Chapter Summaries

Zhao Yue revealed the Central Sacred Nation’s hidden forces and sent Lin Bai to help the trapped Divine Martial Nation army. Lin Bai reached the southern gate and cut through its powerful formation, opening the way out of Divine Capital.

• Zhao Yue summoned several hundred Demon Sect remnants and told Lin Bai that the Crown Prince and Seventeenth Prince had mobilized the Dragon Guardian Clan and Eternal Night Bureau to attack the Divine Martial Nation’s army.
• Lin Bai left Jian Ruohan, Tie Haitang, Hong Su, Zhao Yue, and the Demon Sect’s Dharma Kings to hold off the Sacred Emperor’s forces, then rushed to the southern gate.
• Lin Bai found Chu Jiangliu, Lin Duo, and the others trapped by a reinforced gate formation as Central Sacred Nation reinforcements gathered.
• Lin Bai used the Devouring Sword Soul to cleave apart the city gate and shatter its formation, then urged the army to leave Divine Capital quickly.

Lin Bai and the Divine Martial Nation’s army broke through the southern city gate, but the Crown Prince and Seventeenth Prince arrived with the Eternal Night Bureau and Dragon Guardian Clan, turning the battle against them. As Chu Jiangliu ordered a desperate retreat, the Crown Prince sent the Eternal Night Bureau’s strongest experts after Lin Bai and the other Quasi-Dao Realm fighters.

• A white-clad man wielding black flames shattered the city-gate formation with one sword strike, allowing the Divine Martial Nation’s army to attack.
• Lin Bai spotted the Seventeenth Prince and Crown Prince approaching with reinforcements, and Chu Jiangliu repositioned the army to face them on both sides.
• The Crown Prince ordered the Dragon Guardian Clan to attack the rebels and the Eternal Night Bureau to hunt down their strongest fighters.
• Eternal Night Bureau experts nearly killed Chu Jiangliu, but Lin Bai rescued him and defeated his attackers with one sword strike.
• Chu Jiangliu urged Lin Bai to order a breakout, and Lin Bai summoned the Giant God Avatar and called for everyone to escape.
• The Crown Prince ordered eight Eternal Night Bureau experts named after divine beasts to attack Lin Duo and the other Quasi-Dao Realm fighters.

The Eternal Night Bureau’s experts arrived to overwhelm the Divine Martial Nation’s defenders and surround Lin Bai. As the army fell into disarray, Lin Bai ordered Chu Jiangliu to take his parents and escape the Divine Capital while he remained to fight.

• Lan Ling and Fu Qingshuang joined the battle, but White Fox confronted Lan Ling and used the Nine Heavens Divine Travel Steps to evade her Time-Space God Eyes.
• Giant Bear blocked Fu Qingshuang, while other Eternal Night Bureau experts engaged Li Zhengyi, Su Yanhua, Bai Mu, Feng Lingzi, Monk Jiufeng, and the other defenders.
• Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise surrounded Lin Bai and attacked him, but he fought back with his flying swords, Heaven Measuring Ruler, and demon sword.
• Chu Jiangliu emerged from a heap of corpses and saw the Divine Martial Nation’s army retreating as rescue pleas flooded his Voice Transmission Token.
• Lin Bai ordered Chu Jiangliu to take his parents and leave the Divine Capital, and Chu Jiangliu led Lin Duo toward the exit under the soldiers’ protection.

Zhao Tiedan reunited with Lin Bai during the battle in Divine Capital and revealed that he had reached the Quasi-Dao Realm. When Black Tortoise attacked him, Zhao Tiedan shattered one of his arms with a single punch, and Azure Dragon recognized his seventh-level Celestial War Body.

• Lin Bai was wounded as Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird attacked him together.
• Zhao Tiedan appeared, caught Vermilion Bird’s flaming whip, and reunited with Lin Bai.
• Zhao Tiedan told Lin Bai about searching for him, defeating Wu He and the Eastern Continent Academy’s Quasi-Holy Sons, and delaying his journey to pursue a nun he loved.
• When Azure Dragon asked his name, Zhao Tiedan introduced himself as Zhao Ba and promised to defeat Lin Bai’s attackers.
• Black Tortoise lunged at Zhao Tiedan, who broke one of his arms with a punch; Azure Dragon identified Zhao Tiedan’s seventh-level Celestial War Body of the War God Art.

