Chapter Summaries

After emerging from half a year of seclusion with stronger cultivation, Lin Bai learned that the Heng Province war had ended and reunited with old friends at the Sword Hiding Hermitage. The gathering ended with Jiang Xuansu saying the captured Evil Moon Sect disciples should be released.

• Lin Bai emerged from seclusion, and Zhou Xi and Liu Jiangxue congratulated him on his cultivation breakthrough.
• Zhou Xi told Lin Bai that the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province had been destroyed, Heng Province had reopened, and the province's alliance had fallen into decline.
• Lin Bai learned that Jiang Xuansu, Qin Yuyan, Li Yumen, Senior Sister Yi Mei, and Xiao Ji had visited during his seclusion, then invited them to gather at the Sword Hiding Hermitage.
• Lin Bai hosted his friends by Moon Lake, and the group teased Li Yumen and Jiang Xuansu about their relationships with Senior Sister Yi Mei and Lin Bai.
• Qin Yuyan asked Jiang Xuansu what would happen to the captured Evil Moon Sect disciples, and Jiang Xuansu said they should be released.

After the Eternal Devil Sect rescued and sealed away the Evil Moon Sect disciples, Xiao Ji returned to Lin Bai with the Heaven Measuring Ruler he had lost. Lin Bai recovered the treasured weapon and planned to have it reforged before eventually seeking the Void Ancient Road back to the Barren Ancient Continent.

• The Eternal Devil Sect captured the Evil Moon Sect disciples after destroying the Wu Family, then sealed them in Ning Province and later prepared to rescue them under the pretense of searching for treasure hunters.
• Xiao Ji told Lin Bai he had found the requested item and gave him the Heaven Measuring Ruler, which Lin Bai recognized as his lost weapon.
• Lin Bai explained that the ruler mattered to him as a sword cultivator despite its ordinary material and unfinished refinement.
• Jiang Xuansu suggested that Lin Bai ask the Eternal Devil Sect's artifact-refining ancestors to finish the ruler when they gathered to reward the sect's contributors.
• Lin Bai accepted that Xiao Ji had not found the Eternal Sand or Destiny Stone and resolved to seek replacements later, then return to the Barren Ancient Continent after reaching the Dao God Realm.

After the Eternal Devil Sect defeated the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province, Lin Bai was summoned to receive a reward for his crucial contributions. He requested that the sect find a Void Ancient Road to another world, leaving the patriarchs worried that he would leave the Eternal Thirteen Provinces.

• Jiang Xuansu informed Lin Bai that he was to receive his reward at the Eternal Palace.
• Sect Master Li Mojun recounted Lin Bai's four major achievements in the campaign, convincing the assembled elders and disciples that he deserved the greatest merit.
• Li Mojun invited Lin Bai to choose a reward, and Lin Bai asked the sect to investigate where a Void Ancient Road could take him to other worlds.
• The patriarchs realized that Lin Bai's request might mean he would leave, and Liu Fuyun sighed as they considered how to keep him in the sect.

After the Eternal Devil Sect’s victory, Lin Bai asked the sect to help him find the Void Ancient Road, which might lead to another world or the Spirit Realm. The sect agreed to investigate, and an ancestor offered to finish Lin Bai’s Heaven Measuring Ruler.

• The Eternal Devil Sect’s ancestors considered grooming Lin Bai as the next sect leader, but learned that he intended to leave in search of the Void Ancient Road.
• Li Mojun and Lin Bai affirmed that Lin Bai would remain a disciple of the Eternal Devil Sect and return to help if the sect ever needed him.
• Li Mojun and Liu Fuyun explained the Void Ancient Road’s value and shared rumors that the Evil Moon Sect might secretly possess one.
• Li Mojun agreed to have the sect investigate the Void Ancient Road, though he could not promise a quick answer.
• Lin Bai asked the sect to complete his unfinished Heaven Measuring Ruler, and a white-haired ancestor offered to refine it with the finest divine iron.

After Lin Bai helped destroy the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province, the Eternal Devil Sect rewarded him lavishly and promised to investigate the Void Ancient Road and reforge the Heaven Measuring Ruler. He entered the Eternal Seven Absolute Mountain to choose three treasures, deciding to seek materials for advancing his Five Elements Dao Body.

