Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai discovered that more than ten years of cultivation inside the mural had taken only a quarter of an hour in the real world. After wounded martial artists arrived at the temple, one of them looked at the mural, was pulled into its world, and died when his consciousness was destroyed.

• Lin Bai learned from the courtesan from Red Candle Hall that only a quarter of an hour had passed while he had spent more than ten years in the mural world.
• Lin Bai warned the courtesan from Red Candle Hall not to look at the mural again, suspecting it could draw in only one martial artist at a time.
• The Aloof Swordsman and a badly wounded young man entered the temple, fleeing the Living Corpses gathered outside.
• The young man looked at the mural despite Lin Bai's warning, and red light drew his consciousness inside.
• The young man's body collapsed and died, and Lin Bai explained that the mural had destroyed his consciousness.

Lin Bai waited in the temple with the Aloof Swordsman and the Red Candle Hall courtesan, hoping the white mist would disperse at dawn so they could return to Nine Underworlds City. Before dawn, the mist began advancing toward the temple, and Lin Bai spotted something approaching behind the Living Corpses.

• After a young man died from looking at the mural, Lin Bai warned the Aloof Swordsman that it held an opportunity but could also be fatal.
• Lin Bai concluded that the temple was safe from the Living Corpses and decided to wait for dawn rather than risk exploring the white mist further.
• Lin Bai questioned the Aloof Swordsman about where Living Corpses could be created, then suspected Nine Underworlds City was hiding dangerous secrets.
• The Red Candle Hall courtesan asked what they should do, and Lin Bai said they would wait for the mist to disperse at dawn and return to Nine Underworlds City.
• Before dawn, the white mist began moving toward the temple, and Lin Bai used his Demon Eyes to spot something rapidly approaching behind the Living Corpses.

Living Corpses and a strange corpse attacked the temple while Ling Zhi questioned the woman’s phantom about the Old Devil in the Sea of Fog. The attack paused, but the temple’s defenders learned the Old Devil was seeking blood food so he could regain his strength and leave the Sea of Fog.

• Living Corpses rammed the temple’s golden curtain of light as a corpse’s piercing hissing weakened it, leaving the Aloof Swordsman and the courtesan suffering from the sound.
• Ling Zhi spoke to the phantom emerging from the statue, and the temple woman answered that the Old Devil in the Sea of Fog had been suppressed by the Holy Lord one hundred thousand years ago.
• The temple woman said the Old Devil had sensed something and urgently wanted blood food to restore his strength and leave the Sea of Fog.
• The Living Corpses stopped attacking and the fog retreated as the temple woman revealed that the Old Devil wanted Lin Bai, the Aloof Swordsman, and Ling Zhi.

Ling Bao learned that he had entered the Burial Earth, one of the Devil Realm’s four great deadly lands, and heard how the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s Holy Lord had fought Corpse Old Demon there a hundred thousand years ago. The account revealed the existence of a Heaven-Piercing Lin Bai, a rare treasure that had helped Corpse Old Demon resist the Holy Lord, while leaving Ling Bao wary of the dangers ahead.

• The man in the divine statue explained that the temple marked the entrance to the Burial Earth, a deadly region containing the Mist Sea and other dangerous places.
• Ling Bao learned that the Holy Lord of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had visited the Burial Earth a hundred thousand years ago and awakened the statue’s intelligence with a Great Mystic Art.
• The man in the divine statue said Corpse Old Demon had used a Heaven-Piercing Lin Bai to withstand the Holy Lord, who eventually suppressed him in the Mist Sea.
• Ling Bao learned that the Heaven-Piercing Lin Bai surpassed Supreme Divine Weapons and had once belonged to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Ling Bao realized that the Burial Earth was one of the Devil Realm’s four great deadly lands and feared the consequences if knowledge of the treasure spread.

Corpse Old Demon's corpse-qi avatar attacked the temple and demanded that Lin Bai be handed over. The statue woman warned Lin Bai that he could not defeat the Great Divine Ability practitioner, while the temple's protective screen began to fail.

• Corpse Old Demon's avatar appeared in the black mist and demanded that the statue woman hand Lin Bai over.
• The statue woman told Lin Bai that the avatar was still a Great Divine Ability practitioner and that he was no match for it.
• Lin Bai accepted that the statue woman might hand him over to save the temple and the female demon within it.
• Corpse Old Demon's mist claws struck the temple's light screen, which began to give way under the assault.
• The chapter explained that Corpse Old Demon had gained intelligence and immense longevity after attaining the Dao through his corpse.

Lin Bai fought Corpse Old Demon’s avatar after the goddess in the statue opened the temple’s light curtain, using his sword arts and Supreme Avatar against the demon’s black mist. The light curtain continued to crack as the battle escalated.

