Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai pressured the First God Child into staking his position on the upcoming battle against Tang Muzhi, while learning that powerful outsiders from multiple realms had gathered in the borderlands. He then prepared for his possible duel with Bu Junfeng and weighed the dangers of using the Nine Deaths Demon Sword.

• Lin Bai drew the First God Child into promising to resign if he lost to Tang Muzhi, and Shi Renshan supported the challenge.
• After Shi Renshan and the First God Child left, Lin Bai and He Gongji sensed a hostile gaze from a mysterious figure who vanished nearby.
• He Gongji told Lin Bai that Great Mystic Art Users from across the Devil Realm and other realms had gathered in the borderlands, raising the stakes around the martial contest.
• Lin Bai returned to his quarters to prepare for the contest, reasoning that the outcome could depend on the first four battles and that his potential fight with Bu Junfeng could be deadly.
• Lin Bai examined the sealed Nine Deaths Demon Sword, recognized that it could corrupt his mind, and hoped he would not need to use it.

Lin Bai assessed Bu Junfeng’s Celestial Bone and weighed his own trump cards ahead of the martial contest, hoping the Eastern Region’s other prodigies would win the first bouts. At Heaven Sword Peak, the Northern Region’s delegation arrived before the Eastern Region’s, and Bu Junfeng waited while watching for Lin Bai.

• Lin Bai judged that Bu Junfeng’s Celestial Bone could raise his strength enormously and make him extraordinarily difficult to kill, and resolved to keep Devouring Power hidden unless his life was at risk.
• Lin Bai hoped Wang Zhengyang, Qi Lingyu, and Huang Qingyun would win three of the first four bouts and spare him a fight with Bu Junfeng.
• The delayed contest was confirmed for half a month later, and martial artists from across the Devil Realm gathered around Heaven Sword Peak to watch.
• Tang Xiong arrived at Heaven Sword Peak with Bu Junfeng, Shen Xinghe, Luan Tang, Tang Muzhi, and Gu Yangyun, prompting cheers and protests from the crowd.
• Bu Junfeng sat apart, drank wine, and watched toward the Eastern Region before saying, “You came after all!”

The Eastern Region arrived at Heaven Sword Peak with Prince Liang and an army led by six true dragons, while the contenders prepared for the martial contest. As Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng shared bitter wine, a mysterious young man joined them, followed by the sudden appearance of a Black-Robed Man who drank Lin Bai’s wine.

• Prince Liang reached Heaven Sword Peak with the Chu Kingdom’s silver-armored troops, the Nine Underworlds Guard, and a carriage pulled by six true dragons.
• Wang Zhengyang told Lin Bai that the Demon Realm’s Dragon Race descended from dragons who fled an ancient conflict and accepted servitude to the Chu Kingdom in return for protection.
• The Eastern and Northern Region contenders sized one another up, with Gu Yangyun greeting Lin Bai and Tang Muzhi glaring at him with hostility.
• Lin Bai joined Bu Junfeng for bitter wine, and the two ignored the surprise of the surrounding martial artists at their friendly meeting.
• A handsome stranger appeared beside Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng, drank their bitter wine, and declined to introduce himself.
• A Black-Robed Man suddenly took Lin Bai’s jug, drank it, criticized the wine, and returned the empty jug.

Lin Bai learned from the Black-Robed Man that the Devil Realm faced a gradual catastrophe as the Calamity Wind and Calamity Snow spread from the Land Beyond the Heavens. Bu Junfeng confirmed the threat was real but said the Soul Refinement Sect expected it to consume the realm only after hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.

• A Black-Robed Man appeared beside Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng, shared his strong liquor with Lin Bai, and invited hidden experts to drink.
• The young man and the Black-Robed Man explained that the Spirit Realm and Devil Realm’s conflict was driven by high-level cultivators and disputed motives, not simply ancient hatred.
• The Black-Robed Man revealed that the Devil Realm’s Calamity Wind and Calamity Snow were expected to spread until they covered the realm and ended life there.
• The Black-Robed Man said the Devil Realm’s ancient experts had once tried to negotiate a return to Spirit Realm territory, but the talks failed and the realms became enemies.
• Bu Junfeng confirmed that the calamity was real but said the Soul Refinement Sect estimated it would take hundreds of thousands to one or two million years to engulf the Devil Realm.
• Lin Bai learned that the Northern Region would be buried first as the Calamity Wind and Calamity Snow continued spreading.

