Chapter Summaries

Xiang Yuan defeated the Heavenly Demon, collected a Buddhist mantra and returned with Qu Rou to White Cloud Manor before heading back to Qingzhou. There, he offered Ziping treasures and blood medicine to help her advance to the Nether Passage Realm, while planning to use her breakthrough to improve his own cultivation.

• Xiang Yuan slew the Heavenly Demon with Heavenfall Sword Strike, planted an Other Shore flower for Wu Pan, and received the Six-Word Mantra from the vanished Merit Golden Wheel.
• Xiang Yuan rescued Qu Rou from the floating island, brushed off Zen Master Xuanji's plea to become his disciple, and left for White Cloud Manor with Shang Qingmeng and the others.
• At White Cloud Manor, Qu Rou arranged Wu Pan's funeral and blamed Xinyanzi for withholding the danger in the minor mystic realm, while Xinyanzi collected his appearance fee.
• Xiang Yuan returned to Qingzhou and received fourteen Other Shore pills from Ziping, then offered her the Body-Observing Precious Jade and an Other Shore flower to help her break through.
• Ziping accepted Xiang Yuan's blood medicine and cultivation resources, and Xiang Yuan carried her underground to practice assisting her breakthrough.

Xiang Yuan helped Ziping overcome her Nether Passage bottleneck with the Other Shore Flower and his sword insights, then left Sword Heart Studio after clashing with Shang Qingmeng over their relationship. He returned to Yellow Springs Dao for the year-end festivities, where Zuo Lengxie’s disciples prepared to deal with him.

• Xiang Yuan treated Ziping’s hidden injuries with his blood-medicine, and Ziping used the Other Shore Flower to attempt a breakthrough to Nether Passage.
• Xiang Yuan entered Ziping’s sea of consciousness and lent her the Dao Sword Realm and Heavenfall Sword Strike, helping her break through to the Nether Passage Realm.
• Ziping tried to punish Xiang Yuan, but Shang Qingmeng walked in and blamed Ziping, then assigned her to guard duty outside.
• Shang Qingmeng confronted Xiang Yuan about helping Ziping and forbade him from pursuing Sword Heart Studio disciples; Xiang Yuan left after teasing her about his fiancée.
• Xiang Yuan arrived at Yellow Springs Dao and was surprised by its New Year decorations, while disciples sent word to Zuo Lengxie that he had returned and resolved to get rid of him.

Xiang Yuan returned to the Yellow Springs Dao for the New Year, reunited with Chan'er, and learned that Zuo Lengxie had taken control of the sect and planned to open Xiang Yuan's pocket realm with outside factions. After Xiang Yuan agreed to investigate, Luo Yuling and Wu Zhong reported back to Zuo Lengxie, who revealed that he intended to lure Xiang Yuan into a trap and remove him in the name of restoring the Yellow Springs Dao.

• Chan'er woke from meditation when Xiang Yuan returned, and he coaxed her into forgiving his long absence before they spent time together.
• Chan'er made Jinse's six reincarnated bodies dance for Xiang Yuan, but he praised Chan'er instead.
• Luo Yuling and Wu Zhong asked Xiang Yuan to oppose Zuo Lengxie and told him that Zuo planned to open Xiang Yuan's pocket realm with the Bliss Dao and Undying Mountain.
• Xiang Yuan agreed to arrange a response, wary of Undying Mountain and the danger posed by Zuo Lengxie's allies.
• Luo Yuling and Wu Zhong met Zuo Lengxie, who revealed his plan to use the pocket realm as a trap and claimed Xiang Yuan had to be removed to restore the Yellow Springs Dao.

Zuo Lengxie gathered allies to eliminate Xiang Wentian, hoping to reform the Yellow Springs Dao and lead it onto the righteous path. With Xiao Qiushui, Xiao Feng, Daoist Ziyang, and Zen Master Xuanji backing his plan, he felt confident as the group prepared to confront Xiang Wentian.

