Chapter Summaries

Ba Zunan reunited with Hei Yezi and Bai Yezi at Flower-Grass Pavilion, then learned that Dao Qiongchang had likely captured Xiang Yaoyao and that the Rao Clan Saint Emperor was pursuing Ye Xiaokong. He gave the sisters jade talismans to reach Void Island and left Xu Xiaoshou to face his own trial; after Ba Zunan’s sword qi stirred, swords across the Five Domains bowed toward the Central Region, and he sensed someone had advanced another step.

• Ba Zunan and Storyteller arrived at Flower-Grass Pavilion, where Bai Yezi and Hei Yezi joyfully recognized their eldest brother and welcomed him.
• Hei Yezi told Ba Zunan that Quiet Osmanthus Pavilion had been destroyed and Xiang Yaoyao was likely trapped by Dao Qiongchang’s Heavenly Secrets Art.
• Ba Zunan gave Hei Yezi and Bai Yezi jade talismans that could guide them to Void Island, then discussed the danger facing Xu Xiaoshou and Ye Xiaokong.
• Ba Zunan said Dao Qiongchang’s actions ultimately targeted him and Xu Xiaoshou, and that Xu Xiaoshou had to overcome this trial himself.
• Bai Yezi mentioned the Godslayer Official Ruins and teased Ba Zunan about meeting Sister Yue, causing his sword qi to surge and shatter the pavilion’s protective array.
• Spirit swords across the Five Domains rose and bowed toward the Central Region, and Ba Zunan sensed that someone had taken another step ahead.

Li Fugui entered the Apricot Realm seeking Xu Xiaoshou, who was recovering from his battle with Bei Huai while Greed God refined life pills to treat him and Lei Xier. Xu Xiaoshou learned that Aunt Xiang had been captured by the Dao Hall Master, and the Dragon Apricot Spirit warned that two more pieces of bad news awaited.

• The Dragon Apricot Spirit admitted Li Fugui to the Apricot Realm, where he was stunned by its treasures and found Greed God refining pills with Xu Xiaoshou and Lei Xier in the cauldron.
• Xu Xiaoshou recovered through a portrait clone, fed Lei Xier a drop of condensed primordial purple qi, and asked Li Fugui what urgent matter had brought him there.
• Li Fugui reported that the Dao Hall Master had personally captured Aunt Xiang, prompting Xu Xiaoshou to test his safety with the Saint Emperor Dragon Scale.
• The Ancestral Dragon Apricot Tree trembled, and the Dragon Apricot Spirit told Xu Xiaoshou that it had two pieces of bad news to share.

Jinren watched an image of Dao Qiongchang forcing Five Declines of Heaven and Man to self-destruct, then learned that a new Saint Emperor had appeared and Aunt Xiang was in danger. Fortune explained that Dao Qiongchang had engineered Saint Slave’s manpower shortage to force Jinren to act, and Ba Zunan identified Master Shou as the key to breaking the deadlock.

• The Dragon Apricot Spirit showed Jinren an image of Dao Qiongchang breaking Five Declines of Heaven and Man’s mask and driving him to self-destruct, while Li Fugui explained that he might survive through a Half-Saint incarnation.
• The Dragon Apricot Spirit revealed that the Holy Spirit Continent had produced another Saint Emperor, and Jinren and Fortune suspected the sword cultivator Hua Changdeng might be responsible.
• Fortune told Jinren that Dao Qiongchang had captured Aunt Xiang, putting Shen Yi at risk of being removed from the game or turned against Saint Slave.
• Fortune explained that the Ran Ming Ruins and other disruptions had left Saint Slave short of key fighters, allowing Dao Qiongchang to act against Aunt Xiang and pressure Jinren into intervening.
• Fortune reported that Ba Zunan believed Master Shou was the key to breaking the deadlock.

Jinren questioned whether the Bloodworld Pearl had influenced the battle with Bei Huai, then weighed Ba Zunan’s cryptic advice against Li Fugui’s intelligence about Kui Leihan’s family in Qingyuan Mountain. He decided to rescue Xiang Yaoyao and afterward head toward Qingyuan Mountain, but left the details of his plan unresolved.

• Jinren wondered whether the Bloodworld Pearl had influenced Bei Huai’s actions and resolved to watch for its effects in future battles.
• Jinren made Li Fugui denounce Ba Zunan, then asked him whether he should risk rescuing Xiang Yaoyao; Li Fugui warned that Dao Qiongchang was luring him into a trap.
• Jinren asked Li Fugui about Qingyuan Mountain, and Li Fugui explained that the Cao Clan Blacksmith Shop in Changde Town was associated with Kui Leihan.
• Li Fugui said Kui Leihan’s daughter had reportedly died young or run away, while his son, Cao Erzhu, was considered unintelligent and worked as a blacksmith.
• Jinren decided Qingyuan Mountain might be their destination after the rescue, but recognized that going there could expose him to Dao Qiongchang’s preparations.
• Jinren said he would rescue Xiang Yaoyao through cunning rather than force, and Li Fugui asked to hear his plan.

