Chapter Summaries

Fang Xiao fought Ma San’s Western Extreme White Tiger True Qi with his Five Elements True Light and Great White Sword Pellet, damaging both the divine ability and his weapon. Just as Fang Xiao expected to destroy the weakened qi sword, Ma San changed his hand seals and dispersed it.

• Fang Xiao kept Ma San’s flying sword occupied until Ma San tapped his dantian and began activating a divine ability.
• Ma San formed a qi sword from Western Extreme White Tiger True Qi and sent it at Fang Xiao.
• Fang Xiao used his Five Elements True Light and Great White Sword Pellet to meet the attack, but the qi sword damaged the Sword Pellet and forced its way through the light.
• Fang Xiao and Ma San’s qi sword clashed again, reducing the qi sword’s size and power while leaving another crater in the Sword Pellet.
• Fang Xiao attacked the weakened qi sword once more, but Ma San changed his hand seals and suddenly dispersed it.

Fang Xiao survived Ma San’s soul-attacking white tiger technique and defeated him, passing the third assessment and earning promotion to First-class True Inheritance. Gravely injured in body and soul, Fang Xiao stabilized his wounds before turning to examine his damaged soul.

• Ma San transformed his qi swords into a white tiger that bypassed Fang Xiao’s defenses and invaded his sea of consciousness.
• Fang Xiao’s Spiritual Sense and Soul Nurturing Gourd weakened the attack, but the tiger damaged the gourd and tore at his soul.
• Fang Xiao collapsed in agony, and Ma San’s broken flying sword pierced his chest and thigh after his Five Elements True Light destroyed it.
• Fang Xiao regained consciousness, used the Great White Sword Pellet to kill Ma San, and passed the third assessment.
• The assessment promoted Fang Xiao to First-class True Inheritance and offered him three cultivation arts, but he took healing medicine and stabilized his injuries first.

Fang Xiao assessed the severe damage to his divine soul and Sword Pellet after the True Inheritance Assessment, then recovered in the grotto-heaven. He found only eight usable Jade Slips and chose three inheritance arts before preparing to leave.

• Fang Xiao discovered that the assessment had cracked his divine soul, damaged its origin, and left his Great White Sword Pellet with three pits.
• Fang Xiao healed his external injuries over five days but found that his divine-soul injury still hindered his cultivation and mental strength.
• Fang Xiao inspected several dozen Jade Slips and found that only eight contained cultivation arts or techniques.
• Fang Xiao selected the Chanting Sword Art, the Sword Washing Technique, and the Void Slaying Sword Formation from the available inheritances.

Fang Xiao returned from the True Inheritance Assessment with three sword techniques, then learned from the Void Suppressing Sword Spirit that the Suspended Sword Tower had likely fallen into extinction. The Void Suppressing Sword Spirit revealed that Fang Xiao’s soul injury could be healed with a Sword Origin Spirit Soul and drew one from the Sword Mound for him.

• Fang Xiao left the Suspended Sword Tower grotto-heaven with three Jade Slips and personalized his Taibai Token with his aura.
• Fang Xiao traveled cautiously back to the Sword Mound and told the Void Suppressing Sword Spirit about the assessment and his injuries.
• The Void Suppressing Sword Spirit concluded that Suspended Sword had fallen into extinction, explaining the lack of healing and the blank Jade Slips.
• The Void Suppressing Sword Spirit learned that Fang Xiao cultivated the Soul Nurturing Gourd and explained how a Sword Origin Spirit Soul could heal his divine-soul injury.
• The Void Suppressing Sword Spirit summoned a transparent, pillar-shaped diamond crystal from beneath itself and sent it to Fang Xiao.

Fang Xiao obtained the Ten Thousand Year Sword Soul and used it to begin healing his soul injury, while the Void Suppressing Sword Spirit, Zhenkong, remained in the Sword Mound to honor its pact and protect the swords within. After settling in a secluded cave dwelling, Fang Xiao began cultivating and discovered that the Sword Soul’s spiritual essence could also slowly repair his Soul Nurturing Gourd.

