Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi faced the four famous scholars, who refused to believe he had written Autumn River Snowy Night and demanded to know its true author. The scholars agreed to test him with a new challenge, while Long Jingxiu quietly planned how to keep him from losing the literary contest.

• Lang Suxin and Niu Bodang accused Xu Yi of claiming credit for a poem taken from an Elegant Tomb, and Hu Chunyou introduced himself and the other famous scholars.
• Tu Min celebrated the gathering of Poetry Title, Poetry Master, Autumn Mourner, and Eight-Pronged Lord, while Feng Jiu recognized their stature.
• Xu Yi insisted he had written Autumn River Snowy Night and privately viewed the four scholars as impressive backdrops for building his reputation.
• Niu Bodang proposed testing Xu Yi, and Hu Chunyou demanded that he reveal the poem's true author if he failed the challenge.
• Long Jingxiu agreed to the challenge while secretly planning to use a draw and limit on rounds to keep Xu Yi undefeated.

Xu Yi defeated Jiuhuang in a poetry contest by composing another celebrated work on the same topic, then rejected Tu Min’s offer of promotion and asked to join the powerful Scattered Society. Tu Min opposed the request, revealing how much he feared Xu Yi gaining the alliance’s backing.

• Hu Chunyou set Autumn River Snowy Night as the poetry contest’s topic, and Xu Yi immediately composed a new poem that left the gathered scholars astonished.
• Jiuhuang broke down after losing, and Feng Jiu had guards escort him away; Xu Yi then agreed to void their wager.
• Tu Min offered Xu Yi promotion to head a cave, but Xu Yi declined and asked permission to join the Scattered Society.
• Tu Min angrily rejected the request, and the chapter explained that the Scattered Society was a prestigious alliance of cultural luminaries and powerful demons.

Xu Yi used a new poem praising four prominent scholars to secure their support for joining the Scattered Society. The four unanimously recommended him and even proposed him for a board seat, leaving Tu Min unable to stop him.

• Tu Min argued that Xu Yi was unworthy of joining the Scattered Society and urged the four scholars to delay their decision.
• Xu Yi asked Hu Chunyou, Lang Suxin, Ji Mengliang, and Niu Bodang whether they considered him qualified, while Long Jingxiu defended his literary talent.
• Tu Min questioned whether Xu Yi had truly written his two acclaimed works and proposed that the Society examine him first.
• Xu Yi recited a poem praising Hu Chunyou, Lang Suxin, Ji Mengliang, and Niu Bodang, winning their admiration and silencing Tu Min.
• Hu Chunyou, Lang Suxin, Ji Mengliang, and Niu Bodang unanimously agreed to recommend Xu Yi for the Scattered Society and said they would seek a board seat for him.

Xu Yi withdrew from the Dragon Ascension Path after joining the Scattered Society, whose renowned scholars defended him against Feng Jiu and Tu Min. He left with the scholars while Long Jingxiu watched him go, unable to explain her feelings.

• Xu Yi called his earlier promise to take the Dragon Ascension Path a jest, and Tu Min angrily accused him of insulting Feng Jiu and the authorities.
• Niu Bodang, Hu Chunyou, Lang Suxin, and Ji Mengliang defended Xu Yi and warned Tu Min against antagonizing the Scattered Society.
• Xu Yi withdrew his application for the Dragon Ascension Path, and Feng Jiu and Tu Min departed in anger.
• King Pingding left with Bear Dao and the others, while Xu Yi pretended not to know them and accepted Hu Chunyou's invitation to join the Scattered Society.
• Xu Yi thanked Long Jingxiu and hurried away with the four scholars, leaving her speechless as her maidservant wondered why she had let him go.

Long Jingxiu gave up her post as head of the Legal System Court after Xu Yi left, while Xu Yi traveled to the Fa Tian World with Ji Mengliang and Niu Bodang. He impressed the Scattered Society with his writing, was admitted as a member, and ended the evening on friendly terms with its members.

• Long Jingxiu ordered her attendant to handle the formalities for her resignation, saying she did not want to act against Xu Yi's wishes.
• Ji Mengliang and Niu Bodang explained the Scattered Society and the Fa Tian World's history, membership, and costly array-supported environment to Xu Yi.
• Xu Yi entered the Fa Tian World and learned that joining the Scattered Society would clear the yellow glow marking his unpaid taxes.
• Hu Chunyou and the others presented Xu Yi's three works to more than thirty waiting members, who praised them and asked him to compose more on the spot.
• Xu Yi wrote more than ten pieces, won over the members, and completed his admission to the Scattered Society.
• Xu Yi attended a banquet with the Four Great Scholars and the other members, then took his leave of Hu Chunyou and the others.

