Chapter Summaries

After breaking through, Qi WuHuo reflected on the drought in Jinzhou, the black-clad figure in a Red Dragon robe, and the Demon Kingdoms involved, while planning to investigate the calamity. He resolved to return to Jinzhou after mastering Primordial Prenatal Qi, then fell asleep and saw a white-haired Daoist who looked like his Teacher.

• The old Daoist and Mingxin stopped Qi WuHuo from helping with dinner and went to prepare the meal together.
• Qi WuHuo returned to the Scripture Pavilion, fed and settled the Little Peacock, then wrote down questions about the Jinzhou calamity and the figure in the Red Dragon robe.
• Qi WuHuo considered investigating the Demon Kingdoms with help from Ming Zhen Dao Alliance and Uncle Niu, but noted that Yun Qin and Uncle Niu were unavailable.
• Qi WuHuo crossed out “Human Emperor,” wrote “Thief,” and wondered how to overthrow the throne and choose a worthy prince.
• Qi WuHuo wrote “Jinzhou” and told the Little Peacock he would return there after mastering Primordial Prenatal Qi, to see the place and repay kindness or take revenge.
• Qi WuHuo fell asleep at his desk and, drowsily seeing a kind, white-haired Daoist before him, murmured, “Teacher...?”

Qi WuHuo recovered from spiritual exhaustion at the temple, advanced his understanding of Primordial Prenatal Qi, and independently created a wind technique that let him rise into the air. The chapter ended with two distant Daoists discussing the old man’s projection and his disciple, Xuanwei.

• Qi WuHuo dreamed of telling his Teacher about his travels and affirmed that he cultivated the Human Dao before Mingxin and the old Daoist let him sleep.
• Qi WuHuo woke to Little Peacock demanding food, then studied several cultivation texts while Mingxin practiced breathing exercises.
• Qi WuHuo used what he learned about Primordial Prenatal Qi to summon a powerful wind and form a dragon-like current around the temple.
• Qi WuHuo caught Mingxin’s flying wooden sword by riding the wind, explained how he had worked out the technique, and promised to teach Mingxin after refining it.
• Two distant Daoists played chess as one asked the old man about his projection and his new disciple, Xuanwei.

Yuqing and Shangqing debated whether disciples should endure tribulations on their own or be protected by their sect, while Yuqing confronted Shangqing over Medicine Master’s reincarnation. Their clash shook the Three Realms, and Yun Qin took advantage of the chaos to enter the library’s second floor with a scroll for Wu Huo.

• Yuqing praised Xuanwei for willingly facing tribulation and condemned disciples who knowingly broke the law, while the Supreme One’s incarnation disappeared from their chess game.
• Yuqing found Shangqing in the Shangqing Library and demanded that he change his borrowed appearance before discussing Medicine Master’s reincarnation.
• Yuqing and Shangqing argued over whether protecting disciples ruined their growth or whether disciples should follow their own hearts without bearing their teacher’s ambitions.
• Their confrontation darkened the heavens and unleashed violent winds and black fog across the Three Realms, alarming Azure Sun Marvelous Dao Celestial Lord.
• Yun Qin entered the Shangqing Library’s newly accessible second floor carrying Dao Lord Wu Huo’s Respectful Reply to the Great Dao Lord and calling for Wu Huo to prepare sesame cakes.

Yuqing and Shangqing Great Dao Lord wagered that, after five hundred years, a tribulation-tested junior chosen by Yuqing would have advanced further than a carefree junior taught by Shangqing. Shangqing briefly considered Yun Qin as his candidate but abandoned the idea, then received a reply from the young Daoist he had guided and accidentally squashed the message’s manifested figure inside the scroll.

• Yuqing and Shangqing Great Dao Lord argued over whether disciples needed tribulations and whether Buddhist Dharma could temper their Dao hearts.
• Yuqing proposed a five-hundred-year wager: he would choose someone who had endured hardship, while Shangqing would find someone carefree, without using divination or forcing events.
• Yuqing chose Xuanwei and withdrew into seclusion, while Shangqing stayed behind, troubled by Taiyi Saves from Suffering searching for him.
• Shangqing spotted Yun Qin and briefly tried teaching her Cloud Seal records, but her slow progress quickly made him lose interest.
• Yun Qin told Shangqing that the arrogant young Daoist who had received his scroll found it too difficult, then handed over the young Daoist’s written reply.
• Shangqing recognized his own handwriting in the reply, manifested its divine intent as a young Daoist, and snapped the scroll shut, squashing the figure inside.

