Chapter Summaries

Three months after Fang Xiao announced a meeting with the factions, rival sects gathered outside Tianlan Sect to discuss the Ascension Platform. They believed their newly strengthened alliance could challenge Tianlan Sect and planned to sow discord and seize the platform.

• Tianlan Sect’s reported victory over more than ten Deity Transformation true demons spread, alongside news that Fang Xiao had advanced to Deity Transformation and returned to the sect.
• Tian Yue of Yuetian Sect and Gongye Liyuan praised each other’s factions while waiting outside Tianlan Sect’s gate.
• Jingyuan of Nine Marvels Sect, Duan Xingchen of Shanhai Sect, and Nan Kong of Ice Soul Sect arrived to join the gathering.
• The rival factions assessed the Taichang Realm’s weakened sacred lands and concluded that their alliance had five forces to match Tianlan Sect’s side.
• Tian Yue, Jingyuan, and Nan Kong relied on their late-stage Deity Transformation strength and underestimated Tianlan Sect’s demon-slaying victory as they prepared to sow discord and seize the Ascension Platform.

Yu Feng learned why the factions believed Tianlan Sect had obtained Taibai Sword Sect’s Ascension Platform as the rival groups gathered to negotiate. Tian Yue’s allies were unsettled by Tianlan Sect’s powerful coalition, while Fang Xiao sensed something strange about Nan Kong; the meeting began with Gongye Liyuan demanding to see the platform.

• Gongye Liyuan explained that Taibai Sword Sect had likely preserved an Ascension Platform and that Tianlan Sect had obtained it.
• Tian Yue’s group arrived at Tianlan Sect and found its side bolstered by the Myriad Treasures Merchant Association, the Myriad Cultivators Alliance, and other allies.
• The factions were startled by the three newcomers who had reached the late Deity Transformation Stage, while Fang Xiao noticed an unusual aura around Nan Kong.
• Tian Yue’s group chose to negotiate after assessing Tianlan Sect’s forces, and Ling Taichu called for the gathering to begin.
• Gongye Liyuan demanded that Ling Taichu bring out the Ascension Platform for everyone to inspect.

Fang Xiao revealed that the Ascension Platform was damaged but could potentially be repaired, then identified Nan Kong as someone who might know the Ancient Ice Dao's inheritance. After Nan Kong said the inheritance lay somewhere in the dangerous Cold Abyss, Fang Xiao attacked him and forced the gathered Spirit Transformation cultivators back into their seats.

• Fang Xiao brought out the cracked Ascension Platform and told the gathered cultivators that it could not currently be used but might be repaired.
• Gongye Liyuan and Tian Yue argued that the Tianlan Sect lacked the inheritance and rare materials needed to repair the platform.
• Fang Xiao said Nan Kong might have obtained the Ancient Ice Dao's inheritance, prompting the cultivators to question him.
• Nan Kong claimed the Ice Soul Sect had never found the inheritance and said it could only be sought in the Cold Abyss.
• Nan Kong urged Fang Xiao to lead an expedition into the Cold Abyss, and Fang Xiao locked onto him with his aura.
• Tian Yue and the other cultivators rose in alarm, but Fang Xiao apologized and used a vast force to press them back into their seats.

Fang Xiao suppressed the gathered Deity Transformation cultivators and revealed that Nan Kong had been possessed by an evil being. After cutting off Nan Kong’s head, he forced the Yin Energy to condense into a Nether Ghost Beast, which he suspected had come from Cold Abyss.

• Fang Xiao effortlessly forced Tian Yue, Jingyuan, and the other cultivators down, leaving them astonished by his strength.
• Fang Xiao told the gathered cultivators that the apparent Nan Kong was a puppet controlled by an evil being that had altered his divine soul memories.
• Fang Xiao used the Void Cutter Sword to sever Nan Kong’s head, but the head remained floating as dense Yin Energy poured from the body.
• Fang Xiao moved the nearby cultivators away and suppressed the raging Yin Energy as it condensed around Nan Kong’s head.
• A Nether Ghost Beast emerged with countless heads embedded in its fur, including Nan Kong’s face.
• Fang Xiao concluded that the Nether Ghost Beast had likely targeted Nan Kong while he explored Cold Abyss.