• Zuo Lengxie recalled how he had risen through the Yellow Springs Dao, killed his elder master to stop a massacre, and built support for reform while plotting to eliminate Xiang Wentian.
• Zuo Lengxie met Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng at Earth Dragon Fort, recruited them to disguise themselves as Tomb-Keeping Sect grandmasters, and discussed the threats posed by Xiang Wentian and other Southern Border factions.
• Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng discussed using Zuo Lengxie for their own purposes and planned to deal with Xiang Wentian before pursuing Feng Wenshu and the belongings Xiao Feng had lost.
• Zuo Lengxie met Daoist Ziyang and Zen Master Xuanji, who agreed to help him as grandmasters of the supposedly mysterious Ageless Mountain.
• Daoist Ziyang revealed that he had brought a treasure said to be a token of the True Warrior Great Emperor, and Zuo Lengxie grew confident that their allies could defeat Xiang Wentian.

Xiang Yuan helped Chan'er repair her cultivation and form a Silver Moon Wheel before setting out with her to confront Zuo Lengxie at Ancient Lotus Cave. There, he recognized Xiao Feng beneath his disguise as one of the supposed Tomb-Keeping Sect grandmasters and realized the plan had changed.

• Chan'er used the Body-Observing Precious Jade to find flaws in the Ancient Mirror of Reincarnation, and Xiang Yuan helped her refine it while shaping an unfinished artifact into a Silver Moon Wheel.
• Xiang Yuan and Chan'er discussed eliminating Zuo Lengxie and whether they would take charge of the Yellow Springs Way afterward.
• Xiao Feng and Xiao Qiushui arrived at Ancient Lotus Cave in disguise, accompanied by Luo Yuling and Wu Zhong.
• Xiang Yuan and Chan'er emerged from a spatial ripple and met the two disguised men, whom Luo Yuling introduced as Cheng Lingyun and Cheng Wanli.
• Xiang Yuan recognized Xiao Feng by his eyes, realized the Xiao Clan had become involved in the plan, and told Chan'er not to act rashly.

Xiang Yuan and Chan'er entered Ancient Lotus Cave, where Yellow Springs Dao's envoys ambushed them and Chan'er broke their formation. Xiao Feng attacked Xiang Yuan and was crippled by his oath's backlash, while Xiao Qiushui stepped forward to fight, unaware that Xiang Yuan was Feng Wenshu.

• Xiang Yuan recognized Xiao Feng and Xiao Qiushui, then led his group into Ancient Lotus Cave and its lesser grotto-heaven.
• Xiang Yuan and Chan'er reached an Ice Soul Heart Lotus as a battle erupted elsewhere, and Luo Yuling and Wu Zhong trapped them in a great-sun formation.
• Chan'er used the Silver Moon Wheel to break the formation and bind the six Yellow Springs envoys, but Xiao Feng cut the chains and rescued them.
• Xiang Yuan challenged Xiao Feng, whose punch rebounded through his Primordial Spirit oath and left him gravely injured.
• Xiao Qiushui misread Xiao Feng's attempts to warn him, laid his brother down, and advanced on Xiang Yuan.

Xiang Yuan and Chan'er defeated Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng, then spared them after taking their storage rings and extracting oaths. When the brothers reunited with Zuo Lengxie, Xiao Qiushui pretended to have become Xiang Yuan’s sworn brother and collapsed beside Xiao Feng after taking a punch.

• Xiang Yuan fought Xiao Qiushui with the Mad Beauty Sword while Chan'er used the Ancient Mirror of Reincarnation and Yellow Springs arts to attack his Primordial Spirit.
• Xiao Qiushui escaped Chan'er’s chains, but a demonic barrier trapped him and Xiao Feng; Xiang Yuan stopped Chan'er from killing them and demanded payment for their lives.
• Xiao Qiushui surrendered both brothers’ storage rings, swore an oath, and struck up a false show of brotherly kinship with Xiang Yuan while condemning Zuo Lengxie.
• At the distant battlefield, Zuo Lengxie’s allies reported that Daoist Ziyang’s token had routed their enemies, and Xiang Yuan arrived with Chan’er and the Xiao brothers.
• Xiao Qiushui declared that Xiang Yuan was his brother, charged Zuo Lengxie, and fell beside Xiao Feng after taking a punch.