Shangqing Great Dao Lord read Wu Huo’s reply, recognized his insight, and wrote back with guidance on the Dao of action and inaction while insisting he had not passed on a divine ability. Wu Huo went to treat the sick and learned the old village chief had been injured after failing to stop someone from digging up a grave.

• Shangqing Great Dao Lord read Yun Qin’s account of Wu Huo’s observations, then wrote a reply explaining how the self could guide the Dao through both action and inaction.
• Shangqing Great Dao Lord retitled the scroll as a second reply to Little Daoist Wu Huo and sent Yun Qin to deliver it.
• The old Daoist stopped Mingxin from following Wu Huo and explained that Wu Huo’s Primordial Prenatal Qi let him carry heavy loads with ease.
• Wu Huo met the grey-robed monk on his way to the medical shelter, where they found the injured old village chief.
• The old village chief apologized to Wu Huo and confessed that someone had dug up a grave and he had been unable to stop them.

Qi WuHuo healed the old village chief and discovered that the crippled commandant had been poisoned by the Hidden Dragon Guard. He set out for the Ming Zhen Dao Alliance, and a fortune teller appeared to recognize the danger posed by Qi WuHuo and Little Peacock.

• Qi WuHuo healed the old village chief, who told him about the attack and pleaded for justice.
• The monk praised Qi WuHuo's Primordial Prenatal Qi and helped care for the old village chief.
• Qi WuHuo identified the attackers as members of the Hidden Dragon Guard and discovered that the commandant's wine had been poisoned.
• Qi WuHuo considered the Crown Prince's role in the affair and decided to go to the Ming Zhen Dao Alliance.
• Qi WuHuo told Little Peacock that justice lay in people's hearts or on the edge of a sword, then encountered a fortune teller who recoiled at the sight of them.

Qi Wuhuo met the fortune teller, who taught him the principles of divination, concealing his innate spirit, and treating Heaven’s Mandate with caution. After the fortune teller discovered someone had altered his memories to make him befriend Qi Wuhuo, Yun Qin sent Qi Wuhuo a message asking about sesame cakes.

• The fortune teller recognized Qi Wuhuo, tried to flee, and joined him for noodles after Qi Wuhuo caught up with him.
• The fortune teller warned Qi Wuhuo that his murderous intent could be detected and explained how divination could expose or attack his innate spirit.
• The fortune teller described Heaven’s secrets as a changing river and advised Qi Wuhuo to conceal his innate spirit and seek ways to stabilize his fate.
• The fortune teller told Qi Wuhuo to know Heaven’s Mandate without believing divinations completely, then vanished from the noodle shop.
• The fortune teller discovered that someone had sealed his memories and planted a suggestion to befriend Qi Wuhuo, then later knelt and burned incense while the great monk watched.
• Qi Wuhuo sensed a change in his mirror and received a message from Yun Qin asking whether he had made sesame cakes.

Qi WuHuo studied Human Dao Destiny and concluded that the Human Emperor’s power came from gathering the qi and spirit of the people for himself. He infused the Kill the Bandits Sword with the Jinzhou victims’ will to protect the people, then sensed the Crown Prince and a Hidden Dragon Guard nearby.

• Qi WuHuo brought hot sesame cakes for Yun Qin and visited the Ming Zhen Dao Alliance after breaking through to Primordial Prenatal Qi.
• The alliance manager welcomed Qi WuHuo, gave him free access to books on Human Dao Destiny, and invited him to dinner, but Qi WuHuo declined because he had other plans.
• After studying the books, Qi WuHuo judged the Human Emperor’s destiny to be a form of plunder that gathered the people’s power without restraint.
• Qi WuHuo tried to shape the Kill the Bandits Sword with the Jinzhou victims’ unwillingness and desire to protect all living beings, and the blade formed a fierce blood-light.
• Holding the sword, Qi WuHuo sensed Human Dao Destiny from nearby officials, the Crown Prince, and a yin presence he suspected was the Hidden Dragon Guard, then swung toward them.

