Chapter Summaries

Xiang Yuan traveled to Fengxian County to challenge martial arts schools, then continued to Yongchuan County, where he joined Brother Li's group in pursuit of three Bliss Dao disciples who had abducted the Wu family's young lady. The chapter ended as Xiang Yuan eagerly accepted the chance to help and build his reputation.

• Xiao He warned Xiang Yuan to be careful with other sects' disciples, and Wang Wenxu gave him a travel map.
• Xiang Yuan defeated the masters of five Fengxian County martial arts schools, then escaped when a Foundation Establishment Realm expert came looking for him.
• Xiang Yuan stayed at an inn in Yongchuan County and cultivated through the night, intending to delay Foundation Establishment and enjoy the benefits of opening all nine apertures.
• Xiang Yuan knocked a martial wanderer through the inn's roof after the man disturbed his cultivation, then recognized him as Brother Li.
• Brother Li told Xiang Yuan that Bliss Dao disciples had abducted the Wu family's young lady, and Xiang Yuan offered to help hunt them down.

Xiang Yuan joined Tang Rou and five other Sword Heart Studio disciples in investigating Sea Gathering Manor over the abduction of Wu Wan. He entered the manor through a blood-filled formation, while Wu Wan revealed she had already taken control of her captors and trapped the six women in her hall.

• Xiang Yuan learned that Tang Rou suspected Sea Gathering Manor’s disciples had abducted Wu Wan while falsely claiming to serve Bliss Dao.
• Xiang Yuan accompanied Tang Rou and five other Sword Heart Studio disciples to Sea Gathering Manor, where they split up and entered the grounds.
• Xiang Yuan found a wicked blood array in the courtyard and cautiously followed its paths into thickening mist.
• Wu Wan forced Zhang Celiang to whip his sons and made the three rapists crawl for sunflower seed shells as she taunted them.
• Tang Rou and the other five Sword Heart Studio disciples entered Wu Wan’s hall, where the formation had left them unable to control their bodies.
• Wu Wan ordered the six women to fight and defile the three captives, then declared that only the survivor would marry them.

Xiang Yuan resisted Wu Wan’s heart-manipulating formation and fought Tang Rou and the other Sword Heart Studio disciples while protecting them from her schemes. After killing the three Bliss Dao lechers, he faced the six women’s ultimate sword arts with his Five Elements saber technique.

• Wu Wan ordered Tang Rou and the other five women to attack Xiang Yuan, but he used the Tiger Roar Saber’s sound to resist her control and held his own against them.
• Xiang Yuan defended himself with a compassionate saber technique, while Wu Wan teased the women and tried to turn their feelings against him.
• The three Bliss Dao disciples joined the fight, but Xiang Yuan used Metal of the Five Elements to kill all three with a single saber strike.
• Wu Wan tried to persuade Tang Rou and the others that Xiang Yuan desired them, but he praised their clear sword hearts and rejected her manipulation.
• Wu Wan threatened the women with Manor Lord Zhang and his sons, prompting them to unleash Sword Heart Studio’s ultimate sword arts as Xiang Yuan gathered the Five Elements and prepared to strike.

Xiang Yuan fought through Sword Heart Studio’s disciples and Zhang Celiang, then killed Wu Wan after her Primordial Spirit technique failed to control him. The hostages survived, and Wu Wan’s death left behind a fragment of an Illusion Annihilation Dao secret art.

• Xiang Yuan defeated Tang Rou and five other Sword Heart Studio disciples, then faced Wu Wan and Zhang Celiang.
• Zhang Celiang fought Xiang Yuan with his inherited saber art while Wu Wan threatened his family to pressure them both.
• Xiang Yuan used the Tiger Roar Saber to knock Zhang Celiang’s wife and sons unconscious, then charged at Wu Wan.
• Wu Wan tried to control Xiang Yuan with a strand of her Primordial Spirit, but Xiang Yuan stabbed and killed her.
• Zhang Celiang thanked Xiang Yuan for saving his family and offered his family’s wealth, while Wu Wan’s remaining Primordial Spirit left behind a secret-art fragment.

Xiang Yuan rescued Sea Gathering Manor and stayed while its injured guests recovered, drawing the attention of six Sword Heart Studio disciples. Lay Buddhist Lingyu arrived, caught her disciples planning to follow Xiang Yuan, and decided to test him.

