Chapter Summaries

Xie Xuanyi exposed Ren Zhong’s trap and wounded him with the Dual Dao Sword Qi, forcing him to flee with Zhong Sha. After the battle, Xie Zhisui trapped the surviving Jiangning Royal Residence cultivators in his Crimson Dragon Dao Domain, where they began exploding into blood mist.

• Ren Zhong offered Xie Xuanyi the Vajra Fruit and asked him to save Zhong Sha, but Xie Xuanyi sensed the ambush and escaped Ren Zhong’s attack with the fruit.
• Ren Zhong accused Xie Xuanyi of impersonating Black Shirt, and Xie Xuanyi pierced the Myriad Souls Formation and wounded Ren Zhong with his Sword Qi.
• Ren Zhong ordered a retreat, then endured Xie Xuanyi’s second sword strike and escaped with Zhong Sha.
• The Soul Sea withdrew, and Xie Zhisui recalled his Crimson Dragon Dao Domain after the Jiangning Royal Residence won the battle.
• Xie Zhisui turned the Crimson Dragon Dao Domain on the surviving royal residence cultivators, and they began bursting into clouds of blood.

Xie Xuanyi confronted Xie Zhisui in the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum, revealed his overwhelming cultivation and his identity as Xie Xuanyi, and left the Prince of Jiangning terrified and his two Revereds dead.

• Xie Zhisui slaughtered the Jiangning Royal Residence cultivators who had witnessed Chong Kan's lingering thought, leaving only Revered Black Radiance and Revered White Jade alive.
• Xie Xuanyi condemned Xie Zhisui for betraying Great Chu, selling out his son, and dishonoring Xie Xuanyi, then effortlessly evaded the Prince of Jiangning's Crimson Dragon Dao Domain attack.
• Xie Xuanyi revealed his Martial Dao Divine Embryo and ten streams of Sword Qi, then broke through from the Tenth to the Eleventh Realm and formed a Principle of Life and Death Dao Domain.
• Xie Xuanyi told the Prince of Jiangning that his surname was Xie and revealed his identity as Xie Xuanyi, causing Xie Zhisui to recoil in terror.
• Xie Xuanyi used Chronic Ailment to kill Revered White Jade and Revered Black Obsidian, then asked Xie Zhisui whether he was now qualified to judge him.

Xie Xuanyi revealed his identity and killed Revered White Jade and Revered Black Obsidian with one sword, then confronted Prince of Jiangning over his betrayal. He defeated the prince and left him kneeling, demanding repayment for what he had done.

• Xie Xuanyi killed Revered White Jade and Revered Black Obsidian with a single strike of Chronic Ailment, severing their fate with the Principle of Annihilation.
• Prince of Jiangning realized Xie Zhen was Xie Xuanyi and recoiled in fear, then insisted that Xie Xuanyi had to die.
• Prince of Jiangning recalled arranging the pursuit that drove Xie Xuanyi north because he had wanted him dead and feared being forgotten beside him.
• Prince of Jiangning unleashed his Crimson Dragon Dao Domain and Dharma Manifestation, but Xie Xuanyi blocked the attack with his Martial Dao Divine Embryo.
• Xie Xuanyi struck Prince of Jiangning in the abdomen, drove him to his knees, and told him to kneel because it was what he owed him.

Xie Xuanyi defeated the Prince of Jiangning by breaking through his Dao Domain and striking his Heart Lake. He then destroyed Grand Master Chongkan’s lingering remnant and drove Chronic Ailment through the crimson dragon, leaving it dying on the ground.

• Xie Xuanyi criticized the Prince of Jiangning for relying on cultivation without ever fighting as he left him kneeling and bleeding.
• The Prince of Jiangning’s crimson dragon Dao Domain attacked Xie Xuanyi, but the Principle of Life and Death blocked its claws.
• Xie Xuanyi’s Martial Dao Divine Embryo fought the dragon with Chronic Ailment and met its charge with the Principles of Life and Death.
• The crimson dragon summoned Grand Master Chongkan’s weakened remnant, but Xie Xuanyi shattered it with a punch.
• Xie Xuanyi mounted the crimson dragon and pierced its skull with Chronic Ailment, bringing it crashing to the ground as its aura faded.