Jinren examined Li Fugui’s memories and devised a way to break Dao Qiongchang’s Hundred-Realm Spirit-Severing Formation without exposing his avatar. He created two formation disks and sent Li Fugui off with the means to escape Yujing City.

• Li Fugui showed Jinren an inaccurate formation diagram, so Jinren used Soul Reading to inspect Li Fugui’s memories of the formation in Yujing City.
• Jinren identified Dao Qiongchang’s Saint-grade Hundred-Realm Spirit-Severing Formation and explained that its core could be corrupted to make its runes breed and drain the formation’s power.
• Jinren summoned a defective Heavenly Mechanism Puppet built from ancient weapon fragments and used it to create two Saint-grade formation disks.
• The puppet gave Li Fugui a Formation-Breaking Disk to destroy the Hundred-Realm Spirit-Severing Formation and a second disk to open an escape route through the Kyoto Grand Formation.
• Jinren explained that the formation’s collapse would backlash against the White Robes and drain their spiritual essence, then told Li Fugui to seize the chance to act.

Li Fugui and Jinren planned how to rescue Aunt Xiang from Yujing City and escape Dao Qiongchang, preparing for the possibility that their plans would fail. As Li Fugui left the Apricot Realm carrying Jinren’s hidden spiritual thought, he relayed Ba Zunan’s warning that Jinren should not use Half-Saint Godhood to attain sainthood.

• Li Fugui outlined a plan to break the situation in Yujing City, rescue Aunt Xiang, and escape with Zhu Yike using spatial teleportation tools or Ye Semi-Saint’s help.
• Jinren gave Li Fugui teleportation artifacts and a Recording Pearl, then explained that Qingyuan Mountain was a fallback and the Godslayer Official Ruins were their last opportunity.
• After Li Fugui raised concerns that Dao Qiongchang could foil their plans, Jinren placed his spiritual thought inside Li Fugui through a woven drop of blood so they could communicate without spiritual-thought transmissions.
• Jinren warned Li Fugui to hide his unusual behavior from Dao Qiongchang, and Li Fugui listened to the story of the Excuse Compendium before preparing to leave.
• Li Fugui departed the Apricot Realm through a spatial passage and relayed Ba Zunan’s warning that Jinren should not use Half-Saint Godhood to attain sainthood, not even through the Sword Dao.

Dao Qiongchang interrogated the captured Xiang Yaoyao while revealing how he had uncovered her connections and learned that Gui Gui had returned from the Godslayer Official Ruins. After his question about Xu Xiaoshou made Xiang Yaoyao realize he was preparing for a rescue, she vomited from disgust, and Dao Qiongchang sensed that someone had arrived.

• Zhu Yike watched the battle near Yujing City's South Gate through shadow projections and prepared to steal the target from the formation.
• Dao Qiongchang restrained Xiang Yaoyao and taunted her while explaining that his forces had captured or killed the people who tried to rescue her.
• Dao Qiongchang told Xiang Yaoyao that Gui Gui had returned from the Godslayer Official Ruins and warned her that chanting names could bring the Five Great Holy Emperors after someone.
• Dao Qiongchang asked whether Xiang Yaoyao had informed Xu Xiaoshou, read her reaction, and revealed that he had already prepared to deal with him.
• Xiang Yaoyao realized Dao Qiongchang was setting a trap for Xu Xiaoshou, vomited from disgust, and insulted him.
• Dao Qiongchang noticed his shadow fading and sensed that the rescuers had arrived.

Quan Sanqing reunited with Lord Li and accepted the mission to destroy the Hundred-Realm Spirit-Severing Formation, then led the Dog Gang into battle at Chaoling Street. As he faced the Nine-Death Lightning Tribulation and called out Dao Qiongchang, the formation’s warnings announced an anomaly.

• Quan Sanqing recalled his past as Lord Li’s rescued disciple and described his decades as a Flower-Grass Pavilion operative known as You Guess.
• Lord Li met Quan Sanqing, gave him two formation disks, and asked him to blow up the Hundred-Realm Spirit-Severing Formation despite warning that he might die.
• Quan Sanqing brought the Dog Gang to Dong's Teahouse, where he killed Captain Zhou and struck down the Holy Spirit Guards who tried to drive them away.
• Quan Sanqing unleashed his cultivation, faced the Nine-Death Lightning Tribulation, and ordered the Dog Gang to attack the White Robes as he challenged Dao Qiongchang.
• Dao Qiongchang noticed Quan Sanqing drawing an array disc, and repeated warnings of an anomaly sounded in his mind.

