Chapter Summaries

Ao Rui and Wu Zheng found Cangwu Old Ancestor attempting to transform into a dragon beneath Prince Jing'an’s Mansion, where Mu Xian’s formation had trapped it. Ao Rui demanded Cangwu Old Ancestor surrender its transformation method and serve the Dragon Race, while Mu Xian intensified the flames and Cangwu Old Ancestor seized an opportunity.

• Mu Xian trapped Cangwu Old Ancestor in a fiery formation, but neither could overcome the other while Cangwu Old Ancestor protected Prince Jing'an’s remains.
• Wu Zheng led Ao Rui past the besieged Prefecture City to Prince Jing'an’s Mansion, reasoning that the Dragon Qi there would draw Cangwu Old Ancestor.
• Ao Rui and Wu Zheng entered the underground palace and found Cangwu Old Ancestor nearing its transformation into a dragon as Mu Xian maintained the formation.
• Ao Rui recognized Prince Jing'an’s remains as the source of the Dragon Qi and demanded that Cangwu Old Ancestor hand over the transformation method and serve the Dragon Race.
• Mu Xian intensified the formation’s flames, and Cangwu Old Ancestor convulsed before a sly gleam appeared in its eyes.

Cangwu Old Ancestor feigned submission to Ao Rui while Mu Xian fought to survive their combined assault. After breaking free of the formation, Cangwu Old Ancestor abandoned the act and let Mu Xian strike Ao Rui, leaving the Dragon Race member wounded and furious.

• Cangwu Old Ancestor used Heart-Crossing Compassionate Voice to convince Ao Rui that it regretted seeking dragon transformation and would serve the Dragon Race.
• Ao Rui attacked Mu Xian, smashed his ancient bronze bell, and fought him while Cangwu Old Ancestor secretly absorbed Dragon Qi from Prince Jing'an's corpse.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor broke free of the formation and pretended to help Ao Rui, while Mu Xian fought both opponents and Zuo Qianshan tried to escape.
• Wu Zheng blocked Zuo Qianshan's path and forced him to stop.
• Mu Xian lashed Ao Rui with his whisk, and Cangwu Old Ancestor refused to intervene, leaving Ao Rui badly wounded and revealing its greed.

Cangwu Old Ancestor devoured Ao Rui to complete its transformation into a dragon, triggering a heavenly tribulation over Prince Jing'an's Mansion. As Mu Xian and Zuo Qianshan fled the underground palace, Cangwu Old Ancestor emerged to face the first bolt of lightning.

• Cangwu Old Ancestor seized Ao Rui and suppressed his Dragon Race bloodline, ignoring Ao Rui's pleas and threats.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor bit Ao Rui twice and swallowed him, despite Mu Xian's attack.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor absorbed Ao Rui's Dragon Qi and completed the final step of its transformation, causing a lightning tribulation to gather overhead.
• Mu Xian ordered everyone to flee, escaped with Zuo Qianshan, and killed Wu Zheng with his whisk as he passed.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor burst through the ground and stood beneath the thunderclouds as the first bolt of purple lightning struck toward its head.

Cangwu Old Ancestor survived the ninth heavenly lightning bolt and transformed into a golden dragon, though the tribulation left it badly wounded. Mu Xian and Zuo Qianshan attacked while it was weak, but Cangwu Old Ancestor’s counterattack sent them reeling.

• Cangwu Old Ancestor endured nine lightning bolts and completed its transformation into a five-hundred-zhang golden dragon.
• Mu Xian realized Cangwu Old Ancestor was severely injured and ordered Zuo Qianshan to attack with him.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor mocked Mu Xian and swung its tail at him.
• Mu Xian narrowly avoided the tail, while its aftershock sent Zuo Qianshan crashing into the ruins with severe injuries.

Mu Xian and Zuo Qianshan fled after Cangwu Old Ancestor’s faith-powered healing let it overcome them and complete its transformation into a Seventh Turn true dragon. Mu Xian ordered the city evacuated after a final battle against the Yaksha Race, and Li Xiao prepared for the breakout at dawn.

