Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi completed his demonic transformation, shattered Wang Xuanji’s Nine Heavens True Dragon Sword, and killed him and his mount in a matter of moments. His killing intent continued to rise as Dong Xuanji and the four Secret Guards stood stunned.

• Xu Yi’s exhausted medicines left him with a completed demonic transformation and twelve destroyed meridians, while his body’s power summoned immense Calamity Clouds.
• Wang Xuanji strengthened the Nine Heavens True Dragon Sword with his blood and tried to slow Xu Yi with a blade of Baleful Intent.
• Xu Yi charged through the blast, crushed the Nine Heavens True Dragon Sword, and killed Wang Xuanji with a single grip.
• Xu Yi absorbed Wang Xuanji’s Yin Soul with the Blood River Flag, which gained another blood-red skull.
• Wang Xuanji’s gray mount attacked Xu Yi as he fell, but Xu Yi struck it down and killed it.
• Dong Xuanji and the four Secret Guards watched in shock as Xu Yi’s killing intent continued to grow.

Xu Yi killed Dong Xuanji and destroyed the imperial palace, then was pulled into a starry-sky vortex and fell into Dragon River gravely wounded. At Qi Tian Hall, Xia Xingguang ordered an investigation near Mount Tiankui and arranged for the Azure Wind Wolf’s son to inherit his father’s territory.

• Xu Yi hurled five stones at near-light speed, killing Dong Xuanji and four other cultivators, then absorbed their black mist into the Blood River Flag.
• Xu Yi demolished the golden palace, mourned Xia Zimo, and fled toward the outer city as the Calamity Cloud gathered.
• A blue vortex appeared in the sky and drew Xu Yi inside with a beam of light; he fell back out with his demon body severely wounded, and the Calamity Cloud dissipated.
• Xu Yi plunged into the waters of Dragon River while, at Qi Tian Hall, Xia Xingguang spat blue blood and the star chart dimmed as more than a thousand Spirit Stones were drained.
• Xia Xingguang ordered a search around Mount Tiankui and appointed the Azure Wind Wolf’s son as successor, threatening to execute anyone who resisted.

Xia Xingguang opened a Stellar Tunnel to reach Xia Zimo, but Xu Yi was dragged into it with her and suffered catastrophic injuries before falling into the Dragon River. As the Third Prince feared for his own life and Xu Yi’s Sumeru Ring, he offered vast rewards for the demon king’s body and ring, prompting a crowd to search the river.

• Xia Xingguang used the demonic essence of thousands of demons and her own power to open a Stellar Tunnel toward Xia Zimo, despite the first attempt failing.
• The tunnel’s spatial force seized Xu Yi as he protected Xia Zimo, severing his arms and tearing open his abdomen before casting him into the Dragon River.
• Xu Yi sank beneath the muddy waters, and the Calamity Cloud dispersed while onlookers gathered but stayed back from the Imperial Grounds.
• The Third Prince searched the battlefield for Xu Yi and, finding no trace of him, offered high titles and rewards for Xu Yi’s corpse or Sumeru Ring.
• The Third Prince’s reward drove the crowd toward the Dragon River, whose waters surged beneath them.

Yan Zi escaped after Li Xiuluo defied the Ghost Master and released her. The Ghost Master revealed that he knew the poem Li Xiuluo’s late wife had written, prompting Li Xiuluo to pursue him and question whether his life had been manipulated.

• Yan Zi woke in a mountain valley, where Li Xiuluo warned her about the talking toad inhabited by the Ghost Master's divided soul.
• Li Xiuluo blocked the toad's attack and let Yan Zi leave on her Mechanical Bird.
• The Ghost Master's avatar appeared after the toad burst apart and accused Li Xiuluo of betraying him.
• Li Xiuluo explained that he had freed Yan Zi because he believed the Ghost Master would harm her after Xu Yi injured him.
• The Ghost Master recited Li Xiuluo's deceased wife's private poem, then vanished after strengthening his shadow with black liquid.
• Li Xiuluo pursued the Ghost Master and realized that the opportunities that had shaped his life might have been deliberately arranged.

Li Xiuluo followed the Ghost Master to a black marsh and saw him use the Essence Transformation Technique through a Ten Thousand Claw Blood River Beast, sacrificing his purity to gain immense power. The Ghost Master emerged transformed and asked Li Xiuluo why he had pursued him.

