Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai agreed to attend the Heaven and Earth Gate’s Dao discussion and martial competition, while Sect Master Chu Xi arranged for a mysterious expert to protect him. Back on Bright Moon Island, Lin Bai gave Yi Gu the Soul Nurturing Technique of Tianshui.

• Sect Master Chu Xi decided Lin Bai alone would represent the Tianshui Sect and promised to invite an expert to accompany him to the Heaven and Earth Gate.
• Chu Xi set the group’s departure for the fifteenth of the next month and left to write to the unnamed expert.
• Lin Bai reassured Qiao Mo that traveling with fewer people would make it easier for him to escape danger, though she remained worried about the Heaven and Earth Gate.
• Yi Gu asked Lin Bai for advice on winning a woman’s affection, and Lin Bai told him to look within himself.
• Lin Bai gave Yi Gu the Soul Nurturing Technique of Tianshui and warned him that it was extremely difficult to cultivate; Yi Gu vowed not to give up.

Lin Bai gave Yi Gu the Soul Nurturing Technique of Tianshui, then persuaded the crow to accompany him to the Heaven and Earth Gate. The crow agreed to help keep Lin Bai safe in exchange for a Green Jade Fragment if it remembered how to use one, and Lin Bai set off with it.

• Lin Bai gave Yi Gu the Soul Nurturing Technique of Tianshui, and Yi Gu promised to remember the Tianshui Sect's and Lin Bai's favors.
• Yi Gu decided to remain at the Tianshui Sect until the Chu Emperor's ten-thousand-year birthday celebration, then return to the Seven Nights Divine Sect with an elder.
• Lin Bai told the crow he was going to the Heaven and Earth Gate and insisted that it accompany him.
• The crow offered to protect Lin Bai in exchange for a Green Jade Fragment, but Lin Bai refused to hand one over until the crow remembered how to use it.
• The crow agreed to help Lin Bai survive the Heaven and Earth Gate, and Lin Bai walked away pleased with the bargain.

Lin Bai recuperated on Bright Moon Island while Chu Xi brought Xiao Cangsheng, the legendary dean of White Deer Academy, to Tianshui Sect for help. After hearing that Lin Bai faced danger at Heaven and Earth Gate, Xiao Cangsheng agreed to assist.

• Lin Bai spent his remaining month on Bright Moon Island recovering and strengthening himself as Qin Yao and Qiao Mo prepared healing pills for him.
• Xiao Cangsheng arrived at Tianshui Sect in his White Deer Carriage, where Chu Xi and the elders welcomed him.
• Chu Xi initially claimed she had invited Xiao Cangsheng to admire Tianshui Sect's Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Flower, but he saw through her excuse.
• Chu Xi explained Lin Bai's importance to Tianshui Sect and pleaded with Xiao Cangsheng to protect him.
• Xiao Cangsheng agreed to help Chu Xi, and she happily thanked him.

Lin Bai learned that Xiao Cangsheng would accompany him to the Heaven and Earth Gate, easing his companions’ fears. Three days later, they departed from the Tianshui Sect in Xiao Cangsheng’s spatial carriage, while Xiao Cangsheng exchanged a knowing smile with Yi Gu before leaving.

• The Grand Elder informed Lin Bai that Xiao Cangsheng had arrived and that they would depart for the Heaven and Earth Gate in three days.
• Lin Bai told Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, and Yi Gu that Xiao Cangsheng would accompany him, and they discussed the renowned scholar’s status and power.
• Three days later, Chu Xi summoned Lin Bai and his companions to Flower Valley, where Xiao Cangsheng greeted Lin Bai and praised him.
• Xiao Cangsheng brought Lin Bai into a carriage that contained another space, then exchanged a smile with Yi Gu before departing with Lin Bai in the white deer’s carriage.

