Chapter Summaries

Qian Hen explained why the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace was unlikely to fall into civil war and why the Chu Kingdom and Ten Thousand Saints Mountain wanted it to consolidate its territory. Lin Bai and Goddess Li Guxian secured Qian Hen’s agreement to provide enough supplies to equip a ten-million-strong army, leaving the Qian Family’s price and the payment arrangements to be settled.

• Qian Hen told Lin Bai that the Palace Master and the Demon Palace’s Great Mystic Art Users would prevent civil war, while the Chu Kingdom’s troops could intervene if one began.
• Qian Hen explained that the Chu Kingdom and other Eastern Region powers wanted the Demon Palace to stabilize the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s territory and help face threats from other regions.
• Lin Bai privately concluded that he could use his standing with the Palace Master to launch a limited strike against Shi Renshan’s faction, but only as a last resort.
• Goddess Li Guxian prepared a supply list that Qian Hen estimated could equip ten million martial artists for five or six years.
• Qian Hen agreed to procure everything on the list at a favorable but not low price, and Goddess Li Guxian said the allied Divine Halls could pay in installments.

Lin Bai sensed poison in a meat pie when the Heaven Swallowing Dao Fruit warned him, and a test with spirit pets confirmed the danger. Qian Hen vowed that the Qian Family would explain the attempted poisoning, then summoned hidden figures to investigate.

• Qian Hen invited Lin Bai and the others to try Drunken Immortal City's meat pies.
• Lin Bai sensed danger from the meat pie as the Heaven Swallowing Dao Fruit began circulating, and he realized it might be poison.
• Qian Hen ordered spirit pets to test the meat pie, and the rabbits and silver foxes died after eating it.
• Hu Zhiyao accused Qian Hen, but Lin Bai defended him, and Qian Hen promised the Qian Family would answer for the poisoning.
• Qian Hen ordered Old Liu, Hong Gu, Manager Zhang, and the others to stay, then summoned figures who emerged from the void.

After Lin Bai’s pie was found to be poisoned, Qian Hen sealed Drunken Immortal Pavilion and Drunken Immortal City and ordered an urgent investigation. The Zhou Family was given one hour to explain how poison got into its pies, and Qian Hen had Li Qilang brought in as the inquiry continued.

• Qian Hen summoned Qian Family experts, ordered them to investigate the poisoning within an hour, and sealed Drunken Immortal Pavilion and Drunken Immortal City.
• Manager Zhang said he had bought the pies from the Zhou Family Pie Shop and denied poisoning them.
• Qian Hen summoned the Zhou Family Head and Ancestor, accused their shop of selling poisoned pies, and gave them one hour to uncover the truth or face the extermination of their family.
• The Pavilion Lord said that only he, Manager Zhang, Hong Gu, and Li Qilang knew Lin Bai’s identity at Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
• Qian Hen called for Li Qilang, and Qian Family experts brought the disheveled servant before him and Lin Bai.

After Li Qilang admitted that he had spread news of Lin Bai’s presence, Qian Hen sealed Drunken Immortal Pavilion and Drunken Immortal City and began searching for the poisoner. Lin Bai used Soul Search on a captured Demon Subjugation Alliance agent and identified the man who received the information, leaving Qian Hen’s forces to pursue him.

• Qian Hen confronted Li Qilang, who admitted telling more than a dozen people that Lin Bai was in Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
• Qian Hen ordered the Pavilion Lord to investigate Li Qilang’s contacts and sealed Drunken Immortal Pavilion and Drunken Immortal City with the Gold Silver Secret Guards.
• The Pavilion Lord brought captured agents before Qian Hen and identified Li Sun as a Demon Subjugation Alliance agent who had spread news of Lin Bai’s arrival.
• When Li Sun refused to reveal his contact, Lin Bai stopped Qian Hen from further interrogation and used Soul Search on him.
• Lin Bai found that Li Sun had relayed the news to an old man named Lu Yuan at number 78, Jia-Bing Alley, in East City, and gave Qian Hen the man’s portrait.

Lin Bai and Qian Hen uncovered how Lu Yuan and Zhou Jie had arranged to poison the meat pies, then used soul search to learn about the Demon Subjugation Alliance’s network in Drunken Immortal City. Qian Hen ordered everyone connected to the incident in Drunken Immortal Pavilion executed, including its staff and Pavilion Lord Old Liu.

