Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai, Lin Chen, and Yu Jue explored Sword God Mountain to seek sword inheritances. Yu Jue headed to Ye Honghua’s cave for the rest of the Red Flower Sword Art, while Lin Bai and Lin Chen began examining the Six Divine Caves and learned that Sword God Dugu Qing’s Emotion Sword Art had been comprehended by only a small fraction of the Sword God Family’s many martial artists.

• Dugu Fei gave Lin Bai, Lin Chen, and Yu Jue maps of Sword God Mountain and explained how to find the cave abodes.
• Yu Jue found Ye Honghua’s cave on the map and explained that he had come to complete the Red Flower Sword Art he had inherited.
• Dugu Fei told Yu Jue about Ye Honghua’s past and sent him to his cave to pursue the sword art.
• Lin Bai and Lin Chen chose to visit the Six Divine Caves, and Dugu Fei led them to Sword God Dugu Qing’s cave abode.
• Lin Bai and Lin Chen found only faint writing and sword marks in Dugu Qing’s empty cave, and Dugu Fei revealed that it contained the Emotion Sword Art.
• Dugu Fei said that only 11,500 martial artists in the Sword God Family’s history had comprehended the Emotion Sword Art.

Lin Bai and Lin Chen explored the Sword God Family’s cave inheritances but found no secrets, and Lin Chen later entered seclusion to pursue the insight he had gained from Ye Changye’s cave. Lin Bai began comprehending Dugu Yunhe’s Mist Sword Art, where white mist gradually appeared as he focused on the cave’s contents.

• Dugu Fei showed Lin Bai, Lin Chen, and Lin Ye the Six Divine Caves and other Sword God caves, but Lin Bai and Lin Chen found no hidden inheritances.
• Lin Bai learned the names of the six sword arts and saw Yu Jue begin resonating with the sword intent in Ye Honghua’s cave.
• Lin Chen told Lin Bai he had gained insight in Ye Changye’s cave and went to Sword God Mountain to enter seclusion.
• Lin Bai decided to seek an inheritance himself and went with Lin Ye to Dugu Yunhe’s cave to comprehend the Mist Sword Art.
• Lin Bai examined the cave and began focusing on its objects, and wisps of white mist spread through the dwelling.

Lin Bai discovered that Sword God Dugu Yunhe's cave dwelling concealed a formation among its sword marks and characters. He began illuminating the characters in the order indicated by the sword marks, opening the formation's first sequence.

• Lin Bai failed to communicate with the remnants of Dugu Yunhe's sword intent and began examining the cave's sword marks and characters.
• Lin Bai found that the number of visible marks and characters increased whenever he counted them, eventually settling at 999 sword marks and 15,000 characters.
• Lin Bai realized the characters formed a formation and that illuminating them in the wrong order caused them to go dark.
• Lin Bai deduced that the sword marks determined the order for activating the characters and began lighting the 120 characters on the left stone wall.

Lin Bai lit all the characters in Dugu Yunhe's cave abode, but they vanished before he could discover what they revealed. He watched a vision of a grandson spend a lifetime studying the same sword marks, then realized the lesson had already been taught.

• Lin Bai spent seven days lighting all 15,000 characters according to the directions of the 999 sword marks, but the golden radiance faded and the characters dimmed.
• Lin Bai encountered a gray-robed old man and a child named Xuan'er in the main hall and paused when he sensed something was wrong.
• The old man told Xuan'er that he would teach him swordsmanship after he could see and rearrange all the sword marks and characters in the cave abode.
• Lin Bai watched the child grow from five to seventy-eight while he studied and eventually lit every character.
• When the aged grandson asked for sword lessons, the gray-robed old man replied that he had already learned them, and Lin Bai realized the meaning of the vision.

Lin Bai comprehended Dugu Yunhe’s swordsmanship in the cave abode and left with a new, mist-like sword intent. Dugu Yitian recognized Lin Bai’s sword art as the Mist Sword Art, the inheritance of Ancestor Yunhe.

• The gray-robed old man revealed that his nine hundred and ninety-nine sword marks and written formula taught swordsmanship that manifested in intent, and Lin Bai grasped its essence.
• The cave abode’s sword marks and writing vanished, and Lin Bai left after laughing, with no one else knowing what he had comprehended.
• A group of Ye Clan martial artists mistook Lin Bai for a Dugu Family member and charged at him, so Lin Bai unleashed mist-cloud swords that threatened to kill them.
• Dugu Yitian appeared and shattered Lin Bai’s sword intent without stopping him from leaving.
• Dugu Yitian identified Lin Bai’s swordsmanship as the Mist Sword Art created by Ancestor Yunhe.

Lin Bai defeated Yu Jue with the Mist Sword Art and returned to Sword God Mountain to study Dugu Bai’s Invincible Sword Art. There, he met Dugu Yitian and Dugu Hao, two Sword Heirs he had encountered before.