• Lin Bai judged that Corpse Old Demon’s avatar might be vulnerable and prepared to fight while the Red Candle Hall performer and Aloof Swordsman cowered behind him.
• Lin Bai asked the goddess within the statue to open the light curtain, then sent his seven swords through a small gap to break Corpse Old Demon’s black-mist claws.
• Lin Bai battled Corpse Old Demon with his Crimson Lotus Sword Intent, Heaven Measuring Ruler, and Chaotic Seven Elements Sword Formation, but the avatar repeatedly recovered and trapped him in black mist.
• Lin Bai summoned his Supreme Avatar, whose enormous black sword broke the hands binding him and severely damaged Corpse Old Demon’s avatar.
• The temple’s golden light curtain continued to crack under Corpse Old Demon’s claws as Lin Bai’s fight against the demon remained unresolved.

Lin Bai unleashed his Devouring Power against Corpse Old Demon, but the demon waited for him to weaken before launching a fatal attack. A mysterious Stone Throne appeared, absorbed Lin Bai’s remaining power, and gave him strength to destroy Corpse Old Demon’s avatar.

• Lin Bai armored himself with Devouring Power, but Corpse Old Demon overwhelmed him, so Lin Bai tried and failed to flee through the black mist.
• Lin Bai released his Devouring Power in every direction, expanding it across a hundred thousand miles and forcing Corpse Old Demon to wait for it to weaken.
• A black radiance broke through the mist and transformed into a Stone Throne, which drew Lin Bai onto its seat and absorbed his remaining Devouring Power.
• The Stone Throne returned an incomprehensibly powerful force to Lin Bai as Corpse Old Demon attacked it with fists of black mist.
• Lin Bai used the Stone Throne’s power to suppress the black mist and shatter Corpse Old Demon’s avatar with a sword-like strike.

Lin Bai returned to Nine Underworlds City with Yao Daogu and Zhao Fengxia, whose childlike Stone Throne carried him through the city. They brought him to a grand palace where the city's elders and other important warriors had assembled to receive him.

• Lin Bai found that the Stone Throne obeyed his thoughts but would not let him leave, and its playful movements seemed to show affection for him.
• Yao Daogu and the Stone Throne explained that Zhao Fengxia had awakened after tens of thousands of years and rushed toward the Burial Earth, alarming the Four Gloom Demon Palace.
• Yao Daogu and the other Eternal Elder escorted Lin Bai and Zhao Fengxia through Nine Underworlds City as residents and warriors watched them pass.
• The party entered a black-crystal palace at the city's center, where Lin Bai recognized Hua Qianshu, Yao Qian, Li Guxian, Ji Canghai, and Manor Lord Mei among the assembled warriors.
• Yao Daogu said the city would receive Lin Bai as an honored guest because he possessed the Supreme Avatar.

Yao Daogu and Zhao Fengxia convened a Council of Elders in the Dark Hall, where the elders waited for a Saint Elder to arrive before making any decisions. Zhao Fengxia carried Li Gu into the hall and placed him in a seat reserved for a powerful figure, provoking the gathered elders.

• Yao Daogu and Zhao Fengxia entered the Dark Hall and told the gathered elders that an important matter would be discussed once a Saint Elder arrived.
• Goddess Palace Master Xian reminded the elders that the Council had approved inviting Li Gu to visit the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Zhao Fengxia ignored Li Gu's pleas to stop and carried him into the sacred hall on her Stone Throne.
• Zhao Fengxia crushed Lin Bai's throne, then brought Li Gu to the seat belonging to Yu Yanlan, leaving him in the main seat.
• Yu Yanlan urged the furious elders to calm down and warned them against giving the Demon Palace a reputation for killing a prodigy.

The chapter explained the Nine Great Palaces’ selection and ranking system, then showed Li Guxian defending Lin Bai before the Council of Elders. When Xie Yan asked Lin Bai to leave the Palace Lord’s throne, the Stone Throne held him in place.

• The chapter described how the Nine Great Palaces recruited disciples and used regular examinations and a hundred-year assessment to promote or demote them.
• The chapter revealed that Li Guxian’s battle in Ke Province had been a special assessment that led to her nomination as Goddess of the Ninth Divine Hall.
• Li Guxian questioned the Eternal Elders for trying to kill Lin Bai after the Council of Elders had invited him to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Xie Yan introduced himself to Lin Bai and asked him to leave the Palace Lord’s throne for a seat elsewhere.
• Lin Bai tried to rise, but the Stone Throne pressed him down, so he explained that he could not control it.

Lin Bai remained trapped on the Stone Throne as the Eternal Elders questioned him about its awakening. After the throne’s power let him repel Liang Zhenbao, a Saint Elder arrived and the hall’s elders rose to greet him.