• Cangwu Old Ancestor healed its wounds with power of faith, while gilded statues of Monk Cangyuan shattered across several provinces.
• Mu Xian detonated his Three Flowers spirit artifact to delay Cangwu Old Ancestor, then escaped with the severely injured Zuo Qianshan.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor revealed that it had become a Seventh Turn true dragon and promised to pursue its enemies after stabilizing its cultivation.
• Mu Xian told the Commandery Governor Mansion gathering that the city must destroy the Yaksha Race and evacuate rather than wait for the Dragon Race or Imperial Court.
• Mu Xian ordered everyone to prepare for departure at dawn, and Li Xiao recognized that the coming battle would be the city's final breakout.

Li Xiao told Chen An that a Seventh Turn Great Demon had appeared behind their lines and the city would be abandoned, leaving millions of people to flee despite the danger. As dawn came, Li Xiao led Chen An to the city wall, where Elder Zheng prepared for a battle to break the deadlock.

• Li Xiao told Chen An that the city had to be abandoned because a Seventh Turn Great Demon had appeared behind their lines, and Chen An protested that millions of ordinary people would be endangered.
• Li Xiao explained that remaining in the city meant certain death once a Seventh Turn battle began, while fleeing offered a slim chance of survival.
• Shi Xin visited Li Xiao and agreed that neither of them could remain on a battlefield where Seventh Turn beings clashed.
• The city spent the night packing and fleeing, while the garrison punished looters and merchants who raised prices.
• Li Xiao considered taking advantage of Zuo Qianshan's injuries to attack him, but decided it was not the right time.
• At dawn, Li Xiao led Chen An to the city wall, where Elder Zheng stood ready for the battle to break the deadlock.

The Human Race launched a surprise assault on the Demon Race after withdrawing the city’s formation, aiming to destroy the Yaksha forces before they learned Wu Zheng and Ao Rui were dead. The battle continued in the city’s favor as Zuo Qianshan joined the fight at Mu Xian’s command.

• Elder Zheng urged the Human Race’s experts to advance, and the city’s formation vanished as the gates opened for a cavalry charge.
• Li Xiao, Shi Xin, Elder Zheng, and the other Fifth Turn cultivators attacked the Yaksha camp, forcing Wu Wei, Wu Qu, and the Demon Race experts to fight.
• Li Xiao defeated two Fifth Turn Marrow Birth Realm Demonic Beasts while the Human Race pressed the disorganized Demon Race forces back.
• Mu Xian ordered the injured Zuo Qianshan to join the battle, and the Human Race’s morale rose when he appeared.

Zuo Qianshan joined the battle and fought the injured Wu Wei while recognizing that Li Xiao cultivated the same sword art and plotting to seize his Sword Qi. As the fighting reached a stalemate, Mu Xian summoned the Astral Wind to turn the tide.

• Zuo Qianshan forced Wu Wei back, but Wu Wei transformed into his Yaksha form and attacked him with Mountain Shifting.
• Zuo Qianshan shattered Wu Wei's phantom mountain with six treasure artifacts, though the exchange worsened his injuries.
• While battling Wu Wei, Zuo Qianshan recognized Li Xiao's golden Sword Qi as belonging to the Life-Slaying Amitabha Sword Scripture and planned to kill him and take it.
• The Yaksha forces' resistance stalled the fighting, and Mu Xian decided to intervene.
• Mu Xian cast the Five Elements Sect's Wind Summoning art, calling down the corrosive Astral Wind from the nine heavens.

Mu Xian’s Wind Summoning Talisman devastated the Demon Race army, allowing the people of Zhennan City to evacuate while Li Xiao reflected on the growing chaos. In the Yu Kingdom’s capital, Emperor Yu Hong learned of Prince Jing'an’s death and heard Han Chong request permission to lead troops north and rebuild the front line.