Lin Bai traveled with Xiao Cangsheng toward Heaven and Earth Gate and learned that Chu Xi had ties to the imperial family, though Xiao Cangsheng refused to explain them. As they shared tea, Xiao Cangsheng’s words led Lin Bai to question his imitation of the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal, and Lin Bai’s Azure Lotus transformed into a blood-red lotus.

• Lin Bai boarded Xiao Cangsheng’s flying carriage and entered the Grotto-Heaven Treasure hidden within it.
• Xiao Cangsheng told Lin Bai that the journey to Heaven and Earth Gate would take seven or eight days and confirmed that Chu Xi had once made a mistake that brought her to Tianshui Sect.
• Xiao Cangsheng served Lin Bai ordinary jasmine tea and warned him that copying another person’s way would cost him his own flavor.
• Lin Bai realized that he was not the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal and needed to walk his own path.
• Lin Bai saw his Azure Lotus transform into a red lotus that looked as if it had been watered with blood.

Lin Bai comprehended the third stage of the Azure Lotus Swordplay and developed the Crimson Lotus Sword Intent after Xiao Cangsheng’s guidance. As Lin Bai’s strength approached the level of a Dao Child, Xiao Cangsheng and a crow discussed the threat posed by the Demon Suppression Cave’s restless demon remnants.

• Lin Bai transformed his Azure Lotus Sword Intent into the sharp, domineering Crimson Lotus Sword Intent, while Xiao Cangsheng wondered whether his guidance would help or harm him and the world.
• A crow watched Lin Bai’s breakthrough, then searched for treasures in Xiao Cangsheng’s Grotto-Heaven Treasure; Xiao Cangsheng told it he had only jasmine tea left.
• Xiao Cangsheng asked whether the crow had once guided him out of the Demon Suppression Cave and given him a cultivation technique, but the crow denied remembering the place clearly.
• Xiao Cangsheng explained that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had risen and the Demon Suppression Cave’s demon remnants had grown restless, while the crow dismissed his worries.
• After five days, Lin Bai drew in the red light and completed the third stage of the Azure Lotus Swordplay, bringing his strength close to the Dao Child level.

Lin Bai broke through to the third stage of Azure Lotus Swordplay with Xiao Cangsheng’s guidance and received a Peach Blossom Branch to protect him at a critical moment. Meanwhile, the Heaven and Earth Gate prepared for its contest with Tianshui Sect, but its plans to attack the sect had been weakened by the loss of allies and the Flood Dragon Clan’s changing attitude.

• Lin Bai comprehended Azure Lotus Sword Intent and Crimson Lotus Sword Intent, completing his breakthrough after Xiao Cangsheng’s guidance.
• Xiao Cangsheng gave Lin Bai a Peach Blossom Branch and said it could protect his life in a crisis.
• The Heaven and Earth Gate’s elders discussed Lin Bai’s rise and the threat he posed to their plans against Tianshui Sect.
• The Heaven and Earth Gate Master assured the elders that Lin Bai would have difficulty leaving the upcoming Dao discussion and martial contest alive.
• Ma Qiuming reported that the Water Mirror Sea’s support network had been devastated and that the Flood Dragon Clan no longer seemed willing to attack Tianshui Sect.

Heaven and Earth Gate Master and Ma Qiuming weighed the sect’s conflict with Tianshui Sect and decided to use the Dao Discussion Martial Contest to kill Lin Bai, despite the danger of provoking Xiao Cangsheng. As Ke Ling protested being excluded from the plan, seven figures arrived at the hall.

• Ma Qiuming told Heaven and Earth Gate Master that killing Lin Bai would weaken Tianshui Sect’s standing with Prince Chen and leave the sect leaderless.
• Ma Qiuming revealed that Xiao Cangsheng had accompanied Lin Bai, while the Third Prince had ordered Heaven and Earth Gate to eliminate him.
• Ma Qiuming said the Chu Emperor was likely to enter seclusion and pass the throne to an heir, and urged Heaven and Earth Gate to back the Third Prince by attacking Tianshui Sect.
• Heaven and Earth Gate Master decided to use the Dao Discussion Martial Contest to kill Lin Bai.
• Ke Ling vowed to kill Lin Bai, but the master dismissed him because his injuries had not healed; seven figures then entered the main hall.