• The Zhou family patriarch and ancestor brought six injured spies to Qian Hen and Lin Bai, identifying them as Demon Subjugation Alliance operatives who had poisoned the pies on Lu Yuan’s orders.
• Manager Zhang recognized Zhou Jie as the elder who had sold him the poisoned pies, while Qian Hen waited for the captured Lu Yuan to arrive.
• Qian family experts threw the gravely wounded Lu Yuan before Lin Bai and Qian Hen; after Hu Zhiyao stopped Lu Yuan’s attack on Lin Bai, Lu Yuan confessed to the poisoning and declared his hatred for the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Lin Bai used Soul Search on Lu Yuan and learned that Lu Yuan had ordered Zhou Jie to poison the pies with Heart Shatter and that the Demon Subjugation Alliance had other operatives throughout Drunken Immortal City.
• Lin Bai shared Lu Yuan’s memories with Qian Hen, including the names and locations of other Alliance operatives, and the investigation concluded.
• Qian Hen ordered the Drunken Immortal Pavilion staff involved in the matter killed; Li Qilang, Hong Gu, and Manager Zhang died, and Qian Hen told Pavilion Lord Old Liu he would also be executed.

After discovering the poisoning plot, Qian Hen executed those involved and annihilated the Zhou Family to warn the Qian Family’s forces against betrayal. Lin Bai reconciled with Qian Hen, then welcomed the Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect delegations to Drunken Immortal City alongside him.

• Qian Hen explained that he would punish the Drunken Immortal Pavilion’s people to deter spies and traitors within the Qian Family’s forces, and the Pavilion Lord killed himself in loyalty to the Qian Family.
• Qian Hen ordered the Zhou Family annihilated, sparing only children too young to understand matters, and Qian Family experts carried out the massacre.
• Lin Bai and Qian Hen shared tested food and wine to put the poisoning incident behind them, and Qian Hen arranged for the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to host Lin Bai and the arriving delegations.
• Lin Bai invited Qian Hen to stay and greet the delegations, and the two waited together until cloud boats bearing the Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect arrived at dusk.
• Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang greeted Lin Bai, and Qian Hen welcomed the delegations on behalf of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Lin Bai welcomed the Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect delegations to Drunken Immortal Pavilion, where several young prodigies provoked him and his companions. After the elders withdrew, Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang revealed their troubles within their sects, while Lin Bai remained baffled by the killing intent he felt toward Feng Chuan.

• Lin Bai welcomed the elders and prodigies from Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect to Drunken Immortal Pavilion for the night.
• Wang Heng taunted Lin Bai for not joining the competition, and Lin Bai challenged him to spar before learning his name and dismissing his boastful claims.
• Di Hong and Feng Chuan made lewd advances toward Hu Zhiyao and Li Guxian, and Hu Zhiyao's full-strength palm only forced Feng Chuan back two steps.
• Lin Bai felt an inexplicable, nearly uncontrollable urge to kill Feng Chuan, while Qian Hen and the elders separated the young prodigies from the gathering.
• Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang stayed with Lin Bai after the elders left, complained about their standing in their sects, and Nie Shang praised Hu Zhiyao's strength.

Lin Bai spoke with Nie Shang and Meng Qinxian about Feng Chuan and the Devil Palace’s plans for the coming contest, but neither could reveal their sects’ secrets or stop the looming battle. He returned with the delegations to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, where the Renaming Ceremony was set for the next day and the Palace Master summoned him.

• Hu Zhiyao and Lin Bai asked about Feng Chuan, but Nie Shang postponed explaining his background until after the martial contest.
• Lin Bai laid out the Devil Palace’s three aims: test its opponents, seek a settlement, and ensure the other sects honored the wager if they lost; Nie Shang and Meng Qinxian said their sects could no longer avoid the battle.
• Qian Hen changed the subject to drinking, and Lin Bai ordered the group to prepare to leave for the Devil Palace.
• At dawn, Lin Bai and Qian Hen boarded the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s cloudship, while the delegations of the Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect traveled on their own ships.
• Lin Bai led the cloudships back to the Devil Palace, where Elder Yao Daogu arranged lodging and told him that the Palace Master wanted to explain the Renaming Ceremony’s procedures.

