Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai was overwhelmed by the Twelve Asuras of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace until he revealed the Sea God Pearl and unleashed his full arsenal. He turned the battle around by killing the archer, while the other Asuras remained before him.

• The Twelve Asuras combined their techniques to wound and suppress Lin Bai, while Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, Fang Yuanshu, Ye Guyu, and Zhu Mo were prevented from helping him.
• As the sword and saber wielders prepared to deliver the final blow, Lin Bai summoned the Sea God Pearl, whose barrier repelled their attacks.
• Lin Bai revealed his Azure Lotus Sword Intent, Crimson Lotus Sword Intent, Heaven Measuring Ruler, and four flying swords, declaring that the battle had only just begun.
• Lin Bai charged the archer, shattered his rain of arrows with the Heaven Measuring Ruler, and killed him with the Demon Sword.
• Lin Bai collected the dead warrior's Dao Fruit and stored it in his Storage Bag.

Lin Bai slaughtered nine of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s Twelve Asuras, overcoming their powerful attacks with his weapons and the Sea God Pearl. The last three Asuras chose to fight rather than surrender, and the fist and palm cultivators opened their attack with the Thousand Lifetimes Palm and Myriad Souls Fist.

• Lin Bai shattered the thunder dragons and killed the thunder arts cultivator with the Heaven Measuring Ruler.
• Lin Bai cut down the fire arts cultivator with Crimson Lotus Sword Intent, freeing the souls trapped in his green flames.
• Lin Bai killed the Wind-Controlling Technique, Mystic Eye Technique, frost arts, and spear arts cultivators with his swords and ruler.
• The Sea God Pearl blocked the sword cultivator and Blade Cultivator’s attacks, allowing Lin Bai to kill both and leave only the fist, palm, and physical-body cultivators alive.
• Lin Bai demanded that the three remaining Asuras surrender or die, but the fist and palm cultivators attacked him together with the Myriad Souls Fist and Thousand Lifetimes Palm.

Lin Bai and Qin Yao defeated the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s attackers, leaving one of the Seventeen Asuras alive to be captured. Qin Yao nearly killed the Lanyue Demoness, but stopped after she surrendered and offered information about the Demon Palace’s next moves.

• Lin Bai destroyed the Thousand Lifetimes Palm and Myriad Souls Fist, killing their users and leaving one trembling body-tempering martial artist alive.
• Qiao Mo, Lin Bai, and Xin Ping sealed the surviving Asura’s cultivation and set him aside for the Zhao Xing Office.
• Qin Yao confronted the Lanyue Demoness and vanished as her killing intent overwhelmed her.
• The Lanyue Demoness surrendered and offered secrets about the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s future plans just as Qin Yao’s sword reached her neck.
• Qin Yao stopped his blade after it cut the Lanyue Demoness’s hair, then sealed her dantian and Dao Fruit with Sword Qi.

Lu Qingjun defeated Lu Shulin but spared the Taiyi Dao, while White Deer Guard captured Lanyue and subdued the battle at Aqi District. Meanwhile, demonic cultivators attacked the Criminal Affairs Academy and advanced toward the Demon Suppression Cave as its students invoked a powerful formation.

• Lu Qingjun wounded Lu Shulin so badly that he could no longer fight, and Lu Shulin angrily confronted the Taiyi Dao over his past betrayal of One Absolute City.
• The Taiyi Dao accepted his defeat and awaited death, but Lu Shulin sheathed his sword and asked Zhu Mo to recover his uncle's remains if he died in purgatory.
• Zhu Mo promised the Taiyi Dao and Lanyue safety and rewards if they cooperated with White Deer Guard and revealed information about the Four Gloom Demon Palace.
• White Deer Guard captured Lanyue and You Bianzhi, killed or captured most of their forces, and concluded the battle at Aqi District.
• Demonic cultivators broke into the Criminal Affairs Academy and fought its students while another group headed for the Demon Suppression Cave.
• A great scholar led the students in reciting the "Song of Upright Qi," drawing golden flames of qi together above the academy.

After Lin Bai and the Zhao Xing Office defeated the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace in the Western City, Prince Chen told him that White Deer Academy had also annihilated the attackers there. News of both victories spread through the imperial capital, and Lin Bai joined Chen Yule and the other Holy Sons and Daughters for a banquet, where Lu Qingjun and Lu Lingjun grieved for Lu Shulin.