Zhao Tiedan revealed that he had cultivated the seventh level of the War God Art and killed the four Eternal Night Bureau generals who had cornered Lin Bai. Watching Zhao Tiedan's overwhelming strength, Lin Bai understood why the Central Sacred Nation had destroyed the War God Sect.

• Qinglong recognized Zhao Tiedan's Celestial War Body and realized he had cultivated the long-lost War God Art.
• Zhao Tiedan killed Xuanwu and Baihu with a series of simple, powerful punches, while Lin Bai recognized his mastery of Great Dao to Simplicity.
• Zhao Tiedan killed Zhuque, then withstood Qinglong's desperate attack and killed him with a single punch.
• Zhao Tiedan returned to Lin Bai expecting praise, and Lin Bai concluded that the Central Sacred Nation had feared the War God Sect's overwhelming power.

Lin Bai and the Divine Martial Nation’s fighters escaped Divine Capital after a fierce battle, leaving the Central Sacred Nation’s Ninth Ancestor furious at Sacred Emperor Zhao Chenhai. At Dragon River Prefecture, Bai Xiaoxiao put all three armies on alert and ordered the nation’s divisions to help Lin Bai reach the river; half a month later, martial artists appeared on the opposite bank.

• Lin Bai, Zhao Tiedan, and the Divine Martial Nation’s forces broke out of Divine Capital as Su Xianmei and the others withdrew their fighters.
• Black Heaven Old Ancestor wounded the Ninth Ancestor before escaping with Su Xianmei, while the Ninth Ancestor condemned Zhao Chenhai and said he would report the defeat to the Zhao Family in the Spirit World.
• Zhao Chenhai ordered the Central Sacred Nation’s army to pursue Lin Bai and his companions toward Dragon River Prefecture.
• Bai Xiaoxiao received reports of the fighting and ordered the Shadow Division, Sword Division, Divine Division, and other divisions to help Lin Bai reach Dragon River Prefecture.
• Bai Xiaoxiao ordered all three armies to prepare for battle across the Dragon River, and half a month later martial artists appeared on the opposite bank.

Bai Xiaoxiao welcomed Chu Jiangliu and Lin Duo back to the Divine Martial Nation, then reunited with Lin Bai and the others at the Dragon River. She refused the Sacred Emperor’s demand to surrender them and led her armies back toward Lingnan Imperial City as the two nations faced off.

• Chu Jiangliu crossed the Dragon River with Lin Duo and several hundred martial artists, then reported that Lin Bai had stayed behind to cover their escape from Divine Capital.
• Bai Xiaoxiao welcomed Lin Duo and Li Subai, and Lin Duo lamented the deaths caused by the battle.
• Lin Bai, Yin Jiuling, A Ning, Fang Yiyun, and their companions arrived at dusk, followed by the Sacred Emperor and an army of more than fifty million.
• The Sacred Emperor demanded that Bai Xiaoxiao hand over Lin Duo, Lin Bai, and the others, threatening the Divine Martial Nation with invasion.
• Bai Xiaoxiao refused to yield and ordered the Divine Martial Nation’s three armies to return to Lingnan Imperial City.

The Divine Martial Nation escorted Lin Bai and the others back to Lingnan Imperial City while the Sacred Emperor withdrew to the Divine Capital to prepare for war. After recovering from their injuries, Lin Bai learned that Li Subai could regain a body only by possessing one or finding a rare Heavenly Spirit Embryo.

• The Sacred Emperor judged that his hastily assembled forces could not safely fight the Divine Martial Nation and ordered his troops back to the Divine Capital.
• Bai Xiaoxiao led the Divine Martial Nation's army back to Lingnan Imperial City and summoned the ministers to discuss the looming war with the Central Sacred Nation.
• Lin Bai and the others settled into the Sword King Manor, where Emperor Xiao sent healing pills for the injured.
• Seven days later, Lin Bai visited Lin Duo and the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals, greeted Li Subai, and promised to find medicine to restore her body.
• Lan Ling explained that Li Subai could either seize another body or use a Heavenly Spirit Embryo to refine a new one, but she rejected possession.

