Chapter Summaries

Xu Xiaoshou repaired the Heavenly Secrets Spirit Markings on Xu Xiaoji’s sword body and entered the Heavenly Pivot Mechanism Plate’s inner space. He found Mu Zixi floating in a cloud of life energy, apparently overwhelmed by it, and realized the World Source Point was missing.

• Xu Xiaoshou used Weaving to complete the spirit markings on Xu Xiaoji’s sword, opening an unstable light-screen passage.
• Xu Xiaoshou entered the light screen and ordered A-Jie to hold down the Chicken Sword, leaving Xu Xiaoji trapped outside and screaming.
• Xu Xiaoshou explored the small, unstable inner space and found Mu Zixi alive and floating in dense life energy.
• Xu Xiaoshou noticed Mu Zixi’s strange, trembling condition and suspected she had absorbed a great amount of life force.
• Xu Xiaoshou realized the World Source Point was nowhere to be seen and suspected it might be connected to Mu Zixi.

Xu Xiaoshou discovered that Mu Zixi had devoured the World Source Point and hurried to escape with her as the teleportation light curtain destabilized. The source point’s power rejected Xu Xiaoshou, while a strange black-and-white light briefly appeared in Mu Zixi’s eyes before they headed toward the exit.

• Xu Xiaoshou found Mu Zixi unconscious after she devoured the World Source Point and woke her by pinching her cheeks.
• Mu Zixi recalled swallowing the source point and its seal, and Xu Xiaoshou told her to claim she knew nothing about it.
• Xu Xiaoshou tried to take Mu Zixi’s hand, but an unseen force hurled him away near a rift in the void.
• Xu Xiaoshou suspected the source point was rejecting the Heavenly Pivot Mechanism Plate or the Yousi Sword and rushed toward the unstable teleportation light curtain.
• Mu Zixi briefly displayed absolute black and white in her eyes, then followed Xu Xiaoshou through the mist as he warned her to avoid the rifts.

Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi emerged from the Heavenly Secrets Formation into his Origin Mansion after Xu Xiaoji was drained of his strength. Xu Xiaoshou confronted Mu Zixi about her sudden cultivation breakthroughs and hidden secret, then prepared to leave for the Night Banquet.

• Xu Xiaojie passed out after sustaining the Heavenly Secrets Formation, which shut down once Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi emerged.
• Xu Xiaoshou found Xu Xiaoji recovering in the Origin Mansion and asked Mu Zixi where she thought they were.
• Mu Zixi noticed the Life Spirit Seal and discovered that her cultivation had risen to the peak of Ju Wu.
• Xu Xiaoshou questioned Mu Zixi about her rapid breakthroughs and guessed that her former cultivation had been sealed.
• Mu Zixi denied hiding a secret, but Xu Xiaoshou realized she was deceiving him and chose not to press her further.
• Xu Xiaoshou said it was time to leave and noted that the Night Banquet's opening act should be ending soon.

Xu Xiaoshou left the Origin Mansion with Mu Zixi and planned to use the damaged spirit arrays near City Lord's Manor for an explosive trap before going to the banquet. Meanwhile, Xin Gugu waited outside as Fu Xing received a formidable red-robed old man whose arrival left Xin Gugu terrified.

• Xu Xiaoshou called Xin Gugu, learned he had kept Zhang Residence's people occupied, and said he would find Fu Xing before bringing him inside.
• Xu Xiaoshou studied the damaged spirit arrays and decided they could serve as a natural burial ground, while Mu Zixi urged him to hurry to the banquet.
• Xin Gugu failed to enter City Lord's Manor and watched Fu Xing wait at the entrance for an important guest.
• A red-robed old man approached, and Xin Gugu recognized him, suppressed his aura, and became too frightened to move.
• The old man greeted Fu Xing as his nephew and arrived in a single step, startling the guards with his killing intent.

Shouye of the Red Robes sensed suspicious activity at the City Lord's Manor and confronted Xin Gugu, who was hiding nearby with a golden Buddhist staff. Just as Xin Gugu prepared to fight, an unexpected voice called out to Fu Xing.

