Chapter Summaries

Qi Zhengyan foiled an attempt to frame him for Miao Cong’s death, exposing a plot within the rebel camps while concealing his methods. At daybreak, Meng Qi went directly to find the Gu Insect Master, risking exposure of his disguise.

• Jiang Zhiwei and Qi Zhengyan sensed an intruder near their tent, and Qi Zhengyan pursued them despite warnings that it might be a trap.
• Two assassins attacked Qi Zhengyan by the latrine, where he subdued them and made a corpse in a Nine Mountains Army uniform disappear.
• Liang Ye accused Qi Zhengyan of being a spy and claimed Miao Cong was missing, but Miao Hu’s bloodline technique confirmed that his son was dead.
• Qi Zhengyan pretended he could summon Miao Cong’s dying obsession, and Liang Ye and the assassins exploded before Qi Zhengyan admitted he had invented the technique to draw out the mastermind.
• Meng Qi returned to camp at daybreak and headed straight for the Gu Insect Master, knowing that succeeding could expose his disguise.

Meng Qi infiltrated the court's camp disguised as Senluo Tianjun and killed Shadow King with a single saber strike before escaping. Shadow King's death unleashed an explosion, while Du Huai Shang began recovering from his curse-bound wounds.

• Meng Qi reached Shadow King's tent and found a blood-red altar surrounded by tortured corpses and powerful guards.
• True Person Wanshi and Hu Zhigao feared Meng Qi could not defeat Shadow King, so they planned to turn to Miao Hu if Du Huai Shang died.
• The Crown Prince and Dugu Shi ordered the court's forces to continue sowing discord and prepare for the unusual newcomers.
• Meng Qi sent the red-robed boy outside, declared that he would kill Shadow King, and struck him down with one saber slash.
• Shadow King's death caused the Gu worms and altar to erupt in an explosion as Meng Qi calmly left the camp.
• Du Huai Shang's wounds began closing, and True Person Wanshi realized that Shadow King had died.

Meng Qi assassinated Shadow King in the imperial camp and escaped Dugu Shi and the river monsters, then returned to his companions. The Hundred Information Hall named him first in the world as Shi, while Meng Qi realized he had taken on the wrath of the Gods and Devils and Qi Zhengyan prepared to evoke Miao Cong’s dying obsession.

• Meng Qi destroyed Shadow King’s altar, escaped the camp, and crossed the river while Dugu Shi and the other experts pursued him.
• Meng Qi fought off Dugu Shi’s punch, evaded the underwater monsters, and reached the opposite bank, where he told True Person Wanshi and Hou Yue that Shadow King was dead.
• The Hundred Information Hall listed Shadow King as deceased and ranked the Red Clad Army’s Master, Shi, first in the world for assassinating him and escaping.
• Meng Qi rejoined the group and realized that Entangle Karma had made him shoulder the wrath of the Gods and Devils tied to Shadow King’s ritual.
• Qi Zhengyan said he would evoke Miao Cong’s dying obsession and explained that he had lied about having no secret technique to avoid splitting the rebel army.

Meng Qi and the others uncovered that Miao Hu had faked his son’s death to stir up infighting, then helped Du Huai Shang test Miao Hu’s loyalty. Miao Hu admitted to the deception and pledged to follow Du Huai Shang, but asked the group to rescue his son.

• Qi Zhengyan summoned a lingering obsession that revealed the dead man had called someone “my lord,” leading the group to suspect that the corpse was not Miao Cong.
• Meng Qi told Du Huai Shang and True Person Wanshi that Miao Hu had likely framed them, and proposed pretending Du Huai Shang was still unconscious to test Miao Hu.
• True Person Wanshi invited Miao Hu to take charge of the rebel army, and Miao Hu admitted he had fabricated Cong’er’s death and claimed he had changed his mind.
• Du Huai Shang revealed that he had recovered and tested Miao Hu, who feigned delight at his return and pledged to follow him.
• Meng Qi said he had killed Shadow King in the imperial camp, and Miao Hu asked for help rescuing his son.

Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan traced Miao Cong through his bloodline and found him at a hidden hollow in the western hills. During the rescue, Meng Qi evaded Miao Cong’s sudden attack, revealing that the captive had been waiting to strike.