Qin Mo and six other cultivators emerged from the Heaven and Earth Gate’s forbidden grounds, and Qin Mo killed Ke Ling to reclaim his place as Holy Son. The Heaven and Earth Gate planned to use Qin Mo to kill Lin Bai during the upcoming Dao discussion.

• Qin Mo and six companions entered the hall and revealed that they had cultivated the Earth Demon Ancestor’s secret canon in the forbidden grounds.
• Qin Mo identified himself as the Heaven and Earth Gate’s former Holy Son and challenged Ke Ling’s right to the position.
• Qin Mo blocked Ke Ling’s attack with black smoke, devoured him, and absorbed his flesh and cultivation.
• The Heaven and Earth Gate Master learned that Qin Mo had reached the Dao Child level and that the other six had reached peak Holy Son level.
• Qin Mo vowed to kill Lin Bai during the Dao discussion, which the Heaven and Earth Gate hoped would avoid a confrontation with Xiao Cangsheng.

Lin Bai and Xiao Cangsheng arrived at the Heaven and Earth Gate for the Dao debate and martial contest between the Heaven and Earth Gate and the Tianshui Sect. After Lin Bai announced himself at the mountain gate, Ma Qiuming welcomed Xiao Cangsheng and escorted them inside to rest until the contest in five days.

• Lin Bai and Xiao Cangsheng surveyed the Heaven and Earth Gate's mountain range, and Xiao Cangsheng explained that he would protect Lin Bai from unfair oppression but would not intervene if Lin Bai lost fairly.
• Lin Bai told Xiao Cangsheng that he could handle opponents at the Dao God realm, while Xiao Cangsheng recognized that Lin Bai was wary of Grand Luo Dao Fruit martial artists.
• Lin Bai announced at the mountain gate that he had come as promised to take part in the Dao debate and martial contest.
• Hundreds of Earth Gate and Heaven Gate martial artists came out in response, and Ma Qiuming greeted Xiao Cangsheng as the delegation's leader.
• Xiao Cangsheng chose to stay with Lin Bai, and Ma Qiuming escorted them into the sect after saying the contest was scheduled for five days later.

Lin Bai and Xiao Cangsheng discovered that the Heaven and Earth Gate had laid humiliating traps along the path to Yunyan Valley. Lin Bai effortlessly neutralized the formations, leaving their scheming disciples waiting as the pair stopped before the final trap.

• Ma Qiuming escorted Xiao Cangsheng and Lin Bai to the path leading to Yunyan Valley, then left them to continue alone.
• Lin Bai used his Asura Dharma Eyes to spot formations filled with ink pouches and stink-gas bags, and Xiao Cangsheng recognized that the traps were meant to embarrass Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai advanced through the path, shattering each formation with the Devouring Heaven Dao Method without triggering any of the hidden mechanisms.
• Zhang Lingxuan and other Heaven and Earth Gate disciples watched from above the clouds and discussed their plan to disgrace Lin Bai, which they said the sect had tacitly approved.
• Lin Bai and Xiao Cangsheng reached the final formation, but stopped just before entering it, frustrating Zhang Lingxuan.

Lin Bai discovered Heaven and Earth Gate disciples hiding above a trap-filled path and turned their ink and stench sacs against them. After humiliating Zhang Lingxuan, Lin Bai and Xiao Cangsheng entered Yunyan Valley cautiously, while Zhang warned that Heaven and Earth Gate had prepared an inescapable net for the martial arts debate five days later.