• Fu Xing welcomed Shouye to the City Lord's Manor, where Shouye said he had brought explosive news and sensed a stench of rats in Tiansang City.
• Xin Gugu, hiding near the manor, recognized Shouye as a Red Robe and feared his presence could expose the Grey Palace of the Xu Moon.
• Shouye appeared before Xin Gugu, questioned his sweating, and asked to inspect his golden Buddhist staff.
• Xin Gugu refused to hand over the staff and prepared to fight Shouye, but a voice behind him called out to Fu Xing and asked why he was outside the banquet hall.

Xu Xiaoshou confronted Red Robe Shouye after the latter sensed Ghost Beast scent on him and suspected he was a host. Xu Xiaoshou revealed that he had fought and sealed a Ghost Beast, leaving Shouye to judge his claim.

• Xu Xiaoshou arrived at the City Lord's Manor entrance and found Shouye confronting Xin Gugu.
• Xu Xiaoshou claimed Xin Gugu was his friend and introduced himself to Shouye, who said he smelled Ghost Beast scent on him.
• Fu Xing tried to defend Xu Xiaoshou, but Shouye insisted that his nose and eyes were trustworthy.
• Xu Xiaoshou admitted he carried Ghost Beast scent and pointed out that he could smell it on Shouye too.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained that he had encountered and fought a Ghost Beast, then sealed it.

Xu Xiaoshou convinced Shouye that he had encountered the Gray Mist Man by naming its sealing power and revealing his Master Physique. Shouye became eager to hear more and recognized Xu Xiaoshou as a promising talent, but Xu Xiaoshou’s joke about being felt up left the group stunned.

• Shouye challenged Xu Xiaoshou to describe the Ghost Beast he claimed to have fought, while Xin Gugu worried that Xu Xiaoshou had gone too far.
• Xu Xiaoshou identified the Ghost Beast as the Gray Mist Man and its power as sealing, astonishing Xin Gugu, Fu Xing, and Shouye.
• Shouye recalled the White Cavern disaster and began to believe Xu Xiaoshou’s claims after sensing the Ghost Beast aura on him.
• Xu Xiaoshou postponed telling the full story until the banquet, and Shouye laughed and slapped his shoulder to test him.
• Shouye discovered that Xu Xiaoshou had a Master Physique, but Xu Xiaoshou told him to stop feeling him up, freezing the scene.

Xu Xiaoshou withheld details about Gray Mist Man from Shouye and brought Xin Gugu into the banquet hall, where his entrance drew widespread attention. The guests mistook Shouye, who wore red, for the person Fu Xing had gone to receive, leaving Xu Xiaoshou's identity as a Red Robes member unrecognized.

• Xu Xiaoshou refused to tell Shouye more about Gray Mist Man and agreed to discuss it after the banquet.
• Shouye allowed Xin Gugu to pass after Xu Xiaoshou described him as a bodyguard and sparring partner.
• Fu Xing led Xu Xiaoshou into the crowded banquet hall, where the guests wondered why he had been received personally.
• Xu Xiaoshou gained Passive Value from the crowd's doubt and spotted Zhang Taiying, Fu Yinhong, Qu Qing'er, Mu Zixi, and the three swordsmen.
• Shouye shoved Xu Xiaoshou when he blocked the entrance, then blasted him into the air with spiritual essence.
• The guests saw Shouye in red and assumed he was the Red Robes member Fu Xing had gone to receive.

Fu Xing announced that Tiansang Commandery had only one hundred White Cavern slots, intensifying the competition among the gathered factions. As other families mocked the weakened Su Family and challenged Su Qianqian’s place, Xu Xiaoshou worried that she would be overwhelmed by the hostile crowd.

• Fu Xing warned that the Yousi Sword had made the coming White Cavern expedition far more dangerous and announced that Tiansang Commandery had received one hundred slots.
• Fu Xing said the four great families of Tiansang City and the City Lord’s Manor would claim twenty-five slots among them.
• Guests derided the Su Family’s decline and questioned whether Su Qianqian could still secure a place in the White Cavern.
• A representative of the Cao Family introduced Cao Yue, boasting of his sword intent and impending breakthrough to the Master realm.
• Shouye of the Red Robes watched Su Qianqian sit silently at the main table as Xu Xiaoshou worried she could not withstand the challenges ahead.