• Mu Xian unleashed the Nine Heavens Astral Wind, killing many Demonic Beasts and driving the survivors to flee.
• Li Xiao and the other Fifth Turn cultivators guarded the evacuation as millions of citizens left Zhennan City.
• Emperor Yu Hong condemned the news of Prince Jing'an’s death and the loss of provinces along the front line.
• Han Chong asked Yu Hong to let him lead troops north, stabilize Zhennan City, gather scattered soldiers, and rebuild the defenses.

After the Yu Kingdom ordered reinforcements and sought help from the Zhou Kingdom, Li Xiao left the evacuated Prefecture City for Bright Yin Commandery to draw Zuo Qianshan into attacking him. Zuo Qianshan struck at the inn where Li Xiao was staying, but Li Xiao emerged unharmed, prompting Zuo Qianshan to realize he had broken through.

• Yu Hong appointed Han Chong Grand Marshal of the South, ordered him to lead three hundred thousand cavalry north, and arranged for aid from the sects and the Zhou Kingdom.
• Li Xiao helped evacuate the Prefecture City, then declined Elder Zheng’s offer of protection and set out alone for Bright Yin Commandery.
• Li Xiao reached Bright Yin Commandery and stayed at a secluded inn without hiding his presence, hoping to lure Zuo Qianshan into attacking him.
• On the second night, Zuo Qianshan disguised his voice and appearance and split the inn apart with a sharp Sword Qi strike.
• Li Xiao emerged unharmed from the ruins, and Zuo Qianshan was surprised that Li Xiao had broken through without his knowledge.

Li Xiao and Shi Xin trapped Zuo Qianshan and fought him until the pill Li Xiao had given him disrupted his True Qi. Zuo Qianshan weakened to the threshold of the Round Marrow Realm as Li Xiao prepared to finish him.

• Li Xiao confronted Zuo Qianshan, identified his Life-Slaying Amitabha Sword Scripture and Demonic Sword Qi, and learned that he had come to kill him.
• Li Xiao and Zuo Qianshan exchanged blows until Shi Xin appeared and joined the fight.
• Zuo Qianshan used six Superior Treasure Artifacts to fight both Li Xiao and Shi Xin, but his injuries and the strain gradually weakened him.
• Zuo Qianshan spat blood and accused Li Xiao of tampering with the pill he had received.
• Li Xiao revealed that the pill made Zuo Qianshan's True Qi flow backward when he used it, and blamed him for attacking out of greed.
• Zuo Qianshan's control over his artifacts faltered as he fell to the threshold of the Round Marrow Realm, and Li Xiao raised his sword to end the fight.

Li Xiao used the last charge in his Talisman to summon the Sect Master's Divine Intent and crush Zuo Qianshan, leaving him barely alive. With Zuo Qianshan defeated, Li Xiao declared the fight over and felt the burden of his journey lifted.

• Zuo Qianshan intensified his black Sword Qi and drove Li Xiao and Shi Xin back despite his disrupted True Qi.
• Li Xiao drew out the Talisman with one final charge, and Zuo Qianshan recognized it as the one that had summoned the Sect Master's Divine Intent before.
• Li Xiao activated the Talisman, summoning a giant hand that suppressed Zuo Qianshan as he exploded his six Superior Treasure Artifacts in an attempt to resist.
• The giant hand struck Zuo Qianshan and left him shattered in a massive palm print, while he remained barely alive.
• Li Xiao explained that Shi Xin's Fortune and Destiny had suppressed Zuo Qianshan's fortune, then told the defeated man, "It's over."

Li Xiao took the captured Zuo Qianshan to a secluded cave and fed three drops of his Essence Blood to the Seven Orifice Insect. After the insect fell asleep to digest the blood, an invisible force spread through Li Xiao’s meridians and formed a faint connection with his mind.