• Lin Bai explained that the Stone Throne had pulled him onto it and that he could not get down, while Xie Yan listened thoughtfully.
• Liang Zhenbao accused Lin Bai of lying and advanced to drag him from the throne as the other Eternal Elders watched.
• Lin Bai let the Stone Throne absorb his Devouring Power, then used its strength to strike Liang Zhenbao and force him back dozens of steps.
• Liang Zhenbao became enraged, but an old man's voice told him that Lin Bai truly could not leave the throne, and Liang Zhenbao stopped attacking.
• The Nine Underworlds Demon Palace elders rose to welcome the arriving Saint Elder, while Lin Bai remained seated on the Stone Throne.

Saint Elder Luo Yuanjing arrived to preside over the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace Council of Elders as it considered Lin Bai’s control of the awakened Stone Throne. The council began discussing how to handle the throne and Lin Bai, who was Prince Qin of the hostile Chu Kingdom.

• Luo Yuanjing entered the Dark Hall and introduced himself to Lin Bai, while the Stone Throne drew in Lin Bai’s Devouring Power and showed hostility toward him.
• Luo Yuanjing took his seat and allowed the elders to sit before asking Yao Daogu why he had summoned the council.
• Yao Daogu explained that the Stone Throne had awakened, escaped the treasury, and been found with Lin Bai outside the Burial Earth.
• Yao Daogu told the council that Lin Bai could control the Stone Throne but was Prince Qin of the Chu Kingdom, raising the question of whether the Demon Palace could let him keep it.

At the Council of Elders, Yao Daogu proposed recruiting Lin Bai into the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace as a Divine Son, citing the Stone Throne’s revival and the Palace’s imminent return to the mortal world. Liang Zhenbao opposed giving Lin Bai that rank, and the elders divided over whether he should join as a Saint Son or be allowed to challenge for a Divine Son’s place.

• Yao Daogu argued that the Stone Throne’s revival signaled the Holy Lord’s support for the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s resurgence and its ambition to rule the world.
• Yao Daogu proposed recruiting Lin Bai as a Divine Son, startling the elders and Lin Bai, who did not want to join the Palace or become an enemy of the Chu Kingdom and his former friends.
• Liang Zhenbao objected to appointing Lin Bai as a Divine Son, arguing that the existing positions were filled and Lin Bai lacked standing within the Palace.
• Liang Zhenbao proposed that Lin Bai receive the title of Saint Son instead, while Yao Daogu countered that Lin Bai’s Supreme Avatar and ability to defeat a Divine Son could qualify him for the rank.
• Liang Zhenbao warned that making an outsider part of the Palace’s upper ranks risked admitting a spy, and the elders split into opposing factions as Luo Yuanjing listened.

Lin Bai deduced that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace was preparing to rise again in the Devil Realm, but either path toward rebuilding its headquarters risked unleashing a devastating war and dividing the region. He warned Luo Yuanjing that the Demon Palace could become the Devil Realm’s sinner, while its elders faced the perilous consequences of their long-term plan.

• The chapter explained that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace wanted to openly restore its headquarters in the Devil Realm after a century of being demonized by the Eastern Region.
• Lin Bai considered two possible strategies: join forces with the Devil Realm’s martial artists to destroy the Eastern Region’s sects, or leave to rebuild the headquarters elsewhere; he judged the second strategy nearly impossible and the first likely to trigger chaos.
• Lin Bai reasoned that the Demon Palace’s secret alliance with him and its infiltration of major sects meant the turmoil in the Devil Realm could spread across the world.
• Luo Yuanjing asked Lin Bai what he had concluded, and Lin Bai warned that if the Demon Palace’s actions caused the Devil Realm to be divided among other regions, it would become the Devil Realm’s sinner.
• Luo Yuanjing acknowledged that this was the greatest risk of their plan, as the Western and Northern Regions might seize the chance to invade if the Devil Realm’s forces were devastated.

After the Council of Elders ended, Lin Bai was offered places to stay in Nine Underworlds City. The Stone Throne took Prince Qin to a secret chamber, where three mysterious spheres discussed Prince Qin’s potential and the Demon Palace’s hopes of recruiting him.

• Saint Elder Luo Yuanjing ended the Council of Elders, and the meeting records were reviewed and sealed.
• Lin Baixian and Hua Qianshu offered the Stone Throne their private residences, and Lin Baixian’s offer was accepted.
• The Stone Throne took Jia Yanhao from the hall and entered a hidden chamber, where he activated an array and spoke with three mysterious spheres.
• The Stone Throne told the spheres that Prince Qin was a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race and possessed the Supreme Avatar, and that he had given him time to consider joining the Demon Palace.
• The three spheres raised no objection, and the Stone Throne left with Lin Baixian toward East City.

Lin Bai questioned Lin Baixian at her residence in Nine Underworlds City about the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and the secrets in her memories. Lin Baixian revealed that the Stone Throne was a Divine Weapon forged by Holy Lord Qin Su, who had also belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race.