Xiang Yuan’s enemies were left scrambling after the great seal Daoist Ziyang unleashed recognized Xiang Yuan and came under his control, while Zen Master Xuanji also realized who Xiang Yuan was and surrendered. With his allies now backing him, Xiang Yuan confronted Zuo Lengxie, who refused to bow despite being outnumbered.

• Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng decided to lie low, convinced Xiang Yuan’s defeat would free them from their oath and debts.
• Chan’er refused Zuo Lengxie’s request to stay neutral and moved closer to Xiang Yuan.
• Daoist Ziyang summoned the True Warrior Great Emperor’s phantom and attacked Xiang Yuan with the Azure Cloud Sect’s great seal, but Xiang Yuan caught the seal and took it for himself.
• Xiang Yuan used his voice to shatter Zen Master Xuanji’s golden body, prompting Xuanji to kneel; Daoist Ziyang also tried to kneel, but Xiang Yuan stopped him and ordered him beside the monk.
• Xiao Qiushui, Xuanji, and Ziyang turned against Zuo Lengxie and urged him to admit defeat, but Zuo Lengxie swore he would never bow his head.

Xiang Yuan convinced Zuo Lengxie that he was not Spiritual Light Old Devil and agreed to let Zuo reform Yellow Springs Dao. After Xiao Qiushui arranged for Xiang Yuan to confront Feng Wenshu over Xiao Feng’s grievance, Xiang Yuan returned to Glacier Minor Heaven to cultivate with Chan’er.

• Xiang Yuan told Zuo Lengxie that Spiritual Light Old Devil’s possession had failed and explained why his past actions had been a disguise, though Zuo remained skeptical.
• Xiang Yuan agreed to let Zuo Lengxie steer Yellow Springs Dao toward righteousness, and the sect’s six envoys gathered at headquarters as the news spread.
• Xiao Qiushui accused Feng Wenshu of abusing Xiao Feng and persuaded Xiang Yuan to help confront him, while Xiao Feng silently accepted the plan to avoid worsening his debt.
• Zuo Lengxie hosted the Xiao brothers at Earth Dragon Fort, and Xuanji and Ziyang departed after urging him to cherish Yellow Springs Dao’s good fortune.
• Xiang Yuan took Hard Drive Martial Uncle’s remaining inheritance, including the Heavenly Aspect Fate Compass and two demon cores, then soaked in the blood pool with Chan’er.
• Chan’er asked Xiang Yuan whose butt he had touched and whether the woman had fallen for him, and Xiang Yuan pulled her close without answering aloud.

Xiang Yuan brought Xiao Lingyue to Overlord Tower, explained his ties to the Xiao Clan and his role in Yellow Springs Dao, and helped her cultivate while addressing his love poison. When Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng arrived, they learned that Xiao Lingyue was Xiao Yan’s granddaughter, leaving them to realize Xiang Yuan had been bargaining with his own clan elders despite their family marriage agreement.

• Xiang Yuan took Xiao Lingyue to Overlord Tower’s ninth floor and told her how he had met the Xiao brothers and become Yellow Springs Dao’s Left Envoy.
• Xiang Yuan reassured Xiao Lingyue that he could dispel his love poison without forcing her into marriage, then explained how Chan'er had helped him; Xiao Lingyue grew jealous when she saw Chan'er’s bite mark.
• Xiao Lingyue used the Body-Observing Precious Jade to examine her cultivation, and Xiang Yuan entered her sea of consciousness and admired her inherited treasures.
• After three days of cultivation, Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng arrived and greeted Xiao Lingyue as Xiang Yuan’s sister-in-law.
• Xiao Lingyue revealed that she was Xiao Yan’s granddaughter, and Xiao Feng cried as he realized Xiang Yuan had been raising the price despite already having a marriage agreement with the Xiao Clan.