• Li Xiao sealed Zuo Qianshan’s remaining True Qi and carried him out of Bright Yin Commandery while Shi Xin departed in the opposite direction.
• Li Xiao hid Zuo Qianshan in a cave and refined a drop of Essence Blood from his chest.
• Zuo Qianshan recognized the Seven Orifice Insect in Li Xiao’s hand as a rare Exotic Insect.
• The Seven Orifice Insect consumed three drops of Zuo Qianshan’s Essence Blood and curled up asleep in Li Xiao’s palm.
• A faint golden-red glow surrounded the sleeping insect as an invisible force spread through Li Xiao’s meridians and connected with his mind.

After completing the Seven Orifice Insect ritual, Li Xiao drained Zuo Qianshan’s Demonic Qi and prepared to forge it into a sword. In Great Zhou’s court, Emperor Huan of Zhou hesitated to aid the Yu Kingdom, leaving the decision to Seventh Turn expert Lin Tianyang.

• Li Xiao completed the Seven Orifice Insect ritual and gained the ability to divide sub-insects that siphoned others’ Fortune and Destiny.
• Li Xiao absorbed the Demonic Qi accumulated in Zuo Qianshan’s body, leaving him dead and withered.
• A Yu Kingdom envoy begged Emperor Huan of Zhou to send aid against the Demon Race and reported Prince Jing'an’s death and the Cangwu Old Ancestor’s transformation into a Seventh Turn dragon.
• Emperor Huan of Zhou publicly promised to consider sending reinforcements within three days, then privately argued that Great Zhou should avoid the war.
• Several ministers urged Emperor Huan of Zhou to defend the Yu Kingdom, but he cited the Dragon Race, Cangwu Old Ancestor, and Heavenly Devil Palace as threats.
• Emperor Huan of Zhou asked Lin Tianyang, a Seventh Turn eunuch, whether Great Zhou should send reinforcements.

Emperor Huan of Zhou and Lin Tianyang secretly coordinated with the Heavenly Devil Palace to exploit Yu Kingdom’s crisis and bring their long-laid plan to its endgame. Lin Tianyang was ordered to go to the front lines with Retainer Duan to confront the Dragon Race and Cangwu Old Ancestor, while a mysterious man emerged from a secret door.

• Lin Tianyang advised Emperor Huan of Zhou to delay sending troops to Yu Kingdom until its forces had weakened the Demon Race.
• After the ministers left, Emperor Huan of Zhou revealed his alert, composed nature and received three Heavenly Devil Palace figures in the hall.
• The leading guardian said Heavenly Devil Palace had drawn the Dragon Race into the conflict and crippled Yu Kingdom, and reminded Emperor Huan of Zhou to honor their agreement.
• Emperor Huan of Zhou agreed that the plan should reach its endgame and ordered Lin Tianyang to take Retainer Duan to the front lines to face the Dragon Race and Cangwu Old Ancestor.
• After Lin Tianyang left, a gaunt man in a gray hemp robe emerged from a secret door, and Emperor Huan of Zhou regarded him with unusual gravity.

Wu Daoxuan warned Emperor Huan of Zhou that his plan was his only chance and secured a promise regarding the Heavenly Secrets Platform. After condensing Zuo Qianshan’s Demonic Qi into a second, black Sword Qi, Li Xiao lured three Marrow-Piercing Great Demons to a mountain peak to test his new power.

• Wu Daoxuan assured Emperor Huan of Zhou that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion’s calculation offered his only chance and reminded him to hand over the Heavenly Secrets Platform afterward.
• Emperor Huan of Zhou agreed, and Wu Daoxuan departed through the Secret Door.
• Li Xiao condensed Zuo Qianshan’s Demonic Qi into a black Sword Qi and balanced it beside his original golden Sword Qi.
• Li Xiao entered the wilderness to test his strength, defeating a Marrow Birth Realm Wolf Demon with a single palm strike.
• Li Xiao lured three Marrow-Piercing Great Demons to a Lone Peak, where he summoned his black Sword Qi as they surrounded him.