• Ancestor Zhang Yun took the Heaven Measuring Ruler to reforge it and told Lin Bai it would be ready within days or a few months.
• Sect Master Li Mojun awarded Lin Bai abundant pills, Dao Divine Weapons, rare materials, and the right to choose three treasures from the Eternal Seven Absolute Mountain.
• Lin Bai exchanged Voice Transmission Tokens with Zhang Yun, then returned to the Sword Hiding Hermitage to wait.
• Three days later, Lin Bai brought Liu An'an, Liu Jiangxue, and Zhou Xi to the Eternal Seven Absolute Mountain to collect his rewards and choose treasures.
• Lin Bai sent Liu An'an, Liu Jiangxue, and Zhou Xi to collect the sect's rewards while he entered the mountain alone.
• Lin Bai decided to choose Natural Treasures to cultivate his Five Elements Dao Body toward mid-stage perfection or the late stage.

Lin Bai explored the final three levels of Eternal Seven Absolute Mountain’s seven treasure mountains and selected three items suited to his cultivation. He left with treasures to develop his Five Elements Dao Body, prepare for a future breakthrough, and temper his Sword Heart.

• With the Sect Master's permission, Lin Bai examined the treasures in the final three levels of Eternal Seven Absolute Mountain and found many powerful items, including a shield and a sealing Landscape Painting.
• Lin Bai inspected the other six mountains, saw a vicious sword that could devour its wielder, and carefully memorized the treasures that might benefit him.
• Lin Bai chose the Five Qi Pearl from the Exotic Treasures Mountain to cultivate his Five Elements Dao Body.
• Lin Bai took the Nine Refinements Dao God Pill to prepare for breaking through to the Dao God Realm.
• Lin Bai selected the Red Dust Thousand Zhang Lamp to temper his Sword Heart and seek a breakthrough beyond its Second Refinement.

After receiving his rewards from the Eternal Devil Sect, Lin Bai distributed treasures and cultivation resources to Zhou Xi, Liu Jiangxue, Liu An'an, Lu Yuanshan, and the other cultivators at Sword Hiding Hermitage. He learned that Sun Yao had refused to return and, while considering the lingering dangers in Heng Province, remained wary of Young Master Lu.

• Lin Bai inspected the sect's rewards and returned with Liu Jiangxue, Liu An'an, and Zhou Xi to Sword Hiding Hermitage.
• Lin Bai gave Zhou Xi pills and treasures and promised to protect his breakthrough to the Dao Sovereign Realm.
• Lin Bai supplied Liu Jiangxue with tribulation preparations and gave Liu An'an a bell bracelet, which she eagerly took.
• Lin Bai summoned Lu Yuanshan and rewarded him with a cultivation manual and a middle-grade Dao Divine Weapon.
• Lin Bai distributed more treasures to the hermitage's cultivators and asked Zhou Xi about Sun Yao, who had declined to return.
• Zhou Xi warned that Sun Yao might give Lin Bai's enemies an excuse to target him, and Lin Bai considered the lingering influence of the Eight Great Noble Families and the hidden Young Master Lu.

Lin Bai focused on rebuilding his cultivation and helping his companions advance, then used the Nine Refinements Dao God Pill to break through to the Dao God Realm. The breakthrough revealed that his pill-built cultivation was unstable and dangerously weak, leaving him to confront the consequences of ignoring Ling Tianzi’s warning.

• Lin Bai asked Zhou Xi whether he could contact Sun Yao, but Zhou Xi said he had not reached her for half a year, so Lin Bai told him to ask her whereabouts if they spoke again.
• The Eternal Devil Sect drove the remnants of the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province out of the Eternal Thirteen Provinces while Lin Bai recovered and resumed cultivation.
• Lin Bai helped Zhou Xi break through to the Dao Sovereign level, helped Liu Jiangxue advance to the Nine Tribulation Dao Realm, and provided Liu An'an with tribulation treasures as she reached the Quasi-Dao Realm.
• Lin Bai learned that Lu Yuanshan had reached the Quasi-Dao Realm after receiving a cultivation method from him.
• After reaching the Ninth-Class Dao Immortal level, Lin Bai chose the Nine Refinements Dao God Pill over the Dragon Immortal Jade and broke through to the Dao God Realm.
• Lin Bai discovered that his cultivation power was extremely weak and realized that relying on pills had left his foundation unstable, confirming the danger Ling Tianzi had warned him about.