• Xiang Yuan accepted Zhang Celiang's gifts, carried the unconscious Sword Heart Studio disciples to the rear courtyard, and guarded them while they recovered.
• Fan Qingyu and Tang Rou each brought Xiang Yuan food, then found their fellow disciples waiting to tease them; the women claimed they needed to stay at the manor to recover.
• Lay Buddhist Lingyu arrived at Sea Gathering Manor and learned that Xiang Yuan had saved her disciples from the Illusion Annihilation Dao.
• Lingyu found Tang Rou and the other five disciples watching Xiang Yuan practice and plotting to travel with him, so she ordered them to return to the mountain and copy the rules and precepts.
• Lingyu assessed Xiang Yuan's skill and cultivation, then decided to test him and warn him not to pursue her six disciples.

After leaving Sea Gathering Manor, Xiang Yuan was challenged by Song Beixiang of the Heavenly Saber Sect and overwhelmed him with his saber skills. Lay Buddhist Lingyu watched with her disciples, then decided to take them back to the Sect Gate for more training.

• Xiang Yuan refused Zhang Celiang’s gifts, accepted his offer to buy an estate in Fengxian County, and departed on horseback.
• Lay Buddhist Lingyu followed Xiang Yuan with Tang Rou and the other disciples, then noticed three men waiting to challenge him.
• Song Beixiang introduced himself as a Heavenly Saber Sect disciple and challenged Xiang Yuan to test blades over the case of the Wu family’s demoness.
• Xiang Yuan defeated Song Beixiang by overpowering his saber and stopping its strike with his bare hand.
• Xiang Yuan imitated the momentum of Song Beixiang’s supreme art, leaving the young disciple dispirited and the watching disciples amazed.
• Ling Yu abandoned her plan to speak with Xiang Yuan, ordered her disciples back to the Sect Gate, and sentenced Tang Rou to copy the sect rules and precepts five hundred times.

Song Beixiang and his senior brothers brought Xiang Yuan to Luo County, hoping Ji Wuzhou would deal with him and protect the Heavenly Saber Sect’s secret arts. Ji Wuzhou instead questioned Xiang Yuan about learning and identity, leaving Xiang Yuan to decide how to answer.

• Song Beixiang’s senior brothers failed to comfort him after Xiang Yuan’s display of saber skill, then decided to ask Ji Wuzhou for help and possibly recruit Xiang Yuan.
• Song Beixiang and the others reached the Heavenly Saber Sect’s shop in Luo County with Xiang Yuan following them, and they asked Ji Wuzhou to intervene.
• Ji Wuzhou dismissed their concerns at first, but agreed to meet Xiang Yuan after hearing that he shared a surname with Senior Brother Song.
• Xiang Yuan noticed that Ji Wuzhou resembled Elder Jiang and wondered whether the two were connected or whether Ji Wuzhou had another self in a different world.
• Ji Wuzhou asked Xiang Yuan whether he would learn and whether he knew who he was, and Xiang Yuan reconsidered his response before answering.

Xiang Yuan challenged Ji Wuzhou’s bleak view of Heaven, prompting Ji to regain his resolve and make Xiang his registered disciple. After Ji left him three abstract paintings, Xiang Yuan studied one and unexpectedly broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

• Xiang Yuan argued that Heaven treated everyone equally, and Ji Wuzhou admitted that the idea eased his despair.
• Ji Wuzhou recognized Xiang Yuan had learned Lone Star Chasing Moon, corrected his technique, and passed the stance on to him.
• Ji Wuzhou made Xiang Yuan his registered disciple and gave him three abstract paintings before leaving to return to the Heavenly Saber Sect.
• Xiang Yuan studied the paintings and found multiple saber techniques and cultivation methods hidden in the second one.
• Xiang Yuan practiced the strokes from the second painting, circulated qi through the Du Meridian, and entered the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Xiang Yuan completed Foundation Establishment, strengthened his cultivation and techniques, and returned to Fengxian County after opening both the Ren and Du Meridians. At Xiao He's celebratory dinner, he learned that Sea Gathering Manor had spread his heroic reputation, then casually revealed his breakthrough and left Xiao He and Xu Jixian stunned.

