Chapter Summaries

Ning Chen was ambushed on his way to the Blood-clothed Marquis’s camp by Xiao Wanhua and five elite fighters, while Great Xia’s reinforcements were struck from behind by Xiao Wanhua’s nine thousand deathsworn soldiers. Both Ning Chen and Great Xia’s army were left in grave danger.

• Fan Lingyue learned that the Marquis of Knowing Fate had appeared near the Mist Forest and ordered her agents to proceed with their plan.
• Xiao Wanhua ambushed Ning Chen beneath Tianhua Mountain, and Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning attacked him.
• Four-Directional Sword and Jian Liuying joined the fight, and Jian Liuying wounded Ning Chen as six opponents overwhelmed him.
• Shi Hua arranged Great Xia’s hundred thousand reinforcements to meet the Northern Mongol cavalry charging out of Yangguan City.
• Xiao Wanhua’s nine thousand deathsworn soldiers, disguised as Great Xia troops, attacked the reinforcements from behind and inflicted heavy casualties.

Northern Mongol forces crushed Great Xia in a nighttime ambush while Xiao Wanhua and six experts trapped Ning Chen at Tianhua Mountain. As Ning Chen neared death, he unleashed the Underworld Source and began invoking the Scroll of Life’s forbidden move.

• Sword One and Sword Two killed General Shi Hua, helping the Northern Mongol cavalry rout Great Xia’s army.
• Fan Lingyue watched the victory unfold and focused on whether Ning Chen would die at Tianhua Mountain.
• Ning Chen fought off the Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning Guards, Jian Liuying, and the Four Noted Swords until Xiao Wanhua joined with Pure Karma Primeval.
• Ning Chen fled through an army of killers, but his strength failed and Xiao Wanhua’s group cornered him again.
• Ning Chen activated the Underworld Source and the Scroll of Life, unleashing terrifying power that shook Tianhua Mountain.

Ning Chen unleashed the Scroll of Life’s forbidden move, pushing his cultivation beyond its limits until Mu Chengxue interrupted it and rescued him. Prince Yan arrived afterward and demonstrated his swordsmanship to the Desolate City’s fighters before leaving with A'man, while Fan Lingyue remained certain Ning Chen would survive.

• Ning Chen used the Underworld Source to unleash the Scroll of Life’s forbidden move, creating a blood-colored pillar and shaking heaven and earth.
• Jun Shaoqing, Mu Qianshang, Prince Yan, A'man, and Fan Lingyue sensed the pillar; Prince Yan took A'man north, and Fan Lingyue sent Sword One to investigate.
• Mu Chengxue struck Ning Chen’s dantian to stop the forbidden move, then escaped with him after blasting Jian Liuying aside.
• Prince Yan challenged the seven fighters at Tianhua Mountain to withstand one sword, and Sword One joined them; his Crimson Sword left them wounded but alive.
• Prince Yan departed with A'man, who chose not to see Ning Chen, while Sword One and Jian Liuying returned to Fan Lingyue.
• Fan Lingyue said Ning Chen would survive because he would do everything in his power to stay alive.

After Mu Chengxue saved Ning Chen from the lingering Sword Qi, he recovered enough to live but could no longer cultivate or use True Qi. As Northern Mongol advanced and Great Xia’s enemies gathered, Su Feiyan agreed to a marriage alliance that would make her Northern Mongol’s Empress.

• Mu Chengxue expelled the Pure Karma Primordial Sword Qi from Ning Chen’s body and warned him that he could no longer use True Qi.
• Northern Mongol sent two hundred thousand reinforcements south, where Marquis Buyi and Marquis Ziyang halted them temporarily, while battles and raids worsened Great Xia’s position.
• Ning Chen avoided the Xia camp after being hunted, gave Mu Chengxue the Scroll of Heaven cultivation method, and studied the war while she continued trying to break Stopping War’s sword intent.
• Fan Lingyue courted Great Xia’s major sects and families, and the Wang Family of Donglin accepted her terms while the Sword Sect and Yao Family of Yucheng remained undecided.
• Su Feiyan agreed to a marriage alliance with Northern Mongol after Elder Yi explained that the Wang Family would support her, and she resolved to bide her time and seek revenge on Great Xia’s Marquis of Knowing Fate.

