Chapter Summaries

Xu Xiaoshou comprehended Gu Qing'san's Have-and-Have-Not Sword Flow during their battle, then defeated him with Sword Observation. The Sword Thought continued tearing Gu Qing'san apart after Xu Xiaoshou withdrew the technique, leaving Gu Qingyi trying to save his junior brother.

• The crowd noticed Xu Xiaoshou's wounds rapidly healing and concluded that he had a Master physique, while Zhang Taiying resolved to kill him.
• Xu Xiaoshou realized he could assimilate with sword aura and rushed into Gu Qing'san's Heavenly Dao True Eye to test his understanding.
• Xu Xiaoshou tore the Heavenly Dao True Eye free, assimilated its sword aura, and proved his understanding of Gu Qing'san's sword flow before crushing the aura sword.
• Xu Xiaoshou's Sword Observation caused Sword Thought to form inside Gu Qing'san, whose body began rupturing as Gu Qingyi called for the match to be stopped.
• Xu Xiaoshou withdrew his technique, but the Sword Thought kept ravaging Gu Qing'san; his attempt to restrain it worsened the injury, and Gu Qingyi ordered him to move aside.

Xu Xiaoshou defeated Gu Qing'san, witnessed Gu Qingyi's sealed Evil Sword Yuelian, and earned fifteen White Cavern entry spots before no one dared challenge him. After the swordsmanship competition concluded, Xu Xiaoshou appeared among the alchemists preparing for the next event.

• Gu Qingyi stabbed Gu Qing'san with Evil Sword Yuelian, then cleaved the released Sword Thought apart, while Xu Xiaoshou nearly transformed under the sword's evil aura before Mu Zixi brought him back to his senses.
• Gu Qingyi declined Xu Xiaoshou's challenge, said they would meet at the Burial Sword Tomb, and left with the injured Gu Qing'san; he told Gu Qing'er to stay and compete for White Cavern spots.
• Xu Xiaoshou went unchallenged until the incense burned out, then learned he had earned fifteen spots and watched Gu Qing'er defeat his challengers with a single sword-finger technique.
• Four wielders of Innate Sword Intent claimed the final swordsmanship spots, and Fu Xing announced that the alchemy competition would begin.
• The crowd spotted Xu Xiaoshou among the alchemists and reacted in disbelief.

Xu Xiaoshou joined the alchemy competition, where his tenth-grade badge drew mockery and Shi Ti warned everyone that killing was forbidden. After Xu Xiaoshou rejected his protective barrier as too small and dropped an enormous bathtub onto the ruins beside Long Dan, the startled sixth-grade alchemist asked whether he wanted to fight.

• Xu Xiaoshou joined the alchemists heading to the competition, and Long Dan doubted he could refine pills after seeing his tenth-grade badge.
• Fu Xing announced that the contestants had three attempts, and Shi Ti arrived to judge the competition.
• Xu Xiaoshou discovered his Passive Value had soared, apologized for shouting, and took a place beside Long Dan.
• Shi Ti warned that killing was forbidden, while Xu Xiaoshou assured him the rules were clear and activated his protective barrier.
• Long Dan and two other alchemists revealed sixth-grade badges and set out their pill cauldrons without using their barriers.
• Xu Xiaoshou broke out of his barrier, complained that it was too small for a cauldron, and dropped a huge bathtub beside Long Dan, who asked if Xu Xiaoshou wanted to fight.

Xu Xiaoshou used his unusual flame and bathtub to refine pills while secretly memorizing the three Grade Six alchemists’ formulas. After upgrading Mastery of Culinary Arts to Grandmaster level, he became overwhelmed by its new ability to assess people as food and accidentally set off a chain of cauldron explosions, leaving the other alchemists furious.

• Xu Xiaoshou lit the bathtub with a compressed fire seed, drew the three Grade Six alchemists’ attention, and mocked them for coveting his flame.
• Xu Xiaoshou tossed in medicinal herbs and used his attention to study the three alchemists’ ingredients and pill-refining methods instead of focusing on his own batch.
• Xu Xiaoshou spent Passive Value upgrading Mastery of Culinary Arts to Grandmaster level and staggered as the flood of new knowledge overwhelmed him.
• Xu Xiaoshou recognized rare Grandmaster-grade herbs but began identifying Long Dan and Fu Yinhong as meat, frightening himself with the skill’s culinary instincts.
• Xu Xiaoshou’s pill cauldron exploded, triggering a chain reaction that ruined the pills in nearby cauldrons, including those of Long Dan, Chen Qi, and Li Mingji.
• Xu Xiaoshou apologized for being distracted, and Long Dan demanded that he stop disrupting the alchemy round; Xu Xiaoshou suggested they activate the protective barrier.

