Chapter Summaries

Gou Wuyue reflected on Ba Zunan’s defiance and questioned his own path after Ba Zunan defeated him and departed. Xu Xiaoshou reunited with the Saint Slave, learned Ba Zunan and Elder Sang were gravely afflicted, and ended the chapter by asking Lei Shuangxing about the God-Devil Pupils.

• Gou Wuyue realized Ba Zunan remained unbowed despite the forces arrayed against him, and Ba Zunan warned that he would eventually seek out his enemies and kill Gou Wuyue if he failed to awaken.
• Gou Wuyue left the battlefield with Yu Zhiwen and asked her to tell him everything she knew about Xu Xiaoshou.
• The Storyteller rescued Xu Xiaoshou and explained that his ability replicated mirrors, while Yin-Yang Life and Death let him wield a power resembling space.
• Haitang'er arrived with Ba Zunan and told Xu Xiaoshou that Elder Sang had no hope because Ai Cangsheng’s arrow had left him with incurable demonic energy.
• Xu Xiaoshou and the others gathered in a mountain cave, where Lei Shuangxing said he was blind and Xu Xiaoshou asked whether he knew about the God-Devil Pupils.

At Saint Slave’s gathering, Xu Xiaoshou learned that Mu Zixi’s God-Devil Pupils came from the bloodline arts of the destroyed Lei family, though Luo Leilei would not reveal who destroyed it or how Mu Zixi was connected. The discussion ended without answers, and Xu Xiaoshou served a feast to the hungry group.

• Cen Qiaofu woke and told Xu Xiaoshou that the God-Devil Pupils belonged to the Lei family, a fallen Void Supreme clan.
• Lei Shuangxing recognized Mu Zixi’s God-Devil Pupils but refused to explain them and went to lie down.
• Luo Leilei told Xu Xiaoshou that the Lei family’s All-Heaven Eye Arts included the God-Devil Pupils and several other famous eye powers, and that others had sought to divide the family’s bloodline.
• Xu Xiaoshou wondered whether Mu Zixi’s origins and the Lei family’s destruction were connected, but Luo Leilei would not identify the culprits.
• Xu Xiaoshou invited Lei Shuangxing to eat, then prepared a meat feast for everyone in the cave.

After Elder Sang’s departure, Xu Xiaoshou felt lost until Ba Zunan proposed a route that could eventually lead him to Gui-Zhe Holy Mountain and a chance to find answers. Ba Zunan urged him toward East Heavenly King City’s trials, explaining that they led to the Holy Palace Trial, while revealing his own ambition to attain godhood.

• Xu Xiaoshou and Mu Zixi decided to leave the cave together, though neither knew where to go.
• Ba Zunan woke and told Xu Xiaoshou that Elder Sang had been taken to Gui-Zhe Holy Mountain, suggesting Xu Xiaoshou travel there once he grew strong enough.
• Ba Zunan revealed that he had sealed his sword after seeing how Saints remained shackled, and declared that he intended to attain godhood before drawing his sword again.
• Ba Zunan explained that he had reached Innate in three breaths and could have become a Sword Immortal after three years, then argued that one could cross the Saint Realm and reach the Divine Court directly.
• Ba Zunan described a route from East Heavenly King City through its trial and the Four Symbols Secret Realm to the Holy Palace, where Xu Xiaoshou might find answers and pursue a path toward Gui-Zhe Holy Mountain.
• Ba Zunan explained that the East Heavenly King City trials selected three candidates below the Master stage for the Holy Palace Trial, which recruited geniuses from the king cities.

Xu Xiaoshou agreed to go to East Heavenly King City for the Royal City Trial after Ba Zunan promised him freedom to act and the Saint Slave’s support. He asked Ba Zunan for the sealed Ghost Beast, and its release revealed a connection between the Gray Mist Man, Ba Zunan, Ancestor Jinzhao, and Void Island.

• Xu Xiaoshou learned that the Royal City Trial determined eligibility for the Holy Palace Trial and worried Ba Zunan was setting a trap for him.
• Ba Zunan made Xu Xiaoshou’s trip to East Heavenly King City a Saint Slave assessment, promising him freedom to act and urgent support if he needed it.
• Xu Xiaoshou agreed to go and asked Ba Zunan to give him the sealed Ghost Beast, so Ba Zunan ordered Storyteller to open the spatial paper sheet.
• Storyteller released Mo Mo, whom Xu Xiaoshou greeted as Senior Sister Mo, and Ba Zunan asked her to call out Feng Yujin.
• The Gray Mist Man emerged through Mo Mo and confronted Ba Zunan, who said Ancestor Jinzhao had helped him leave the White Cavern so he could unseal the Siwu Formation on Void Island.

