Chapter Summaries

Gu Qingshan retrieved the second divine artifact from beneath the clock tower while the wizard fought the Black Faced Strongman. Before pursuing the third artifact, he grew wary of the gods’ motives and decided they needed more information.

• The wizard destroyed the labyrinth’s buildings, then fought the Black Faced Strongman, who demanded the release of his family.
• Gu Qingshan used the destruction to reach the ruins of the clock tower and found the second divine artifact hidden underground.
• Gu Qingshan concealed the two artifacts and questioned how they could seal the monster when Xiao Xi had once needed all her power to do so.
• Gu Qingshan considered several possibilities about the Seven Demon Gods and warned Xiao Xi not to trust the gods with their fate.
• Although Gu Qingshan knew where the third artifact was, he decided to stop and gather more information before collecting it.

Gu Qingshan discovered that the Light-Shape Beings might be impostors nurturing new gods, while the Black Market's experts searched the maze for divine artifacts. As he tried to escape with Xiao Xi, an old man opened a treasure box and called on the beings in the sky.

• Gu Qingshan sealed the two divine organs in their box after sensing that something in the sky had noticed them, and Xiao Xi explained they came from ancient Void Monsters.
• Black Market experts entered the maze to search for divine artifacts as the monster's giant body fought Black Scorpion and overpowered him.
• Xiao Xi taught Gu Qingshan the Ancient Language, allowing him to understand the monster's plea about being sealed by someone besides the gods.
• Gu Qingshan realized the Light-Shape Beings might be concealing the gods' deaths and impersonating them to nurture new gods.
• Gu Qingshan urged Xiao Xi to flee, but an old man opened a treasure box and appealed to the Light-Shape Beings to make him a demigod.

Gu Qingshan watched the gods claim Xiao Xi as a weapon and was offered the chance to become a demigod. He refused the honor and asked the Light-Shape Being to bring Xiao Xi back, declaring that his only wish was for her to truly live.

• The God of Time and Space descended after the old man revealed the bone crown, and the Light-Shape Being took Gu Qingshan’s coin and gathered his two divine artifacts with the crown.
• The Light-Shape Being used the long bone to drive the monster from the giant’s body, then transformed the three artifacts and sent Xiao Xi away.
• The Light-Shape Being declared the old man worthy of becoming a demigod, and the Time and Space Divine Hall began preparing to awaken him as a saint.
• The Light-Shape Being offered Gu Qingshan the right to kindle any Divinity Tree, but he asked it to return Xiao Xi instead of granting him power.
• The Light-Shape Being urged Gu Qingshan to abandon his plea and become a demigod, but he declared that his only wish was for Xiao Xi to truly live.

Gu Qingshan defied the Light-Shape Being after it broke its promise, then was sealed with an evil creature. As the creature attacked, Gu Qingshan asked whether it wanted to escape.

• Gu Qingshan invoked the Light-Shape Being’s promise, but it sealed him in the desert with an evil creature and declared that no one could enter the world again.
• As quicksand swallowed him, Gu Qingshan insulted the Light-Shape Being with a raised middle finger and a thumbs-down, then accused it of breaking its word.
• After the Light-Shape Being departed, Zhang Yinghao summoned Oldest and asked how the gods who fell throughout history had been defeated.
• Gu Qingshan found room to move inside the seal and spoke with Mountain Girl while the divine power around him began to weaken.
• The imprisoned shadow attacked Gu Qingshan, but he remained still and asked whether it wanted to get out.

Su Xue'er and Anna stopped fighting after learning that Gu Qingshan had been sealed with only ten minutes of divine protection, and Su Xue'er tried to sacrifice herself. Anna revealed that a Life-Substituting Contract linked her life to Gu Qingshan's, and after the deadline passed without Anna dying, they knew he was still alive.

• Su Xue'er and Anna halted their battle when the Light-Shape Being revealed that Gu Qingshan had been sealed and given only ten minutes of power.
• Su Xue'er tried to kill herself and then offered to use a Martyrdom Card to grant Anna an ancient blessing, but Anna stopped her.
• Anna explained that the Life-Substituting Contract connected her life to Gu Qingshan's and could indicate whether he had died.
• Su Xue'er and Anna anxiously waited through the ten-minute deadline, holding each other as they feared the worst.
• After more time passed without Anna dying, Anna confirmed that Gu Qingshan was still alive.

Gu Qingshan learned that the Darkness Light Being could send him back through time and used the ability to return to a crucial moment in Hundred Flowers Hall. He arrived as the Hundred Flowers Fairy explained that the Heaven Sword could help repair the Earth Sword.