Lin Bai learned that recklessly consuming pills had damaged his cultivation foundation, and after finding no quick remedy, he used the Red Dust Thousand Zhang Lamp to temper his heart. The lamp cast him into a mortal city as a blade of grass, where he struggled to survive until an unexpected disaster ended that life.

• Lin Bai found three ways to repair his Dao Injury, rejected destroying his recent cultivation and seeking an impossible powerhouse, and chose to slowly nourish his foundation.
• After a month of little progress, Lin Bai stopped cultivating to avoid inner demons and later lit the Red Dust Thousand Zhang Lamp.
• Lin Bai was drawn into the lamp's world and discovered he had become a blade of grass in a bustling mortal city.
• Lin Bai accepted his helpless form and spent two months bending in the wind to avoid being crushed by passersby.
• An unexpected disaster ended the life of Lin Bai the blade of grass.

Lin Bai used the Red Dust Thousand Zhang Lamp to experience lives as ordinary creatures and people, discovering that time spent in its illusions slowly repaired his Dao Injury. He continued entering new illusions, hoping to survive longer and recover faster.

• After a beggar pulled up and ate Lin Bai while he was a blade of grass, Lin Bai awakened and reflected on how danger could come from someone insignificant.
• Lin Bai noticed that his Dao Injury had begun to heal after more than two months in the lamp’s illusion, though only a quarter of an hour had passed in the Sword Hiding Hermitage.
• Lin Bai entered another illusion as a cat but suffocated when a woman pressed him against her breasts, and his Dao Injury showed little improvement.
• Lin Bai repeatedly entered new illusions as a tiger, bird, general, and wealthy merchant, dying in each one within half a year.
• Lin Bai confirmed that longer stays in the Red Dust Thousand Zhang Lamp’s illusions improved his Dao Injury, but he could not cultivate in worlds without spiritual energy.

The Eternal Devil Sect released the twelve Evil Moon Sect disciples it had captured, who departed after challenging the sect to meet them at next year’s Evil Moon Assembly. After three months in the Red Dust Thousand Zhang Lamp, Lin Bai healed his Dao Injury, stabilized his cultivation, and decided to seek further experience in the Eternal Thirteen Provinces.

• Ke Yu led Eternal Devil Sect powerhouses to free the twelve Evil Moon Sect disciples sealed in Ning Province, and they reluctantly accepted the sect’s hospitality while recovering.
• Three months later, the Purple-Haired Man invited the Eternal Devil Sect to compete at the next Evil Moon Assembly and led the twelve disciples away.
• Li Mojun ordered Ke Yu to select Dao Sovereign, Dao Immortal, and Dao God martial artists to attend the Evil Moon Assembly.
• Lin Bai healed his Dao Injury in the Red Dust Thousand Zhang Lamp and stabilized at the First-Grade Dao God realm.
• Lin Bai perfected the middle stage of the Five Elements Dao Body but concluded he needed Five Elements spiritual objects to advance further.
• Lin Bai sensed his Second Refinement Sword Heart approaching the Third Refinement and decided to travel through the Eternal Thirteen Provinces for experience.

After emerging from seclusion, Lin Bai learned from Jiang Xuansu about the Evil Moon Grand Feast, a contest where the Evil Moon Sect tested the strength of the provinces and realms under its control and rewarded outstanding competitors with treasures or territory. Jiang Xuansu revealed that Ancestor Liu Fuyun had already selected her and Lin Bai to attend, leaving Lin Bai curious about the other prodigies they would face.