Ba Zunan forced the Gray Mist Man to follow Xu Xiaoshou, who gathered Xin Gugu and Mo Mo for the journey. After Jiao Tangtang gave Xu Xiaoshou her Ghost Beast Orb, the group set out for East Heavenly King City to stir up trouble.

• Ba Zunan exposed the Gray Mist Man's reasons for fleeing and gave him a choice between escaping or following Xu Xiaoshou under threat of death.
• The Gray Mist Man chose to follow Xu Xiaoshou, while Mo Mo returned to her own body and warned Xu Xiaoshou not to provoke him.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked Xin Gugu and Jiao Tangtang about their plans, and Xin Gugu chose to stay with Xu Xiaoshou while Jiao Tangtang agreed to return alone.
• Storyteller demanded protection money from Jiao Tangtang, who handed Xu Xiaoshou her Ghost Beast Orb before leaving.
• Ba Zunan and the Saint Slave members returned to the cave, and Xu Xiaoshou led Mo Mo, Xin Gugu, and the Gray Mist Man toward East Heavenly King City.

On Siling Mountain, Long Rongzhi struggled with pill refinement before learning that his eldest disciple Sang Qiye was in trouble and that Sang Qiye had a disciple named Xu Xiaoshou in the Eastern Region. Mu Lin sent Bai Lian to protect Sang Qiye and ordered Bai Lian’s disciple Hua Xiang to deliver an envelope to Xu Xiaoshou, while Long Rongzhi’s latest experiment again produced a public display of holy traces.

• Long Rongzhi’s failed pill experiment drew holy traces that people across Siling Mountain watched as a sign of Saint power.
• Mu Lin reminded Long Rongzhi that the damaged Sacred Kui Paper was the only contact between him and Sang Qiye, then learned that Sang Qiye had sent word about his disciple Xu Xiaoshou in the Eastern Region.
• Long Rongzhi asked Mu Lin to investigate Sang Qiye’s trouble and Xu Xiaoshou, and Mu Lin instructed Bai Lian to protect Sang Qiye at Gui-Zhe Holy Mountain.
• Bai Lian ordered Hua Xiang to travel to East Heavenly King City and deliver an envelope to Xu Xiaoshou.
• Hua Xiang left excitedly with a person concealed in her pill cauldron, and Bai Lian angrily ordered her to release him.

Xu Xiaoshou and his companions reached East Heavenly King City after a long journey, and he planned to build an infamous young-master persona to gather Passive Value. At the city gate, he challenged the White Robes guards and demanded that Jiang Bianyan come question him.

• Xu Xiaoshou recalled visiting the Su Family of Tiansang City and Azure Dragon Commandery, then chose not to return to Tiansang Spirit Palace.
• Xu Xiaoshou arrived at East Heavenly King City with Mu Zixi, Xin Gugu, and Mo Mo, and checked that the two Ghost Beast hosts could pass unnoticed.
• Xu Xiaoshou told Xin Gugu and Mo Mo to pose as his lackeys, then stirred up passersby by acting like a spoiled young master.
• Xin Gugu confronted the city gate guards when they asked the group to register their names, origins, and cultivation levels.
• Xu Xiaoshou faced the White Robes Sovereign Throne and demanded that he summon Jiang Bianyan to question him.

Xu Xiaoshou entered East Heavenly King City under the invented identity of a scion from the Northern Region's Taixiang Xu Clan and questioned White Robe guard Wang Chao about the city’s trial. He learned the trial had been moved forward for a hidden reason tied to Saint Slave and the city’s defenses, then left before pressing the matter further.

• Xu Xiaoshou learned from the White Robe Sovereign that Jiang Bianyan had died at White Cavern and that Cheng Ji had taken over the East Heavenly King City branch hall.
• Xu Xiaoshou posed as a scion of the Northern Region's Taixiang Xu Clan, persuaded the guards to let his companions enter, and arranged to speak privately with Wang Chao.
• Wang Chao told Xu Xiaoshou that the East Heavenly King City trial had been moved forward and that Saint Slave and Ghost Beasts were among the forces under scrutiny.
• Xu Xiaoshou inferred that the trial’s new schedule concealed a larger scheme and that powerful White Robes and Red Robes were watching over the city gate.
• Xu Xiaoshou ended his questions and entered the city, while Wang Chao suspected a Path-Cutting expert was protecting him.

