Chapter Summaries

Mo Hua discovered how the Dragon King Temple’s altar used the Rouge Boat’s desires and Sinful Cultivators’ blood-oath pact to nourish the Evil Fetus, which had fused with his divine soul. He emerged as the temple’s apparent master, reunited with his companions, and decided to search the temple further.

• Mo Hua recognized a powerful Demonic Beast within a Nightmare node but chose not to provoke it, then realized canceling his many orders would be difficult and resolved to protect Yu'er.
• Mo Hua discovered that the altar absorbed human desires and sinful Karma, and identified the Wordless Blood Stele as a Soul Pact that bound the Sinful Cultivators’ lives and fed their crimes to the Evil Fetus.
• Mo Hua found that the altar carried him upward and opened the Dragon King Temple’s gate, realizing the temple seemed to obey him because the Evil Fetus had merged with his soul.
• Gu Changhuai and Inspector Xia welcomed Mo Hua back, and Mo Hua claimed Mr. Wu had suddenly died during a ritual before he could be sacrificed.
• Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian reunited with Mo Hua, who warned them to keep the Rouge Boat and Dragon King Temple secret before they returned to their sects.
• Mo Hua asked Gu Changhuai to help search the Dragon King Temple, intending to inspect the place he now considered his own.

Mo Hua helped the Dao Court Office clear the Dragon King Temple and discovered a hidden Dragon Bone Statue that only he could perceive. As he and the others sailed away, a powerful Inspector from the Central Dao Court arrived on a Xia Family ship.

• Mo Hua persuaded Gu Changhuai to investigate and clean the Dragon King Temple carefully, then confirmed that the temple had originally been built to worship the River Dragon King.
• Mo Hua entered a concealed hall, overcame a perception-distorting effect, and found a Dragon Bone Life-Bound Divine Statue that no one else could see or notice.
• Mo Hua hid the statue, concealed the Altar behind the Bone Labyrinth, and left the temple with Gu Changhuai, Inspector Xia, and Xiao Tianquan.
• Mr. Tu reflected on his failed scheme at the Dragon King Temple and believed Mo Hua had been gravely wounded by the Evil God Fetus’s contamination.
• A large Xia Family spirit boat approached Mo Hua’s group on the Yanshui River, and Inspector Xia identified its passenger as his uncle, an Inspector of the Feather Transformation Realm from the Central Dao Court.

Inspector Xia planned to pin the Rouge Boat crimes on Xiao Zhenhai and use the Xiao Family, while pressuring Inspector Xia toward a marriage alliance with Xiao Tianquan. After Hua Ruyu appeared aboard the ship and Mo Hua discovered that Water Yama’s name remained on his list, Mo Hua returned to shore and suspected Xiao Tianquan was the real Water Yama.

• Inspector Xia told Inspector Xia that the Xiao Family would be useful because its past crimes gave the Xia Family leverage, and proposed Xiao Tianquan as her future husband.
• Hua Ruyu appeared aboard the ship, revealed that a powerful Young Master had protected her from Dao Prison, and threatened Gu Changhuai, Inspector Xia, and Mo Hua.
• Mo Hua noticed that Hua Ruyu’s title had not dimmed on Jiang Laoda’s list and realized Water Yama’s name remained unchanged despite his apparent death.
• At the pier, Ye Hong thanked Mo Hua for destroying the Rouge Boat and held a memorial for Ye Jin and Ye Xiu by the Yanshui River.
• Mo Hua saw Xiao Tianquan crush Ye Jin’s Shuixian flower and confronted him, asking whether he was the real Water Yama.

Mo Hua exposed Xiao Tianquan as the real Water Yama and learned that he had abused and killed Ye Jin, but Inspector Xia protected Xiao Tianquan for political reasons and left him alive. Inspector Xia rejected her uncle’s plan to marry her to Xiao Tianquan, while Ye Hong mourned that he might never get justice.

• Mo Hua pieced together the clues and accused Xiao Tianquan of being the real Water Yama and the man responsible for Ye Jin’s death.
• Xiao Tianquan admitted that he had arranged for Ye Jin to be brought aboard the Rouge Boat and abused her, then fought Ye Hong and tried to kill him.
• Gu Changhuai and Inspector Xia subdued Xiao Tianquan, but Inspector Xia stopped Gu Changhuai from killing him and ordered that Xiao Tianquan be taken aboard the Xia Family spirit boat.
• Inspector Xia told her uncle that Xiao Tianquan should be executed, but Inspector Xia explained that the Xia Family needed the Xiao Family’s support and urged her to marry Xiao Tianquan.
• Inspector Xia refused the marriage alliance and threatened to kill Xiao Tianquan and herself if forced; Inspector Xia withdrew his demand and left her behind.
• At a restaurant in Yanshui City, Ye Hong grieved over the lack of justice, and Mo Hua said that Heaven might someday punish Xiao Tianquan.