Fu Xing announced the White Cavern competition’s spot allocations, including a new Spirit Array category, and Shouye revealed that the Yousi Sword was about to emerge and the White Cavern would open for the last time. He called for spirit array masters and Heavenly Secrets Art practitioners to help prepare for its dangerous, unstable rules.

• Fu Xing announced that twenty-five spots would be decided through the Way of Spirit, twenty through the Sword Way, fifteen through Alchemy, and fifteen through the Array Way.
• Several elders objected to the new Array Way category and argued over whether its spots should go to sword cultivators or alchemists.
• Shouye confirmed that he had added the Array Way competition and explained that the missing World Source Point made this the White Cavern’s final opening.
• Shouye confirmed that the Yousi Sword was verified and about to emerge, silencing the crowd with a cold warning before continuing.
• Shouye described the White Cavern’s fragmented, deadly rules and summoned spirit array masters and Heavenly Secrets Art practitioners to help prepare for its opening.

At the banquet before the arena matches, Xu Xiaoshou provoked Qiu Dejian into attacking him and used the resulting chaos to gain attention and Passive Value. Fu Xing expelled Qiu Dejian and Third Elder Qiu from City Lord’s Manor, leaving the banquet focused on Xu Xiaoshou.

• Mu Zixi asked Xu Xiaoshou about the World Source Point she had swallowed, and he reassured her that no one would believe what it was.
• Xu Xiaoshou sat beside Mu Zixi and drove away her suitors by openly pretending to court her.
• Xu Xiaoshou provoked Qiu Dejian, an Innate Sword Intent, until Qiu Dejian punched him from behind.
• Xu Xiaoshou’s counterattack sent Qiu Dejian crashing through the banquet hall and left his right arm badly injured.
• Xu Xiaoshou claimed Qiu Dejian had ambushed him, and Fu Xing permanently banned Qiu Dejian and Third Elder Qiu from City Lord’s Manor.

Xu Xiaoshou entered the White Cavern slot competition and deliberately provoked the crowd, drawing challengers to himself. As he took the first platform, Su Qianqian worried that he was taking on trouble meant for her.

• Su Qianqian recognized Xu Xiaoshou after he drove off the Qiu Family and worried that his intervention would expose him to further attacks.
• Shouye praised Xu Xiaoshou and Su Qianqian as promising talents, then urged Fu Xing to begin the competition.
• Fu Xing announced that spiritual cultivators would compete in king-of-the-hill battles, with a slot awarded to anyone who survived ten challenges.
• Xu Xiaoshou noticed that challengers were calling him out to curry favor with the City Lord's Manor, then mocked them and invited them to line up.
• Xu Xiaoshou chose the first challenger and flew onto Platform Number One as Su Qianqian watched anxiously.

Xu Xiaoshou overwhelmed his opponents at the banquet arena, killing Qu Ming with one punch and revealing Grandmaster sword intent against Xi Yusheng. The Xi Clan head rushed to intervene, then reeled in disbelief when he realized Xu Xiaoshou was a Sword Sect master in the Yuan Ting Realm.

• Xu Xiaoshou told the referee to leave the barrier down and challenged Qu Ming to fight.
• Qu Ming charged with Dark Netherflame, but Xu Xiaoshou punched him across the hall, leaving him gravely injured and absorbing the flames.
• Xu Xiaoshou summoned Xi Yusheng to the arena, where Xi Yusheng unleashed the Xi Clan's Spent Poison Feathers.
• Xu Xiaoshou dodged every poisonous feather and used his Grandmaster sword intent to take control of them.
• Xu Xiaoshou declared he would finish Xi Yusheng with one sword, prompting the Xi Clan head to rush in and discover Xu Xiaoshou was a Sword Sect master at the Yuan Ting Realm.