• Lin Bai pulled hundreds of ink and stench sacs out of the formation and sent them flying at Zhang Lingxuan and the Heaven and Earth Gate disciples hiding in the clouds.
• Lin Bai used sword intent to pin the disciples in place, causing the sacs to explode and cover them in ink and foul stench.
• Lin Bai mocked Zhang Lingxuan and accused the hidden disciples of setting crude traps, while Zhang threatened him over the upcoming martial arts debate.
• Zhang Lingxuan left with his companions, who restrained him when he nearly attacked Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai and Xiao Cangsheng discussed the Heaven and Earth Gate elder's scheme, then inspected Yunyan Valley for traps before settling there.

Lin Bai continued stabilizing his Crimson Lotus Sword Intent while Xiao Cangsheng explained the Heaven and Earth Gate’s Heaven and Earth Two Gates Nine Tribulations contest. They arrived at Dragon Slayer Mountain to find tens of thousands of spectators mocking Lin Bai, and he resolved to answer them with his strength.

• Lin Bai cultivated in Yunyan Valley as Xiao Cangsheng spent his days reading, while the Heaven and Earth Gate prepared a contest intended to keep Lin Bai from leaving alive.
• The Heaven and Earth Gate arranged its Heaven and Earth Two Gates Nine Tribulations contest, and its disciples invited Lin Bai to compete and Xiao Cangsheng to observe.
• Xiao Cangsheng explained that challengers had to pass the Earth Gate formation, defeat nine opponents on the Heavenly Ladder, and break through the Heaven Gate to win.
• Lin Bai and Xiao Cangsheng arrived at Dragon Slayer Mountain, where tens of thousands of Heaven and Earth Gate disciples and martial artists jeered at Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai ignored the insults and resolved to defeat the Heaven and Earth Gate with his strength.

Lin Bai endured hours of insults before Heaven and Earth Gate began its martial competition and Dao discussion. He faced the first trial, the Earth Gate, as one hundred and eight disciples formed the Celestial Fiends' Hundred and Eight Slashes Formation.

• Zhang Lingxuan threatened Lin Bai, who mocked him and ignored the crowd's taunts.
• Heaven and Earth Gate delayed the competition for four hours while Lin Bai stood in the square enduring abuse.
• Old Daoist Ma Qiuming announced the competition, and Lin Bai identified himself as Tianshui Sect's Holy Son and agreed to continue.
• Ma Qiuming introduced the Earth Gate as the first of the Heaven and Earth Two Gates Nine Tribulations and summoned one hundred and eight disciples to form the Celestial Fiends' Hundred and Eight Slashes Formation.
• Xiao Cangsheng explained the formation's history to the Heaven and Earth Gate Master while Lin Bai prepared to attack.

Lin Bai faced the Heaven and Earth Gate’s first trial, the Celestial Fiends' Hundred and Eight Slashes Formation, and charged into it head-on. The formation’s sword barrage seemed to destroy him, but a cold voice from the smoke revealed he was still alive.

• The Crow warned Lin Bai that the formation could both attack and defend, but Lin Bai drew his Demon Sword and charged in with his four flying swords.
• Zhang Lingxuan ordered the formation to change into Ten Thousand Swords Slaughter Demons, and its disciples unleashed a rain of deadly Sword Qi.
• Lin Bai tried to break out east and west, but the formation’s power blocked each attempt and kept him trapped.
• The Sword Qi struck Lin Bai, and the watching warriors and formation disciples assumed he had been reduced to dust and mocked him.
• A cold laugh came from the smoke as Lin Bai declared that he was not dead.

Lin Bai survived the Heaven and Earth Gate disciples’ formation and used the Asura Dharma Eyes to make them attack one another. As the formation fell apart, Xiao Cangsheng recognized the long-lost Mystic Eye Technique, while the Heaven and Earth Gate Master remained confused.