• Li Xiuluo chased the Ghost Master's split soul to a vast black marsh, where it entered a huge submerged sphere.
• The sphere awakened the Ten Thousand Claw Blood River Beast, which drained the blood qi from more than ten thousand aquatic beasts.
• Li Xiuluo recognized the Ghost Master's use of the Essence Transformation Technique and realized it had dimmed his karmic flames.
• The sphere exploded, and the Ghost Master appeared in a nearly solid Yin Body with greatly increased power.
• The Ghost Master asked Li Xiuluo why he had pursued him, and Li Xiuluo bowed and said he sought an explanation.

Ghost Master provoked Li Xiuluo with an illusion of A Luo, then devoured his Yin Soul and fled on the Blood Bat King Skeleton. At the end, a woman slipped through a city gate in a snowstorm.

• Ghost Master conjured an illusion of A Luo and taunted Li Xiuluo with claims about their past.
• Ghost Master revealed that he had planned to devour Li Xiuluo’s Yin Soul to restore and purify his own.
• Li Xiuluo’s Yin Soul collapsed under Ghost Master’s provocation, and Ghost Master used hand seals to draw it into his mouth.
• Ghost Master summoned the restored Blood Bat King Skeleton and rode it west into the dawn.
• A lithe woman darted through a city gate as wind drove snow over the walls.

Yan Zi disguised herself and tried to reach Futuo Mountain after seeing the Royal Court’s wanted notices for Xu Yi and his companions. Auspicious Duck disrupted the mountain checkpoint to help her escape, then reunited with her in the woods.

• Yan Zi saw wanted posters accusing Xu Yi and his companions of crimes, and she disguised herself before heading toward Futuo Mountain.
• Yan Zi worried Xu Yi might enter a trap while searching for her and continued toward the mountain despite the Royal Court’s heightened security.
• Yan Zi approached a heavily guarded checkpoint and feared the soldiers would expose her disguise.
• Auspicious Duck appeared nearby, drawing almost a thousand guards away from the checkpoint as they chased him for the reward on his capture.
• Yan Zi retreated into the western woods, where Auspicious Duck found her and boasted that he had saved her.

The Auspicious Duck rescued Yan Zi and, persuaded by the promise of Xu Yi’s Precious Medicines, used his divination to point her toward Xu Yi. Yan Zi followed his vague directions west and reached a vast marshland by dusk.

• The Auspicious Duck explained that he had waited at the outpost after divining that Yan Zi would be in danger, then rescued her from the soldiers.
• Yan Zi asked the Auspicious Duck to divine Xu Yi’s whereabouts, but he refused, saying his earlier readings showed Xu Yi was doomed and that further divination could not be trusted.
• Yan Zi offered the Auspicious Duck a reward and told him Xu Yi’s Sumeru Ring held more than a thousand Precious Medicines.
• The Auspicious Duck swallowed the Precious Medicines Yan Zi gave him, cast a divination with three ancient coins, and told her to go west until Tai Yin Star reached the tip of an osmanthus branch.
• After the Auspicious Duck fell asleep from the divination, Yan Zi put him in her Spirit Beast Pouch and traveled west, reaching a vast marshland by dusk.

Yan Zi followed Auspicious Duck’s prophecy west and discovered a gigantic grass ball hiding a charred Demon Corpse with Xu Yi’s Sumeru Ring. Auspicious Duck recognized the monster as Xu Yi, who had apparently taken many Demon Transformation Pills.

• After the snow stopped, Yan Zi reached a vast river and made a raft from a cassia tree to continue west.
• Yan Zi spotted a gigantic grass ball in the river and used Sword Qi to tear it apart.
• Yan Zi found a hideous, charred Demon Corpse and recognized Xu Yi’s Sumeru Ring on its finger.
• Yan Zi removed the ring and found Xu Yi’s Wailing Stick inside, but could not find Xu Yi.
• Yan Zi woke Auspicious Duck by shouting that she had found Xu Yi.
• Auspicious Duck saw the Demon Corpse and realized that it was Xu Yi, who had been eating Demon Transformation Pills.

Yan Zi forced Auspicious Duck to use his inherited copper coins to search for Xu Yi’s soul after he declared Xu Yi dead. The Man Coin rang and sprang away from Xu Yi’s forehead, leaving Auspicious Duck stunned.

• Auspicious Duck recognized the demon corpse as Xu Yi and told Yan Zi that Xu Yi had died after taking multiple Demon Transformation Pills.
• Yan Zi refused to accept Xu Yi’s death and threatened Auspicious Duck with her sword until he agreed to help.
• Auspicious Duck used the Heaven, Earth, and Man coins to divine where Xu Yi’s soul had gone.
• The crimson Man Coin rang and sprang away when it touched Xu Yi’s forehead, and Auspicious Duck tried again in shock.