Xiang Yuan reunited with Xu Jixian at Mind-Nourishing Manor, where he discovered that Xu had willingly exhausted himself helping widows. After Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue left, he took Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng to confront Feng Wenshu and settle their grievances.

• Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng reconciled themselves to Xiang Yuan’s rough treatment and resolved to use their clan elder status to make trouble for Xiao Yan.
• Xiang Yuan introduced himself to the Xiao brothers as a loyal servant of the Xiao Clan, then asked them about his missing friend Xu Jixian.
• Xiao Feng revealed that Xu Jixian lived at Mind-Nourishing Manor, and Xiang Yuan, Xiao Lingyue, and the brothers went there to find him.
• Xiang Yuan reunited with a gaunt Xu Jixian and learned that Xu had been willingly helping the manor’s widows, leaving him badly depleted.
• Xiang Yuan left the manor with Xiao Lingyue, then found Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng and took them to seek justice from Feng Wenshu.

Xiang Yuan collected Xiao Feng’s debt while tricking Xiao Qiushui into exposing his plans, then spent time with Xiao Lingyue in Shendu. Their conversation turned to Sword Heart Studio’s Shang Qingmeng and the identity of Senior Sister White Phoenix, whom Xiao Lingyue revealed was her master, Bai Wuyan.

• Xiang Yuan appeared as Feng Wenshu, collected Xiao Feng’s spatial ring, and freed him from his Primordial Spirit oath.
• Xiao Qiushui repeatedly launched fireworks to summon reinforcements, then realized Xiang Yuan and Feng Wenshu were the same person; Xiang Yuan gave Xiao Feng his agreed share and left.
• Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng argued over their betrayal and fought beneath the crooked-necked tree.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue discussed Sword Heart Studio’s upcoming sword contest and Shang Qingmeng, prompting Xiang Yuan to insist that Xiao Lingyue train so she would not lose to her.
• Xiao Lingyue revealed that Senior Sister White Phoenix was her master, Palace Master Bai Wuyan, and made Xiang Yuan write a pledge not to misbehave around her.

Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue learned that Xiao Qiushui, Xiao Feng, and Xiao Ling had brought them to investigate an ancient altar buried beneath Shendu, where Xiang Yuan’s Mad Beauty Sword could not overpower the ruinous demonic qi. The group entered the altar’s vast formation and began forcing their way through it with the Tai'e Sword’s protection.

• Xiao Ling presented Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue with a meeting gift, and Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Feng announced that the Xiao Clan planned to confer a princess title on Xiao Lingyue.
• Xiao Feng asked Xiang Yuan to help investigate an Upper Zhou altar concealed beneath Shendu, where demonic qi threatened the Xiao Clan’s dragon vein.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue followed Xiao Qiushui, Xiao Feng, and Xiao Ling through a tunnel into the underground ruins, where they found a pyramid surrounded by 365 pillars forming a demonic-qi array.
• Xiang Yuan tried to contaminate the array with the Mad Beauty Sword’s ruinous demonic qi, but the two forces remained separate, so he used the crimson qi to shield the group as they entered the formation.
• The formation pressed against the intruders, and Xiao Ling drew the Tai'e Sword to protect the group as they pushed onward.

Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue entered the ancient pyramid’s hidden realm, escaped an illusion array, and reunited with Xiao Feng, Xiao Qiushui, and Xiao Ling. The group emerged beside a scene resembling the Yellow Springs’ Other Shore, leaving them to question what lay beneath Shendu.