Lin Bai learned how the Calamity Wind and Calamity Snow threatened the Devil Realm and how ancient investigations had worsened tensions with the Spirit Realm. The regional competition began under loose rules, and Shen Xinghe summoned the Soul Refining Banner to face Wang Zhengyang.

• Bu Junfeng and the Black-Robed Man explained that the Calamity Wind and Calamity Snow came from the Land Beyond the Heavens and had begun spreading after ancient experts investigated there.
• Spirit Huangzi, Daoist Chai, and Daoist Wu emerged from the void and announced that they would judge the competition while leaving its rules open-ended.
• Lin Bai realized the rules did not specify whether fights had to stop short of death or how victory would be determined.
• Daoist Chai announced the first match between Shen Xinghe and Wang Zhengyang, and the two took their places above Heaven Sword Peak.
• Shen Xinghe said he would not compete with Wang Zhengyang in arts and techniques, then summoned the Soul Refining Banner and released ghostly souls.

Lin Bai learned that the Spirit Realm’s Soul Governing Sect shared its origins with the Demon Realm’s Soul Refining Sect and was sustained by a legendary banner containing an immortal soul. As Shen Xinghe’s battle with Wang Zhengyang began, Wang’s Ten Thousand Buddhas Golden Light destroyed the Black Souls, while Lin Bai wondered about his master’s One Word Dao Sect in the Spirit Realm.

• A Spirit Realm martial artist explained the Soul Refining Banner’s soul grades and said Shen Xinghe possessed several Gold Souls.
• The young man described the Soul Governing Sect’s decline and the legend of its supreme treasure, a banner containing an immortal soul.
• Shen Xinghe sent a flood of Black Souls to engulf Wang Zhengyang, but Wang’s holy light scattered them and erased many.
• The young man identified Wang’s protection as the Ten Thousand Buddhas Golden Light, a technique from the Spirit Realm’s Compassionate Buddhism.
• Lin Bai considered asking about his master’s One Word Dao Sect but decided to investigate it later, while Bu Junfeng noted Ten Thousand Saints Mountain’s ties to ancient Spirit Realm inheritances.

Wang Zhengyang used the Ten Thousand Buddhas Golden Light and Purple Firmament Divine Lightning to suppress Shen Xinghe, then devoured several golden souls with a secret art. Shen Xinghe transformed into a hundred-zhang shadow and summoned a giant banner, which Lin Bai recognized as made from the spine and skin of a Giant God Race member.

• Wang Zhengyang spread the Ten Thousand Buddhas Golden Light, driving Shen Xinghe into hiding and destroying the black souls around Heaven Sword Peak.
• Shen Xinghe used silver souls to trap the golden light, but Wang Zhengyang shattered the ritual array with Purple Firmament Divine Lightning and forced him out of the shadows.
• Shen Xinghe released powerful golden souls and used Extract Soul to draw Wang Zhengyang's Primordial Spirit from his body.
• Wang Zhengyang's Primordial Spirit used Soul Devouring to consume several golden souls before returning to his body.
• Shen Xinghe absorbed black and silver souls, transformed into a hundred-zhang dark phantom, and summoned a giant banner made from spine and human skin that Lin Bai recognized as belonging to the Giant God Race.

The Soul Refining Sect's Saint, Shen Xinghe, used the Giant Bone Banner to overwhelm Wang Zhengyang, but Wang survived with his treasures and countered with the Godslaying Spear. A Soul Refining Sect powerhouse stopped the spear from killing Shen Xinghe, and Wang was declared the winner of the battle at Heaven Sword Peak.

• Shen Xinghe summoned the Giant Bone Banner, broke through Wang Zhengyang's defenses, and nearly killed him with its sound waves.
• Wang Zhengyang survived by sacrificing several life-saving treasures, then revealed the broken Godslaying Spear and its history as a weapon made to hunt the Giant God Race.
• Shen Xinghe fused with the Giant Bone Banner and ten thousand souls to form an adult Giant God Race figure, which attacked Wang Zhengyang.
• Wang Zhengyang launched the Godslaying Spear, shattering the illusory giant and piercing Shen Xinghe's shadow form.
• A Soul Refining Sect powerhouse caught the spear and asked Wang Zhengyang to spare Shen Xinghe; Wang agreed, and the two Saints ended their fight.
• Shen Xinghe returned to Heaven Sword Peak, and Wang Zhengyang was declared the winner.

