Chapter Summaries

Mingde Emperor established the Eastern Depot under Jinxuan to balance Xiao Ruofeng’s influence, while Xiao Ruofeng continued his campaign against Southern Jue. After receiving news from Apocalypse City, Xiao Ruofeng stayed focused on the war and ended the night alone outside camp as an eerie laugh sounded.

• Mingde Emperor appointed Jinxuan to lead the newly established Eastern Depot, intending to create a loyal faction that could counterbalance Xiao Ruofeng.
• Ji Ruofeng sent Xiao Ruofeng a secret letter warning him about the Shadow Sect’s destruction and Jinxuan’s rise to power.
• Xiao Ruofeng’s army captured three Southern Jue passes as Lei Mengsha and Ye Xiaoying repelled repeated assassination attempts.
• Xiao Ruofeng read Ji Ruofeng’s letter, but when Lei Mengsha and Ye Xiaoying protested the Eastern Depot’s threat to his power, he told them to let Mingde Emperor act as he wished.
• Xiao Ruofeng continued planning the assault on Jade City, then inspected the camp and sat alone beneath the moon, where an eerie laugh sounded.

Xiao Ruofeng was ambushed by the Southern Jue Cold Demon and his four disciples, who sought to assassinate him and test his swordsmanship. He drove the four disciples back, but the Cold Demon entered the fight and launched a deadly Moon Yin Finger attack at his heart.

• Xiao Ruofeng spotted a shadowy figure and was surrounded by the Southern Jue Cold Demon and his four disciples.
• Xiao Ruofeng recognized the Cold Demon and learned he had come to eliminate a threat to Southern Jue and test Li Changsheng’s disciple.
• The Cold Demon ordered his four disciples to attack, but Xiao Ruofeng used the Haoque Sword to fend off their coordinated assault and force them onto the defensive.
• The Cold Demon called his disciples back and struck at Xiao Ruofeng with his Moon Yin Finger, sending a freezing force toward his heart.

Lei Mengsha killed Cold Demon Elder with the Shocking God Finger, while Jinxuan tried to bring Dark River under the Eastern Depot’s control. Mu Mingce rejected him, and the two prepared to clash in Nine Heavens City.

• Lei Mengsha intercepted Cold Demon Elder’s attack on Xiao Ruofeng and wounded him with the Shocking God Finger.
• Lei Mengsha used Heaven Incineration to vaporize Cold Demon Elder completely.
• Jinxuan studied Shadow Sect dossiers and realized Dark River’s forces would not obey him based on his new title alone.
• Jinxuan traveled to Nine Heavens City and offered Mu Mingce wealth and glory in exchange for Dark River’s loyalty to the Eastern Depot.
• Mu Mingce refused and challenged the Eastern Depot’s authority, while gripping the Sleeping Dragon Sword.
• Jinxuan unleashed his powerful Empty Embrace Technique as Mu Mingce faced him in the secret chamber.

Jinxuan's attempt to test Mu Mingce's strength ended in a stalemate, and Su Muyu's arrival turned the confrontation against him. Jinxuan tried to leave Dark River's secret chamber after claiming he had only come to reminisce with Mu Mingce.

• Jinxuan and Mu Mingce clashed their true qi in a dangerous contest, but neither could overpower the other.
• An uninvited masked man entered the chamber, forcing both men to rein in their true qi and disperse its explosive backlash.
• Jinxuan recognized the newcomer as Su Muyu, whom Mu Mingce identified as Dark River's Kui and next Clan Leader.
• Su Muyu questioned why Jinxuan, a man of the court, had come to Dark River and let his killing intent show.
• Jinxuan laughed off the confrontation, claimed he had only come to reminisce with Mu Mingce, and glided toward the door.

Su Muyu explained that he had come to Nine Heavens City under Mu Mingce’s secret orders, while Emperor Gu Hui read about the four clans guarding the Central Plains and their treasures. In Tianqi City, a woman treated a sick child and announced that she would see patients the next day, prompting exaggerated rumors about her healing abilities.

• Jinxuan fled the secret chamber, and Su Muyu told Mu Mingce that he had brought the Twelve Zodiacs to Nine Heavens City under orders sent through the Web.
• Gu Hui read of the Outer Immortals, the four clans guarding the realms, and the treasures they protected, then considered the limits of his own strength.
• A woman in Tianqi City examined a feverish boy and treated him with needles, restoring his breathing.
• The woman promised to see patients at the same spot the following day, and rumors spread that she could revive the dead and restore flesh to bare bones.