The Crown Prince secretly purged decorated soldiers and planned to control his cousins, but Qi WuHuo struck at him with the Kill the Bandits Sword. The attack broke through the Crown Prince’s Human Dao Destiny and wounded him as the erased soldiers’ names and cries filled the air.

• The Crown Prince crossed out Cen Yungui’s name and learned that twenty-seven soldiers remained, while their families had been eliminated.
• The Crown Prince discussed bringing his cousin back to the capital and arranging a marriage for his clever younger cousin, then comforted his frightened little brother after the child described a dream of a bird and dragon being cut down.
• Qi WuHuo tested the Kill the Bandits Sword against the Crown Prince’s destiny, found it too weak, then chose to strike anyway because he could not accept the soldiers’ fate.
• Qi WuHuo unleashed the sword’s destiny from afar, shattering the Crown Prince’s Human Dao Destiny and wounding his shoulder.
• The Crown Prince heard the soldiers’ cries to kill the traitors as their names scattered through the bloody sunset and a sword of destiny descended toward him.

The Crown Prince lost his Human Dao Destiny after Qi WuHuo struck with the Kill the Bandits Sword, while the Hundun Observatory identified the brief red star as Ying Huo and warned of danger to the Emperor Star. Qi WuHuo reflected on his reasons for intervening, decided to go to Jinzhou, and reunited through a mirror with Yun Qin.

• The Crown Prince ordered a search for rebels and the Ode to the Great Roc, then discovered his jade seal had cracked and collapsed after realizing his destiny no longer marked him as Crown Prince.
• The Hundun Observatory observed a red star, divined its name as Ying Huo, and destroyed the tortoiseshell after a diviner feared that revealing the rest of the prophecy would kill them.
• The Human Emperor received the observatory's report and declared that he feared no decree of Heaven.
• Qi WuHuo bandaged his wounded hand, admitted he had drawn his sword because injustice unsettled him, and decided to go to Jinzhou before drawing it again.
• Qi WuHuo shared sesame cakes with Ming Xin, then used the Method of Manifesting Light Circles to speak with Yun Qin, who asked whether he had prepared a sesame cake altar.

Qi WuHuo reunited with Yun Qin, heard about a celestial star showing signs of revival, and received a letter whose teachings helped him rethink his sword. As the Old Yellow Ox suffered a backlash from setting up the Mystic Altar, Qi WuHuo’s sword intent transformed.

• Yun Qin told Qi WuHuo about the hardships of her cultivation, and he gave her pastries as a reward for working hard.
• The Old Yellow Ox explained that the Fire Virtue Star Lord’s vacant celestial office had briefly shown signs of revival.
• After Yun Qin asked him what fire virtue meant, Qi WuHuo answered that it was a spark or faint flame and reflected on how a small flame could spread.
• The Old Yellow Ox began setting up the Mystic Altar but was overwhelmed as his Star God power and true spirit were drained.
• Qi WuHuo read the Great Dao Lord’s letter, which taught that a sword could kill or protect according to the wielder’s choice.
• Qi WuHuo grasped the sword’s intent, and the sword in his case rang out as he declared that one thought could kill or protect.

Qi WuHuo studied the mysterious Dao Lord’s scroll while Yun Qin passed on the stranger’s methods for avoiding detection, which proved to be a profound inheritance. As Yun Qin and Qi WuHuo spoke through the mirror, Little Peacock met her and called out to her as A Qi.

• Qi WuHuo recognized that the scroll’s words pointed beyond divine abilities toward a broader path to the Dao, then chose not to dwell on the Dao Lord’s identity.
• Yun Qin described the Dao Lord’s methods for concealment and evasion, while Uncle Niu pretended not to hear and knocked himself unconscious against a Jianmu pillar.
• Qi WuHuo realized Yun Qin’s practical tips were profound methods for divining Heaven’s secrets, and Yun Qin happily offered to teach them to him.
• Yun Qin admitted she was glad it was finally her turn to teach Qi WuHuo, and he listened as she explained how to hide from her teacher.
• Little Peacock flew onto Qi WuHuo’s shoulder, saw Yun Qin in the bronze mirror, and called her A Qi as she called it by the same name.

