Chapter Summaries

Shen Hao and his companions entered the Myriad Sword Tomb, where he showed them how to safely claim its swords. Their treasure hunt was interrupted by the Sabertooth Leopard, which attacked Shen Hao and proved as strong as a late-stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

• A Rogue Cultivator was killed when he touched a black greatsword, so Shen Hao warned the group not to take the swords recklessly.
• Shen Hao used his sword intent to draw the Azure Nether Sword and gave it to a Xuantian Sect disciple.
• Zhao Xuan, Su Qingyue, and several Xuantian Sect disciples communicated with other swords and claimed them.
• Shen Hao sensed an approaching aura, and the group saw an enormous Sabertooth Leopard carrying a Blood-colored Longsword.
• The Sabertooth Leopard pounced on Shen Hao, and their clash sent him stumbling back with his hand numb.

Shen Hao unleashed his Sword Dao Grandmaster Sword Intent to defeat the Sabertooth Leopard and claim its Blood Shadow Sword. He and the Xuantian Sect disciples then headed deeper into the valley, where greater opportunities and dangers awaited.

• The Sabertooth Leopard overwhelmed Shen Hao in their opening exchange and broke his Lingyun Sword, while Su Qingyue and Zhao Xuan's attacks failed to stop it.
• Shen Hao released his Sword Intent and used Myriad Laws Return to One to wound the Sabertooth Leopard.
• Shen Hao followed with Annihilating Azure Cloud and beheaded the immobilized beast.
• Su Qingyue praised Shen Hao, and Zhao Xuan and the other Xuantian Sect disciples saluted him with respect.
• Shen Hao picked up the Blood Shadow Sword from the leopard's mouth, and the group gathered their spoils and continued deeper into the valley.

Shen Hao comprehended Jian Chenzi’s Sword Dao inheritance and advanced to a higher Sword Dao realm. Jin Yan arrived with Liehuo Sect disciples and Demonic Cultivators, challenged Shen Hao, and was forced back by his sword strike.

• Shen Hao and his group reached Jian Chenzi’s inheritance stele, guarded by four powerful treasured swords.
• Shen Hao merged his four kinds of sword intent with the stele’s teachings and advanced from entering the gate of a Sword Dao Grandmaster to having entered the hall.
• Jin Yan arrived with Liehuo Sect disciples and Demonic Cultivators and demanded that Shen Hao leave the inheritance.
• Jin Yan attacked Shen Hao with a flaming golden sword, but Shen Hao’s colorless Sword Light knocked him back and numbed his sword hand.
• Shen Hao told Jin Yan that his Dao heart was firmer than Jin Yan’s.

Shen Hao defeated Jin Yan in the inheritance contest, but the Blood Demon Ancestor and his demonic cultivators appeared and attacked him. Shen Hao was wounded in their clash before Daoist Xuanling arrived to confront the Blood Demon Ancestor.

• Shen Hao pierced Jin Yan's shoulder with his sword and prepared to kill him.
• The Blood Demon Ancestor appeared with ten demonic cultivators and attacked Shen Hao, hoping to devour his sword intent.
• Shen Hao refused the Blood Demon Ancestor's offer to become his disciple and fought back with five kinds of sword intent.
• The clash wounded Shen Hao and tore the Blood Demon Ancestor's robe, but the Blood Demon Ancestor charged at him again.
• Daoist Xuanling emerged and ordered the Blood Demon Ancestor to stop, revealing his Spirit Transformation Stage pressure.

On his journey back to the Ziyang Sect, Shen Hao was ambushed at Soul Severing Gorge by black-robed Demonic Cultivators seeking the inheritance and Nine Profound Swords from the Myriad Sword Tomb. He killed their leader and most of the attackers, then continued onward suspecting a greater force was behind them.

• Shen Hao flew toward the Ziyang Sect while recovering his Spiritual Power and comprehending the Eternal Sword Art.
• At Soul Severing Gorge, black-robed men attacked Shen Hao with poisoned crossbow bolts and demanded he surrender the inheritance and Nine Profound Swords.
• Shen Hao fought off the Black Robe Man's attack and summoned the Nine Profound Swords to kill more than half of the attackers.
• The Black Robe Man tried to flee, but Shen Hao caught and killed him with the Lingyun Sword.
• Shen Hao put away the Nine Profound Swords and continued toward the Ziyang Sect, suspecting a greater force had sent the attackers.

Shen Hao returned to the Ziyang Sect as a celebrated Sword Dao Grandmaster after killing the Blood Demon Ancestor and receiving Jian Chenzi’s inheritance. After studying the Eternal Sword Art, he suspected that a powerful force behind the Black Robe Men’s ambush threatened the sect.

