Chapter Summaries

Chen Luo awakened a memory of Third Brother Grudge forging a saber with his hatred, then left the Emperor Tomb and began his Void Return Heavenly Tribulation in another world. There, he crossed paths with Su Dacai as the Flower-Backed Turtle and his companions fled pursuers from the new Demon Emperor’s forces.

• Chen Luo watched Grudge forge a mundane saber until it gained spirituality and unleashed the Slaughter Dao’s Seven Kill Saber, awakening a memory absent from Grudge’s brain fragments.
• Chen Luo left the Emperor Tomb with three hundred Immortal Emperor Changqing brains and entered another world through a fissure at the Dragon Tomb to face his tribulation.
• Chen Luo released his concealed tribulation qi, and the Void Return Heavenly Tribulation gathered as he prepared his formation flags, talismans, puppets, and insects.
• Su Dacai emerged from an abandoned ruin carrying funerary objects just as the Clam Girl and Flower-Backed Turtle’s flying mount streaked toward him.
• The Flower-Backed Turtle, Clam Girl, Yuwen Ling, Ding Jian, the Flood Dragon Saint, and the Little Sophora Tree fled the new Demon Emperor’s forces, with Venerable Snake leading their pursuers.

Flower-Backed Turtle's group fled Snake Saint's pursuit and changed course toward a thunder-struck lake after Su Dacai offered it as a possible escape route. Meanwhile, Chen Luo survived his Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation and entered an Inner Demon Tribulation where an Elegant Man explained that he could choose among seven tribulations.

• Flower-Backed Turtle grabbed Su Dacai as the group endured Black Bird Demon Emperor's icy attack, and Su Dacai revealed a lake where thunderclouds had killed Yellow Sand Ancestor.
• Flower-Backed Turtle and Clam Girl persuaded the exhausted group to head for the lake, and Flood Dragon Saint reluctantly agreed despite preferring their original plan to reach the World Barrier.
• Snake Saint noticed the group had changed direction and led his people after them, still coveting Flower-Backed Turtle's fate-linked abilities.
• Chen Luo endured the Ninth Thunder Tribulation, stabilized his Early Void Return realm, and entered an unfamiliar courtyard during his Inner Demon Tribulation.
• The Elegant Man told Chen Luo that tribulations arose from within and offered him a choice among seven Heart Tribulations.

Chen Luo chose the hatred tribulation and began a chess-like trial, following Chen Hen’s life after the Chen Family was destroyed and he was left gravely injured. Chen Yuan continued to protect her younger brother as they traveled through the Northern Yue Kingdom, while the Elegant Man made a second move in the trial.

• Chen Luo chose the hatred tribulation, and the Elegant Man began the trial by writing “hatred” and placing a chess piece.
• Chen Hen awoke in a carriage with Chen Yuan after being struck by Black Heart Elder’s Heart Devouring Palm during the attack that forced them to flee the Chen Family.
• Chen Hen learned that Ma Kun had framed their father, Chen Zhenghe, for stealing the Demon Sarira and the Demon Sect Sacred Scripture, bringing the Demon Sect’s wrath upon their family.
• Chen Yuan told Chen Hen that they were in the Northern Yue Kingdom and that Zhao Kun had returned home, then continued driving the carriage herself.
• The Elegant Man placed a second black chess piece after another wisp of Hate Desire left Chen Luo, beginning the move called “Hatred That Would Not Fade.”

After their family’s downfall, Chen Hen and Chen Yuan struggled to survive in Northern Yue Kingdom, where Chen Hen remained crippled and his sister supported them through dangerous work. Chen Yuan joined the Yellow River Gang, and Chen Hen learned the gang served the rebel Yellow River Sect as its leader ordered a brutal attack.

• Chen Hen discovered that Zhao Kun had taken the siblings’ silver and inherited manuals, and realized how much Chen Yuan had endured while caring for him.
• A blood-red meteor intensified Chen Hen’s hatred, while a white meteor entered his mind and gave him a second voice urging him to calm his spirit and strengthen his foundation.
• Chen Yuan refused a black-clothed fat man’s offer at her vegetable stall, but later accepted the Yellow River Gang’s help after a fire destroyed Chen Hen’s medicine.
• Chen Yuan joined the Yellow River Gang and learned it was a rebel force subordinate to the Yellow River Sect.
• Cheng Xiong ordered the Yaksa Emissary to kill Old Man Luo, the Northern River Martial Official, and his entire family.