Xu Yi entered seclusion after joining the Scattered Society, while Snow Immortal remained at the Immortal Palace with Long, who hoped to draw closer to her. New poems stirred Snow Immortal’s grief, and the chapter left Long trying to comfort her.

• Xu Yi exchanged seal marks with Hu Chunyou, then rented a cultivation chamber to recover and await the words in his mind.
• Long praised Snow Immortal for forming her origin and urged her to go out, but she declined and asked to be left alone.
• Yongnu presented Long with a collection of poems, which Snow Immortal began reading.
• Snow Immortal reacted with grief to the lines about love and lifelong vows, and Long praised the poem while attempting to comfort her.

Xue Zihan recognized Xu Yi’s poems and learned that he was alive in the Demon Domain, but kept her feelings hidden from Long Ying to protect him. After more than ten days of cultivation, Xu Yi completed his breakthrough and unleashed a Sword Qi powerful enough to collapse the secret chamber’s walls.

• Long Ying learned from Yongnu that Xu Yi had written the poems and offered to summon him, but Xue Zihan declined to meet the writer.
• After Long Ying left, Xue Zihan remembered Xu Yi’s past kindness, their separation, and her unresolved worry about Qiu Wa.
• Xue Zihan recognized Xu Yi’s poem “Asking About Love” and resolved to conceal her connection to him so Long Ying would not endanger him.
• Xu Yi completed his cultivation in the secret chamber, drew his sword, and accidentally brought down its four walls with his Sword Qi.

Xu Yi tested his restored Seven Thousand Swords and began practicing the Dragon Elephant Aspect, discovering that it released immense power but exhausted him and expelled impurities. After Little Red Carp reported his promotion to demon commander, Elder Bai summoned Xu Yi back to the Northern Sacred Court, and Xu Yi visited Niu Bodang to ask about maps and books on the East Sea Demon Domain.

• Xu Yi found that his restored Qi Sea and meridians let him unleash the Seven Thousand Swords much faster and with greater power.
• Xu Yi practiced the Dragon Elephant Aspect, transformed his left arm into a huge furred limb, and exhausted himself while gray sweat revealed that the technique had purged impurities.
• Little Red Carp contacted Xu Yi to announce that he had transformed into a demon and become a demon commander in Pingding Demon Cave.
• Elder Bai urgently summoned Xu Yi to the Northern Sacred Court for an upcoming Elder Council meeting.
• Xu Yi visited Niu Bodang and asked where he could find a topographic map or books about the East Sea Demon Domain and an undeveloped Fire Spirit Land.

Xu Yi learned that the Netherfire Abyss might contain a Fire Spirit Land and began researching its dangers. He reunited with A Li after the carp transformed into a human, then discovered A Li could dissolve into water and travel at extraordinary speed.

• Ji Mengliang and Niu Bodang told Xu Yi that the Netherfire Abyss might hold a Fire Spirit Land but was perilous and unexplored.
• Niu Bodang and Ji Mengliang discussed Xu Yi’s drive to cultivate and search for the Fire Spirit Land, unlike their own fading ambitions.
• Xu Yi gathered books about the Netherfire Abyss, then met A Li, who had transformed into a red-clad boy.
• Xu Yi gave A Li cultivation resources and told him to wait at the Pingding Demon Cave while he traveled away.
• A Li demonstrated that he could vanish from Xu Yi’s divine sense and travel through water, reaching a point one hundred miles away ten times faster than Xu Yi.

After returning from the Demon Domain, Xu Yi removed the Heart-Devouring Worms from Yuan Tiansi and Yuan Long, then learned that upheaval in the Cultivation World had forced the Donghua Immortal Sect to overhaul its rules and open new opportunities. He began cultivating the Dragon Elephant Aspect as he prepared for the coming changes.

• Xu Yi sent A Li on a task, then found the Ice Fire Rabbit still asleep in his Sumeru Ring.
• Xu Yi met Yuan Tiansi and Yuan Long, removed their Heart-Devouring Worms, and received a token and two Extreme Water Beads from Yuan Tiansi.
• Xu Yi returned to the Donghua Immortal Sect and received Elder Bai's letter after failing to contact Elder Bai and Immortal Lord He.
• Elder Bai's letter told Xu Yi that chaos on Luanyu Immortal Island had killed or displaced powerful figures, destroyed the island, and prompted the Cultivation World to prepare for a great upheaval.
• Xu Yi learned that the Donghua Immortal Sect had opened a trial ground for Inner Sect Disciples and would assess Outer Sect and probationary disciples for Heavenly Origin Seeds.
• Xu Yi entered seclusion to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Aspect while the round-faced and square-faced men in purple left to prepare for the assessment.

Xu Yi mastered the Dragon Elephant Aspect, spent two days with Yan Zi, and then went to Shang Gong Island for the assessment. There, the elders explained the new selection rules and revealed that cultivators at the fourth turn or above would not receive a Heavenly Origin Seed.

• After more than a thousand trials, Xu Yi mastered the Dragon Elephant Aspect and woke to Yan Zi bringing him breakfast.
• Xu Yi spent two days exploring the sect’s Small World with Yan Zi and gave her his cultivation notes and a Sumeru Ring.
• Xu Yi arrived at the Bright Hall on Shang Gong Island and waited with the other candidates for the assessment.
• The White-bearded Elder explained that upheaval across the Cultivation World had loosened the sect’s old restrictions.
• The White-bearded Elder announced that second- and third-turn cultivators had to light the Blue Gold Stone, while those at the fourth turn or above would not be tested.
• When the White-bearded Elder said higher-turn cultivators would not receive Heavenly Origin Seeds, the crowd erupted in protest.

Dongfang Tuo interrupted the Blue Gold Stone tests to announce his master's death and ask Liu Tongzhou about the Golden Soul Fruit. His accusations turned the hall against Liu Tongzhou, who demanded that the Law Enforcement Hall intervene.

• The White-bearded Elder promised advanced cultivation techniques to disciples who had reached True Essence Fourth Turn or higher, then began distributing Blue Gold Stones for testing.
• Dongfang Tuo arrived in mourning clothes, and the White-bearded Elder realized his master had likely died.
• Dongfang Tuo explained that his master had returned from Liu Tongzhou's residence gravely injured and died after his soul caught fire, and asked Liu about the Golden Soul Fruit.
• Liu Tongzhou denied knowing about the fruit or harming Dongfang Tuo's master, then ordered the Law Enforcement Hall disciples to intervene.
• The disciples and elders in the hall suspected Liu Tongzhou, and he realized Dongfang Tuo's reputation had turned the crowd against him.

Xu Yi intervened when Dongfang Tuo accused Elder Liu of stealing his master's Golden Soul Fruit, but Dongfang Tuo burned his soul and died after the fruit was not found. As Law Enforcement Hall elders arrived, Xu Yi pursued Liu Tongzhou and captured him, intent on forcing him to speak.

• Xu Yi revealed himself and stopped Law Enforcement Hall disciples from taking Dongfang Tuo away, while Dongfang Tuo challenged Liu Tongzhou to swear a Heart Oath.
• Xu Yi knocked the disciples unconscious, seized Liu Tongzhou's Sumeru Ring, and found no Golden Soul Fruit inside.
• Dongfang Tuo burned his soul and died in Xu Yi's arms, asking him not to seek revenge.
• Elder Cao and the Law Enforcement Hall elders arrived and accused Xu Yi of defying the sect's laws.
• Xu Yi pursued Liu Tongzhou as he fled, broke Elder Cao's dragon-claw attack, and captured Liu Tongzhou again.

Xu Yi confronted Liu Tongzhou over Dongfang Tuo’s death and used a Heart-Devouring Worm to force him to confess. Liu Tongzhou revealed that Lord Chen was behind it.

• Elder Cao learned that Dongfang Tuo had sacrificed himself to clear his master’s name and recognized Liu Tongzhou’s disgrace.
• Xu Yi demanded that Liu Tongzhou explain what had happened, but Liu Tongzhou denied knowing anything and dared Xu Yi to kill him.
• Xu Yi put a Heart-Devouring Worm into Liu Tongzhou’s mouth and threatened to let it devour him unless he confessed.
• Liu Tongzhou broke under the threat and said that Lord Chen was behind it.

Liu Tongzhou revealed that Lord Chen had stolen the Golden Soul Fruit and caused Dongfang Tuo’s master’s death, while trying to shift the blame and lessen his own punishment. Xu Yi and Elder Cao set out to confront Lord Chen at the Cultivation Technique Building, leaving Liu Tongzhou frightened by Xu Yi’s resolve.

• Liu Tongzhou’s account exposed how Lord Chen stole the Golden Soul Fruit after Liu lured Dongfang Tuo’s master out, and how the master later died as his soul burned away.
• Dongfang Tuo discovered the Golden Soul Fruit was missing, suspected Liu Tongzhou, and confronted him, leading to the upheaval in the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Liu Tongzhou blamed Lord Chen and pleaded that he was also a victim, while Xu Yi pressed him to help bring Lord Chen to account.
• Elder Cao rejected a fellow elder’s warning and said the Law Enforcement Hall had to restore order, then led Xu Yi and Liu Tongzhou toward the Cultivation Technique Building.
• Liu Tongzhou warned Xu Yi that Lord Chen was a Purple Prefecture Lord, but Xu Yi’s confidence left Liu wondering whether the rumors about Xu Yi defeating a True Core powerhouse were true.

Xu Yi confronted Chen Liao at the Cultivation Technique Building, but Chen Liao and Xie Wu defied Elder Cao and the Law Enforcement Hall. Xie Wu displayed the Three-Five-Seven Sword and the Donghua Order, leaving the gathered disciples wondering who the Lords of the Purple Mansion were.

• Xu Yi and Elder Cao led the sect members to the Cultivation Technique Building, where Chen Liao and Xie Wu emerged.
• Chen Liao dismissed Elder Cao and threatened Xu Yi, while Xie Wu silenced Elder Cao with a touch.
• Xie Wu used the Three-Five-Seven Sword to sweep away the Law Enforcement Hall members, drawing admiration from the onlookers.
• Xu Yi realized Elder Bai had passed on the Three-Five-Seven Sword, a technique he had helped create.
• Xie Wu revealed the Donghua Order, forcing the Law Enforcement Hall members to back down and prompting the crowd to question the mysterious Lords of the Purple Mansion.

Xu Yi confronted Chen Liao over his crimes and revealed that he had mastered a far more powerful form of the Three-Five-Seven Sword. After Chen Liao attacked and killed Liu Tongzhou, Xu Yi struck him with Seven Thousand Swords, leaving Chen Liao and the onlookers stunned.

• The White-bearded Elder explained that the Lords of the Purple Mansion were elite cultivators who had survived in the dangerous Purple Domain.
• Chen Liao demanded that Xu Yi slap himself, and Xu Yi accused him of conspiring with Liu Tongzhou and abusing his status to intimidate the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Chen Liao attacked Xu Yi with Three Thousand Swords, but Xu Yi's red light extinguished the icy plum blossoms, and Xie Wu recognized him as Wang Qianqiu.
• Xu Yi urged Chen Liao to strike first and take Liu Tongzhou to the Sect Master, but Chen Liao attacked and his sword blossoms shredded Liu Tongzhou.
• Xu Yi unleashed Seven Thousand Swords, sending Chen Liao flying and shocking everyone who witnessed the sword's power.

Xu Yi overwhelmed Chen Liao with Seven Thousand Swords, then survived Xie Wu’s Golden Thunderstorm after Xie Wu intervened. Chen Liao died in the storm, leaving Xie Wu stunned and demanding that Elder Cao punish Xu Yi.

• Xu Yi unleashed repeated Seven Thousand Swords strikes, leaving Chen Liao unable to fight back despite his Heavenly Demon Armor.
• Xie Wu revealed that Xu Yi possessed the Boundless Sea, and Chen Liao realized he could not simply wait for Xu Yi to tire.
• As Chen Liao’s armor began to collapse, he called for help, and Xie Wu attacked Xu Yi with the Golden Thunderstorm.
• The Golden Thunderstorm refined Chen Liao to death, while Xu Yi stood unharmed in a fresh green robe.
• Xie Wu pointed at Elder Cao and demanded to know how Xu Yi should be punished for killing a Purple Mansion Lord.

Xu Yi explained how he had maneuvered Xie Wu into killing Chen Liao, then defended himself by accusing Xie Wu of taking justice into his own hands. Chong Xuzi arrived, heard Elder Cao’s account, and focused his attention on Xu Yi as the source of the turmoil.

• Xie Wu and Elder Cao failed to understand how Xu Yi had survived Golden Thunderstorm, while Elder Cao refused to protect Xie Wu.
• Xu Yi revealed that he had arranged for Liu Tongzhou to die at Chen Liao’s hands and maneuvered Xie Wu into killing Chen Liao.
• Xu Yi accused Xie Wu of killing Chen Liao and asked Elder Cao to uphold justice, leaving Xie Wu furious.
• Chong Xuzi arrived with Purple Mansion Lords, and the gathered disciples greeted the First Vice Sect Master.
• Elder Cao recounted the events to Chong Xuzi, who praised Dongfang Tuo and fixed his gaze on Xu Yi.

Chong Xuzi confronted Xu Yi over Chen Liao’s death, hoping to coax him into confessing so he could contain the crisis among the Purple Abode Lords. Xu Yi denied killing Chen Liao and presented evidence implicating Chen Liao and Liu Tongzhou in the theft of the Golden Soul Fruit, leaving Chong Xuzi struggling to control the dispute.

• Chong Xuzi learned that Chen Liao had died and gathered with the returning Purple Abode Lords at Shang Gong Island.
• Chong Xuzi questioned Xu Yi about the alleged killing and tried to draw out a confession by invoking the Sect Leader’s regard for him.
• Xu Yi denied killing Chen Liao, said Liu Tongzhou had died at Chen Liao’s hands and Chen Liao at Xie Wu’s, and displayed the Golden Soul Fruit as evidence of their conspiracy.
• Chong Xuzi redirected attention to Chen Liao’s death and accused Xu Yi of disappointing the Sect Leader.
• Xu Yi argued that Chen Liao had survived their fight and died only after Xie Wu intervened.