Chapter Summaries

Bu Junfeng awakened a formidable state that made him nearly impossible to harm, and he crushed Lin Bai’s flying swords while challenging Feijian to use his Supreme Avatar. The Dragon Slaying Skill Sword revealed a hidden power that blasted Bu Junfeng away, leaving Feijian and Lin Bai badly shaken as their battle continued.

• Bu Junfeng’s wounds healed and his aura surged, though the Dragon Slaying Skill wound resisted recovery.
• Lin Bai attacked Bu Junfeng with his flying swords, but Bu Junfeng seized and shattered them before crushing Lin Bai and injuring Feijian through their connection.
• Bu Junfeng challenged Feijian to release his Supreme Avatar, but Feijian refused to rely on it and asked what technique Bu Junfeng had used.
• Bu Junfeng grabbed the Dragon Slaying Skill Sword and tried to crush it, but its hidden power broke his hold and blasted him away.
• Bu Junfeng recognized that the sword contained power beyond Feijian’s own, while Feijian returned the sword to his hand.

Lin Bai summoned his Supreme Avatar to fight Bu Junfeng, whose Celestial Bone met it in repeated clashes that devastated the Demonic Refinement of All Living Things Formation and the Great Snow Mountain. The battle continued as onlookers withdrew from the collapsing formation, with both fighters injured and neither yet appearing to have won.

• After losing three flying swords, Lin Bai summoned his Supreme Avatar and struck at Bu Junfeng with its greatsword.
• Bu Junfeng charged into the attack, and their first collision unleashed a shock wave that destroyed the formation's main array.
• Chu Tingxue, Chu Tinghan, and the other spectators witnessed Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng clash using only the power of the Supreme Avatar and Celestial Bone.
• Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng exchanged further blows, while the shock waves shattered the formation and collapsed mountains across the Great Snow Mountain.
• The Northern Region and Eastern Region martial artists escaped through breaches and retreated beyond the shock waves, while Xiong Haowei predicted both fighters would suffer.
• With the Hunting Realm's space shaking, Bu Junfeng transformed into white lightning and charged at the Supreme Avatar again.

After Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng's seventh clash left them both gravely wounded, Northern Region and Eastern Region fighters rushed to seize the chance to kill or rescue them. Lin Bai was protected by the Qi Lingyu martial artists as hostile forces closed in, while he regained consciousness and asked after Bu Junfeng.

• Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng collapsed after their clash, and Emperor Chu recognized that the larger battle had only just begun.
• Luan Tang led Northern Region fighters toward Lin Bai, while the Soul Refinement Sect disciples hurried to rescue Bu Junfeng.
• The sect's holy son gave Lin Bai life-saving pills and discovered his injuries were severe, while Lin Bai briefly regained consciousness and asked where Bu Junfeng was.
• Chu Tinghan and the Black Tortoise Battalion clashed with the Soul Refinement Sect disciples as both groups tried to reach their chosen target.
• The Qi Lingyu martial artists formed a protective array around Lin Bai as Luan Tang, the Soul Refinement King Wang Zhengyang, and Heavenly Dao Clan holy sons moved against them.

As Northern Region cultivators attacked the Black Tortoise Battalion’s formation, the injured Marquis urged Chu Tinghan and Lin Bai to break through toward the east. They escaped the encirclement, but the Soul Refining Sect pursued them and confronted the Marquis as he struggled to fight with his severe injuries.

• Shen Xinghe ordered the Northern Region cultivators to attack the Black Tortoise Battalion’s formation and offered a reward for Lin Bai’s head.
• The Marquis told Chu Tinghan to avoid the Soul Refining Sect and the Corpse Refinement Sect, then identified a weak point to the east.
• Chu Tinghan led the formation east, and Chu Zimo’s spear knocked the Heavenly Dao Clan’s Holy Son aside as they broke through.
• The Marquis used the Dragon Eye Flying Sword to deflect the Soul Refining Sect’s black arrows aimed at Chu Tinghan.
• The Marquis and Chu Tinghan escaped the outer encirclement, while Bu Junfeng and the remaining Soul Refinement Sect disciples were left fighting the Eastern Region cultivators.
• The Soul Refining Sect appeared before the Marquis and Chu Tinghan and attacked them as Lin Bai vowed to protect the Marquis.