• Su Xue'er stopped Anna from rushing to save Gu Qingshan, and the two agreed to gather information and prepare to kill the Light-Shape Being.
• Gu Qingshan discovered that the being inside the seal could read desires and control those who had them, then negotiated with it for help escaping.
• The Darkness Light Being revealed its once-in-a-lifetime Space-Time Impregnation skill and agreed to send Gu Qingshan to a moment within the past seven days.
• Gu Qingshan died twice during his attempts through time, first by exceeding the seven-day limit and then after a monster in the Space-Time Mist swallowed him.
• Gu Qingshan reached Hundred Flowers Hall, where the Hundred Flowers Fairy explained that the Heaven Sword was the Earth Sword's twin and could repair it.

Gu Qingshan repeatedly traveled back to a moment with Xie Daoling, trying to avoid the later decision that would cause the laws of time to erase him. He obtained the Original Heaven Realm Teleportation Array plate, but was erased again when Xie Daoling decided to send him to the Contention Zone.

• Gu Qingshan first tried to persuade Xie Daoling to let him repair Earth Sword, but she refused and recommended that he improve his cultivation in the Contention Zone; the timeline erased him.
• The Darkness Light Being explained that Gu Qingshan had touched events that already happened later and told him he had 797 attempts left.
• Gu Qingshan claimed he had come from the future, but Xie Daoling still decided to take him to the Contention Zone, and he was erased again.
• Gu Qingshan advised the Darkness Light Being to stop eating people and gave it dry rations before asking it to send him back.
• Gu Qingshan persuaded Xie Daoling to give him the Original Heaven Realm Teleportation Array plate, which he stored for a future trip to find Heaven Sword.
• Xie Daoling decided to send Gu Qingshan to the Contention Zone herself, erasing him once more; he awoke to find the Darkness Light Being wearing his appearance and holding a chicken leg.

Gu Qingshan used a time-bending plan to reach the Original Heaven Realm and search for Heaven's Sword, but his first encounter there ended in sudden death. The Darkness Light Being revealed that a distant Yellow Dragon killed him merely by looking at him, leaving him with 794 chances.

• Gu Qingshan arranged to evade the timeline's erasure, obtained the Primordial Heaven Realm Traversal Array Plate from Xie Daoling, and traveled to the Righteous Iron Fist Club.
• Gu Qingshan activated the array plate and arrived in the Original Heaven Realm, where he deployed defensive formations and set out toward the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace's buildings.
• Gu Qingshan found a stone marked "Feeding Garden," which emitted a beam of light, and then saw a Yellow Dragon approach through a sudden storm.
• The Yellow Dragon looked at Gu Qingshan, killing him and sending him back to the Darkness Tide.
• The Darkness Light Being told Gu Qingshan that he had 794 chances left and explained that the dragon's gaze had killed him.

Lola pressed the Pope for the secret of the final three coins, offering him an unknown god’s finger bone in exchange. The Pope revealed that the coins contained a power capable of reversing death, time, and fate, leaving Lola eager to pursue it.

• After the welcoming ceremony, the hall’s followers prepared examination grounds, while the Pope planned to name Lola an Honorary Bishop for her enormous donation.
• Lola asked the Pope for secret knowledge about the coins and clarified that she wanted to know about the final three.
• When the Pope refused to discuss the forbidden secret, Lola showed him a black finger bone from an unknown fallen god and offered it as a personal gift in exchange for the truth.
• The Pope agreed to tell Lola the secret after seeing the Thorn Holy Tree protect her.
• The Pope explained that thirty-three ancient gods had forged the final three coins, which each held part of a supreme power that could bring back the dead, reverse everything, and halt the fate of all living beings.

Gu Qingshan repeatedly tried to reach the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace, only to be killed by its guardians. After discovering that the Spirit Turtle carried the mountain and spared him, he learned that entry required a jade disc, but his claim that it had been destroyed earned him another death.

• Gu Qingshan was killed by the qilin at the Mountain Guard Pavilion, then died again after flying past it and drawing the phoenix's attention.
• Gu Qingshan planned to avoid the guardians by flying beneath the clouds and tunneling into the mountain from below.
• Gu Qingshan collided with the enormous Spirit Turtle carrying the mountain, then uncovered it with a Wind Incantation.
• Gu Qingshan realized the Spirit Turtle behaved differently from the other guardians, and it woke up and asked to see his jade disc.
• Gu Qingshan said the Heavenly Palace Jade Disc had been destroyed, so the Spirit Turtle refused him entry and killed him.

Gu Qingshan returned to the Original Heaven Realm and asked Spirit Turtle to help him reach the Heavenly Palace, despite having lost the Jade Disc. Spirit Turtle told him to survive for an hour before it would help, but an unknown force sent him into a devastating battle in the Ancient Era, where he was killed and returned to the Darkness Tide.