Wang Zhengyang defeated Shen Xinghe in the first match, and the second match began with Huang Qingyun facing Luan Tang. As Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng discussed the strange states of both fighters, Lin Bai invited Wang Zhengyang to join them for wine, leaving the gathering to drink together despite the rumors their company might cause.

• Wang Zhengyang won the first match after using techniques and a Divine Weapon prepared to counter Shen Xinghe, while Shen Xinghe conceded defeat.
• Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng discussed Wang Zhengyang's preparation and the possibility that Ten Thousand Saints Mountain could devise counters to Bu Junfeng's abilities.
• Daoist Chai announced that Huang Qingyun would face Luan Tang, and both entered the arena.
• Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng noted that Luan Tang seemed like a corpse and that Huang Qingyun contained two connected souls competing for control of her body.
• Bu Junfeng suggested asking Wang Zhengyang about the Sacred Lotus Reincarnation Art, so he invited Wang to join them.
• The Black-Robed Man seized and drank Wang Zhengyang's Red Dust Brew, and Wang sat with Lin Bai and the others, choosing to drink with them despite the rumors.

Wang Zhengyang explained that Huang Qingyun’s divided soul came from the flawed Sacred Lotus Reincarnation Art, while admitting Ten Thousand Saints Mountain was interested in studying the Immortality Art. Huang Qingyun then fought Luan Tang on Heaven Sword Peak, revealing overwhelming physical strength before the Black-Robed Man called her a “barbarian.”

• Wang Zhengyang told Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng that Sacred Lotus Palace’s ancestor had completed an incomplete reincarnation art, leaving two souls to struggle for control of one body.
• Wang Zhengyang offered to take Huang Qingyun to Ten Thousand Saints Mountain for help, but Lin Bai suspected the sect might treat her as a research subject and understood why she had refused outside aid.
• Huang Qingyun and Luan Tang questioned each other about their unusual souls and bodies before beginning their fight on Heaven Sword Peak.
• Huang Qingyun’s first attacks failed to injure Luan Tang, who used a corpse for the Substitution Art and summoned five Corpse Puppets strengthened by the Divine Armament Art.
• Huang Qingyun smashed all five Corpse Puppets with her fists and charged at Luan Tang, prompting Bu Junfeng and Lin Bai to recognize her formidable physical strength.
• The Black-Robed Man looked toward Huang Qingyun and called her a “barbarian,” leaving Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng puzzled.

Lin Bai pieced together the history of the Primordial God Races as Huang Qingyun revealed her Barbarian God Race power in battle. After she defeated the Corpse Refinement Sect’s Holy Son’s first attacks, he summoned a sealed Corpse Puppet that Lin Bai recognized as belonging to the Heaven Swallowing Race.

• Wang Zhengyang explained that the ancient Barbarian Race was one of the Primordial Era’s God Races and that the Barbarian Sect might preserve its bloodline.
• Lin Bai reconstructed the eras of Demon and human rule and suspected that vanished God Races and human constitutions were reappearing as the world entered an age of great contention.
• Huang Qingyun shattered the Corpse Refinement Sect’s Holy Son with a punch, but he regenerated and identified her as part of the Barbarian God Race.
• The Holy Son released hundreds of Corpse Puppets, but Huang Qingyun destroyed them with ease, forcing him to recall them.
• The Holy Son opened a talisman-sealed coffin, and Lin Bai recognized the sinister Corpse Puppet emerging from it as belonging to the Heaven Swallowing Race.

The Corpse Refinement Sect's Holy Son unleashed a Heaven Swallowing Race Corpse Puppet against Huang Qingyun, revealing its Devouring Power and stirring Lin Bai's hatred of the sects that exploit ancient races. After the puppet began overpowering Huang Qingyun, she agreed to let another presence take control of her body, and the story left her preparing to defeat it.

• Lin Bai recognized that the Corpse Puppet belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race and realized that the Northern Region's refinement sects drew their power from wondrous races.
• Huang Qingyun attacked Luan Tang, but the Heaven Swallowing Race Corpse Puppet blocked her with Devouring Power and began absorbing her strength.
• Lin Bai suspected that the Corpse Refinement Sect had refined the Heaven Swallowing Race senior while he was still alive, deepening his hatred of the refinement sects.
• The Corpse Puppet's attacks drove Huang Qingyun back, and a voice in her mind offered to take control of her body so it could defeat the puppet.
• Huang Qingyun accepted, and her next punch sent the Corpse Puppet flying into the void; she then advanced with overwhelming power and vowed to send it into reincarnation.

