Chapter Summaries

Ai Cangsheng relived memories of Lei Xiaoxiao as he endured devastating attacks from Jinren and Xu Xiaoshou, repeatedly rebuilding his body and fighting on. As Xu Xiaoshou faced Ai Cangsheng again, Thought Deprivation uncovered Lei Xiaoxiao’s hidden plea: “Live... in my place...”

• Ai Cangsheng remembered Lei Xiaoxiao and their plans to travel the Five Domains together as he was battered through spatial currents.
• Ai Cangsheng used Seed-Spell Confinement to rebuild half his body and stopped Jinren’s Dragon-Painting Halberd with his arms.
• Jinren transformed into a Limit Giant and crushed Ai Cangsheng, but Ai Cangsheng’s soul survived behind the Evil Sin Bow and fired nine arrows at him.
• Xu Xiaoshou arrived with the Shatter-Jun Shield and deflected Ai Cangsheng’s arrows, but realized Ai Cangsheng had already restored his body.
• Thought Deprivation stripped away Lei Xiaoxiao’s voice from Ai Cangsheng, revealing her plea for him to live in her place.

Xu Xiaoshou and Ai Cangsheng’s escalating battle threatened the Eastern Region until Zhong Yuanzi arrived and persuaded them to stop. Just as they agreed to hold back, Five Declines of Heaven and Man suddenly appeared and asked Ai Cangsheng to hear him out.

• Xu Xiaoshou realized Ai Cangsheng had unsealed the third stage of Seed-Spell Confinement and called on Zhong Yuanzi to intervene before the battle caused further destruction.
• Zhong Yuanzi traveled to the Eastern Region and stood between Xu Xiaoshou and Ai Cangsheng, urging them to stop fighting on the continent.
• Zhong Yuanzi asked both men to give him face and keep to the plan; Xu Xiaoshou withdrew, and Ai Cangsheng resealed his confinement.
• Five Declines of Heaven and Man used Spirit-Sacrificing Forbidden Walk to appear in the Eastern Region, then asked Ai Cangsheng to give him face and listen.

Five Declines of Heaven and Man confronted Ai Cangsheng over whether someone born with a Decaying Body and marked as sinful should have been born. After listening to his accusation that the world’s justice ignored those condemned to darkness, Ai Cangsheng answered that the person born human was not at fault; those who set the suffering in motion were.

• Spectators across the Five Domains condemned Five Declines of Heaven and Man after learning about the Bloodworld Pearl, while Feng Zhongzui kept his coverage impartial.
• Xu Xiaoshou stopped Zhong Yuanzi from interrupting and argued that Five Declines of Heaven and Man deserved the chance to speak.
• Five Declines of Heaven and Man asked Ai Cangsheng whether a person who had made a mistake could be forgiven and whether someone born with sin should die or have been born.
• Five Declines of Heaven and Man challenged Ai Cangsheng for upholding relative justice while ignoring people trapped in the gray areas, and said he had come to Holy Mountain yearning for death.
• Five Declines of Heaven and Man described how decay followed him and left him forever turned away from the light, then asked Ai Cangsheng once more whether someone born with sin should have been born.
• Ai Cangsheng answered that there was no should or should not: the person born human was not at fault, but those who set everything in motion were.

The Five Declines of Heaven and Man demanded that Ai Cangsheng name the instigator behind the suffering of those marked by darkness, but Ai Cangsheng refused to intervene and chose to keep watch over him. After sacrificing two Half-Saint Godhoods to the Bloodworld Pearl, the Five Declines of Heaven and Man exposed people tainted with ghostly energy and Void power, named Bei Huai as the culprit, and vowed to kill him.