Xiao Chuhe insisted that he and Xiao Lingchen seek out the rumored divine physician, while Gu Hui won heavily at Thousand Gold Terrace and arranged to open a medicine shop in Apocalypse City. The next day, Xiao Chuhe and Xiao Lingchen encountered Tu Wan at the gambling house as he was hosting Gu Hui and Zhuoqing.

• Xiao Chuhe persuaded Xiao Lingchen to visit the divine physician despite his doubts about the rumors.
• Gu Hui turned one tael of silver into a fortune at Thousand Gold Terrace, and Tu Wan recognized him and invited him upstairs.
• Gu Hui asked Tu Wan to help acquire a residence for his planned medicine shop, and Tu Wan offered to provide one.
• A woman treated patients on Vermilion Bird Street while Gu Hui and Zhuoqing were away at Thousand Gold Terrace.
• Xiao Chuhe and Xiao Lingchen arrived at Thousand Gold Terrace, and Tu Wan hesitated when Xiao Lingchen suggested they join his private meal with his friends.

Xiao Chuhe and Xiao Lingchen met Su Muyu and Divine Physician Bai at Thousand Gold Terrace, then persuaded Bai Hehuai to examine Xiao Ruofeng. Xiao Ruofeng agreed to the examination after scolding the princes for arranging it without permission.

• Xiao Chuhe and Xiao Lingchen joined Tu Wan, Bai Hehuai, and Su Muyu for a meal at Thousand Gold Terrace, where Su Muyu revealed his name and Xiao Lingchen recognized him as the Dark River’s former Umbrella-Wielding Ghost Su.
• Xiao Chuhe asked Bai Hehuai to examine an elder in his family, and she agreed to visit the Langya Prince’s Residence with Su Muyu.
• Xiao Chuhe told Xiao Lingchen that Xiao Ruofeng’s failure to send the Inner Guard Office to monitor Su Muyu suggested that he did not consider Su Muyu an enemy.
• Xiao Ruofeng ordered the Inner Guard Office to secretly protect Bai Hehuai and watch Heye Medicine Manor after learning that the princes had sought her help.
• Xiao Ruofeng rebuked Xiao Chuhe and Xiao Lingchen for inviting Bai Hehuai without permission, but agreed to let her examine him after they knelt and pleaded.

Bai Hehuai accepted Gu Hui’s offer to become Deputy Director of the Imperial Medical Academy and asked him to lift restrictions on Dark River. The next day, Heye Medicine Manor opened in Apocalypse City, where Bai Hehuai was reunited with Su Zhe and welcomed several visitors.

• Bai Hehuai diagnosed Xiao Ruofeng’s cold poison as suppressed and prescribed medicine, while Xiao Chuhe learned the condition had advanced Xiao Ruofeng’s cultivation.
• Gu Hui praised Xiao Chuhe and offered Bai Hehuai the position of Deputy Director of the Imperial Medical Academy.
• Bai Hehuai asked Gu Hui to let Dark River step into the sunlight, and he agreed while giving her the Deputy Director’s token.
• Su Muyu reflected on Gu Hui’s words and realized the light he sought was already beside him.
• Heye Medicine Manor opened the next day, and Tu Wan and Su Zhe arrived with congratulatory gifts for Bai Hehuai.
• Jinxian arrived at the medicine manor, now only one step away from the Grand Carefree Realm.

Years after Medicine Manor opened, Gu Hui strengthened Northern Li and the imperial forces while three princes emerged as leading contenders for the throne. Xiao Chuhe was stripped of his rank, exiled to Qingzhou, and left with damaged meridians, while Gu Hui discussed the realm’s defenses and his rule with Xiao Ruofeng and Xiao Yueli.