Xu Xiaoshou experimented with refining an Extreme Dao Pill using his unconventional cooking and spiritual-array techniques, while Shi Ti tried to keep him from endangering the banquet. His final pill-condensing attempt triggered a blinding blast that engulfed the hall.

• Xu Xiaoshou asked Fu Xing for three sets of Extreme Dao Pill ingredients, prompting Shi Ti to make him refine beside him under supervision.
• Xu Xiaoshou began refining the Extreme Dao Pill, using five fire seeds, precise ingredient timing, and wok-like tossing to balance the medicinal liquid.
• Xu Xiaoshou added ingredients outside the pill formula and argued that meat could belong in pills, but Fu Xing did not bring the requested slices of meat.
• Long Dan, Chen Qi, and Li Mingji lost control of their cauldrons and suffered a chain of explosions after Xu Xiaoshou's distractions.
• Xu Xiaoshou condensed the medicinal power, then panicked as a dazzling white light burst from the cauldron and engulfed the banquet hall.

Xu Xiaoshou’s uncontrolled pill refinement caused a catastrophic explosion at the City Lord’s Manor, injuring the guests and leaving Fu Xing unconscious, before the alchemy competition concluded. As Shouye began a Spirit Array competition over the White Cavern map, Xu Xiaoshou declared himself a spiritual array master and stepped forward.

• Xu Xiaoshou’s furnace exploded, and Shi Ti and Shouye worked together to protect the guests, though the blast destroyed the banquet hall and left Fu Xing unconscious.
• Xu Xiaoshou absorbed a trace of the leaked Emberlight Heavenly Flame, while the furious Shouye tried to punch him and Xu Xiaoshou escaped by calling for Fu Xing.
• The guests rebuilt a makeshift banquet area, and Xu Xiaoshou spoke with Mu Zixi and Su Qianqian while they waited for the alchemy results.
• Long Dan won the alchemy competition, while Chen Qi and Li Mingji failed to refine their pills, and the organizers canceled the pill auction because Fu Xing was still unconscious.
• Shouye announced a Spirit Array competition in which participants would solve a diagram imprinted from an alternate dimension’s rules to earn the remaining White Cavern slots.
• Xu Xiaoshou stood up, claimed he was a spiritual array master, and challenged anyone who doubted him to fight.

Xu Xiaoshou stunned the spirit array masters at the Red Robes gathering by breaking the White Cavern spirit array diagram in a jade slip almost instantly. The chapter ended with Shouye realizing Xu Xiaoshou had mistaken the simple threshold trap for the real diagram and solved the far more complex formation instead.

• Xu Xiaoshou approached Shouye and pressed a jade slip to his forehead, entering its nested threshold array.
• Xu Xiaoshou quickly deciphered the White Cavern spirit array diagram inside the jade slip, while the other spirit array masters remained trapped in the threshold arrays.
• Xu Xiaoshou kicked apart his threshold array after realizing Shouye had been asking about it, not the diagram he had solved.
• Shouye questioned Xu Xiaoshou about the formation, and Xu Xiaoshou described its thirty-six layers and identified the Heavenly Secrets Art.
• Shouye realized Xu Xiaoshou had solved the White Cavern spirit array diagram, while Xu Xiaoshou mocked him for worrying about the easy threshold trap.

Xu Xiaoshou broke the spirit array with one kick, then rejected Shouye’s offer to join the Red Robes while accepting their communication jade stone. As the Way of Spirit competition continued, Xu Xiaoshou warned Su Qianqian that Tiansang City’s families might target her in the final challenge matches, and she resolved to face them.

• Xu Xiaoshou kicked apart the grandmaster spirit array and claimed he understood the White Cavern array diagram.
• Shouye gave Xu Xiaoshou a White Cavern slot and a red communication jade stone, but Xu Xiaoshou refused to be requisitioned by the Red Robes.
• Xu Xiaoshou repeatedly tried to give the jade stone to Mu Zixi, until Shouye warned him to keep it.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked Su Qianqian about the final challenge matches and warned that Tiansang City’s families might attack her to finish the Su Family’s decline.
• Su Qianqian acknowledged the danger and said she was prepared to face a gauntlet of battles.

