Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai met with Lan Ling and Bai Xiaoxiao, then asked Gu Daozhi to help Divine Martial Nation stabilize the Eastern Continent. He revealed that Bai Xiaoxiao’s ambitions extended to the entire Barren Ancient Continent, setting the stage for a conflict with the Central Sacred Nation.

• Lan Ling congratulated Bai Xiaoxiao on Divine Martial Nation’s impending unification and urged her to spare the common people from further slaughter.
• Lin Bai told Lan Ling that Wen Jia had learned his identity and was no longer likely to remain loyal to Mo Wenshen, while keeping the Central Sacred Nation’s plans secret.
• After Lin Bai left, Lan Ling realized Lin Bai had excluded him from the plan to protect the Lan Clan and the Eastern Continent’s Kunxu from another devastating blow.
• Lin Bai thanked Gu Daozhi for holding back during their martial contest and asked him to help Divine Martial Nation stabilize the Eastern Continent by visiting the Four Hidden Families.
• Lin Bai told Gu Daozhi that Divine Martial Nation intended to unify the Barren Ancient Continent, prompting Gu Daozhi to recognize that this meant a battle against the Central Sacred Nation.

Lin Bai sought an alliance with Gu Daozhi, explaining that the Divine Martial Nation aimed to conquer the Barren Ancient Continent and needed the Eastern Continent Academy’s support. After Lin Bai left, Gu Daozhi considered the Ancient Immortal Sect’s control over the Central Sacred Nation and wondered whether it was time to challenge it.

• Lin Bai asked Gu Daozhi to consider allying with the Divine Martial Nation, promising the Eastern Continent Academy a place of prominence if the nation unified the world.
• Gu Daozhi questioned Lin Bai’s ability to defeat the Central Sacred Nation, but Lin Bai urged him to wait and observe before deciding.
• Lin Bai left the academy, telling Gu Daozhi that his name alone would be enough to flatten the Barren Ancient Continent.
• Gu Daozhi reflected that the Ancient Immortal Sect had thwarted past challengers to the Central Sacred Nation and restricted martial artists from entering the upper realm.
• Gu Daozhi considered that someone might need to challenge the Ancient Immortal Sect and give the Barren Ancient Continent a chance to ascend.

Lin Bai traveled to Burial River to ask the Black Warriors to help him oppose the Central Sacred Nation. Black Heaven Old Ancestor agreed and revealed that Descent Mountain in the Central Sacred Nation's Imperial City held a passage to the Spirit Realm, whose far end lay in the Ancient Immortal Sect's grounds.

• Lin Bai and Su Xianmei left Lingnan Imperial City for Southern Province, while Bai Xiaoxiao stayed behind to govern Divine Martial Nation.
• At Burial River, Black Heaven Old Ancestor met Lin Bai and reminded him that four of their five promised tasks remained.
• Lin Bai asked the Black Warriors to help him oppose the Central Sacred Nation, despite the Ancient Immortal Sect's backing.
• Black Heaven Old Ancestor agreed on the condition that Lin Bai free the Black Warriors after the dangerous mission, and Lin Bai said he first needed to find the passage to the Spirit Realm.
• Black Heaven Old Ancestor revealed that the passage was a teleportation wormhole in Descent Mountain, inside the Central Sacred Nation's Imperial City, and explained the Ancient Immortal Sect had restricted travel from the Barren Ancient Continent.

Black Heaven Old Ancestor explained how the Spirit Realm’s ancient sects claimed lower realms to recruit their strongest martial artists, and why the Ancient Immortal Sect might not care that the Barren Ancient Continent’s promotion qualification had been blocked. Lin Bai learned that the Spirit Realm controlled over three thousand minor worlds and left the conversation with the name Azure Firmament World in mind.