• The Void Suppressing Sword Spirit explained that the Ten Thousand Year Sword Soul could heal Fang Xiao’s soul injury, though its resilience made it impossible for him to refine into a Nascent Soul Dao Sword for now.
• Fang Xiao urged Zhenkong to leave the Sword Mound after learning the Taibai Sword Sect had fallen, but Zhenkong stayed to honor its agreement with its master and guard the Magic Swords.
• Fang Xiao left the Sword Mound with the Ten Thousand Year Sword Soul and later chose a secluded cave dwelling in the True Disciple district.
• Fang Xiao drew the Ten Thousand Year Sword Soul into his Sea of Consciousness and placed it in the penetrating wound in his soul.
• Fang Xiao circulated the Upper Elixir Condensing Spirit Refining Method, easing his soul injury and discovering that the Sword Soul’s spiritual essence could slightly repair the Soul Nurturing Gourd.
• Fang Xiao decided to cultivate in the cave dwelling until his injuries no longer hindered combat, and to use the Yang Jing Fruit to raise his cultivation.

Fang Xiao refined Yang Jing Fruits for two months, reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and restoring much of his soul injury. He successfully made the Soul Nurturing Gourd his first magic treasure and revealed the Great White Sword Pellet inside the Green Jade Cauldron.

• Fang Xiao ate Yang Jing Fruits, refining their spiritual qi and Pure Yang Qi to strengthen his cultivation and gradually heal his soul injury.
• Fang Xiao reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage with 212 drops of liquid spiritual power after two months of cultivation.
• Fang Xiao used spiritual resonance to help the Soul Nurturing Gourd endure an Earth Fiend Restriction, officially turning it into his first magic treasure.
• Fang Xiao inspected his recovering divine soul and found that six of its seven injuries had nearly healed, while the deepest wound had shrunk and eased.
• Fang Xiao reduced the flames in the Green Jade Cauldron and revealed the Great White Sword Pellet floating inside.

After repairing the Great White Sword Pellet and making progress in forging Flying Swords, Fang Xiao left his cave dwelling to continue toward the Taibai Main Hall. He encountered a group of bandit cultivators and a fleeing young girl, and the chapter ended with him watching her approach cautiously.

• Fang Xiao finished cleansing the Great White Sword Pellet and, after forging his first Low-grade Flying Sword and many more, left his cave dwelling for the Taibai Main Hall.
• Six bandit cultivators killed a Sword Cultivator after Sixth Brother nearly fell to his desperate attack, and their leader took the dead man's Storage Bags.
• Fang Xiao sensed a battle while traveling and arrived above the forest where the bandits had regrouped.
• A young girl fleeing four pursuers asked Fang Xiao to save her, but she sensed his sword intent and kept her distance.

Fang Xiao exposed the disguised cultivators, killed the girl who had followed him, and fought the remaining members of her group. He tested his newly evolved sword techniques by destroying them with the Void Slaying Sword Formation and left with their Storage Bags intact.

• Fang Xiao recognized the group’s sect Storage Bags and bloodstains, then killed the girl with a flash of sword light.
• Sixth Brother charged Fang Xiao in grief, while the other three formed a defense against the Great White Sword Pellet and the burly man attacked Fang Xiao.
• Fang Xiao used Sword Light Differentiation to counter a hidden snake-chain attack, disabled the chain with Five Elements True Light, and killed the burly man with the Immeasurable Sword.
• Fang Xiao split his sword light into four and surrounded the remaining three with the Void Slaying Sword Formation.
• Fang Xiao shattered their shield and killed the three, preserving their Storage Bags as he assessed the formation’s power.

Fang Xiao killed the last of the Seven Fiends of the Vast Sea and learned through Soul Searching why the notorious robbers had been hunting Sword Cultivators. After spending a day sorting their enormous haul, he headed toward the upper levels of Pillar of Heaven Peak.