• The Five Declines of Heaven and Man accused Ai Cangsheng of shielding the powerful and demanded that he identify the instigator, but Ai Cangsheng said he was protecting the Dao and could not act.
• The Five Declines of Heaven and Man begged Ai Cangsheng to kill him, but Ai Cangsheng refused and said he would keep watch over him.
• The Five Declines of Heaven and Man released his suppressed powers and used Devouring Power to consume them, then sacrificed two Half-Saint Godhoods to the Bloodworld Pearl instead of ascending to sainthood.
• The Five Declines of Heaven and Man used Spirit Ghost Spatial Shift to bring Red Robes and others to the battlefield, where they displayed ghostly energy and Void power despite being at low realms.
• The Five Declines of Heaven and Man named Bei Huai as the culprit behind the Red Robes' condition and vowed to kill him before leaving the battlefield.

Bei Huai discovered that a corrupted rain in the Sorrowful Emperor Realm carried powers connected to Sui Yin and a faint trace of Devouring Power. After Ai Cangsheng reflected on Bei Huai’s strength and the coming fight, Xu Xiaoshou insisted that Ai Cangsheng go to the Southern Domain, then departed for the Central Region as the confrontation over the Dead Sea drew closer.

• Rain first revived the Sorrowful Emperor Realm, but scarlet-tainted drops soon corroded its lifeforms, and Bei Huai traced the rain’s powers to several sources before finding a faint wisp of Devouring Power.
• Ai Cangsheng concluded that Bei Huai would not die easily, recalled how Bei Huai had transformed the Sorrowful Bei Clan, and considered whether Five Declines of Heaven and Man’s curse could threaten him.
• Xu Xiaoshou insisted that Ai Cangsheng go to the Southern Domain, explaining that the time before the Dead Sea battle would let him strengthen himself while Ai Cangsheng protected him.
• Xu Xiaoshou secretly shook Zhong Yuanzi’s hand, making Zhong Yuanzi look guilty despite receiving nothing, and Ai Cangsheng warned Xu Xiaoshou that he would no longer hold back after the Dead Sea.
• Xu Xiaoshou used the Space Dao Disk to leave for the Central Region, and Bei Bei mocked Feng Zhongzui through the Dao Transmission Mirror.

Xu Xiaoshou invited the Nine Sacrificial Divine Envoy to move to his Apricot Realm, then treated her confused response as acceptance and began digging up her true body. The Holy Mountain’s remaining Saints could not stop him, while Feng Zhongzui and the Five Domains watched through the Dao Transmission Mirror.

• Feng Zhongzui tried to leave, but Xu Xiaoshou forced him to keep broadcasting by claiming he had kidnapped him.
• Xu Xiaoshou subdued Bei Bei when she attacked him, then led the Dao Transmission Mirror toward the remaining Saints.
• Fang Wenxin pushed the Nine Sacrificial Divine Envoy to make a decision, and she cowered behind him when Xu Xiaoshou greeted her.
• Xu Xiaoshou invited the Nine Sacrificial Divine Envoy to live in the Apricot Realm, prompting the Five Domains to speculate about its Ancestor Trees and entry tickets.
• Xu Xiaoshou silenced Fang Wenxin and the other Saints, interpreted the Nine Sacrificial Divine Envoy’s confused gestures as agreement, and began digging up her true body with the Dragon-Painting Halberd.

Xu Xiaoshou tested Ai Cangsheng’s limits, uncovered and took God-Worship Willow while lecturing the Five Domains on the Ghost Sword Technique, then uprooted the Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus and sent it into the Apricot Realm. The chapter left the Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus spirit body being pulled through a portal as the Holy Mountain saints watched in alarm.

• Ai Cangsheng fired an arrow when Xu Xiaoshou began digging near the Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus, and Xu Xiaoshou blocked it with the Shatter-Jun Shield.
• Xu Xiaoshou found God-Worship Willow hidden beneath a spirit array in the Screen-and-Candle Grounds and explained the Ghost Sword Technique to Feng Zhongzui, Bei Bei, and listeners across the Five Domains.
• Xu Xiaoshou declared that God-Worship Willow had fate with him, stored the Screen-and-Candle Grounds, and blocked another arrow from Ai Cangsheng.
• Xu Xiaoshou transformed into a Berserk Giant, uprooted the Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus, and sent it into the Apricot Realm.
• The Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus spirit body was pulled toward a vortex and cried out as the Holy Mountain saints watched.