• Gu Qingshan relived his journey to the Original Heaven Realm and showed Spirit Turtle his broken Earth Sword and his Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace Divine Skills.
• Spirit Turtle refused to help Gu Qingshan without the Jade Disc, but promised to take him to steal one if he survived in the wild for an hour.
• An unknown fluctuation forced Gu Qingshan to the ground and transported him into an Ancient Era battlefield filled with armored cultivators and war vessels.
• A white light struck the battle formation, killing the cultivators around Gu Qingshan, and a gigantic head covered in eyes descended as he died.
• Gu Qingshan awoke in the Darkness Tide, where the Darkness Light Being confirmed that a force had sent him to the Ancient Era.

Gu Qingshan entered a fragment of the Ancient Era, where his Thunder Spirit Life Method helped the cultivators defeat the Barren Ancient Demon Eyes. As the worlds neared a collision and a full-scale invasion loomed, he learned the gods had betrayed the cultivators, then the fragment ended and he returned to the barren land.

• The Darkness Light Being sent Gu Qingshan back into the time fragment, and after a temporal monster swallowed him once, he tried again and reached the battlefield.
• Gu Qingshan dodged the temporal monster's attack, then used his twin swords and Severance to immobilize Barren Ancient Demon Eyes and help the cultivators destroy them.
• The general ordered guards to protect Gu Qingshan, whose divine power let the cultivators disable and defeat the remaining demon eyes.
• Gu Qingshan learned the Ancient Era cultivators did not recognize the Thunder Spirit Life Method or the Special Five Elements.
• As another world drew close for a decisive battle, Vice General Wang reported that the gods had betrayed the cultivators and attacked their command center before dying.
• The time fragment vanished, leaving Gu Qingshan back on the barren land.

Gu Qingshan survived the time fragment and asked the Spirit Turtle how to enter the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace. Unable to accept the Spirit Turtle’s defensive divine ability, he set off to face the Heavenly Palace’s Entry Trial.

• The Spirit Turtle learned that Gu Qingshan had survived the great battle and offered to help him enter the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace.
• The Spirit Turtle proposed stealing the Guardian Jade Disc from the Vermilion Bird’s nest and teaching Gu Qingshan the divine ability Head and Tail Without Trace to protect him.
• Gu Qingshan refused the shell-based ability because his Heavenly Dao Oath forbade him from evading attacks by means other than armor.
• The Spirit Turtle gave Gu Qingshan an Entry Trial jade disc and explained that he had to pass the trial to join the sect.
• Gu Qingshan flew toward the Mountain Guard Pavilion while the Spirit Turtle watched him go with regret.

Gu Qingshan was transported to the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace and assumed the identity of Shen Yang, a disciple summoned before his master. After revealing that the gods threatened the sect, the master ordered his disciples to flee to the Lower Realm and entrusted Gu Qingshan with his sleeping daughter, Xie Daoling.

• Gu Qingshan used Spirit Turtle’s jade disc to enter the Mountain Guard Pavilion, where the Qilin sent him to a cultivator’s cave dwelling.
• Gu Qingshan discovered he had taken Shen Yang’s body and memories, then joined Zhao Kuan and Huang Zhan at their master’s summons.
• The Barren Cloud Palace Sect Leader revealed that Measuring God had injured Earth Sword after a duel and warned that the gods might destroy the sect.
• The Sect Leader ordered Zhao Kuan, Huang Zhan, and Shen Yang to escape to the Lower Realm, assigning Zhao Kuan the sect’s manuals and Huang Zhan the care of Earth Sword.
• The Sect Leader entrusted Gu Qingshan with his daughter, Xie Daoling, who slept inside an ice crystal as a formation slowly dispelled her curse and sustained her life.

Gu Qingshan, occupying Shen Yang’s place in the Ancient Era, escaped the Heavenly Palace’s destruction and uncovered Zhao Kuan’s attempt to lure him into a trap. He left Zhao Kuan battered and powerless aboard his flying ship in the Void Turbulence.

• The Barren Cloud Palace Master sent Shen Yang, Huang Zhan, and Zhao Kuan to the Lower Realm separately, explaining that Zhao Kuan would lead the sect, Huang Zhan would inherit the Earth Sword, and Shen Yang would be kept free to cultivate.
• As the gods attacked the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace, the three disciples fled on separate World-Breaking Flying Ships, and Zhao Kuan gave Huang Zhan and Gu Qingshan jade slips to locate one another.
• In the Void Turbulence, Zhao Kuan joined Gu Qingshan’s ship and offered to travel with him, but Gu Qingshan used Shape Shifting and Severance to ambush him, with a woman helping disarm Zhao Kuan.
• Gu Qingshan defeated Zhao Kuan and accused him of plotting against the sect, pointing out that Zhao Kuan had ignored the Palace Master’s order to travel separately by giving out the jade slips.

Gu Qingshan killed Zhao Kuan after learning he had betrayed the sect and allied with the gods, then destroyed Zhao Kuan’s soul before the divine runes could retrieve it. As a god’s power approached through the Void Turbulence, the Earth Sword arrived and carried Gu Qingshan away.