Xu Xiaoshou left Su Qianqian and Mu Zixi to pursue his plan to kill Zhang Taiying, while Zhang Taiying ordered his allies to target Su Qianqian. Fu Yinhong tried to stop Xu Xiaoshou, but he talked his way past her and continued on with Old Sun following him.

• Xu Xiaoshou reassured Su Qianqian, then told Mu Zixi to stay with her and use unconscious Fu Xing as leverage if trouble arose.
• Xu Xiaoshou signaled Zhang Taiying to follow him outside, and Zhang Taiying ordered an old master to arrange Su Qianqian’s death during the challenge matches.
• Fu Yinhong intercepted Xu Xiaoshou and questioned why he was leaving, while he secretly assessed the old master accompanying her.
• Xu Xiaoshou claimed he was going to kill a Throne and led Fu Yinhong into a flustered argument before leaving her behind.
• Fu Yinhong ordered Old Sun to follow Xu Xiaoshou closely, then worried that something major might happen that night.

Xu Xiaoshou prepared the Flower Sea’s spiritual arrays for an ambush and gathered Xin Gugu, A-Jie, and Xu Xiaoji to kill Zhang Taiying. The ambush began when Zhang Taiying arrived, but he entered the formation without triggering it, leaving Xu Xiaoshou to improvise.

• Xu Xiaoshou knocked out Sun Tang, buried him in a shallow pit, and continued toward the Flower Sea.
• Xin Gugu led Xu Xiaoji and A-Jie through the Flower Sea’s dangerous spiritual arrays and revealed that they were waiting to ambush Zhang Taiying.
• Xu Xiaoshou arrived and reassured Xin Gugu that the arrays were ready, though he kept his instructions vague.
• A-Jie rushed toward Xu Xiaoshou, who stopped him in a pose that concealed him from Zhang Taiying.
• Zhang Taiying entered the Flower Sea and confronted Xu Xiaoshou, but he avoided the concealed arrays and remained unharmed.

Xu Xiaoshou and Xin Gugu ambushed Zhang Taiying in the Flower Sea, where Xu Xiaoshou revealed that the apparent spiritual formations concealed a thousand compressed fireseeds and A-Jie. The chapter ended as Xu Xiaoshou launched 250 double-nested fireseeds at Zhang Taiying after A-Jie stopped him from using a drop of golden blood.

• Zhang Taiying opened his Domain, and Xin Gugu countered with his Blood Sea Domain as they confronted each other.
• Xin Gugu attacked Zhang Taiying with blood threads, but Zhang Taiying used Heavenly Martial Vajra to defend himself and exposed Xu Xiaoshou's hidden spiritual formations.
• Xu Xiaoshou used five nested fireseeds to blast Zhang Taiying into his Domain wall, then revealed that the formations concealed more than a thousand compressed fireseeds.
• A-Jie grabbed Zhang Taiying when he tried to flee, and swallowed the golden blood he brought to his mouth.
• Xu Xiaoshou nested the fireseeds into 250 projectiles and launched them at Zhang Taiying.

Su Qianqian endured a succession of challengers at the banquet while Xu Xiaoshou fought Zhang Taiying in the City Lord’s Manor’s rear garden. Xu Xiaoshou’s explosion devastated the manor, but Zhang Taiying survived with a Void Image behind him, revealing his connection to a Higher Void family.

• Su Qianqian continued fighting Grandmaster challengers despite exhaustion, while Gu Qing'er and Shouye watched the match.
• Fu Yinhong realized Xu Xiaoshou was missing and, with Shouye, traced the tremors and scorched energy to the rear garden.
• Xu Xiaoshou’s explosion blasted apart Shouye’s Domain-protected banquet hall and destroyed the already weakened Manor Protection Array.
• Fu Zhi remained trapped dismantling a nested spiritual array until the explosion tore it away and left him scorched; Feng Ma feared Fu Xing had been killed.
• Xu Xiaoshou emerged into the ruined flower sea and thought Zhang Taiying could not have survived the blast, but Zhang Taiying rose from a crater with a Void Image behind him.
• Xin Gugu recognized the Void Image and exclaimed that Zhang Taiying had a Higher Void family behind him.

