Chapter Summaries

Xu Xiaoshou questioned Ba Zunan about Dao Qiongchang and the Ancestor Gods, then learned that Ba Zunan and others were being pushed toward extreme paths as subjects for the Ancestors’ study. Ba Zunan asked what he was, and Xu Xiaoshou began probing his understanding of the self.

• Xu Xiaoshou asked whether Dao Qiongchang’s Dao was connected to a Dao Ancestor, and Ba Zunan explained that Dao Qiongchang had used the title as a spiritual anchor.
• Xu Xiaoshou described meeting Turtle Boy, who called himself the Dao Ancestor, and speculated that Dao Qiongchang might be pursuing the Dao itself.
• Ba Zunan explained that the Ancestors treated the Holy Spirit Continent as a cage where they raised people such as him, Shen Yi, and Cao Yihan to study the paths to godhood and ancestorhood.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked what Dao Ba Zunan cultivated, and Ba Zunan clarified that he practiced Sword Self before asking, “What am I?”
• Xu Xiaoshou advised Ba Zunan to cultivate Will before pursuing the self, but Ba Zunan said Will was not the path he wanted and that “Will is not I.”
• Xu Xiaoshou recognized the weight of Ba Zunan’s insight and asked him to explain what he currently understood by “self.”

Ba Zunan explained how his pursuit of Sword Self grew from his ideas about discerning the self and from witnessing Shen Yi’s Ancient Martial Arts in the Lost Awareness Forbidden Zone. He revealed that Sword Self began as a way to make an intangible Dao concrete, then began describing the genius he met during the Ten Seat Holders Battle.

• Ba Zunan recounted his early life, his friendship with Wen Ting and Ning Honghong, and how his exceptional talent let him master the Sword Scripture and Ancient Sword Arts.
• Ba Zunan explained that he believed people had sunk into the Great Dao without discerning themselves, and that true cultivation required discerning the self while cultivating the Dao.
• Ba Zunan described how he met Shen Yi in the Lost Awareness Forbidden Zone and witnessed Shen Yi use Fourfold Renunciation, Three Realms, and an unstable Two Principles.
• Ba Zunan said Shen Yi’s Two Principles inspired the concept of Sword Self, which he hoped to manifest as something tangible rather than leave as an abstract idea.
• Ba Zunan began recalling how, during the Ten Seat Holders Battle, he met another genius who helped him make progress toward Sword Self.

Xu Xiaoshou explained how he had come to accept the Name Ancestor’s place in the Way of Fame and resolved to forge his own path as Ancestor Shou. He offered Ba Zunan insight into Self-Discernment, leaving Ba Zunan on the verge of enlightenment while Kong Yuhen unexpectedly burst into laughter.

• Ba Zunan described Kui Leihan’s Divine Mind Penetration, prompting Xu Xiaoshou to reconsider the Name Ancestor’s relationship to his own Way of Fame.
• Xu Xiaoshou resolved to combine the Power of Reputation with other principles and become Ancestor Shou.
• Xu Xiaoshou derailed Ba Zunan’s explanation of Sword Self with an eggplant joke, frustrating Ba Zunan until he tried to leave.
• Xu Xiaoshou shared his insight that the myriad were not the self and that the Dao and name could not be fully explained, causing Ba Zunan to pause and draw in surging Dao rhythm.
• Ba Zunan restrained his breakthrough and thanked Xu Xiaoshou, but Kong Yuhen suddenly laughed at the eggplant joke before regaining his composure.

Liu Fuyu and Yu Zhiwen set out for the Ghost Buddha Realm to find Xu Xiaoshou, but Dao Qiongchang intercepted them and brought Moon Palace Slave. After Moon Palace Slave cut Dao Qiongchang down, Yu Zhiwen told her that Xu Xiaoshou and Ba Zunan missed her, leaving her stunned.