• Lin Bai promised to help Black Heaven Old Ancestor oppose the Central Sacred Nation in exchange for restoring the Black Warrior clan’s freedom, and Black Heaven Old Ancestor agreed to explain the promotion qualification.
• Black Heaven Old Ancestor explained that the Ancient Immortal Sect had claimed the Barren Ancient Continent and set up a teleportation wormhole so its strongest martial artists could ascend and become sect disciples.
• Black Heaven Old Ancestor said the Spirit Realm had recorded more than three thousand minor worlds, and the Ancient Immortal Sect controlled over a hundred of them.
• Black Heaven Old Ancestor said the Barren Ancient Continent ranked near the bottom among those worlds and identified Azure Firmament World as a likely source of many of the sect’s strongest lower-realm prodigies.
• Lin Bai considered whether lower realms were merely playthings and trading currency for the Spirit Realm’s powerful forces, and Black Heaven Old Ancestor warned him that the Spirit Realm was far more dazzling and cruel.

Lin Bai returned from Southern Continent and brought the Black Warriors with him in the Azure Gourd, but he diverted to Extraterrestrial Mountain Villa after learning Mo Wenshen was searching for him. Facing Prince Rong’s deadline, Mo Wenshen abandoned his search and went to the imperial palace with news of a fragment.

• Lin Bai used the Azure Gourd to carry away more than half of the Burial River’s water and the Black Warriors, then set off for the Central Sacred Nation.
• After Su Xianmei told him Mo Wenshen had searched the Divine Capital for months, Lin Bai changed course and returned to Extraterrestrial Mountain Villa.
• Prince Rong berated Mo Wenshen for failing to find Lin Bai and threatened to execute him on the Dragon Slayer Platform if Lin Bai was not found within a month.
• Concluding that Prince Rong would not reward him even if he captured Lin Bai, Mo Wenshen went to the imperial palace to seek an audience.
• Mo Wenshen met the Great General of the Dragon Martial Army and was brought to Descent Mountain, where the Sacred Emperor asked whether he had news of the fragment.

Mo Wenshen revealed to the Sacred Emperor that Lin Bai was the son of Li Subai and Lin Duo and might know the fragment’s whereabouts. Hoping to win the Sacred Emperor’s support and a place in the Ancient Immortal Sect, Mo Wenshen received sweeping authority to hunt Lin Bai, while the Sacred Emperor admitted he had only two years left to live.

• Mo Wenshen reported that Lin Bai was studying in Divine Capital and had evaded capture after Mo Wenshen discovered him.
• Mo Wenshen urged the Sacred Emperor to pursue the fragment by promising that the Ancient Immortal Sect would reward whoever recovered it.
• Mo Wenshen asked to serve the Sacred Emperor and requested to be taken along to the Ancient Immortal Sect if the Sacred Emperor entered the Spirit World.
• Mo Wenshen proposed using Wen Jia, the son of Wen Cheng and Jin Lu, to lure Lin Bai out of hiding.
• The Sacred Emperor gave Mo Wenshen the Sacred Token and authorized him to command military forces and the Hanging Sword Bureau and Dragon Slaying Bureau in the search for Lin Bai.
• The Sacred Emperor ordered Mo Wenshen to find the fragment within two years and revealed that he had only that long left to live.

Mo Wenshen used a Sacred Edict from the Sacred Emperor to force Prince Rong and the princes of the Divine Capital to assist him in capturing Lin Bai and searching for a treasure. The Crown Prince and the Seventeenth Prince accepted the order while suspending their rivalry as they continued investigating the Dragon Slayer Platform attack.

• Mo Wenshen presented Prince Rong with the Sacred Edict and Sacred Command, and struck Su Linghai when he tried to seize them.
• Prince Rong confirmed the edict was genuine and agreed to register his residence’s experts for Mo Wenshen to command.
• The Crown Prince received an edict ordering him to assist Mo Wenshen, and the Young Master Qian could not determine the Sacred Emperor’s intentions.
• The Seventeenth Prince received the same order, while Zhao Yue and the Second Young Master Qian examined the edict and discussed the princes’ uneasy truce.

Mo Wenshen exposed Wen Jia’s connection to Lin Bai, crippled him, and announced a public execution to lure Lin Bai out. The news spread across the Central Sacred Nation, and Xun Zhizang realized Mo Wenshen had made his move.

