Chapter Summaries

Matchmaker watched a carriage young master use a strange, waterlike Name Sword Technique to defeat White-Faced Ghost and suspected he was Master Shou. The young man stepped out of the carriage and revealed himself as Master Shou, prompting nearly two million viewers to welcome him.

• The Golden Apricot audience debated whether the carriage young master’s finger strike was Sword Thought, while Matchmaker recognized that he had manifested Name himself.
• Matchmaker recalled Elder Yang’s teachings about Name and a woman named August’s theory that Sword Thought might advance into a waterlike second stage.
• The young master’s waterlike essence pierced Death God’s Power and pinned White-Faced Ghost in the air, leading Matchmaker to suspect he might be Master Shou in disguise.
• Old Li returned Sword-Bearing Chicken to the carriage, and the young master mocked White-Faced Ghost before saying he had cultivated Name for half a year.
• The young man stepped from the carriage and revealed a profile Matchmaker recognized as Master Shou’s, causing her to cry out his name.
• Matchmaker restored the comment display and saw viewers silently unite in welcoming Master Shou.

Xu Xiaoshou waited in Fengdu for the White-Faced Ghost’s death to draw out a mysterious will, while the Ghost Domain erupted around him. A Saint Emperor figure emerged from the Yellow Springs Road and Bridge of the Other Shore, then addressed him as “Little Stone, Tan Ji.”

• Xu Xiaoshou watched the White-Faced Ghost disintegrate and waited for its death to summon a will connected to the Ghost Buddha.
• Xu Xiaoshou recalled how Death God's Power had transformed the Ghost Buddha Realm into Fengdu and discussed Hua Changdeng’s Ghost Sword Technique with Ba Zunan.
• Corrupted swamp water spread from the White-Faced Ghost’s remains, and numerous ghostly creatures crawled out as Xu Xiaoshou examined the liquid.
• Xu Xiaoshou let a ghost approach so he would not frighten Hua Changdeng away, but the Ghost Domain plunged into darkness and Holy Emperor pressure struck Matchmaker.
• A Saint Emperor figure emerged across the Yellow Springs Road and Bridge of the Other Shore, and Matchmaker’s Golden Apricot broadcast captured him addressing Xu Xiaoshou as “Little Stone, Tan Ji.”

Xu Xiaoshou confronted Hua Changdeng about the Ghost Domain’s changes and asked what had happened to Fish Elder. Hua Changdeng admitted he had killed him, leaving Yu Zhiwen devastated as Xu Xiaoshou drew his sword.

• Xu Xiaoshou recognized Hua Changdeng, questioned him about the Ghost Domain’s worsening disturbances, and learned that Death God’s Power and Fengdu’s arrival had brought disasters to the Five Domains.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked about Fish Elder, and Hua Changdeng said that chaos had continued above the Heavenly Ladder despite his Soul and Intent reaching the Five Domains.
• Yu Zhiwen watched the exchange with Liu Fuyu and learned that Hua Changdeng had killed her great-grandfather, Yu Kunpeng.
• Hua Changdeng revealed a vision of the wounded Kunpeng plunging into the River of Forgetfulness and said he had severed Yu Kunpeng’s body and detained his spirit there.
• Yu Zhiwen cut off the Golden Apricot feed and stood shaken on Yellowstone Island, while Xu Xiaoshou drew his sword and Hua Changdeng apologized for killing someone important to him.

Feng Zhongzui learned that Master Shou was fighting Hua Changdeng in the Ghost Buddha Realm, but his indulgent half-year had left him unable to join the battle. Xiao Wanfeng departed without him, revealing the Xuancang Divine Sword as Feng Zhongzui watched from Flower Moon Pavilion.

• Feng Zhongzui discovered that his viewers had fled to Matchmaker’s feed after she found Master Shou fighting Hua Changdeng in the Ghost Buddha Realm.
• Feng Zhongzui tried to secure exclusive transmission rights for the battle, but the people he contacted were unavailable, so he called on Xiao Wanfeng for help.
• Xiao Wanfeng urged Feng Zhongzui to leave for the Ghost Buddha Realm, but Feng Zhongzui could barely walk and hesitated to abandon his comfortable life.
• Xiao Wanfeng split the Sword-Test Platform with Sword Thought and told Feng Zhongzui this was his ninety-sixth invitation and his last.
• Xiao Wanfeng left for the Ghost Buddha Realm, and Feng Zhongzui realized the sword on his back was the Xuancang Divine Sword.