Xu Xiaoshou’s God-Worship Willow took root in the Apricot Realm, rapidly recovering and becoming its second World Tree, while the Dragon Apricot Spirit fumed over its stolen place and power. When Xu Xiaoshou arrived with the Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus, the newly awakened Willow’s Shadow submitted to him and offered to bring the Saint-Infant Bearing Plant into the realm.

• The God-Worship Willow rooted itself in the Shennong Medicine Garden, drained the sacred herbs, reclaimed its Heart, and formed a pact with the Apricot Realm’s Dao Laws.
• The Dragon Apricot Spirit prepared to attack the Willow, but the Willow became a World Tree and stabilized the realm’s chaotic borders.
• The Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus arrived, recognized the recovered God-Worship Willow as Senior Willow, and was settled beside the Dragon Apricot Spirit.
• Xu Xiaoshou entered the Apricot Realm and calmed the Dragon Apricot Spirit, then heard Willow’s Shadow offer to bring the Saint-Infant Bearing Plant from the Relics of the Gods.
• Xu Xiaoshou named Willow’s Shadow Ghost Willow, asserted his authority as Lord of the Apricot Realm, and heard Ghost Willow explain that he submitted because four Ancestor Trees had entered Xu Xiaoshou’s grasp.

Jinren pushed the Dragon Apricot Spirit to strive by telling him that the Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus and Saint-Infant Bearing Plant might favor God-Worship Willow, while God-Worship Willow agreed to merge the Relics of the Gods with the Apricot Realm. Jinren named Li Fugui the Apricot Realm’s second-in-command, and Li Fugui earned God-Worship Willow’s respect by calmly enduring its test and declaring that Master Shou would not die while the Apricot Realm endured.

• Jinren warned the Dragon Apricot Spirit not to let God-Worship Willow outshine him, then persuaded him to work harder by raising the prospect of the Saint-Infant Bearing Plant joining the Apricot Realm.
• God-Worship Willow agreed to connect the Apricot Realm with the Relics of the Gods, and Jinren introduced Li Fugui to the three World Trees.
• Jinren gave Li Fugui the Apricot Realm Lord Seal and declared that Li Fugui would represent him in all matters when he was absent.
• God-Worship Willow attacked Li Fugui’s mind with a vision demanding worship, but the Lord Seal helped Li Fugui recover without showing fear.
• Li Fugui told God-Worship Willow that Master Shou would not die as long as the Apricot Realm remained, and Ghost Willow greeted him as Lord Li.

Elder Sang tested Cao Erzhu’s forging skill and revealed how Kui Leihan had trained him to forge with extraordinary focus and combat awareness. After learning that Cao Erzhu had never successfully reforged a spiritual weapon, Elder Sang showed him Elephant Dragon and recounted its rise from Sixth Grade to First Grade, leaving its history poised to become a lesson for the young blacksmith.

• Elder Sang told Cao Erzhu that his father, Cao Yihan, was still trapped by Dao Qiongchang rather than dead, then asked him to demonstrate his forging.
• Cao Erzhu forged a pig-slaughtering knife using only brute strength, and Elder Sang and Water Ghost recognized his Unity of Heaven and Man and the combat awareness in his hammerwork.
• Elder Sang tested Cao Erzhu’s knowledge of the God-Punishing Execution Tribulation and learned that Kui Leihan had repeatedly stopped his spiritual-weapon forging attempts before completion.
• Elder Sang asked Cao Erzhu to reforge a weapon, then presented Elephant Dragon, explaining that Kui Leihan had raised it from Sixth Grade to Third Grade and that it had later reached First Grade.