Lin Bai attended a high-level meeting in the Palace Lord Great Hall before the Renaming Ceremony, where the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace prepared for its martial contest with Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect. The Palace Master ordered five godchildren to compete, and Yan Congjiao confidently promised victory while questioning the others’ confidence.

• Yao Daogu took over arranging lodgings for the delegations from Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect, while Lin Bai brought Li Guxian, Hu Zhiyao, and the others to Ascension Peak.
• Lin Bai and the goddesses entered the Palace Lord Great Hall, where the Palace Master, elders, lineage heads, and godchildren had gathered.
• The Palace Master and Lin Bai discussed the visiting sects’ caution, and Saint Elder Luo Yuanjing explained that the contest’s wager would provide a pretext for war rather than guarantee either side would surrender territory.
• The Palace Master told Yan Congjiao, Duanmu Lin, Shen Yunfan, Mo Guyu, and Zhao Yuanchen to compete the next day and win.
• Yan Congjiao vowed that he would win, then challenged the other four godchildren to show whether they could do the same.

The Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s God Children prepared for the prodigy contest as Hu Zhiyao reported on the powerful Worship Heaven Sect disciple Feng Chuan. Elder Shi Renshan then explained the Renaming Ceremony’s opening sacrificial rites, leaving the palace preparing for the ceremony and contest the next day.

• Yan Congjiao declared that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace would win, and Zhao Yuanchen mocked him for refusing to accept defeat in an earlier contest.
• The participating God Children pledged to do their utmost, while Hu Zhiyao reported that Feng Chuan had endured her full-force strike without injury.
• The Palace Master expressed confidence in the Demon Palace’s prodigies, increasing the pressure on them before the contest.
• Shi Renshan outlined the Renaming Ceremony’s first stage: worshiping the ancestors, the earth, and Heaven, with the Palace Master and Emperor performing key offerings.

Lin Bai and the Palace Lord finalized the proceedings for the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s Renaming Ceremony, including its rites, banquet, and young talents’ contest. As the ceremony approached, Lin Bai remained inexplicably restless and arranged for Yi Jinyun to sit with the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s delegation.

• Elder Shi Renshan explained the ancestral, earth, and heaven rites, then described how Yi Gu would transfer the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s authority to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Elder Shi Renshan outlined the Demon Palace Banquet and the contest among young talents from the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, Overturning Heavens Sect, and Worship Heaven Sect.
• The Palace Lord approved the ceremony’s arrangements and ordered participating high-ranking members to wear ceremonial robes and avoid mistakes.
• Lin Bai returned to the Imperial Palace and went to the Immortal Cleansing Pool to bathe before the early ceremony.
• Yi Jinyun asked Lin Bai what troubled him, and he said he felt increasingly restless before arranging for her to sit in the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s section.

On the eve of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace's Renaming Ceremony, Lin Bai prepared for the event and learned that Yi Jinyun would attend at his side to reassure the Seven Nights Divine Sect. At Ascension Peak, the Demon Palace’s leaders assembled and discussed preparations for the martial competition, though they still did not know who the opposing sects would field.

• Lin Bai dressed in his ceremonial robes and watched the brightly lit Demon Palace Mountains as martial artists prepared for the ceremony.
• Old Wen told Lin Bai that Yi Jinyun needed to attend with him because the Seven Nights Divine Sect wanted to show their alliance publicly, and Lin Bai agreed.
• Lin Bai, Yi Jinyun, Old Wen, and Dao Child Yu You flew to Ascension Peak, where hundreds of Demon Palace leaders had gathered before the Palace Lord Great Hall.
• Duanmu Xin told Lin Bai that the Palace Master and Saint Elders had yet to arrive and that the group would depart for Ancestor Heaven Mountain at dawn.
• Lin Bai asked Duanmu Lin, Shen Yunfan, Mo Guyu, and Zhao Yuanchen about the martial competition preparations, and Duanmu Lin said the Overturning Heavens Sect and Worship Heaven Sect would choose their competitors on the spot.

Lin Bai learned that Elder Shi Renshan had arranged for him to walk beside the Palace Master during the Renaming Ceremony procession, a position rooted in the Holy Lord's reforms. Shi Renshan then hinted that the Holy Lord may have belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race, leaving Lin Bai unsure whether the elder was warning or testing him as the procession began.