• Lin Bai found Sword Hiding Hermitage empty, learned Zhou Xi was cultivating in seclusion, and read Liu Jiangxue and Liu An'an's note saying they had gone out to seek a breakthrough.
• Jiang Xuansu visited Lin Bai and explained that the Evil Moon Sect held the Evil Moon Grand Feast at irregular intervals, offering treasures to competitors from across its territory.
• Jiang Xuansu told Lin Bai that past prizes had included provinces, recounting how the Crimson Moon Divine Sect gained two provinces from the Eternal Devil Sect after one of its disciples won.
• Lin Bai realized the feast let the Evil Moon Sect assess the strength of the provinces it ruled, while its own disciples competed to demonstrate the sect's power.
• Jiang Xuansu revealed that the twelve Evil Moon Sect disciples recently released by the Eternal Devil Sect had challenged its disciples, and that Ancestor Liu Fuyun had selected her and Lin Bai to attend the feast.

Lin Bai attended the Eternal Devil Sect’s gathering for the Evil Moon Grand Feast, then spoke with Li Mojun about their old agreement. With the sect’s external and internal threats largely settled, Li Mojun said the remaining challenge was earning the Evil Moon Sect’s recognition, which depended on a genius making the Eternal Devil Sect’s name known at the feast.

• Lin Bai received the Sect Master's summons and joined the martial artists gathered in the Eternal Palace for the Evil Moon Grand Feast.
• Jiang Xuansu explained the purpose of the summons, and the Sect Master and Ancestors urged the attendees to win glory for the sect and warned of rewards and punishment.
• After the meeting, Li Mojun called Lin Bai to stay and proposed putting aside their past disagreements over drinks.
• Li Mojun reviewed their agreement, noting that the Crimson Moon Divine Sect had been quieted and the Eight Great Noble Families of Heng Province had been destroyed, leaving the sect's lack of recognition by the Evil Moon Sect as the final problem.
• Li Mojun explained that a standout genius winning at the Evil Moon Grand Feast could make the Evil Moon Sect and the wider martial world remember the Eternal Devil Sect, helping it gain influence and resources.

Lin Bai learned that his new Dao God cultivation could leave him at a disadvantage in the Evil Moon Grand Feast, but he vowed to train before it began. As he prepared to travel, a patriarch asked him to investigate a rapidly growing religious faction in Le Province.

• Lin Bai asked the Sect Master and patriarchs what he needed to accomplish, then explained that his First Grade Dao God cultivation would force him into the Dao God arena against peak-level experts.
• Li Mojun and the patriarchs worried that Lin Bai had advanced too far to compete in the Dao Immortal arena but was not strong enough to dominate the Dao God arena.
• Lin Bai vowed to spend the year before the Evil Moon Grand Feast improving his cultivation and asked permission to travel; the Sect Master told him to return before the sect departed in half a year.
• A patriarch told Lin Bai that a cruel religious faction had taken territory across Le Province, attracted followers by promising rapid breakthroughs, and threatened to rival the Eternal Devil Sect.
• Lin Bai heard the patriarch's warning and suddenly thought of Sun Yao.

Lin Bai accepted the Ancestor’s order to investigate Yue Province’s rising sect and search for Sun Yao before attending the Evil Moon Grand Feast. After receiving his reforged Heaven Measuring Ruler, he prepared to depart with Jiang Xuansu, who had been allowed to accompany him to gain combat experience.

• Lin Bai agreed to travel to Yue Province to investigate the sect and find out whether Sun Yao had taken a dangerous path.
• The Ancestor returned the reforged Heaven Measuring Ruler, which weighed seventy-two thousand jin and had power comparable to a supreme-grade Dao Divine Weapon.
• Lin Bai tested the sword at the Sword Hiding Hermitage, shaking the mountain and terrifying its creatures before Zhou Xi arrived.
• Lin Bai practiced with the Heaven Measuring Ruler for five days and learned to use it at the realm of Sword-Self Unification.
• Jiang Xuansu visited Lin Bai and said she would accompany him to Yue Province because she needed real combat experience before the Evil Moon Grand Feast.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu traveled to Yue Province to investigate the rapidly rising Joyous Union Sect, whose cultivation art supposedly let people break through bottlenecks. They learned that desperate martial artists from across the Eternal Thirteen Provinces were flocking to the sect, and Lin Bai realized how it was building its power.