Xu Xiaoshou defeated Xi Yusheng, then provoked the gathered young fighters into challenging him for the White Cavern slots. When no one dared step forward, he destroyed the two vacant platforms and urged them to fight him.

• Xu Xiaoshou used his sword control to strike Xi Yusheng after the referee had stopped the initial attack, leaving Xi Yusheng bloodied and proving his Grandmaster Sword Will was real.
• Xu Xiaoshou argued with the referee that Xi Yusheng had intended to kill him, then took the third platform and challenged Cui Shang to land a single punch.
• Xu Xiaoshou dragged Cheng Qiuhua onto another platform and challenged him, then mocked the young fighters from other cities for their cowardice.
• Shouye praised Xu Xiaoshou and claimed him as a successor, while Fu Xing offered Xu Xiaoshou five White Cavern slots if no one challenged him within one incense stick.
• When the crowd still hesitated, Xu Xiaoshou blasted the two vacant platforms apart and called on the young fighters to challenge him.

Xu Xiaoshou defeated Meng Xin with his speed and compressed fire seeds, revealing his formidable spiritual techniques as well as his Sword Intent and physical strength. After Zhang Taiying recognized him as the person who had deceived him at the Zhang Residence, Xu Xiaoshou invited the remaining challengers to fight, promising that he would not kill them.

• Xu Xiaoshou provoked the gathered young cultivators, and Meng Xin challenged him while asking that he obey the rules of spiritual combat.
• Xu Xiaoshou used compressed fire seeds and overwhelming speed to evade Meng Xin's sword attacks and appear behind him.
• Xu Xiaoshou pierced Meng Xin's chest with the fire seeds, then sent them into Meng Xin's ultimate attack to prove he had deliberately spared him.
• Meng Xin admitted defeat, while the watching crowd reacted with fear and admiration at Xu Xiaoshou's strength.
• Zhang Taiying recognized Xu Xiaoshou as the man who had posed as a powerful expert at the Zhang Residence and angrily accused him of deception.
• Xu Xiaoshou invited the others to challenge him, claiming he was mild by nature and would not kill them.

Xu Xiaoshou dominated the White Cavern slot challenge, provoked Zhang Taiying, and secretly prepared an ambush in the City Lord's Manor. The chapter ended with Xu Xiaoshou calling A-Jie and the recovered Xu Xiaoji to help carry out his plan against Zhang Taiying.

• Xu Xiaoshou defeated his challengers, claimed five White Cavern slots, and taunted the crowd to harvest Passive Value.
• Xu Xiaoshou introduced himself to Zhang Taiying and admitted he had killed Zhang Taiying's son, but Fu Xing stopped Zhang Taiying from attacking him.
• Xu Xiaoshou returned to Mu Zixi, then slipped out of the banquet hall to prepare a trap while Fu Xing sent an elder to follow him.
• Xin Gugu met Xu Xiaoshou in the Origin Mansion, where Xu Xiaoshou told him to take A-Jie to the flower sea and ambush Zhang Taiying when signaled.
• Xu Xiaoshou summoned A-Jie and ordered him to pick up the recovered Xu Xiaoji and put him to work.

Xu Xiaoshou learned about the City Lord's Manor's hidden elders from Feng Ma, then was barred from challenging for more White Cavern slots by rules Fu Xing made specifically for him. After the Way of Spirit competition ended, the sword path competition began, and Gu Qingyi urged his junior brothers to challenge Xu Xiaoshou.

• Xu Xiaoshou reunited with Fu Yinhong and Feng Ma, claimed brotherly ties with Fu Zhi and Feng Ma, and told Feng Ma that Fu Zhi had emerged from seclusion.
• Xu Xiaoshou probed Feng Ma about the City Lord's Manor's elders and learned of several powerful old Holy Palace figures, including Qi the Second, Brother Dongfang, Shu Gu, and the Purple-Seal Old Couple.
• Xu Xiaoshou tried to challenge the Way of Spirit victors, but a guard delivered Fu Xing's new rules barring anyone with the 'Unstoppable' badge from challenging, along with Xu Xiaoshou's badge.
• The Way of Spirit competition ended, with Qu Qing'er among the victors, and Fu Xing announced the start of the sword path competition.
• Gu Qing'san proposed that the three brothers claim the sword path slots, while Gu Qingyi told them to challenge Xu Xiaoshou and promised to teach the Great Buddha Slash to whoever cut him down.