Three years after joining the Yellow River Gang, Chen Hen and Chen Yuan were sent by Cheng Xiong into the devastated Yu Kingdom to help the sect establish a foothold. In Sand City, Cheng Xiong used their family’s reputation to found the Chen Dao Sect and forced Chen Yuan to secure food from the remaining townspeople, while Chen Hen’s hatred deepened.

• Over three years, Chen Hen passed the Yellow River Gang’s traditional physician examination with help from the consciousnesses in his mind, while Chen Yuan advanced within the gang.
• Cheng Xiong gave Chen Hen and Chen Yuan Yellow River Sect identity tokens and ordered them to travel south with him in three days.
• Cheng Xiong’s party crossed into the ravaged Yu Kingdom and reached Sand City, where bandits had left the city near-empty and its provisions were running out.
• Cheng Xiong decided to establish a sect in the Yu Kingdom, using the Chen family’s former reputation and naming it the Chen Dao Sect after learning Chen Yuan’s father had excelled at saber techniques.
• Cheng Xiong ordered Chen Yuan to obtain food from Sand City’s remaining commoners, and she complied because he could use Chen Hen to control her.
• Several days later, Cheng Xiong’s group had established a foothold in Sand City and recruited fighters under the name of Southwest Great Hero Chen Zhenghe, while more bodies were secretly buried.

Cheng Xiong turned the Chen Dao Sect into a vast northern power through false promises of divine martial arts, but the sect collapsed after he was killed and Chen Yuan escaped with Chen Hen. The siblings found shelter at an abandoned post station, where they noticed members of the southern Buried Sword Dao traveling in the north.

• Cheng Xiong expanded the Chen Dao Sect by recruiting bandits and promising disciples divine martial arts, while Chen Yuan resolved to escape with Chen Hen.
• The Chen Dao Sect grew to dominate the north, but Cheng Xiong ordered an attack on the Prefecture City as the Yu Kingdom fell into chaos.
• Cheng Xiong died mysteriously, Chen Yuan disappeared, and the Chen Dao Sect disintegrated after its divine martial arts claims were exposed.
• Chen Yuan carried Chen Hen out through the fighting at Yellow Sand Ridge, while Chen Hen used poison to help them escape.
• The siblings took shelter from heavy rain at an abandoned post station, where Chen Yuan recognized a group of travelers as Buried Sword Dao disciples and warned Chen Hen to be careful.

Chen Hen’s life was shaped by his sister Chen Yuan’s sacrifices, and after she died neglected by Emperor Fang Tianchou, his buried hatred awakened and he broke through. At Cloud Top, Chen Luo answered the Elegant Man’s claim that Chen Hen had failed his Inner Demon Tribulation by placing his final chess piece and declaring that Chen Hen could dispel his hatred.

• Chen Yuan left Fang Tianchou to seek a cure for Chen Hen, later returned with the antidote, and married Fang Tianchou after killing Black Heart Elder.
• Fang Tianchou proclaimed himself king after King Han’s death, founded Yong Kingdom, unified the realm, and became emperor, while Chen Yuan became Empress.
• Fang Tianchou spared the Demonic Sect leader and granted him an official post, but learned that the Three Corpse Poison afflicting Chen Yuan had no cure.
• Six years later, Chen Hen found Chen Yuan dying in the neglected palace and learned that she had taken the poison to save him.
• After Chen Yuan died, Chen Hen’s hatred for Fang Tianchou and the others surged, and he broke through before leaving the palace alone.
• The Elegant Man said Chen Hen’s entanglement in hatred meant Chen Luo had failed, but Chen Luo set down his final chess piece and said to let Chen Hen dispel it.

Chen Luo used the Heavenly Tribulation to relive Chen Hen’s vengeance, then absorbed and purified the hatred before refining it into a saber. The Elegant Man watched the tribulation end as the black clouds dispersed.