• Liu Fuyu and Yu Zhiwen discussed their unease and decided to travel through the Apricot Realm toward the Ghost Buddha Realm to find Xu Xiaoshou.
• Dao Qiongchang appeared on the Southern Abyss beach, revealed that Xu Xiaoshou was in the Ancient Past Forget-Worry Pavilion, and apologized to Yu Zhiwen.
• Dao Qiongchang introduced Moon Palace Slave, who scolded him after learning he had raised Yu Zhiwen through Heavenly Mechanism Puppets and deceived her about her family.
• Moon Palace Slave struck Dao Qiongchang with the Nuxian Buddha Sword, cutting him in half and sending his body into the sea.
• Yu Zhiwen recognized Moon Palace Slave and told her that Xu Xiaoshou and Ba Zunan missed her, leaving Moon Palace Slave overwhelmed by the news.

Moon Palace Slave joined Yu Zhiwen and Liu Fuyu on the journey to Lingyu Mountain and exposed how Dao Qiongchang had used Liu Fuyu to delay Xu Xiaoshou from reaching the Sword Tower. The chapter ended with Dao Qiongchang warning them that probing the Sword Tower’s secrets could bring disaster.

• Moon Palace Slave agreed to travel with Yu Zhiwen and Liu Fuyu in disguise, explaining that Dao Qiongchang had abducted her from the Cold Prison while impersonating Dao Xuanji.
• Moon Palace Slave revealed that Dao Qiongchang’s dealings with the Devil Ancestor concerned Liu Fuyu and the Sword Tower sword Hu, which helped seal the Devil Ancestor’s spirit.
• Liu Fuyu explained that her late master had sent her to find Xu Xiaoshou, and Moon Palace Slave concluded that Dao Qiongchang had indirectly confused Liu Fuyu’s memories and dulled the Sword Tower’s presence.
• Yu Zhiwen deduced that Dao Qiongchang used the Kyoto Grand Formation to delay Liu Fuyu and keep Xu Xiaoshou from taking her to the Sword Tower for half a year.
• Liu Fuyu confronted Dao Qiongchang about releasing the Devil Ancestor’s spirit, but he warned the women to stop investigating or risk inviting disaster.

Moon Palace Slave and the others discovered that Ba Zunan had visited Liu Fuyu’s Sword Tower and may have influenced the events surrounding Guard. Dao Qiongchang warned Moon Palace Slave that Ba Zunan would inevitably die, urging her to go to Lingyu Mountain for one final meeting.

• Moon Palace Slave questioned Liu Fuyu about who had guided her and her master, and Dao Qiongchang suggested that Liu Fuyu might have taken Guard from the Sword Tower by coincidence.
• Liu Fuyu recalled a tall man in White Robes visiting the Sword Tower and identified him as Ba Zunan.
• Dao Qiongchang theatrically confirmed that Ba Zunan had visited the Sword Tower, and Moon Palace Slave attacked him in fury.
• Dao Qiongchang revealed that Ba Zunan would be eliminated regardless of the Hua Ba War’s outcome and urged Moon Palace Slave to meet him at Lingyu Mountain.
• Moon Palace Slave threatened to become a vessel for the Devil Ancestor and Sui Yin, then prepared to leave through the River of Time after Dao Qiongchang admitted he could only lie about Ba Zunan’s fate.

Yu Zhiwen tried to keep Moon Palace Slave from following Dao Qiongchang’s orders, but he revealed how thoroughly he had manipulated Xu Xiaoshou and shattered their supposed alternatives. He sent the women toward Lingyu Mountain, entrusted Yu Zhiwen with a mysterious box for Xu Xiaoshou, and vanished after a coin toss landed on the character “Eight.”