Huang Qingyun used Lotus Burial to refine the Heaven Swallowing Race's Corpse Puppet, and Luan Tang conceded after she threatened to find his true body. With the Eastern Region leading two matches to none, Gu Yangyun and Qi Lingyu began the third match.

• Huang Qingyun sealed the Heaven Swallowing Race's Corpse Puppet in a lotus, refined it, and collected the dark matter left behind.
• The Palace Lord of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace identified Huang Qingyun as Huang Yuwan, a powerful Sacred Lotus Palace elder who had fought the Demon Palace ten thousand years earlier and later reincarnated.
• Huang Qingyun challenged Luan Tang to reveal himself or be dragged out, and Luan Tang conceded; Bu Junfeng told Lin Bai that the Holy Son they saw was a Corpse Puppet, not his true body.
• The elders announced Huang Qingyun as the winner, giving the Eastern Region two victories, and called for the third match.
• Gu Yangyun and Qi Lingyu faced each other above Heaven Sword Peak, and Qi Lingyu drew his sword and struck first.

Qi Lingyu and Gu Yangyun fought fiercely as Lin Bai and the others discussed Gu Yangyun’s suspected Solar God Body and its connection to the Sun God Race. The battle left Qi Lingyu exhausted, while Gu Yangyun’s innate durability and rapid healing revealed why he was so difficult to defeat.

• Qi Lingyu and Gu Yangyun clashed using the varied inheritances and divine weapons of their sects.
• Bu Junfeng said Gu Yangyun had been secretly nurtured by the Black Water Clan and linked him to a golden-sun omen at his birth.
• Wang Zhengyang identified the Solar God Body as a bloodline inheritance of the Sun God Race and explained its possible connection to an Immortal Bloodline.
• As the fight reached its climax, Gu Yangyun remained calm while Qi Lingyu appeared exhausted and unable to injure him with ordinary attacks.
• Qi Lingyu pierced Gu Yangyun with a Supreme Divine Weapon disguised as a golden feather-shaped needle, but Gu Yangyun’s wound quickly healed.
• Wang Zhengyang explained that the Solar God Body could recover from nearly any nonfatal injury and become nearly undying when fully cultivated.

Gu Yangyun defeated Qi Lingyu through his Solar God Body’s extraordinary regeneration, then explained its origin and discussed Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng’s hidden strength. Tang Muzhi and the First God Child began their match with a powerful clash, leaving the onlookers watching their flashy opening attacks.

• Qi Lingyu exhausted his attacks against Gu Yangyun’s regenerating body and admitted defeat, making Gu Yangyun the winner of their match.
• The elders announced that Tang Muzhi would fight Yan Congjiao, the First God Child of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Gu Yangyun told Qi Lingyu that his recovery came from the Solar God Body and said Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng had far greater strength than they had shown.
• Bu Junfeng and Lin Bai discussed Tang Muzhi’s and the First God Child’s backgrounds while the two combatants exchanged insults.
• Tang Muzhi and the First God Child charged at each other, and their opening fist clash shattered the snow and wind around Heaven Sword Peak.

Tang Muzhi fought the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s First God Child, revealed his hidden strength, and defeated him with a surprise attack and the Five-Colored Mountain. Shi Renshan intervened to save the First God Child, but the defeated fighter insisted he had not lost, leaving Shi Renshan humiliated before the watching martial artists.

• Tang Muzhi and the First God Child fought evenly until the First God Child unleashed the Heavenly Demon Fist, which Tang Muzhi endured using the Demon Dragon Transformation.
• Tang Muzhi and the First God Child exchanged hundreds of blows while Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng realized Tang Muzhi was concealing his true strength and leading his opponent into a trap.
• Tang Muzhi sprouted golden wings, broke through the First God Child’s defenses, and battered him before pinning him beneath the Five-Colored Mountain.
• As Tang Muzhi moved to deliver a potentially fatal blow, Shi Renshan intervened and Tang Muzhi agreed to stop fighting.
• The First God Child insisted he had not lost and demanded that Shi Renshan free him to continue, while Tang Muzhi challenged Shi Renshan to step aside and let them fight.

Tang Muzhi defeated Yan Congjiao after the First God Child refused to concede, while Shi Renshan’s intervention and Yan Congjiao’s conduct brought the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace public disgrace. The Eastern–Northern Regions’ decisive fifth battle began as Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng faced each other with their sects’ Supreme Divine Weapons, the Nine Deaths Demon Sword and Mask of the Gods.

