Chapter Summaries

After Mo Hua’s array tactics alarmed the sect elders, Elder Yan argued that they could not beat him at Array Techniques and should instead study how to counter him. Mo Hua prepared for his next match against Qiandao Sect, concealed his array beneath a blanket, and set out to breach its city gate.

• Sect elders debated whether Mo Hua had violated the Sword Discussion rules, but concluded they could not change the regulations mid-competition; Elder Yan urged them to study Mo Hua’s methods and exploit the limitations of Array Techniques.
• Mo Hua reflected on the difficulty of winning the Sword Discussion Assembly and resolved to collect victories so he could obtain the Wood-Ether Rejuvenation Formation and try to save his master.
• Void Gate’s next match began against Qiandao Sect, which defended while Void Gate attacked, and Mo Hua stayed out of the initial assault to prepare an Array Technique.
• Mo Hua hid beneath a blanket while drawing his array, concealing his method and speed from the watching cultivators.
• After finishing his array and putting away the blanket, Mo Hua ran toward Qiandao Sect’s city, eager to blow open its gate.

Mo Hua devised a way to bypass Shen Cangfeng’s fortified inner-city gate by triggering a chain reaction in the formations embedded in the city walls. The resulting blast engulfed the Fangtian Painting Shadow, leaving the battle’s outcome unclear.

• The sect masters of Ta'a, Chongxu, and Void Gate anxiously watched Void Gate face Qiandao Sect, whose strongest fighter in the match was Shen Cangfeng.
• Shen Cangfeng fortified the inner-city gate with five defensive formations and planned to exhaust Mo Hua and Linghu Xiao before attacking.
• Mo Hua recognized Shen Cangfeng’s plan and secretly set formations designed to trigger a chain reaction in the high-tier formations inside the city walls.
• Mo Hua sealed the gate, then ignited the formations after telling Linghu Xiao and the others to retreat.
• A sudden explosion sent flames across the Fangtian Painting Shadow, blinding the spectators.

Mo Hua’s Kill Arrays detonated the entire siege city, securing Void Gate’s victory and prompting Dao Discussion Mountain to strengthen future city walls. Void Gate then won two more Earth-Grade Sword Discussions, but Daluo Sect was closing in on its fifth-place ranking as the remaining matches grew more consequential.

• Mo Hua’s arrays triggered a massive explosion that destroyed the city, its statue, and both teams, but Void Gate won because the statue fell before time ran out.
• Dao Discussion Mountain’s Elders debated whether the destruction was accidental or deliberate, then changed the rules to require Third-Grade Arrays on siege-city walls.
• Shen Cangfeng vowed revenge after losing to Mo Hua without ever getting to fight, while a new poster joined the Slaughter Mo Order.
• Mo Hua’s arrays drew opponents’ attention in two further Earth-Grade matches, helping Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Xuan, Cheng Mo, and Situ Jian secure victories.
• Daluo Sect closed in on Void Gate’s fifth-place ranking, leaving the team facing high-stakes battles in its remaining matches.

Mo Hua tricked Ao Zheng and Longding Sect into hesitating over imagined arrays while Void Gate quickly hunted down their target and won the Monster Hunting match. Their next opponent was Duanmu Qing of Wanxiao Sect, and the chapter ended with Mo Hua and his companions seeing her arrive.

• Mo Hua learned that Void Gate would face Ao Zheng and Longding Sect, then planned to win by rushing the Monster Hunting objective rather than fighting them.
• Mo Hua intimidated Ao Zheng before the match, leading Ao Zheng to suspect that Mo Hua had prepared hidden Kill Arrays.
• Mo Hua used his Divine Consciousness to locate a late second-grade Bear Demon, and Void Gate killed it before Longding Sect reached the site.
• Ao Zheng realized Mo Hua had bluffed him into wasting time, and Longding Sect lost the match as Mo Hua gained five more enemies.
• The Dao Discussion Heavenly Instrument paired Void Gate against Duanmu Qing and Wanxiao Sect, and Mo Hua and his companions saw Duanmu Qing arrive at the Inner Mountain.

Duanmu Qing nearly killed Mo Hua after he remarked that her Dao Heart was dirty, then overwhelmed the Void Gate in the sword discussion. Afterward, Mo Hua recognized an aura linked to the Rouge Boat and Evil Fetus in her eyes, leading him to suspect that Ganxue’s other prodigies might also be connected to the Evil God.