• Chen Hen entered the palace and killed Ma Kun, then slaughtered the Demonic Sect’s leader, sect masters, officials, and the new imperial consort as he sought revenge.
• Chen Hen spared Fang Tianchou but stabbed him for his debt to Chen Yuan, then flew away and killed Zhao Kun at Zhao Family Fortress.
• Chen Hen’s remaining enemies were eliminated, and after severing his hatred, he remembered the Heavenly Tribulation as his body and world faded.
• The Elegant Man questioned Chen Luo’s choice to draw hatred into himself, but Chen Luo reversed its flow, purified himself, and fused the tribulation’s hatred into an ordinary saber.
• The Elegant Man dispersed the scenery and left as the Tribulation Qi faded and the black cloud covering the region dissipated.

Chen Luo sent a puppet made from stone into the tribulation zone, where it emerged amid the battle between the Snake Saint's forces and the Flower-Backed Turtle's group. After the puppet killed the Black Leopard Clan Leader, its silent cry of “Hate” stirred a powerful desire in everyone nearby.

• The Flower-Backed Turtle led the clam shell toward a black-cloud tribulation zone, while the Snake Saint's pursuers tracked them and closed in.
• The Snake Saint and his allies surrounded the fleeing group and attacked, overwhelming the wounded Flood Dragon Saint, the Little Sophora Tree, the Flower-Backed Turtle, and the Clam Girl.
• Chen Luo made a stone puppet using Second Brother's Grudge's brain and sent it out to investigate the newcomers.
• The puppet emerged from the formation, and the Flower-Backed Turtle recognized it as connected to his eldest brother.
• The Black Leopard Clan Leader struck the puppet without harming it, and the puppet appeared behind him and cut off his head with a blood-colored saber.
• The puppet released a soundless cry of “Hate” that stirred an intense desire in everyone present.

Chen Luo's Stone Puppets trapped the Demon Race leaders and used Blood-Colored Long Sabers to drive them into murderous madness before defeating the Snake Saint. The survivors recognized the Puppet's connection to Chen Luo and were ordered to go with him.

• Su Dacai and the Bat Spirit fought as the Blood-Colored Long Saber filled the area with hatred.
• The Puppet expanded its formation to trap the Demon Race leaders, and the Snake Saint attacked it with his incarnations.
• The Snake Saint destroyed the first Stone Puppet, but two more appeared and pinned him down.
• The Blood-Colored Long Sabers drove the Snake Saint back into madness, and the Puppet crushed him after he drew a Black Feather.
• The surviving cultivators recognized Chen Luo's connection to the Puppets, and the Puppet told them to come with it.

After advancing to Mid Void Return, Chen Luo learned that Su Dacai was a descendant of Su Xin'er and gave him supplies and a Qionghua Sect token. He heard how Venerable Black Bird had taken control of the Demon Race, dismissed the refugees who sought his help, and assigned two newly enlightened demons to the Flower-Backed Turtle.

• Chen Luo reached Mid Void Return after surviving the Heavenly Tribulation and healed Su Dacai, who revealed that he was Su Xin'er's grandson.
• Chen Luo gave Su Dacai cultivation supplies and a Qionghua Sect token, explaining that he had been an old acquaintance of Su Xin'er.
• The Flower-Backed Turtle told Chen Luo that Ding Jian and Yuwen Ling were missing, and the Little Sophora Tree described Venerable Black Bird's takeover of the Demon Race.
• Chen Luo recognized the disguised Zhu Chungang and Old Demon Skin Painter among the new Demon Emperors but declined to get involved in the conflict.
• Chen Luo sent the Flood Dragon Saint and the Little Sophora Tree away, then enlightened a toad and Black Egg and assigned them to the Flower-Backed Turtle.

After returning to Qionghua Sect, Chen Luo uncovered an Upper Realm plot targeting the sect and prepared to aid Gu He. Leaving Xiong Linshan in charge and promising Ao Ye he would take him to the Upper Realm next time, Chen Luo broke into the passage with his newly attained Void Return strength.