• Zhu Mo returned to the Zhao Xing Office with Lanyue, the Demoness, Lu Shulin, and more than thirty captured martial artists, while Lin Bai and his companions reported their success to Prince Chen.
• Prince Chen told Lin Bai that White Deer Academy had used the Universe Reversal Righteous Qi Formation and the Purple Dragon Legion to kill or capture the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace attackers.
• Lin Bai left for the Tianshui Sect's residence, and by noon news of the battles in Aqi District and at White Deer Academy had spread through the imperial capital.
• Lin Bai went to the Seven Absolutes City guesthouse, where Chen Yule invited him into a carriage with the other Holy Sons and Daughters for a banquet at the Immortal Abode Restaurant.
• At the banquet, Lu Qingjun drank in silence while Lu Lingjun struggled with tears over what had happened to Lu Shulin.

At Chen Yule’s banquet, Lin Bai questioned why the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace attacked White Deer Academy despite knowing about its powerful formation. In the Purgatory, a visitor freed the imprisoned Lanyue, the Demoness, and revealed they had only two hours.

• Chen Yule and the others discussed Lu Qingjun’s grief over Lu Shulin and the danger Seven Absolutes City faced from Guiyi Sect and Big Dipper Sect.
• The guests praised Lin Bai for killing the Twelve Asuras, and he said the elders had been right to keep them out of the Imperial Capital’s conflict.
• Lin Bai pointed out that White Deer Academy had been the real battlefield and wondered why the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had attacked despite knowing about its formation.
• In the Purgatory, a visitor arrived at Lanyue, the Demoness’s cell and said they had been waiting for her.
• The visitor freed Lanyue, the Demoness, who said two hours would be enough to accomplish many things.

Prince Chen presented Demoness Lanyue’s confession to Emperor Chu, exposing the plot by the Four Gloom Demon Palace and clearing the accused sects’ names. The elders departed after the Azure Lotus Sect secured permission for Miss Yun Ke to leave Chu, and Emperor Chu restored Prince Chen’s cultivation and Divine Eye of Heaven Mending.

• Prince Chen reported that Demoness Lanyue had killed Jiang Xiaoyue and Changsun Hongxuan, while Ecstasy Young Master had killed the Azure Lotus Sect’s Holy Maiden and elder as part of a plan to attack White Deer Academy’s Demon Suppression Cave.
• Emperor Chu and the gathered sect elders read Lanyue’s confession, and Prince Chen explained that Ecstasy Young Master had learned Divine Light Swordplay as a former Holy Son of One Absolute City.
• The Guiyi Sect and Big Dipper Sect accepted the findings, while the Azure Lotus Sect elder asked Emperor Chu to let Miss Yun Ke leave Chu Kingdom and return with the sect.
• Emperor Chu granted the request and had Eunuch Gui escort the elders of the Three Great Sects and One Absolute City out of the Golden Hall.
• Emperor Chu praised Prince Chen for solving the case and restored his cultivation and Divine Eye of Heaven Mending.

Chu Emperor rewarded the people who helped resolve the Moon Palace case and named the Marquis Wolf Marquis, a title whose rank carried an unspoken implication. After announcing the imperial clan’s upcoming autumn hunt, the court left the Golden Hall, where others suggested the hunt might be arranged to find the Marquis a wife.

• Chu Emperor rewarded the Zhao Xing Office commanders and garrison army generals for their work on the case.
• Chu Emperor praised the Marquis for exposing the Four Gloom Demon Palace’s plan and capturing Lanyue, then awarded him the title Wolf Marquis and one hundred thousand immortal jades.
• Chu Emperor made Qiao Mo, Fang Yuanshu, Qin Yao, and Ye Guyu high ministers and gave each seventy thousand immortal jades.
• Chu Emperor announced that the holy sons and holy daughters of the Chu Kingdom’s seven families and one sect would arrive soon and ordered the imperial clan’s autumn hunt to proceed.
• After leaving the Golden Hall, the commanders and generals congratulated the Marquis and explained that Wolf Marquis was a One-Character Marquisate.
• Zhu Mo and a general suggested that Chu Emperor might use the autumn hunt to choose a wife for the Marquis, leaving him bewildered.