• Fang Xiao caught up with the female cultivator, questioned her, and resisted her Charm Technique and flying-needle attack.
• Fang Xiao killed the female cultivator and used Soul Searching to learn that the Seven Fiends of the Vast Sea had robbed and murdered cultivators across the North Sea and East Sea.
• Fang Xiao learned that many Sword Cultivators had gone to the upper levels, while the Seven Fiends had hunted isolated Sword Cultivators in search of opportunities.
• Fang Xiao burned the female cultivator's identifying Storage Bags and useless belongings, then spent a day sorting the loot into his remaining Storage Bags.
• Fang Xiao rose on sword light and continued toward the upper levels of Pillar of Heaven Peak.

Fang Xiao reached the True Disciple region and contacted the Tianlan Sect, offering information about how to enter the Taibai Main Hall. Li Mobai arrived in a Foundation Establishment incarnation, heard Fang Xiao’s account, and proposed that they attempt the true inheritance assessment together.

• Fang Xiao searched the sect’s messaging platforms and joined the Mission Posting Office.
• Fang Xiao reported that he might be able to enter the Taibai Main Hall and gave the sect his location.
• Li Mobai arrived and introduced himself as Ling Taichu’s martial uncle, explaining that he had come in a Foundation Establishment incarnation.
• Fang Xiao recounted his experiences in the Taibai Sword Sect, including the assessment mechanisms and his success in passing each True Inheritance Assessment.
• Li Mobai asked Fang Xiao to take him to the Suspended Sword Tower so they could attempt the assessment and then explore the Main Hall.

Li Mobai and Fang Xiao reached the Void Forbidden Array protecting Taibai Main Hall, and Li Mobai used his First-class True Inheritance Token to enter safely. Fang Xiao followed and emerged from the array beneath the vast main hall complex, whose full outline he finally saw.

• Li Mobai entered the Suspended Sword Tower and completed its trials, then praised Fang Xiao for obtaining first-class True Inheritance.
• Li Mobai promised to help restore Fang Xiao's damaged soul origin and brought him to explore Taibai Main Hall.
• Li Mobai guided Fang Xiao past the traps outside the main hall and entered the Void Forbidden Array using his True Inheritance Token.
• Li Mobai sent Fang Xiao a message telling him to enter quickly, and Fang Xiao activated the decree and climbed the stone stairs through the array.
• Fang Xiao passed through the array's outer membrane and saw the full outline of the grand building complex.

Fang Xiao followed Li Mobai to the Taibai Main Hall, where a powerful water barrier blocked the entrance. Li Mobai broke through it with a rare five-colored Barrier Breaking Talisman, and they entered the hall, where he warned Fang Xiao not to study the dangerous Dao scripts on its pillars.

• Fang Xiao followed Li Mobai through the Taibai Sword Sect’s grand halls to the Taibai Main Hall.
• Li Mobai found that the hall was more than an ordinary magic treasure, but a water curtain repelled every attempt to open its doors.
• Li Mobai used a five-colored Barrier Breaking Talisman to dissolve the water curtain and open the hall.
• Fang Xiao entered the hall and began to examine its jade pillars before Li Mobai warned him that their Dao scripts could assimilate him into the Dao.

Fang Xiao was drawn into an illusion that revealed how the Taibai Sword Sect was destroyed by a clash between two former friends over whether the Sword Dao required emotion. He awoke with a greatly strengthened Sword Heart and Sword Dao Realm, then recounted the vision to Li Mobai, who promised to compensate him for the danger.