• Elder Shi Renshan explained the procession order and told Lin Bai that he would walk beside the Palace Master, ahead of the Great Mystic Art Users.
• Shi Renshan revealed records suggesting that the Holy Lord's power to obtain others' memories came from the Heaven Swallowing Race, and Lin Bai concealed his shock.
• Lin Bai wondered whether Shi Renshan had been warning or testing him, then decided to discuss the matter with the Palace Master after the ceremony.
• The Palace Master and five Great Mystic Art Users emerged from the Palace Lord Great Hall and led the assembly toward Ancestor Heaven Mountain.
• Lin Bai took Yi Jinyun's hand and followed beside the Palace Master, while the Saint Elders and other Great Mystic Art Users followed behind.

Lin Bai traveled with the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace procession to Ancestor Heaven Mountain for the sacrificial ceremony and learned from Old Angler not to doubt Elder Shi Renshan’s arrangements. As the guests gathered beneath the Holy Lord’s immense statue, Chu Junyou, Wang Zhengyang, and Qi Lingyu discussed the mysterious destruction of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace a hundred thousand years earlier.

• Old Angler reassured Lin Bai that the Devil Palace accepted Elder Shi Renshan’s arrangements and urged him to represent the palace with confidence.
• Lin Bai addressed the Great Mystic Art User as Elder Angler, set aside his doubts, and continued toward Ancestor Heaven Mountain beside the Palace Master.
• The procession arrived at Ancestor Heaven Mountain, where guests occupied its three banquet platforms beneath a gigantic statue of the Holy Lord.
• Wang Zhengyang told Chu Junyou that the Holy Lord’s statue still inspired overwhelming pressure, and Chu Junyou praised the Holy Lord’s rise before regretting his past conflicts.
• Wang Zhengyang, Chu Junyou, and Qi Lingyu questioned how the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had been destroyed so completely and suspected that hidden forces had helped bring about its downfall.

The Palace Master of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace arrived at Ancestor Heaven Mountain with Lin Bai and the Demon Palace’s high-ranking figures for the ceremony marking the Palace’s rebuilding. He greeted the gathered sects and flourishing forces, who welcomed him and reminded him of their shared responsibilities, as the ceremony prepared to begin.

• The dancers and singers cleared Ancestor Heaven Mountain, and the musicians changed to solemn music as the Palace Master’s arrival was announced.
• Millions of Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists knelt and greeted the Palace Master while he and Lin Bai approached the mountain.
• Chu Junyou, Wang Zhengyang, Qi Lingyu, and the other guests stood to welcome the Palace Master as he arrived with Lin Bai and the Demon Palace’s leaders.
• The Palace Master greeted the guests in the middle section and said the rebuilding of the Demon Palace would let him answer to its ancestors.
• The flourishing forces’ elders congratulated the Palace Master and urged the Demon Palace to fulfill its duties and stand with them against their shared predicament.

The Seven Nights Divine Sect surrendered its territorial seal and map to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, formally ending its rule over its territory. The Palace Master promised that the Seven Nights Divine Sect would retain its capital and surrounding regions, while the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace became one of the Devil Realm Eastern Region’s four Flourishing Sects.

• At Saint Elder Shi Renshan’s instruction, Nine Underworlds Demon Palace warriors summoned Yi Gu and the Seven Nights Divine Sect elders to the mountaintop with their territorial seal and map.
• The Palace Master of the Demon Palace promised Yi Gu that the Seven Nights Divine Sect would keep its capital and fifteen thousand-state regions, and would still be treated as a top sect.
• Yi Gu presented the Seal of Authority and territorial map to the Palace Master, formally surrendering the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s authority over its land.
• The Devil Realm Eastern Region recognized the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace as a Flourishing Sect and renamed the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s former territory.
• Li Guxian reflected on how the Demon Palace had won the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s submission without destroying it, while Yi Gu exchanged a relieved glance with Lin Bai before returning to his seat.

Lin Bai and the Palace Lord of the Demon Palace performed the opening sacrifices of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s ritual while discussing Shi Renshan’s suspicion that Lin Bai belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race. The ceremony continued with ancestral rites and a ritual dance, which the Palace Lord explained could no longer contact the Immortal World.