Xu Xiaoshou and Xin Gugu transformed to battle Zhang Taiying’s Imperial Princess Illusory Image, while Shouye and the City Lord’s forces gathered outside the Blood Sea Prison. A-Jie destroyed the illusory image with a kick, sending Zhang Taiying flying and breaking the domain, but the chapter leaves the aftermath unresolved.

• Xin Gugu explained that Zhang Taiying’s Imperial Princess Illusory Image carried Great Void Power, and Xu Xiaoshou ordered him to trap the area’s approaching forces in a Blood Prison Cage.
• Shouye sensed a Ghost Beast host, left the banquet hall, and joined Fu Zhi, Liu Jing, and others outside the domain; he declared a Red Robes requisition targeting the host.
• Inside the domain, Xin Gugu transformed into a Ghost Beast host and Xu Xiaoshou used the bronze carving to become a Berserk Giant, and the two attacked Zhang Taiying’s illusory image.
• The forces outside heard the battle but held back from breaking the domain, while Zhang Taiying woke, healed himself with the illusory image, and prepared to fight back.
• A-Jie released yellow foot vapor and kicked the Imperial Princess Illusory Image apart, sending Zhang Taiying flying and shattering the Blood Sea Prison as Fu Zhi was struck by the blast.

Xu Xiaoshou woke after the battle at the City Lord’s Manor, concealed A-Jie and Xin Gugu in his Origin Mansion, and was discovered by the Red Robes as the sole survivor. After breaking through to peak Yuan Ting Realm, he admitted that he had killed Zhang Taiying and began recounting the battle.

• A-Jie stopped Xu Xiaoshou from losing control, then suppressed Xin Gugu and shattered the Empress Ji phantom with one kick.
• Xu Xiaoshou sent the unconscious Xin Gugu and A-Jie into his Origin Mansion, then also brought in Xu Xiaoji before the Berserk Giant form collapsed.
• Shouye and the others entered the devastated battlefield, found Xu Xiaoshou alive, and learned from Fu Zhi that Xu Xiaoshou had exceptional skill in the Way of Heavenly Secrets.
• Fu Zhi gave Xu Xiaoshou a pill, and Xu Xiaoshou woke after breaking through to peak Yuan Ting Realm.
• Shouye questioned Xu Xiaoshou about the suspected Ghost Beast hosts, and Xu Xiaoshou admitted that he had killed Zhang Taiying.
• Xu Xiaoshou began telling Shouye the full account of the battle.

Xu Xiaoshou recounted how he had planned Zhang Taiying’s death and used a spiritual array to unleash 1,048 nested fire seeds, while defending his actions to the City Lord’s Manor investigators. The group gradually accepted that he was telling the truth, but Xu Xiaoshou ended by accusing them of blaming the wrong person for the destruction.

• Xu Xiaoshou told Fu Zhi, Shouye, Qiu Xuan, Liu Jing, and Feng Ma that Zhang Taiying had sent the Throne assassin Red Dog to kill him, and he used his exceptional talents to explain why a powerful swordsman might have saved him.
• Feng Ma and Shouye revealed Xu Xiaoshou’s Master-level abilities in multiple paths, convincing the Yin-Yang Protectors that his account of attracting a talent scout could be true.
• Xu Xiaoshou admitted that he had come to the City Lord’s Manor intending to kill Zhang Taiying, then explained that he had altered Fu Zhi’s Flower Sea array to seal fire seeds.
• Xu Xiaoshou demonstrated that he had nested 1,048 compressed fire seeds in the array, which had detonated when Zhang Taiying moved to dodge one of them.
• Shouye accused Xu Xiaoshou of endangering the City Lord’s Manor’s servants, but Xu Xiaoshou argued that Zhang Taiying had started the conflict by attacking him and that he had broken no rules by fighting back.

Xu Xiaoshou defended himself against Shouye’s interrogation by shaping the facts around Zhang Taiying’s death and the Ghost Beast aura, while refusing to expose his allies or reveal all his methods. He left Shouye challenging him to prove he could slay Ghost Beasts with swordsmanship.

• Xu Xiaoshou argued that Zhang Taiying had attacked him first and that the City Lord’s Manor owed him compensation, while Shouye recognized that he was selectively presenting the truth.
• Shouye questioned Xu Xiaoshou about the Ghost Beast aura, and Xu Xiaoshou refused to blame Xin Gugu, Greed God, or A-Jie outright.
• Xu Xiaoshou claimed Zhang Taiying had survived his fire-seed attack before transforming, and argued that the sequence and his prepared follow-up moves supported his account.
• Xu Xiaoshou corrected Shouye’s assumption that there had been two Ghost Beasts, saying the other presence was his spiritual technique and refusing to disclose it.
• Xu Xiaoshou suggested Shouye might not truly be a Red Robe, then challenged him to test whether Xu Xiaoshou could kill Ghost Beasts with swordsmanship.