Elder Sang gave Cao Erzhu the famed sword Elephant Dragon and revealed that Kui Leihan had secretly entrusted him with the Heaven-Shattering Hammer. He then asked Cao Erzhu to forge Xu Xiaoshou’s first sword, Hidden Pain, and Cao Erzhu agreed with his characteristic vow.

• Elder Sang explained Elephant Dragon’s history and gave it to Cao Erzhu, who decided he would someday pass it to August.
• Cao Erzhu revealed that he possessed Kui Leihan’s Heaven-Shattering Hammer, one of the Nine Supreme Divine Artifacts.
• Elder Sang explained that Qingju had broken because the modern sword world made it impossible to reclaim its former invincibility through strength alone.
• Elder Sang asked Cao Erzhu to forge Xu Xiaoshou’s first sword, Hidden Pain, and Cao Erzhu accepted the task.

Xu Xiaoshou’s Jinren explained that God-Worship Willow had begun linking the Apricot Realm to the Relics of the Gods, and he laid out a plan to turn the First Heaven into a Heavenly Mystery Gate that would draw cultivators to the realm. As the merger began, Elder Sang asked whether he truly had to go to the Dead Sea, and Cao Erzhu tried to tell Xu Xiaoshou about Hidden Pain.

• Cao Erzhu’s shout coincided with the Relics of the Gods’ sky rupturing, and Elder Sang and Water Ghost spotted God-Worship Willow amid the collapse.
• Xu Xiaoshou’s Jinren arrived and explained that he had taken God-Worship Willow and Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus from the Holy Mountain, and that the willow had begun connecting the Apricot Realm and the Relics of the Gods.
• Jinren proposed making the First Heaven a Heavenly Mystery Gate, where cultivators could earn access to higher realms by contributing to the Apricot Realm’s development.
• Jinren handed out jade talismans that would let his allies travel through the Relics of the Gods, while Elder Sang asked him to bring Hidden Pain over.
• Cao Erzhu started to reveal the matter involving Elephant Dragon, but Elder Sang stopped him; Cao Erzhu then blurted out that Xu Xiaoshou should use Hidden Pain and become one with it.

A-Si recalled his centuries serving the Moon Palace Clan and arrived at Gui-Zhe Holy Mountain to deliver the Cold Palace Imperial Realm’s instructions. Xu Xiaoshou exposed him before he could finish, while using spatial power to move the Holy Mountain refugees across the Five Domains.

• A-Si recounted how he became Yue Gongqi’s shadow, raised Moon Palace Slave, and overlooked Yue Gongli’s friendship with Dao Qiongchang.
• A-Si reflected on the Holy Emperor Clan’s past generation and Xu Xiaoshou’s rise as a talent surpassing even Ba Zunan.
• Xu Xiaoshou endured Ai Cangsheng’s Evil Sin Bow barrage behind the Shatter-Jun Shield and uprooted the Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus and God-Worship Willow.
• Fang Wenxin struggled to find someone to lead the Holy Mountain Saints, while A-Si sought a decision-maker and settled on Fang Wenxin.
• A-Si revealed that he was a Heavenly Ladder envoy and began delivering the Cold Palace Imperial Realm’s instructions, including a possible unsealing of the Dead Sea.
• Xu Xiaoshou confronted A-Si, revealed he had tracked him, and carried the refugees through rapidly changing battlefields with the profundity of space.

Xu Xiaoshou used spatial profound meaning to isolate A-Si from the others, then transformed into Ghost Beast form and used the Three Aversions Eye to question him publicly. A-Si revealed that he was Yue Gongsi, the Cold Palace Holy Emperor’s Shadow, and claimed to know everything about the Holy Emperor Clans and their plans.