• Duanmu Qing stopped after Mo Hua muttered that her Dao Heart was dirty and unleashed a powerful Five Elements spell, but a Dao Discussion Mountain Elder intervened before she could attack him.
• At the sword discussion, Duanmu Qing relentlessly bombarded Mo Hua and the Void Gate disciples with spells, defeating them until Mo Hua shattered his Dao Discussion Jade and escaped the arena.
• Duanmu Qing declared that she would kill Mo Hua next time, while the Wanxiao Sect claimed victory over the Void Gate.
• That night, Mo Hua recalled the turbid shadow in Duanmu Qing’s eyes and recognized an aura resembling the Evil Fetus worshiped at the Dragon King Temple.
• Mo Hua wondered whether Duanmu Qing and the other three Ganxue prodigies were connected to the Rouge Boat and the Evil God, and questioned how their auras had been concealed from him.

Mo Hua learned that rival sects had compiled a detailed code for countering his spells, movement techniques, and arrays during the Sword Discussion Assembly. The Slaughter Mo Alliance circulated the code and vowed to kill him, beginning the work that would later become known as the Slaughter Mo Canon.

• Mo Hua wondered about Duanmu Qing's visit to the Rouge Boat and returned to studying the Four Symbols Dragon Array and Reverse Spirit Array.
• Mo Hua and his team won two Earth-Grade matches, but he sensed that opponents had begun following rehearsed procedures to counter his arrays.
• Song Jian gave Mo Hua a Jade Slip containing the Code of Conduct Against Mo Hua, a manual compiled by hostile sects to counter his methods.
• Mo Hua read the manual with his fellow disciples and realized that array Elders had extensively analyzed his array tactics.
• A mysterious figure in the Slaughter Mo Order announced that everyone would receive the code and declared that Mo Hua must die.
• The code continued to circulate and grow, eventually becoming known as the Slaughter Mo Canon.

With Void Gate’s decisive match against Daluo Sect approaching, Mo Hua learned that Ye Zhiyuan’s imperial sword control had defeated Linghu Xiao before and secured Ta’a’s Sword Array to prepare. Meanwhile, Ye Zhiyuan joined the Slaughter Mo Order and vowed to kill Mo Hua in the match.

• After Void Gate’s arrays were countered, its disciples faced criticism for lacking a strong sword inheritance as the sect’s record drew nearly even with Daluo Sect’s.
• Mo Hua asked Linghu Xiao about Daluo Sect and learned that Ye Zhiyuan had previously defeated Linghu in a sword match using the Daluo Flying Imperial Sword Art.
• Mo Hua met the Ta’a Sect Master, described the coming match as difficult, and persuaded him to lend Ta’a’s Sword Array.
• In the Slaughter Mo Order, Ye Zhiyuan mocked Void Gate and asked whether killing Mo Hua would make him the alliance leader.
• Ye Zhiyuan declared that he would kill Mo Hua with one sword in the next day’s match and claim the alliance leadership.

Mo Hua learned the Ta'a Mountain-Opening Sword Array and used it to prepare a sword for the match against Daluo Sect. At the Sword Discussion Assembly, his exploding Mountain-Splitting Sword struck down Ye Zhiyuan and ended the match, leaving Dao Discussion Mountain in an uproar.

• A Ta'a elder delivered the Second-Grade Nineteen-Pattern Ta'a Mountain-Opening Sword Array to Mo Hua, who learned it and inscribed it on a Spirit Sword.
• Bai Xiaosheng predicted that Daluo Sect would defeat Void Gate and that Mo Hua would die in the match.
• The sect masters and spectators watched as the Sword Discussion began, with Linghu Xiao named Void Gate's leader against Ye Zhiyuan.
• Ye Zhiyuan planned to target Mo Hua while controlling his sword from a distance, but Mo Hua's Spirit Sword flew at him first.
• The Mountain-Splitting Sword struck Ye Zhiyuan's chest, then exploded with powerful Sword Qi and ended the match.

Mo Hua’s improvised, explosive sword strike killed Ye Zhiyuan and stunned the Sword Discussion Assembly, while elders identified it as Divine Thought Object Manipulation using a self-destructing Sword Array and Spirit Sword. Void Gate gained ground in the rankings, but its next opponent was revealed as Qiandao Sect’s Shen Linshu.