After Bu Junfeng escaped with the Corpse Refinement Sect's Holy Daughter's help, Luan Tang's Eastern Region forces withdrew as the Northern Region martial artists gained the upper hand. Lin Bai returned injured to the Northern Region stronghold with Chu Tinghan, leaving Soul Refining Chen Yule unable to kill him.

• Huang Qingyun reported that Bu Junfeng had survived and escaped with the Holy Daughter's help.
• Soul Refining Chen Yule fended off Lu Qingjun, Yi Song, and the Holy Son of the Sect while pursuing Lin Bai and Chu Tinghan, but they reached the Northern Region stronghold first.
• The Soul Refinement Sect, Corpse Refinement Sect, and other major Luan Tang forces withdrew, prompting the Heavenly Dao Clan to retreat as well.
• Wang Zhengyang stopped the Northern Region martial artists from pursuing their desperate fleeing enemies and ordered them back to the stronghold.
• Soul Refining Chen Yule returned to the battlefield after missing his chance to kill Lin Bai.

The Northern and Eastern Region forces withdrew, bringing the Great Snow Mountain battle to a halt after Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng’s clash. The onlookers concluded that the fighting was only a prelude to a larger conflict, while the Chu Emperor authorized an early exit from the Hunting Realm.

• The Northern Region forces retreated, and Wang Zhengyang and Qi Lingyu stopped the Eastern Region martial artists from pursuing them.
• The Southern and Western Region martial artists watched the Great Snow Mountain fall silent and recognized that the battle had ended in a temporary ceasefire.
• Ling Wen declared the battle a success, while Jiang Yu regretted that Cui Ai and Bu Junfeng had survived.
• The Chu Emperor issued an imperial decree allowing everyone to leave the Hunting Realm early as the situation threatened to escape control.
• Tuo Baxin, Shangguan Xiu, and Rong Yunxin reflected on the battle and concluded that the conflict between the Supreme Avatar and the Celestial Bone would continue.

After the battle ended, the Eastern Region survivors returned to the island and counted their devastating losses. Lin Bai learned that Bu Junfeng had escaped with help from a mysterious Black Veil Woman, and the story left the survivors waiting out the final hours before the Hunting Realm ended.

• Wang Zhengyang and Qi Lingyu returned with the surviving Eastern Region martial artists, and Lin Bai saw that only a few hundred of the original force remained.
• Wang Zhengyang told Lin Bai that Bu Junfeng had survived because a powerful Black Veil Woman rescued him, while Qi Lingyu said her technique linked her to Corpse Refinement Sect.
• The Eastern Region sects counted their dead, and Bai Yifei reported that Tianshui Sect had lost nearly all its ordinary martial artists.
• Lin Bai concluded that neither side would risk another attack with only half a day remaining and allowed survivors to retrieve their fallen companions.
• Chu Tinghan confirmed that the Hunting Realm would end soon as Lin Bai watched dark clouds gather overhead.

The Hunting Realm hunt ended, and the surviving martial artists were teleported back to the square behind the Ascension Celestial Palace. Lin Bai’s order barring Great Unity Dao Fruit Realm experts from joining the battle was revealed, and the chapter left the returning participants facing a celebratory welcome despite their losses.

• Chu Tinghan, Qi Lingyu, and the other survivors mourned their fallen companions, while Wang Zhengyang noted that the Black Tortoise Battalion had lost more than eighty members.
• Emperor Chu told the Tianshui Sect that Lin Bai had ordered Great Unity Dao Fruit Realm experts not to intervene, or no one would be allowed to leave the Hunting Realm.
• Wang Zhengyang sensed the Hunting Realm’s formation activating and ordered the martial artists on the island to prepare for teleportation.
• White pillars of light carried Lin Bai, Yi Zien, Bai Yifei, Zhou Xinjin, Qin Yao, Qiao Mo, and the other participants out of the Hunting Realm.
• The returned martial artists gathered in the square behind the Ascension Celestial Palace, where the assembled sects and lineages cheered Pan Qing’s survivors.