• Li Guxian took Lin Bai, still seated on the Stone Throne, to Lin Baixian’s quiet residence in East City.
• Lin Bai confronted Lin Baixian about the sealed memories he had encountered when using the Heaven Swallowing secret technique to search her mind.
• Lin Baixian explained that she had recognized Lin Bai as a Heaven Swallowing Race member because the Holy Lord from ten thousand years ago had belonged to the same race.
• Lin Bai asked why the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had invited him, and Lin Baixian pointed to the Stone Throne beneath him.
• Lin Baixian revealed that the Stone Throne was a Divine Weapon forged by Holy Lord Qin Su, and Lin Bai’s killing intent rose as he considered what she knew.

Lin Bai questioned Wang Xinxian about the Four Gloom Demon Palace’s plans and why it wanted him to join, while reflecting on the force’s infamous reputation and the possibility that Yin Jiuling had reincarnated. Wang Xinxian said the Palace’s long-prepared plan was beginning and that the battle would help clear its infamy, but she did not reveal its full purpose.

• Lin Bai thought about reincarnation and wondered whether Yin Jiuling was a powerful expert who had been reborn, then recalled that Yin Jiuling was in the Dao Ruins World with his friends.
• Lin Bai asked Wang Xinxian why the Four Gloom Demon Palace wanted him to join, and he said he would refuse even if it offered him great benefits.
• Wang Xinxian explained that a hundred thousand years of propaganda had made martial artists view the Four Gloom Demon Palace as a den of demons, and Lin Bai acknowledged that this shaped his own distrust.
• Wang Xinxian said the Four Gloom Demon Palace had spent tens of thousands of years preparing its plan and expected the current battle to wash away its infamy.
• Lin Bai asked whether the Palace intended to join forces with the Northern Region martial artists and divide the One Night Divine Sect’s territory, but Wang Xinxian did not disclose the plan’s details.

Lin Bai learned how the Four Gloom Demon Palace’s factions were divided and discussed the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s failed attempt to reconcile with the Devil Realm. He remained in Four Gloom City with the Stone Throne and realized he might use his key to seek the map to the Demon Palace’s third treasure.

• Li Guxian explained that the Chu Empire had exposed the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s alleged plan to abduct sect heirs, stirring outrage and helping form two alliances against it.
• Lin Bai dismissed the idea that the Devil Realm’s established powers would let the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace rebuild its mountain gate.
• Li Guxian told Lin Bai that the four divine halls had Pacifist, Warmonger, and treasure-seeking factions, and that Lu Yunzhe had been sent to seek reconciliation.
• Lin Bai revealed that he possessed the key to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s third treasure but lacked its map.
• After Li Guxian departed, Lin Bai soothed the reluctant Stone Throne, which left his residence while remaining connected to him.

Lin Bai explained how the Four Gloom Demon Palace selected Eternal Elders and the authority and cultivation benefits they received. He left Dao Dan with a warning that Elder He Gongji’s role and the battlefield intelligence were worth examining, while Enlightenment Willow Delight remained scarce.

• Lin Bai noted that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s intelligence focused on major battlefield events and influential figures such as himself and Shen Haoyue.
• Dao Dan asked how the Four Gloom Demon Palace chose Eternal Elders, and Lin Bai explained that great service or sufficient strength could earn the title.
• Lin Bai said Eternal Elders gained greater status and authority and could access Enlightenment Willow Delight, which improved comprehension and aided the creation of a method to become a Divine Ability practitioner.
• Hua Qianshu explained that becoming a Divine Ability practitioner required reaching the Supreme Dao Fruit and creating a personal method, while Lin Bai said the ingredients for Enlightenment Willow Delight had nearly disappeared.
• Lin Bai asked Dao Dan what kind of person Elder He Gongji was.

Lin Bai learned that the Demon Tower had intervened to save Shen Haoyue and asked Liu Huan about its purpose. Liu Huan revealed that the Demon Tower watched the Spirit Realm, Demon Realm, and Netherworld, and that outsiders had entered the Demon Realm, leaving the threat of a major invasion unresolved.

• A report said He Gongji damaged Ning'an City's formation hubs, and allied forces seized the city after the Seven Nights Divine Sect withdrew.
• Lin Bai read that a Demon Tower expert had saved Shen Haoyue's soul and warned him to stay off the battlefield.
• Lin Bai asked Liu Huan what the Demon Tower was, and Liu Huan explained that it was a secretive group whose members gathered intelligence across three realms.
• Liu Huan said the Demon Tower expert had intervened to preserve peace in the Eastern Region because martial artists from other realms had entered the Demon Realm.
• Hua Qianshu realized that the outsiders could include Supreme Dao Fruit experts or even more powerful beings, raising the prospect of a devastating catastrophe.