Chapter Summaries

Sword Two stopped Ning Chen outside Changli City, where their uneven duel left Ning Chen badly wounded. When citizens and soldiers surrounded him, Ning Chen refused to kill them and was forced to retreat south, leaving his journey north blocked; Sword Two returned to Fan Lingyue, who confirmed that Ning Chen had failed to arrive.

• Sword Two met Ning Chen outside Changli City and fought to prevent him from passing, wounding him in a clash of their ultimate moves.
• Onlookers recognized Ning Chen and attacked him for the reward, but he fought them without killing anyone.
• Sword Two turned his sword on the attackers, and Ning Chen broke his strike before being wounded by blades from behind.
• Soldiers arrived and were ordered to capture Ning Chen, but he used his power to scatter them and escaped south in the ghost palanquin.
• Sword Two returned to Fan Lingyue, who thanked him and learned from Xiao Wanhua that everything had been prepared.

After Northern Mongolia defeated Great Xia’s army, Ning Chen traveled to the Farthest East seeking a way to regain his power and save Great Xia. There he encountered Mu Bai, who wounded him with Sword Qi and asked whether Mu Chengxue had remembered her past.

• Xiao Wanhua and the Blood-clothed Marquis fought as Northern Mongolian forces overwhelmed Great Xia’s army, killing forty thousand Imperial Guards and winning the battle.
• Xiao Wanhua told Ning Chen that his heart had always belonged to Northern Mongolia and that Fan Lingyue considered him no threat; Ning Chen set out for the Farthest East.
• Ning Chen reached the Chaos Mist Sea, where he saw a white-clad man later identified as Mu Bai waiting at the end of Heaven and Earth.
• Mu Bai criticized Ning Chen’s swordsmanship, and after Ning Chen angrily answered him, Mu Bai’s Sword Qi cut a bloody wound across Ning Chen’s chest.
• Mu Bai asked Ning Chen whether Mu Chengxue had remembered the past, and Ning Chen’s expression changed abruptly.

Ning Chen observed the Chaos Mist Sea as a strange vortex condensed, while Mu Bai waited for the sword embryo he sought. After Mu Bai shattered the formed ice crystal and discussed the sword dao with Ning Chen, he praised Ning Chen’s resolve and tested him with a sudden sword strike.

• Ning Chen apologized to Mu Bai, learned that Mu Chengxue still remembered nothing, and explored the depths of the Chaos Mist Sea, where he found a dense, shrinking vortex.
• For several days, Ning Chen searched the Farthest East for Weak Water at night and watched the vortex condense by day.
• When the vortex matured, Mu Bai split the thunderous mist sea with a sword strike, revealing an ice crystal shaped like an apricot tree.
• Mu Bai shattered the crystal because he wanted to forge a sword, not a tree, then returned it to the mist sea and continued waiting for a sword embryo.
• Ning Chen asked Mu Bai about Weak Water, the Xiantian realm, swordsmanship, and Mu Chengxue; Mu Bai said Ning Chen was qualified to wield a sword after hearing that he did not regret being unable to face the light.
• As Ning Chen practiced with the Ink Sword, Mu Bai immobilized him with a sword and let the strike dissipate at his body, giving Ning Chen a glimpse of death.

After learning to thrust a sword that split thirty feet of chaos, Ning Chen left Mu Bai to search for the Flower of the Other Shore. He found the flower and fought Jun Shaoqing over it, escaping with the flower while the Divine Son warned that their next meeting would be different.

• Ning Chen spent days studying Mu Bai's sword strike before drawing the Ink Sword and splitting thirty feet of chaos with his first thrust.
• Ning Chen thanked Mu Bai and left to follow traces of Weak Water into a desolate gorge.
• Ning Chen found the Flower of the Other Shore just as Jun Shaoqing arrived, and they fought over it after Jun Shaoqing demanded the Scroll of Life.
• Ning Chen used the Ink Sword to pierce Jun Shaoqing's heart, but Jun Shaoqing retaliated with Thunder of Darkness and escaped.
• Ning Chen took the Flower of the Other Shore and raced west in the ghost palanquin as dawn spread across the land.

As Great Xia neared collapse before Northern Mongolia’s advance, Ning Chen cultivated in the underworld while struggling to contain the Yellow Springs poison and approach the innate realm. