Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai, Old Wen, and Dao Child Yu You traveled through Qilin City as Old Wen explained the influx of refugees fleeing the approaching war. Ma Leiyu brought Lin Bai to the Ma Family’s branch, where he was welcomed as a distinguished guest.

• Old Wen explained that martial artists from Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect had fled into Pure Yang Sect and Phoenix Valley’s territories ahead of the expected war.
• Lin Bai observed Qilin City’s prosperous districts and listened as Old Wen and Dao Child Yu You discussed how difficult it was for high-level martial artists to have descendants.
• Ma Leiyu brought Lin Bai to the Qilin City branch of the Ma Family, which belonged to his main clan and was backed by the Supreme Dao Fruit powerhouse Ma Lian'an.
• Dozens of Ma Family elders rushed out to welcome Lin Bai, and Ma Leiyu asked them to prepare a quiet courtyard for his distinguished guests.

Lin Bai pressured Palace Imperial Son over whether Pure Yang Sect and Phoenix Valley planned to break away from the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace. He left Palace Imperial Son struggling to answer as he warned that the sects should serve the Devil Palace if they had no intention of leaving.

• Lin Bai let Palace Imperial Son sweat in silence before asking whether Pure Yang Sect and Phoenix Valley planned to break free of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Palace Imperial Son faltered, aware that admitting the plan would expose the sects' intentions while denying it could be challenged by the Imperial Son.
• Lin Bai said the sects should ask their forefathers whether they had truly received no help from the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Palace Imperial Son claimed that Pure Yang Sect and Phoenix Valley were loyal branches of the Devil Palace.
• Lin Bai pointed out that the sects had received little help and claimed they had relied on themselves, then warned them to serve the Devil Palace if they had no intention of breaking away.

Lin Bai questioned Ma Leiyu about the Pure Yang Sect’s vacant Holy Son position and gradually stirred his resentment toward the Shen Family’s hold on it. Ma Leiyu admitted he wanted the position, while Lin Bai offered the Four Gloom Demon Palace’s support as a possible means to claim it.

• Lin Bai asked Ma Leiyu about the influence of the Ma Family and learned that it was one of the Four Great Clans alongside the Shen Family, the Liu Family, and the Wu Family.
• Ma Leiyu said Shen Haoyue had beaten him in the Holy Son succession, and he admitted the Shen Family’s power kept the Ma Family from challenging its control of the position.
• Lin Bai pointed out that Shen Haoyue had lost his physical body and questioned why the Pure Yang Sect had not named Ma Leiyu temporary Holy Son.
• Ma Leiyu confessed that he wanted to become Holy Son but insisted the Ma Family and Shen Family stood together against their enemies.
• Lin Bai suggested the Four Gloom Demon Palace could support Ma Leiyu’s bid, and Ma Leiyu considered the possibility.

Lin Bai persuaded Ma Leiyu that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace could secure him the Pure Yang Sect’s Holy Son position, drawing him into a scheme involving the Shen family and the sect’s independence. Ma Leiyu left to consult his family, while Lin Bai and Old Wen expected him to accept.

• Lin Bai offered to have the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace order the Pure Yang Sect to make Ma Leiyu its Holy Son.
• Ma Leiyu worried the Shen family might resist, but Lin Bai and Dao Child Yu You argued that the position could be transferred temporarily and returned later.
• Old Wen explained that the Demon Palace could use the dispute to sow discord between the Shen and Ma families and gain a pretext to punish the Pure Yang Sect.
• Lin Bai implied that Ma Leiyu could gain power and wealth by accepting, and Ma Leiyu agreed to seek his family's support.
• After Ma Leiyu left, Lin Bai and Old Wen concluded that he would likely accept the offer.

Ma Leiyu told his father that Lin Bai had offered to support him becoming the Pure Yang Sect’s Holy Son, while warning that the Peng family’s control and Lin Bai’s plans could leave the Ma family with little. His father recognized the opportunity and the trap, then told Ma Leiyu to keep Lin Bai in Qilin City while he consulted the Ma family elders.

• Ma Leiyu sealed his room and contacted his father through a projection formation.
• Ma Leiyu reported that Lin Bai had offered to support him becoming the Pure Yang Sect’s Holy Son.
• Ma Leiyu argued that the Ma family needed the position to secure resources when the One Night Divine Sect’s territory was divided.
• His father warned that Lin Bai’s offer could be a scheme and noted that the Ma family had to weigh it against the family lineage.
• Ma Leiyu insisted he wanted to fight for the Holy Son position, and his father told him to keep Lin Bai in Qilin City while he consulted the elders.

Lin Baidi learned that the Pure Shen Family elders planned to secure him the Holy Son position by aligning the Ma Family with the Four Gloom Demon Palace. As Taorui went to meet the Sect Master, the struggle for power began.

• Lin Baidi's father told him the lineage elders wanted him to win Ma Leiyu's trust and make the Ma Family appear loyal to the Four Gloom Demon Palace.
• Lin Baidi learned the elders would support his bid for the Holy Son position but warned that Ma Leiyu could also remove him from it.
• Lin Baidi's father instructed him to blame the breakaway effort on Lin Bai, the Wu Family, and the Liu Family, and to keep the Ma Family's intentions from the other lineages.
• Lin Baidi agreed to explain the plan to Ma Leiyu and hurried to the Sect Master's residence.
• Taorui returned to the Sect Master's residence near dawn, while the Sect Master and her companions recognized that the Ma Family had taken the bait.

Hou Bin, Old Wen, and Daoist Lin Bai reached White Dragon City after hundreds of teleportations across Pure Yang Sect’s territory. While recovering there, Hou Bin learned more about Azure Lotus Sect’s support for Seven Nights Divine Sect’s survivors and asked Old Wen to contact the Devil Palace.

• The Ma family welcomed Hou Bin, Old Wen, and Daoist Lin Bai to White Dragon City and provided a residence for them to rest.
• Hou Bin, Old Wen, and Daoist Lin Bai slept for three days and three nights to recover from their exhausting journey.
• Hou Bin asked Old Wen whether he could contact the Devil Palace, and Old Wen described the many available methods, including a formation compass for emergencies.
• Hou Bin concluded that Azure Lotus Sect had helped both Pure Yang Sect and Phoenix Valley and the surviving disciples of Seven Nights Divine Sect.
• Old Wen prepared to contact the Devil Palace as Hou Bin asked, while Daoist Lin Bai continued to recover.

Saint Elder Palace Emperor asked Old Wen whether the Devil Palace would approve his request to make Ma Leiyu Pure Li Gu’s Saint Son. Old Wen arranged for the request to reach the Four Gloom Demon Palace, while the Emperor’s actions showed he was increasingly accepting his identity as Luo Yuanjing.

• The Emperor learned from Old Wen about the Devil Palace’s many contact networks and its preparations in Pure Li Gu and Phoenix Valley’s territories.
• The Emperor asked Old Wen to send a request in Wu Zhu’s name for Ma Leiyu to become Pure Li Gu’s Saint Son.
• Old Wen contacted the Withered Sea Branch by a method other than the emergency formation compass and sent a secret order toward Huang Long Thousand Provinces.
• A Devil Palace martial artist delivered the Emperor’s order to the Four Gloom Demon Palace’s mountain gate, where the Emperor read it and praised Lin Baixian’s prediction.
• Old Wen told the Emperor that the Devil Palace would likely approve the request, and the Emperor’s conduct further reflected his growing acceptance of Luo Yuanjing’s identity.

Lin Bai and his companions recovered in Black Dragon City, then set out for White Horse City to meet Chu Tinghan, Chu Tingxue, and Princess Chenxian. They crossed the guarded unclaimed land safely and arrived at the crowded frontier city, where the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s survivors were regrouping.

• The Ma Family decided to cooperate with Lin Bai and contend for the Pure Yang Sect’s Holy Son position.
• Old Wen told Lin Bai that Chu Tinghan, Chu Tingxue, and Princess Chenxian had gone to White Horse City, where Chu Zimo had also arrived with guards.
• Lin Bai, Old Wen, and Dao Child Yu You left Black Dragon City after resting and crossed the unclaimed land by cloud boat.
• White Horse City’s spies watched the travelers but let Lin Bai’s group pass, believing them to be ordinary travelers.
• Lin Bai and his companions reached White Horse City, which had expanded into a major city as the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s survivors gathered there.

Lin Bai arrived at White Horse City, where Yi Gu had gathered allies to fight the Pure Yang Sect and Phoenix Valley. Lin Bai sent Yi Gu a coded poem, and Yi Gu recognized it and rushed to find him.

• Old Wen explained that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had wanted to destroy the Seven Nights Divine Sect, not eradicate its surviving disciples, and blamed the Pure Yang Sect and Phoenix Valley for seeking total destruction.
• A young martial artist asked whether Lin Bai and his companions had come to attend the alliance gathering, and Lin Bai asked to meet the alliance leader, Yi Gu.
• Lin Bai gave the young martial artist a coded poem instead of his name, and the young man escorted Lin Bai, Old Wen, and Dao Child Yu You into White Horse City to wait in the Guest Hall.
• Yi Gu met with Yi Jinyun, Chu Tingxue, Chu Tinghan, Princess Chenxian, and Chu Zimo while a martial artist reported that three visitors claimed to be his longtime friends.
• Yi Gu heard Lin Bai's poem, recognized its meaning, and hurried out of the hall asking where the visitor was.

Lin Bai discussed his precarious position in White Horse City with Old Wen and Dao Child Yu You, then learned that Li Guxian had prepared a plan to eliminate Yi Gu and the other surviving heirs of the Yi family. He rejected the plan and acknowledged that his ruined reputation left him with few options beyond the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.

• Lin Bai joked that Yi Gu might attack him, while Dao Child Yu You and Old Wen considered the danger the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace faced in White Horse City.
• Old Wen argued that Lin Bai could not safely abandon the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace because the Devil Realm Eastern Region distrusted him and Chu Kingdom would no longer fully support him.
• Old Wen revealed that he had secretly arranged for martial artists to enter White Horse City and protect Lin Bai.
• Old Wen gave Lin Bai Li Guxian's brocade pouch, which contained instructions to kill Yi Gu, Yi Jinyun, and the other surviving heirs of the Yi family.
• Lin Bai refused to kill the Yi family heirs and said he had never planned to remain in White Horse City, while admitting that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace was his only remaining choice.

Lin Bai reunited with Chu Tinghan, Princess Chenxian, Chu Zimo, and Chu Tingxue at Yi Gu’s Moon Gazing Garden, where he admitted that he had become the Imperial Son of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace. His confession provoked several Seven Nights Divine Sect disciples, and one woman drew her sword and demanded his capture.

• Yi Gu’s messenger led Lin Bai, Old Wen, and Dao Child Yu You through White Horse City to the secluded Moon Gazing Garden, where Yi Gu had cleared out the servants.
• Chu Tinghan and Princess Chenxian arrived with Chu Zimo and Chu Tingxue, followed by Yi Gu and the Seven Nights Divine Sect disciples, and the two women rushed into Lin Bai’s arms.
• Chu Zimo asked Lin Bai about rumors that he had joined the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, and Lin Bai said the Zhao Xing Office had spread them.
• Lin Bai denied betraying the Devil Realm Eastern Region but confirmed that he had become the Imperial Son of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Several Seven Nights Divine Sect disciples directed killing intent at Lin Bai, and a woman in blue drew her sword and demanded that Yi Gu capture him.

Lin Bai tried to prevent Yi Gu’s sisters from attacking him after they learned he had become the heir of Four Gloom Demon Palace. The sisters remained hostile, and Zhang Fuyi warned that a fight in White Horse City would be difficult to contain.

• Dao Child Yu You stepped between Lin Bai and Yi Jinse, but Lin Bai stopped him and asked why she wanted him dead.
• Yi Gu introduced his sisters, including Yi Jinyi and Yi Jinse, and Old Wen remarked that their father had been an old acquaintance.
• Yi Jinyi called on her sisters to attack Zhang Fuyi and accused Yi Gu of betraying their family by joining Four Gloom Demon Palace.
• Yi Jinyi thrust her sword at Lin Bai, but he caught it between two fingers and urged the sisters to put down their weapons.
• Zhang Fuyi tried to calm the sisters and warned that Yi Gu and the two seniors had prepared thoroughly for their visit to White Horse City.

Old Wen revealed how the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace placed Princess Chenxian’s mother in Prince Hong Estate and how she fell in love with Prince Hong. He explained that the Chu Emperor, not Prince Liang’s Estate, uncovered her identity, leaving Princess Chenxian and the others to reconsider the tragedy that destroyed her family.

• Chu Zimo asked Liang Wang whether he had known his father, and Liang Wang recalled fighting him during a campaign against the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Old Wen explained that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had sent women under false identities into Chu Kingdom’s estates, and one Dao Child had been placed near Prince Hong.
• The woman became Prince Hong’s Dao companion and was later pressured by the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace to keep spying, even after she became pregnant.
• Old Wen said the Chu royal family discovered the Princess Consort’s identity and the Zhao Xing Office confirmed it, while Prince Liang’s Estate had not uncovered the secret.
• Princess Chenxian realized her mother had been caught between Prince Hong and the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, and asked what had happened to her family.

Old Wen explained how Prince Hong secretly surrendered his military authority to protect Princess Chenxian and her mother, while the Chu imperial family manipulated events to make Prince Liang's Estate take the blame. He left Princess Chenxian questioning whether her parents had truly died.

• Old Wen said Emperor Chu secretly told Prince Hong that the Consort was a spy from the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Prince Hong agreed to surrender his military authority in exchange for a chance to save Princess Chenxian and her mother.
• The Chu imperial family announced that Prince Hong had committed suicide and that Prince Liang's Estate had exposed the Consort, shifting suspicion onto Liang Wang's estate.
• Liang Wang incorporated Prince Hong's army as the Chu imperial family steered public attention toward a supposed rivalry between the two estates.
• Old Wen questioned who had told Princess Chenxian that her parents were dead.

Old Wen explained how the Chu royal family fabricated Prince Hong and the Princess Consort’s deaths to eliminate the Princess Consort’s influence and absorb Prince Hong’s army without triggering civil war. He revealed that both parents had survived, leaving Princess Chenxian struggling to understand why they had abandoned her.

• Old Wen recounted how the Chu royal family discovered that Prince Hong’s Princess Consort was a Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artist passing secrets to the palace.
• Prince Hong gave up his title and military authority to save his wife and daughter, while the royal family arranged to make his removal appear tied to a struggle over command of the army.
• The Chu Emperor’s residence exposed the Princess Consort’s hidden branch halls, and the Zhao Xing Office publicly investigated her and Prince Hong.
• Old Wen explained that the Devil Palace investigated the deaths and later learned Chu had deceived everyone: Prince Hong and the Princess Consort were still alive.
• Princess Chenxian learned her parents had survived but questioned why they had never returned to see her.

Lin Bai learned that the Four Gloom Demon Palace had taken Eternal Night Pass and broken its alliance with Yi Gu, leaving the One Night Divine Sect’s former territory contested. He urged Zhou Bangying and the others to unite their allies and wait for the right moment, while the fate of the territory remained unsettled.