• Shen Hao returned to the Ziyang Sect, where True Man Zi Xuan, the elders, and the disciples welcomed him and heard of his deeds in the Myriad Sword Tomb.
• Lin Feng told Shen Hao that news of his victory had spread through the Cultivation World after Daoist Xuanling publicized it.
• Shen Hao declined to meet the visiting sect envoys and went to rest in the secluded valley on the Back Mountain.
• Shen Hao studied the Eternal Sword Art and further refined his sword intent.
• Shen Hao recalled the Black Robe Men’s ambush in Soul Severing Gorge and sensed that a powerful force posed a crisis to the Ziyang Sect.

Shen Hao learned that Ancestor Lieyan had brought the Liehuo Sect’s elite disciples to confront the Ziyang Sect over Jin Yan’s death. After comprehending and practicing more of the Eternal Sword Art, Shen Hao joined True Man Zi Xuan at the mountain gate, where Ancestor Lieyan demanded revenge.

• Lin Feng warned Shen Hao that Ancestor Lieyan, a peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, was leading the Liehuo Sect’s elite disciples toward the Ziyang Sect.
• Shen Hao worried that the Liehuo Sect and the force behind the Black Robe Men threatened the Ziyang Sect, then focused on strengthening himself by studying the Eternal Sword Art.
• Shen Hao comprehended the first half of the Sword Technique Section and practiced its techniques with the Lingyun Sword, cleaving a massive boulder in two.
• True Man Zi Xuan told Shen Hao that Ancestor Lieyan had arrived at the Ziyang Sect’s gate and cautioned him not to underestimate the powerful cultivator.
• Shen Hao and True Man Zi Xuan went to meet Ancestor Lieyan with Ziyang Sect disciples, and Ancestor Lieyan vowed to avenge Jin Yan.

Shen Hao drove Ancestor Lieyan and the Liehuo Sect’s elite disciples away after defeating him in a clash of sword and fire. As the Ziyang Sect celebrated, a masked stranger arrived at the mountain gate and demanded Shen Hao’s Eternal Sword Art and Nine Profound Swords.

• Ancestor Lieyan accused Shen Hao of murdering Jin Yan and threatened to destroy the Ziyang Sect unless Shen Hao was handed over.
• Shen Hao faced Ancestor Lieyan and unleashed his sword intent, cutting through the fire dragon and wounding him through his fire shield.
• An elder advised Ancestor Lieyan to withdraw, and Ancestor Lieyan led the Liehuo Sect disciples away after warning Shen Hao that the matter was not over.
• The Ziyang Sect disciples cheered Shen Hao, but he remained wary of the Liehuo Sect and the force behind the Black Robe Men.
• A masked man arrived at the Ziyang Sect’s mountain gate and demanded that Shen Hao surrender the Eternal Sword Art and the Nine Profound Swords.

Shen Hao fought a Spirit Transformation Stage Black Robe Man who demanded the Eternal Sword Art and Nine Profound Swords. After the man died, Shen Hao recognized his token’s skull as the same mark associated with Blood Demon Ancestor, revealing that the attackers belonged to a powerful force targeting him and the Ziyang Sect.

• The Black Robe Man wounded True Man Zi Xuan and demanded Shen Hao’s treasures, threatening to destroy the Ziyang Sect.
• Shen Hao attacked with the Eternal Sword Art’s first form and the Nine Profound Swords, trading blows with the Black Robe Man.
• Shen Hao unleashed the second form, Myriad Swords Return to Origin, but the Black Robe Man began collapsing from a force consuming him within and turned into bloody mist.
• Shen Hao found a black token bearing a skull identical to Blood Demon Ancestor’s mark.
• Shen Hao realized Blood Demon Ancestor, the Black Robe Men of Soul Severing Gorge, and the Black Robe Man belonged to the same powerful force pursuing his treasures.

Shen Hao and True Man Zi Xuan identified the skull token as proof that the ancient Youming Sect had returned and targeted the Ziyang Sect. When Demonic Cultivators surrounded the sect, Shen Hao and the elders chose to stand and fight alongside its disciples.

• True Man Zi Xuan recognized Shen Hao's skull token as a token of the Youming Sect and explained the sect's violent history and its sealed Demon Lord.
• True Man Zi Xuan and Shen Hao concluded that the Youming Sect sought Jian Chenzi's inheritance and planned to restore its former power.
• A disciple reported that Demonic Cultivators had surrounded the Ziyang Sect's mountain gate.
• True Man Zi Xuan urged Shen Hao to escape through a secret passage, but Shen Hao and the elders refused to abandon the sect.
• True Man Zi Xuan rallied the disciples, who vowed to fight alongside him as Shen Hao prepared to face the Youming Sect.

The Youming Sect attacked the Ziyang Sect and demanded Shen Hao, the Eternal Sword Art, and the Nine Profound Swords. Shen Hao killed the three leading late-stage Nascent Soul Realm elders and helped rout the Demonic Cultivators, but he warned that the true war still lay ahead.