• Mo Hua’s Flying Sword exploded and killed Ye Zhiyuan, leaving spectators and Void Gate’s sect masters stunned.
• The sect elders replayed the strike and concluded Mo Hua had used Divine Thought Object Manipulation to control a sword carrying a self-destructing Sword Array.
• The Slaughter Mo Alliance mocked Ye Zhiyuan with his earlier boasts, and Ye Zhiyuan secretly practiced the Daluo Flying Imperial Sword Art against a straw effigy of Mo Hua.
• Mo Hua won two more Earth-Grade Sword Discussions, giving Void Gate a chance to enter the Four Great Sects if it won its final two matches and rivals lost.
• Void Gate learned that Mo Hua’s next opponent would be Qiandao Sect’s Shen Linshu.

Void Gate lost its Earth-Grade Sword Discussion match against Qiandao Sect after Shen Linshu’s Qilin Blood and swordsmanship overwhelmed Mo Hua and the other defenders. As Mo Hua prepared for the Heaven-Rank Sword Discussion, an unseen force attacked the Dao Discussion Heavenly Instrument while it determined the final Earth-Grade matchup.

• Chongxu Sect Leader explained that Shen Linshu and the other Four Prodigies of Ganxue possessed powerful bloodlines and Life-Bound Longevity Talismans, leaving Void Gate with little hope of winning.
• Mo Hua considered his poor luck, Void Gate’s bleak prospects in the Heaven-Rank Sword Discussion, and how he might save his Master.
• Shen Linshu led Qiandao Sect through Void Gate’s defenses, broke Mo Hua’s formations, and defeated Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, Ouyang Xuan, and Linghu Xiao.
• Shen Linshu challenged Mo Hua, who shattered his Dao Discussion Jade and withdrew; Shen Linshu then destroyed Void Gate’s City Lord Statue, ending the match in Qiandao Sect’s victory.
• Mo Hua recorded Shen Linshu’s abilities and began planning for the Heaven-Rank Sword Discussion while the sects prepared for the next stage.
• The Dao Discussion Heavenly Instrument began determining the final Earth-Grade matchup, but an unseen Poppy Flower appeared and a bloody, purple-black infant hand pressed down on it.

The Evil Fetus enlisted corrupted karmic powers to halt the Dao Discussion Heavenly Instrument, and an unnoticed wisp of qi from Sword Viewing Pavilion let it reverse the instrument’s causality. The instrument selected an Asura Battle for the final Earth-Grade Sword Discussion, and Mo Hua felt the long-awaited karmic connection as he thought of his master.

• The Evil Fetus summoned its believers’ golden, blue, and other karmic powers to suppress the Dao Discussion Heavenly Instrument, while a hidden wisp of qi entered the instrument and tipped the struggle in its favor.
• Mo Hua sensed the Evil Fetus’s presence but dismissed the warning and continued preparing for the Heaven-Rank Sword Discussion.
• The Dao Discussion Heavenly Instrument produced the same Asura Battle format for every disciple in the final Earth-Grade Sword Discussion, shocking the sect elders.
• After debating whether to reject the result, the elders accepted the Asura Battle, which the white-haired elder identified as the former Heaven-Rank Promotion Battle.
• The Asura Battle announcement shook the sects, and Elder Xun foresaw a coming storm in Ganxue.
• Mo Hua stared at the Asura Battle ruling, felt a sudden surge of karma, and seemed to see his master smiling at him.

Mo Hua studied the Asura Battle and calculated how Void Gate might survive the many sects plotting against it. As the Three Mountains' leaders agreed to open their inheritances to him, the Ta'a Sect Master and Chongxu Sect Leader accepted that he would become the Crown Prince bearing all Three Branches' top inheritances.

• Mo Hua examined the Asura Battle's rules, assessed the enemies threatening Void Gate, and began calculating possible strategies.
• Sect leaders and elders across Ganxue Prefecture agreed to join forces against Void Gate, while disciples in the Slaughter Mo Order celebrated the chance to hunt Mo Hua.
• The three sect leaders recognized that Void Gate faced elimination and agreed that the sect ultimately had to rely on Mo Hua.
• The Void Gate Sect Master proposed opening the Void, Ta'a, and Chongxu Branches' inheritances to Mo Hua so he could prepare for the Asura Battle.
• The Ta'a Sect Master and Chongxu Sect Leader agreed to offer their branches' inheritances, including Chongxu sword arts, and called Mo Hua the Crown Prince of the Three Branches.

Mo Hua received the Three Mountains’ unified Void Token and used its inheritances and the sect leaders’ support to prepare Void Gate for the Asura Battle. Seven days later, the Sword Discussion began amid widespread hostility toward Mo Hua, and Wenren Wan was left shaken by a vision of Yu’er’s death.