Xie Zhisui lost his battle with Xie Xuanyi and confronted the jealousy that had driven him to oppose his fellow clansman. Xie Xuanyi revealed that Xie Sheng had been destined to die as a Dao catalyst and ordered the Prince of Jiangning to kill himself.

• Xie Zhisui relived his oath to restore the Xie Clan and remembered how public praise for Xie Xuanyi had filled him with envy.
• Xie Zhisui returned to reality and realized Xie Xuanyi had defeated him in their struggle of Great Dao.
• Xie Zhisui recalled helping Xie Xuanyi reach the Great Grain Sword Palace before his jealousy led him to ally with Chong Kan and plot against Xie Xuanyi.
• Xie Xuanyi showed Xie Zhisui the scene of Xie Sheng's suicide and said he had not killed him.
• Xie Xuanyi explained that Xie Sheng had been made a potential Dao catalyst by Xie Zhisui and Chong Kan, then ordered Xie Zhisui to kill himself.

Xie Xuanyi defeated Prince of Jiangning, but Xie Zhisui refused to accept death and tried to escape through the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum. At the end of the mountain path, he found another Xie Xuanyi waiting for him, leaving him trapped between the two.

• After Xie Xuanyi defeated Xie Zhisui, the prince asked him to spare the people of Jiangning and pretended to accept death.
• Xie Zhisui sprang up and attacked with Kai Xia, but Chronic Ailment shattered the blade and crippled his arm.
• Xie Zhisui fled through the secret mausoleum as Xie Xuanyi pursued him, cutting him with Sword Qi along the way.
• Wounded and exhausted, Xie Zhisui reached the end of the mountain path and called for help when he saw light and approaching footsteps.
• Xie Zhisui recognized the person before him as Xie Zhen, then looked back to see Xie Xuanyi behind him.

Xie Xuanyi killed Prince of Jiangning and confronted Black Shirt, who was an almost identical version of himself from ten years earlier, created through Lu Yuzhen’s schemes. After Black Shirt attacked, Xie Xuanyi overwhelmed him and slammed him into the mountain wall.

• Xie Xuanyi killed Prince of Jiangning with Sword Qi, leaving his head at Xie Xuanyi’s feet.
• Black Shirt rose at the end of the mountain path and challenged Xie Xuanyi over his drawn-out killing of Prince of Jiangning.
• Xie Xuanyi recognized Black Shirt as his own likeness from ten years ago and suspected Lu Yuzhen had tampered with his memories.
• Black Shirt unleashed powerful Great Grain Lotus Sword Qi at Xie Xuanyi.
• Xie Xuanyi blocked the attack with his Martial Dao Divine Embryo, seized Black Shirt’s face, and smashed him into the mountain wall.

Xie Xuanyi overwhelmed Fake Xie in the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum and prepared to kill him and search his soul for answers. Fake Xie warned that killing him would not harm his true body but would make it harder for anyone to believe Xie Xuanyi was innocent, just as the mausoleum’s void formation activated.

• Xie Xuanyi overpowered Fake Xie, whose sword strike using Lu Yuzhen’s White Paper Dao forced them apart.
• Xie Xuanyi attacked Fake Xie at close quarters, using his Martial Dao Divine Embryo to bypass their evenly matched Annihilation Sword Qi.
• Xie Xuanyi said he would beat Fake Xie to death and then search his soul for answers about his creation and the events of ten years ago.
• Fake Xie revealed that he was a White Paper Avatar and warned that killing him would leave Xie Xuanyi without anyone to attest to his innocence.
• The Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum’s void formation activated, shaking the secret hall and the surrounding space.

Xie Xuanyi survived the secret mausoleum’s void formation, investigated the blood-draining halls, and concluded that the formation moved survivors onward after the outer layer’s treasures were claimed and enough people had died. Meanwhile, Hanging Cone Mountain’s survivors prepared for another encounter, then discovered a blood-soaked hall approaching with one black-clad survivor inside.