Lin Bai learned that Li Subai could regain her body through a Heaven Spirit Embryo or the Yin-Yang Creation Two-Life Flower, and he considered searching for them in the Celestial God Tomb. He also heard why the Central Sacred Nation faced resistance from the ancient powers of the Barren Ancient Continent, while the Divine Martial Nation prepared for a possible war.

• Li Zhengyi described the Heaven Spirit Embryo and the Yin-Yang Creation Two-Life Flower as possible ways to restore Li Subai's body, and Lin Duo vowed to search for one.
• Lin Bai favored the Yin-Yang Creation Two-Life Flower and considered looking for it or a Heaven Spirit Embryo inside the Celestial God Tomb.
• Lin Duo said his injuries were severe but not life-threatening and that he could recover within one to three years.
• Xun Zhizang reported that Emperor Xiao and Chu Jiangliu were preparing the Divine Martial Nation for conflict with the Central Sacred Nation.
• Lan Ling and Fu Qingshuang explained that the Central Sacred Nation's past defeat of Kunxu had made the ancient powers wary of its strength, and Lin Bai joked that he was usually the one others envied.

Lin Bai learned that ancient factions had secretly backed Lin Duo to challenge the Central Sacred Nation, and that a mysterious Green Jade Fragment had sparked the betrayal that destroyed their plan. Lin Duo revealed that the fragment was inside Lin Bai, who was the fragment itself.

• Lan Ling and Fu Qingshuang explained that ancient factions would secretly support anyone capable of challenging the Central Sacred Nation, and revealed they had backed Lin Duo more than twenty years earlier.
• Lan Ling said the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals had been selected and cultivated by ancient factions as part of a plan against the Central Sacred Nation.
• Lin Duo explained that the Savage Soul Society had planned for the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals to gain power in the Spirit World and reclaim the right to ascend, but Mo Wenshen and others betrayed them.
• Lin Duo said the coveted Green Jade Fragment had been an ordinary piece of jade he found near Spirit Rhino City and gave to Li Subai as a token of love.
• When Lin Bai asked where the fragment was, Lin Duo pointed to his chest and revealed that Lin Bai was the fragment.

Lin Duo and Li Subai revealed that the mysterious fragment had merged into Lin Bai’s body when he was an infant and was likely using him as a refuge from calamity. Lin Bai learned that his grandfather had died refusing to surrender him and the fragment, and his family urged him to live well and grow stronger.

• Lin Duo told Lin Bai that the fragment had melted into his chest when he was a baby and that his family had been unable to locate or remove it.
• Li Subai and Lin Duo explained that they believed the fragment was hiding inside Lin Bai to evade calamity and would reveal itself when the time came.
• Lin Duo told Lin Bai that Kunxu had refused to surrender him because the fragment was inside him, and that his grandfather had died fighting the Central Sacred Nation.
• Lin Duo reminded Lin Bai that his life had been bought through the sacrifices of his grandfather, family, and Kunxu’s fallen martial artists, and told him to live well.
• Lan Ling and Fu Qingshuang recalled how much Lin Bai’s grandfather had loved him, and Li Zhengyi said his grandfather would be proud of him.

Lin Bai confronted Li Zhengyi over their strained relationship and the wanted notice Li Zhengyi had issued against him. Lin Duo began explaining the sacrifices Li Zhengyi had made to preserve Kunxu, leaving Li Zhengyi weeping as he recalled his youth.

• Lin Bai remembered that his maternal grandfather and Kunxu were connected to the secret Savage Soul Society, which sought to reclaim Descent Mountain from the Central Sacred Nation.
• After their companions left, Lin Duo called Li Zhengyi back to join Lin Bai and Li Subai at the table.
• Lin Bai told Li Zhengyi he had felt alone for years and pointed out that Li Zhengyi had issued a wanted notice against him; Li Zhengyi confirmed it without offering an explanation.
• Lin Duo urged Lin Bai not to resent Li Zhengyi and recounted how Li Zhengyi had knelt before the Central Sacred Nation to preserve Kunxu after its defeat.
• Li Zhengyi laughed at memories of his youth as tears ran down his face.

Lin Duo explained that Li Zhengyi had surrendered to the Central Sacred Nation to spare Kunxu and the Peach Mountain Eighteen Immortals, though he had been left to endure years of blame and isolation. Li Zhengyi gave Lin Bai a mask that revealed his connection to the Purple-Robed Man, then left, while Lin Bai reflected on his uncle’s loneliness.