Li Xiao fought three Marrow-Piercing Great Demons and revealed his golden and black Sword Qis, killing all three with ease. He left the battle with new confidence in his ability to face even a Round Marrow cultivator.

• Li Xiao used Flying Cloud Leg and Iron Wire Fist to fight the ape, eagle, and leopard demons, but their coordinated attacks gradually put him at a disadvantage.
• Li Xiao stopped moving and summoned his golden and black Sword Qis as the three demons lunged at him.
• Li Xiao's golden Sword Qi split the ape demon's bone club and pierced its chest, killing it.
• Li Xiao's black Sword Qi severed the eagle demon's wings and pursued the leopard demon, killing both.
• Li Xiao absorbed the demons' dissipating Demonic Qi and reflected that his two Sword Qis gave him the strength to fight a Round Marrow cultivator.

Cangwu Old Ancestor completed his transformation into a dragon, and Wu Daoxuan gave him the Heaven-Shielding Pearl and directed him to provoke a conflict between the Dragon Race and Great Zhou. Great Zhou then publicized Cangwu’s crimes, humiliating the Yu Kingdom, while the proclamation’s final announcement shocked the world.

• Cangwu Old Ancestor absorbed the valley’s blood qi, healed his injuries, and completed his transformation into a dragon.
• Wu Daoxuan gave Cangwu Old Ancestor the Heaven-Shielding Pearl and told him to reveal his transformation before hiding his aura and ambushing the Dragon Race during its clash with Great Zhou.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor accepted the plan and changed into an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
• Great Zhou issued a proclamation accusing the Demon Race of atrocities and detailing how Cangwu Old Ancestor had posed as a Buddhist monk, killed Prince Jing'an, devoured imperial dragon qi, and become a dragon.
• Yu Hong and the Yu Kingdom’s officials heard the proclamation and were angered by its public account of Prince Jing'an’s death.

As the Human and Demon Races gathered their Seventh Turn forces, Cangwu Old Ancestor destroyed Zhennan City’s defensive formation and disappeared, leaving both sides in a stalemate. Li Xiao chose to remain on the front line, reached besieged Whitewater, and reunited with Du Tianshan, who told him that Young Master Huangfu was in serious trouble in the west.

• The Dragon Race sent two Seventh Turn experts and several Sixth Turn dragons to the front, while the Sea Shark Palace Lord led his elites north.
• Cangwu Old Ancestor shattered Zhennan City’s protective formation with two strikes, then vanished without attacking the city.
• Li Xiao abandoned his plan to return to the Three Origins Sect and traveled west along the defensive line to Whitewater.
• Li Xiao cut through the Demons besieging Whitewater and entered the city, where he recognized Du Tianshan.
• Du Tianshan told Li Xiao that Young Master Huangfu was defending a western pass with Qingyunzi and others, had suffered heavy losses, and was under pressure after a falling-out with a Yu Kingdom figure.
• Li Xiao and Du Tianshan agreed to hold Whitewater first and investigate Huangfu’s situation once the threat outside was dealt with.

Li Xiao and Du Tianshan decided to break Whitewater Prefecture City's siege and reconnect with Huangfu Yuan's forces. Li Xiao revealed his powerful Sword Qi to hold off the Round Marrow Great Demon as the defenders launched their counterattack.

• Li Xiao discussed the city's defenses and the surrounding Demon Race forces with Du Tianshan and the Commandery Governor.
• Li Xiao and Du Tianshan persuaded the Commandery Governor to break through the blockade and establish contact with Huangfu Yuan's side.
• Li Xiao revealed his black Sword Qi and promised to deal with the Round Marrow Great Demon, changing the Commandery Governor's view of him.
• At dawn, Whitewater Prefecture City's gates opened, and the Human Race army marched out to face the Demon Race.
• Li Xiao struck the giant scorpion with his Sword Qi, then ordered the army to attack as Du Tianshan carved through the Demonic Beasts.