• Lin Bai asked Yi Gu about Eternal Night Pass, and Yi Jinyi explained that Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists had seized it after the Seven Nights Divine Sect fell.
• Eastern Region explained that the Four Gloom Demon Palace had ended its alliance with Yi Gu and planned to divide the One Night Divine Sect’s territory with them, prompting Zhou Bangying to ask why Eternal Night Pass had been taken over.
• Yi Jinse said the Four Gloom Demon Palace was right to keep Yi Gu’s martial artists out of the Northern Region, since their entry would threaten the region’s future.
• Eastern Region advised Zhou Bangying to stabilize her allies and wait for an opportunity, warning that the Chu Kingdom and other forces could not ignore Yi Gu’s advance through Eternal Night Pass.
• Zhou Bangying thanked Lin Bai for the information and declared that the Northern Region’s conflict should remain an affair among its own forces.

Lin Bai explained that he was now the heir of Four Gloom Demon Palace and could not return to Chu, then prepared to travel to Eternal Night Pass. Yi Jinyi tried to attack him, but Chu Tinghan stopped her, while Chu's reinforcements remained in White Horse City awaiting orders.

• Lin Bai told Chu Zimo and Chu Tinghan that he could not return to Chu because he bore the identity of Four Gloom Demon Palace's heir.
• Lin Bai asked why Chu's reinforcements had stayed in the Seven Nights Divine Sect's territory after Qi Tian Sect and Ten Thousand Saints Mountain recalled their delegations; Chu Zimo said they had orders to remain and await further instructions.
• Lin Bai announced that he planned to go to Eternal Night Pass to meet Four Gloom Demon Palace, Northern Region martial artists, and the Soul Refinement Sect.
• Yi Jinyi charged at Lin Bai, but Chu Tinghan stopped her and warned that Lin Bai had powerful companions and would not have come unprepared.
• Yi Jinyi accepted that she could not accompany Lin Bai because Chu's army had orders to remain in the territory of the One Night Divine Sect.

Taiyi Dao arranged an ambush of several thousand Seven Nights Divine Sect martial artists to capture Lin Bai, but Luo Daoguo warned that Lin Bai and his allies could defeat or escape them and that the Chu Kingdom might protect him. Old Wen discovered the ambush and informed Xi Fangxin, who realized the danger as Lin Bai remained calm.

• Old Wen spread his spiritual sense through and beyond the manor and discovered several thousand Seven Nights Divine Sect martial artists waiting in ambush.
• Taiyi Dao assured Luo Daoguo that her arranged experts could capture Lin Bai, while Luo Daoguo questioned whether they could overcome him and his allies.
• Luo Daoguo warned Taiyi Dao that Lin Bai might escape and that the Chu Kingdom's royals could side with him instead of the sect.
• Old Wen quietly told Xi Fangxin about the ambush, and Lin Bai showed no surprise when he learned of it.

Yi Jinyi explained that White Horse City's alliance was divided and proposed terms to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace on behalf of the Seven Nights Divine Sect. Yi Gu confirmed she could represent the sect, and Yi Jinyi asked the Demon Palace to stop hunting the sect's survivors in exchange for the Seven Nights Divine Sect relinquishing its Flourishing Sect title.

• Yi Jinyi explained that most martial artists in White Horse City had ulterior motives, leaving the alliance too divided to act as one force.
• Lin Bai asked Yi Gu for his assessment, and Yi Gu agreed that White Horse City was a scattered mass.
• Yi Jinyi said the Seven Nights Divine Sect would surrender its Flourishing Sect title but would keep seeking revenge to preserve the sect's cohesion.
• Yi Jinyi said she wanted to negotiate with the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, and Old Wen questioned whether she could represent the Seven Nights Divine Sect.
• Yi Gu declared that Yi Jinyi represented the sect, and Yi Jinyi asked the Demon Palace to stop hunting its survivors in return for the sect giving up its Flourishing Sect seat.