Auspicious Duck discovered that Xu Yi still had traces of life despite appearing dead, and told Yan Zi that replenishing his depleted Life Source Power might save him. Yan Zi forced Auspicious Duck to help and followed his directions east across a lake.

• Auspicious Duck's human coin showed that Xu Yi's spirit had not completely vanished, though most of his Seven Souls were fading.
• Auspicious Duck explained Xu Yi's strange condition to Yan Zi and concluded that his Life Source Power was nearly depleted.
• Yan Zi threatened Auspicious Duck until he asked her to retrieve the Precious Medicine from Xu Yi's Sumeru Ring.
• Auspicious Duck insisted they find a secluded place to treat Xu Yi, and Yan Zi grabbed him to keep him from escaping.
• After Yan Zi clipped some of his feathers, Auspicious Duck directed her east, and she dragged a bamboo raft across the lake beneath the moonlight.

Little Red Carp rescued Xu Yi’s body from his pursuers and erased the traces left by Yan Zi. In a hidden cavern, Yan Zi gathered Precious Medicines while the Auspicious Duck selected what was needed to restore Xu Yi’s Life Source Power.

• Little Red Carp recognized Xu Yi, drove off his pursuers, and carried him away with the help of water plants and double-headed arrowfish.
• After finding Yan Zi with Xu Yi, Little Red Carp waited until they left, then washed away their traces from the lakeshore.
• Yan Zi brought Xu Yi to the Auspicious Duck’s concealed cavern and warned the duck not to attempt anything.
• The Auspicious Duck sorted Yan Zi’s Precious Medicines, setting aside unsuitable ingredients and saying the remaining medicines were insufficient.
• Yan Zi produced more Precious Medicines until the Auspicious Duck had selected three hundred, after which it reconsidered its earlier divinations.

Yan Zi sacrificed her Life Source Power in Ruiya’s attempt to revive Xu Yi, and Xu Yi eventually woke in the cave, gravely wounded and nearly powerless. He regained a little strength with spring water and pills but remained in danger, unaware of what had happened to Yan Zi.

• Ruiya warned Yan Zi that using the Wedding Dress Divine Art could drain her Life Source Power, but she insisted he proceed.
• Ruiya swallowed nearly a hundred Precious Medicine pills and began transferring Yan Zi’s Life Source Power toward Xu Yi.
• After an hour, Ruiya collapsed unconscious, while Xu Yi’s consciousness emerged from the darkness and he opened his eyes.
• Xu Yi found Ruiya beneath rats and guessed that Yan Zi had escaped the Ghost Master and gone to find food and water.
• Xu Yi slowly reconnected with his Sumeru Ring, took two pills, and later chewed the remaining Precious Medicine pills wrapped in blue cloth.

Xu Yi recovered from his near-death injuries and learned that his fused soul and spirits had kept him alive, but left his Yin Soul dangerously weakened. He found his meridians severed, his medicinal supplies depleted, and his body too weak to use the Wailing Stick as he slowly left the cave.

• Xu Yi recalled his apparent death in the Dragon River and realized that his fused soul and spirits had prevented his Yin Soul from escaping his body.
• Xu Yi replenished some Life Source Power with Precious Medicines, frightening away the giant rats that had surrounded him and Auspicious Duck.
• Xu Yi discovered that his Yin Souls had dwindled to two faint shadows and that every meridian in his body was severed.
• Xu Yi found that hundreds of usable Precious Medicines were missing from his Sumeru Ring and that he could no longer bear the Wailing Stick.
• Xu Yi put the bare Auspicious Duck into his Spirit Beast Pouch and slowly made his way out of the cave.

Xu Yi escaped the cave with his Life Source Power nearly exhausted, leaving him aged, weak, and unable to use his baleful energy. He flew toward Jingyang Gate for a chance to survive, but a search party blocked his way, forcing him to bluff with money after his gold Demon Token failed.

• Xu Yi saw his aged reflection in the water and realized his Life Source Power was nearly spent.
• Xu Yi struggled through the forest, caught and devoured fish, then used a Mechanical Bird to fly toward Jingyang Gate.
• A group of Mechanical Bird riders intercepted Xu Yi and identified him as a suspected fugitive after finding he was at the Body Tempering Stage.
• Xu Yi presented the gold Demon Token from the Third Prince, but the Rosy-nosed man said old tokens were void under the new emperor's order.
• Xu Yi pinned a thousand-tael banknote to a young man's face and taunted the Rosy-nosed man to hide his weakness.

Xu Yi intimidated Gao and the imperial guards before flying away. At the Third Prince’s feast, the Head Butler used a message about a bottle to revive the prince’s hope, and the prince ordered the hall cleared for the arriving healer.

• Xu Yi rebuked Gao and flew away, leaving Gao to strike the rosy-nosed guard and rush back to seek help from his backers.
• As night fell and snow began, the Third Prince sat despondently amid a lavish feast, consumed by pain and fear of death.
• The Head Butler told the Third Prince that a divine healer outside guaranteed he could save his life, but the prince kicked him and ordered the guards to punish him.
• The Head Butler showed the Third Prince a piece of blue cloth and repeated, “Your Highness, do you still remember that bottle?”
• The Third Prince recognized the message, ordered everyone out of the hall, and prepared to receive his honored guest.

Xu Yi returned to the capital disguised as Old Cangtou and sought refuge in the Third Prince’s residence after learning that his associates and home had been targeted. After hearing that Ji Lie had been named Crown Prince, Xu Yi offered to help the Third Prince reclaim the throne, leaving him stunned.

• Xu Yi revealed the Life-Death Gu bottle to the Third Prince, who recognized him despite his disguise.
• Xu Yi explained that he had returned to the capital because his usual refuges were sealed and he needed access to resources.
• The Third Prince knelt and assured Xu Yi that he had missed him and would not dare plot against him.
• Xu Yi learned that his associates had been arrested or wanted, his residence and Zimo Xuan sealed, and the royal family had searched for his corpse.
• The Third Prince told Xu Yi that Ji Lie had been appointed Crown Prince by the Empress Dowager.
• Xu Yi offered to help the Third Prince reclaim the throne, and the prince froze in disbelief.

Xu Yi recruited the Third Prince to help him kill Ji Lie in exchange for the throne, then sought advice from the prince’s trusted Imperial Artisan about Life Source Power. Cao Er explained how repeated use of healing medicine depleted it, but Xu Yi left the conversation still searching for another source of it.

• Xu Yi told the Third Prince he would kill Ji Lie and help him claim the throne, but said they would have to work together.
• The Third Prince agreed to assist Xu Yi and brought him to meet Cao Er, a sixth-generation Imperial Artisan skilled in medicinal materials.
• Xu Yi asked Cao Er about Life Source Power, and Cao Er confirmed that he had studied it.
• Cao Er explained that repeated use of healing medicines consumed Life Source Power and could eventually make the medicines harmful.
• Xu Yi asked Cao Er what contained Life Source Power besides Precious Medicine, since he needed another way to address his failing body.

Xu Yi questioned Cao Er about restoring Life Source Power and learned that fierce-beast blood could nourish it, though it was dangerous for cultivators. Cao Er then suggested Divine Essence Pills, leaving Xu Yi to ask how they replenished Life Source Power.

• The Third Prince scolded Cao Er for rambling, and Xu Yi sent the prince outside so Cao Er could continue explaining.
• Cao Er explained that Precious Medicine was the safest way to replenish Life Source Power, but Xu Yi’s severe depletion would require an enormous amount.
• Cao Er revealed that Demon flesh and fierce-beast blood contained Life Source Power, while warning that beast blood could taint a cultivator’s blood and obstruct cultivation.
• Xu Yi asked how to use fierce-beast heart’s blood and claimed he had a secret method, despite knowing his severed meridians left him little cultivation to protect.
• Cao Er proposed Divine Essence Pills, and Xu Yi asked how a pill used to advance into the Qi Sea Realm could replenish Life Source Power.

Cao Er explained how Divine Essence Pills could replenish Life Source Power, leading Xu Yi to request them to restore his ruined body and Nine Yin Liquid to heal his damaged Yin Soul. The Third Prince agreed to arrange the medicines but revealed that his mansion's treasury was empty, and Cao Er warned that Nine Yin Liquid might be impossible to obtain.

• Cao Er told Xu Yi about his father's research into Divine Essence Pills and their ability to replenish Life Source Power, while warning that they could taint bloodlines.
• Xu Yi thanked Cao Er and asked how many Divine Essence Pills he could take; Cao Er estimated a maximum of eighteen before the risk of Pill Decline.
• The Third Prince ordered Cao Er to obtain the pills, but Cao Er revealed that the treasury had none and the Third Prince had spent the mansion's fortune after believing Xu Yi was dead.
• Xu Yi stopped the Third Prince from kneeling and said he would provide the money for the arrangements.
• Xu Yi also asked Cao Er to obtain Nine Yin Liquid for his damaged Yin Soul, but Cao Er said it was too precious and might be unobtainable.