• Xu Xiaoshou moved A-Si to a separate battlefield, leaving Feng Zhongzui and the Holy Mountain refugees unaffected by Blade of the Fallen Kingdom.
• Xu Xiaoshou tried to bargain with Ai Cangsheng over A-Si and the Ancestor Trees, but Ai Cangsheng refused and fired the Evil Sin Bow’s arrow at him.
• Xu Xiaoshou transformed into Ghost Beast form and activated the Three Aversions Eye to question A-Si.
• A-Si identified himself as Yue Gongsi, the Cold Palace Holy Emperor’s Shadow, responsible for the Cold Palace Imperial Realm’s internal affairs.
• A-Si said he knew about the Holy Emperor Clans, their cage for the Five Domains, and Bei Huai’s Ghost Beast Red Robes plan, as the Evil Sin Bow’s arrow stopped.

Xu Xiaoshou defied warnings from Dao Qiongchang and Elder Sang and questioned A-Si about Half-Saints’ self-imprisonment in front of the Five Domains. His question triggered a strange reaction, while Dao Qiongchang acted to help and the heavens appeared to have been sealed off from those above the Heavenly Ladder.

• Dao Qiongchang warned Xu Xiaoshou that exposing A-Si could provoke an indescribable enemy and listed thirteen forbidden subjects, while Ba Zunan answered Xu Xiaoshou’s silent call with, “I’m here.”
• Elder Sang urged Xu Xiaoshou to seal A-Si in the God-Sealing Coffin and follow Saint Slave’s plan, but Xu Xiaoshou chose to bring the moment forward and question A-Si himself.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked A-Si to explain self-imprisonment, causing A-Si to twist, convulse, and struggle as the Five Domains watched.
• Ai Cangsheng sensed the Great Dao’s mournful cry, and Dao Qiongchang laughed, declared he would help Xu Xiaoshou, and vanished in a burst of spiritual light.
• Ba Zunan sensed that the heavens had changed and that a force was blocking attention and perception between those above and below the Heavenly Ladder.
• Elder Sang slapped Jinren for Xu Xiaoshou’s decision, leaving Jinren protesting that he was not the one who had asked A-Si.

Yue Gongli repeatedly failed to reconstruct his body on Barren Mountain while Yue Gonghui sought help because A-Si’s blood-soul token had shown an abnormality. The Listening Rain Pavilion maids suggested consulting Moon Palace Slave, leaving Yue Gonghui debating whether to approach the imprisoned former shadow for advice.

• Yue Gongli failed hundreds of times to condense a physical body on Barren Mountain and blamed Dao Qiongchang for interfering with his reconstruction.
• Yue Gonghui arrived outside Barren Mountain to ask when Young Master Li would emerge, but the Listening Rain Pavilion maids refused to cross the boundary or offer help at first.
• Yue Gonghui revealed that A-Si’s blood-soul token had shown an abnormality and explained that A-Si had gone to the Holy Spirit Continent on assignment.
• The maids suggested finding a family head, choosing a new shadow, and then, indirectly, consulting Moon Palace Slave, who had once been a shadow.
• Yue Gonghui realized that A-Si’s knowledge could expose Cold Palace Imperial Realm to danger and decided he needed Moon Palace Slave’s advice, though he planned not to release her from Cold Prison.

Xu Xiaoshou forced A-Si to reveal that the paths of Spirit Refiners and godhood were forms of self-imprisonment that sealed off advancement beyond the Ancestor God. The revelation shattered Yuan Huan’s Dao Heart and left the Half-Saints reeling, while Five Declines of Heaven and Man struggled alone with his inability to thank Xu Xiaoshou.