Quan Sanqing used the Formation-Breaking Disk to destroy the Hundred-Realm Spirit-Severing Formation, exposing the people inside and provoking the Nine-Death Lightning Tribulation. Dao Qiongchang saved the nearby crowd, imprisoned Quan Sanqing as the tribulation struck him, and left him facing death until a hysterical roar called out the Beast Path.

• Quan Sanqing threw the Formation-Breaking Disk and drew the Nine-Death Lightning Tribulation, while the disk broke the formation’s isolation and caused the tribulation clouds to swell over Yujing City.
• Dao Qiongchang used the Great Concealment Art to protect the White Robes and nearby residents, then watched the disk’s tiny spiders devour the Hundred-Realm Spirit-Severing Formation.
• Dao Qiongchang realized the spiders embodied living Heavenly Secrets Dao laws and used a Half-Saint Profound Decree as he moved to confront Quan Sanqing.
• Dao Qiongchang questioned Quan Sanqing about his identity and the disk’s maker, but Quan Sanqing answered each question, “You guess.”
• Dao Qiongchang used the Great Imprisonment Technique to seal Quan Sanqing’s spiritual essence, and the first lightning strike left him gravely injured.
• Dao Qiongchang counted down as the next strike gathered, then turned away after deciding Quan Sanqing would not betray his cause; someone roared, “Beast Path!”

Ghost Face used the Beast Path to carry Aunt Xiang and Quan Sanqing beyond the South City Gate, but Dao Qiongchang invoked the Half-Saint Profound Decree to return them and disrupt the rescue. As Quan Sanqing faced another lightning strike, he traded away his array disk to swallow a Violent Saint-Breaking Pill, causing the tribulation to grow stronger.

• Ghost Face transformed into a Ghost-Faced Eagle and seized Aunt Xiang and Quan Sanqing, but Dao Qiongchang’s Half-Saint Profound Decree forced them back inside the city.
• Dao Qiongchang used the Great Shift Technique to return the trio through the South City Gate and scatter the spirit refiners who had been drawn toward the battle.
• Li Fugui received encrypted reports on the failed escape, while Jinren doubted the rescue party could overcome Dao Qiongchang.
• Xu Xiaoshou woke in the Apricot Realm and ordered Greed God to refine him using the sacred medicine.
• Quan Sanqing had Ghost Face break his spatial ring, then traded an array disk to Dao Qiongchang for time to swallow a black pill.
• Quan Sanqing revealed that the pill was a Violent Saint-Breaking Pill as another layer of tribulation clouds gathered overhead.

Quan Sanqing swallowed the Violent Saint-Breaking Pill and began a Saint Tribulation, forcing his group to flee Yujing City under Dao Qiongchang’s pursuit. After Dongdong opened the gate with a City Gate Token, Dao Qiongchang trapped them in his extended formation, but a coachman arrived carrying a gift from Xu Xiaoshou.

• Quan Sanqing’s pill triggered a Saint Tribulation, and Dao Qiongchang concealed the Nine-Death Lightning Tribulation while clearing the area and hiding the group from the city’s formation lock-on.
• Quan Sanqing and Ghost Face failed to break the southern gate by force, but Dongdong used Captain Zhou’s City Gate Token to open it and led the group outside.
• Dao Qiongchang revealed that his Kyoto Grand Formation extended thirty li beyond Yujing City and used Golden Osmanthus trees to trap the fleeing group.
• Ghost-Faced Eagle charged Dao Qiongchang while Quan Sanqing prepared to cover the rear, and Dongdong carried Aunt Xiang and A Yao away.
• A carriage driven by an official road coachman emerged from the southern gate, and the driver announced that he had brought Dao Qiongchang a gift from Xu Xiaoshou.

Xu Xiaoshou used a Heavenly Mechanism Puppet arm and the Formation-Breaking Disk to turn Dao Qiongchang’s own tactics against him, but Dao Qiongchang unleashed his full Half-Saint power and crushed the resistance at the South City Gate. As he tried to seize Aunt Xiang, Dongdong, and A Yao, a Great Shift Technique delivered three unexpected garments instead.