• Chen Luo learned that Gu He had taken Mu Xiao Yu to the Upper Realm two months earlier, then spent several months consolidating his cultivation and insights into a body-focused Void Return Path.
• A disguised attacker posing as Ao Ye delivered a broken message sword and exploded, but Chen Luo reassembled him, searched his memories, and killed him before adding his remnant soul to the Soul Banner.
• Chen Luo found the real Ao Ye bound in the Spirit Beast Room and left him there, after which a rumor that Ao Ye desired handsome Spirit Beasts spread through the sect and the Southern Sky Region.
• Chen Luo appointed Xiong Linshan to manage Qionghua Sect and gave him a replacement Dharma Sword, while Ao Ye begged to accompany him to the Upper Realm.
• Chen Luo promised Ao Ye he would take him next time, then broke through the Dragon Tomb passage to confront the threat against Qionghua Sect in the Upper Realm.

The Three Ancestors of Myriad Stars used the damaged 'Dao' and a curse to ambush Chen Luo, hoping to recover the stolen Immortal Artifact hammer. Chen Luo survived through a stone-man avatar and protection marks, but the second curse struck another mark as the three realized he was backed by powerful forces.

• Immortal Venerable Haori, Moon Venerable, and Star Venerable sacrificed the 'Dao' to empower a curse on a straw man and waited for Chen Luo.
• The first Soul Separation Curse destroyed Chen Luo's apparent body, but Haori found no soul and the corpse turned into stones.
• Chen Luo revealed himself unharmed and explained that Stone Spirit Ancestor's mark had let him use a stone-man avatar to survive the curse.
• Haori triggered a second curse, which broke Ancestor Gui's mark on Chen Luo.
• The Three Ancestors of Myriad Stars saw Chen Luo's second protection mark and feared that an Immortal Clan stood behind him.

Moon Venerable, Star Venerable, and Immortal Venerable Haori tried to kill Chen Luo and seize his Immortal Artifact, but his hidden powers let him withstand their attacks. The Three Ancestors launched another combined assault, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Stone Spirit Ancestor traced a curse back through its passage, but Moon Venerable and Star Venerable destroyed his reaching arm and severed the connection.
• Immortal Venerable Haori demanded Chen Luo's Immortal Artifact, and Chen Luo refused before summoning a Soul Banner.
• Immortal Venerable Haori burned the straw man, expending Venerable Black Bird's mark on Chen Luo, but Chen Luo survived.
• Venerable Black Bird detected a curse aimed at him and sent a feather through a passage in retaliation.
• Chen Luo blocked the Three Ancestors of Myriad Stars' combined attack, sending them flying and revealing strength beyond their expectations.
• Immortal Venerable Haori, Moon Venerable, and Star Venerable attacked Chen Luo again with a thundercloud empowered by Heaven and Earth Vital Qi and the Legendary Realm.

Chen Luo defeated the Sun, Moon, and Stars Venerables after they joined forces, then looted and disposed of them. He crossed into Qionghua Sect territory, where a silver flying sword suddenly attacked him.

• The Sun, Moon, and Stars Venerables combined their powers against Chen Luo, but he summoned Stone Man Puppets and used their lightning to temper Mortal Iron.
• The three Venerables unleashed a powerful Thunder Dragon, and Chen Luo answered with his Slaughter Seal, sending them crashing through the mountains.
• Chen Luo stripped the defeated Venerables of their belongings, killed them, searched their brains, and burned their corpses.
• Chen Luo left the ruined valley and crossed into Qionghua Sect territory, wondering which of its seven branches ruled the realm.
• A silver flying sword shot toward Chen Luo's glabella, and someone called him a Supreme Void Sect demon.

Chen Luo overwhelmed the Great Profound Sword Sect’s cultivators and announced that its sect master, Zhang Taixuan, should meet him. Zhang Taixuan and Zi Tianji weighed the threat while waiting to see how Gu He fared, and Mu Xiao Yu continued advancing her cultivation in the Upper Realm.

• Chen Luo defeated the Great Profound Sword Sect’s ambushers, identified their sect, and ordered Zhang Taixuan to come see him.
• Zhang Taixuan and Zi Tianji discussed Chen Luo’s strength and decided to wait three days to see what happened to Gu He before meeting him.
• Zhang Taixuan and Zi Tianji considered the Supreme Void Sword Sect’s growing strength and the importance of reclaiming the Dao.
• Mu Xiao Yu completed a cultivation breakthrough in the Supreme Void Sword Sect’s secret chamber, while Bai Lingling congratulated her.