• Miao Hu asked Meng Qi to rescue his kidnapped son, and Qi Zhengyan used Miao Hu’s blood to trace Miao Cong to the western camp of the Hai'er Army.
• Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan told Liu Shunshui that Du Huai Shang had recovered and asked the Hai'er Army’s young generals to help search for a spy.
• Qi Zhengyan traced the bloodline connection to Liu Yuntao’s tent, where they found a token linking her to Miao Cong and learned that Miao Cong had likely sneaked out of camp before being kidnapped.
• Meng Qi, Qi Zhengyan, and Liu Yuntao followed the trail to the western hills, where Meng Qi spotted Miao Cong guarded by two men in black.
• Qi Zhengyan attacked the guards while Meng Qi rushed to Miao Cong, but Miao Cong struck at him from behind and Meng Qi dodged the attack.

Jiang Zhiwei sensed an imperial surprise attack as the rebel camp faced the army, while Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan fought Reincarnators hidden among their supposed allies. Meng Qi battled Miao Cong as the latter burned away his lifespan for overwhelming strength, and Qi Zhengyan turned back Liu Yuntao’s assassination attempt.

• Jiang Zhiwei drew her sword after sensing an attack as the imperial fleet led by Martial Emperor approached the rebel camp.
• Miao Cong revealed his strength as a Reincarnator and attacked Meng Qi with a bronze staff.
• Meng Qi wounded Miao Cong, but Miao Cong burned his lifespan to increase his strength and fought at the level of an Outer Landscape peak.
• Meng Qi used his combined saber and sword techniques to evade Miao Cong’s attack and strike from behind.
• Qi Zhengyan defeated the two black-clad fighters with Indigo Vast Sea.
• Liu Yuntao stabbed Qi Zhengyan from behind, but he trapped her sword and struck her forehead with his blackened palm.

Meng Qi used his control of technique and a plan based on the Peach Garden’s collapse to outlast Miao Cong’s lifespan-fueled power. He killed Miao Cong at West Hill, while Wen Jing learned that the Rebel Army had also killed Liu Yuntao.

• Wen Jing and the others heard that Liu Yuntao had been killed by a Rebel Army Reincarnator and lost one thousand Merit Points each.
• Meng Qi exploited gaps in Miao Cong’s technique as Miao Cong burned his lifespan and advanced toward the Half-step realm.
• Meng Qi defended against Miao Cong’s increasingly powerful attacks and used Falling Red Dust to create an illusion that briefly caught Miao Cong’s mind.
• Meng Qi revealed that the Peach Garden’s collapse had accelerated the decline of Miao Cong’s remaining lifespan, causing his final breath to vanish; Miao Cong died and Meng Qi’s injuries began to heal.
• Wen Jing heard that Miao Cong had been killed by a Rebel Army Reincarnator and lost three thousand Merit Points, leaving him stunned.

Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan defeated Miao Cong and Liu Yuntao while Jiang Zhiwei, Zhao Heng, and Ruan Yushu survived an assassin’s attack during the battle. After the imperial army retreated, Meng Qi proposed a compromise for widening access to cultivation, but Qi Zhengyan explained why the Aristocratic Clans and sects would fight it; he then revealed he had used Miao Hu’s blood essence to make a life talisman.

• Wen Jing learned that Liu Yuntao had died, abandoned his attempt to help West Hill, and returned to attacking the rebel camp.
• Jiang Zhiwei sensed and blocked an invisible assassin’s attacks, while Zhao Heng used the Xuanhuang Emperor Robe to survive a strike and Ruan Yushu’s qin helped expose the enemy’s position.
• The imperial army failed to break the rebel formation and retreated after both sides suffered casualties, including the loss of a warship.
• Meng Qi recovered from his fight with Miao Cong, collected Miao Cong’s copper staff and Mustard Ring, and returned to camp with Qi Zhengyan.
• Meng Qi proposed that Qi Zhengyan establish martial academies to give talented children from all backgrounds a path to cultivation, but Qi Zhengyan warned that the great clans and sects would resist because their interests were at stake.
• Qi Zhengyan revealed a life talisman made from Miao Hu’s blood essence and said he had obtained it to control Miao Hu and test what he knew about Miao Cong.