After learning more about Hua Changdeng's past and his connection to Ghost Buddha, Xu Xiaoshou reflected on the nature of Dao before deciding that their conflict would be settled by violence. He challenged Hua Changdeng to take one strike from his sheathed stone sword, setting the terms of their imminent duel.

• Xu Xiaoshou reconsidered his understanding of Dao after hearing Hua Changdeng speak about the struggle that had led to Fish Elder's death.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked whether Hua Changdeng would descend alone or alongside others, and Hua Changdeng answered that one person was enough.
• Xu Xiaoshou declared that Hua Changdeng was not enough and confronted him as Hua Changdeng gathered Death God's Power into his broken lamp.
• Xu Xiaoshou proposed a one-sword contest, explaining that he had already cut down one of Hua Changdeng's wills and that this time he would fight openly.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew his stone-sheathed sword and said that if Hua Changdeng could take one strike, he would acknowledge Hua Changdeng's title of Ghost Sword Immortal.

Feng Zhongzui confronted his failed imitation of Master Shou and chose to remain in seclusion rather than return to preaching. In the Ghost Buddha Realm, Xu Xiaoshou revealed Supreme Name Like Water, gathering the Five Domains’ fame into a sword as Hua Changdeng watched in shock.

• Feng Zhongzui realized he had mistaken Master Shou’s willingness to face powerful opponents for mere grandstanding, then saw his audience abandon him for Matchmaker’s broadcast.
• Feng Zhongzui recoiled from the Golden Apricot carriage and told his servants he was not going out.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained that he had cultivated Name for half a year and raised his stone sword against Hua Changdeng.
• Xu Xiaoshou declared that Name was like fire, then used his sword to draw fame from across the Five Domains into the blade.
• Xu Xiaoshou raised the stone sword beneath a silver moon and announced Supreme Name Like Water, changing Hua Changdeng’s expression.

At the Gui-Zhe Ruins, Xu Xiaoshou discussed the Dao with Ba Zunan and chose to cultivate Fame, reaching a profound state of enlightenment. He outlined a path to prove Higher Name through water before leaving Ba Zunan with a final taunt.

• Ba Zunan explained that Sword Thought had led him to cultivate Sword Self through the Two Principles, while he abandoned the elusive Dao of Fame.
• Moved by Ba Zunan’s words, Xu Xiaoshou declared that he would cultivate Fame and advanced to ninety-nine percent of Transcendent Dao Transformation.
• As Ba Zunan questioned him, Xu Xiaoshou described Fame as fire and Higher Name as water, presenting them as Two Principles of the Dao of Fame.
• Xu Xiaoshou said he would spend half a year observing the waters of the Five Domains to enter Dao and prove Higher Name.
• When Ba Zunan asked about Supreme Name, Xu Xiaoshou said Ba Zunan was clinging to appearances and claimed his realm was still inferior, leaving Ba Zunan livid.

Xu Xiaoshou revealed the Way of Fame he had cultivated for half a year and unleashed Name: Tide Rising against Hua Changdeng. His sword overwhelmed Hua Changdeng’s defenses and left him unable to move, as Xu Xiaoshou asked how it compared with Hua Changdeng’s thirty years of cultivation.

• Xu Xiaoshou recalled how Ba Zunan’s words about fame led him to cultivate the Way of Fame as his specialty.
• After half a year of studying water and fame, Xu Xiaoshou manifested the Mist Sea of Fame across the Five Domains and raised his stone sword.
• Xu Xiaoshou named his attack Name: Tide Rising and challenged Hua Changdeng to withstand it.
• Tide Rising combined multiple sword arts to seal Hua Changdeng’s body, soul, and intent, then tore apart his Fengdu vision.
• Hua Changdeng could neither move nor resist as Xu Xiaoshou’s sword struck him, and Xu Xiaoshou asked how the attack compared with Hua Changdeng’s thirty years of cultivation in the Screen-and-Candle Grounds.

After Xu Xiaoshou cut down Hua Changdeng’s will with one sword, Matchmaker gathered a huge audience while seeking safety near Mei Suren and Yang Xizhi. Mei Suren explained the Sword Ghost and began revealing how it had wounded Ba Zunan before learning that seventeen million people were listening.