• The Youming Sect's Demonic Cultivators surrounded the Ziyang Sect and demanded Shen Hao and its sword arts, but True Man Zi Xuan refused to surrender.
• True Man Zi Xuan and the elders reinforced the Ziyang Sword Formation as the Demonic Cultivators attacked the mountain gate.
• Shen Hao unleashed Myriad Swords Return to Origin and cut down dozens of Demonic Cultivators with the Nine Profound Swords.
• Shen Hao killed all three late-stage Nascent Soul Realm Black Robe elders with Lingyun Sword.
• The Ziyang Sect disciples counterattacked, and the Demonic Cultivators fled as Shen Hao declared that the true war still lay ahead.

After Youming Sect’s attack left Ziyang Sect with heavy casualties, True Man Zi Xuan sent Shen Hao to Xuanling Sect to help form the Righteous Path Alliance. Su Qingyue brought word that Xuantian Sect would join the alliance, and Shen Hao departed for Xuanling Sect as a wider conflict loomed.

• Shen Hao and True Man Zi Xuan surveyed the casualties after Ziyang Sect repelled Youming Sect’s vanguard.
• True Man Zi Xuan asked Shen Hao to carry a letter to Xuanling Sect and persuade Daoist Xuanling to help form the Righteous Path Alliance.
• Su Qingyue arrived at Ziyang Sect and announced that Xuantian Sect would join the alliance against Youming Sect.
• Su Qingyue told Shen Hao that Daoist Xuanling was waiting for him at Xuanling Sect, then returned to Xuantian Sect.
• Shen Hao rode the Lingyun Sword toward Xuanling Sect as dark clouds gathered overhead.

Shen Hao was ambushed by Youming Sect cultivators on the Cangmang Ancient Road while traveling toward Xuanling Sect. He killed their leader and most of the attackers, then continued onward knowing more danger awaited him.

• Shen Hao blocked a volley of demonic crossbow bolts and confronted several dozen Youming Sect cultivators led by a peak Nascent Soul Realm middle-aged man.
• The middle-aged man demanded the Eternal Sword Art and Nine Profound Swords, but Shen Hao refused and fought him with the Lingyun Sword.
• The Youming Sect cultivators attacked together, and Shen Hao used the Nine Profound Swords and the Eternal Sword Art's Second Form, Ten Thousand Swords Burn Heaven, to kill more than half of them.
• The middle-aged man tried to flee, but Shen Hao caught him and stabbed him through the back, killing him.
• Shen Hao collected the Nine Profound Swords and rode the Lingyun Sword onward toward Xuanling Sect, expecting further ambushes.

Shen Hao arrived at Xuanling Sect and joined a meeting where the major righteous sects formed an alliance against Youming Sect. Daoist Xuanling became its leader and appointed Shen Hao as vanguard, while warning him that Youming Sect was stronger than they had expected.

• Shen Hao reached Xuanling Sect and Daoist Xuanling welcomed him into the gathering of major sect leaders and elders.
• Daoist Xuanling proposed reestablishing the Righteous Path Alliance to resist Youming Sect, and the major sects agreed to join.
• Daoist Xuanling took the role of alliance leader and appointed Shen Hao as vanguard general; Shen Hao accepted.
• Daoist Xuanling said the alliance would investigate Youming Sect, strengthen its forces, and strike when ready.
• Daoist Xuanling told Shen Hao that agents were investigating the seal on Youming Demon Lord at Myriad Demon Cave, then advised Shen Hao to rest before returning to Ziyang Sect.

While staying at the Xuanling Sect, Shen Hao received Daoist Xuanling’s guidance on the highest realm of the Sword Dao and sparred with him. The exchange deepened Shen Hao’s sword intent, and he continued cultivating at Quiet Heart Garden while awaiting the Righteous Path Alliance’s arrangements.

• Shen Hao cultivated at Quiet Heart Garden, sorting through the Myriad Sword Tomb inheritance and stabilizing his Sword Dao realm.
• Daoist Xuanling shared a meal with Shen Hao and taught him that the highest realm of the Sword Dao was to wield no sword and make all things into swords.
• Daoist Xuanling sparred with Shen Hao using only sword intent, steadily deflecting his attacks with an unadorned wooden sword.
• Shen Hao stopped the spar and thanked Daoist Xuanling after gaining insight and finding his sword intent smoother.
• Daoist Xuanling urged Shen Hao to rest at the Xuanling Sect until the Righteous Path Alliance’s affairs were arranged, and Shen Hao resumed cultivating.

Ancestor Lieyan warned the Righteous Path Alliance that Youming Sect forces were searching within Liehuo Sect territory, then apologized to Shen Hao for their past conflict. After an ancient Underground Palace and its Ancient Supreme Treasure were discovered there, Shen Hao was sent to retrieve the treasure, unaware of the conspiracy awaiting him.