Fang Xiao tested the Nether Ghost Beast’s resilience and discovered that his Yin Yang Escape Technique let him control Netherworld Qi without harm. As the beast remained trapped and seemingly impervious to ordinary sword attacks, Fang Xiao prepared to try another method.

• Tian Yue and the others reconsidered their hostility toward the Tianlan Sect and hoped to reconcile, while Gongye Liyuan feared Fang Xiao would punish her for attacking him in the past.
• The Spirit Transformations allied with the Tianlan Sect rejoiced at Fang Xiao’s strength, while Fang Xiao focused on the Nether Ghost Beast and kept it trapped with his suppressive power.
• The beast’s howls stirred violent emotions in the surrounding Spirit Transformations, driving them away until only Fang Xiao and the beast remained on the platform.
• Fang Xiao attacked the beast with sword light, but it ignored the blows and immediately restored its body without any apparent loss of Netherworld Qi.
• Fang Xiao let the beast’s Netherworld Qi engulf him and found that the Yin Yang Escape Technique tamed and gathered it beneath his feet.
• Fang Xiao turned back toward the beast as the temperature rose and the surroundings warped in the scorching air.

Fang Xiao destroyed the Nether Ghost Beast with his Sun Dharma Aspect and revealed that it was a collective of souls formed from cultivators who had died in Cold Abyss. He then resumed the gathering, promising to retrieve the Ascension Platform’s inheritance and materials while urging the Spirit Transformation cultivators to unite against the Devil Race invasion.

• Fang Xiao used his Sun Dharma Aspect to weaken the Nether Ghost Beast and discovered that it was made up of the souls of cultivators who had died in Cold Abyss.
• Fang Xiao destroyed the weakened beast with another Sun Dharma Aspect, leaving no trace of it or Nan Kong.
• Fang Xiao ordered the Spirit Transformation cultivators to return to their seats, and they obeyed without raising objections.
• Fang Xiao promised to retrieve the Ascension Platform’s inheritance and resolve the need for repair materials, while warning that only peak Spirit Transformation cultivators could safely use it to travel to the Spirit Realm.
• Fang Xiao urged the cultivators to unite against the Devil Race invasion, then said he would consider their silence agreement.

Fang Xiao demanded that the Taichang Realm’s forces obey his command during the Devil Race’s invasion and offered Demon Corpses to secure their support. Most cultivators accepted his terms, but Gongye Liyuan refused and planned to leave the realm, leaving her intentions toward the Devil Race uncertain.

• Fang Xiao required the forces of the Taichang Realm to follow his orders during the war and promised not to interfere in their sects afterward.
• Fang Xiao displayed corpses of Spirit Transformation true devils, including two peak Spirit Transformation devils, to demonstrate his strength.
• Fang Xiao offered each Spirit Transformation cultivator a Demon Corpse matching their cultivation if they agreed to follow his commands.
• Fang Xiao required everyone who accepted his offer to swear a Dao Vow against betraying humanity or joining the Devil Race.
• Gongye Liyuan rejected Fang Xiao’s proposal and claimed she would leave the Taichang Realm to seek a way to survive.

Fang Xiao forced Gongye Liyuan to surrender the Violet Heaven Sect’s stolen legacies in exchange for passage into the void. After she left, the Violet Heaven Sect pledged its friendship and support to the Tianlan Sect.

• Gongye Liyuan challenged Fang Xiao’s plan, but he offered to let her leave if she returned the Violet Heaven Sect’s legacies.
• Fang Xiao opened a spatial vortex and warned Gongye Liyuan that the Taichang Realm’s cultivators would treat her as an enemy if she left.
• Gongye Liyuan handed over most of the legacies listed in Young Master Shao Ting’s catalog, and Young Master Shao Ting and Yun Lei verified them.
• Young Master Shao Ting and Yun Lei thanked Fang Xiao and pledged the Violet Heaven Sect’s eternal friendship and support to the Tianlan Sect.
• Fang Xiao urged Gongye Liyuan to leave the Taichang Realm, and she fled through the spatial vortex.