Ning Chen learned that the Wang Family of Donglin was conspiring with Northern Mongols and traveled southeast with Qing Ling to investigate. Meanwhile, Mingyue agreed to an Empress marriage on the condition that she invite Ning Chen, leaving his role in the coming alliance uncertain.

• The Wang Family of Donglin, seeking to restore the former dynasty, arranged an Empress marriage between Su Feiyan and Mingyue after reaching agreements with Northern Mongols.
• Xia Mingri received intelligence about the Wang family's plans and summoned Ning Chen to the palace.
• Mingyue agreed to marry after reading Fan Lingyue's letter, but demanded that the Marquis of Knowing Fate be invited.
• Ning Chen accepted the task of dealing with the Wang family, asked to take Qing Ling with him, and confirmed with Xia Mingri that Yue Hanyi could be trusted.
• Ning Chen and Qing Ling traveled toward Donglin in the ghost carriage, where she confronted him for keeping her in the dark during the palace crisis.

Ning Chen investigated the Wang Family in Donglin and confirmed that its supposedly long-dead Ancestor might still be alive and near the Third Tribulation. After preparing to recruit more help, he left the confrontation unresolved and continued planning how to deal with the Wang Family.

• Ning Chen met Yue Hanyi at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and learned what she knew about the Wang Family.
• Ning Chen and Qing Ling secretly searched the Wang Family estate, where Ning Chen spotted Su Feiyan but chose not to confront her.
• Su Feiyan spoke with the Wang Family Ancestor, who appeared as an avatar and revealed that his injury had not healed and that he still could not leave seclusion.
• Ning Chen failed to persuade Mu Chengxue to join a fight, then obtained the Great Yin Azure Sparrow Sword from Xia Mingri.
• Qing Ling reported that a powerful aura had appeared at the Wang Family estate, and she estimated that the Ancestor was near the Third Tribulation.
• Ning Chen decided that two people might not be enough and resolved to find a third ally.

Ning Chen sought Mu Qianshang’s help in killing the Wang Family Ancestor while Qing Ling watched the Wang Family’s movements. In the Underworld Netherworld, Mu Chengxue was blasted away from Zhige and triggered her Second Xiantian Tribulation, leaving Ning Chen trapped inside as heavenly fire descended.

• Ning Chen reassured Qing Ling that the Sword Sect and Yao Family would wait to see how the court handled the Wang Family, then asked her and Yue Hanyi to investigate the Wang Family’s forces without acting rashly.
• Ning Chen waited at Azure Frost Valley for Mu Qianshang, fought off Mu Qianyu, and asked Mu Qianshang to help kill the Wang Family Ancestor, who may have passed the Third Xiantian Tribulation.
• Mu Qianshang asked for two days to consider Ning Chen’s request, and Ning Chen returned to the Underworld Netherworld.
• Chengying and Zhige clashed, and Zhige’s sword intent blasted Mu Chengxue and Ning Chen away, leaving Mu Chengxue injured and her aura unstable.
• Ning Chen urged Mu Chengxue to leave the Underworld Netherworld, where the Heavenly Fire Tribulation could not descend, and followed her to the entrance.
• Mu Chengxue stepped outside and faced the Second Xiantian Tribulation as Ning Chen remained trapped inside; Qing Ling and Prince Yan saw the distant tribulation, and A'man said it was not Ning Chen.

Mu Chengxue survived the Heavenly Fire Tribulation and returned to the underworld with Ning Chen, while Fan Lingyue continued preparing for the war despite her failing health. At the Confucian School, Prince Yan reunited the Azure Sword with the Crimson Sword, and A'man said the Azure Sword had missed him.

• Mu Chengxue transformed into a sword and broke through the blood-red Heavenly Fire Tribulation before returning to the underworld, where Ning Chen caught and supported her.
• Mu Chengxue coughed up blood as she wondered whether she and Ning Chen had known each other before, while Ning Chen tightened his hold on her.
• Fan Lingyue sent a letter to the Great Xia Imperial Palace, then vomited blood and resolved to endure the final months of her failing health as she planned Northern Mongolia's campaign.
• Fan Lingyue watched Mu Chengxue's Heavenly Fire Tribulation and realized the person undergoing it was not Ning Chen.
• Prince Yan and A'man went to the Confucian School's Forging Pool, where Prince Yan reunited the Azure Sword with the Crimson Sword.
• A'man told Prince Yan that the Azure Sword said it had missed him.