After returning to Void Gate, Mo Hua used his authority over the Great Wilderness Evil Fetus’s Soul Pact to kill every Sinful Cultivator on Jiang Laoda’s list, including Water Yama. His purge killed Hua Ruyu and Xiao Tianquan as well, leaving Inspector Xia and the Xiao Family stunned at the banquet.

• Gu Changhuai returned Mo Hua to Void Gate, and Mo Hua went alone to a remote peak with Jiang Laoda’s list.
• Mo Hua summoned the Dragon King Temple altar and crushed the Life Souls of every Sinful Cultivator on the list, ending with Water Yama.
• Across Ganxue Prefecture and nearby regions, listed Sinful Cultivators died suddenly, including Hua Ruyu, who was tormented by the Fierce Ghosts of the women she had harmed.
• At a banquet aboard the Xia Family spirit boat, Inspector Xia advised Xiao Tianquan and promised the Xia Family’s support for his rise in the Xiao Family.
• After drinking with Inspector Xia, Xiao Tianquan was overwhelmed by the returning Killing Intent and died in terror before the gathered Xia and Xiao Family cultivators.

After Xiao Tianquan died mysteriously at a banquet, Inspector Xia concealed the circumstances and suspected a master of heavenly calculation had killed him. The Xiao Family's ancestor tried to trace the cause, uncovered Xiao Tianquan's crimes, and drew the attention of a terrifying presence.

• Xiao Tianquan's corpse showed no trace of an outside attack, and Inspector Xia sensed a sinister calamity when he tried to calculate its cause.
• Inspector Xia agreed to keep Xiao Tianquan's death quiet, and the Dao Court Office reported that he had died in the line of duty.
• Gu Changhuai and Inspector Xia connected Xiao Tianquan's death and other sudden deaths to Mo Hua's earlier words, while Ye Hong thanked Mo Hua from afar for avenging his children.
• The Xiao Family's ancestor began a forbidden deduction, discovered Xiao Tianquan's hidden crimes, and saw a strange little ghost at the Dragon King Temple.
• The Xiao Family's ancestor saw the ghost turn toward him and sensed an ancient, terrifying presence awakening around him.

The Xiao Family Ancestor survived a terrifying divination encounter but returned polluted and gravely weakened, while Inspector Xia concluded that the Xiao Family had lost a Void Insight cultivator. Mo Hua worried about controlling the demons he had ordered for Yu'er’s Nightmare, so he borrowed the Big White Dog from the Void Gate Sect Master to help guard it.

• The Xiao Family Ancestor shed his polluted divine form to escape an Evil Fetus, then encountered a Corpse King Dao Sin before returning to his Cave Abode severely wounded and overwhelmed by strange desires.
• Inspector Xia reported Xiao Tianquan’s death and the Xiao Family Ancestor’s likely pollution, revised the Xia Family’s plans, and sent a warning about the evil gathering in Ganxue Prefecture.
• Mo Hua continued teaching array formations at Void Gate and worried that the Evil Fetus sealed in his soul was growing stronger.
• Mo Hua planned to feed the demons he had ordered to Yu'er in her Nightmare, but decided he needed help controlling them and keeping her safe.
• Mo Hua persuaded the Void Gate Sect Master to lend him the Big White Dog, which followed him docilely after its chain was removed.

Mo Hua prepared Yu'er’s room for the demons he had summoned, using layered Divine Dao Arrays and the Big White Dog to protect Yu'er while turning the demons into a feast. As the demons flooded Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness, Old Ancestor Dugu secretly searched Void Mountain for the hidden cause of the demonic disturbances.

• Mo Hua brought the Big White Dog to Yu'er’s room, warned Wenren Wei of a possible demon attack, and instructed him to guard the door.
• Mo Hua restrained the dog’s hostility toward Yu'er, then set up God Fog Arrays and three layers of Divine Dao Arrays around the room.
• After night fell, demons emerged from the Void and charged at Mo Hua, while the Big White Dog watched eagerly for its feast.
• Old Ancestor Dugu’s Divine Consciousness swept across Void Mountain, alarming the Void Gate’s high-ranking cultivators and prompting Elder Xun to check on him.
• Elder Xun found Old Ancestor Dugu unharmed, but Dugu later sent a tiny strand of Divine Sense to search the mountain in secret.
• Mo Hua, unaware of Dugu’s search, slaughtered the invading demons in his Sea of Consciousness.