After Gongye Liyuan escaped, Fang Xiao distributed Demon Corpses to the Spirit Transformation cultivators and warned them to focus on their cultivation. He revealed that the abyss at Zhongyuan Dao might be the legendary Ruins of the Underworld, which could be draining the Taichang Realm’s essence qi and bring about the Age of Dharma Decline.

• Fang Xiao let Gongye Liyuan escape through the spatial vortex, then closed the vortex with a wave of his hand.
• Fang Xiao invited the Spirit Transformation cultivators to choose Demon Corpses, then kept the remaining ones for himself.
• Fang Xiao reminded the cultivators that Demon Corpses were external tools and urged them to guard their hearts and improve their own cultivation.
• Fang Xiao asked whether anyone had investigated the abyss at Zhongyuan Dao, and Tian Yue, Shao Ting, and Yun Lei said they had found nothing unusual.
• Fang Xiao warned that the abyss might be the Ruins of the Underworld and could be devouring the Taichang Realm’s heaven and earth essence qi.
• The cultivators realized that even if they repelled the Devil Race, the realm could lose its spiritual energy and enter the Age of Dharma Decline.

Fang Xiao told the Spirit Transformation cultivators that the Taichang Realm’s dwindling vital energy and the Devil Race invasion left them with little chance of survival. He proposed changing realms, and the chapter ended as the cultivators realized he meant to take the fight to the Tian Luo Realm.

• Tian Yue and the other elders warned that declining vital energy could shorten cultivators’ lives and that battles with the Devil Race would hasten the Taichang Realm’s decline.
• Jingyuan asked Fang Xiao to reveal the solution he had gathered them to discuss, and the Spirit Transformation cultivators pleaded for guidance.
• Fang Xiao said his plan carried great risks, but the cultivators agreed to gamble for the human race’s future rather than face certain defeat.
• Fang Xiao proposed abandoning the Taichang Realm for another realm, then explained that the Devil Race forces came from the Tian Luo Realm and were divided by competing claims to conquest merit.
• A clear-headed Spirit Transformation cultivator asked whether Fang Xiao meant to move against the Tian Luo Realm.

Fang Xiao argued that the Human Race should abandon the failing Taichang Realm and seize the Tian Luo Realm, while the cultivators raised concerns about its dangers. Jing Yuan offered a Buddhist method to restore demonized spirit veins and proposed refining Demon Corpses into Golden Body Sculpture Dharma Protectors.

• Nan Dou guessed that Fang Xiao intended to take the Tian Luo Realm, and Fang Xiao’s response convinced the assembled cultivators that he was right.
• The cultivators questioned whether they could occupy the Tian Luo Realm, cleanse its Demonic Contamination, and withstand attacks from the Devil Race.
• Fang Xiao compared realms to vessels sailing through the void and urged the Human Race to change ships before the Taichang Realm collapsed.
• The cultivators rallied behind Fang Xiao’s plan and declared that the Human Race could conquer the Tian Luo Realm and cleanse its contamination over time.
• Jing Yuan offered to share a Buddhist method for converting True Demonic Qi into spirit veins and spiritual qi without asking for payment.
• Jing Yuan warned that Demon Corpse puppets could be reclaimed by the Devil Race and offered to refine them into Golden Body Sculpture Dharma Protectors.

Jing Yuan offered to refine the fallen true devils into Golden Body Sculptures, explaining that doing so would also boost her cultivation. The others eagerly entrusted their Demon Corpses to her in hopes of freeloading, until Fang Xiao proposed that they share the costs and compensate Jing Yuan.