• Xiang Yuan woke from his insight having reached Foundation Establishment, then studied his meridians and the second painting in seclusion.
• Xiang Yuan learned Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens and developed Primordial Spirit intimidation techniques from Wu Wan's incomplete secret art.
• Xiang Yuan spent days opening the remaining Du Meridian acupoints, connected the Ren and Du Meridians, and explored seven county towns before returning to Fengxian County.
• Xiao He hosted Xiang Yuan and Xu Jixian for a celebratory meal, where Xu Jixian told Xiang Yuan that the martial world praised him as Fengxian's Protector of Righteousness and Dezhou's Timely Rain.
• Xiao He denied having a younger sister after Xu Jixian raised the subject, and Xiang Yuan teased him about it.
• Xiao He asked about Xiang Yuan's journey, and Xiang Yuan revealed that he had completed Foundation Establishment and opened the Du Meridian, leaving Xiao He and Xu Jixian speechless.

Xiang Yuan established his foundation, learned how to fight Foundation Establishment cultivators, and entered the Dragon-Subduing Realm with Senior Zombie. After interrogating and killing Mo Chang, he learned that the Heavenly Demon Sect was besieged by humanity, and a maid announced that an Emei Sect disciple had been captured.

• Xiang Yuan teased Xiao He and Xu Jixian over dinner, then ate the entire feast to fuel his growing strength.
• Xiang Yuan sparred with Xu Jixian at the underground palace and learned how protective Gang Qi varied and how to fight its users.
• Xiang Yuan returned to Song Family Village, brought Senior Zombie into the new world, and entered the Dragon-Subduing Realm through Jambu Gate.
• Xiang Yuan hypnotized Mo Chang and learned that he was a Devil Race member of the Heavenly Demon Sect, which the Eight Great Righteous Sects had besieged at Slaughter Mountain.
• Xiang Yuan ordered Senior Jiang to kill Mo Chang, and a maid announced that she had captured the Emei Sect female disciple he had requested.

Xiang Yuan disguised himself as Mo Chang, the slain Heavenly Demon Sect heir, and questioned the captured Emei disciple Ji Muqing while preparing to pass as a demon. Ji Muqing revealed that the sects were attacking Slaughter Mountain and that seven Heavenly Demon relics were involved, potentially including Xiang Yuan’s mission target.

• Xiang Yuan learned that Elder Heavenly Serpent had ascended, leaving the Heavenly Demon Sect vulnerable to an attack by the Eight Great Sects.
• Xiang Yuan used the Formless Seal Method to impersonate Mo Chang and concealed Mo Chang’s corpse with help from Senior Zombie.
• Xiang Yuan had Ji Muqing moved to another room and pretended to threaten her fellow disciples, then hypnotized her when she refused to cooperate.
• Ji Muqing told Xiang Yuan that Emei’s Master Bai Yue and the Spring-Autumn Sword Immortal had joined the assault on Slaughter Mountain.
• Ji Muqing revealed that her master had found seven Heavenly Demon relics, kept two, and that a Dharma King had taken the others to Slaughter Mountain.

Xiang Yuan posed as Mo Chang while trying to reach the Heavenly Devil Relics, but Master Bai Yue arrived to rescue Ji Muqing. After freeing Ji Muqing and revealing his strength, Xiang Yuan challenged Master Bai Yue, asking her to help him cultivate.

• Ji Muqing told Xiang Yuan about the Heavenly Devil Relics and how Kun Naxie had taken five of the seven relics to Slaughter Mountain.
• Xiang Yuan planned to use Ji Muqing to escape, then stocked up on poisons and antidotes while she recovered.
• Master Bai Yue attacked the manor, and Xiang Yuan led Ji Muqing outside as a hostage while Senior Jiang followed him.
• Master Bai Yue killed the Devil Race fighters in the courtyard, while Xiang Yuan ordered two maidservants to attack her and they fled before she killed them.
• Xiang Yuan released Ji Muqing, leaving Master Bai Yue wary of a possible trick, then drew the Tiger Roar Saber and asked her to help him cultivate.

Xiang Yuan defeated Master Bai Yue in battle and captured her and Ji Muqing, but his attempt to intimidate her into revealing the location of the Heavenly Devil Relic failed. The chapter ended with Master Bai Yue taunting him, and Xiang Yuan asking whether she had been without a man for so long that she craved one.