Mo Hua and the Big White Dog defeated the Demons threatening Shangguan Yu, and Mo Hua refined their Thought Power until his Divine Sense reached the peak of Nineteen-Pattern. A powerful elder accidentally dragged Mo Hua into the Void Gate’s Sword Graveyard, where Mo Hua tried to return Senior Dugu Xuan’s Broken Sword and the elder recognized it as Xuan’er’s sword.

• Mo Hua and the Big White Dog killed the Demons attacking Shangguan Yu, while Wenren Wei guarded the door.
• Mo Hua refined the Demons’ Thought Power, but his Divine Sense stopped growing at the peak of Nineteen-Pattern, the Foundation Establishment limit.
• Mo Hua accidentally revealed traces of Evil Qi while practicing arrays, and the Long-Bearded Elder seized him through a spatial rift.
• The Long-Bearded Elder learned that Mo Hua had borrowed the Big White Dog to protect Shangguan Yu and, after questioning him, agreed to let him leave.
• Mo Hua recognized the Sword Graveyard and asked to return a Broken Sword belonging to a deceased sword cultivator.
• Mo Hua planted Senior Dugu Xuan’s Broken Sword in a fresh grave, and the Long-Bearded Elder recognized it as Xuan’er’s sword.

Mo Hua returned a broken sword to the Long-Bearded Elder, who recognized it as his grandson Xuan’er’s relic and offered to repay the favor. After Mo Hua insisted on learning the forbidden Supreme Void Divine Sense Sword Transformation Art, the elder agreed to teach him, and the chapter ended as Mo Hua’s name on a Bamboo Sword awakened the Sword Graveyard’s ancient sword intent.

• Mo Hua explained that he had found the broken sword in a Blood Pool at an abandoned River God Temple, and the Long-Bearded Elder realized it had belonged to his grandson Xuan’er.
• The Long-Bearded Elder promised Mo Hua one wish in return, and Mo Hua asked to learn swordsmanship.
• After rejecting several sword arts, Mo Hua requested the forbidden Supreme Void Divine Sense Sword Transformation Art and revealed that his divine sense had reached the peak of Nineteen-Pattern.
• The Long-Bearded Elder agreed to teach Mo Hua the art every seven days, warning him to keep their arrangement secret and never use the technique for evil.
• The Long-Bearded Elder carved Mo Hua’s name onto a Bamboo Sword and placed it in the Sword Graveyard, awakening the buried swords’ ancient intent into a magnificent Sword Cloud.

Mo Hua began learning the Void Gate’s Divine Sense Sword Transformation Art from Old Ancestor Dugu, but his weak sword foundation left him struggling to cultivate Sword Qi. After Elder Xun discovered that Mo Hua’s Divine Consciousness had reached peak Nineteen-Pattern, he ordered him to focus on mastering Second-Grade arrays within a year, treating the task as vital to Void Gate.

• Mo Hua returned to the Back Mountain Forbidden Area, where Old Ancestor Dugu named himself and began teaching him the Divine Sense Sword Transformation Art.
• Mo Hua explained the art’s principles with surprising insight, and Old Ancestor Dugu gave him Introduction to Sword Dao to study and practice.
• Seven days later, Old Ancestor Dugu found that Mo Hua understood the sword theory but had cultivated almost no Sword Qi, so he patiently sent him back to keep practicing.
• Mo Hua continued studying sword dao alongside formations, and Elder Xun noticed a change in him after formation class.
• Elder Xun sensed that Mo Hua’s Divine Consciousness had reached peak Nineteen-Pattern and ordered him to stay in the sect and master Second-Grade arrays across all categories within a year.

Mo Hua continued intensive array and sword training, then uncovered a plot to cripple rival sects’ Dao Discussion Assembly candidates through the Rouge Boat scandal. He entrusted a Dragon Bone Statue to the Little Silver Fish for safekeeping and returned to Void Gate, where his studies continued through the end of his fifth year.

• Mo Hua balanced array lessons from Elder Xun with sword training from Old Ancestor Dugu, while keeping their separate teachings secret from each other.
• Mo Hua asked Gu Changhuai about the Rouge Boat and realized its scandal had likely been used to eliminate gifted disciples from rival sects before the Dao Discussion Assembly.
• Mo Hua told Gu Changhuai that true immortality required keeping Heavenly Dao in one’s heart and acting on Heaven’s behalf, easing Gu Changhuai’s despair over the Dao Court’s affairs.
• Mo Hua visited Small Fishing Village and entrusted the Dragon Bone Statue to the Little Silver Fish, hiding it in a mountain cave behind Divine Dao Arrays.
• Mo Hua returned to Void Gate and continued studying arrays and swordsmanship until the end of the year, completing his fifth year at the sect.