The Hunting Realm hunt ended with severe losses, especially among the Northern and Eastern Regions, and the survivors returned to the Ascension Celestial Palace. Liang Wang and Bu Junfeng met amid lingering hostility, while Lin Bai and the others resumed the banquet; the prey would be recorded before the hunters claimed three each.

• The martial artists returned to the Ascension Celestial Palace, where the Northern and Eastern Regions were revealed to have lost more than a thousand prodigies.
• Lin Bai greeted Bu Junfeng and the Eastern Region martial artists, while Liang Wang returned safely to the Tianshui Sect’s seats.
• Liang Wang and Bu Junfeng met in the square and spoke about their conflict and the Northern Region’s defiance of Heaven.
• A eunuch instructed the hunters to submit their prey for recording, wash, and change before returning to the banquet.
• Liang Wang entered the main hall, saluted Lin Bai, and took his seat as the banquet continued.

At Pei Qian’s birthday celebration, Lin Bai ended the gathering without naming a crown prince, but Prince Chen stepped forward to ask that the Third Prince be made heir. The Third Prince joined him and pleaded to spare the imperial family public disgrace, leaving Lin Bai to face the old crimes and the choice he had long avoided.

• Lin Bai ended the birthday celebration without announcing an heir, prompting the assembled sects and Lineages to prepare to leave.
• Prince Chen rose and walked into the great hall, determined to address Lin Bai despite his hesitation.
• The Third Prince, Chu Tianxin, joined Prince Chen on his knees and begged him to stop, saying their struggle should not make the imperial family lose face.
• Prince Chen told Chu Tianxin he would give up what he wanted, then asked Lin Bai to establish Prince Chen as crown prince.
• Lin Bai grew cold as he considered the princes’ past deaths and the damage that a public reckoning could do to the Chu Kingdom.

Lin Bai faced pressure to name Chu Kingdom’s Crown Prince while weighing the princes’ motives and the danger of the approaching turmoil. He established Prince Chu Emperor, Chu Junyou, as Crown Prince, but the assembly then pressed him to say whether he would abdicate.

• Lin Bai wondered whether Emperor Chu had arranged Third Prince’s public withdrawal and considered how Prince Chen’s rise might affect the Tianshui Sect.
• Ji Yi explained that Chu emperors traditionally abdicated after their ten-thousandth birthday to seek a higher realm, since twelve thousand years was the limit of their lifespan.
• The Crown Princes of Ten Thousand Saints Mountain’s territory and the Qi Tian Sect’s territory urged Lin Bai to establish a Crown Prince and asked whether he would yield the throne.
• Eighth Prince declared that he would support Prince Chu Emperor and serve him, while Old Ancestor weighed the risks of Prince Chen’s evidence and possible retribution.
• Lin Bai decreed that the First Imperial Prince, Chu Emperor, Chu Junyou, would become Chu Kingdom’s Crown Prince.
• The Crown Prince of Ten Thousand Saints Mountain’s territory asked whether Lin Bai would abdicate, and the gathered experts waited for his answer.

At the imperial clan’s Ancestral Temple, the Chu Emperor questioned Prince Chen and the Third Prince about the struggle for the throne. The Third Prince confessed to plotting the deaths of the First Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Seventeenth Prince, while Lin Bai pressed the Chu Emperor about the First Prince’s death.

• The Chu Emperor brought Prince Chen and the Third Prince to the Ancestral Temple and questioned them before the imperial ancestors’ tablets.
• The Third Prince admitted that he had asked the Chu Emperor to withhold details in the Ascension Celestial Palace to preserve the imperial clan’s dignity.
• Prince Chen said he had promised Lin Bai that he would help him reach the Heavenly Realm to find his family after their goals were achieved.
• The Third Prince argued that he had lost the throne to the Crown Prince’s political support, not to the Chu Emperor, and confessed that he had schemed to kill the First Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Seventeenth Prince.
• Lin Bai rebuked Prince Chen for putting benevolence ahead of Chu’s interests and asked whether the First Prince’s death had been the Third Prince’s doing.
• The Chu Emperor remained silent as Lin Bai demanded answers, and the Third Prince insisted that imperial succession had always been governed by bloodshed and political struggle.