• Tang Muzhi continued crushing Yan Congjiao beneath the Five-Colored Mountain, and Tang Xiong and the three ancient-force seniors stopped Shi Renshan from interfering.
• Shi Renshan urged Yan Congjiao to concede, and Yan Congjiao admitted defeat; the seniors declared Tang Muzhi the winner.
• Yan Congjiao accused Tang Muzhi of ambushing him and demanded another fight, while Tang Muzhi dismissed him and returned to Heaven Sword Peak.
• Shi Renshan took Yan Congjiao away as spectators mocked the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, and the other God Children criticized Yan Congjiao for disgracing their sect.
• The three ancient-force seniors announced Lin Bai’s decisive battle against Bu Junfeng, and the two entered the sky above Heaven Sword Peak.
• Lin Bai revealed the Nine Deaths Demon Sword while Bu Junfeng produced the Mask of the Gods, and Wang Zhengyang identified them as the sects’ Supreme Divine Weapons.

Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng agreed to fight without their Supreme Divine Weapons, then began a fierce contest on Heaven Sword Peak. Lin Bai unleashed an overwhelming combination of sword formations, Divine Weapons, and swordplay, leaving Bu Junfeng badly battered but still alive in the void.

• Bu Junfeng suggested that he and Lin Bai put away their Supreme Divine Weapons, and both men handed theirs back to their sects.
• Lin Bai opened the battle with his Demon Sword, five flying swords, and crimson Sword Intent, while Bu Junfeng evaded with Void Walk and countered with the Heaven-Gazing Finger.
• Lin Bai trapped Bu Junfeng in the Reverse Five Elements Sword Formation and used a black-gold greatsword to block his escape, shattering the surrounding space.
• Lin Bai attacked with the Heaven Measuring Ruler, three Grand Yi Divine Weapons, and Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire Slash, drawing astonished reactions from the watching martial artists.
• The combined assault left Bu Junfeng half flesh and half golden skeleton, but he survived and remarked that Lin Bai had made him suffer a rare beating.

Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng pushed their martial exchange to its limits, revealing the power of the Celestial Bone, Life Extinction Palm, and Supreme Avatar. After the clash left both unable to reuse their strongest techniques, Bu Junfeng began drawing on the Soul Refinement Sect’s secret arts by absorbing the life force of countless demonic beasts.

• Bu Junfeng regenerated his pulverized body with the Celestial Bone, then told Lin Bai he had been a Dao realm martial artist for as long as he could remember and had never awakened a Martial Soul.
• Bu Junfeng trapped Lin Bai with Life Extinction Palm, but Lin Bai summoned the Supreme Avatar and used Void Evasion Art to escape.
• Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng exchanged attacks with the Supreme Avatar, Life Severing Three Blades, Taiji Two Forms Sword Formation, Crimson Lotus Myriad Sword Seal, and Cangming God Severing Palm, injuring each other and exhausting their strongest techniques.
• Bu Junfeng announced that he would use the Soul Refinement Sect’s secret arts, and a sect member released tens of thousands of demonic beasts from a yellow leather sack.
• Bu Junfeng slaughtered the beasts and drew their flesh and blood power toward himself, prompting Lin Bai to recognize a method resembling the Heaven Swallowing Race’s Devouring Power.

Bu Junfeng used the Soul Refinement Sect’s secret technique, Divine Refinement of All Living Things, and warned Lin Bai against revealing any connection to the Heaven Swallowing Race. As their battle reached its climax, Bu Junfeng struck Lin Bai down, and powerful figures from the Chu Kingdom and Nine Underworlds Demon Palace appeared around his shattered body.

• Bu Junfeng released livestock and absorbed their blood and qi, revealing the Soul Refinement Sect’s technique and its connection to the Heaven Swallowing Race’s Devouring Power.
• Bu Junfeng warned Lin Bai that the Heaven Swallowing Race was taboo and explained that Divine Refinement of All Living Things could damage his soul if maintained too long.
• Lin Bai inferred that the Soul Refinement Sect had captured Heaven Swallowing Race members to fix a flaw in its cultivation method, while observers anticipated the fight’s outcome.
• Bu Junfeng rushed Lin Bai and punched through his chest, badly injuring him.
• Lin Bai used Demon Eyes and Projection, but Bu Junfeng struck his body from behind, scattering it into fragments as Chu Kingdom and Nine Underworlds Demon Palace figures appeared nearby.