sect and demanded that Qian San be left for him to kill, while the zither-playing woman attacked the cultivators near the hall.
• Qin Qianlian struck back with Palm Lightning and Righteous Heart Lightning, killing several Heavenly Puppet Sect disciples and confronting Corpse Daoist.
• Qian San used flowing fire to seize the fighting cultivators and bind the treasures as the Heavenly Puppet Sect launched its assault.
• Qin Qianlian chased Corpse Daoist into the dark clouds, killed him with Righteous Heart Lightning, and suffered a strike from Plague Daoist’s Grand Plague Palm.
• Qin Qianlian rode out of the great hall to fight Plague Daoist, while the zither-playing woman continued to suppress the battle inside.

Qin Qianlian lured Plague Daoist away from the main hall and killed him with Smoky Evil’s concealed ambush using the Yin-Yang Mirror. Smoky Evil treated Qin Qianlian’s plague poison, and the two then questioned what had happened to the others in the Earth Abyss.

• Qin Qianlian and Plague Daoist fought deep inside the secret mausoleum, and Plague Daoist’s poison began corroding Qin Qianlian’s lightning and senses.
• Qin Qianlian revealed that he had a contingency, and Smoky Evil burst from the shadows to ambush Plague Daoist.
• Smoky Evil crushed Plague Daoist’s heart and destroyed his Heart Lake, killing him before he could escape through the Corpse Replacement Art.
• Smoky Evil absorbed the Grand Plague Palm’s poison from Qin Qianlian and helped him recover.
• Qin Qianlian told Smoky Evil that he had killed Corpse Daoist and asked what had happened in the Earth Abyss and where the others were.

Yan Xie explained the secret halls in the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum to Qin Qianlian, then revealed that White Crane True Person had slaughtered the Great Chu cultivators in a nearby hall, possibly including the wounded aboard Vessel B-52. Qin Qianlian was shaken by the danger facing his Longevity Hall disciples as Yan Xie warned him to conceal Plague True Person’s corpse before White Crane True Person arrived.

• Qin Qianlian used the Yin-Yang Mirror to show Yan Xie the hall guarded by twelve armored giants, and Yan Xie explained that it likely held relics of Bai Ze’s four Great Venerable disciples.
• Yan Xie told Qin Qianlian that Bai Ze had been close friends with the Dao Ancestor and warned him that White Crane True Person was nearby.
• Yan Xie revealed that White Crane True Person had slaughtered the Great Chu cultivators in a secret hall and that Longevity Hall disciples, possibly including those aboard Vessel B-52, had been there.
• Qin Qianlian remembered promising his disciples a safe journey and feared for the young Longevity Hall members, including Song Yu and Su Hong.
• Yan Xie comforted Qin Qianlian and urged him to deal with Plague True Person’s corpse before White Crane True Person detected its scent.

Black Shirt left White Crane True Person Ren Zhong’s hall to investigate Plague Daoist’s blood aura, while Ren Zhong recalled the North Sea battle and suspected Black Shirt’s swordsmanship matched Xie Xuanyi’s. Black Shirt returned to the hall, leaving his reason for coming back unstated.

• Ren Zhong gave the Yin Mountain disciples the Nine Revolutions Cinnabar Pill, while Black Shirt refused the treasures and urged them to leave.
• Black Shirt rode off to investigate Plague Daoist’s aura after Ren Zhong chose to wait for the disciples to digest the pill.
• Ren Zhong admitted he disliked Black Shirt and recalled how his swordsmanship reminded him of Xie Xuanyi’s from the battle ten years earlier.
• Zhong Sha said he would eat Black Shirt if Ren Zhong disliked him, but Ren Zhong explained that Black Shirt was now on their side.
• Black Shirt returned to the hall riding a streak of pitch-black light.

Xie Xuanyi returned to the secret hall disguised as Black Shirt and concealed his identity from Ren Zhong. The mausoleum’s spatial formation brought the hall face-to-face with another group of old acquaintances, including Ye Qinglian, who recognized him.

• Xie Xuanyi entered the looted hall and found Ren Zhong, Zhong Sha, and the Yin Mountain Heretic Cultivators waiting there.
• Ren Zhong mistook Xie Xuanyi for Black Shirt, and Xie Xuanyi maintained the disguise while claiming he had returned to Vessel B-52 and killed its remaining survivors.
• Ren Zhong questioned Xie Xuanyi about the Plague Daoist, but Xie Xuanyi said he had not seen him.
• The mausoleum’s formation shifted the halls, and White Crane Daoist ordered the Yin Mountain disciples to form the Myriad Souls Formation as another group arrived.
• Xie Xuanyi saw Zhou, Ancestor Ye, and the others in the second hall, and Ye Qinglian recognized him as Xie Zhen.

Xie Xuanyi and Ren Zhong’s group avoided a battle with Great Chu when the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum’s shifting formation carried their secret halls apart. After the hall settled in a new mountain passage, Xie Xuanyi struck down a dim “sun” and claimed its strange bone armor, leaving its significance unknown.