• Across the Five Domains, spectators reacted to Xu Xiaoshou’s sword strike against Hua Changdeng and rushed to watch the battle in the Central Origin Realm.
• Matchmaker fled the approaching crowd and sought protection from Li Fugui, who directed her to Elder Yang and Mei Suren.
• Mei Suren and Yang Xizhi discussed Hua Changdeng’s Sword Ghost cultivation and its potential to defeat Xu Xiaoshou.
• Mei Suren explained that Sword Self stood above Sword Thought and that Sword Ghost transcended Ancient Sword Arts.
• Mei Suren began describing how the Body Ghost, Spirit Ghost, and Intent Ghost had wounded Ba Zunan, but Yang Xizhi stopped him after revealing that seventeen million people were watching Matchmaker’s broadcast.

Xu Xiaoshou defeated Hua Changdeng’s remnant soul with Hidden Pain and revealed that he had been tracking the power returning to the Ghost Buddha. As the soul light neared the Ghost Buddha, Xu Xiaoshou used Soul-Returning Mound, beginning his attempt to intercept it.

• Hua Changdeng survived Tide Rises by abandoning his body and intent to become a yin-soul, then praised Xu Xiaoshou’s sword.
• Xu Xiaoshou used the Power of Reputation to pursue Hua Changdeng’s yin-soul and explained how his sword arts let his reputation persist beyond his body.
• Xu Xiaoshou named his sealed stone sword Hidden Pain and detonated the Power of Reputation, annihilating Hua Changdeng’s remnant soul.
• Xu Xiaoshou tracked a wisp of soul light toward the Ghost Buddha and inferred that Hua Changdeng’s power was returning there to prepare for a future descent.
• As the soul light reached the Ghost Buddha, Xu Xiaoshou formed a hand seal and invoked Soul-Returning Mound.

Xu Xiaoshou used Master Shou’s Soul-Returning Mound to summon Hua Changdeng’s remnant soul and had Jinren use Soul Reading on him. Xu Xiaoshou explored Hua Changdeng’s memories, discovering the young Rao Yaoyao and glimpsing the Stone Man and Moon Fox before the memory ended.

• Master Shou summoned Hua Changdeng’s remnant soul with the Soul-Returning Mound, and Xu Xiaoshou taunted him as the Power of Reputation tormented him again.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked Jinren to use Soul Reading, and he entered Hua Changdeng’s memories to investigate the five Saint Emperor Secret Realms.
• Xu Xiaoshou watched a young Rao Yaoyao challenge Hua Changdeng, who refused her challenge and admitted defeat instead.
• Xu Xiaoshou saw the Stone Man and Moon Fox arrive in the Purple Bamboo Forest and heard that Bei Huai was being held at Yunshan Sacred Hall over Deer Elder’s death.
• The Stone Man revealed a boy’s face beneath his head and gazed into the sky as Yue Gongli spoke about Deer Elder.

Hua Changdeng left a Yunshan Sacred Hall debate over the division of Wurao, while Xu Xiaoshou confronted Dao Qiongchang inside Hua Changdeng’s memories. Xu Xiaoshou then forced his way into the Cloud Mountain Emperor Realm’s past and began contaminating Dao Qiongchang’s memory imprints.

• Hua Changdeng silenced the Yunshan elders’ argument and left to deal with someone he called a rat in the rice jar.
• The elders interpreted Hua Changdeng’s words through the clan ancestor’s warning to stop when enough was enough, then resumed arguing.
• Xu Xiaoshou called out to Dao Qiongchang in the Purple Bamboo Forest, and the two resumed their friendly rapport.
• Dao Qiongchang warned Xu Xiaoshou that Hua Changdeng would soon notice him, then refused to help further when Xu Xiaoshou announced he would act regardless.
• Xu Xiaoshou revealed his power and activated memory imprints throughout the Purple Bamboo Forest, then used Memory Transcendence and Grotesque Trickery to enter the Cloud Mountain Emperor Realm’s past.
• Xu Xiaoshou used Weaving to contaminate the memory imprints Dao Qiongchang had left throughout the realm.

Xu Xiaoshou contaminated most of the Cloud Mountain Emperor Realm’s memory imprints before Hua Changdeng arrived and confronted his incarnation. After Xu Xiaoshou escaped by invoking Dao Qiongchang’s Great God Descent Technique, Hua Changdeng returned to Yunshan Sacred Hall, took Hua Zhiyao’s jade token, and ordered the ancestral stele sent into shattered spacetime, but then abruptly dragged the departing elders back.