• Zhao Kuan resisted Gu Qingshan’s Soul Searching Technique with divine runes and admitted he had sided with the gods because he could not become a Sword Immortal.
• Zhao Kuan revealed that he had handed the Earth Sword to the gods and arranged for their subordinates to hunt the sect’s disciples.
• Gu Qingshan impaled Zhao Kuan with the Hell-Suppressing Ghost King Scepter, revealed his Flying Swords, and killed him.
• Gu Qingshan used Soul Dissipation to destroy Zhao Kuan’s soul and found a jade disc and a Teleportation Array on his body.
• A god’s golden light approached through the Void Turbulence, and the Earth Sword appeared and took Gu Qingshan away.

Gu Qingshan passed the Spirit Turtle’s trial and entered the Ancient Era as a child, where he sought a path toward the Heavenly Sword. At the sect-selection ceremony, nearly a thousand swords answered him, and he chose Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace.

• Turtle Young Master awarded Gu Qingshan a Disciple Jade Tablet and explained that he had to become his generation’s most outstanding disciple to earn the chance to seek the Heavenly Sword.
• The jade tablet sent Gu Qingshan to a mountain academy in a child’s body, with his cultivation reset but his memories, divine abilities, and twin swords intact.
• Children at the academy received gifts from the sects, including spirit weapons and other cultivation tools, as they demonstrated their aptitudes.
• When Gu Qingshan stood in the selection square, nearly a thousand swords descended from the clouds and gathered around him.
• Gu Qingshan chose Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace.

Gu Qingshan joined the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace, discovered its hidden cave heaven, and asked the Palace Master to accept him as a disciple. After Gu Qingshan swore a Heavenly Dao Oath to remain the foremost sword cultivator among his fellow disciples, the Palace Master took him in.

• Gu Qingshan chose the Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace and joined the other newly inducted children aboard a flying boat.
• The Palace Master opened the cave heaven, where a young woman used her flute to destroy Barren Ancient Evil hidden among the newcomers.
• The new disciples arrived at River Heart Island and were directed toward six peaks according to the artifacts they had received.
• Gu Qingshan bypassed the peak routes and asked the Palace Master to accept him as a disciple so he could become the strongest sword cultivator of his generation.
• Gu Qingshan swore to cripple his cultivation and leave the sect if he lost that standing, then explained that he drew his sword to set injustice right.
• The Palace Master accepted Gu Qingshan as his disciple and urged him to attain the Great Dao and sweep away injustice for the Human Race.

Five years after joining Barren Cloud Heavenly Palace, Gu Qingshan remained absorbed in studying sword canons and avoided sparring, prompting the Peak Lords to urge Xie Guhong to bring him into the sect’s affairs. After testing Gu Qingshan’s swordsmanship, Xie Guhong told him to stay out of the spotlight for three years before taking a sword-teaching position at Perching Cloud Peak.

• The Barren Cloud Palace Lord assigned Luo Bingli to lead two sound-art cultivators against Netherworld Soul Demons, with the Peak Lord of Perching Cloud Peak escorting them with two hundred fighters.
• The Peak Lords complained that Gu Qingshan had skipped the grand tournaments and refused sparring challenges, and Xie Guhong went to speak with him.
• Gu Qingshan told Xie Guhong that the Heavenly Dao still recognized him as the number-one sword cultivator, so fighting his peers would waste his time.
• Xie Guhong sparred with Gu Qingshan, easily deflected his attacks, and explained that advanced swordsmanship required restraining power for a decisive strike.
• Xie Guhong told Gu Qingshan to avoid making others look bad for three years, after which he would give him a position teaching swordsmanship at Perching Cloud Peak.

After seven years of studying the Sword Canon in Sword Abyss, Gu Qingshan attended Xie Guhong’s ceremony to accept Huang Zhan and Shen Yang as disciples. Xie Guhong put Gu Qingshan in charge of teaching them for three months, and when a youth challenged him, Gu Qingshan knocked him unconscious with a glance.

• Gu Qingshan recalled his tribulations, his conversations with ancient demons, and how reaching the Great Void Realm let his true self replace the young body.
• Xie Guhong summoned Gu Qingshan to the apprenticeship ceremony on River Heart Island, where Gu Qingshan announced Huang Zhan and Shen Yang’s accomplishments.
• Xie Guhong accepted Huang Zhan and Shen Yang as disciples, and Gu Qingshan gave them the brief advice to cultivate diligently.
• Xie Guhong assigned Gu Qingshan to teach the two new disciples while he was away for three months, unsettling the gathered peak masters and disciples.
• A youth from Ancient Radiance Peak challenged Gu Qingshan, who glanced at him and left him unconscious.