• Ancestor Lieyan told Daoist Xuanling that Youming Sect members had been moving through Liehuo Sect territory and searching for something.
• Ancestor Lieyan apologized to Shen Hao over the matter of Jin Yan and pledged that Liehuo Sect disciples would support the alliance.
• Shen Hao told Daoist Xuanling that Ancestor Lieyan's behavior seemed strange, and he remained uneasy after Lieyan left.
• News spread that an ancient Underground Palace containing an Ancient Supreme Treasure had been found in Liehuo Sect territory, and that the Youming Sect was seeking it.
• Daoist Xuanling ordered Shen Hao to lead elite alliance disciples to Liehuo Sect and bring the treasure back to Xuanling Sect.
• Shen Hao left to carry out the order, unaware that a conspiracy awaited him.

Shen Hao and three hundred Righteous Path Alliance disciples entered the Liehuo Sect’s Underground Palace to inspect the Sky Burning Cauldron, a Top-grade Immortal Artifact. They found the Youming Sect waiting inside, and Ancestor Lieyan revealed that he had betrayed them.

• Shen Hao led three hundred elite Righteous Path Alliance disciples to the Liehuo Sect, where Ancestor Lieyan welcomed them.
• Ancestor Lieyan took Shen Hao and the disciples to the Back Mountain and opened the stone gate to the Underground Palace.
• Shen Hao and the others entered the palace and found the Sky Burning Cauldron, a powerful Top-grade Immortal Artifact.
• Youming Sect cultivators appeared around the group, led by a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator.
• Shen Hao confronted Ancestor Lieyan, who revealed that he had pledged allegiance to the Youming Sect.

Ancestor Lieyan betrayed the Righteous Path Alliance, and Shen Hao and the alliance’s disciples were overwhelmed by the Youming Sect in the Underground Palace. Shen Hao used a World-Breaking Talisman to open an escape route and led the surviving disciples out, leaving the enemy furious at their failure to capture him.

• Ancestor Lieyan revealed his allegiance to the Youming Sect and demanded that Shen Hao surrender the Eternal Sword Art and Nine Profound Swords.
• Black Fiend Protector led the Youming Sect cultivators in an attack that killed many alliance disciples, including an elder who sacrificed himself to protect Shen Hao.
• Shen Hao used the Nine Profound Swords and the Eternal Sword Art to fight back, but Black Fiend Protector’s attack wounded him and shattered his combined sword.
• Shen Hao revealed and crushed the World-Breaking Talisman, creating an opening through the Underground Palace ceiling.
• Shen Hao fended off Black Fiend Protector long enough to lead the surviving alliance disciples out of the palace, while Ancestor Lieyan and Black Fiend Protector raged over their escape.

Shen Hao and the surviving Righteous Path Alliance disciples reached Xuanling Sect, where Daoist Xuanling drove off the pursuing Black Fiend Protector. After learning that Ancestor Lieyan had defected to Youming Sect with the Sky Burning Cauldron, the alliance prepared a counterattack, leaving Shen Hao set to lead an assault on Soul Severing Gorge.

• Shen Hao led the exhausted survivors toward Xuanling Sect while Youming Sect pursuers followed close behind.
• The Black Fiend Protector attacked near Xuanling Sect, but Daoist Xuanling arrived and forced him and the pursuers to retreat.
• Shen Hao told the alliance leaders that Ancestor Lieyan had betrayed them and taken the Sky Burning Cauldron to Youming Sect.
• Daoist Xuanling ordered defenses strengthened and agreed with Shen Hao's proposal to attack Youming Sect strongholds first.
• Daoist Xuanling set out to attack the Cangmang Ancient Road stronghold while Shen Hao took command of the alliance's elite disciples heading for Soul Severing Gorge.

Shen Hao prepared three hundred Righteous Path Alliance disciples to attack the Youming Sect stronghold at Soul Severing Gorge, training them in the Myriad Swords Return to Origin Formation. Daoist Xuanling gave him a protective jade pendant and warned him about the stronghold's leader, Old Ghost Mo, as Shen Hao prepared to depart at dawn.

• Shen Hao rallied the disciples and announced that they would march to Soul Severing Gorge to avenge their fallen comrades and destroy the Youming Sect stronghold.
• Shen Hao trained the three hundred sword cultivators in the Myriad Swords Return to Origin Formation.
• A Xuanling Sect disciple summoned Shen Hao to Xuanling Hall, where Daoist Xuanling asked about the training.
• Daoist Xuanling gave Shen Hao a Protective Jade Talisman and warned him that Old Ghost Mo was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator who excelled in poisonous arts.
• Shen Hao left Xuanling Hall resolved to win the battle for his fallen comrades, Ziyang Sect, and the peace of the Cultivation World.