• Xiang Yuan overcame Master Bai Yue's sword techniques with his Heavenly Blade Style, while Senior Jiang blocked her attempt to escape with Ji Muqing.
• Xiang Yuan knocked Master Bai Yue unconscious and captured her and Ji Muqing, then tied them to separate trees in the wilderness.
• Xiang Yuan threatened Master Bai Yue with Forget-Soul Powder and claimed Ji Muqing would become a slave to desire unless she revealed the relic's location.
• Master Bai Yue refused to disclose the relic's whereabouts and mocked Xiang Yuan as useless.
• Xiang Yuan restrained himself from acting on his threats, then retorted by asking whether Master Bai Yue was craving a man.

Xiang Yuan failed to get the Heavenly Devil Relic’s location from Master Bai Yue, so he secretly followed her and Ji Muqing through the mountains. When Emei senior Zhuo Buqun and Lu Xingfang arrived, Zhuo revealed himself as a Devil Race spy and exposed the relic’s location to Xiang Yuan.

• Xiang Yuan humiliated Master Bai Yue, gave her and Ji Muqing well water disguised as Soul-Forgetting Powder, and then freed them without learning where the relic was hidden.
• Master Bai Yue and Ji Muqing suppressed what they believed was the powder’s effect and fled into the mountains while Xiang Yuan and Senior Jiang followed them in secret.
• Master Bai Yue warned Zhuo Buqun and Lu Xingfang about the ambush, then silently revealed where the Heavenly Devil Relic was hidden to Zhuo.
• Zhuo Buqun stabbed Master Bai Yue with a poisoned sword and revealed that he had always served the Devil Race; Lu Xingfang also revealed his Devil Race identity as Wind Thunder Hall Master Bi Shexin.
• Xiang Yuan emerged with Senior Jiang and praised Zhuo Buqun and Bi Shexin for capturing Master Bai Yue and Ji Muqing and finding the Heavenly Demon Pearl.

Xiang Yuan killed Zhuo Buqun and Bi Shexin after they betrayed the human race and tried to claim credit for their crimes. He saved Master Bai Yue and Ji Muqing, returned Zhuo Buqun’s sword, and revealed his true appearance, but Master Bai Yue still could not decide whether to trust him.

• Bi Shexin told Xiang Yuan that Zhuo Buqun had helped ambush the Kunlun Sect, kill Lu Xingfang, and pursue Master Bai Yue for her Heavenly Devil Relics.
• Xiang Yuan learned that Master Bai Yue had hidden the Heavenly Devil Orb beneath the second tree outside Stabilize Summer City and ordered Senior Jiang to treat her.
• Xiang Yuan drew his saber and killed Zhuo Buqun and Bi Shexin when they laughed at his command and tried to take advantage of the situation.
• Senior Jiang killed Zhuo Buqun, destroyed Bi Shexin’s head, and stopped Ji Muqing from escaping with Master Bai Yue.
• Xiang Yuan gave Master Bai Yue two Lesser Return pills and returned Zhuo Buqun’s sword to her after she recovered.
• Master Bai Yue said she could not tell whether Xiang Yuan was a devil or a good person, and Xiang Yuan revealed his original appearance to try to convince her.

Xiang Yuan convinced Bai Yue that he was human, took two Heavenly Demon relics from her, and left for Slaughter Mountain to infiltrate the Devil Race and kill Mo Luo. He reached the Left Envoy’s manor disguised as Mo Chang, where he encountered Mo Chang’s wife, Yejiamo.

• Xiang Yuan told Bai Yue and Ji Muqing that the Forget-Soul Powder had been ordinary water and taunted Bai Yue about her lost composure.
• Bai Yue offered to accompany Xiang Yuan to Slaughter Mountain, but he refused and accepted the two Heavenly Demon relics she gave him.
• Xiang Yuan departed with Senior Zombie and warned Bai Yue to return to secular life if she wanted a man.
• Disguised as Mo Chang, Xiang Yuan passed Slaughter Mountain’s checkpoints by invoking his father’s name and searched the Left Envoy’s manor for a route to the forbidden ground.
• Yejiamo confronted Xiang Yuan in the manor, called him worthless, and warned him not to expect to share her room.

Xiang Yuan hypnotized Yejiamo and learned about the Heavenly Demon Sect’s secret passages, internal rivalries, and forbidden ground. He arranged for Yejiamo to serve as an inside helper, then resumed his Mo Chang act and was thrown out of the household.