• The Void Gate Sect Master gave Mo Hua the first unified Void Token, granting him access to the Three Mountains’ inheritances and authority to direct Sword Discussion preparations.
• Mo Hua discovered that the token included Chongxu Mountain’s Sword-Unraveling Art, resolved to win first place for Void Gate, and mobilized the sect to prepare for the Asura Battle.
• Mo Hua and the other sects spent seven days preparing as rival sects plotted against Void Gate and many disciples set their sights on Mo Hua.
• The Asura Battle began, and the sects’ disciples traveled to Dao Discussion Mountain as Void Insight Ancestors, sect leaders, and spectators gathered to watch.
• Spectators predicted Mo Hua and Void Gate would be overwhelmed, while Bai Xiaosheng refused to admit that Mo Hua’s earlier victory counted as sword technique.
• Wenren Wan saw a bloody vision of Yu’er asking why she had not saved him, then clutched him tightly after he brought her back to the present.

Mo Hua led the Void Gate disciples into the Asura Battle while the other sects formed an alliance to hunt him, but his group vanished into the mist. As the search stalled, rival sects began prioritizing their own standings, and Song Jian and Wang Chen persuaded their leaders to turn against the alliance.

• Wenren Wan clutched her child as an ominous vision came to mind, and the Asura Battle began inside the vast mountain field.
• Mo Hua led Situ Jian, Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Xuan, Cheng Mo, Yang Qianjun, Hao Xuan, the five Ouyang brothers, and the other Void Gate disciples into the fog according to their plan.
• The other sects agreed to find and kill Mo Hua first, but they could not locate him or Void Gate, even after searching while clearing out weaker teams.
• Ye Qingfeng urged the sects to keep hunting Mo Hua, but the prolonged stalemate made some leaders reconsider the alliance in favor of their sects’ rankings.
• Song Jian persuaded Song Kui to attack Zixia Sect, and Duanjin Gate wounded and killed several disciples before withdrawing.
• Wang Chen warned Qin Cangliu that Guishui Gate could lose its standing if it focused on Mo Hua, and Qin Cangliu agreed to start fighting other sects.

The Four Great Sects and seven of the Eight Great Sects found Mo Hua’s hidden valley and joined forces to break through its arrays. As the defense at Sky-Line Gorge collapsed, five armored Void Gate disciples blocked the entrance and began killing the first attackers.

• The Guishui Gate and Duanjin Gate attacked rival sects from the shadows, setting off widespread fighting that eliminated most Twelve Streams disciples and weakened the competing sects.
• After a firework revealed Mo Hua’s location, the sects killed the Wanzhen Sect disciples who had found his arrays and gathered outside the hidden valley.
• Ao Zheng and Shen Cangfeng established an agreement to prevent the allied sects from attacking one another until they had wiped out Void Gate and killed Mo Hua.
• The allied disciples destroyed Mo Hua’s concealed mountain wall and broke the arrays protecting Sky-Line Gorge while Mo Hua meditated inside to recover his Divine Consciousness.
• When the entrance defense collapsed, the first Daluo Sect disciple to enter was killed by five armored Void Gate disciples, who then chopped down attackers from Duanjin Gate, Lingxiao Sect, and Daluo Sect.

Mo Hua’s rapid array drawing let Void Gate hold off the Four Sects and Seven Gates until its array mediums ran out and enemies flooded the valley. As the attackers closed in, Mo Hua used Divine Thought Ink Manipulation to form arrays instantly and seal the valley entrance again.

• The Five Ta'a Brothers and Linghu Xiao repelled the first assault, giving Hao Xuan and the others time to restore the valley’s arrays.
• Ye Qingfeng proposed wearing Mo Hua down with repeated attacks, and the Four Sects and Seven Gates sent ordinary disciples forward as sacrificial vanguards.
• Mo Hua revealed that he could draw arrays at extraordinary speed, allowing Void Gate to withstand wave after wave of attacks while its array mediums lasted.
• The attackers exhausted Void Gate’s remaining array mediums, broke the final array, and charged into the valley as the defenders struggled to hold them back.
• Mo Hua opened his eyes, counted the intruders, and used Divine Thought Ink Manipulation to form arrays instantly, sealing the valley entrance and splitting the advancing forces.