• Li Fugui left Xu Xiaoshou’s gift near the South City Gate, where a puppet arm began forming Heavenly Mechanism seals that made Dao Qiongchang realize his Formation-Breaking Disk was in danger.
• Dao Qiongchang forced his spatial ring to explode and released the disk, but the puppet arm broke his restriction and shattered the Tree-Binding Formation.
• Dao Qiongchang unleashed the Great Suppression Technique, interrupted Quan Sanqing’s tribulation, and crushed Ghost-Faced Eagle and the fleeing group beneath overwhelming holy pressure.
• Saint-Protecting Talismans shielded Dongdong and A Yao, while the Formation-Breaking Disk opened a passage through the Golden Osmanthus formation; Dongdong collapsed just before reaching it.
• Dao Qiongchang used the Great Shift Technique to seize his targets, but received a stocking, rabbit-patterned underwear, and a remarkably thick bra instead.

Zhu Yike rescued Aunt Xiang, Dongdong, and A Yao from Dao Qiongchang, then subdued Dongdong and prepared to flee with the others. Aunt Xiang recognized him as the Golden Gate Arts inheritor, and Zhu Yike left them wondering whether they could escape without being found.

• Zhu Yike transported the three women away from Dao Qiongchang and forced Dongdong to swallow a Three-Day Life-Sacrificing Pill, making her his slave.
• Zhu Yike threatened A Yao before Aunt Xiang claimed responsibility for saving her, then suspected Aunt Xiang had recognized his Southern Domain origins.
• Aunt Xiang inferred that Zhu Yike was the inheritor of the Golden Gate Thieving Art and thanked him for rescuing them.
• Zhu Yike explained that his concealment art could hide them from Dao Qiongchang for a while and began carrying Aunt Xiang and A Yao away.
• Zhu Yike used his art to stack Dongdong onto A Yao, erased their tracks, and vanished with all three women.

After the Heaven Group operation against Xu Xiaoshou failed, Dao Qiongchang ordered Xi to track the owner of two intimate items and asked Yu Zhiwen to examine a damaged Heavenly Mechanism Puppet arm. Their discussion pointed toward Xu Xiaoshou as a possible creator, but Yu Zhiwen ended by confronting Dao Qiongchang about tampering with her “Splendor.”

• Xi returned from the Qilin Realm with the Heaven Group and met Dao Qiongchang outside Yujing City.
• Dao Qiongchang gave Xi a black sheer stocking and pink underwear, ordering him to identify their owner and review a battlefield recording pearl.
• Dao Qiongchang showed Yu Zhiwen the damaged Heavenly Mechanism Puppet arm, and she recognized its significance.
• Yu Zhiwen told Dao Qiongchang that the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Sect was real and that Little Star had infiltrated it.
• Yu Zhiwen concluded that Xu Xiaoshou might be able to develop a Heavenly Mechanism Puppet, then refused to explain further.
• Yu Zhiwen accused Dao Qiongchang of tampering with her “Splendor.”

Dao Qiongchang apologized to Yu Zhiwen for secretly tampering with Splendor and urged her to follow her heart while staying safe. Later, he tested Xi on a snowy mountain, coaching him on leadership before asking him to search for the hidden traces of the Southern Domain evil cultivator.

• Yu Zhiwen confronted Dao Qiongchang about his control over her, and he admitted that secretly protecting her through Splendor had violated her privacy and feelings.
• Dao Qiongchang told Yu Zhiwen to follow her heart and stay safe, then returned the broken Heavenly Mechanism arm made by Xu Xiaoshou.
• Dao Qiongchang brought Xi to a snowy mountain near Yujing City and criticized his guesses, his work habits, and his failure to delegate as head of the Aberrant Division.
• Dao Qiongchang challenged Xi to decide whether he would contend for the Seven Sword Immortal title, and Xi agreed to make the necessary adjustments.
• Dao Qiongchang revealed that he wanted to study the Ghost Sword Technique and ordered Xi to search the mountain for traces of the hidden Southern Domain evil cultivator.

Xi used Ghost Domain Retrospection to search the snowy mountain and found no intruders, while Dao Qiongchang discussed Gou Wuyue’s strength and tested Xi’s nerve with a recording pearl. Dao Qiongchang then exposed thirty-eight flaws in the replay, proving Southern Domain cultivators had deceived Ghost Sword Technique, and warned Xi that his life depended on whether he fought for it.

• Xi replayed the day’s sights through Ghost Domain Retrospection but saw no human figures, and Dao Qiongchang questioned him about Ghost Sword Technique and its strength compared with other paths.
• Dao Qiongchang explained that Gou Wuyue had pursued a new path, rejected Half-Saint Godhood, and continued serving the Holy Mountain from the shadows.
• Dao Qiongchang coaxed Xi into declaring that he wanted to cut down Hua Changdeng, then revealed he had recorded Xi’s words and would relay them to Hua Changdeng.
• Dao Qiongchang ordered Xi to replay the scene again and pointed out a leaf whose break appeared rough in the recording but smooth on the real branch.
• Dao Qiongchang identified thirty-eight such discrepancies, showing that Southern Domain cultivators had fooled Ghost Sword Technique, and warned Xi that his survival depended on fighting for it.