A'man demonstrated her ability to sense sword breath, refused to join the Confucian Sect, and chose the famed Beginner's Heart Sword. Meanwhile, Ning Chen planned to eliminate the Wang family's hidden forces, responded to a letter concerning Mingyue's wedding, and went to Dangerous Tower to buy lives.

• A'man correctly sensed the Azure Sword's joy and the different auras of Prince Yan's three swords, impressing the Commander of Soldiers.
• A'man refused the Commander's offer to join the Confucian Sect, then chose Beginner's Heart and placed it on a sword rack.
• Ning Chen received the Wang family's hidden-force report and declared that he would kill without pardon, despite Yue Hanyi's warning that they lacked evidence.
• Mulan delivered a palace letter revealing that Mingyue was taking an Empress and inviting Ning Chen; Ning Chen wrote a reply for Fan Lingyue.
• Ning Chen left to address the Wang family and stopped at Dangerous Tower's Earth Tower, where he announced that he had come to buy lives.

Ning Chen arranged for Dangerous Tower to kill the people on his list, prompting Purple Lord and Red Lord to reassess their stance toward Great Xia. Back in the Underworld Netherworld, the injured Ning Chen was ambushed by the Underworld Son and fled until he summoned the War-Stopping Sword to face him.

• Ning Chen offered Dangerous Tower thirty thousand taels of silver per person to kill those named on his list, and Purple Lord accepted the transaction.
• After Ning Chen left, Red Lord and Purple Lord discussed the danger he posed and ordered Azure Lord and Blue Lord to return within two days.
• Ning Chen waited for Mu Chengxue to awaken in the Underworld Netherworld, where she remained unconscious from her injuries.
• The Underworld Son ambushed Ning Chen as he prepared to leave, and Ning Chen fled deeper into the Underworld Netherworld while badly wounded.
• Ning Chen stopped running, summoned the War-Stopping Sword, and poured his Thick Earth Qi into it as he prepared to fight the Underworld Son.

Ning Chen defeated the Underworld Son but suffered an injury, then learned that Blue Lord was his cousin Ning Xi and had to weigh that discovery against his plans for the Wang family. Mu Chengxue emerged from seclusion stripped of emotion again, leaving Ning Chen increasingly helpless as he prepared for the coming battle.

• Ning Chen drove off the Underworld Son with his Three Calamities-level sword intent, though he coughed up blood and could not pursue him.
• Qing Ling told Ning Chen that the Wang family had sent out Su Feiyan and another group under Ninth Rank protection, and the Earth Tower's lords offered to help him act against the family.
• Blue Lord revealed that she was Ning Chen's cousin, Ning Xi, and explained that she had searched for him for years; Ning Chen left her with Qing Ling without deciding whether to alter his plans.
• Ning Chen returned to the Underworld Netherworld and waited for Mu Chengxue to wake from seclusion.
• Mu Chengxue emerged cold and emotionless, drew the Great Yin Azure Sparrow Sword, and agreed to act on the night after tomorrow before returning to seclusion.
• Ning Chen reflected on Mu Chengxue's repeated loss of memory and emotion and felt powerless.

Ning Chen coordinated a strike against the Wang Family’s hidden forces while Dangerous Tower assassins and his allies attacked their strongholds. At the Wang Family residence, he killed the Wang Family head just as the family’s old ancestor began emerging from seclusion.

• Ning Chen asked Xia Mingri to arrange an ambush beyond Heaven's Gate Pass for Su Feiyan and the Wang Family’s northbound forces, then discussed Ning Xi’s ties to Dangerous Tower and its Heavenly Tower.
• Xia Mingri ordered Marquis Jiyu to intercept the Wang Family’s group, while Ning Chen returned to Donglin City to prepare for the night’s attacks.
• Dangerous Tower assassins struck hidden Wang Family forces in Donglin City, Ying City, and Yongqing City, while Ning Chen shot and killed the Donglin City Lord.
• Ning Chen entered the Wang Family residence with the Martial Marquis Token and fought its head, while Qing Ling crippled the cultivation of the family’s six hidden ninth-rank experts.
• The Wang Family’s old ancestor began to emerge from seclusion, but Ning Chen killed the Wang Family head with Quick Snow Sentiment, Freezing Three Thousand Miles.