Yun Qin and Qi WuHuo named Little Peacock Qi Yuntun while Old Yellow Ox explained the Demon Race's divisions and agreed to investigate the three Demon Kingdoms. After Yun Qin decided to learn celestial weaving to help Qi WuHuo, the mirror activated and an ancient voice began identifying those gathered for the Northern Pole Exorcism.

• Yun Qin heard Little Peacock's spiritual speech, and she and Qi WuHuo named him Qi Yuntun, a name he happily accepted.
• Old Yellow Ox explained that the Demon Race consisted of rival tribes gathered into six factions and described how the dragons had divided after leaving the Demon Realm.
• Old Yellow Ox agreed to contact his old friends and investigate which Great Sage was behind the three Demon Kingdoms wreaking havoc in the Human World.
• Yun Qin decided to study star-and-cloud weaving to help heal Qi WuHuo's wound, while Old Yellow Ox collapsed and pretended he wanted to rest.
• Qi WuHuo's mirror activated and an ancient voice recited the groups involved in the Northern Pole Exorcism before noticing one additional person.

Qi WuHuo listened as the North Pole Exorcism Institute prepared to purge demons and punish officials responsible for the formation’s failure, then received a temporary appointment as its Five Thunder Judge. Using the seal, he learned to channel thunder through his Primordial Prenatal Qi and saw a list of Central Province’s accused, beginning with the Jing River Dragon King.

• Qi WuHuo’s Primordial Spirit entered the mirror’s vision and encountered battle generals of the North Pole Exorcism Institute, who tested his allegiance before allowing him to listen.
• The Institute’s officers announced a campaign to eliminate demonic energy, slay demons that harmed innocents, and execute officials who had failed their duties.
• The Institute appointed Qi WuHuo temporary Five Thunder Judge and gave him the North Pole Exorcism Institute Five Thunder Seal, recognizing his role in bringing rain to Central Province.
• Qi WuHuo used the seal to learn how his Primordial Prenatal Qi could form blazing white thunder, though he could only control it close to his body.
• The seal displayed a list of accused people in Central Province, naming the Jing River Dragon King as the first target and marking his punishment as flaying.

Qi WuHuo refined the Kill the Bandits Sword by realizing that the people were supreme and the sovereign secondary, then encountered the Great Dao Lord emerging from the scroll. Elsewhere, a disciple asked the sleeping Martial Uncle whether he had chosen fighters for the battle five hundred years away.

• Qi WuHuo reflected on the Jing River Dragon King's execution and wrote that the people should restrain the Human Emperor.
• Qi WuHuo repeatedly tried to unite human fortune with the Kill the Bandits Sword, but the crimson fortune kept dispersing.
• Qi WuHuo realized the Human Emperor merely borrowed the people's fortune and concluded that the people were supreme and the sovereign secondary.
• Qi WuHuo successfully gathered crimson fortune on the sword, then heard a voice criticize his limited understanding.
• The Great Dao Lord manifested from the scroll and revealed his identity to Qi WuHuo.
• In the Shangqing Library, a battle-robed disciple asked the reclining Martial Uncle whether he had chosen combatants for the battle five hundred years away, but the Martial Uncle did not respond.

Qi WuHuo discussed the Dao and swordsmanship with a black-robed Great Dao Lord formed from a divided thought, then broke free of inherited sword forms to discover his own path. The Great Dao Lord recognized Qi WuHuo’s heart and asked whether he had a master.

• A battle-robed visitor waited for the Shangqing Spirit Treasure Great Celestial Venerable, who pretended to nap rather than meet his disciple.
• Qi WuHuo inferred how the Great Dao Lord’s written words formed a living manifestation, impressing the black-robed Daoist with his insight.
• The black-robed Daoist discussed the Dao with Qi WuHuo and summoned Lü Chunyang’s dangerous immortal sword for him to demonstrate his skill.
• Qi WuHuo practiced with the immortal sword, gradually discarding the forms and methods he had learned until his swordsmanship became entirely his own.
• Qi WuHuo named his realization “Not Dao, Only Me,” delighting the Great Dao Lord, who asked whether he had a master.