• Jinxian delivered the emperor’s gold and plaque to Medicine Manor, which Bai Hehuai accepted as deputy director of the Imperial Medical Academy.
• Over the following years, Xiao Yong offended many people, while Xiao Chong, Xiao Chuhe, and Xiao Yu became kings and leading contenders for the throne.
• Xiao Ruofeng reached Half-Step Free Spirit, and Xiao Chuhe entered the Carefree Heavenly Realm at seventeen.
• Gu Hui used Xiao Chuhe’s court challenge as grounds to strip him of rank and exile him to Qingzhou, then ordered Jinxuan to damage Xiao Chuhe’s hidden meridians.
• Gu Hui maintained control over the Eastern Depot, Shadow Guard, and a ten-thousand-strong Imperial Guard as he consolidated his power.
• Gu Hui reviewed Northern Li’s defenses with Xiao Ruofeng and Xiao Yueli, crediting them with helping his gamble to strengthen the kingdom.

Gu Hui and Xiao Ruofeng discussed the Golden Coffin and the return of Ye Anshi, before Jinxian reported that Chu He was traveling with Lei Wujie and Ye Anshi. The chapter detailed the rival factions backing the three princes and left Xiao Ruofeng understanding that Gu Hui had deliberately tempered and restrained Chu He.

• Yue Ji reported rumors that Tang Lian was escorting a Golden Coffin from Cold Water Temple, and Xiao Ruofeng recalled the pact that had kept Ye Anshi in Northern Li.
• Jinxian reported that he had seen Chu He at Great Brahma Sound Temple with Lei Wujie and Ye Anshi, and Gu Hui told his men to leave them alone.
• Xiao Yueli asked whether Jinxian had meant Chu He, and Xiao Ruofeng recognized that Gu Hui had known where Chu He was and had let him act as he wished.
• The chapter outlined Xiao Chong's and Xiao Yu's supporters, along with the uncertain state of Chu He's faction, in the struggle among the princes.
• Xiao Ruofeng concluded that Gu Hui had demoted Chu He to temper him and had restrained his faction because Xiao Ruofeng's support had made it too powerful.

White King Xiao Chong visited Wushuang City and secured Wushuang’s agreement to wait before entering the struggle in Tianqi. As Xiao Chong left, he received word that Li Hanyi had escaped an interception in Nan'an City, leaving her whereabouts unknown.

• Gu Hui sent Xiao Yueli into the martial world to contact Ye Dingzhi and learn Beyond Heavens’ intentions toward the imperial succession.
• Song Yan Hui told Wushuang he planned to seclude himself in the Sword Hut, while warning that the Council of Elders’ invited guest was dangerous.
• Xiao Chong arrived in Wushuang City and revealed that he was blind, had studied the Mianxi Technique under Eunuch Jinyu, and was backed by powerful forces.
• Wushuang agreed to wait for the right time to enter Tianqi without interfering in the factions’ conflicts, and Song Yan Hui recognized Xiao Chong’s Rage-Drawing Sword as a sign of Yan Zhantian’s influence.
• Xuantong informed Xiao Chong that Su Muyu and Xie Qidao had failed to stop Li Hanyi in Nan'an City, and Xiao Chong ordered that she be stopped before reaching Thunder Fortress.

Red King Xiao Yu crossed the ice field to meet Ye Anshi at Langyue Blessed Land and seek Beyond Heavens’ support in his bid for the throne. Ye Anshi weighed Xiao Yu’s offer against the dangers facing the sect, while Xiao Yu revealed how weak his political position was and reminded Ye Anshi of their childhood bond.

• Xiao Yu and his companions Yan Sen, Long Xie, and Ming Hou forced their way across the frozen wilderness toward Langyue Blessed Land, where they encountered Ye Anshi.
• Xiao Yu asked Ye Anshi about Ming Hou’s lost memories, and Ye Anshi said he could no longer help restore them.
• Ye Anshi identified Xiao Yu as the seventh son of the Mingde Emperor and revealed that his parents had gone to Apocalypse City, leaving him to prepare to inherit Beyond Heavens.
• Xiao Yu offered Beyond Heavens permission to establish its own state if he became emperor, warning that Xiao Chong or his other rivals would not grant the same freedom.
• Xiao Yu described the many martial forces backing Xiao Chong and admitted he might not reach Apocalypse City without Beyond Heavens’ aid.
• Xiao Yu invoked their shared past and called Ye Anshi his brother, insisting that his adoptive father Luo Qingyang was theirs as well.

Ye Anshi agreed to help Xiao Yu by protecting Xiao Se and hurried toward the Tang Clan with Ming Hou after learning of the trap awaiting Li Hanyi, Ye Ruoyi, and Sikong Qianluo. In Apocalypse, Gu Hui discussed the princes’ struggle for the throne with Ye Dingzhi and Yi Wenjun while revealing his willingness to let their rivalries test them.