After receiving a letter from his parents, Mo Hua heard that Da Hu and the others had joined the Great Wilderness Sect, then learned about changes at Guishui Gate from Wang Chen. He opened the Water Prison Forbidden Box and discovered the Water Prison Sect’s inheritances, including a manuscript for a forbidden technique called Forest of Yama Water Prison.

• Mo Hua received and treasured a letter from his parents, then wondered whether Da Hu and the others were safe at the Great Wilderness Sect.
• Wang Chen thanked Mo Hua for helping him escape the Rouge Boat scandal and explained how the Dao Court had restructured Guishui Gate.
• Wang Chen warned Mo Hua that Ta'a Gate and Chongxu Gate faced trouble at the Dao Discussion Assembly, and Mo Hua asked him to share news from Guishui Gate.
• Mo Hua remembered the Water Prison Forbidden Box, studied its Pupil Technique lock, and opened it to find the Water Shadow Phantom Body, Water Prison True Art, and Water Prison Art.
• Mo Hua deciphered the final Jade Slip and discovered it contained notes for developing the forbidden technique Forest of Yama Water Prison.

Mo Hua discovered that the Water Prison Sect’s unfinished forbidden technique fused its pupil art with the Water Prison Art, but he decided not to learn it and began practicing Water Shadow Phantom Body instead. As Void Gate grew tense and the Evil Infant threatened to take over his body, Mo Hua asked Old Ancestor Dugu about the final forms of the Supreme Void Divine Sense Sword Transformation Art.

• Mo Hua studied the Forest of Yama Water Prison manuscript, recognized its dangerous fusion of soul and Lingli techniques, and stored it away without attempting to learn it.
• Mo Hua learned Water Shadow Phantom Body and sparred with Situ Jian, where his poor control left him unable to evade or attack effectively.
• Mo Hua continued cultivating as Elder Xun urged him to focus on mastering Array Techniques for Void Gate’s sake amid growing tension among the sects.
• The Evil Infant appeared in Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness, declared that it intended to transform and possess him, then merged into his Life Soul.
• Mo Hua spent the night considering the Evil Infant’s threat, then met Old Ancestor Dugu for their appointment and asked how to cultivate the God-Breaking Style and God-Slaying Style.

Old Ancestor Dugu explained the four styles of Divine Sense Sword and lent Mo Hua a bamboo slip containing the secret God-Slaying technique. Mo Hua studied the sword mark and attempted to temper his soul with the sword, striking the Evil Infant lodged in his Life Soul.

• Old Ancestor Dugu explained how the Sword Transformation, Soul-Startling, God-Breaking, and God-Slaying styles progressed, warning Mo Hua that God-Slaying could damage his soul.
• Mo Hua persuaded Old Ancestor Dugu to lend him the God-Slaying secret manual, though he claimed he only wanted to study it and not practice it.
• Mo Hua examined the bamboo slip and realized its sword mark conveyed an inheritance through visualization.
• Mo Hua decided to try the God-Slaying technique because the Evil Fetus lodged in his Life Soul had to be removed.
• Mo Hua visualized the sword mark and commanded it to slash, sending Sword Intent into his Sea of Consciousness toward his Life Soul.
• The Evil Infant appeared through Mo Hua's face, shrieked at him, and warned that he would die.

Mo Hua injured his Life Soul while using the God-Slaying Sword against the Evil Fetus, then devised a plan to train with one slash a day and harvest Divine Marrow from it. As he continued cultivating, sects across Ganxue Prefecture struggled with the fallout of the Rouge Boat scandal, and the Dao Discussion Assembly finally began.

• Mo Hua forced the Evil Infant to emerge by slashing his own Life Soul, but the Evil Infant escaped his grasp by shedding Black Water and returning to Fu Shi.
• Mo Hua used the Dao Stele’s Tribulation Lightning to purge the shed Black Water and discovered it yielded exceptionally pure Divine Marrow, so he resolved to practice the God-Slaying Sword with one slash each day.
• Old Ancestor Dugu taught Mo Hua sword techniques and warned him not to overexert himself, while Mo Hua concealed his soul injuries and continued practicing.
• The Ta'a Gate elders failed to suppress the Rouge Boat scandal and prepared substitute disciples for the Dao Discussion Assembly, while Old Ancestor Chongxu likewise accepted that Chongxu Gate would have to rely on its replacements.
• Mo Hua quietly cultivated for more than six months as turmoil spread among the sects, until the Ganxue Prefecture Dao Discussion Assembly began.