• Lin Duo explained that Li Zhengyi had ended Kunxu’s resistance to prevent further deaths, but the Divine Emperor and Yu Qiudi had kept him alive to draw out the Peach Mountain cultivators.
• Li Zhengyi wept as he drank and told Lin Bai that cultivation made it impossible for him to escape painful memories by getting drunk.
• Li Zhengyi said Kunxu would always be Li Subai and Lin Duo’s home, then prepared to leave without disturbing their family reunion.
• Li Subai reminded Li Zhengyi of the coming-of-age gift he had promised Lin Bai, and Li Zhengyi gave Lin Bai a purple-gold mask that concealed his aura and changed his appearance and voice.
• Lin Bai asked whether Li Zhengyi had been the Purple-Robed Man who saved him from Mo Wenshen, but Li Zhengyi left without answering.
• Lin Bai concluded that Li Zhengyi had likely been the Purple-Robed Man and reflected that his uncle had endured his hardships without anyone to confide in.

After sending Lin Bai away, Lin Duo continued recovering from his injuries while Lin Bai visited his companions at Sword King Manor. Yin Jiuling’s warning against complacency left Lin Bai thinking not of the Ancient Immortal Sect, but of the Giant God Race.

• Li Subai sent Lin Bai away so Lin Duo could rest and heal, and Lin Bai returned to Sword King Manor after spending the day with his parents.
• Lin Bai met Feng Wenjun and Shi Jiamu, welcomed them to stay, and heard that Feng Wenjun’s family had submitted to the Divine Martial Nation and hoped for favorable recognition.
• Lin Bai found Yin Jiuling watching fish at the lake and asked about his injuries.
• Yin Jiuling killed the large fish and warned Lin Bai that without leaping through the Dragon Gate, it would remain a common creature and be vulnerable to stronger forces.
• Lin Bai understood Yin Jiuling’s warning against complacency but believed the Giant God Race, rather than the Ancient Immortal Sect, was the threat watching from the shore.

Lin Bai checked on his recovering companions and found Zhao Tiedan secretly drawing the nun he loved. A Ning recognized her as Jiu Ci, the revered Sacred Maiden of Cihang Monastery, whose status in the Western Continent rivaled that of the Central Sacred Nation’s Sacred Emperor.

• Yin Jiuling warned Lin Bai not to grow complacent after his victory, then left to explore the Myriad Kingdoms Domain while staying within reach.
• Lin Bai visited his companions and learned A Ning had nearly recovered; he told A Ning that Li Subai needed rare Heavenly Spirit treasures to restore her body.
• A Ning offered to search for a Heavenly Spirit Embryo and a Yin-Yang Creation Two-Life Flower, but Lin Bai urged him to rest in the Imperial City and promised to have people search instead.
• Lin Bai and A Ning found Zhao Tiedan drawing a portrait of the nun he loved, and Lin Bai teased him about taking her to the Western Continent to seek her hand in marriage.
• A Ning identified the woman as Jiu Ci, the Sacred Maiden of Cihang Monastery, and explained her extraordinary Buddhist attainments and high standing in the Western Continent.

Zhao Tiedan refused to give up on the Holy Maiden Jiuci, though Lin Bai learned that persuading her to leave Buddhist life was nearly impossible. After visiting Bai Xiaoxiao, Lin Bai heard that the Central Sacred Nation was preparing for war and that the Divine Martial Nation could survive an invasion for no more than three years without outside help.

• A Ning warned Lin Bai that the Holy Maiden Jiuci’s status made it nearly impossible for her to leave Buddha's Fate Temple, but Zhao Tiedan vowed to keep pursuing her.
• Lin Bai asked Monk Jiufeng about the Holy Maiden Jiuci and learned little, then had to stop him from going after the person who loved her.
• Half a month later, Lin Bai visited Bai Xiaoxiao at the imperial palace and held her while she slept from exhaustion.
• Bai Xiaoxiao told Lin Bai that the Central Sacred Nation was mobilizing its armies and that experts from the Hanging Sword Bureau and Dragon Slaying Bureau had entered the Eastern Continent.
• Bai Xiaoxiao estimated that the Divine Martial Nation could hold out for at most three years against a fully prepared Central Sacred Nation without outside help.