• Xiao Yu asked Ye Anshi to stop Xiao Chong from pursuing Xiao Se, and Ye Anshi agreed to protect Xiao Se’s life while refusing to let anyone harm him.
• Xiao Yu told Ye Anshi that Xiao Chong planned to disrupt the Heroes' Banquet and that Ye Ruoyi and Sikong Qianluo had been detained as bait for Li Hanyi.
• Ye Anshi took Ming Hou from the cave and set out for the Tang Clan, suspecting Xiao Yu was deliberately steering him there.
• In the Imperial Study, Gu Hui asked about the absent Second and Seventh Princes and ordered an imperial physician to visit them.
• Ye Dingzhi and Yi Wenjun studied secret records as Gu Hui explained that he was letting the princes contend for the throne to test which would best suit the nation.

Ye Dingzhi and Yi Wenjun left for Beyond Heavens after meeting Xiao Yu, while Gu Hui revealed his immense martial strength and went to the End of Heaven to cultivate. There, his insight stirred the elements into five divine beasts that drove off a Black Dragon.

• Ye Dingzhi told Yi Wenjun that Gu Hui was balancing power among the three kings and that Xiao Yu had likely gone to Beyond Heavens; several days later, Xiao Yu met them, and Ye Dingzhi took Yi Wenjun there.
• Ye Anshi became the new sect master of Beyond Heavens a month later, and Ye Dingzhi left him with the instruction to reach Divine Wandering as soon as possible.
• Gu Hui appointed Marquis Lan Yue and the Langya King as regents, then flew to an island where he met Baili Dongjun and revealed that he planned to enter seclusion at the End of Heaven.
• Gu Hui crossed the stone stele at the cliff and began cultivating, but a flash of insight eluded him.
• The sky and sea formed a Black Dragon and a Water Dragon, then the elements shaped five divine beasts that frightened the Black Dragon away.

After a year in seclusion, Gu Hui reached a realm beyond the Yang Spirit and returned to Tianqi as Xiao Yu’s coup threatened the imperial court. He stopped Xiao Yu from taking the throne and condemned his cruelty, while Luo Qingyang regained his consciousness.

• Gu Hui emerged from seclusion with a transformed Primordial Spirit and traveled instantly from Penglai to Tianqi.
• Xiao Yu revealed his ambition to become Emperor and unleashed his red-clad death warriors and Medicine Puppets against Xiao Chong, Xiao Chuhe, and their allies.
• Luo Qingyang, transformed into a Medicine Puppet, overwhelmed the defenders and left many of them severely wounded.
• Xiao Yu sat on the throne but suddenly collapsed after Gu Hui returned to the hall and revealed himself as the living Emperor.
• Gu Hui explained that the throne’s fortune and karmic force had struck Xiao Yu, then rebuked him for refining Medicine Puppets and seeking the throne.

Gu Hui ended the Tianqi rebellion, crippled the Red King, and later withdrew to consolidate his cultivation while Xiao Chuhe led the army against Southern Jue. Xiao Chuhe honored the Dragon-Sealing Edict naming Xiao Chong as emperor, and the chapter ended with Xiao Se and his companions traveling toward Snowfall Mountain Villa.

• Gu Hui spared the Red King for Wenjun's sake but permanently crippled his cultivation and confined him to an estate near Apocalypse City.
• Gu Hui entrusted Bai Hehuai with treating Xiao Chong's eyes, praised Xiao Chong and Xiao Chuhe for quelling the rebellion, and urged the brothers to support each other.
• Southern Jue and the Northern Barbarians invaded Northern Li, so Gu Hui sent Xiao Chuhe to lead the army while Xiao Chong governed.
• Gu Hui withdrew into a chamber beneath the imperial mausoleum to sleep and stabilize his foundation, while Xiao Ruojin, King Langya, and Marquis Lan Yue disappeared.
• After Xiao Chuhe defeated Southern Jue, he read the Dragon-Sealing Edict naming Xiao Chong, who ascended the throne as the Tianzheng Emperor.
• Yan Zhantian told Xiao Chong that Xiao Chuhe had destroyed the scroll naming him heir, while Xiao Se, Sikong Qianluo, Ye Ruoyi, and Lei Wujie traveled toward Snowfall Mountain Villa.