Meng Qi exposed Liu Yuntao as a court spy and helped Du Huai Shang reunite the rebel leaders, then urged them to act quickly before the mysterious old ancestor could intervene. In the court camp, a Blood Sea Cult expert received the ancestor’s guidance and placed a strange message into the Angry River.

• Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan reported Miao Cong’s affair to Du Huai Shang, who chose to postpone the spy investigation and summon the rebel leaders.
• Du Huai Shang introduced Meng Qi and the other masters, and Meng Qi accused Liu Yuntao of capturing Miao Cong and serving as a court spy.
• Meng Qi showed the leaders the bodies of Miao Cong and Liu Yuntao; Miao Hu and Liu Shunshui agreed to oppose the court, and Zhu Shou and Feng Jingtang followed suit.
• Zhu Shou proposed waiting for reinforcements, but Meng Qi warned that the old ancestor might act and urged the rebels to exploit divisions among the court’s forces.
• A Blood Sea Cult Outer Scenery Expert contacted the old ancestor, then placed a strange Thousand Character Classic message on the Angry River, where it sank and burned.

Shen Yunqing received instructions from the Benevolent Sage Emperor to build a Heaven-Connecting Path so gods could aid the imperial dynasty, while Du Huai Shang’s rebels discovered the altar and launched an attack to destroy it. The rebel fleet set sail for the far bank as both sides prepared for battle.

• The Benevolent Sage Emperor appeared to Shen Yunqing in a vision and explained how to build a Heaven-Connecting Path at the Angry River.
• Wen Jing and Dugu Shi advised Shen Yunqing to trust the vision, and Shen Yunqing ordered Blood Sea Cult priests to build the altar.
• Du Huai Shang reviewed the imperial court’s commanders with Meng Qi and the others, then asked Jiang Zhiwei to use the Cheng Tian Sword’s aura to observe the far bank.
• Jiang Zhiwei revealed the altar, and Qi Zhengyan recognized that it could let Gods and Devils descend briefly.
• Du Huai Shang rallied the rebel leaders and assigned them targets to attack the altar’s defenders.
• The rebel fleet sailed toward the far bank to destroy the altar.

The rebel army attacked Shen Yunqing’s altar, and Du Huai Shang broke its defenses with the Cheng Tian Sword. As the assault continued, Meng Qi protected Ruan Yushu from an assassin and then raced back toward the altar, where Jiang Zhiwei fought Wen Jing.

• Du Huai Shang led the rebel forces into battle, and True Person Wanshi, Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, and Meng Qi advanced against Dugu Shi.
• Du Huai Shang unleashed the Cheng Tian Sword, drove Dugu Shi back, and destroyed the altar’s restrictive formation, though the altar itself remained intact.
• Qi Zhengyan and True Person Wanshi worked together to pin down Dugu Shi while Jiang Zhiwei and Meng Qi pushed toward Shen Yunqing.
• Wen Jing attacked Jiang Zhiwei and Meng Qi with his demonic saber, while Ruan Yushu’s zither music slowed him and helped Jiang Zhiwei counterattack.
• Meng Qi’s hidden true body saved Ruan Yushu from Xu Qian, killed the assassin, and hurried back toward the altar.
• Meng Qi rushed at Wen Jing with his saber as purple lightning filled the sky and scattered the Demonic Souls.

Meng Qi fought through the defenders to reach the ninth tier as Jiang Zhiwei battled Wen Jing and Ruan Yushu held off a Daoist expert. The altar was completed, and Wen Jing’s taunts left Meng Qi facing a choice as Dugu Shi attacked him with a golden spear.

• Meng Qi traded repeated attacks with Wen Jing’s Heavenly Demon Slaughtering God Method, then broke away and charged toward the upper altar tiers.
• Jiang Zhiwei revealed her path through the Emotional Sword and Unemotional Sword, suppressing Wen Jing before he used a secret technique to counterattack.
• Meng Qi cut through the Exteriors blocking his way while Ruan Yushu, Zhao Heng, and the rebel forces kept the enemy fleet and Daoist expert occupied.
• Meng Qi heard the altar complete and saw Shen Yunqing begin offering treasures and fallen fighters; he raced toward the ninth tier, saving Entangle Karma for Shen Yunqing.
• Dugu Shi attacked Meng Qi with a golden spear as Wen Jing taunted him that saving Ruan Yushu or pressing toward the altar would both lead to failure.