• Yao Daogu began the sacrificial ritual, and Lin Bai and the Palace Lord of the Demon Palace took Eternal Fire torches to the altar before the Holy Lord’s statue.
• As they walked, Lin Bai told the Palace Lord that Shi Renshan suspected the Holy Lord had belonged to the Heaven Swallowing Race, and she warned Lin Bai to avoid using the Devouring Power.
• The Palace Lord and Lin Bai ignited the altar before the Holy Lord’s statue and prayed for the Demon Palace’s lasting prosperity.
• Lin Bai sacrificed a torch at the Earth Ancestor Hall, praying to the Earth Mother for the Demon Palace’s prosperity and peace throughout the world.
• The Palace Lord sacrificed at the Heavenly Venerable Hall, praying for talented martial artists and smooth cultivation paths.
• Dancers surrounded the three sacred sites and performed a mysterious ritual dance, and the Palace Lord told Lin Bai that modern sacrifices could no longer communicate with the Immortal World.

At the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace banquet, Lin Bai learned about the martial world's decline and tasted the rare liquor Yanluo's Banquet. A mysterious Slovenly Daoist appeared, drank Lin Bai's wine, and left his origins unclear as the liquor brought Lin Bai's past vividly to mind.

• The Palace Lord of the Demon Palace explained that ancient sacrificial rites once connected the Spirit Realm to the Immortal Realm, and warned that martial cultivation had declined across the realms.
• After the sacrificial ritual ended, the Palace Lord of the Demon Palace began the banquet and introduced Lin Bai to Water Cloud Brew before offering him the stronger Huang Quan Ghost Brew, also called Yanluo's Banquet.
• A Slovenly Daoist suddenly appeared beside Lin Bai, drank his cup of Yanluo's Banquet, and recited verses about the wine.
• The Slovenly Daoist told Lin Bai he had once drunk Yanluo's Banquet in the Spirit Realm, but ignored Lin Bai's questions and continued drinking from the wine pot.
• Lin Bai drank a fresh cup of Yanluo's Banquet, and its force brought vivid memories of his past century of cultivation to his mind.

Lin Bai drank the Yanluo's Banquet and nearly lost himself in memories of the happiness that had followed his hardships, but the Slovenly Daoist's words brought him back to his senses. Lin Bai later shared the wine with Chu Junyou, Wang Zhengyang, and Qi Lingyu, who each faced its intoxicating memories in their own way.

• Lin Bai drank the Yanluo's Banquet until the Slovenly Daoist's sighs woke him from his memories, and he thanked the Daoist for the warning.
• The Palace Lord of the Demon Palace told the Slovenly Daoist that Lin Bai needed to face the wine's trial, then gave him a vat to split with his master.
• Lin Bai joined Chu Junyou, Wang Zhengyang, and Qi Lingyu and explained that the wine was the Yanluo's Banquet.
• Wang Zhengyang and Qi Lingyu described the wine's power to draw drinkers into their memories, and Chu Junyou said it could both disrupt and temper one's Dao heart.
• Chu Junyou, Wang Zhengyang, and Qi Lingyu drank the wine and briefly sank into their memories before recovering, though Qi Lingyu asked Lin Bai for another cup.
• Lin Bai shared the remaining wine among the three men, recognizing that Qi Lingyu was drawn to its memories amid Qi Tian Sect's troubles.

Lin Bai, Chu Junyou, Wang Zhengyang, and Qi Lingyu drank Yanluo's Banquet at the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace ceremony, where the Palace Lord promised to help Qi Lingyu's territory and welcomed the assembled guests. The chapter leaves Lin Bai and the other guests sharing wine in the uppermost area, while Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang decline to join them.

• Chu Junyou asked the Palace Lord of the Demon Palace for more Yanluo's Banquet and returned with four jugs for the table.
• Lin Bai warned Qi Lingyu that the wine could get him drunk, but Qi Lingyu drank heavily to escape his troubles.
• Qi Lingyu asked the Palace Lord for wine, and the Palace Lord promised to find a way to help protect Qi Lingyu's territory before giving him four jugs.
• Wang Zhengyang paid his respects to the Palace Lord and received a jar of Yanluo's Banquet for the group.
• Lin Bai and Chu Junyou invited their friends from the Chu Kingdom and Ten Thousand Saints Mountain delegations to join them, and the Palace Lord gave each arriving guest a jug of wine.
• Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang declined Lin Bai's invitation, while Ji Ruoci and Shen Haoyue joined the gathering.