• Jing Yuan explained that refining the true devils into Golden Body Sculptures would grant her cultivation feedback from the Buddhist sect method.
• Tian Yue scolded Yu Feng for disparaging Jing Yuan and promised to entrust their Demon Corpses to her for refinement.
• The other cultivators followed Tian Yue's lead and assigned their Demon Corpses to Jing Yuan, expecting her to provide the materials and labor.
• Jing Yuan realized that refining nearly twenty Demon Corpses could bankrupt the Nine Marvels Sect and pleaded with Fang Xiao for help.
• Fang Xiao proposed that everyone cover half the supplies at equivalent value and said he would compensate Jing Yuan for contributing the method and doing the work.

Fang Xiao rewarded Jing Yuan for providing a spiritual-vein purification method, then urged the cultivators to seize all four Devil realms by revealing that conquering realms could improve their chances of reaching the Void Refining Stage. The gathered cultivators embraced his plan, and the chapter ended with them realizing that realm wars were tied to advancement beyond Spirit Transformation.

• Fang Xiao gave Jing Yuan three Demon Corpses as a reward for her purification method, easing the Nine Marvels Sect’s decline.
• Fang Xiao told the gathered cultivators he intended to take the Tian Luo Realm and the other three Devil realms, prompting Young Master Shao Ting to praise Fang Xiao’s strength and potential.
• The Spirit Transformation cultivators overcame their doubts and declared support for Fang Xiao’s decisions.
• Fang Xiao explained that conquering the four realms could earn the Spirit Realm’s favor and greatly improve their chances of advancing to Void Refining.
• The cultivators reacted with excitement and concluded that realm wars were essential for advancing beyond Spirit Transformation.

Fang Xiao gathered the Spirit Transformation cultivators to plan the purge of the remaining true devils in the Taichang Realm and seize the Demon Summoning Array at the Moluo Sect ruins. After assigning search areas, he faced concerns over whether the weaker cultivators could survive encounters with powerful true devils, and vanished before revealing his arrangements.

• Tian Yue and the other cultivators pledged to support Fang Xiao after learning of his ambitions.
• Fang Xiao said the first step was to eliminate the remaining true devils in the Taichang Realm and seize the Demon Summoning Array at the Moluo Sect ruins.
• Fang Xiao assigned his Tianlan Sect and the Beimíng Sword Sect to cover the Northern Plains’ Gale Belts while the other cultivators searched the North Sea with him.
• Tian Yue asked how the early-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators could be protected from late-stage or peak Deity Transformation true devils.
• Fang Xiao vanished from the center of the platform without yet explaining his arrangements.

Fang Xiao demonstrated his spatial teleportation technique and organized Spirit Transformation cultivators to search the Taichang Realm for true demons. After the allies departed, Ling Taichu again urged Fang Xiao to take charge of the sect, but Fang Xiao remained reluctant.

• Fang Xiao teleported the Spirit Tea from the cultivators’ tables and returned it without their noticing, demonstrating his mastery of spatial teleportation.
• Fang Xiao promised to give the cultivators special seals so he could teleport to their aid, and assured them that true demons could not escape through space or above the Ninth Heavens.
• Fang Xiao ordered the search to begin immediately, and the cultivators left for the teleportation formation while he stayed behind to make arrangements for the sect.
• Ling Taichu questioned whether the Tianlan Sect and Beimíng Sword Sect had taken too many safe positions, and Fang Xiao said their allies should accept some risk and effort.
• Ling Taichu tried once more to persuade Fang Xiao to take charge of the sect, and Fang Xiao responded with a bitter smile.

Fang Xiao explained why he intended to found a third sect to govern the conquered realms alongside the Tianlan Sect and the Beimíng Sword Sect. Ling Taichu supported his plan but urged caution, while the group weighed who would accompany Fang Xiao to the Northern Plains.

• Fang Xiao argued that three independent but allied sects could prevent future disputes over territory and authority in the four realms.
• Fang Xiao revealed his plan to place the three sects in separate realms while allowing other Taichang Realm factions to establish branches there.
• Ling Taichu accepted Fang Xiao's decision and warned him to withdraw if the dangers of the lower realms became too great.
• Fang Xiao asked who would accompany him to the Northern Plains, where he planned to purge the True Demon and give the younger cultivators practical experience.
• Ling Taichu and the others decided that two people should go with Fang Xiao, choosing between Li Manshan and Jiang Qinyue or Yuan Chen and Xian Hua.