Prince Chen explained that Emperor Chu had made Lin Bai a One-Character Marquis to attract him to the imperial clan and help him stand out at the Imperial Autumn Hunt. Lin Bai remained uninterested in marrying into the clan, warned Prince Chen about Prince Liang, and left the palace while Qiao Mo and Qin Yao glared at him.

• Prince Chen told Lin Bai that Emperor Chu had bestowed the Wolf Marquis title to recruit him into the imperial clan.
• Prince Chen explained that the Imperial Autumn Hunt would let princesses and Princesses meet young talents as potential husbands, and recalled Li Tianen’s marriage to Princess Leping.
• Prince Chen said Chu Tinghan and Chu Tingxue would draw many suitors, but Lin Bai said he had no interest in them and warned that Prince Liang might cause trouble after Emperor Chu abdicated.
• Prince Chen said Prince Liang’s Estate would likely seek husbands for Chu Tinghan and Chu Tingxue, while Princess Wanyu might miss the hunt because of her involvement in the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s entry to White Deer Academy.
• Lin Bai left the palace with Prince Chen and sensed Qiao Mo and Qin Yao glaring at his back.

After leaving the palace, Lin Bai returned to the Tianshui Sect’s traveling palace and told Qin Yao and Qiao Mo that he did not intend to become the Imperial Clan’s son-in-law. He met with Ancestor Pan Qing and the elders to discuss the Emperor’s offer and began explaining why a marriage alliance could harm the sect.

• Lin Bai parted from Prince Chen and returned to the Tianshui Sect’s traveling palace with Qin Yao and Qiao Mo.
• Qin Yao and Qiao Mo confronted Lin Bai about becoming the Imperial Clan’s Royal Consort, and he said his heart was set on cultivation and leaving the Demon Realm.
• Lin Bai told Qin Yao and Qiao Mo that he already considered himself married to Bai Xiaoxiao, though they had never held a wedding ceremony.
• Lin Bai summoned Ancestor Pan Qing and the elders, then reported that the Chu Emperor had rewarded him with one hundred thousand immortal jades and named him Wolf Marquis.
• Qin Yao and Qiao Mo explained that the Chu Emperor was trying to recruit Lin Bai and wanted him to attend the Imperial Autumn Hunt and marry a princess.
• Pan Qing and the Sixteenth Elder supported the marriage alliance, but Lin Bai argued that it would bring immense harm to the Tianshui Sect and began explaining why.

Lin Bai and Pan Qing considered how to avoid the Imperial Autumn Hunt without offending the imperial clan, and Qiao Mo offered their engagement as a possible excuse. Pan Qing went to the Chu Emperor to explain, but the Emperor asked why Lin Bai did not want to participate.

• Lin Bai explained that Prince Chen had warned him Liang Wang might bring Chu Tinghan and Chu Tingxue to the hunt and seek husbands for them, risking Prince Chen's trust in Lin Bai.
• Pan Qing consulted the sect, which told Lin Bai he could decide whether to attend but should find a way to avoid offending the imperial clan.
• Qiao Mo suggested using her engagement to Lin Bai as an excuse to decline the hunt, and Pan Qing agreed to explain the situation to the Chu Emperor.
• Pan Qing met the Chu Emperor in the Golden Hall and confirmed the Imperial Autumn Hunt would begin within the next month or two.
• Pan Qing said the Tianshui Sect wanted to participate but Lin Bai did not, and the Chu Emperor asked why.

Emperor Chu ordered Lin Bai to participate in the Imperial Autumn Hunt, threatening the Tianshui Sect if he refused. After Pan Qing reported the demand, Lin Bai resolved not to participate and began considering another way out.

• Emperor Chu investigated Lin Bai and Qiao Mo's engagement, ordered Pan Qing to dissolve it, and demanded that Lin Bai join the Imperial Autumn Hunt.
• Pan Qing explained that Lin Bai was already married in the Barren Ancient Continent, but Emperor Chu dismissed his objections and threatened the Tianshui Sect if Lin Bai did not attend.
• Pan Qing returned to the Tianshui Sect's temporary palace and told Lin Bai, Qiao Mo, and the others about Emperor Chu's order.
• Qiao Mo suggested Lin Bai could participate without competing, but Pan Qing said Lin Bai's public victories had made it impossible for him to hide his strength.
• Lin Bai said he had to find another way because he could not participate in the Imperial Autumn Hunt.