Meng Qi and his allies tried to stop Shen Yunqing’s ritual on the ninth-level altar while fighting off Dugu Shi and two divine weapons. The final blood-inscribed sheet burned before Meng Qi could destroy it, and Blood Sea Rakshasa’s Heaven-Connecting Path began to form.

• Dugu Shi hurled a golden spear at Meng Qi, who combined Star Burial River with his defenses to survive the attack but lost his Dharma Heaven Manifestation Earth.
• Shen Yunqing activated the Emperor Saber against Meng Qi, but Qi Zhengyan struck him from behind and disrupted its lock.
• The Emperor Saber moved to protect the altar, injuring Qi Zhengyan, while the Cheng Tian Sword engaged it in midair.
• Meng Qi swallowed an Eastern Extreme Longevity Pill, reached the altar, and struck at the last burning sheet as the ritual neared completion.
• The altar’s defenses blocked Meng Qi’s follow-up attack, and the final sheet burned away as Blood Sea Rakshasa announced their doom and the altar’s light surged upward and underground.

Meng Qi and his allies fought the descending Benevolent Sage Emperor, but their strongest attacks only wounded it briefly before it recovered. When they faced defeat, Master Lu’s sword token drove the deity back to the Ninth Heaven, severed the Heaven-Connecting Path, and ended the battle as the mission concluded.

• The Benevolent Sage Emperor descended through the Heaven-Connecting Path and struck Meng Qi, who survived thanks to Hou Yue pulling him back to the warship.
• Meng Qi, Ruan Yushu, Zhao Heng, Qi Zhengyan, and Jiang Zhiwei combined their powers to wound the Benevolent Sage Emperor, but it quickly healed and renewed its attack.
• As the exhausted allies prepared to sacrifice themselves, Meng Qi found the wooden carving Master Lu had given him and it transformed into a sword of light.
• Master Lu’s sword expelled the Benevolent Sage Emperor, destroyed the altar, severed the Heaven-Connecting Path, and restored the Angry River and its monsters.
• The court experts surrendered to the rebel army, and the Lord of Six Paths Samsara announced that the mission was complete.

After Du Huai Shang’s rebel army crossed the Angry River, the team completed its mission and learned that Qi Zhengyan had left to pursue ideals that put him on a path against his friends. The survivors divided their spoils and began planning their next exchanges, while Meng Qi remained just short of 40,000 Merit Points.

• Du Huai Shang’s army crossed the Angry River, completing the main quest and earning the Reincarnators Merit Points and a Samsara Talisman.
• The Lord of Six Paths Samsara announced that Qi Zhengyan had used a Parting Contract to leave the team, and the team listened to his farewell message explaining his ideals and warning that they might fight again.
• Qi Zhengyan’s message described how beings could become legends by reuniting their scattered projections with themselves across the myriad worlds.
• Meng Qi, Jiang Zhiwei, Ruan Yushu, and Zhao Heng discussed the mysteries surrounding Master Lu and decided to divide their spoils and prepare for the next mission.
• The team sold and distributed their spoils, and Zhao Heng said he would use a Samsara Talisman to train toward the First Heavenly Ladder while Meng Qi considered exchanging for the second volume of the Yi Jin Jing.

After redeeming the second volume of the Yi Jin Jing, Meng Qi learned that his next assignment was a solo mission to find and destroy the Black Mountain Old Demon at Lanruo Temple and uncover its origins. His companions prepared to train in other worlds, while Meng Qi returned to the Pure Yang Sect and headed for Huamei Villa.