• Yu Zhiwen urged Moon Palace Slave to go to the Apricot Realm and summon Xu Xiaoshou, but Dao Qiongchang said the fish pool was fake and Xu Xiaoshou was already part of his plan.
• Dao Qiongchang revealed that Xu Xiaoshou had gone to Changde Town seeking Kui Leihan, whom Dao Qiongchang had used as bait, and claimed he had spared Xu Xiaoshou after proving his point.
• Moon Palace Slave attacked Dao Qiongchang, but he blocked her sword, shattered the River of Time, and insisted that the women had only one path: Lingyu Mountain.
• Dao Qiongchang told Yu Zhiwen that Hua Changdeng must not die and gave her a black-cloth-wrapped box to deliver to Xu Xiaoshou if Ba Zunan fell and Xu Xiaoshou survived.
• Dao Qiongchang challenged Moon Palace Slave to guess a coin toss three times, then vanished as the final coin landed on its “Eight” side.

As the crowd waited for Ba Zunan, Mei Suren stalled Hua Changdeng to buy time, and Xiao Wanfeng stepped forward to protect him. Hua Changdeng struck Xiao Wanfeng down, but Ba Zunan arrived in time to catch him and revealed his identity.

• Spectators at Lingyu Mountain grew impatient as Ba Zunan failed to appear, while Hua Changdeng warned Mei Suren that his patience was running out.
• Mei Suren insisted Ba Zunan needed two hours to comprehend the Dao and challenged Hua Changdeng to strike him again, prompting Hua to decide to enter the Ancient Past Forget-Worry Pavilion himself.
• Xiao Wanfeng threw the Xuancang Divine Sword between Hua Changdeng and Mei Suren, then stepped forward and claimed some understanding of the Ghost Sword Technique.
• Hua Changdeng pointed at Xiao Wanfeng and sent him flying with a grievous head wound, leaving the gathered sword cultivators unable to stop his fall.
• Ba Zunan caught Xiao Wanfeng before he hit the ground, said he had protected Mr. Siren, and introduced himself as Ba Zunan.

Ba Zunan arrived at Lingyu Mountain, saved Xiao Wanfeng from Hua Changdeng, and began a strange Dao discussion instead of drawing swords. He transformed the surroundings into an illusory realm, questioned why Hua Changdeng served as the Three Ancestors’ vanguard, and offered wine to sword cultivators across the Five Domains.

• Hua Changdeng struck Xiao Wanfeng, but Ba Zunan appeared and caught him before he fell, saving his life.
• Ba Zunan confronted Hua Changdeng, who noted that Ba Zunan had healed his scars and regrown his fingers but carried no sword.
• Ba Zunan spoke of wielding all things as swords, then used the Illusion Sword Technique to create a stone table and invite Hua Changdeng to discuss Dao over wine.
• After Hua Changdeng sat down, Ba Zunan’s illusion transformed Lingyu Mountain and locations across the Five Domains into a realm divided between night and dawn.
• Ba Zunan asked whether the Three Ancestors had leverage over Hua Changdeng, then raised his cup and caused golden wine cups to appear before sword cultivators throughout the Five Domains.

Ba Zunan gifted wine across the Five Domains, using his name to rally Ancient Sword Cultivators and asking Xu Xiaoshou to lend him the prestige of his sword name. As Ba Zunan’s projection faded, Dao Qiongchang recognized the danger of having his sword momentum borrowed and sought Second Generation’s insight into the strongest wielder of Intent.

• Ba Zunan sent golden goblets of wine to Ancient Sword Cultivators across the Five Domains, prompting them to reconsider his old prohibition against drinking and raise their cups.
• Xu Xiaoshou received Ba Zunan’s wine in Ancient Past Forget-Worry Pavilion, and Ba Zunan asked to borrow his sword name and lend him a hand before his projection vanished.
• Wen Ting taunted the weeping Qingju with Ba Zunan’s wine and claimed Ba Zunan had returned to his peak without remembering the sword.
• Dao Qiongchang drank Ba Zunan’s wine, realized Ba Zunan could borrow the momentum of anyone who knew his name, and split off his Ancient Sword Cultivator aspect as Gu Qiongcang.
• Dao Qiongchang pondered Ba Zunan’s strategy and Xu Xiaoshou’s hidden Intent, then asked Second Generation who could be called the strongest in the myriad worlds.
• Second Generation named Nuo as the strongest figure associated with Intent.