• Xie Xuanyi watched Black Shirt of the Paper Effigy Dao charge into the void torrent, then rode into a secret hall as the formation carried it through the void.
• Xie Xuanyi inspected the Bone Armor and Vajra Fruit, identified red lion carvings linked to Great Sage Bai Ze’s disciple Red Mane, and found twelve defeated Armored Puppets.
• Xie Xuanyi tested the hall’s suction and confirmed that the mausoleum drew cultivators’ blood into red threads, leading him to infer that the formation’s shifts followed a pattern.
• Qin Baihuang distributed healing treasures among Hanging Cone Mountain’s forty-three survivors and learned that Qin Qianlian had not returned, though he believed him safe.
• Qin Baihuang inferred that the blood-guided formation was carrying them toward the next layer and warned the survivors to prepare for powerful heretic sects.
• The formation stopped, and the survivors saw a nearby hall strewn with hundreds of corpses, where a lone black-clad figure sat alive beside a broken soul banner.

Ren Zhong learned that the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum was feeding on its entrants and that the three great sects had sent their disciples ahead to map its first level. After Black Shirt offered him a chance to leave with the treasures, Ren Zhong chose to press on toward the Dao Stele inscription, and Black Shirt offered to help him.

• Ren Zhong mistook the injured Black Shirt for Xie Zhen and struck him, then learned that the Prince of Jiangning had died after Xie Zhen defeated him.
• Black Shirt explained that the mausoleum collected a wisp of qi from every entrant and consumed ships and fallen cultivators, while its four secret halls carried passengers between levels.
• Black Shirt revealed that the three great sects had sent the first entrants to map the mausoleum and gather information for their elders, who planned to enter later.
• Black Shirt offered Ren Zhong the choice of leaving with him and handing over the treasures, or staying to pursue the Dao Stele inscription.
• Ren Zhong chose to remain and seek the inscription, and Black Shirt offered to help him.

Four secret halls converged at the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum’s second-level gate as Great Chu’s forces confronted the Joyous Union Sect in the fourth hall. When the gate cracked open, Xie Xuanyi crossed the void and entered the second level ahead of the others.

• Qin Baihuang formed a defensive barrier around Hanging Cone Mountain’s secret hall and forbade his people from attacking Xie Zhen, arguing that the Paper Effigy Dao might have fabricated the accusations against him.
• Xie Xuanyi watched the four secret halls draw together and saw Zhou and an injured Ancestor Ye arrive with Great Chu’s allied forces.
• The delayed fourth secret hall appeared, where Six Desires True Lord battled Qian Heaven Palace and the Xu Family while holding seven of the twelve treasures.
• Before Zhou and Qian San could join the fight, the second-level gate opened a crack, and Xie Xuanyi unleashed his Martial Dao Divine Embryo and crossed into the void thunder marsh.

Zhou left the battle to pursue Xie Zhen, while Qian San protected the Qian Heaven Palace and Xu Clan cultivators from Six Desires True Lord, who eventually escaped. Qin Baihuang revealed that the secret halls would return under a blood-powered Curse of Recurrence and warned that the survivors had to enter the second level before hostile False Saints arrived.

• Zhou refused Qian San's request to help defeat Six Desires True Lord and led the Martial Sect, Hundred Flowers Valley, and Jiang Clan through the gate after Xie Zhen.
• Six Desires True Lord attacked Qian San's allies with a modified Lion's Roar, then fled into the void thunder marsh with the Joyous Union Sect disciples.
• The four secret halls reached the other shore, and Qin Baihuang identified their runes as the Curse of Recurrence, which would drain the blood vitality of anyone who stayed aboard during the return.
• Qin Baihuang warned that White Wraith, Ink Daoist, and the Southern Borderlands' False Saints would pursue the Great Dao Inscriptions, leaving the survivors no choice but to advance into the mausoleum.

Lu Yuzhen rescued the Paper Effigy Dao’s envoys from the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum and shared intelligence about its first level with the three sect leaders, who then entered the mausoleum seeking a Great Dao stele inscription. After they left, Ink Four revealed his encounter with Xie Zhen, and Lu Yuzhen stayed behind to wait for someone.