• Meng Qi borrowed five hundred Merit Points from Jiang Zhiwei and redeemed the second volume of the Yi Jin Jing.
• The Lord of Six Paths Samsara revealed that Meng Qi's solo mission was to find the Black Mountain Old Demon at Lanruo Temple, uncover its origins, and eradicate it.
• Zhao Heng chose to return to the Gods and Demons World, redeeming a year of time, protective items, and the Dragon Snake Sacred Hand.
• Ruan Yushu and Jiang Zhiwei planned to travel together to the Investiture of the Gods World, where Ruan Yushu would study the guqin and Jiang Zhiwei would temper her swordsmanship.
• Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu redeemed protective treasures, and Meng Qi advised them to borrow healing pills from Bao Puzi before leaving.
• After his companions departed, Meng Qi returned to the Pure Yang Sect, withheld mention of "that sword" from Daoist Chong He, and headed for Huamei Villa.

Meng Qi visited Master Lu to thank him and learned how Legendary beings gained their power, including Master Lu’s unusual path. Master Lu explained that his intense love for his late wife made him separate himself from his other selves, leaving him to explore a path unlike those before him.

• Meng Qi brought Master Lu the Great Dao Tree bearing the sword of Dao Spreads Across the Universe as thanks for saving him.
• Master Lu explained that he had entered the Earth Immortal realm and used Legendary Traits to borrow the world’s power to restrain Gods and Devils.
• Master Lu described how Legendary beings connected with other selves across countless worlds and revealed that the Blood Sea Rakshasa had tried to shortcut that process.
• Master Lu said his devotion to his late wife and his sword had led him to distinguish himself from his other selves rather than unite with them.

After Master Lu’s guidance, Meng Qi connected the changing laws of the Gods and Devils World to Huang Liang’s account of the Real World and the myriad worlds. His new understanding reshaped his Inner Landscape and left him closer to a Grandmaster breakthrough, though questions about the angler and his other selves remained.

• Master Lu warned Meng Qi that he could not simply imitate Master Lu’s path of extreme emotion and the ultimate self.
• Master Lu told Ye Yuyan at her grave that he had taken another step forward and no longer feared interference from those who came before.
• While considering where to train next, Meng Qi recalled Huang Liang’s explanation of the Real World and realized that Master Lu’s sword had changed the laws of the Gods and Devils World.
• Meng Qi reconsidered the relationship between the Real World, the myriad worlds, anglers, and fish, and recognized how the idea fit his Inner Landscape.
• Meng Qi adjusted his Inner Landscape and sensed that he might reach the Grandmaster realm sooner than expected, then laughed loudly enough to wake an old beggar.

Meng Qi agreed to witness Ling Yue and Shi Tianqi’s planned life-and-death duel, but Shi Tianqi never arrived. At Stone Family Fortress, Meng Qi learned that Shi Tianqi had vanished and his Soul Lamp had gone out.

• Meng Qi met Ling Yue, an elder of the Beggars Sect, who reassured him that the sect would not seek revenge over the Jiangdong incident.
• Ling Yue asked Meng Qi to witness his life-and-death duel with Shi Tianqi, and Meng Qi accepted after hearing that his reputation rivaled that of most grandmasters.
• Ling Yue and Meng Qi waited through the night for Shi Tianqi, then set out for Stone Family Fortress when he failed to appear.
• Shi Tianqi’s children told Ling Yue and Meng Qi that Shi Tianqi had left without explanation and that his Soul Lamp had gone out.

After Stone Tianqi vanished, Meng Qi and Ling Yue discovered that he had rushed to Falling Soul Ravine to meet a trusted spy from the Grasslands, only for both men to be killed by an assassin from the Building of No Benevolence. Meng Qi sensed the assassin was still nearby, suggesting that clues remained to be found.

• Ling Yue explained that Stone Tianqi had missed their planned duel, and Meng Qi reasoned that an unforeseen message must have drawn him from the fortress.
• Butler Zhou recalled a bird call and helped the others find a secret report identifying Falling Soul Ravine and a Grasslands spy called Lone Wolf.
• Ling Yue, Meng Qi, Butler Zhou, and the Stone siblings hurried to Falling Soul Ravine, where they found Stone Tianqi and the spy dead.
• Meng Qi determined that Stone Tianqi had been killed by a precise sword strike from an assassin who had fled without taking his belongings.
• Meng Qi sensed a hidden observer in the mist and warned the others that an Azure Tier or Blue Rank Assassin from the Building of No Benevolence was still nearby.