Mo Hua trapped the Four Sects and Seven Gates prodigies with a massive earth-and-mountain array, then unleashed the Five Elements Source Array to empower Void Gate and turn the battle in their favor. As the enemy recovered from the first assault, Mo Hua began laying more arrays, prompting Shi Tiangang to rally the survivors to attack him.

• Mo Hua drew a Second-Grade High-Tier compound array with Spirit Ink, dividing the Four Sects and Seven Gates forces between the valley and its entrance.
• Ye Zhiyuan launched a Flying Sword at Mo Hua, and the clash triggered a battle between the outnumbered Void Gate disciples and their opponents.
• Mo Hua activated the Five Elements Source Array, empowering Void Gate's armor and Daoist Robes as the Five Ta'a Brothers and Linghu Xiao led a devastating counterattack.
• Void Gate routed the opposing prodigies and killed or wounded nearly half of them before the enemy elites regrouped and began wearing down the armor's power.
• Mo Hua drew new arrays beneath Shi Tiangang and the other prodigies, trapping them as Linghu Xiao and the Five Ta'a Brothers attacked.
• Shi Tiangang, injured by their attacks, urged the surviving prodigies to charge Mo Hua before he could draw more arrays.

Mo Hua and the Void Gate disciples annihilated the Four Sects and Seven Gates prodigies trapped in the valley, then seized their supplies so Mo Hua could lay more arrays. Outside the valley, Shen Linshu sensed an ominous unease as Mo Hua resumed drawing arrays.

• Feng Zichen and the other prodigies repeatedly failed to reach Mo Hua, while their ranks were devastated by his arrays and the Void Gate defenders.
• Qin Cangliu had Ye Zhiyuan use his flying sword to interrupt Mo Hua, but Mo Hua countered with sword control and killed Ye Zhiyuan again.
• With no one left to disrupt Mo Hua, his arrays and the Five Elements Source Armor turned the battle, and the Void Gate disciples slaughtered the trapped prodigies.
• The watching cultivators witnessed Void Gate's victory, while the surviving disciples outside Sky-Line Gorge retreated and refused to enter the valley.
• Mo Hua ordered his disciples to collect the fallen prodigies' Storage Bags, then used the recovered Spirit Ink and Spirit Stones to resume drawing arrays.
• Shen Linshu sensed a growing unease as Mo Hua continued filling the valley with arrays.

Mo Hua kept building arrays while the Four Prodigies of Ganxue and Ye Qingfeng led an assault that destroyed the mountain-sealing formation and overwhelmed the Void Gate. With his divine thought and Spirit Ink nearly exhausted, Mo Hua was cornered, but as his last companions sacrificed themselves to protect him, he ordered his arrays to explode.

• Shen Linshu, Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, and Duanmu Qing agreed to attack Mo Hua, while Ye Qingfeng offered the Daluo Sect's support.
• Ao Zhan and the others shattered Mo Hua's mountain-sealing compound array, allowing more than a hundred prodigies to surround the Void Gate's remaining disciples.
• Ye Qingfeng led the attackers through Mo Hua's defensive arrays as the Void Gate fought back, and the four prodigies eventually joined the battle.
• The Void Gate's disciples fell one after another until only Mo Hua, Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Xuan, Ouyang Fu, and Ouyang Shou remained against more than fifty opponents.
• Shen Linshu threatened Mo Hua, who calmly declared that no one could kill him within his arrays.
• Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Shou, Ouyang Fu, and Ouyang Xuan tried to shield Mo Hua from the four prodigies' attacks, and Mo Hua said, "Explode!"

Mo Hua triggered a valley-wide Reverse Spirit Array that disintegrated the battlefield, survived by remaining at the Life Gate, and appeared to claim victory in the Earth-Grade Sword Discussion. The Four Prodigies of Ganxue and Ye Qingfeng also survived, and as they prepared to attack him, Mo Hua stood and declared that one sword would kill them all.

• Mo Hua activated the Half-Step Reverse Spirit Array, setting off his prepared arrays and causing widespread spirit power Reverse Transformation and Array Disintegration.
• The audience and array masters identified Mo Hua’s technique as a Reverse Spirit Array and realized he had survived at the Life Gate.
• The Four Prodigies of Ganxue and Ye Qingfeng emerged alive from the ruins, leaving Void Gate’s apparent victory uncertain.
• Shen Linshu, Duanmu Qing, Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, and Ye Qingfeng prepared to attack Mo Hua together.
• Mo Hua asked whether the five had been aboard the ship, then stood and declared that one sword would kill them all.