• Xiang Yuan returned to Slaughter Mountain, and Yejiamo ordered him to leave because she considered him too weak to defend the sect.
• Xiang Yuan fought Yejiamo and used three mental attacks to hypnotize her.
• Xiang Yuan questioned Yejiamo and learned that the Heavenly Demon Pearls were divided among Mo Luo, Mo She, and Kun Naxie, while the Left and Right Envoys plotted against each other.
• Yejiamo revealed secret passages from Heavenly King Hall and to the forbidden ground, and Xiang Yuan decided to pass the intelligence to the Eight Great Sects.
• Xiang Yuan learned that Mo Luo had driven Mo Chang away because of his relationship with Yejiamo, and he made Yejiamo a hidden ally before releasing his hypnosis.
• Xiang Yuan pretended Yejiamo had beaten him and was thrown out of the household again.

Xiang Yuan carried crucial intelligence about Slaughter Mountain to Abbess Bai Yue, then returned to the Heavenly Demon Sect and used Yejiamo to prepare for the coming attack. As the Eight Great Sects gathered, Right Envoy Mo She decided to capture Mo Chang and use him to test Mo Luo.

• Xiang Yuan infiltrated Wenyang Ancient Town and told Abbess Bai Yue about the Heavenly Demon relics, Slaughter Mountain’s secret passage, and the dangers surrounding its main peak.
• Abbess Bai Yue agreed to recruit trusted experts to use the secret passage, while Xiang Yuan insisted on returning to Slaughter Mountain to pursue the relics.
• Xiang Yuan returned to Yejiamo and used his influence over her to arrange entry to Hundred Demon Cavern, gather heavenly treasures, sabotage the armory with Heaven-Shaking Thunders, and prepare a map for the secret passage.
• Yejiamo took Xiang Yuan to Hundred Demon Cavern and ordered people to keep watch over him, while news of his return spread among the sect’s factions.
• Mo She and his followers discussed capturing Mo Chang to test whether Mo Luo would protect his son, and one subordinate volunteered to seize him.

Xiang Yuan learned the Thirty-Six Acupoint-Striking Hands in Hundred Demon Cavern, then was taken by two Devil Race members to Juli Lu, who planned to use Mo Chang as a hostage against Mo Luo. Xiang Yuan pretended to fall under Juli Lu’s charm while waiting for the Heavenly Demon Sect’s conflict and the Eight Great Sects’ assault to create an opening.

• Xiang Yuan used the Formless Seal Method to master the Thirty-Six Acupoint-Striking Hands and then spent three days studying martial arts in Hundred Demon Cavern.
• Two Devil Race members killed Yejiamo’s guards and took Xiang Yuan to Juli Lu at the Right Envoy’s secret cave.
• Xiang Yuan learned from the demoness that the Eight Great Sects had surrounded Slaughter Mountain and were expected to attack soon.
• Juli Lu revealed her bewitching art and tried to make Xiang Yuan cooperate, considering whether Mo Luo’s son could serve as a hostage for the Heavenly Demon Pearl.
• Xiang Yuan pretended to be enthralled by Juli Lu and resolved to endure the humiliation while waiting for the devils to turn on one another.

Juli Lu brought Xiang Yuan into the Heavenly Demon Sect’s struggle between Mo Luo and Mo She over the Heavenly Devil Relic. Xiang Yuan broke free, revealed his strength, and threw the battle into confusion as both sides realized a third force had intervened.

• Juli Lu brought Xiang Yuan to the Great Demon Stone Wall, where Mo Luo and Mo She faced off with most of the sect’s leaders gathered around them.
• Mo She offered Mo Luo a chance to surrender and keep his position, but Mo Luo refused, and Juli Lu tried unsuccessfully to use Mo Chang as a hostage.
• Mo Luo and Mo She began fighting while Jia Quan battled Barking Corpse and the hall masters clashed, sending several fighters falling into the magma.
• Xiang Yuan slipped out of Juli Lu’s grasp and struck her with Thirty-Six Acupoint-Striking Hands, forcing her to retreat and warn the others.
• Xiang Yuan shouted that Mo She had fallen for the plan, making Jia Quan and Barking Corpse suspect Mo Luo’s schemes, while Mo Luo realized Xiang Yuan was not his son and a third force had entered the conflict.
• Mo She rejected any pause in the fighting and vowed to kill Mo Luo and Xiang Yuan.