The Devil Ancestor, Sui Yin, and the Medicine Ancestor discussed whether the Way of Fame belonged to Ba Zunan or Xu Xiaoshou, while Sui Yin proposed that one of them might be the First Name Ancestor. Their exchange about Nuo revealed conflicting accounts, and the chapter ended with the Ancestors turning their attention back to Lingyu.

• The Devil Ancestor wondered whether Ba Zunan or Xu Xiaoshou had inherited the opportunity of fame, and the Medicine Ancestor dismissed the Way of Fame as an inferior Dao.
• Sui Yin argued that fame might not have descended from the future, but that Ba Zunan or Xu Xiaoshou could be the First Name Ancestor; the Devil Ancestor claimed both youths.
• Sui Yin asked the Devil Ancestor who Nuo was, and the Devil Ancestor described a man called Master Xi He and six bottles containing demons called Liu Xu.
• Sui Yin questioned Dao Qiongchang about Nuo, learned that he had found the name in the Scale-White Witch's memories, and told him Nuo was a low-realm Holy Emperor inferior to the War Ancestor.
• Dao Qiongchang suspected the Ten Ancestors were hiding what they knew, while Sui Yin recalled meeting Xi He, who had appeared to be an Ancestor God and offered six bottles in exchange for help.
• The Medicine Ancestor dismissed the discussion of Nuo and urged the others to focus on the present events at Lingyu.

At Spirit Lake, Ba Zunan and Hua Changdeng exchanged questions and revealed that both faced deadly stakes in the struggle to seize the path, while Ba Zunan insisted Xu Xiaoshou was his equal rather than his pawn. As their confrontation remained unresolved, a messenger arrived at Crossroads Corner with Emperor Guifen’s gifts and a request to meet Xiang Yaoyao.

• Ba Zunan questioned Hua Changdeng about his plans if he seized the path and had to face the Ghost Ancestor and the other Ancestors, and Hua Changdeng admitted nothing while challenging him in return.
• Hua Changdeng accused Ba Zunan of entering the game as someone else’s vanguard and named Xu Xiaoshou as the suspected chess player.
• Ba Zunan revealed that Shen Yi and Cao Yihan were his allies against the Devil Ancestor and Sui Yin, then declared that Xu Xiaoshou had never been under his command and toasted him.
• Hua Changdeng accepted Ba Zunan’s answer and drank, while the observers across the Five Domains watched their standoff continue without a fight.
• At Crossroads Corner, a messenger announced that Emperor Guifen had sent gifts of congratulations and requested an audience with Xiang Yaoyao.

Aunt Xiang explained how Liu Guifen had become the North Realm lord, while Liu Guifen entered her boudoir and discovered the overwhelming strength of its residents. Shen Yi recognized Liu Guifen as a possible threat, spared him for questioning, and demanded that he answer honestly.

• Aunt Xiang told Lei Xier and Five Declines of Heaven and Man that Liu Guifen had never lost a fight and could imitate many opponents' abilities and paths.
• Shen Yi sensed a visitor and told Aunt Xiang to open the door for Liu Guifen, who arrived in person rather than sending an envoy.
• Liu Guifen used the Eye of the Great Dao to inspect Aunt Xiang, Lei Xier, Five Declines of Heaven and Man, and Shen Yi's hand, but could not access Shen Yi's full combat data.
• Liu Guifen recognized the hidden Shen Yi, who reacted to his smile by pointing a finger at his brow and triggering a death warning from the Dao Ancestor's Legacy.
• Liu Guifen dropped to his knees, and Shen Yi ordered him to answer Aunt Xiang's questions, speak only when asked, and tell no lies.

Liu Guifen visited Aunt Xiang’s Boudoir and presented Shen Yi with three World-Elephant Spider Lotus Crystals, which could restore him after using Fourfold Renunciation. Although Aunt Xiang suspected the gift was part of a scheme, Shen Yi accepted it and asked her to feed him a crystal.