• Lin Bai emerged unharmed after dodging and shattering the formation’s Sword Qi.
• Lin Bai activated the Asura Dharma Eyes, trapping the one hundred and eight Heaven and Earth Gate disciples in illusions.
• The disciples attacked one another, leaving more than twenty grievously injured and more than ten dead.
• Lin Bai realized the Asura Dharma Eyes could break a Combined Attack Formation by disrupting the disciples’ unity.
• Xiao Cangsheng recognized the Asura Dharma Eyes and looked away to avoid being caught by them.
• The Heaven and Earth Gate Master watched the chaos without understanding what Lin Bai had done.

Lin Bai’s Asura Dharma Eyes drove the Heaven and Earth Gate disciples to kill one another until the Heaven and Earth Gate Master’s snort broke the illusion. When the surviving disciples turned on Lin Bai, he slaughtered them across the summit platform as the onlookers shouted threats and demands for him to stop.

• The Heaven and Earth Gate Master’s thunderous snort awakened many disciples from Lin Bai’s illusion, and Xiao Cangsheng silently judged the interference.
• Zhang Lingxuan realized he had killed fellow disciples, accused Lin Bai, and charged him with a sword.
• Lin Bai killed Zhang Lingxuan with a single sword strike after dodging his attack.
• More than seventy Heaven and Earth Gate disciples attacked Lin Bai, who killed them with his Demon Sword and four flying swords.
• Lin Bai continued fighting as the survivors dwindled to around fifty, while the onlookers threatened him and demanded that he stop.

Lin Bai slaughtered the Heaven and Earth Gate fighters after Ma Qiuming reluctantly declared that he had passed the Earth Gate trial. He asked Ma Qiuming whether his victory now counted as more than a barely passing grade.

• More than a hundred peak Dao God Realm fighters failed to stop Lin Bai, who killed over fifty and injured the rest.
• The Heaven and Earth Gate Master ordered Ma Qiuming to count Lin Bai as having passed the Earth Gate and send him to the Nine Tribulations.
• Lin Bai rejected Ma Qiuming’s reluctant verdict and charged at the surviving fighters again.
• The remaining Heaven and Earth Gate disciples unleashed secret arts and forbidden techniques, but Lin Bai killed them all over half an hour.
• Lin Bai asked Ma Qiuming whether the Heaven and Earth Gate still considered his victory a barely passing grade.

Lin Bai passed the first trial and entered the Nine Tribulations, where a white-robed Heaven and Earth Gate disciple attacked him with the Thunder Tribulation Token. The Crow revealed the token’s origins and explained why its Grand Yi Divine Weapon power was incomplete.

• Lin Bai passed the Celestial Fiends' Hundred and Eight Slashes Formation and climbed the stairway toward the Nine Tribulations as Heaven and Earth Gate disciples urged their warriors to kill him.
• A white-robed young man attacked Lin Bai with a thunder dragon, and Lin Bai cut it apart with the Demon Sword.
• The young man used the Thunder Tribulation Token to summon a cage of lightning around Lin Bai.
• The Crow identified the token as one of the Nine Tribulations Tokens, a magical treasure made by the Nine Tribulations Old Ancestor.
• The Crow explained that the token was a half-finished product: its creator had failed to refine the entire set into a true Grand Yi Divine Weapon.

Lin Bai faced Ge Yuan, who wielded the Thunder Tribulation Token and its Myriad Corpse Fiend Lightning. After Lin Bai broke through Ge Yuan’s defenses, Ge Yuan swallowed the lightning to activate a secret technique, bringing his strength close to the Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm.

• The Crow explained the Nine Tribulations Token’s nine powers and urged Lin Bai to seize its tokens.
• Ge Yuan, ranked third on the Heaven and Earth Gate’s Heavenly Rankings, summoned the Myriad Corpse Fiend Lightning with the Thunder Tribulation Token.
• Lin Bai blocked Ge Yuan’s first lightning strike, but it wounded his palm and sent a freezing force into his body.
• Lin Bai shattered Ge Yuan’s nine thunder dragons and shield with a sword strike and charged at him.
• Ge Yuan swallowed the Myriad Corpse Fiend Lightning and used it to activate a secret technique that raised his strength close to the Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm.