Chapter Summaries

Taishang reunited with Qi WuHuo, gave him the Eight Sceneries Palace Lantern, and promised to teach him for three months before he descended the mountain after the New Year. Meanwhile, Yun Qin challenged the Northern Emperor's Son.

• Taishang told Qi WuHuo to unite knowledge and action by walking his own Dao, then gave him the Eight Sceneries Palace Lantern.
• Taishang arrived at Qi WuHuo's courtyard and promised to teach him everything he could learn for three months.
• Old Green Ox and Di Ting discussed Taishang's generous investment in Qi WuHuo, and Di Ting panicked over Taishang's displeasure.
• Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole remembered his wife's death and watched Yun Qin approach with a black-jade fan.
• Yun Qin transformed the fan into a sword and declared that she would challenge the Northern Emperor's Son.

Yun Qin challenged the Northern Emperor's Son, and the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole sent her to earn that right by defeating talented peers in the Ministry of Thunder and Ministry of Dipper. She later met the black-clothed Great Dao Lord, who showed her the sword embryo he was forging before revealing his plan to visit Qi WuHuo and glimpsing a familiar green ox in a vision.

• Yun Qin said she wanted to challenge the Northern Emperor's Son because the Northern Emperor had made her uncomfortable, and the Great Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole required her to defeat young opponents from the Ministry of Thunder and Ministry of Dipper first.
• Yun Qin searched for the black-clothed Great Dao Lord in the library and left pastries for him, but he startled her outside and caught the folding fan she swung at him.
• The black-clothed Great Dao Lord took Yun Qin to the meeting of the sea of blood and the Weak Water, where he showed her the sword embryo and the magical treasures he had prepared to forge a divine sword.
• The Great Dao Lord told Yun Qin he planned to find Qi WuHuo and ask for a room in his courtyard, then used a spell to show her the place he intended to visit.
• The Great Dao Lord's vision revealed an old green ox, and his admiring smile froze when he recognized it.

The black-clothed Great Dao Lord discovered that Taishang had returned to guide Qi WuHuo, whose teacher explained the trials ahead and gave him the Eight Sceneries Palace Lantern. The chapter ended with Shangqing confronting Taishang and identifying Qi WuHuo as Supreme Xuanwei.

• Yun Qin left the black-clothed Great Dao Lord, who grew suspicious after seeing an Old Green Ox and went to Doushuai Palace to ask Lord Laojun where it had gone.
• Lord Laojun told the black-clothed Great Dao Lord that Great Master Xuan Du had taken the green ox, temporarily easing his suspicions.
• The black-clothed Great Dao Lord saw Taishang guiding Qi WuHuo in the mortal world and realized that Taishang had returned for him.
• Taishang watched Qi WuHuo demonstrate his skills, explained that his Eight Tribulations centered on proving the Dao, and gave him the Eight Sceneries Palace Lantern.
• Taishang told Qi WuHuo to overcome the Thunder Tribulation and reach pure Yang within half a month, then met Shangqing by the Heavenly River and Blood Sea.
• Shangqing confronted Taishang and asked whether Qi WuHuo was Supreme Xuanwei.

Taishang persuaded Shangqing that Qi WuHuo was his future Dao-friend rather than his disciple, and arranged for Shangqing to forge the young Daoist’s sword while concealing the truth. When Shangqing later tested Qi WuHuo, he found the young man’s body filled with Primordial Ancestral Qi.

• Shangqing confronted Taishang about whether Qi WuHuo was his disciple, and Taishang called him a future Dao-friend instead.
• Taishang explained that he had only guided Qi WuHuo and arranged to teach him for three months, while Shangqing agreed to forge the sword after half a month of tempering.
• Taishang told Qi WuHuo to set aside the title of Teacher for three months and instructed him to cultivate the One Qi needed for a divine ability.
• Shangqing decided to visit Qi WuHuo and assess his skills, then descended to the mortal realm and attacked him with a trace of his aura.
• Qi WuHuo countered Shangqing’s attack with the Blood River Sword, prompting Shangqing to check his cultivation.
• Shangqing was shocked to discover that Qi WuHuo’s entire body was full of Primordial Ancestral Qi.

Qi WuHuo fought Shangqing Great Dao Lord, who tested him while hiding his identity and limiting himself to the same cultivation level. Qi WuHuo narrowly defeated him, and Shangqing was left to honor his promise to stay and teach him.

• Shangqing recognized Yuqing’s exceptionally solid cultivation in Qi WuHuo and challenged him to last thirty breaths for a month of instruction, or ninety breaths for three months.
• Qi WuHuo fought Shangqing with swordsmanship, divine powers, and the Heaven-Overturning Seal, then absorbed and redirected Shangqing’s Qi with Nine Revolutions Refine Yuan.
• As the duel passed sixty breaths, Shangqing recognized Yuqing’s methods in Qi WuHuo’s seamless techniques and struggled to break his rhythm without using his signature powers.
• Qi WuHuo used Fuxi’s True Sound to disrupt the exchange, then struck with Tribulation Sword and broke Shangqing’s branch sword.
• Qi WuHuo returned to Taiqing and said he had narrowly won because his opponent seemed to have held back, leaving Taiqing speechless.

After Qi WuHuo narrowly defeated Shangqing Great Dao Lord with the Tribulation Sword, Shangqing decided to teach him and came to forge him a sword with Empress Houtu. Meanwhile, the young Jade Emperor struggled with worsening memories and chose to seek Qi WuHuo, while the chapter ended with Shangqing introducing himself as Qingshang.

• Qi WuHuo told Supreme that he suspected his opponent was an old acquaintance and had used that senior's sword technique, while Supreme praised his considerate victory.
• Shangqing Great Dao Lord accepted his defeat, resolved to teach Qi WuHuo, and received a message from Empress Houtu arranging a time to forge a sword.
• The young Jade Emperor woke from a draining dream of his past, reviewed Heavenly Court reports, and decided to visit Qi WuHuo to seek a way to restore his strength.
• Empress Houtu met Qi WuHuo and brought Shangqing to forge him a sword before he became an immortal.
• Shangqing introduced himself to Qi WuHuo as Qingshang, a traveling swordsmith.

Qi WuHuo trained under his Teacher, who tested him before revealing the sect’s greatest divine ability. Meanwhile, the young Jade Emperor’s attempt to locate Qi WuHuo with the Haotian Mirror failed, and the Teacher taught Qi WuHuo One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.

• Qingshang arrived to forge a sword for Qi WuHuo and told him to come for a test after dark.
• Qi WuHuo demonstrated his swordsmanship for his Teacher, who praised his foundation and challenged him to attack with everything he knew.
• The young Jade Emperor used the Haotian Mirror to search for Qi WuHuo, but the mirror overheated and flew away into the plaque beneath Soaring Heavens Palace.
• Shangqing Great Dao Lord sensed a vast presence and abandoned his attempt to watch the fight.
• Qi WuHuo fought his Teacher and two powerful figures summoned from the Teacher’s qi, then admitted defeat.
• The Teacher revealed that his unique divine ability was called One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones and began passing it on to Qi WuHuo.

The old man taught Qi WuHuo the principles and cultivation method of his secret art, One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones. Qi WuHuo learned that he had entered its first realm, while the story left the art’s further stages unexplained.

• The old man asked Qi WuHuo why Daoist cultivation followed the inverse path, and Qi WuHuo explained how reversing Three to return to One led cultivators toward the Dao.
• The old man named his divine art Reverse of Reversals and taught Qi WuHuo its principles, describing Primordial Chaos, the Three Qi, and the heavens.
• Qi WuHuo guessed that the art created three bodies or joined the past, present, and future, but the old man rejected both explanations.
• The old man explained that External Incarnation was only a prerequisite, then taught Qi WuHuo about the Dharma Body, Response Body, and Transformation Body.
• The old man placed a hand on Qi WuHuo’s head and completed the transmission; Qi WuHuo realized the storm and supernatural signs had been illusions.
• The old man named the art One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones and declared that Qi WuHuo had reached its first realm.

The old man taught Qi WuHuo the first realm of One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones and showed him how his treasures could support its three bodies. After giving Qi WuHuo a sealed jade slip as a seven-day challenge, the old man sent him on his way, where he encountered Zhang Xiaoyu, who had come alone.

• The old man explained that Qi WuHuo could use his coming thunder tribulation to divide his One Qi into three bodies, but warned that the process required support from treasures and could not be rushed.
• The old man revealed several possible forms for Qi WuHuo’s divided bodies through his many treasures, and Qi WuHuo recognized One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones as the Dao.
• The old man gave Qi WuHuo a jade slip sealed against his Qi and promised a reward if he learned its divine ability within seven days.
• Qi WuHuo tried and failed to break the jade slip’s seal as he descended the mountain after breakfast.
• Qi WuHuo met Zhang Xiaoyu on the road and realized the Jade Emperor had come alone.

Qi WuHuo helped Zhang Xiaoyu suppress a violent backlash from his Haotian cultivation body after Zhang tried practicing the way of destiny, and the two grew more trusting of each other. Meanwhile, Shangqing Great Dao Lord went to confront Taishang over the technique Taishang had taught Qi WuHuo, only to find a dignified Daoist waiting outside and calling him Teacher.

• Zhang Xiaoyu joined Qi WuHuo on a visit to the village school, where Qi taught the children and Zhang watched.
• When Zhang Xiaoyu tried the way of destiny, his Haotian cultivation body surged, and Qi WuHuo pressed down the backlash before it could harm anyone.
• Zhang Xiaoyu and Qi WuHuo reassessed each other after the incident, and Zhang wrote a couplet for the children before one child gave him a warm egg.
• Zhang Xiaoyu asked Qi WuHuo to demonstrate how to master power through tempering, and Qi asked where Great Unity Salvation Heavenly Venerate was.
• Shangqing Great Dao Lord stormed out to confront Taishang about teaching Qi WuHuo a powerful technique, then found a dignified Daoist outside who greeted him as Teacher.

Great Unity Salvation Heavenly Venerate reunited with his Teacher, Shangqing Great Dao Lord, and used his Ten Directions cultivation to stop him from fleeing. After the Jade Emperor left, Shangqing prepared to forge Qi WuHuo’s sword and decided to prolong the work by teaching him difficult techniques, beginning with a test of his swordsmanship.

• Shangqing Great Dao Lord tried to escape Great Unity Salvation Heavenly Venerate, but Taiyi found him wherever he went and revealed his mastery of the Ten Directions.
• Great Unity Salvation Heavenly Venerate paid his respects, urged Shangqing to take responsibility for his disciples, and agreed not to demand that he return to the heavens before honoring his agreement with Empress Houtu.
• Qi WuHuo refused Zhang Xiaoyu’s request to practice restoring his cultivation without a safe place or another person present, and Zhang Xiaoyu left with Great Emperor Taiyi Qinghua.
• Shangqing told Qi WuHuo to come to his courtyard so they could prepare to forge the sword, then planned to delay the work by giving him difficult lessons.
• Shangqing challenged Qi WuHuo to cross swords and began his test by unleashing the Tribulation Sword.

Qi WuHuo endured the Shangqing Great Dao Lord’s Tribulation Sword and was ordered to practice swordsmanship each evening, then considered which treasures to use as foundations for One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones. The Taiyi Seal appeared before him and manifested Taiyi, leaving Qi WuHuo facing the ancient deity.

• Qi WuHuo used his divine abilities and swordsmanship to withstand the black-clothed Great Dao Lord’s Tribulation Sword, and the Great Dao Lord showed him an overwhelming second strike before ordering him to practice with only a sword after sunset.
• The Shangqing Great Dao Lord watched Qi WuHuo leave and privately decided to train him in swordsmanship for three hours a day before sending him down the mountain after three months.
• Qi WuHuo tried to unlock his Teacher’s jade slip, briefly revealed the character [Battle], then stopped to rest after realizing the effort had depleted his mind and Qi.
• Qi WuHuo weighed the Fuxi Qin, Human Emperor Seal, Blood River Sword, Mount Tai Prefect’s fire star, and the Great Dao Lord’s coming sword as possible foundations for One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
• The Taiyi Seal gathered the light of all things before Qi WuHuo and manifested a golden, ancient figure, whom Qi WuHuo recognized as Taiyi.

Qi WuHuo was attacked by Taiyi in the world of his mind and escaped by injuring himself, then discovered that Taiyi’s fading mark had targeted him because of his unusual lineage. When he tried to tell his Teacher what happened, a hidden power struck him with lethal pain and prevented him from speaking.

• Taiyi nearly touched Qi WuHuo’s brow in the world of his mind, but the Tribulation Sword disrupted the encounter and Qi WuHuo resisted Taiyi’s attempt to replace him.
• Unable to defeat Taiyi, Qi WuHuo struck himself to shatter his mind’s world and woke coughing blood with injuries to his mind and body.
• Qi WuHuo contacted the Azure Dragon and Huang Yao and learned that neither they nor Xiao Pengcao had experienced unusual dreams after receiving the Taiyi Seal.
• Qi WuHuo suspected his lineage and inherited powers had made him a suitable vessel for Taiyi, and he noticed Taiyi’s mark was fading while Taiyi seemed to fear his Teacher.
• Qi WuHuo went to his Teacher and began to explain the attack, but Taiyi’s hidden power struck him with lethal pain and stopped him from speaking.

Qi WuHuo discovered that Taiyi’s influence was growing and that he could not warn others through speech or writing without being suppressed. After resolving to return to the Teacher, he was pulled into sword practice with Shangqing Great Dao Lord, who sensed that Qi WuHuo’s life-threatening enemy was hiding inside him.

• Qi WuHuo asked the Teacher whether he could defeat Taiyi, and the Teacher said only Haotian and Fuxi’s return and a desperate alliance might overcome the [One].
• Qi WuHuo found that attempts to record Taiyi’s return and possession failed, then fought off Taiyi’s growing apparition with Tribulation Sword.
• Taiyi’s influence nearly made Qi WuHuo strike a child, so Qi WuHuo resolved to return and tell the Teacher what was happening.
• The Great Dao Lord appeared and challenged Qi WuHuo for missing their sword practice, then noticed his sudden improvement and questioned him about his hidden enemy.

The Shangqing Great Dao Lord and Taishang discovered that Taiyi’s remnant power had become entangled with Qi WuHuo’s spirit and soul, and they worked to protect him. After the Great Dao Lord taught Qi WuHuo a sword art to counter Taiyi’s attack, Qi WuHuo entered another confrontation with Taiyi and struck back at the cost of a grievous wound.

• The Shangqing Great Dao Lord used his sword to sever the power controlling Qi WuHuo, then gave him a sword to keep him safe.
• Taishang examined Qi WuHuo, confirmed that Taiyi’s remnant power was within him, and placed a protective character in his palm.
• The Great Dao Lord and Taishang concluded that Taiyi’s Dao could not be fully separated from Qi WuHuo without destroying him, so the Great Dao Lord taught Qi WuHuo how to counter Taiyi’s technique.
• Qi WuHuo entered a dream confrontation with Taiyi and used the character in his palm to raise a barrier against him.
• When Taiyi attacked with the same overwhelming finger technique, Qi WuHuo broke its force with the newly taught sword art, suffered a bloody wound, and pierced Taiyi’s heart.

Qi WuHuo trained to resist Taiyi’s control, refining Tribulation Sword until he could gain the upper hand in their mind-world battles. When Zhang Xiaoyu secretly came to spar, Qi WuHuo turned the tables at the brink of defeat, and Zhang Xiaoyu glimpsed Taiyi behind him.

• Taiyi overwhelmed Qi WuHuo in the mind world, but Qi WuHuo broke through his techniques before exhausting the energy sustaining the realm.
• The Shangqing Great Dao Lord identified Taiyi’s Myriad Stars Grand Evolution Finger Arts and taught Qi WuHuo a revised Tribulation Sword to counter them.
• Qi WuHuo trained by day and fought Taiyi in his dreams by night, gradually learning to suppress him for stretches of time.
• Zhang Xiaoyu secretly visited Qi WuHuo and challenged him to spar, using Haotian’s powerful instincts while limiting his cultivation with a magical treasure.
• After Zhang Xiaoyu shattered Qi WuHuo’s branch sword, Qi WuHuo used the Eight Trigrams and a technique modeled on Taiyi’s arts to seal and strike him.
• Zhang Xiaoyu saw an ancient golden-eyed figure behind Qi WuHuo and recognized it as Taiyi.

Qi Wuhuo was displaced when Taiyi took over his body, and the Wa Emperor's remnant kept him from vanishing into nothingness. The Supreme forced Taiyi out by pouring his own qi into Qi Wuhuo, who returned to his body as the wounded old man asked if he was all right.

• Zhang Xiaoyu clashed with Qi Wuhuo, whose body instinctively used Taiyi's finger-seal technique before Taiyi replaced him.
• Trapped in darkness and being erased, Qi Wuhuo heard the Wa Emperor's voice and was kept from disappearing completely.
• Taiyi attacked the Supreme by turning the authority of the One into a sword, while Shangqing struck at him in fury.
• The Supreme restrained Shangqing's sword and endured Taiyi's attack while pouring his qi into Qi Wuhuo's body.
• The Supreme's qi drove Taiyi out and restored Qi Wuhuo, then the old man gently asked whether Wuhuo was all right.

Qi WuHuo believed he had gravely injured his teacher while possessed by Taiyi, but Supreme and Shangqing Great Dao Lord revealed they had staged the injury to test Taiyi and make him underestimate them. As Taiyi questioned what he had seen, Zhang Xiaoyu offered Qi WuHuo a possible way to counter him.

• Qi WuHuo panicked after his attack pierced his teacher, and Zhang Xiaoyu gave the wounded-looking old man a pill before Qi WuHuo left in distress.
• Supreme revealed that the injured old man had been an avatar, and he and Shangqing Great Dao Lord agreed they had fooled Taiyi into thinking they had made no progress.
• Taiyi wondered whether Supreme's apparent weakness was genuine or a deliberate act, despite remembering the sensation of piercing his heart.
• Supreme noticed Zhang Xiaoyu approaching Qi WuHuo and said their growing bond could help them deal with Taiyi.
• Zhang Xiaoyu told Qi WuHuo that he might have a way to counter Taiyi.

Zhang Xiaoyu searched Heaven’s library for a way to help Qi WuHuo counter Taiyi, while Taiyi used their dreamlike battle to test whether the Supreme One had truly been injured. Zhang Xiaoyu found a hidden jade slip about Taiyi and identified Fuxi as its author.

• Zhang Xiaoyu comforted Qi WuHuo and promised to search Heaven’s library for ancient methods against Taiyi.
• The Supreme One and the Shangqing Great Dao Lord discussed their plan, while Qi WuHuo turned his grief and anger into killing intent and resumed training.
• Taiyi judged that the Supreme One had truly been wounded, postponed taking over Qi WuHuo’s body, and decided to fight him as a temporary teacher.
• Zhang Xiaoyu searched Heaven’s library, used a locating technique, and found a dusty jade slip hidden between bookshelves.
• Zhang Xiaoyu read the jade slip’s account of Empress Nuwa and concluded that Fuxi had written it.

Zhang Xiaoyu read Fuxi’s letter and discovered its methods for countering Taiyi, but the Judicial Great Celestial Venerable kept him occupied with court duties. Meanwhile, Qi WuHuo wounded Taiyi in their soul-world battles and opened Taishang’s jade slip just as Zhang Xiaoyu arrived.

• Zhang Xiaoyu opened Fuxi’s ancient letter, which explained that a later incarnation of Taiyi would be a shadow driven by hatred and listed methods to counter him.
• The Judicial Great Celestial Venerable summoned Zhang Xiaoyu to review the Heavenly Court’s piled-up records, preventing him from descending to the mortal world with the jade slip.
• Qi WuHuo’s battles with Taiyi grew more desperate, and he used a broken sword to wound Taiyi before Taiyi scattered his soul again.
• Qi WuHuo worried over his sleeping, injured teacher, then convinced himself that his doubts about the injury were excuses and continued trying to open Taishang’s jade slip.
• Zhang Xiaoyu finally reached Qi WuHuo, and the jade slip’s seal opened to reveal the character “Fight!”