Ning Chen used Dangerous Tower to weaken the Wang Family, while Mu Chengxue, Qing Ling, and Mu Qianshang fought the Wang Family Ancestor, a Third Xiantian Tribulation expert. The chapter ended with Sword One and Sword Two intervening as Marquis Jiyu’s troops cornered Su Feiyan’s group.

• Ning Chen struck down the fallen Wang Family Patriarch but was too injured to continue fighting, so Qing Ling and Mu Chengxue faced the awakening Xiantian expert.
• Mu Qianshang joined Mu Chengxue and Qing Ling against the Wang Family Ancestor, while Ning Chen persuaded Dangerous Tower to attack the Wang Family using a second list of targets.
• Mu Chengxue, Qing Ling, and Mu Qianshang broke through the Ancestor’s defense and wounded him, but he unleashed his power and blasted Mu Chengxue away.
• Su Feiyan’s party left Heaven’s Gate Pass and was surrounded by Marquis Jiyu and his troops three hundred li later.
• Sword One and Sword Two arrived and asked Marquis Jiyu to withdraw his troops.

Sword One and Sword Two protected Su Feiyan’s group from Marquis Jiyu’s forces, while Ning Chen and his allies fought the Wang Family Ancestor in Donglin City. They finally brought the Ancestor down, but a familiar, evil aura appeared as Ning Chen realized the danger was not over.

• Sword One and Sword Two drove back Marquis Jiyu’s troops and gave Su Feiyan and her companions time to escape Heaven’s Gate Pass.
• Sword Two fought Marquis Jiyu while Sword One held off the seven ninth-rank experts, forcing the Great Xia forces to retreat.
• Qing Ling, Mu Qianshang, and Mu Chengxue attacked the Wang Family Ancestor, while Ning Chen weakened him with arrows from the Po Shang Bow.
• Ning Chen fired three arrows through the opening in the Wang Family Ancestor’s Qihai, allowing Mu Chengxue, Qing Ling, and Mu Qianshang to finish him.
• The Wang Family Ancestor fell, but a familiar mad laughter and an evil aura arose as someone thanked the Marquis of Knowing Fate.

Underworld Son rescued the Wang Family Ancestor and escaped, while the court stripped Ning Chen of his title and seized control of the Wang Family’s forces. Ning Chen visited the shopkeeper to seek help for Yue Ling and to slow the Yellow Springs Flower poison in his own body, leaving with medicine and a possible lead on finding an Other Shore Flower.

• Underworld Son shattered Ning Chen’s arrow, took the Wang Family Ancestor, and vanished as Qing Ling and the others were left badly wounded.
• Dangerous Tower and Ning Chen’s forces devastated the Wang Family, and the court later abolished Ning Chen’s marquis title, issued a wanted notice, and took control of Donglin City and the family’s forces.
• Xia Mingri ordered the Dark Dragon Guard to investigate the Wang Family’s ties to Duke Xiyu’s rebellion, while Xia Ziyi left in anger over the emperor’s decision.
• Ning Chen visited Du'an Pharmacy and learned from the shopkeeper that the Millennium Blood Ginseng King could not save Yue Ling, whose illness had reached its final stage.
• Ning Chen explained that the Yellow Springs Flower poison was spreading through his body, and the shopkeeper proposed using an Other Shore Flower and named three possible sources of the Weak Water.
• The shopkeeper gave Ning Chen a supply of pills to help suppress the poison, while Ning Chen put the cost on his tab.

Sword One and Sword Two protected Su Feiyan and the others from Marquis Jiyu’s forces while Ning Chen and his allies fought the Wang Family Ancestor in Donglin City. Ning Chen’s arrows helped break the Ancestor’s Qihai, but a sinister aura appeared after his fall, and a familiar voice thanked Marquis of Knowing Fate.

• Sword One and Sword Two held off Marquis Jiyu and the Great Xia experts, allowing Su Feiyan and the others to escape before both sides withdrew.
• Qing Ling, Mu Chengxue, and Mu Qianshang attacked the Wang Family Ancestor while Ning Chen, badly injured, prepared arrows with the Po Shang Bow.
• Ning Chen’s three arrows weakened the Wang Family Ancestor, and Mu Chengxue, Qing Ling, and Mu Qianshang broke through his defenses and struck his Qihai.
• The Wang Family Ancestor fell after unleashing a final palm that wounded the three attackers.
• Ning Chen heard a familiar deranged laugh as an evil aura spread, and a voice thanked Marquis of Knowing Fate.