Dao Qiongchang taught Xi to infer the thief’s identity from the stolen bra and reconstructed his appearance, leading Xi to suspect that Flower-Red Bandit was Zhu Yike. The chapter ended with Xi proposing that Zhu Yike had used the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Art on Xu Xiaoshou’s orders to abduct Xiang Yaoyao.

• Xi asked Dao Qiongchang how he had concluded that something was wrong, and Dao Qiongchang explained how the bra’s quality and style could reveal information about its owner.
• Dao Qiongchang inferred that the thief could bypass sect and clan formations, suggesting either Saint Realm formation skill or an inheritance of the Art Ancestor.
• Dao Qiongchang used the Heavenly Secrets Art to sketch a thief whose habits matched the smooth fractures found at Forest Mountain.
• Xi compared the sketch with wanted notices and identified Flower-Red Bandit as the closest match, linking him to the Golden Gate Thieving Art and Xu Xiaoshou.
• Xi proposed that Flower-Red Bandit was Zhu Yike and had used his art to swap Xiang Yaoyao away on Xu Xiaoshou’s orders.

Zhu Yike tried to evade Dao Qiongchang’s pursuit while escorting Aunt Xiang, Dongdong, and A Yao, but the True-Self Mirror exposed his summoned decoys. The group left the inn for an unnamed safe place where they might meet someone.

• Zhu Yike learned that the city was searching for him and three women, while Aunt Xiang said Kui Leihan might undo her Martial-Sealing Talisman.
• Aunt Xiang warned that Dao Qiongchang could anticipate their routes, so Zhu Yike sent four peanut-made decoys toward the City of the Dead Futu.
• Thirteen White Robes used a True-Self Mirror at Dang Gorge Pass to expose and destroy the decoys.
• Zhu Yike decided the inn was no longer safe, but Aunt Xiang refused to abandon Dongdong and A Yao.
• Zhu Yike brought Dongdong and A Yao from the neighboring room and said they would go somewhere safe, where they might meet someone.

Dao Qiongchang visited Cao Erzhu’s blacksmith shop to see Kui Leihan, and Cao Erzhu accidentally triggered a mysterious handshake pattern that led his father to help him unleash his Divine Mind Penetration. After Cao Erzhu forced the pattern out of his sea of qi and collapsed, Kui Leihan stared in surprise at a brilliant ring of light.

• Dao Qiongchang arrived at the blacksmith shop with wine and told Cao Erzhu that he had held him as a child, then entered to speak with Kui Leihan.
• Dao Qiongchang secretly gave Cao Erzhu a communication pearl, but Kui Leihan’s lightning shattered it and blasted Dao Qiongchang out of the shop.
• Cao Erzhu discovered a handshake pattern on his palm and activated it, setting off beeps that enraged Kui Leihan and brought down lightning on Dao Qiongchang.
• Kui Leihan instructed Cao Erzhu to unleash his God-Punishing Execution Tribulation while he contained the lightning and refined Dao Qiongchang’s Drunken Immortal Brew.
• Cao Erzhu searched his sea of qi, found the hidden pattern, and strained until he dispersed his spiritual essence and collapsed.
• Kui Leihan nearly rose from the ground as he stared at a brilliant ring of light reflected in his eyes.

Cao Erzhu completed the Lightning Profound-Meaning Array Diagram, received a month off, and set out for Qingyuan Mountain. At the market, Zhu Yike met Li Fugui, who revealed that Master Shou was communicating from within him and asked for the item Zhu Yike had brought.

• Cao Erzhu completed the Lightning Profound-Meaning Array Diagram, and Old Dad warned him to hide it and avoid people who used such patterns.
• Old Dad sent Cao Erzhu away for a month, and Cao Erzhu left Changde Town for Qingyuan Mountain.
• Zhu Yike reached a fur shop near Changde Town and followed the disguised Li Fugui into a back room.
• Li Fugui scolded Zhu Yike for leaving clues while rescuing people, and Zhu Yike stole his underwear during their argument.
• Master Shou spoke through Li Fugui, stopped the quarrel, and asked Zhu Yike to hand over the item he had brought.
• Dongdong approached the Ugly Pig Beast Hide Shop and took out her Yujing City South Gate exit permit.