• Lin Bai took Jiang Xuansu out of the sect and left Zhou Xi to guard Sword Hiding Hermitage.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu arrived in North Yun City, where attendant Zhao Yunsheng offered to guide them.
• Lin Bai asked Zhao Yunsheng for an inn, a map of Yue Province, and information about places to enjoy themselves, while Jiang Xuansu urged him to focus on their mission.
• Lin Bai asked about the Joyous Union Sect, and Zhao Yunsheng explained that many martial artists had come seeking its breakthrough cultivation art.
• Lin Bai deduced that the Joyous Union Sect was recruiting desperate, aging martial artists and using Yue Province's depleted forces to expand its influence.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu learned about the Joyous Union Sect and traveled from North Yun City toward its Purple Phoenix branch altar. They set out by boat along the Profound Water, where a powerful, united Demon Race lived in the river.

• The guide boy explained the Joyous Union Sect's rise, leadership, and branch altars, while Jiang Xuansu and Lin Bai suspected its bottleneck-defying cultivation technique was demonic.
• Lin Bai paid the guide boy with valuable pills and treasures, received a map of Joy Province, and left North Yun City with Jiang Xuansu.
• At the ferry crossing, Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu learned the next passenger boat would not leave until dawn, so they bought a Black Awning Boat to travel downstream.
• The old boat captain warned Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu that the Profound Water was full of vicious demons.
• Lin Bai reflected that the Profound Water Demon Race had united across Jiang Province and Joy Province in the Profound Water Demon Alliance, supporting each other against human invasions.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu traveled down the Mystic Water River, enjoying the scenery and sharing tea and roasted fish. At night, Jiang Xuansu discovered that hundreds of demon beasts had been following their boat since it left the ferry crossing.

• Lin Bai brewed spirit tea for Jiang Xuansu as they discussed her sheltered upbringing in the Eternal Devil Sect.
• Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu continued downstream as night fell and lit a fish-shaped lantern aboard the Black Awning Boat.
• Lin Bai roasted a bighead carp, and Jiang Xuansu noticed a demon fish following their boat.
• Lin Bai explained that the demon fish was likely scouting them for the great demons, but he had not attacked it because it had not provoked them.
• Jiang Xuansu used her azure-lit eyes to see hundreds of demon beasts lurking beneath the boat, and Lin Bai revealed that they had followed them since the ferry crossing.

As demons pursued the Black Awning Boat, Lin Bai told Jiang Xuansu his real name and revealed how he had fled the Barren Ancient Continent after sending his family and friends into the void. He still did not know where they were, but trusted the crow who had gone with them to keep them safe.

• More than twenty demons caught up with the Black Awning Boat after a scout reported that a beautiful woman was aboard.
• Jiang Xuansu confronted Lin Bai about her suspicion that he was not Qing Luo and asked him to reveal his identity.
• Lin Bai told Jiang Xuansu that his name was Lin Bai and that he came from the Barren Ancient Continent.
• Lin Bai explained that he had sent his family and friends into the void aboard the Void Sword Ark to protect them from the Giant God Race.
• Lin Bai said a crow had accompanied his family and would help keep them safe, while he still did not know where they were.
• In the vast void, the crow sneezed and joked that mortals kept praising his handsomeness.

Lin Bai and Jiang Xuansu's quiet conversation was interrupted when the Overturning Sea General arrived and tried to take Jiang Xuansu to his water manor. Jiang Xuansu killed him with one palm, and the pair remained aboard the Black Awning Boat as the surviving demons fled.

• Jiang Xuansu asked Lin Bai whether he had started a family on the Barren Ancient Continent, but Lin Bai noticed Demon Race members approaching.
• The Overturning Sea General introduced himself and invited Jiang Xuansu to visit his water manor, ignoring Lin Bai.
• Jiang Xuansu agreed to go if the Overturning Sea General could withstand three palm strikes, and he accepted, trusting his tortoiseshell defenses.
• Jiang Xuansu crushed the Overturning Sea General's tortoiseshell and killed him with a single palm, sending his companions fleeing into the river.
• Lin Bai praised Jiang Xuansu's palm technique, and she offered to teach him, but he declined because he struggled to master palm and fist techniques.