Fang Xiao agreed to take Yuan Chen, Li Manshan, Jiang Qinyue, and Xian Hua along to gain combat experience while the Spirit Transformation cultivators searched for demons in the Northern Plains. At the Extreme North Ice Plains, he divided the search area and instructed the group to call for help if they encountered a True Devil they could not handle.

• Ling Taichu agreed to let all four young cultivators accompany Fang Xiao after he offered to have Dao soldiers watch over them.
• Ling Taichu sent word to the group, and they set out for the Teleportation Hall together.
• Fang Xiao and the others emerged from beneath the ice at the Extreme North Ice Plains, near the North Sea.
• Tian Yue asked Fang Xiao how they should conduct the search, and Fang Xiao explained their mission and safety instructions.
• Fang Xiao projected a map and divided the border region into search areas, which the cultivators then chose.

Fang Xiao assigned cultivators to search for true demons across the North Sea and told Nie Ying he would help retrieve the Myriad Souls Banner containing her sect’s souls. He then sent Yuan Chen and the other three juniors on a dangerous solo trial toward the Northern Plains without Sword Seals, insisting they learn to survive on their own.

• Fang Xiao assigned the larger areas where true demons might be hiding to mid- and late-stage Deity Transformation cultivators, and Nie Ying took the route to the Beimíng Sword Sect.
• Fang Xiao told Nie Ying that Xue Lian had destroyed the Shi Mo Sect to fill the Myriad Souls Banner, then promised to help her retrieve it.
• After distributing Sword Seals to the search teams, Fang Xiao ordered Yuan Chen, Li Manshan, Jiang Qinyue, and the fourth junior to travel separately toward the Northern Plains and fight enemies below the Deity Transformation Stage.
• Li Manshan took Fang Xiao’s taunts as a challenge and vowed to kill his way to the Moluo Sect, while the other juniors grew eager to prove themselves.
• Jiang Qinyue asked what they should do if they encountered a Deity Transformation true demon, and Fang Xiao refused to give them Sword Seals before ordering them to set out.

Fang Xiao sent four cultivators along separate routes, then prepared to hunt the true demons in the Northern Plains. He deployed the Six Energies Dao Soldiers to merge the Myriad Manifestations Realm with the Nine Heavens above the North Sea and Northern Plains, creating an interception barrier.

• Fang Xiao urged Yuan Chen, Xian Hua, Jiang Qinyue, and Li Manshan to follow their assigned routes, leaving each a one-time teleportation technique for emergencies.
• Fang Xiao wondered why Six Desires had sent no news and concluded that the restriction on him showed he was still alive somewhere in the Northern Plains, possibly with Xue Lian.
• Fang Xiao flew into the Nine Heavens to block the true demons from escaping into the void through the Taichang Realm's barrier.
• Fang Xiao summoned the six Dao Soldiers and had them form the Myriad Manifestations Realm within the Nine Heavens.
• Fang Xiao ordered the Dao Soldiers to limit the realm to the North Sea and Northern Plains, then sensed its connection with the Nine Heavens and expected it to intercept surviving true demons.

Fang Xiao left the Seven Souls Sword Artifacts behind to protect the Nine Heavens, then rushed to Wangbei City after Yan Tiandong triggered a Sword Seal. There, Fang Xiao faced a True Demon who underestimated him and planned to seize his spatial treasure.

• Fang Xiao sent the Seven Souls Sword Artifacts into the Myriad Manifestations Realm, where their powers could help defend the Nine Heavens and regulate his body and mind.
• Space Severance alerted Fang Xiao that a Sword Seal had been triggered, so he shifted directly to Wangbei City.
• Yan Tiandong thanked Fang Xiao for arriving to help with a True Demon of initial-stage Spirit Transformation.
• The True Demon planned to kill Fang Xiao and Yan Tiandong and steal Fang Xiao's spatial Exotic Treasure, believing the two cultivators were no match for him.
• An invisible sword silently formed inside the True Demon's sea of consciousness.