• After receiving the Sacred Emperor’s edict, Mo Wenshen gathered powerful figures in the divine capital to help capture Lin Bai and recover the treasure.
• Mo Wenshen confronted Wen Jia and revealed that he knew Wen Jia had met Lin Bai and Su Xianmei at Cloudwater Abode.
• Wen Jia attacked Mo Wenshen, but Mo Wenshen defeated him and admitted he had killed Wen Jia’s parents.
• Mo Wenshen ordered Su Linghai and Tan Gang to keep Wen Jia alive and publicize his execution at the Dragon Slayer Platform one month later.
• The execution announcement spread throughout the Central Sacred Nation, and Xun Zhizang recognized that Mo Wenshen had made the first move.

At Extraterrestrial Mountain Villa, Lin Bai and the others planned to rescue Wen Jia and attack the imperial city during his execution. After spending days refining their strategy, they slipped into Divine Capital to prepare for the operation.

• Xun Zhizang returned to Extraterrestrial Mountain Villa and learned that Seventh Young Master had already warned everyone about the trap in Divine Capital.
• Fu Qingshuang insisted that they save Wen Jia, and Lin Bai agreed, proposing that they use the execution day to strike the imperial city.
• Lin Bai assigned Fu Qingshuang, the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals, and himself to rescue Wen Jia at Dragon Slayer Platform while Yin Jiuling, A Ning, Chu Jiangliu, and Seventh Young Master's experts attacked the imperial city.
• Lin Bai ordered the imperial city force to reach the Hall of All Living Beings at the right time, wait for him, and retreat before reinforcements arrived.
• After half a month of refining their plan, everyone left Extraterrestrial Mountain Villa and secretly entered Divine Capital.

Lin Bai finalized his plan to rescue Wen Jia and his parents from the Central Sacred Nation, then sent the Sword Alliance to assassinate corrupt officials in the Divine Capital and create a diversion. The assassinations began as the execution day approached.

• Lin Bai told the Sword Alliance leaders that their assassinations of notorious officials would distract the Divine Capital’s forces during the rescue.
• Lin Bai laid out the plan to free Wen Jia at the Dragon Slayer Platform, break into the Hall of All Living Beings, rescue his parents from the Black Prison, and escape with Seventh Young Master’s help.
• The Sword Alliance began killing officials across the Divine Capital to draw troops away from the rescue operation.
• Sword Alliance assassins read Grand Secretary Zhang Nianghua’s crimes aloud and killed him at his residence in Star River Prefecture.

Lin Bai orchestrated the killings of more than a hundred officials in the Divine Capital, plunging the court and its residents into panic. He then arranged attacks on the Crown Prince and Seventeenth Prince’s residences, framing Prince Rong and leaving the Seventeenth Prince wounded and furious.

• Bai Ye told the Crown Prince and Seventeenth Prince that more than a hundred officials had been murdered, including the Imperial General.
• The Crown Prince ordered Bai Ye to take command of the Imperial General’s troops and work with the Hanging Sword Bureau to investigate the killings.
• Lin Bai told White Crane to continue the assassinations and stage attacks on the Crown Prince and Seventeenth Prince, planting evidence to implicate Prince Rong.
• Hundreds of black-clad men attacked both princes’ residences and injured the Crown Prince and Seventeenth Prince before guards stopped them.
• Captured attackers claimed they served Prince Rong, and the wounded Seventeenth Prince blamed him.

Mo Wenshen presided over Wen Jia’s execution at Dragon Slayer Platform, expecting Lin Bai to intervene. Just as the executioner’s saber fell, a streak of Sword Qi shattered it, and Mo Wenshen welcomed the arrival of the attackers.

• Lin Bai had earlier sent Yi Ersan to recruit Prince Rong’s aides for a plan to assassinate the Seventeenth Prince and the Crown Prince, and the captured attackers were identified as Prince Rong’s men.
• The Divine Capital’s residents discussed the murders of ministers and the attempted assassinations as Wen Jia’s execution day approached.
• The Four Great Princes, imperial officials, the Crown Prince, the Seventeenth Prince, and Mo Wenshen gathered to witness Wen Jia’s execution, with Mo Wenshen seated at the center.
• Mo Wenshen ordered the execution after Lin Bai and Fu Qingshuang failed to appear during the long wait.
• A streak of Sword Qi shattered the executioner’s saber before it could strike Wen Jia, and Mo Wenshen reacted with delight.