• Fang Xiao followed Li Mobai to the Dao platform in Tongtian Hall and was pulled into an illusion by the lingering thoughts of two men.
• Fang Xiao witnessed the men’s rivalry, the rise of the emotionless Tai Shang Dao, and the sect-wide conflict that shattered the Taibai Sword Sect.
• Fang Xiao learned that the two men’s final Dao Duel remained undecided after their deaths and that his own Sword Dao thoughts had determined the victor.
• Fang Xiao rejected the Tai Shang Sword Dao, ended the illusion, and awoke with a more condensed Sword Heart and a major advance in his Sword Dao Realm.
• Fang Xiao told Li Mobai what he had witnessed, and Li Mobai praised the lesson while promising to compensate him.

Fang Xiao received Innate Geng Metal Qi after helping end the two cultivators’ battle of Daoist Thought, and Li Mobai explained its value before entering the Bronze Tablet. Li Mobai revealed the tablet was the array formation core of Pillar of Heaven Peak, then sent Fang Xiao out to seek opportunities while he refined it.

• The two figures on the lotus platform vanished, and Innate Geng Metal Qi appeared before Fang Xiao.
• Li Mobai identified the Qi and explained that combining it with Innate Xin Metal Qi could transform a top-grade magic treasure into a Spirit Treasure.
• Li Mobai entered the Bronze Tablet while Fang Xiao put away the Qi and studied the Chanting Sword Art as he waited.
• Li Mobai emerged from the tablet and revealed it was the core of the Taibai Sword Sect’s formations on Pillar of Heaven Peak.
• Li Mobai gave Fang Xiao a compass-type magic artifact and ordered him to leave and seek other opportunities while he refined the core.
• Fang Xiao congratulated Li Mobai and left Tongtian Hall.

After exploring Tongtian Hall, Fang Xiao returned to the Tianlan Sect encampment to trade for a vast Storage Bracelet and stock up on materials for future sword refining and Spirit Wine production. He left with his purchases stored in the bracelet and a plan to establish a Spirit Wine operation on Heavenly Outer Peak.

• Fang Xiao used his true disciple token and Li Mobai's compass to leave Tongtian Hall safely, reflecting on the gains he had made there.
• Fang Xiao visited the Tianlan Sect resource exchange office and bought an enormous Storage Bracelet from Yu Bin.
• Fang Xiao had Yu Bin and two disciples inventory his twelve Storage Bags, then exchanged their contents for spirit herbs, spirit fruits, spirit metals, and flying swords.
• Fang Xiao planned to have Maoqiu brew Spirit Wine on Heavenly Outer Peak and considered raising Vajra Apes to expand production, with Fatty Han as a possible caretaker.
• Fang Xiao gave Yu Bin and the other disciples thirty thousand Spirit Stones to split, then transferred his supplies into the Storage Bracelet while keeping two Storage Bags at his waist.

Fang Xiao killed Yan Tong after learning that Qingyang Demonic Sect cultivators had ambushed Tianlan Sect disciples to conceal a newly discovered Spiritual Medicine Grotto-Heaven. He raced to rescue the survivors, broke through to Three Evolutions of Sword Light, and reached the last disciple just as an enemy’s azure demonic flames pursued him.

• Fang Xiao pursued Yan Tong, extinguished his Qingyang Demonic Flame with Five Elements True Light, and killed him after his Chanting Sword Art caused Yan Tong’s Yin Souls to turn on him.
• Fang Xiao searched Yan Tong’s soul and learned that Qingyang Demonic Sect cultivators had killed one Tianlan Sect disciple and were hunting two others after discovering Taibai Sword Sect’s Spiritual Medicine Grotto-Heaven.
• Fang Xiao hurried to rescue the two survivors, but found no trace of the first and concluded that the disciple had already died.
• While racing toward the last disciple, Fang Xiao broke through to Three Evolutions of Sword Light and gained a great increase in speed.
• Fang Xiao found the wounded disciple fleeing through a forest and intercepted the azure flame pursuing him with a streak of purple sword light.

Fang Xiao met Baili Hanguang, a disciple of the Beimíng Sword Sect who had saved Yuan Qing from a Qingyang Demonic Sect cultivator. After Fang Xiao and Baili exchanged Sword Dao insights, they discussed Qing Hong, leaving Fang Xiao eager to test his sword against him.