• Xiao Feng and Xiao Qiushui activated a mechanism atop the pyramid, teleporting themselves, Xiang Yuan, and Xiao Lingyue into a storm-wracked realm where they landed separately.
• Xiang Yuan provoked the realm’s lightning while searching for his companions, then found Xiao Lingyue near a vast city whose ordinary life seemed inexplicable.
• Xiang Yuan recognized the city as an illusion and shattered it, then woke Xiao Lingyue by claiming Chan'er was carrying his child.
• Xiang Yuan tricked Xiao Feng and Xiao Qiushui into waking with punches, and they roused Xiao Ling by taunting him about the Tai'e Sword and Western Chu.
• The five left the illusion passage and found a blood-red moon, ghostly figures, and Other Shore Flowers beside a river that Xiao Lingyue identified as the Yellow Springs’ Other Shore.

Xiang Yuan and the three Xiao brothers crossed the Yellow Springs and discovered a mass graveyard guarded by ghost cultivators, deepening their suspicions that the Other Shore Gate was connected to the Yellow Springs Dao. When six Nether Passage grandmasters attacked, the Xiao brothers and Xiao Lingyue fought back, and Xiang Yuan killed Yin Biegong as the battle continued.

• Xiao Feng carried Xiao Qiushui and Xiao Ling across the deadly river, while Xiang Yuan used the Three Yin true essence to carry Xiao Lingyue across.
• The group entered the pyramid’s netherworld and fought a skeletal python before Xiao Ling captured its ghostly master, Cao Zhongling, who vanished in ghostfire before revealing more about the Other Shore Gate.
• Six ghost cultivator grandmasters arrived, and Yin Biegong cast the Life-Death Reincarnation Curse at Xiang Yuan, who countered it with the Yellow Springs Guiding Lamp.
• Yin Biegong recognized Xiang Yuan as the current Left Envoy of Yellow Springs, then trapped the group in the Nether Soul-Devouring Formation as the three Xiao brothers attacked the six grandmasters.
• Xiao Lingyue summoned a great sun that scorched the ghost cultivators, and Yin Biegong tried to kill her before Xiang Yuan blocked him and punched him into ash.

Yin Biegong summoned a corpse fiend from a black coffin, and Xiang Yuan and the Xiao clan fought to stop it. After the corpse fiend drained the Xiao brothers and proved hard to kill, Xiao Lingyue’s Tai'e Sword pierced it, and Xiang Yuan struck it with the Heavenfall Sword Strike.

• Yin Biegong summoned a black coffin from the red moon, but a corpse fiend—not the Yellow Springs Dao Master—emerged from it.
• Xiang Yuan and the Xiao brothers attacked the corpse fiend, but its strength and defenses overwhelmed them, and it drained Xiao Ling, Xiao Feng, and Xiao Qiushui.
• Xiang Yuan swallowed an Other Shore Pill, manifested his three-headed, six-armed dharma form, and battered the corpse fiend with the Water-Subduing Iron Sword.
• Xiao Ling handed the Tai'e Sword to Xiao Lingyue, who used the Heavenfall Sword Strike to pierce the corpse fiend’s chest.
• Xiang Yuan took the Tai'e Sword and used the Heavenfall Sword Strike to cleave down through the corpse fiend’s head.

Xiang Yuan and the Xiao siblings defeated the corpse wraith, freed Western Chu’s fate-bearing golden dragon, and escaped the collapsing Yellow Springs projection. After Xiao Lingyue awakened with the Tai'e Sword sent back to Xiao Ling, she sensed that a new world had opened through Jambu Gate, while jealousy over Chan'er complicated plans for their next expedition.

• Xiang Yuan killed the corpse charm with the Heavenfall Sword Strike, and he reluctantly handed the Tai'e Sword to Xiao Lingyue after she warned him about the trouble of keeping the Xiao Clan’s divine sword.
• Xiang Yuan and the Xiao siblings reached the inner formation, where Xiao Ling explained that the Other Shore Gate had shackled Western Chu’s fate-bearing golden dragon; Xiao Lingyue and the brothers then broke the formation and freed the dragon.
• The golden dragon rewarded Xiao Lingyue by strengthening her golden armor, and Xiang Yuan carried her out as the Yellow Springs projection collapsed; he and the Xiao siblings discussed the Other Shore Gate’s threat and the need to gather allies.
• At Overlord Tower, Xiang Yuan helped Xiao Lingyue absorb the dragon’s gift, and after she awakened she returned the Tai'e Sword to Xiao Ling and announced that Jambu Gate had opened a new world.
• Xiao Lingyue debated whether to bring Chan'er on the expedition, then ordered Xiang Yuan to accompany her to buy dragon-and-phoenix candles to trick the demoness.

Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue consummated their relationship, then traveled south to meet Chan'er, whose rivalry with Xiao Lingyue quickly flared over Xiang Yuan and their newly opened worlds. After Xiao Lingyue won their rock-paper-scissors contest, she opened Jambu Gate, and Xiang Yuan followed the two women and Senior Jiang into the realm of Taixu.

• Xiang Yuan sealed the ninth floor of the Nine-Tier Heavenly Pivot Pavilion and used elaborate excuses to persuade Xiao Lingyue to drink cross-cupped wine and spend the night with him.
• Xiao Lingyue asked Xiang Yuan to keep their intimacy secret from Cheng Yuling and Xiao He, then collected the love poems he wrote for her.
• Xiang Yuan and Xiao Lingyue traveled south to Fengxian County, where Xiang Yuan dug Senior Jiang out of Mute Village and was knocked into a crater by his strength.
• Chan'er summoned Xiao Lingyue through Jambu Gate, and the two women confronted each other over Xiao Lingyue's married coiffure and her relationship with Xiang Yuan.
• Chan'er and Xiao Lingyue argued over their newly opened worlds and began a fight, but Xiang Yuan limited their powers and redirected the contest to rock-paper-scissors.
• Xiao Lingyue won the contest and opened Jambu Gate; Xiang Yuan brought Senior Jiang and followed Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er into Taixu.

Xiang Yuan infiltrated the City Lord’s residence in Nightmare Transformation City to seize the Reincarnation Relic, but was diverted into the Hundred-Eyed Devil Cavern, where he defeated City Lord Ke Luonie and pursued Jiaxi. Meanwhile, Devil Cult Master Tuo Yanmo offered the relic to He Who Transforms Freely and received power that raised him beyond the Taixu Realm’s Spirit Transformation limit.

• Xiang Yuan told Xiao Lingyue and Chan'er what he had learned about the Taixu Realm and planned to infiltrate the City Lord’s residence for the relic.
• Xiang Yuan entered the residence, found a hidden passage, and followed its teleportation array into the Hundred-Eyed Devil Cavern.
• Xiang Yuan found Ke Luonie and Jiaxi among the survivors of a battle between the Hundred-Eyed Devil Cavern and Blood Lotus Fortress, then emerged from hiding.
• Ke Luonie attacked Xiang Yuan but was killed by a single punch, and Jiaxi fled as Xiang Yuan chased her.
• Tuo Yanmo offered the Reincarnation Relic to He Who Transforms Freely, received a demonic gift, and broke through to the Nether Passage Realm.

Xiang Yuan learned that Tuo Yanmo had sacrificed the Reincarnation Relic to an Outer Realm devil god, then defeated Tuo Yanmo and destroyed Hundred-Eyed Devil Cavern’s altar. Unable to return to the Dry Abyss Realm, Xiang Yuan resolved to search Great Phoenix Temple for another Reincarnation Relic.

• Tuo Yanmo revealed that he had traded the Reincarnation Relic for the devil eye and the devil god’s power.
• Xiang Yuan manifested his Three-Headed Six-Armed Dharma Form and killed the Devil Race members after learning the relic was gone.
• Tuo Yanmo revived as a mass of black flesh, but Xiang Yuan battered him and demolished the altar before Steady and Cold Blood finished him.
• Xiang Yuan left the City Lord’s Manor and told Xiao Lingyue and Chan’er that the relic was gone and they could not return to the Dry Abyss Realm.
• Xiang Yuan concluded that Great Phoenix Temple might know where to find another Reincarnation Relic and set out to investigate it.