Lin Bai stormed the Dragon Slayer Platform to rescue Wen Jia and revealed himself as Lin Duo’s son. After Mo Wenshen revealed that the execution was a trap backed by thousands of Apex Realm martial artists and a ten-million-strong army, Lin Bai refused to surrender and called for the Sword Alliance.

• Lin Bai announced his identity as Lin Duo’s son and walked toward the Dragon Slayer Platform to save Wen Jia.
• Mo Wenshen ordered hundreds of Apex Realm martial artists to seize Lin Bai, but the Soaring White God Formation killed more than fifty and gravely wounded the rest.
• Xun Zhizang appeared beside Lin Bai and urged him to rescue Wen Jia quickly, and Lin Bai cut Wen Jia’s shackles and helped him down from the platform.
• Prince Rong surrounded the Dragon Slayer Platform with thousands of Apex Realm experts, while Mo Wenshen revealed that the execution had been bait to lure Lin Bai into a trap.
• Lin Bai rejected Mo Wenshen’s demand to surrender and called out for the Sword Alliance.

Lin Bai revealed that he was the Sword Alliance’s Night Emperor, and its martial artists fought the Crown Prince’s forces to help him leave the Dragon Slayer Platform with Wen Jia. The Dragon Lord obeyed the Sacred Emperor’s edict and moved to seize Lin Bai, but Dong Dian intervened to protect him.

• Lin Bai summoned the Sword Alliance, whose martial artists surrounded him and confirmed that he was their Night Emperor.
• Lin Bai acknowledged the Sword Alliance’s assassinations of corrupt ministers and rejected the Crown Prince’s demand that its members surrender.
• The Sword Alliance fought the Crown Prince’s and Prince Rong’s forces while Lin Bai escorted Wen Jia away from the Dragon Slayer Platform.
• Mo Wenshen invoked the Sacred Emperor’s edict, compelling the Dragon Lord to pursue Lin Bai despite his reluctance.
• Dong Dian broke the Dragon Lord’s restraining force and declared that he had to protect Lin Bai.

Dong Dian sided with Prince Rong and fought the Dragon Lord while Lin Bai and his allies broke through the Dragon Slayer Platform. Mo Wenshen revealed that he had drawn out Fu Qingshuang to ensnare the Peach Mountain remnants, and trusted the army surrounding the platform to capture them.

• Dong Dian chose to fight the Dragon Lord, while Prince Rong ordered officials and marquises to attack Lin Bai.
• Feng Lingzi, Su Yanhua, Bai Mu, and Monk Jiufeng blocked the Dragon Slaying Bureau Chief, Iron Sword Marquis, Phoenix Lord, and Wude Marquis, while Xun Zhizang stopped the Hanging Sword Bureau Chief.
• Fu Qingshuang struck Mo Wenshen and revealed himself; Mo Wenshen then claimed he had drawn Fu Qingshuang out so the Peach Mountain remnants could not escape.
• Lin Bai led Wen Jia and the Sword Alliance warriors away from the Dragon Slayer Platform according to their plan, joined by Fu Qingshuang and the others.
• Mo Wenshen stayed confident that the eighteen Army Marquises' troops would exhaust and capture Lin Bai and Fu Qingshuang.

Lin Bai and Fu Qingshuang rescued Wen Jia from the Dragon Slayer Platform and escaped Fengbo Prefecture with help from Marquis Tianwei's army. Meanwhile, Yin Jiuling, Chu Jiangliu, A Ning, and their allies launched an assault on the imperial city, while Lin Bai stayed behind to handle other matters.

• A Ning received word that Lin Bai and Fu Qingshuang had acted, then joined Yin Jiuling and Chu Jiangliu in attacking the imperial city with their forces.
• Lin Bai led Wen Jia, Fu Qingshuang, and the others away from the Dragon Slayer Platform, explaining that Mo Wenshen expected the army to trap them.
• Lin Bai's group passed through streets guarded by Marquis Tianwei's soldiers, who let them go and misdirected their pursuers.
• Lin Bai and Fu Qingshuang safely escorted Wen Jia out of Fengbo Prefecture and revealed that Marquis Tianwei had helped them escape.
• Lin Bai ordered Ye Liang to take Wen Jia and the Sword Alliance brothers to Extraterrestrial Mountain Villa while he stayed behind to handle other matters.