• Lin Bai used the Mist Sword Art to defeat Yu Jue, then explained that Dugu Yunhe’s sword scars held the essence of sword arts and that he had only begun to understand the technique.
• Lin Bai said he wanted to visit Sword God Mountain to learn about Dugu Bai’s Invincible Sword Art, and Lin Chen and Yu Jue decided to go with him.
• Lin Bai found Dugu Bai’s cave abode and saw Dugu Yitian and Dugu Hao inside.
• Dugu Yitian reminded Lin Bai that he had blocked Lin Bai’s sword strike with his Sword Intent, and Lin Bai remembered the encounter and recognized the two as Sword Heirs of the Dugu Family.

Lin Bai met Dugu Yitian and Dugu Hao, learned more about the Mist Sword Art and Dugu Bai’s Invincible Sword Art, then searched Dugu Bai’s empty cave for its secrets. His frustrated words awakened a sword-intent embodiment of Dugu Bai, while the two Dugu clansmen watched in astonishment.

• Lin Bai introduced himself to Dugu Yitian and Dugu Hao, and recognized that Duan Hao belonged to the Sword God Family.
• Dugu Yitian explained that Dugu Bai’s Invincible Sword Art was also called the War Sword Art, but he and Dugu Hao had failed to comprehend it.
• After the two men left, Lin Bai searched Dugu Bai’s vast, empty stone chamber for half a day without finding any clues.
• Lin Bai complained that he would rather fight Dugu Bai than keep searching, and the chamber began to tremble as dust formed a human figure wielding a sword.
• The figure challenged Lin Bai, identifying itself as Dugu Bai’s embodiment of sword intent, while Dugu Yitian and Dugu Hao saw a curtain of light block the cave and wondered if Lin Bai had succeeded.

Lin Bai was forced to fight a clay figure formed from Dugu Bai's Sword Intent, which demanded two exchanges before granting its Invincible Sword Art. After Lin Bai survived the first move by arguing that only one exchange remained, the clay figure began its second attack with the Reaching Heaven Sword Art.

• Lin Bai's challenge caused a mysterious force to isolate Dugu Bai's cave abode and form a clay figure that demanded two moves in exchange for the Invincible Sword Art.
• The clay figure attacked Lin Bai, breaking through his Mist Sword Art, Heaven Measuring Ruler, flying swords, and Three-Colored Divine Lightning, then sending him flying and spitting blood.
• Lin Bai persuaded the clay figure that their first exchange counted as one of the promised two moves, so it agreed to give him a second attack.
• The clay figure began its second sword move, and Lin Bai recognized the seven-colored radiance as the Reaching Heaven Sword Art.

Lin Bai endured Dugu Bai’s overwhelming sword strike, then received the Invincible Sword Art and a message to tell someone that Dugu Bai had been wrong. He left the cave abode with the identity of that person still a mystery.

• Dugu Bai’s clay figure unleashed a world-shattering sword strike, and Lin Bai accepted that he could not withstand it.
• The chamber returned to normal, and Dugu Bai’s voice explained his regrets and revealed that the Invincible Sword Art traded one life for another.
• Dugu Bai’s seven-colored inheritance entered Lin Bai’s brow, where it appeared as a scripture beginning with the Reaching Heaven Sword Art.
• Dugu Yitian and Dugu Hao returned, and Lin Bai confirmed that he had obtained Dugu Bai’s inheritance but declined to explain how.
• Dugu Hao said Dugu Bai had also created the now-lost Three Extinction Sword, while Dugu Yitian directed Lin Bai to the Dugu Sword Pavilion for records about him.
• Lin Bai returned to Flying Dragon Forest, wondering who Dugu Bai had meant when he asked Lin Bai to tell someone that he was wrong.

Lin Bai discovered that the Invincible Sword Art and the Reaching Heaven Sword Art were parts of the same technique, but the Invincible Sword Art carried deadly physical side effects. After testing its first three layers, he stopped before risking the fourth and realized that its full power could cost him his life.

• Lin Bai mastered the Mist Sword Art and the Invincible Sword Art during more than ten days of seclusion.
• Lin Bai concluded that the seven-volume Invincible Sword Art completed the missing volumes of the Reaching Heaven Sword Art, though the two techniques differed greatly in their effects.
• Lin Bai activated the Invincible Sword Art’s first three layers and felt his strength rise as spiritual power flooded his body.
• Lin Bai’s blood, meridians, and bones began to rupture under the technique’s power, so he stopped before attempting its fourth layer.
• Lin Bai realized that the Invincible Sword Art was a life-for-life technique and that reaching its seventh layer could leave him crippled or dead.

Lin Bai searched the Dugu Family’s records and learned about Dugu Bai’s lost love and his former name, Dugu Bubai. As Lin Bai suspected the woman might have ties to the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect, Sword Reverent Dugu told him the Sword God Road would open in three days.