Chu Tianxin consulted the Imperial Ancestors about keeping Lin Bai in Chu, and they agreed to delay his departure while offering him favors. Lin Bai’s search for his family and friends in the Dao Ruins World remained beyond Chu’s reach, leaving his hopes dependent on Chu’s promise to send him to the Heavenly Realm.

• Chu Tianxin asked the Imperial Ancestors what they thought about Lin Bai, and the divine tablets manifested their figures.
• The Imperial Ancestors urged Chu Tianxin and Prince Chen to keep Lin Bai in Chu, while Chu Tianxin recalled his promise to help Lin Bai find his way home.
• Prince Chen asked what Lin Bai wanted, and Lin Bai explained that he sought only his family and friends, who had been swept into a spatial storm and were believed to be in the Dao Ruins World.
• The Imperial Ancestors learned that Chu could not safely reach the Dao Ruins World and proposed granting Lin Bai favors to make him postpone leaving.
• The Imperial Ancestors said Chu could send Lin Bai to the Heavenly Realm after Chu Tianxin ascended the throne, provided Lin Bai remained loyal to Chu.

After the Hunting Realm Hunt, the Tianshui Sect’s survivors gathered to assess their heavy losses and plan how to recover rewards from Prince Chen and the factions that had taken their lands and treasures. The meeting ended with the disciples preparing to claim their hunt spoils while the sect’s leaders identified the assets they wanted returned.

• The surviving Tianshui Sect disciples returned to their temporary residence and rested for two days before Ancestor Zhang Bailiu and Pan Qing summoned them to a meeting.
• Ancestor Zhang Bailiu said the sect had gained many exotic species but lost at least half of the more than seven hundred martial artists who entered the Hunting Realm.
• Lin Bai advised that Prince Chen would be occupied with court affairs and that the sect needed to decide which territories, treasures, and other assets it wanted to recover.
• Ancestor Zhang Bailiu, Pan Qing, and Sect Master Chu Xi listed lands and treasures taken by rival factions, including medicine mountains and three Grand Yi Divine Weapons.
• Sect Master told the disciples that each could choose eight personally hunted prey, and Ancestor Zhang Bailiu provided a list of exotic species for them to prioritize.

Lin Bai weighed the costs of his trip to the Hunting Realm and worried that the exposed Supreme Avatar would delay his journey to the Heavenly Realm. He decided to attend the Eighth Prince’s banquet while planning to find Bai Yifei, whom the Soul Refinement Sect had captured.

• Lin Bai regretted losing three flying swords and failing to gather enough Five Elements spiritual treasures during the Hunting Realm trip.
• Lin Bai recalled learning that the Soul Refinement Sect had captured a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race, and concluded that Bai Yifei was likely imprisoned by them.
• Lin Bai considered how revealing his Supreme Avatar had complicated Prince Chen’s promise to send him to the Heavenly Realm, and decided to wait for news while seeking a chance to rescue Bai Yifei.
• Leng Xingguang warned Lin Bai that the Eighth Prince’s invitation might be a trap, but Lin Bai agreed to attend the banquet.
• Lin Bai left the Tianshui Sect’s temporary palace with Zhi Yu Jie, Yi Zien, Zhou Xinjin, Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, and the others to go to the Eighth Prince’s residence.

Lin Bai visited the Third Prince at his once-bustling estate, now deserted after Prince Chen became Crown Prince. The Third Prince explained that he was content with his newfound freedom, then presented Lin Bai with treasures sent by the imperial family.

• Lin Bai and the Tianshui Sect disciples arrived at the desolate Third Prince's Estate, where the steward led them to a banquet.
• The Third Prince welcomed Lin Bai and hosted him amid music and dancing, though the waterside pavilion was otherwise empty.
• The Third Prince said he had dismissed the Sun Moon Pavilion experts and no longer had court duties, and he felt carefree after giving up the Crown Prince position.
• The Third Prince summoned eight maids bearing treasure boxes and told Lin Bai the gifts came from the imperial family, not from him or Prince Chen.