Lin Bai and his allies struggled to find a way for him to avoid the Imperial Autumn Hunt, which he suspected was a trap targeting him. At a banquet, Chen Yule explained that the hunt’s marriage prospects were tied to rival factions competing for the throne.

• Lin Bai and the Tianshui Sect disciples failed to devise a convincing excuse to keep him out of the hunt as its date drew closer.
• Lin Bai attended a banquet hosted by Chen Yule with Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, Fang Yuanshu, and Ye Guyu, where other sect prodigies also gathered.
• Chen Yule confirmed that Lin Bai was fretting because the Imperial Autumn Hunt had made him its principal prey.
• Chen Yule explained that the hunt was selecting husbands for four eligible imperial women, each connected to either the Third Prince’s faction or Liang Wang’s faction.
• Chen Yule said Prince Chen lacked close ties among the eligible princesses, while his only close imperial relative, the Nineteenth Princess Chu Xi, had left the capital with him a thousand years earlier.

Lin Bai and his companions devised a staged attack to leave him too injured to attend the Imperial Autumn Hunt, which the imperial family was using to pressure him into a politically consequential marriage. After Meng Qinxian organized the plan, Lin Bai entered a dark alley to begin the ambush.

• Chen Yule explained that marrying one of the participating princesses would draw Lin Bai into a rival prince's faction and drive a wedge between him and Prince Chen.
• Qiao Mo and Qin Yao said the imperial family would force Lin Bai to attend the hunt, so avoiding it with an excuse was unlikely to work.
• Meng Qinxian proposed disguising themselves as Nine Underworlds Demon Palace experts and staging a fight that would leave Lin Bai seriously injured.
• Lin Bai agreed to the plan, and Meng Qinxian arranged for Qiao Mo and Qin Yao to arrive afterward and bring the supposedly unconscious Lin Bai back to the Tianshui Sect.
• Two hours after the banquet, Lin Bai told Qiao Mo and Qin Yao he was going to relieve himself, then walked into a dark alley to start the staged attack.

Lin Bai and his allies staged an attack by the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace to spread word that the Tianshui Sect Holy Son had been targeted. After Zhu Mo arrived, Lin Bai pretended to be gravely injured and was carried back to the Tianshui Sect’s temporary palace.

• Five men posing as remnants of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace attacked Lin Bai in a dark alley, and they fought while onlookers gathered.
• Lin Bai and the attackers exchanged secret messages, then the men struck him into a building and withdrew when Qiao Mo and Qin Yao arrived.
• Qiao Mo and Qin Yao told Lin Bai the staged attack had drawn witnesses who would spread the story through the imperial capital.
• When Zhu Mo arrived with the Zhao Xing Office, Lin Bai pretended to be unconscious while Qiao Mo accused the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace of retaliating against him.
• Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, Fang Yuanshu, and Ye Guyu escorted Lin Bai back to the Tianshui Sect’s temporary palace.

Lin Bai and several Saint Sons staged an attack to make him appear too injured to join the Imperial Autumn Hunt. Emperor Chu saw through the act, but Ancestor Pan Qing arrived to demand an investigation, leaving the ruse to continue.

• Qiao Mo brought the apparently gravely wounded Lin Bai to Tianshui Sect’s residence, where Lin Bai revealed that the attack had been staged to keep him out of the Imperial Autumn Hunt.
• Ancestor Pan Qing agreed to ask Emperor Chu to investigate the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace remnants after dawn, and the Saint Sons advised Lin Bai to stay indoors and appear to recover.
• A recording of the attack spread through the Imperial Capital, and Emperor Chu recognized the attackers as Lin Bai’s fellow Saint Sons and called the performance shoddy.
• Emperor Chu told Zhu Mo that Lin Bai was not truly injured and understood the scheme’s purpose, while Zhu Mo claimed he had not seen through it.
• Ancestor Pan Qing entered the palace to demand an investigation, and Emperor Chu said Pan Qing was carrying the act through to the end.