• Xu Xiaoshou spread his mark across nearly seventy percent of the Cloud Mountain Emperor Realm’s memory imprints while Dao Qiongchang followed Yue Gongli away and protested through the Telepathic Link Technique.
• Hua Changdeng appeared in Purple Bamboo Forest and trapped Xu Xiaoshou’s incarnation in a terrifying ghostly realm, but Xu Xiaoshou invoked the Great God Descent Technique and vanished, leaving Dao Qiongchang exposed.
• Hua Changdeng returned to Yunshan Sacred Hall, borrowed Hua Zhiyao’s jade token for the Wurao Emperor Realm, and summoned Hua Zhiyao to his residence at midnight the next day.
• Hua Changdeng claimed an alien spy was among the elders and ordered Hua Zhiyao to send the ancestral stele into shattered spacetime; Hua Zhiyao obeyed, and the elders dispersed.
• Hua Changdeng suddenly summoned the elders back with an immense force, leaving them confused by his return.

Xu Xiaoshou’s deception made Hua Changdeng’s clan discard the ancestral stone stele and led Hua Changdeng to punish Hua Zhiyao before pursuing him to the Wurao Emperor Realm. Meanwhile, a Hua Zhiyao arrived at the Cold Palace Imperial Realm claiming to deliver the patriarch’s ultimatum to the Cold Palace Saint Emperor.

• Hua Changdeng returned to the Yunshan Sacred Hall and discovered that the clan elders had mistaken Xu Xiaoshou for him and sent the ancestral stone stele into the spacetime turbulent stream.
• Hua Changdeng ordered Hua Zhiyao to receive punishment, then kicked him into the spacetime turbulent stream after Hua Zhiyao’s final question provoked him.
• The clan elders told Hua Changdeng that Xu Xiaoshou had taken Hua Zhiyao’s identity token and fled to the Wurao Emperor Realm, so Hua Changdeng set off after him.
• At the Cold Palace Imperial Realm, a Hua Zhiyao presented his Punishment Hall identity plaque and demanded that the Cold Palace Saint Emperor meet him within a quarter of an hour.

Yue Gongli met Hua Zhiyao, a Cloud Mountain envoy who feared Young Master Li would kill him for the message he carried. Hua Zhiyao struck Yue Gongli after being invited to offend him, leaving the reason for the assault unrevealed.

• The Cold Palace Imperial Realm reacted angrily to Hua Zhiyao's demand for an audience and summoned Yue Gongli from Listening Rain Pavilion.
• Yue Gongkui tried to learn Hua Zhiyao's mission and offered Cold Palace's support to Cloud Mountain in exchange for a larger share of the Wurao Emperor Realm.
• Hua Zhiyao said he might die in the reception hall if Young Master Li wanted him dead.
• Yue Gongli arrived and let Hua Zhiyao lay a sword against his neck, then asked him to explain why he had come seeking death.
• Hua Zhiyao said he had offended Yue Gongli, and when Yue Gongli invited him to do so, Hua Zhiyao slapped him across the face.

Yue Gongli mutilated Hua Zhiyao after the Yunshan envoy provoked him, but the apparent saint turned out to be a stone stele that had manipulated the Cold Palace reception. The strange fragments revealed a cryptic inscription about the Dao, leaving Yue Gongli and the others stunned.

• Hua Zhiyao slapped Yue Gongli, and Yue Gongkui ordered the guards to seize him while Yue Gongli tried to stab him with a sword.
• After learning Hua Zhiyao claimed to be carrying out Hua Changdeng's orders, Yue Gongli inflicted thirteen sword strikes on him.
• Hua Zhiyao urged Yue Gongli to split him, and Yue Gongli cleaved him in two, revealing that his body and scattered remains were stone.
• Yue Gongli questioned Yue Gongkui about the stone fragments, and Yue Gongkui found inscriptions reading “Endless” and “Dao.”
• Yue Gongli examined the second stele and found the fragments formed the cryptic message, “Dao... endless, know when to... stop?”

Hua Changdeng searched Wurao for Xu Xiaoshou but learned that Yue Gongli had split Yunshan’s Ancestral Stone Inscription, then mistakenly accused Xu Xiaoshou of impersonating Yue Gongli. In Cold Palace, Xu Xiaoshou revealed how he had used Jinren’s will to enter the Holy Emperor Clans and began planning to approach the Cold Palace Saint Emperor.