The Third Prince presented Lin Bai with royal gifts chosen to meet his needs, but Lin Bai worried that accepting them would bind him to Chu. After seeing treasures that could complete his Reverse Five Elements Sword Formation, aid his cultivation, and strengthen his swordsmanship, he grew tempted while questioning the royal family's intentions.

• Lin Bai refused the gifts after learning they came from the royal family, which he feared wanted to keep him in Chu.
• The Third Prince had five treasure boxes opened, revealing spirit objects for the five elements, including treasures Lin Bai needed for his Reverse Five Elements Sword Formation.
• The Third Prince revealed that the sixth box held a Ninefold Spirit Pill that could help Lin Bai advance to the Superior-Grade Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm.
• The seventh box contained the Star-Slaying Three Swords manual, a sword technique suited to Lin Bai's Overlord Sword Dao, and Lin Bai reacted with keen interest.

The Chu Kingdom's Third Prince offered Lin Bai eight valuable treasures, including the Star-Slaying Three Swords and the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's fourth-stage swordplay inheritance, but Lin Bai refused to accept them. The Third Prince then revealed that the Chu Kingdom had sent people to find Lin Bai's family and friends, leaving Lin Bai suspecting the kingdom intended to use them to keep him there.

• The Third Prince presented the Star-Slaying Three Swords and explained that the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's inheritance contained insight into the Azure Lotus Swordplay's fourth stage.
• Bai Yifei questioned the ancient book's authenticity and asked why the Third Prince did not cultivate it, and the Third Prince explained that his sword attainments were too low.
• Lin Bai said he could not accept the eight gifts because he feared they would bind him to the Chu Kingdom.
• The Third Prince admitted that the Chu Kingdom wanted Lin Bai to stay and revealed it had sent people to the Dao Ruins World to find his family and friends.
• Lin Bai released killing intent and accused the Chu Kingdom of threatening him, then recognized that its offer to reunite him with his loved ones gave it a pretext to keep him there.

The Third Prince persuaded Lin Bai to accept Chu’s gifts and remain in the empire until he could safely seek passage to the Seven Realms of the Heavens and search for his loved ones. He explained that Chu tolerated outside factions influencing the succession, leaving Lin Bai to reconsider what he knew about Prince Chen’s allies.

• The Third Prince told Lin Bai that Chu’s search for his relatives and friends in the Dao Ruins World had little chance of success, and that Chu would send him to the Seven Realms of the Heavens if he stayed.
• The Third Prince urged Lin Bai to accept Chu’s gifts and wait until the imperial clan’s attention had shifted, promising to help him leave later.
• Lin Bai decided to accept the nine treasure boxes rather than oppose Chu.
• Lin Bai asked how the Third Prince would deal with Xia Jingzhi, and the Third Prince said the imperial clan would handle the matter.
• The Third Prince explained to Bai Yifei that Chu tolerated outside factions supporting princes during succession disputes, then asked whether Lin Bai could guarantee Prince Chen had no such allies.

After the struggle for Chu’s throne temporarily subsided, Meng Ye visited Old Man Wuchuan at Prince Chen’s request and apologized for failing to obtain the Fire Phoenix in the Hunting Realm. Old Man Wuchuan and Dong Dan prepared to leave the imperial capital with Prince Chen, while Meng Ye remained amid the banquets and political uncertainty.

• The Third Prince told Lin Bai that the Chu imperial family would handle the threat of martial artists from other territories and urged him to focus on his own duties.
• After Lin Bai’s birthday celebration, the Third Prince presented gifts to Meng Ye, then returned to the banquet and left Meng Ye’s affairs aside.
• Prince Chen warned Meng Ye that Old Man Wuchuan might leave the imperial capital without warning and said he and his master would soon depart.
• Meng Ye apologized to Prince Chen for failing to hunt the Fire Phoenix after it underwent Return to Ancestry in the Hunting Realm.
• Prince Chen brought Meng Ye into the Gourd World, where Meng Ye met Old Man Wuchuan and Dong Dan at the thatched hut.