Qi WuHuo impressed the Shangqing Great Dao Lord with his swordsmanship and comprehension, and the Great Dao Lord chose him as his champion for a contest against Supreme Xuanwei five hundred years later. The Jade Talisman was sealed with both names, and the Heavenly Court began preparing to witness their battle in Great Luo Heaven.

• Qi WuHuo subdued the sentient fierce sword, refused the Shangqing Great Dao Lord's offer to take him as a disciple, and called himself a Dao Lord.
• The Shangqing Great Dao Lord decided Qi WuHuo would represent him against Supreme Xuanwei in their wager five hundred years later.
• A battle-robed man brought the Jade Talisman to the Shangqing Great Dao Lord, who wrote [Profound Mystery Wu Huo Dao Lord] opposite [Supreme Xuanwei True Person].
• The battle-robed man instructed a Heavenly Court official to reserve a day five hundred years later and announced that Qi WuHuo and Supreme Xuanwei would fight in Great Luo Heaven.

Qi WuHuo wrote the first two sections of his sword scripture after discussing the sword with the Great Dao Lord, who praised the work and respected Qi WuHuo’s loyalty to his Teacher. The scripture appeared in the Shangqing Library as a newly recognized Daoist Canon, where Azure Sun Marvelous Dao Celestial Lord discovered and read its title.

• Qi WuHuo wrote a sword manual on a Bamboo Slip, and the Great Dao Lord judged its first two sections promising but immature.
• Qi WuHuo credited the Great Dao Lord’s guidance and refused both an offer of discipleship and a gift, saying they were only discussing the Dao and the sword.
• The Great Dao Lord praised Qi WuHuo’s character, promised to save a meeting gift for another time, and advised him to follow his heart and nature.
• The Great Dao Lord vanished, and Qi WuHuo returned the killing sword to its sheath above Ancestor Lu Tower before Mingxin greeted him.
• The Great Dao Lord named Qi WuHuo’s work the Supreme Dongxuan Dao Lord Wu Huo Sword Scripture and placed it in the Shangqing Library.
• Azure Sun Marvelous Dao Celestial Lord discovered the scripture and read its title aloud.

Azure Sun Marvelous Dao Celestial Lord recognized Dao Lord Wu Huo’s handwriting in a Sword Scripture, established a Wu Huo Daojun Lineage in the Shangqing Library, and sparked widespread curiosity about its founder. Meanwhile, Qi WuHuo continued studying sword arts and was summoned to meet the Crown Prince, who had come in disguise to find a New Year’s gift for the Sage.

• Azure Sun Marvelous Dao Celestial Lord compared Dao Lord Wu Huo’s Sword Scripture with his other writings and concluded they shared the same handwriting.
• Azure Sun Marvelous Dao Celestial Lord created a grotto-heaven for Wu Huo’s two Daoist canons and registered the Sword Scripture as a True Scripture.
• The Sword Scripture’s appearance in the library’s catalogue drew crowds, but Shangqing disciples and even their elders could not identify Dao Lord Wu Huo.
• Primordial Lady Danhua Fuying proposed asking Old Yellow Ox about Dao Lord Wu Huo.
• Qi WuHuo studied sword techniques at the Ming Zhen Dao Alliance until the middle-aged Daoist told him the disguised Crown Prince wanted to meet him; the Daoist warned him not to act rashly.

The Crown Prince, Fourth Prince, Seventh Prince, and Prince Qin discussed court etiquette, the Demon Race, and the Crown Prince’s concealed destiny while waiting for a Daoist. When Qi arrived, his presence unsettled the princes and silenced the room.

• The Fourth Prince rebuked the Seventh Prince for trying to bring foxfolk and snakefolk beauties from the Demon Kingdom, warning that it could damage the Saint Emperor’s reputation.
• The Crown Prince reacted angrily to the suggestion that the Saint Emperor might strip him of his destiny, then regained his composure and urged Prince Qin to bring Qiong Yu back to the palace.
• The Fourth Prince defended Qiong Yu’s wish to keep traveling, while the Seventh Prince explained that his duty as a node in the Destiny Great Formation kept him at the border.
• The Fourth Prince noticed the Crown Prince concealing his destiny and questioned the listless child in his arms, but the Crown Prince avoided explaining the child’s condition.
• Qi entered wearing an old man’s mask, and his bearing made the princes and the Alliance attendant grow solemn before he introduced himself.