• Lu Yuzhen used Sword Qi and paper snowflakes to pull Zither Six and two other envoys out of the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum, then collected their eight treasures and learned that the first level held no Great Dao stele inscription.
• Zither Six reported that the four secret halls had opened the gate to the second level, while Ink Daoist learned that Plague Daoist had died and White Wraith speculated that his own disciple might also be dead.
• Lu Yuzhen showed White Wraith, Ink Daoist, and Joyous Zen Master a map of the mausoleum and urged them to wait for the Great Chu factions to fight before seeking the inscription.
• The three false saints entered the mausoleum despite Lu Yuzhen’s warning to beware of Xie Zhen.
• Lu Yuzhen gave the eight treasures to Zither Six, and Ink Four revealed that Xie Zhen had defeated him but let him escape.
• Lu Yuzhen speculated that Xie Zhen might know about his secrets, dismissed the others, and remained at the Earth Abyss to await someone.

Lu Yuzhen intercepted Junshan Zhenren at the Earth Abyss and endured his attacks while probing the reason he had returned. Lu guessed that Junshan’s third Dao Realm involved karma and challenged him to reveal what he could perceive.

• Lu Yuzhen waited at the Earth Abyss in a paper effigy incarnation as Junshan Zhenren arrived and stabbed him with the Violet Sky Flying Sword.
• Junshan attacked Lu Yuzhen repeatedly, shredding his paper body, while Lu let him vent his grief and killing intent over the likely death of the Martial Immortal.
• Lu Yuzhen praised Junshan’s Three Dao Realms and noted that his Immortal Spring could restore the energy and vitality lost in the fight.
• Lu questioned why Junshan had returned to the Earth Abyss instead of fleeing the Southern Borderlands after the rebellion and news of the Immortal Spring spread.
• Lu suggested Junshan had seen a karmic vision and that his third Dao Realm concerned karma, then asked him to look closely and say what he saw.

Junshan Zhenren confronted Lu Yuzhen at the Earth Abyss, where Lu offered him a gateway out of the Southern Borderlands and warned him against revealing the Immortal Spring. Lu then disclosed that Xie Xuanyi carried an inexhaustible Immortal Spring Eye, leaving Junshan stunned.

• Junshan Zhenren told Lu Yuzhen he intended to enter the mausoleum, explaining that his Dao Domain visions had shown escape ending in failure.
• Lu Yuzhen opened a teleportation gateway and offered to send Junshan out of the Southern Borderlands, but warned that he would retaliate if Junshan spread news of the Immortal Spring.
• Lu revealed that he could expose Xie Zhen as Xie Xuanyi, but Junshan already suspected their identity was the same.
• Lu demonstrated that Xie Xuanyi carried an inexhaustible Immortal Spring Eye, and Junshan realized it explained Xie Xuanyi's rapid cultivation and mastery of the Principle of Life.

Junshan Zhenren left the Earth Abyss after Lu Yuzhen spared him, while Lu explained his plans for the secret mausoleum and the cultivators entering it. On the mausoleum’s first level, Qin Qianlian and Yan Xie waited for a secret hall, discussing whether Lu Yuzhen was the Great Dao Brush, until White Crane True Person of Yin Mountain arrived.

• Lu Yuzhen let Junshan Zhenren leave, and Junshan suppressed his anger and departed through the fading void gateway.
• Mirror Three reported that the Crown Prince of Li State had left and that the three great sects had submitted their dossiers; Lu planned to use the sects’ cultivators as expendable forces and ordered coffins prepared for those entering the secret mausoleum.
• Qin Qianlian reunited with Yan Xie, who explained that a secret hall would descend at their location and that Lu Yuzhen had known about the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum.
• Qin Qianlian and Yan Xie considered whether Lu Yuzhen was the Great Dao Brush, noting that the Paper Effigy Dao’s members resembled treasure artifacts in human form.
• A crimson secret hall arrived, and Qin Qianlian recognized White Crane True Person of Yin Mountain approaching with a beastlike companion and a host of wandering souls.