Bai Xiaoxiao explained that Divine Martial Nation faced severe disadvantages against the Central Sacred Nation in military equipment, powerful experts, and the threat of Spirit World forces descending. Lin Bai decided to seek a way to break through to the Dao Realm in the Celestial God Tomb, leaving Bai Xiaoxiao to hold the nation together for three years.

• Bai Xiaoxiao told Lin Bai that Divine Martial Nation lacked the Central Sacred Nation’s military equipment and powerful experts, and feared intervention from the Ancient Immortal Sect through Descent Mountain.
• Lin Bai considered his debts to Bai Xiaoxiao and Divine Martial Nation and resolved to act after a night of reflection.
• Bai Xiaoxiao prepared to attend morning court and asked Lin Bai to wait for her, but Lin Bai told her he planned to leave.
• Lin Bai announced he would enter the Celestial God Tomb to find resources and break through to the Dao Realm, despite Bai Xiaoxiao warning that few people ever escaped.
• Lin Bai asked Bai Xiaoxiao to keep Divine Martial Nation standing for three years and threatened to destroy the Barren Ancient Continent if he did not return and the nation had fallen.

Lin Bai decided to leave the Divine Martial Nation for the Celestial God Tomb and told Tie Haitang to stay safe while he was gone. He confronted Hong Su over her work playing the zither in pleasure quarters, then left her with an order forbidding those venues from employing her.

• Bai Xiaoxiao accepted that Lin Bai would go to the Celestial God Tomb and offered to see him off when he was ready.
• Lin Bai returned to Proud Sun Courtyard, where Tie Haitang told him how she had left the Land of Exile and where Zhao Yue, Hong Su, and Jian Ruohan were.
• Lin Bai warned Tie Haitang to stay in the imperial city and said he would arrange for her to learn proper etiquette.
• Lin Bai listened to Hong Su play the zither and confronted her about working in pleasure quarters.
• Lin Bai said he would have Emperor Xiao ban pleasure quarters from employing Hong Su, while allowing her to go elsewhere to play.

Lin Bai told Zhao Yue he was going to the Celestial God Tomb to seek a way to separate her spirit soul from Ye Suxin’s and find a treasure to restore his mother’s body. He then visited Jian Ruohan, removed her mask, and comforted her despite her disfigurement from the Ice Jade Poison.

• Zhao Yue warned Lin Bai that separating her spirit soul from Ye Suxin’s might only be possible in the Spirit World, while Lin Bai said he would search for a solution in the Celestial God Tomb.
• Lin Bai told Zhao Yue he was leaving for the Celestial God Tomb to help protect the Divine Martial Nation and asked her to behave while he was gone.
• Lin Bai went to Jian Ruohan’s room and forced his way inside after she refused to see him.
• Lin Bai removed Jian Ruohan’s mask and saw how the Ice Jade Poison had left her face pale and ghostlike.
• Lin Bai embraced Jian Ruohan and reassured her that he would never betray her, and she wept tears that froze into ice crystals.

Lin Bai prepared to leave for the Celestial God Tomb, where he hoped to find a way to break through, rebuild his mother's body, and cure Jian Ruohan. Before departing, he arranged a meeting with the Savage Soul Society to seek support for the Divine Martial Nation, but insisted on speaking with its ancestors.

• Lin Bai discovered that Jian Ruohan's evolved poison was entangled with her Extreme Ice Sword Soul, and he promised to seek divine medicine in the Celestial God Tomb.
• After Lin Bai and his companions failed to find a cure, he decided his trip to the Celestial God Tomb was unavoidable and asked Lin Duo to contact the Savage Soul Society.
• Lin Duo sent Lan Ling to arrange a meeting, and three days later Lin Bai, Lin Duo, Lan Ling, Li Zhengyi, and Bai Xiaoxiao traveled to a secluded valley outside Lingnan Imperial City.
• Old Man Lone Boat arrived on an Azure Flood Dragon and questioned why Lin Bai wanted to meet the Savage Soul Society.
• Lin Bai said he would explain only after meeting the society's ancestors, telling Old Man Lone Boat that he was not qualified to decide the matter.