Xiao Se returned to Snowfall Mountain Villa with Lei Wujie, Sikong Qianluo, and Ye Ruoyi, while Xiao Chong consolidated his rule and dealt with the Langya Army and court appointments. The chapter ended with Wushuang City flourishing again under Wushuang’s fame, though its elders’ actions were still directed by Tianqi.

• Lei Wujie arrived at Snowfall Mountain Villa first and was mistaken by its two waiters for a threat to their boss.
• Xiao Se, Sikong Qianluo, and Ye Ruoyi arrived, reunited with the waiters, and shared a meal at the shabby villa.
• Xiao Chong appointed Li Changqing Marquis Zhongxin and deputy general of the Langya Army vanguard, then placed Ling Haohan among the Imperial Guard commanders.
• Ling Shaohan told Xiao Chong that Ji Xue was organizing Hundred Dawn Hall and that the former emperor remained missing.
• Wushuang City regained its prosperity as Wushuang’s thirteen-sword feat made him famous, while the five elders continued to have their actions arranged by Tianqi.

Gu Hui awakened and saved Xiao Chong, restoring his shattered meridians and raising his cultivation to the peak of Half-Step Free Spirit. Xiao Chong then explained how his visit to the First Pavilion Under Heaven led him to discover Ancestor Xiao Yi’s remnant soul in the Imperial Mausoleum.

• Gu Hui appeared in the Heart-Nourishing Hall, learned that Dantai Po had died and Xiao Chong was gravely injured, then began treating Xiao Chong.
• Gu Hui reconnected and opened Xiao Chong’s meridians, healed his injuries, and brought his cultivation to the peak of Half-Step Free Spirit.
• Xiao Chong told Gu Hui and Xiao Se that he had wielded Heaven-Slaying after discovering Xiao Yi’s remnant soul in the Imperial Mausoleum.
• Xiao Chong recounted how an illusion in the First Pavilion Under Heaven showed him past Xiao Clan emperors, until Rage Sword Immortal Yan Zhantian’s sword broke the illusion.
• Xiao Chong described meeting Xiao Yi, who had remained in the Imperial Mausoleum through the power of an Underground Dragon Vein and asked about Northern Li.
• Xiao Yi observed that Xiao Chong lacked imperial dominance and had not mastered Heaven-Slaying, then praised Yan Zhantian’s sword.

Xiao Chong received Xiao Yi’s sword inheritance and a dangerous final gift, while Northern Li’s royal family prepared for a future conflict. Ten years later, as Outer Immortals and a coalition of nations threatened Northern Li, Gu Hui reappeared and learned that a woman had united the enemy forces.

• Xiao Yi passed Heaven-Slaying and the Nation-Splitting Sword Technique to Xiao Chong, raising him to Half-Step Free Spirit, and gave him the power of King's Fortune at the cost of his vitality.
• Xiao Se and Xiao Chuhe discussed the possibility of resurrection and whether Chuhe had escaped the Heavenly Dao, while Gu Hui revealed his own strength and returned to secluded slumber.
• Over the next ten years, Outer Immortals invaded Northern Li, whose many Divine Wandering experts held them back.
• A coalition of more than a dozen nations sent armies against Northern Li, prompting Baili Dongjun and Mo Yi to seek out Xiao Chong.
• Gu Hui appeared in the Hall of Peace and Purity, and Mo Yi warned him that a woman had united the formidable forces attacking Northern Li.

Gu Hui faced the invading armies at the Southern Jue border and revealed overwhelming strength against the immortals from beyond the realm. He annihilated the enemy forces, leaving the battle's outcome—and the source of a final shouted command—unresolved.

• Gu Hui reassured Mo Yi and Baili Dongjun, then learned that the enemy armies and the forces beyond the realm were converging on Southern Jue.
• The Mingde Emperor returned to lead the expedition south, while Baili Dongjun and Mo Yi assembled experts to defend Northern Li.
• At the Southern Jue border, Gu Hui assigned Xiao Ruofeng command of the ordinary troops and confronted dozens of immortals in the Void.
• Gu Hui summoned a devastating storm of lightning that destroyed most of the enemy army and left the surviving immortals stunned.
• The remaining immortals formed a formation and used their immortal artifacts, but Gu Hui's attack reduced them to ashes just as someone shouted, "Stop!"