Qin Qianlian discovered that White Crane True Person’s Soul-Devouring Banner contained the spirits of his lost Vessel B-52 disciples and believed another Longevity Hall survivor was still alive inside it. He demanded Ren Zhong hand over the captive, but Ren Zhong denied her existence and challenged him, leaving the two fighting amid the collapsing secret hall.

• Qin Qianlian recognized the souls of his junior brothers and martial nephews from Vessel B-52 in White Crane True Person’s Myriad Souls Formation and charged in to confront him, despite Smoke Heretic’s warnings.
• Ren Zhong revealed the Vessel B-52 disciples’ souls to provoke Qin Qianlian, but Qin Qianlian steadied himself and pointed out that Ren Zhong was injured.
• Qin Qianlian demanded that Ren Zhong release a living person he had sensed inside the Soul-Devouring Banner, offering to let Ren Zhong go in exchange.
• Ren Zhong denied having a living Longevity Hall captive and invited Qin Qianlian to enter the banner’s pocket realm; Qin Qianlian refused and attacked.
• Qin Qianlian and Ren Zhong fought as they moved toward the secret hall, their lightning and ghostly powers tearing apart the surrounding ground.

After entering the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum’s second layer, Xie Xuanyi relived his fourteenth birthday on Lotus Peak and chose to spend it with Jiang Miaoyin instead of cultivating alone. The dream remained intact when he leaped from the peak, and he opened the Profound Water Grotto-Heaven to meet his master.

• Xie Xuanyi found himself back in his fourteen-year-old body on Lotus Peak and realized the scene recreated the night he first touched the Dao of Annihilation.
• Jiang Miaoyin found Xie Xuanyi and brought him food she had made for his birthday, including a bowl of longevity noodles.
• Xie Xuanyi ate with Jiang Miaoyin, thanked her, and told her he had dreamed of the next thirty years and regretted how he had treated her.
• Xie Xuanyi leaped from Lotus Peak, but the dream did not break, and cultivators across Great Grain Sword Palace saw his sword light.
• Xie Xuanyi reached the Back Mountain, opened the Profound Water Grotto-Heaven’s formation, and called for his master.

Xie Xuanyi dreamed of meeting Zhao Chunyang in Lotus Peak’s grotto-heaven, where his master regretted letting him comprehend the Principle of Annihilation too early and warned him to cherish those he loved. The dream shattered when Six Desires True Lord attacked him in the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum, and Xie Xuanyi faced Zhou of the Martial Sect after defeating the ambush.

• Xie Xuanyi entered the grotto-heaven and spoke with Zhao Chunyang about the events since leaving Lotus Peak.
• Zhao Chunyang questioned whether the grotto-heaven was a dream, expressed regret over Xie Xuanyi’s early enlightenment, and urged him to cherish what he had.
• The grotto-heaven collapsed, and Xie Xuanyi woke to Six Desires True Lord trying to gouge out his heart.
• Xie Xuanyi wounded Six Desires True Lord with the Principle of Annihilation and healed his own chest with holy light.
• Xie Xuanyi discovered that the second level was a maze of stone chambers and saw Zhou of the Martial Sect in the corridor.

Xie Xuanyi was surrounded by Zhou and the allied forces of the Martial Sect, Hundred Flowers Valley, and Jiang Clan, who tried to suppress him over the Sect Master's death. As their formations began overwhelming him, Six Desires True Lord saw three figures emerge from the void thunder pool and recognized his master among them.

• Zhou intercepted Xie Xuanyi, struck him back, and brought Martial Sect disciples to attack with the Mingwang Ocean-Suppressing Formation.
• Wu Yue confronted Xie Xuanyi and asked whether he had truly been connected to the Sect Master's death, but Ye Qinglian and Jiang Que arrived with their forces to block Xie Xuanyi's escape.
• Ancestor Ye offered to spare Xie Xuanyi's life if he confessed and submitted, but Xie Xuanyi refused.
• Zhou and the Mingwang Ocean-Suppressing, Red Leaf Sword, and Soul-Suppressing Mountain formations attacked Xie Xuanyi together, weakening his Dao domain as Ancestor Ye directed the assault.
• Six Desires True Lord watched the battle through a precious pearl, then saw three figures enter the mausoleum from the void thunder pool and recognized his master.