• Liu Guifen thanked Shen Yi for saving his life at the Relics of the Gods and claimed he had witnessed Shen Yi’s battle with Sui Yin through a wandering consciousness.
• Liu Guifen offered a jade box containing three World-Elephant Spider Lotus Crystals, explaining their connection to Dreamburn Marsh and Fourfold Renunciation.
• Aunt Xiang recognized the crystals and questioned how Liu Guifen knew Shen Yi needed them and how he knew about Fourfold Renunciation.
• Liu Guifen demonstrated that he had learned Gu Wu’s Eight Gates and Seven Mansions, and Shen Yi advised him to train his body.
• Aunt Xiang tried to return the suspicious gift, but Shen Yi accepted the crystals and promised to grant Liu Guifen a request that did not violate his principles.
• Shen Yi placed one crystal in Xiang Yaoyao’s hand and told her to feed him.

After Shen Yi recovered his body with the World-Elephant Spider Lotus Crystal, Five Declines of Heaven and Man interrogated Liu Guifen about the source of his sudden power. Shen Yi resisted the Three Aversions Eye and defended Liu Guifen, but Aunt Xiang helped Five Declines get one answer: Liu Guifen had found an inheritance in a green dagger.

• Aunt Xiang used the World-Elephant Spider Lotus Crystal to restore Shen Yi's body, and he took up the Overlord staff.
• Five Declines of Heaven and Man used the Three Aversions Eye on Liu Guifen and asked who had sent him and what ties he had to the Holy Emperor Clans and Dao Qiongchang.
• Shen Yi confronted Five Declines, resisted the Three Aversions Eye, and insisted that Liu Guifen's intentions did not matter to him.
• Aunt Xiang persuaded Shen Yi to let Five Declines ask one more question, and Liu Guifen revealed that he had obtained a green dagger in the Relics of the Gods.
• With Aunt Xiang distracting Shen Yi, Five Declines asked what Liu Guifen had gained from the dagger, and Liu Guifen answered that it was an inheritance.

Shen Yi welcomed Liu Guifen’s warning and agreed to take him and Wu Siniang into the Inverted Buddha Pagoda as the pagoda’s opening phenomenon began. As Shen Yi prepared to leave, Xiang Yaoyao clung to him and urged him to take care of himself.

• Dao Qiongchang concealed the words “Dao Ancestor” from Liu Guifen’s memories, while Shen Yi stopped Five Declines of Heaven and Man’s Three Aversions Eye and apologized to Liu Guifen.
• Aunt Xiang questioned Liu Guifen about his green dagger and his plans for the Inverted Buddha Pagoda, but Shen Yi refused to take the dagger and promised to protect it and its owner.
• Aunt Xiang agreed that Liu Guifen could enter the pagoda with Shen Yi and proposed including Wu Siniang, while limiting East Street’s group to three people because she would stay behind.
• Liu Guifen warned Shen Yi that Lei Xier’s God-Devil Pupils and Supreme Life Demon Body, and Five Declines of Heaven and Man’s Bloodworld Pearl, might be arrangements left by powerful figures.
• As golden light and earthquakes signaled the Inverted Buddha Pagoda’s emergence, Shen Yi vowed to protect the group and set out with Lei Xier and Five Declines of Heaven and Man.
• Xiang Yaoyao held Shen Yi from behind as he prepared to leave and told him to take care of himself.

The Inverted Buddha Pagoda emerged at Crossroads Corner, drawing the rulers of the four streets and their followers as they waited for Shen Yi to arrive. At Spirit Lake, Ba Zunan challenged Hua Changdeng’s judgment of the Ancient Sword Way and offered to use a sword to test whether its inheritance was right or wrong.

• The Inverted Buddha Pagoda appeared above a spatial vortex at Crossroads Corner, where Lei Xier, Five Declines of Heaven and Man, Guifen, Wu Siniang, the Corpse Binder, and Thousand-Hand Tailor gathered.
• Five Declines of Heaven and Man said Shen Yi would arrive in one hour, and his half-bow sent the assembled figures fleeing from the vortex.
• Ba Zunan drunkenly repeated Hua Changdeng’s claims that parts of the Ancient Sword Way were flawed and questioned whether its failure had led to spiritual cultivation dominating the Five Domains.
• When Hua Changdeng reached for Ghost Hunter, Ba Zunan struck the stone table, caught Ghost Hunter and the bronze lamp, and offered to prove the Ancient Sword Way’s correctness with a sword.