Xu Xiaoshou provoked the gathered sword cultivators into challenging him and pressured Fu Xing into offering ten White Cavern slots to anyone who could defeat him. After revealing his unusually spirited sword Hidden Pain, he argued that winning ten rounds while restraining himself deserved the ten slots, and the crowd finally began challenging him.

• Xu Xiaoshou mocked the sword cultivators for hesitating, while Fu Xing ordered him onto the platform and revealed a rule sheet that could force him to compete.
• Xu Xiaoshou burned Fu Xing’s copies of the rule sheet, then agreed to take the platform after Fu Xing privately asked him to help the contest proceed.
• Xu Xiaoshou proposed receiving ten White Cavern slots if he survived ten rounds, and Fu Xing publicly agreed that anyone who defeated him could claim the slots.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew Hidden Pain, astonishing the sword cultivators with its spirituality, while Gu Qingyi judged it a fine sword but not necessarily a future famed sword.
• Xu Xiaoshou claimed his sword was dangerous and that he had to restrain himself, then insisted that winning ten rounds merited ten slots.
• The crowd grew angry at Xu Xiaoshou’s speech and began volunteering to challenge him.

Xu Xiaoshou and Gu Qing'san fought over a White Cavern slot, turning their duel into an exchange about Ancient Sword Arts as they demonstrated their swordsmanship. After Gu Qing'san explained his No-Sword Technique, Xu Xiaoshou grew serious and the two prepared to clash in earnest.

• Gu Qing'san challenged Xu Xiaoshou, and the crowd anticipated a fight between the two swordsmen.
• Gu Qing'san built up his Sword Thought, but Xu Xiaoshou's taunts repeatedly disrupted his momentum before the referee started the match.
• Gu Qing'san used the Void Sword Condensation Technique, and Xu Xiaoshou split and reversed the incoming swords with his own version of Myriad Swords Return to You.
• Gu Qing'san escaped Xu Xiaoshou's Man Is the Sword and explained that his No-Sword Technique let him ignore it, then began teaching Xu Xiaoshou about Ancient Sword Arts.
• Xu Xiaoshou recognized that Gu Qing'er's group practiced the Nine Sword Techniques, then unleashed his sword will and shattered the platform as Fu Xing called for a barrier.
• Gu Qing'san promised to teach Xu Xiaoshou the true Ancient Sword Arts, and Xu Xiaoshou accepted as their sword intent collided inside the barrier.

Xu Xiaoshou fought Gu Qing'san in a fierce Sword Dao duel, suffering a devastating wound before adapting to Gu Qing'san's techniques and redirecting his attacks. After comprehending the principle behind Gu Qing'san's swordlessness, Xu Xiaoshou declared the match over and claimed he could kill him with a look.

• Gu Qing'san summoned the True Eye of Sword Dao and overwhelmed the arena with sword intent, while Xu Xiaoshou's Sword-Draw Form sliced through the barrier but failed to harm the eye.
• Gu Qing'san immobilized Xu Xiaoshou with a three-dimensional sword wave, then blasted him through the arena with No-Sword, Bestow and Dao Pointing.
• Xu Xiaoshou climbed back from beneath the ground and redirected Gu Qing'san's falling sword aura with Leisurely White Clouds Two, impressing the watching sword cultivators.
• Gu Qing'san repeatedly summoned sword auras to study Xu Xiaoshou's swordsmanship, and Xu Xiaoshou countered with a Sword Net Form and a ten-thousand-sword Blackfall Slash.
• Gu Qing'san evaded the Blackfall Slash with subtle movements, allowing Xu Xiaoshou to realize that Gu's swordlessness came from assimilating with sword aura and intent.
• Xu Xiaoshou sheathed Hidden Pain and declared that he should not have drawn his sword against Gu Qing'san, claiming he could kill him with a look.