Xu Xiaoshou entered East Heavenly King City with his companions, learned how its factions governed the city, and relished the attention he drew. After Xin Gugu caught Liu Lu following them, Xu Xiaoshou pressed him into service to spread a citywide announcement, leaving Liu Lu to name his price.

• Xu Xiaoshou and his companions explored East Heavenly King City, where Xin Gugu explained that local factions governed districts and could kill intruders who harmed their people.
• Xu Xiaoshou spotted the towering Gold-Rich Trading Company building and planned to use the city’s crowds to gather attention and Passive Value.
• Xin Gugu stopped Liu Lu, an Acquired-level information peddler who had followed the group from the city gate, and Xu Xiaoshou threatened him into cooperating.
• Liu Lu admitted he belonged to an organization and agreed he could spread news throughout East Heavenly King City overnight.
• Xin Gugu promised Liu Lu that Young Master Xu could afford to pay, and Liu Lu hesitated over the cost of mobilizing his organization.

Xu Xiaoshou hired Liu Lu to contact Night Cats and investigate East Heavenly King City’s martial law, then learned it was linked to Sky City, also called the Sacred Secret Land. After ordering Liu Lu to investigate Wang Chao, Xu Xiaoshou revealed his idea of founding a top-tier faction.

• Xu Xiaoshou gave Liu Lu a communication pearl and seventh-grade Yuan Ting Pills, ordering him to bring a capable Night Cats contact within two days.
• Liu Lu explained that martial law was tied not only to the advanced Throne Trial but also to Sky City, a rumored sacred place known as the Sacred Secret Land.
• Liu Lu disclosed that Night Cats controlled much of East Heavenly King City’s underground intelligence network and cooperated with the Black Fire Party and Three Incense Sticks.
• Xu Xiaoshou concluded that Sky City was probably Void Island, then sent Liu Lu to find information and a contact method for White Robes Wang Chao.
• After Liu Lu left, Xu Xiaoshou told Mu Zixi, Xin Gugu, and Mo Mo that he was considering establishing a top-tier faction.

Xu Xiaoshou and his companions decided to establish a faction and settled on the provocative name First Pavilion Under Heaven. Outside the Gold-Rich Trading Company, Xin Gugu confronted a group that mocked them, while Mu Zixi recognized the Three Aversions Eye of the young man leading them, Young Master Jiang.

• Xu Xiaoshou persuaded Xin Gugu, Mo Mo, and Mu Zixi to help establish a faction, and their discussion produced the name First Pavilion Under Heaven.
• A group emerging from the Gold-Rich Trading Company laughed at the proposed name, and Xin Gugu challenged them.
• Xu Xiaoshou sensed unusual power in Young Master Jiang's eyes, while Mu Zixi identified them as the Three Aversions Eye.
• Rong Dahao introduced himself and tried to ease the confrontation, but Xin Gugu identified himself as Young Master Xu of the Northern Region's Taixiang Xu Clan.
• Young Master Jiang's companion mocked the unfamiliar clan name and introduced himself as Young Master Jiang of the Northern Region's Puxuan Jiang Clan.

Xu Xiaoshou bluffed that he belonged to the Taixiang Xu Clan and used his intimidating aura to force Jiang Xian’s group to apologize. Jiang Xian believed the story and offered to visit the Xu Clan with his clan’s Demi-Saint, leaving Xu Xiaoshou alarmed by how far the lie had gone.

• Xu Xiaoshou introduced himself to Jiang Xian as Xu Deyi and mocked him with the name until the onlookers laughed.
• Xu Xiaoshou silenced Jiang Xian’s group with his aura and demanded an apology from the arrogant Throne.
• Xu Xiaoshou claimed the Taixiang Xu Clan had never invited the Puxuan Jiang Clan to Old Master Xu’s birthday banquet.
• Mo Mo, the Gray Mist Man, and Mu Zixi began to suspect that Xu Xiaoshou truly had a powerful background.
• Jiang Xian apologized, called his clan a reclusive Demi-Saint clan, and promised that its Demi-Saint would visit the Taixiang Xu Clan.
• Xu Xiaoshou realized Jiang Xian’s clan was far more powerful than he had expected and became frightened.