Ba Zunan invoked Absolute Imperial Rule and the Emperor Venerable Seal, commanding swords across the Five Domains to gather at Lingyu Mountain and forcing even famous swords to leave their wielders. As the sword sea assembled around him, Gu Qingyi watched in despair and realized how far Ba Zunan surpassed everyone else.

• Ba Zunan seized Ghost Hunter long enough to inspect it and announced that gathering the Famous Sword Twenty-One could summon the Sword Ancestor's inheritance and Ancestor God Godhood, but Hua Changdeng refused to lend it.
• Ba Zunan proclaimed that swords were servants and wielders were their masters, then used the Myriad Sword Technique to summon an imperial manifestation and command, "Myriad Swords Return to the Sect!"
• Bei Bei recognized the Emperor Venerable Seal in Ba Zunan's technique, then watched Emperor Sword: Duzun leave her hand and rushed toward Lingyu Mountain to pursue him.
• Swords across the Five Domains streamed toward Lingyu Mountain, including Moonchaser from the Wind Clan's Sword Pavilion, and formed a vast sea of swords around Ba Zunan.
• Yuelian, Enchantress of Absolute Beauty, Myriad Weapons Devil Ancestor, Voice of Nulan, Spirit Extraction Staff, and Crane Sword Tingchen all flew from their wielders to answer Ba Zunan's command.
• Gu Qingyi watched Yuelian abandon him and concluded that Ba Zunan's overwhelming talent and power made him seem beyond reach.

Ba Zunan summoned the Famous Swords with a command, and Xiao Kongtong opened his sack to release the swords he had gathered. The Storyteller added more swords to the gathering, but Flame Sword Yanmang was still missing, and Xiao Wanfeng realized it was with Master Shou, who had not appeared.

• Ba Zunan's command sent Famous Swords rising into the sky, while spectators noticed that many ranked swords were still absent.
• Xiao Kongtong had Mei Suren kick his sack over, then released the Hidden Character Sword and unleashed a torrent of Famous Swords into the sky.
• Xiao Kongtong's sack disgorged numerous swords, including the Sleeve Sword Twin Needles, Ghost Wheel Sorrow, Great Luo Nine-Heavens Profound Life Sword, and Wounded Sword Great Compassion Tearless Sword.
• The Storyteller arrived with Luo Leilei and used the Yin-Yang Life-and-Death Ledger to send Spirit Sword Clear Wind and the Mad Condor Sword into the gathering.
• The spectators realized Flame Sword Yanmang was still missing, and Xiao Wanfeng recalled that Master Shou had it.

Xu Xiaoshou negotiated with Kong Yuhen over the Origin True Stele: Time and offered him a choice tied to the Ancestor Gods’ secrets and the coming battle. Kong Yuhen chose to side with Ba Zunan, but Xu Xiaoshou left before hearing his answer and took the Time Ancestor Shadow Staff with him.

• Xu Xiaoshou asked Kong Yuhen to promise him the Origin True Stele: Time and gave him the Gate of Reincarnation in return.
• Xu Xiaoshou offered Kong Yuhen three choices for learning the Ancestor Gods’ secrets, with different prices and consequences.
• Xu Xiaoshou warned that choosing the middle option meant severing ties with the Ancestor Gods until one of them fell, while choosing the upper option meant protecting Ba Zunan after he was eliminated.
• Xu Xiaoshou said he would offer the same choices to the Devil Ancestor, the Medicine Ancestor, and Sui Yin if Kong Yuhen delayed his decision.
• Kong Yuhen declared that he had chosen, but Xu Xiaoshou left before hearing the answer, taking the Time Ancestor Shadow Staff with him.