Xu Xiaoshou tried to convince Shouye that he was not a Ghost Beast host by demonstrating his strength, then resisted Shouye’s interrogation while revealing more of his trump cards. The confrontation ended with Xu Xiaoshou refusing to reveal his Berserk Giant form, even under threat.

• Shouye challenged Xu Xiaoshou to demonstrate strength capable of slaying a Throne, and Xu Xiaoshou unleashed the scruffy uncle’s Sword Thought.
• The Sword Thought wounded Shouye despite his Great Prajna Jade defense, then returned to Xu Xiaoshou and injured him as well.
• Shouye demanded to know where the Sword Thought came from, but Xu Xiaoshou refused and argued that Shouye’s evidence did not prove he was a Ghost Beast host.
• Xu Xiaoshou displayed Explosive Stance and fired Energy Beads, blasting Shouye into the air when the interrogation continued.
• Xu Xiaoshou accused Shouye of coercing innocent people and declared that he would never reveal his Berserk Giant form, even if he died.

Xu Xiaoshou survived Shouye’s interrogation and was left under Red Robe surveillance, while Shouye remained suspicious of Xin Gugu. Xu Xiaoshou returned to the ruined banquet hall and learned he had taken the lion’s share of the White Cavern slots, drawing the crowd’s resentment.

• Shouye accepted Xu Xiaoshou’s answers but warned that the Red Robes would keep him under surveillance as a suspected Ghost Beast host.
• Xu Xiaoshou turned the surveillance into a chance to demand protection, then deflected Shouye’s questions about Xin Gugu and his junior sister.
• Shouye ended the interrogation without resolving his suspicions, and Xu Xiaoshou mocked him as he left.
• Xu Xiaoshou joked with Fu Zhi and the others about the ruined City Lord’s Manor, while Fu Zhi agreed to compensate him.
• Shouye returned to the banquet hall, and Xu Xiaoshou arrived with the four Thrones to learn he had taken most of the White Cavern slots.

Xu Xiaoshou learned that the White Cavern was rife with danger and smugglers, then collected eighteen Exquisite Stones and shared two with Mu Zixi. The banquet ended with Fu Zhi announcing that Zhang Taiying had been executed for colluding with Ghost Beasts and that the Zhang Clan would be wiped out in Tiansang City.

• Fu Yinhong explained that Exquisite Stones could summon Red Robes at the cost of half the holder’s gains, and that smugglers could steal the stones to disguise themselves as legitimate entrants.
• Xu Xiaoshou considered the White Cavern’s dangers and accepted eighteen Exquisite Stones, giving two to Mu Zixi.
• The Zhang Residence elders wondered why Zhang Taiying had not returned and feared that he had died in the City Lord’s Manor.
• Fu Zhi appeared and announced that Zhang Taiying had colluded with Ghost Beasts and been executed.
• Fu Zhi declared that the Zhang Clan would no longer exist in Tiansang City, while Xu Xiaoshou dismissed the elders’ suspicion that Zhang Taiying had gone to kill him.

After Zhang Taiying’s death, Xu Xiaoshou left the ruined City Lord’s Manor while Fu Xing fainted again at the sight of his destroyed home. Far from Tiansang City, He Yuxing continued to comprehend a Fallen Sacrificial Carving Fragment as a mysterious woman in white arrived at the inn.

• The banquet guests suspected Xu Xiaoshou had killed Zhang Taiying, and Su Qianqian thanked him while he urged her to keep her five Exquisite Stones.
• Fu Xing woke, realized the City Lord’s Manor had been destroyed, and fainted again after Xu Xiaoshou apologized.
• Xu Xiaoshou left the City Lord’s Manor with Mu Zixi after Fu Zhi and Shi Ti told him to go.
• At an inn in the Eight Palaces, He Yuxing used a Fallen Sacrificial Carving Fragment and struggled to restrain its killing intent while Lan Xinzi planned to seek the Yousi Sword.
• A woman in white passed Lan Xinzi and left more than a dozen inn patrons sealed and stripped of their cultivation, alarming He Yuxing.