• Hua Changdeng searched the ruined Wurao Emperor Realm for Xu Xiaoshou but found no trace of him.
• Hua Zixiao told Hua Changdeng that Yue Gongli had split Yunshan’s Ancestral Stone Inscription after it appeared as Hua Zhiyao and provoked Cold Palace.
• Hua Changdeng dismissed the report as Xu Xiaoshou’s trick and demanded to hear from Yue Gongli, who denied being Xu Xiaoshou.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained that he had used Grotesque Trickery and Jinren’s will to impersonate Hua Zhiyao, provoke Yue Gongli, and contaminate Dao Qiongchang’s memory imprint in Cold Palace.
• Xu Xiaoshou learned that the Cold Palace Saint Emperor was secluded in the Cold Palace Grotto-Heaven, then called Ping’er over to propose a game.

Xu Xiaoshou used a fantasy game with the maids to learn more about the dangers surrounding the Sorrowful Emperor Realm and the Heavenly Origin Emperor Realm. Dai'er revealed that she was a Holy Emperor of an outsider race and dismissed Yue Beihua Rao Dao as no threat, leaving Xu Xiaoshou to question what Qian Shi could do against them.

• Xu Xiaoshou asked the maids to imagine entering the Sorrowful Emperor Realm and name what they feared most.
• The maids described Bei Huai’s grotesque life-forms, the realm’s pervasive surveillance, and the Great World Locust Tree’s bond with Sorrowful and Bei Huai.
• Dai'er warned that Bei Huai might be tied to the Death God and the Ghost Ancestor’s Way of Reincarnation, and that Sorrowful’s Ancestor God could sense hostile intent.
• Dai'er said Ancestor Gods feared only other Ancestor Gods, prompting Xu Xiaoshou to suspect that the Cold Palace Imperial Realm also held an Ancestor God.
• Xu Xiaoshou began a new fantasy about the Heavenly Origin Emperor Realm, and Dai'er revealed she was an outsider-race Holy Emperor who feared neither Yue Beihua Rao Dao nor Qian Shi.

Xu Xiaoshou questioned the Listening Rain Pavilion maidservants about the Heavenly Origin Emperor Realm, then fled when Yue Gongli and Hua Changdeng returned. Yue Gongli discovered that Xu Xiaoshou had used a fantasy game to probe his maids and was alarmed when Ping'er remembered their discussion.

• Xu Xiaoshou asked the maidservants what they knew about the Heavenly Origin Holy Emperor, and they discussed the Heavenly Origin Clan’s Dao of Stars, strategic preparations, and possible weaknesses in direct combat.
• Huan'er argued that an attacker might surprise the Heavenly Origin Emperor Realm by charging in without warning, but Xu Xiaoshou reconsidered the danger of facing the Heavenly Origin Holy Emperor’s schemes.
• Xu Xiaoshou sensed Yue Gongli and Hua Changdeng returning, ended the fantasy game, and disappeared before they entered Listening Rain Pavilion.
• Yue Gongli and Hua Changdeng arrived, and Hua Changdeng suspected Xu Xiaoshou had disguised himself and visited the pavilion while they were away.
• Yue Gongli questioned the maidservants about what Xu Xiaoshou had discussed, but they struggled to remember the fantasy game.
• Ping'er recalled that the conversation concerned the Sorrowful Emperor Realm and the Heavenly Origin Emperor Realm, and Yue Gongli demanded to know why she remembered.

Yue Gongli tried to uncover Xu Xiaoshou’s plans by searching the maids’ souls, while Hua Changdeng warned that Xu might be guiding their suspicions. After a report placed Xu in the Wurao Emperor Realm, Yue Gongli and Hua Changdeng set out to confront him, but Yue Gongli returned to search Yue Gonghui as well.

• Yue Gongli searched Ping'er, Shuangshuang, and Huan'er's souls, finding their memories consistent with Xu Xiaoshou having obscured what they knew.
• Hua Changdeng warned Yue Gongli that Xu might be controlling what the soul searches revealed, and the two debated whether Xu would go to the Wurao Emperor Realm or the Heavenly Origin Emperor Realm.
• Yue Gongli decided to go to the Wurao Emperor Realm with Hua Changdeng after an elder reported that Xu Xiaoshou had appeared there.
• Yue Gongli searched Dai'er's soul and found no sign that she was involved in Xu Xiaoshou's schemes.
• After leaving with Hua Changdeng, Yue Gongli returned and searched Yue Gonghui's soul, then angrily condemned what he had found in the old man's memories.