• Lin Bai studied the Invincible Sword Art and Reaching Heaven Sword Art, then spent several days reconstructing the sword strike he had seen in Dugu Bubai’s cave dwelling.
• Lin Bai and Lin Ye visited the Dugu Family, where Lin Bai read thousands of records about Dugu Bai’s life in the Sword Pavilion.
• Lin Bai learned that Dugu Bai had loved a woman who left him after his temperament changed, and that he regretted losing her for the rest of his life.
• Sword Reverent Dugu explained that Dugu Bai had once been called Dugu Bubai, had searched the Barren Ancient Continent for the woman, and had left behind the words, “I won the world, but lost her!”
• Sword Reverent Dugu said the woman had likely met Dugu Bai in the Eastern Continent and asked Lin Bai to report any discoveries about her descendants.
• Lin Bai suspected the woman’s story connected the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect to the Invincible Sword Art, and Sword Reverent Dugu told him the Sword God Road would open in three days.

Lin Bai prepared to enter the Sword God Road with Lin Chen and Yu Jue, planning to leave the Sword God Family afterward. When he learned that Ye Jianjun would also participate, Lin Bai’s memories of Ye Suxin’s fate reignited his killing intent.

• Sword Reverent Dugu reminded Lin Bai of their agreement, and Lin Bai asked him to prepare the Water Mirror Sword for his departure after the Sword God Road.
• Lin Bai told Lin Chen and Yu Jue that he would leave for the East Continent once he emerged, then spent three days practicing sword techniques beside a stream.
• Sword Reverent Ye urged Ye Canhen and Ye Jianjun to seize the Sword God Road’s opportunity, while Ye Jianjun vowed to return to the East Continent and kill Lin Bai.
• Sword Reverent Dugu warned Dugu Yitian and Dugu Hao to beware of the Ye Clan, especially Ye Jianjun, before sending Dugu Fei to fetch Lin Bai.
• As Dugu Fei described Ye Jianjun’s return and renewed power, Lin Bai recalled Ye Suxin’s suffering and death and silently filled with killing intent.

Lin Bai arrived at the Sword God Road gathering and came face-to-face with Ye Jianjun, reigniting their deadly feud. The two Sword Reverents stopped their clash, and Lin Bai made clear that the enmity between him and Ye Jianjun would not end until one of them died.

• Dugu Fei brought Lin Bai and his companions to the Sword God Road, where the Dugu Clan and Ye Clan had gathered before the climb.
• Sword Reverent Dugu introduced Lin Bai to Sword Reverent Ye, and Lin Bai and Ye Jianjun recognized each other and erupted into a sword-fueled clash.
• Sword Reverent Dugu reminded Lin Bai of their agreement and the Water Mirror Sword, while Sword Reverent Ye restrained Ye Jianjun, bringing both men’s killing intent under control.
• Sword Reverent Ye asked whether Lin Bai and Ye Jianjun’s conflict was a misunderstanding, but Lin Bai said their enmity would last until one of them died.

Lin Bai and Ye Jianjun agreed to fight to the death after the Sword God Road closed, setting their duel for ten days later at Mu Mountain. When the road opened, they set aside their feud and joined the other martial artists in climbing Sword God Mountain for the opportunity at its summit.

• Lin Bai and Ye Jianjun traded accusations over their old grudge and challenged each other to a life-and-death fight.
• Reverent Ye and Reverent Dugu stopped them from fighting during the Sword God Road opening and urged them to restrain themselves.
• Ye Jianjun proposed a duel ten days later at Mu Mountain, a hundred thousand miles north of Mirror Lake, and Lin Bai accepted.
• The Sword God Road opened with surging immortal spirit energy and sword intent, and Reverent Dugu ordered his family to set out.
• Reverent Ye urged Ye Jianjun to prioritize reaching the summit, and the martial artists of both clans and the other groups began climbing.

Lin Bai paused on the first two steps of the Sword God Road after sensing the Devouring Sword Soul react, while others mocked him as weak. After five days, he rose and began climbing with ease, leaving the crowd stunned as he headed toward the summit.

• Dugu Yitian, Dugu Hao, Ye Jianjun, and Ye Canhen led the sword disciples onto the Sword God Road, while Lin Bai followed with Lin Chen and Yu Jue.
• The mysterious force on the first step made the Devouring Sword Soul tremble, so Lin Bai stopped to investigate while the others climbed ahead.
• Ye Jianjun insulted Lin Bai, and martial artists in the plaza mocked him for remaining on the first step as Lin Chen and Yu Jue struggled upward.
• Lin Bai stepped onto the second step, felt the Devouring Sword Soul react again, and sat there for five days while Sword Reverent Ye dismissed his sword talent.
• After hearing Sword Reverent Ye claim the road tested talent, Lin Bai rose and climbed toward the summit with astonishing ease.