Mu Xiao Yu worried that Chen Luo would learn she had gone to the Upper Realm, while Bai Lingling arranged supplies for the Supreme Abyss Sword Sect as the sword sects’ crisis deepened. After his invitations went unanswered, Chen Luo prepared to use the Stone Mother Empress’s power to force the sects to pay attention.

• Mu Xiao Yu recalled Chen Luo’s warning against going to the Upper Realm, and Bai Lingling told her that each cultivator had to walk their own path.
• Bai Lingling received a request for healing pills and formation-breaking Talisman Treasures from the Supreme Abyss Sword Sect and sent Wan Gui to deliver supplies.
• The sect masters of the Supreme Abyss Sword Sect, Supreme Spirit Sword Sect, and Supreme Hao Sword Sect dismissed Chen Luo’s invitation and discussed their resistance to the returning ancestors.
• Chen Luo’s message paper crane was destroyed by Sword Qi inside the Supreme Element Sword Sect, and the sect’s reclusive sword cultivator remained silent.
• After waiting three days without a response from Zhang Taixuan, the other sect masters, or Gu He, Chen Luo withdrew his Grand Void Sword and summoned the aura of the Stone Mother Empress.

Chen Luo rode a Stone Spirit to the Grand Profound Sword Sect, smashed its protective formation and buildings, and took spiritual treasures without killing those who did not oppose him. As he headed toward the Tai Qing Sword Sect, Zhang Taixuan judged that fighting him was futile and wondered whether they should surrender.

• Chen Luo transformed a mountain into a Stone Spirit and rode it toward the Grand Profound Sword Sect.
• The Stone Spirit broke the Grand Profound Sword Sect’s protective formation, crushed the mountain gate, and killed the Sword Cultivators who attacked it.
• Chen Luo destroyed the sect’s main hall and other buildings, collected spiritual items, and sent a paper crane toward the Tai Qing Sword Sect.
• Zhang Taixuan learned that Chen Luo had destroyed the Grand Profound Sword Sect and was heading for the Tai Qing Sword Sect.
• Zhang Taixuan and Zi Tianji sensed Chen Luo’s approach, and Zhang Taixuan concluded that confronting him would mean certain death.
• Zhang Taixuan wondered whether they should surrender.

Chen Luo’s Stone Man attacked the Tai Qing Sword Sect, and Zhang Taixuan and Zi Tianji tried to surrender rather than fight. Chen Luo killed Zhang Taixuan anyway and captured his divine soul, leaving the sect’s fate uncertain.

• Zhang Taixuan decided to surrender to Chen Luo, and Zi Tianji agreed when the Stone Man approached the Tai Qing Sword Sect.
• Zi Tianji sent Elder Zuo to negotiate, but the Stone Man crushed him against the sect’s formation.
• Zhang Taixuan went outside with the Great Profound Sword, but the Stone Man struck him down and damaged the Tai Qing Sword Sect’s formation.
• Zhang Taixuan pleaded to surrender and offered to serve Chen Luo, but Chen Luo struck him again, destroying his body.
• Chen Luo summoned the Soul Banner to capture Zhang Taixuan’s divine soul and explained that he had attacked because he distrusted Zhang Taixuan’s intentions.

Chen Luo destroyed the Tai Qing Sword Sect and subdued Zi Tianji, then crushed the Supreme Spirit Sword Sect and Supreme Hao Sword Sect. He recovered a Sword Soul Stone and learned that Valley Master Wusheng had taken it, along with Qionghua Sect’s Dao and Fundamental Diagram, three thousand years earlier.

• Chen Luo’s Stone Spirit smashed the Tai Qing Sword Sect, and his Gu insects killed several fleeing elders while the Soul Parasite Gu forced Zi Tianji to return.
• Zi Tianji surrendered and agreed to lead Chen Luo to the Supreme Spirit Sword Sect and Supreme Hao Sword Sect.
• Several days later, Chen Luo crushed both sects and gained two more followers.
• Chen Luo found a stone strip that Zi Tianji identified as the Sword Soul Stone, a treasure containing the Sword Souls of Qionghua Sect’s seven patriarchs.
• Zi Tianji explained that Valley Master Wusheng had taken the Sword Soul Stone and Qionghua Sect’s Dao and Fundamental Diagram three thousand years earlier.