Ning Chen crossed a river, restrained a Water Demon, and encountered a Nine-Headed Infant in the fog on Shuli Mountain. As dawn brought down heavenly fire, he let the beast swallow him and held on inside its body.

• Ning Chen crossed the Great River and used an ancient mirror to restrain the Water Demon, which had been blocking his way.
• An infant’s cries summoned thick fog that trapped Ning Chen, and a monster attacked him with water arrows.
• Ning Chen recognized the monster as a Nine-Headed Infant and fled through the fog while it pursued him.
• Ning Chen’s sword could not pierce the beast’s hide, and he spent the night dodging its attacks as dawn approached.
• Ning Chen let the Nine-Headed Infant swallow him just as heavenly fire struck it, then clung to its flesh with his Ink Sword.

Ning Chen survived Nine-Headed Infant’s two-day Heavenly Fire Tribulation, recovered several ancient artifacts, and left Shuli Mountain after learning that Weak Water was no longer there. He returned to the underworld, then joined Duke Jingwu and the Blood-clothed Marquis to prepare for the decisive northern campaign, where the Northern Mongol Military Advisor awaited them.

• Ning Chen endured Nine-Headed Infant’s struggles inside its body until the Heavenly Fire Tribulation burned the beast for two days.
• Ning Chen found Nine-Headed Infant’s nine petrified bodies and recovered a battle halberd, a bronze cauldron, and an iron sword.
• Ning Chen left Shuli Mountain with the ghost carriage, retrieved the ancient mirror by the Great River of the Water Demon, and returned to the underworld after finding Weak Water gone.
• Ning Chen worried about Underworld Son’s threat and hoped Ghost Maiden would emerge from secluded cultivation so she could track him and the Wang Family Ancestor.
• Ning Chen joined Duke Jingwu and the Blood-clothed Marquis at the military camp, and the three spent three nights planning how to defend Great Xia against the Northern Mongol army.
• The Northern Mongol Military Advisor, a frail-looking woman in a blue dress, stood before the formation in Shaoling Ancient Town.

While Great Xia and Northern Mongol fought to a standstill, two Innate experts from Featherfall Valley approached Fan Lingyue with a demand to aid their plan for the Realm Lord. Fan Lingyue rejected them, killed one, and drove the other away, then let Ning Chen and the Blood-clothed Marquis leave without a fight.

• Great Xia and Northern Mongol fought for ten days with roughly equal losses, and Duke Jingwu and the Blood-clothed Marquis discussed how to stop Northern Mongol's heavy cavalry.
• Two Innate experts from Featherfall Valley arrived before Northern Mongol's army and asked Fan Lingyue to help break the boundary's restrictions in exchange for land under the Realm Lord.
• Fan Lingyue refused the deal and fought both visitors with Pure Karma Primeval, forcing Ning Chen and the Blood-clothed Marquis to rush toward the battle.
• Fan Lingyue used the Scroll of Moon to immobilize the two experts, killed the azure-clad old man, and allowed the red-clad woman to escape.
• After coughing blood, Fan Lingyue challenged Ning Chen and the Blood-clothed Marquis to attack, but Ning Chen said they would meet on the battlefield and both men departed.

After learning that Featherfall Valley sought Fan Lingyue’s help, Ning Chen considered the threat it might pose while Great Xia and Northern Mongol continued their war. Fan Lingyue used the Scroll of Chaos to locate Ning Chen and send Sword Two to stop him, but her glimpse into the Eternal Night Divine Canon revealed a greater calamity, and The Master sensed that she would not live long.

• Ning Chen concluded that Featherfall Valley could not emerge soon and that Great Xia needed to end its war against Fan Lingyue quickly.
• Fan Lingyue rejected Xiao Wanhua’s proposal to wait for a prepared force and ordered Northern Mongol to keep attacking Great Xia’s Imperial Guards.
• The Divine Wind Camp and Great Xia’s Imperial Guards fought Northern Mongol’s cavalry outside Shaoling Ancient Town until both armies withdrew at sunset.
• Fan Lingyue used the Scroll of Chaos and the Eternal Night Divine Canon to find Ning Chen’s route, then sent Sword Two to intercept him near Changli City.
• Fan Lingyue glimpsed the Eternal Night Divine Cult’s hidden role in the coming calamity, while The Master sensed her use of the Scroll of Chaos and judged that she would not live long.