• Xie Xuanyi and Ancestor Ye exchanged a silent look as the two secret halls drifted past one another without their factions fighting.
• The void formation moved Xie Xuanyi’s hall to a new location, and White Crane Daoist and Ren Zhong recovered from the tense encounter.
• Ren Zhong finished feeding the Yin Mountain disciples and prepared to set out with Xie Xuanyi’s group.
• Xie Xuanyi sent Great Grain Sword Art into the hall’s dim sun, bringing down a piece of bone armor.
• Ren Zhong questioned why Xie Xuanyi chose the seemingly ordinary armor over the valuable millennium tributes, and Xie Xuanyi said he liked its appearance.

Xie Xuanyi and the Yin Mountain Heretic Cultivators encountered the Jiangning Royal Residence group at a secret hall in the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum. Xie Zhisui revealed his formidable cultivation and led his forces to attack, while Xie Xuanyi prepared to kill everyone he judged deserving.

• Xie Xuanyi sensed a familiar aura from the Bone Armor and put it away as an approaching group drew near.
• Xie Xuanyi recognized the newcomers as Great Chu cultivators and let his killing intent spill toward them, while Ren Zhong proposed sending the ghosts in first.
• Xie Zhisui led the Jiangning Royal Residence group through the darkness and ordered his people to form ranks when they found the occupied great hall.
• Xie Zhisui saw Xie Zhen beside White Crane Daoist and, believing him to be a traitor, revealed his hidden power and rallied his forces to battle.
• Ren Zhong formed the Myriad Souls Formation as White Crane True Person questioned whether Xie Xuanyi could fight the Jiangning Xie Clan; Xie Xuanyi vowed to show no mercy.

Xie Xuanyi fought the Jiangning Royal Residence’s Revered Ones while Yin Mountain’s Myriad Souls Formation turned the battle into a brutal slaughter. As Zhong Sha killed a Royal Residence cultivator and the formation began to overwhelm Xie Zhisui, Xie Zhisui revealed a crimson dragon and a mysterious black-robed phantom resembling Grand Master Chongkan.

• Ren Zhong used the Myriad Souls Formation to drive Yin Mountain’s disciples into suicidal attacks, while Xie Xuanyi realized they were being sacrificed to strengthen Ren Zhong’s soul banners.
• Revered White Jade and Revered Black Obsidian attacked Xie Xuanyi with lightning and close combat, but he concealed his strength and kept them occupied while maneuvering through the formation.
• Zhong Sha fought two Royal Residence Yin Spirit cultivators with brutal resilience, and Xie Xuanyi hoped their defeat would force Ren Zhong to unleash the formation’s full power.
• Zhong Sha tore one of his opponents apart, shifting the battle in Yin Mountain’s favor and destabilizing Xie Zhisui’s Great Sun Dao Domain.
• Xie Zhisui summoned a crimson dragon formed from Crimson Dragon Luck, and a black-robed phantom appeared above it, drawing Ren Zhong’s attention because it resembled Grand Master Chongkan.

Xie Zhisui summoned Grand Master Chongkan’s lingering thought to turn the battle against Ren Zhong and the Yin Mountain cultivators, while seeking to kill Xie Zhen and uncover the truth behind the Northern Hunt. As Ren Zhong unleashed the perfected Myriad Souls Formation in desperation, Xie Xuanyi waited for a chance to strike.

• Xie Zhisui summoned Grand Master Chongkan’s lingering thought, whose crimson dragon aura began destroying the Myriad Souls Formation.
• Xie Zhisui explained that he had summoned Chongkan to help kill Xie Zhen and investigate the Northern Hunt, and Chongkan agreed to aid him.
• Xie Zhisui promised that no witnesses would survive the battle to preserve the secret connection between Jiangning and the Dao Sect.
• Chongkan descended and killed Zhong Sha with a single kick, prompting Ren Zhong to unleash the full power of the Myriad Souls Formation.
• Xie Xuanyi recognized that Ren Zhong’s desperate attack might threaten Chongkan’s lingering thought and waited for his opportunity.

Ren Zhong unleashed his life-burning Soul Sea domain to crush Grand Master Chongkan's lingering thought and overwhelm the Royal Residence forces, while Xie Zhisui sacrificed a Revered One to break the formation. As Ren Zhong neared his limit, Xie Zhisui offered a truce in exchange for Xie Zhen.

• Ren Zhong released Soul Sea and used the Myriad Souls Formation to suppress Grand Master Chongkan's lingering thought, while yin ghosts slaughtered the Royal Residence cultivators.
• Xie Zhisui refused to retreat and forced the Royal Residence's Yin Spirit Revered One into Soul Sea, making him detonate and rupture the formation.
• White Crane True Person was grievously injured, and Ren Zhong's essence and blood continued to burn as Chongkan's lingering thought was nearly erased.
• Xie Zhisui privately proposed that both sides withdraw, warning Ren Zhong that the Black and White Revered Ones remained a threat.
• Ren Zhong asked what Xie Zhisui wanted, and Xie Zhisui demanded that he hand over Xie Zhen in exchange for safe departure.