Elder Zheng resigned from the Qiandao Sect after Elder Shen refused to punish disciples involved with the Rouge Boat, while the sect pushed through a restructuring plan tied to the Dao Discussion Assembly. At the Void Gate, Elder Xun saw Mo Hua complete an exceptionally difficult array examination flawlessly and believed the sect’s fortunes had reached a turning point.

• Elder Zheng confronted Elder Shen over the Rouge Boat and demanded that the offending Qiandao Sect disciples be stripped of their cultivation and expelled, but Elder Shen refused, citing the upcoming Sword Discussion Assembly and the Old Ancestor’s approval.
• Elder Zheng resigned and refused to hand the Zheng Family’s Eight Trigrams Thunder Array to the Qiandao Sect, while the Brocade-Robed Old Man told Elder Shen not to force him to stay or create further trouble.
• Elder Shen presented the Qiandao Sect’s restructuring proposal at the Qianxue Pavilion, including moving the Sword Discussion Assembly earlier, loosening its quotas, and determining sect rankings through three sessions of the Dao Discussion Assembly.
• The gathered sects almost unanimously approved the proposal, and the sect restructuring officially began.
• Mo Hua completed Elder Xun’s timed examination of difficult second-grade arrays with flawless precision, leading Elder Xun to see hope for the Void Gate.

As Void Gate faced the threat of losing its standing in Ganxue Prefecture, Elder Xun quietly prepared to enter the Array Discussion while Mo Hua stayed out of the Sword Discussion and focused on formations. Void Gate placed seventh after the Sword Discussion, and Elder Xun waited for the Array Discussion to reveal the treasured sword he had forged.

• The Void Gate Sect Master told Elder Xun that the Four Great Sects had advanced the Sword Discussion Assembly, expanded its quotas, and begun changing sect rankings, while Elder Xun reserved a slot for the Array Discussion.
• Mo Hua asked to join the Sword Discussion, but Elder Xun warned him that his limited Lingli and exposed trump cards made repeated public matches too risky, so Mo Hua returned to practicing formations.
• The Sword Discussion Assembly ended with Ta'a Gate and Chongxu Gate suffering crushing defeats, while Void Gate secured seventh place among the Eight Great Sects through Murong Caiyun and the other disciples’ determined efforts.
• The Void Gate Sect Master and Elder Xun discussed rewarding the exhausted disciples, while Elder Xun remained composed and secretly anticipated revealing his treasured sword.
• Two days later, the Array Discussion Assembly began, bringing the Dao Discussion Assembly close to its conclusion.

Mo Hua declined Wenren Wan’s invitation to watch the Array Discussion Assembly because Elder Xun had told him to participate. In Void City, he met Zheng Fang’s Grand-Uncle, Elder Zheng, and learned about Primal Magnetism Arrays before Elder Zheng departed for his clan.

• Wenren Wan gave Mo Hua an invitation to observe the Assembly, but Mo Hua told her he might compete, prompting her to decide to attend and support him.
• Mo Hua visited the Array Pavilion with Zheng Fang, advised him on array supplies, and met Zheng Fang’s Grand-Uncle, Elder Zheng, a fourth-grade Array Master who had resigned from the Qiandao Sect.
• Mo Hua said he would not join the Qiandao Sect, and his remarks about the Dao Heart impressed Elder Zheng, who invited him to tea and offered to teach him an array.
• Mo Hua asked Elder Zheng about Primal Magnetism Arrays, Sub-Thunder Patterns, and Secondary Thunder Current, and Elder Zheng explained the knowledge he could share.
• Elder Zheng declined to attend the Array Discussion Assembly and departed for his clan, while Mo Hua and Zheng Fang returned to Void Gate.

Elder Zheng reconsidered leaving Gan Province and decided to stay until the Array Discussion Assembly was over. The array elders finalized the examination questions, and Mo Hua entered Dao Discussion Mountain to compete in the assembly.

• Elder Zheng halted at Cloud Ferry Port and chose to remain in Gan Province to watch the Array Discussion Assembly.
• Master Wen and the array elders debated the examination and sealed the final questions, including a formidable Capping array.
• Mo Hua asked Elder Xun for advice, and Elder Xun told him to keep drawing arrays until the end.
• Mo Hua went alone to Dao Discussion Mountain with Elder Xun's Jade Slip and passed the entrance inspection despite the elder's surprise.
• After the participating disciples entered the Dao Field, the gates opened to the spectators and sect representatives.