Mo Wenshen discovered that Lin Bai and his companions had vanished, while Lin Bai’s group reached the Hall of All Living Beings after Chu Jiangliu seized the thirteen palace gates. Lin Bai shattered the dragon throne to reveal a vortex leading toward the Black Prison, and the group entered it.

• Mo Wenshen learned that Lin Bai, Fu Qingshuang, and their companions had disappeared inside Fengbo Prefecture, so he ordered a thorough search.
• Lin Bai arranged for the Sword Alliance to withdraw and Wen Jia to go with Ye Liang to Extraterrestrial Mountain Villa, then hurried toward Son of Heaven Palace with six companions.
• Lin Bai’s group entered the Imperial City through the cleared palace gates, where Chu Jiangliu reported that he had captured all thirteen gates.
• Lin Bai told Chu Jiangliu to guard the gates and withdraw if the group did not return within an hour, then led the others into the Hall of All Living Beings.
• Lin Bai used the Martial Soul Secret Methods Halt War and Break Prohibition to shatter the dragon throne and reveal a vortex, then entered it with the others.

Lin Bai and his companions entered the Black Prison to find Lin Duo and Li Subai, but the Black Prison Legion confronted them. Lin Bai arranged for Fu Qingshuang to capture the general, and the group began fighting the soldiers.

• Lin Bai led a small group of allies through a black hole into the Black Prison, where they found a ruined palace and a vast, desolate landscape.
• Yin Jiuling spotted someone, and several hundred Black Prison Legion soldiers emerged and demanded the Sacred Emperor's Jade Token.
• Lin Bai claimed he had come under the Sacred Emperor's orders to inspect Lin Duo and Li Subai, then showed the general a Jade Slip as if it were the token.
• Lin Bai whispered to Fu Qingshuang to leave the general alive, and Fu Qingshuang subdued him with a sword at his throat.
• The soldiers charged, and Lin Bai and his companions unleashed their powers and attacked the Black Prison Legion.

Lin Bai subdued a Black Prison Legion general and used Soul Search to learn that Lin Duo and Li Subai were imprisoned in Flame Mountain. Hearing Li Subai’s cries of torment drove Lin Bai toward Flame Mountain as the sealed Profound Eye began to awaken.

• A Ning warned Lin Bai that fighting the Black Prison Legion for too long could attract reinforcements, so Lin Bai turned to question its general.
• Lin Bai crippled the general and used Soul Search to discover that Lin Duo and Li Subai were imprisoned in Flame Mountain.
• Lin Bai and Fu Qingshuang led their companions east, but Lin Bai raced ahead toward Flame Mountain on his flying sword.
• Lin Bai annihilated soldiers who tried to stop him, then reached Flame Mountain and heard Li Subai’s anguished cries.
• Lin Bai vowed to kill his enemies as the flower in his eyes blossomed and the sealed Profound Eye began to awaken.

Lin Bai reached the heart of Flame Mountain and reunited with his imprisoned parents, Lin Duo and Li Subai. Ignoring their warnings about the deadly formations, he unleashed the Devouring Sword Soul and split the mountain, leaving his companions rushing toward the enormous sword strike.

• Lin Bai followed the lava-cave passage and heard Lin Duo and Li Subai talking about him.
• Lin Bai found Lin Duo bound to a bronze pillar and Li Subai trapped in a flame, then knelt and apologized to them.
• Lin Bai promised to rescue his parents, but Lin Duo warned him that Flame Mountain's formations could kill even a Dao Realm cultivator.
• Lin Bai summoned the Devouring Sword Soul and used Break the Ban to cleave Flame Mountain and the Black Prison's earth.
• Fu Qingshuang, Yin Jiuling, Xun Zhizang, and the others sensed the sword strike and hurried toward Flame Mountain.