Xu Xiaoshou rejected Jiang Xian’s attempt to make peace and led his group into the Gold-Rich Trading Company, while Jiang Xian’s Heaven-Knowing Pearl revealed that his target was in East Heavenly King City. After using the Mind-Turning Pupil on Rong Dahao, Jiang Xian learned that he had seen a humanoid Ghost Beast associated with Xu Xiaoshou’s group and ordered the witnesses subdued and punished.

• Xu Xiaoshou knocked Jiang Xian’s hand away, warned the Jiang Clan there would be no next time, and led his group into the Gold-Rich Trading Company.
• Jiang Xian ordered his clan to investigate Xu Deyi, the Xu Family, and Half-Saint birthday celebrations, then noticed the Heaven-Knowing Pearl react in East Heavenly King City.
• Jiang Xian realized Rong Dahao could not remember the two women accompanying Xu Deyi and isolated him with a Domain to question him.
• Jiang Xian used the Mind-Turning Pupil to make Rong Dahao reveal that he had seen a humanoid Ghost Beast connected to the White Cavern and Spirit-Melting Marsh.
• Jiang Xian made Rong Dahao forget the interrogation, ordered Jiang Tai to carry him, and sent the troublemaking Jiang Clan Throne to accept punishment from the Law Enforcement Hall.

Xu Xiaoshou entered the Gold-Rich Trading Company, arranged for Xin Gugu and the others to establish the First Pavilion Under Heaven, and privately pitched Xiao Lian on his improved Red-Gold Elixir. The meeting ended with Xiao Lian spraying wine across Xu Xiaoshou, who demanded to file a complaint.

• Xu Xiaoshou told Xin Gugu to spend several billion establishing the First Pavilion Under Heaven, while Mu Zixi and Mo Mo went with him to handle the arrangements.
• Xu Xiaoshou took Xiao Lian to a private room and asked about the levels of spiritual cultivators in East Heavenly King City.
• Xu Xiaoshou showed Xiao Lian his Red-Gold Elixir and claimed it could be thirty to fifty percent more effective than a Red-Gold Pill, potentially doubling its effect.
• Xu Xiaoshou revealed his tenth-grade alchemist badge, startling Xiao Lian so badly that she sprayed wine across his face.
• Xu Xiaoshou shouted for a manager and demanded to file a complaint because Xiao Lian had sprayed wine and saliva on him.

Xu Xiaoshou negotiated with Xiao Lian over the Red-Gold Elixir, revealing its long-lasting effects, low cost, and potential for mass production. Xiao Lian’s excitement turned to fury when Xu Xiaoshou criticized her hands and nails as she tried to feed him a grape, and she crushed the grape, splattering him with juice.

• Xu Xiaoshou decided to keep Xiao Lian as his representative for the Red-Gold Elixir deal after warning her not to cause another mishap.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained that the Red-Gold Elixir stayed potent for a week, could remain effective for a month, and could be mass-produced at low cost.
• Xiao Lian sent a sample of the elixir for testing and returned to chat with Xu Xiaoshou while they awaited the report.
• Xu Xiaoshou teased Xiao Lian into peeling and offering him a grape, and she sat beside him and held it out.
• Xu Xiaoshou complained that Xiao Lian had not washed her hands and had overly long nails, so she crushed the grape and splattered juice across his face.

Xu Xiaoshou and Xiao Lian’s awkward grape mishap escalated when a waiter and Elder Qiu caught them in compromising positions, leaving Xiao Lian’s reputation in tatters. The Medicine Pavilion elders then gathered to ask Xu Xiaoshou about his Red-Gold Elixir, and he claimed to be a tenth-grade alchemist.

• Xu Xiaoshou sneezed grape pulp and then a grape seed onto Xiao Lian’s thigh, and his attempts to cover up the accidents made her furious.
• A waiter entered, saw Xu Xiaoshou touching Xiao Lian’s thigh, and quietly retreated after misunderstanding the scene.
• Xu Xiaoshou restrained Xiao Lian when she tried to react, but Elder Qiu entered and caught them together before backing out with a knowing look.
• Xiao Lian opened the door to find Elder Qiu, more than a dozen Medicine Pavilion elders, and a crowd gathered outside, worsening her embarrassment.
• Elder Qiu asked Xu Xiaoshou whether he had developed the Red-Gold Elixir, and Xu Xiaoshou answered that he was a tenth-grade alchemist.

Xu Xiaoshou negotiated a fifty-fifty deal with the Gold-Rich Trading Company to produce and sell the Red-Gold Elixir, while Elder Qiu and Xiao Lian misread his generosity as romantic interest in her. The deal ended with Xu Xiaoshou learning it could earn him at least five billion a month, and he realized he had agreed to the split without understanding the formula’s enormous value.