• Baili Hanguang used his sword arts to kill the Qingyang Demonic Sect cultivator who had trapped Yuan Qing in azure flames.
• Fang Xiao arrived and learned that Baili had rescued his injured fellow disciple, Yuan Qing.
• Baili introduced himself and explained the deep ties between the Beimíng Sword Sect and the Tianlan Sect, along with his sect's inheritance and cultivation methods.
• Fang Xiao and Baili practiced their Sword Arts and exchanged views on the Sword Dao, with Baili praising Fang Xiao's talent.
• Baili described Qing Hong of the Shangqing Sect as a limpid, transcendent swordsman, and Fang Xiao said he would draw his sword to test him if they met.

Fang Xiao learned about the Extreme North Ice Plains and its coming Polar Primordial Light phenomenon, then helped secure Liu Jianyao’s support for a mission against Qingyang Demonic Sect disciples. He left his true Sword Dao strength concealed as the group prepared to depart.

• Baili Hanguang told Fang Xiao that the Ice Soul Sect ruled the Extreme North Ice Plains and that the Polar Primordial Light would appear there in about six years, when the sect would close its gates.
• Fang Xiao agreed to meet Baili Hanguang before the phenomenon, and the two exchanged communication jade talismans.
• Fang Xiao, Baili Hanguang, and Yuan Qing returned to the sect outpost, where Yuan Qing learned that his two close friends had died.
• Fang Xiao brought Baili Hanguang to meet Liu Jianyao, who required them to prove they could contend with False Core cultivators before joining the mission.
• Fang Xiao revealed four strands of Sword Light, convincing Liu Jianyao to gather the disciples and prepare to depart, while concealing his further Sword Dao advances.

Liu Jianyao led Tianlan Sect disciples to the Spiritual Medicine Grotto-Heaven after learning that Qingyang Demonic Sect cultivators were breaking its restrictions. Several factions converged at the entrance, where tensions rose as the renowned Qing Hong arrived.

• Liu Jianyao gathered Foundation Establishment disciples and led them toward the grotto-heaven, warning them to prepare against Qingyang Demonic Fire.
• Senior Brother Cui learned that Yan Tong and Yu Yang had not returned, recalled the Qingyang Demonic Sect cultivators, and ordered them to break the restrictions before the Tianlan Sect arrived.
• Qing Hong sensed a surge of spiritual power and headed toward it despite Qing Yu's worries about his injuries.
• Liu Jianyao and Fang Xiao found the grotto-heaven entrance deserted and its restrictions gone, so Liu Jianyao ordered disciples to lay traps outside.
• Qing Hong, Qing Yu, and other cultivators arrived at the entrance, where Baili Hanguang pointed Qing Hong out to Fang Xiao and the gathered factions watched one another warily.

Qingyang Demonic Cultivators emerged from the grotto-heaven and were attacked by the gathered cultivators, plunging the field into chaos. Fang Xiao left Liu Jianyao’s group to join the sword-intent contest around Qing Hong, where the sword cultivators began pairing off for duels.

• The wounded Qingyang Demonic Cultivators were attacked as soon as they emerged, and the Cui Clan Cultivator ordered them to scatter and flee into the crowd.
• The battle dragged nearby cultivators into the chaos, but Fang Xiao broke free while Liu Jianyao kept the Tianlan Sect disciples together.
• Fang Xiao and Baili Hanguang entered Qing Hong’s sword-intent contest, where six powerful sword intents remained after the others withdrew.
• Chong Xuanzi challenged Wei Jingxian, while Qing Yu challenged Baili Hanguang, leaving Fang Xiao, Li Chunyun, and Qing Hong facing one another.
• Li Chunyun split the Primordial Sword into two streaks of sword light and sent one toward Fang Xiao and the other toward Qing Hong.