Pan Qing confronted Chu Di over Lin Bai’s injuries, but Chu Di saw through the scheme to avoid the Imperial Autumn Hunt. In private, Chu Di and a hidden figure discussed testing Lin Bai, restoring Fallen Immortal’s status, and the coming arrival of Liang Wang and his faction.

• Pan Qing demanded that Chu Di investigate the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace for injuring Lin Bai, while Chu Di accused him of staging the incident to keep Lin Bai out of the Imperial Autumn Hunt.
• Chu Di agreed to have the Zhao Xing Office investigate and said Lin Bai’s participation would depend on whether he recovered within two months.
• After Pan Qing left, Chu Di and a figure in the darkness agreed that Lin Bai had wisely avoided the hunt but still needed to be made to participate so his strength could be tested.
• Chu Di said Prince Chen would present evidence the next day clearing Prince Hong Estate and Fallen Immortal, allowing her to regain her Princess status and recall her former subordinates.
• The hidden figure said Liang Wang, Chu Tinghan, and Chu Tingxue would arrive in the imperial capital the next day, but would not yet return to see their estate or daughter.

Liang Wang arrived at the Imperial Capital with his children and discussed Lin Bai’s growing reputation with Chu Tinghan and Chu Tingxue. Chu Tinghan vowed to defeat Lin Bai at the Imperial Autumn Hunt in two months, while Liang Wang silenced the sisters’ argument.

• Liang Wang’s fleet descended toward Golden Dragon Gate, and he reflected on returning to the Imperial Capital after many years.
• Chu Zimo suggested that the imperial throne should have belonged to Liang Wang, but Liang Wang rebuked him and ordered him to be more mature.
• Liang Wang asked about Lin Bai, and Chu Tingxue explained that Lin Bai had killed eleven of the Twelve Asuras of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and captured one alive.
• Chu Tinghan dismissed the younger generation’s strength, and Chu Tingxue warned her not to underestimate Lin Bai.
• Chu Tinghan vowed to defeat Lin Bai at the Imperial Autumn Hunt in two months, and Liang Wang stopped the sisters from arguing.

Emperor Chu saw through Lin Bai's attempt to avoid the Imperial Autumn Hunt but let him stay behind if his injuries had not healed by then. While Tianshui Sect prepared to send other disciples, Lin Bai examined the eleven Dao Fruits he had obtained and considered using them to improve the Demon Sword or his cultivation.

• Pan Qing reported that Emperor Chu had seen through Lin Bai's feigned injury but would not force him to join the hunt if he had not recovered.
• Pan Qing said Tianshui Sect would still participate in the Imperial Autumn Hunt and that Bai Yifei, Li Juenian, Yi Zien, Zhou Xinjin, and others were on their way to the Imperial Capital.
• Qiao Mo and Qin Yao warned Lin Bai to remain in the traveling palace so others would not discover he was pretending to be ill, and Lin Bai agreed.
• Lin Bai postponed investigating the deaths of the First Prince and Second Prince because he had to stay out of sight until the hunt.
• Lin Bai examined the eleven Dao Fruits he had obtained after killing eleven of the Twelve Asuras in Aqi District and considered using them to nourish the Demon Sword or advance his cultivation.

Lin Bai tested whether Dao Fruits could replace scarce immortal jade as a cultivation resource and found that low-grade Dao Fruits contained little usable origin power. He also used some of that power to nourish the demon sword, but bringing it to the Grand Yi Divine Weapon level remained a distant goal.

• Lin Bai decided to test refining Dao Fruits after concluding their origin power might help cultivate his Heaven Swallowing Dao Fruit.
• Lin Bai refined an emerald-green Dao Fruit, but the small gain left him far short of advancing to the mid-grade Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm.
• Lin Bai estimated that he would need several hundred low-grade Great Purity Dao Fruits to make a breakthrough.
• Lin Bai extracted origin power from another Dao Fruit and used its three surviving strands to nourish the demon sword, improving its spirituality without making it a Grand Yi Divine Weapon.
• Lin Bai reflected that depleted immortal jade reserves had made cultivation and the advancement of powerful weapons far more difficult than in the ancient era.