• The Medicine Pavilion elders marveled at the Red-Gold Elixir, and Elder Qiu cleared the room to discuss a deal privately with Xu Xiaoshou and Xiao Lian.
• Xu Xiaoshou agreed to provide the Red-Gold Elixir in exchange for a fifty-fifty profit split, leaving Elder Qiu and Xiao Lian shocked.
• Elder Qiu mistook Xu Xiaoshou’s generous terms for a personal gesture toward Xiao Lian, while Xu Xiaoshou denied having any demands beyond ingredients and equipment.
• Xu Xiaoshou assured Elder Qiu that the Red-Gold Elixir formula could not be deciphered, and Elder Qiu estimated Xu Xiaoshou would earn at least five billion in the first month.
• Xu Xiaoshou realized the deal could eventually bring in far more and regretted agreeing to the fifty-fifty split without knowing the Elixir’s value.

Xu Xiaoshou negotiated a massive Red-Gold Elixir deal with Gold-Rich Trading Company, letting them believe the Taixiang Xu Clan could supply the medicine. He promised ten million portions in three days and learned that East Heavenly King City’s enormous spirit-refiner population could absorb far more.

• Xu Xiaoshou accepted Elder Qiu’s proposed deal after reacting with surprise to its enormous value, and Xiao Lian joined their awkward celebratory drinking session.
• Xiao Lian estimated that Gold-Rich Trading Company needed at least ten million portions of Red-Gold Elixir and questioned whether Xu Xiaoshou could supply them.
• Xu Xiaoshou demanded at least thirty million portions of medicinal ingredients and over ten thousand alchemy cauldrons, then promised to deliver ten million portions in three days.
• Xu Xiaoshou implied that he had powerful backing, while Xiao Lian privately struggled to explain how his supposed clan could produce and transport so much medicine.
• Xu Xiaoshou planned to use the Origin Mansion and his divided attention to brew the elixir across thousands of cauldrons himself.
• Xiao Lian explained that East Heavenly King City’s vast resident and visiting spirit-refiner population could readily sustain demand for ten million portions.

Xu Xiaoshou finalized a lucrative Red-Gold Elixir deal with Gold-Rich Trading Company and learned that a Void Token would be offered at Night Cats' Spirit Palace Trading Fair. The fair could provide a way into Sky City, whose arrival in East Heavenly King City might lead to a conflict like the White Cavern War.

• Xu Xiaoshou signed an agreement giving him a fifty-fifty share, ten portions of ingredients for every portion required, and thirty thousand sturdy pill cauldrons.
• Xu Xiaoshou revealed his name as Xu Deyi, and Elder Qiu gave him a Purple-Gold Card containing one hundred Spirit Palaces as a gift.
• Elder Qiu invited Xu Xiaoshou to Night Cats' Spirit Palace Trading Fair and told him that a Void Token would appear there.
• Xu Xiaoshou confirmed that he had come for Sky City, and he warned Elder Qiu that the rumors might precede a larger conflict, as they had before the White Cavern War.
• Elder Qiu explained that a Void Token could guide someone into Sky City, then left Xu Xiaoshou with Xiao Lian.

Cheng Ji and Chu Lisheng discussed Void Island’s imminent descent, leaks about it, and Night Cats’ planned trading fair in East Heavenly King City. Cheng Ji learned that the Taixiang Xu Clan had rented Pilgrimage Tower for its First Pavilion Under Heaven and allowed it to remain open for now.

• Chu Lisheng told Cheng Ji that Void Island would descend in East Heavenly King City around the King City Trial, though the Holy Spirit Hall could not guarantee it would avoid disrupting the trial.
• Cheng Ji learned that Taixu families had entered the city despite efforts to seal the news, and ordered Chu Lisheng to monitor them and warn the major powers, especially Night Cats.
• Chu Lisheng explained that Night Cats planned a Spirit Palace Trading Fair and would sell the Holy Spirit Hall a clue to a Void Token rather than hand it over for free.
• Cheng Ji noticed the First Pavilion Under Heaven sign on Pilgrimage Tower, and Chu Lisheng explained that the Holy Spirit Hall had rented the tower to a young master from the Taixiang Xu Clan for sixty billion over half a year.
• After hearing the rental price, Cheng Ji dropped his objections and told Chu Lisheng to warn the Xu Clan without going too far, allowing them to keep using Pilgrimage Tower for now.