• A tribulation bolt targeted the Dao Transmission Mirror as A-Si began answering, but Xu Xiaoshou cut it down and used his Will Dao Disk to guide A-Si past his resistance.
• A-Si explained that powerful beings, artifacts, spirit plants, and cultivators were slaves who imprisoned themselves, and Xu Xiaoshou realized that pill toxicity was a form of accumulated self-imprisonment.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked about Spirit Refiners’ limits as more tribulation lightning fell, then concealed his imminent breakthrough so A-Si could continue speaking.
• A-Si revealed that Spirit Refiners ended at the Void, while Half-Saint, Saint Emperor, and Ancestor God godhood restricted advancement and sealed the road above.
• Fang Wenxin and the other Half-Saints were devastated by the revelation, and Yuan Huan’s Dao Heart shattered.
• Five Declines of Heaven and Man sat alone on a reef, unable to express his gratitude to Xu Xiaoshou, and laughed and sobbed until a wave submerged him.

Yue Gonghui entered the Cold Prison to ask Moon Palace Slave for a sound-transmission jade slip, but she refused and warned him to respect Yue Gongli. Dai'er then exposed Yue Gonghui’s advances before snapping his arm, stabbing him through the throat, and tearing off her face to reveal a man.

• Yue Gonghui found Dai'er guarding Moon Palace Slave’s cell and brought her with him after listening to Moon Palace Slave play “Sorrowful Southern Court.”
• Yue Gonghui offered Dai'er his identity jade token and told her to visit him that night so he could hear her play alone.
• Moon Palace Slave refused Yue Gonghui’s request for a sound-transmission jade slip and ordered him to leave.
• Dai'er appeared crying and accused Yue Gonghui of trying to force himself on her, prompting Moon Palace Slave to demand an explanation.
• Yue Gonghui grabbed Dai'er, and she broke his arm, drove a sword through his throat, and pinned him to the ice wall.
• Dai'er tore off her face to reveal a man, who joked that he had nearly lost his virginity during the visit.

Dao Qiongchang disguised as Dao Dai'er infiltrated Cold Prison, subdued Yue Gonghui, and confronted Moon Palace Slave while playing her zither. Moon Palace Slave was left holding the Nuxian Buddha Sword, and she realized she might be able to lift it as the chapter ended.

• Dao Qiongchang revealed himself as Dao Dai'er, placed a Martial-Sealing Talisman collar on Yue Gonghui, and took his passage jade pendant.
• Dao Dai'er explained that he had only recently taken control of Dai'er and taunted Moon Palace Slave about abandoning her principles for the people she cared about.
• Dao Dai'er took Moon Palace Slave's chair and warming mat, played her zither, and dismissed her warnings that he could not leave the Cold Palace Imperial Realm.
• Dao Dai'er showed Yue Gonghui's identity jade token and the Nuxian Buddha Sword, then challenged Moon Palace Slave to reconsider what thirty years had done to Yue Gonghui.
• Moon Palace Slave grasped Nuxian and felt a familiar Sword Thought, then discovered she could lift the sword and secretly recognized an opportunity.

Dao Qiongchang forced Moon Palace Slave to confront what Yue Gonghui had done to Dai'er and the burden of the principles that had kept her in Cold Prison. After Moon Palace Slave attacked Yue Gonghui, she demanded to leave and see Ba Zunan, then insisted she had not been wrong.

• Yue Gonghui tried to summon the guards, but Dao Dai'er explained that no one could hear him and refused his pleas for mercy.
• Dao Dai'er played "Sorrowful Southern Court" and repeatedly questioned Yue Gonghui, prompting Moon Palace Slave to realize Yue Gonghui had abused Dai'er while pursuing A-Si.
• Moon Palace Slave struggled with whether she could kill Yue Gonghui without betraying the rules and principles she had upheld for thirty years.
• Yue Gonghui broke down as Dao Dai'er recreated his past encounter with Dai'er, and Moon Palace Slave attacked him with the Nuxian Buddha Sword.
• Dao Qiongchang stopped Moon Palace Slave and restrained her, but she demanded to leave Cold Prison and see Ba Zunan.
• Dao Qiongchang told Moon Palace Slave she had been wrong, and she answered that she had not been wrong.