After spending five days communicating with the Devouring Sword Soul, Lin Bai began climbing the Sword God Road and advanced with astonishing ease. He passed most of the Sword God Family’s prodigies and left the nine Sword Sons behind as he continued upward.

• Lin Bai rose from the second step after five days and ignored the Sword God Family martial artists who mocked his slow progress.
• Lin Bai climbed to the three-hundred-and-twentieth step in less than half an hour, passing Lin Chen and Yu Jue, who struggled under the sword-intent pressure.
• Lin Bai reached the six-hundredth step within an hour, surprising the martial artists at the foot of the mountain and catching the attention of Sword Reverent Dugu and Sword Reverent Ye.
• Ye Jianjun and Dugu Yitian resumed climbing after seeing Lin Bai’s progress, determined to keep their lead.
• Lin Bai continued past the seven-hundredth step and effortlessly overtook Ye Tianci, who had reached his limit.

Lin Bai climbed the Sword God Road with ease, passing the exhausted martial artists around him and leaving them stunned. After knocking Duan Hao back down the steps, Lin Bai continued toward the nine-hundredth step, while Ye Canhen despaired at how quickly he had been surpassed.

• Lin Bai passed Ye Tianci and Dugu Yulan, then continued past Duan Hao on the seven hundred and fiftieth step.
• After Duan Hao threatened him over Blackwater City, Lin Bai knocked him down to the three hundred and ninetieth step and challenged him to meet at Mu Mountain in ten days with Ye Jianjun.
• Lin Bai resumed climbing and passed Ye Canhen at the eight-hundredth step, telling him the trial had judged him more outstanding than the others.
• Lin Bai reached the eight hundred and eightieth step, approaching Dugu Yitian and Ye Jianjun, while Ye Canhen failed to catch up.

Lin Bai climbed the Sword God Road with the Devouring Sword Soul absorbing the powerful aura and passed Dugu Yitian and Ye Jianjun. He reached the summit and disappeared into the clouds, leaving the Sword God Family astonished and Ye Jianjun furious.

• Lin Bai discovered that the Devouring Sword Soul absorbed the intensified aura beyond the 900th step, allowing him to climb steadily.
• Lin Bai passed Dugu Yitian, who acknowledged that the opportunity belonged to him.
• Lin Bai confronted Ye Jianjun, vowed to kill him for his family, and declared he would slay him on Mu Mountain.
• Ye Jianjun tried to climb beyond the 920th step but was blasted back a hundred steps by Sword God Mountain's pressure.
• Lin Bai reached the 999th step and crossed into the clouds at the summit, while Sword Reverent Dugu hoped he would bring something back.

Lin Bai discovered a secret realm atop the Sword God Road and found a coffin made from 999 divine weapons. His Devouring Sword Soul devoured the weapons’ spirituality, rapidly advancing his cultivation before the Sword God Mountain’s spirit appeared and recognized him as the lord of the Heaven Swallowing Race.

• Lin Bai entered the secret realm above the clouds and found a black sword coffin forged from 999 divine weapons, including a sword made of Immaculate Divine Iron.
• Lin Bai approached the coffin, but its sword might blasted him backward and made him spit blood.
• Lin Bai’s Devouring Sword Soul appeared on its own and began devouring the spirituality of the weapons, causing Lin Bai’s cultivation to rise from the seventh level to the great perfection of the Death Reversal Realm.
• Lin Bai ordered the Devouring Sword Soul to stop after an ancient voice pleaded for mercy, and it returned to his body.
• An old man appeared, bowed to Lin Bai as the lord of the Heaven Swallowing Race, and identified himself as the spirit of the Sword God Mountain, once called the Mountain God.

Lin Bai learned from the Mountain God about the ancient origins of the Sword God Family, its founders, and the Mountain God’s duty to protect the Dugu Clan. The Mountain God revealed that Dugu Qing was buried in the coffin and hinted that the people of the Barren Ancient Continent had migrated there from another world.

• The Mountain God told Lin Bai that Dugu Ye had severed his ties to heaven and earth, letting him sleep and awaken every ten years to guard the Sword God Family.
• The Mountain God explained that Dugu Ye founded the family, Dugu Qing was his son and its first clan head, and Ye Yi was an orphan who became its guardian.
• Lin Bai learned that the Dugu Clan were the family’s masters and the Ye Clan their former guardians, while the Mountain God knew little of their later rivalry.
• The Mountain God told Lin Bai that Dugu Ye had never returned from beyond the Barren Ancient Continent and that Dugu Qing lay in the coffin.
• Lin Bai and the Mountain God discussed how the continent’s spiritual treasures would eventually be depleted, and the Mountain God suggested its people had once migrated there from elsewhere.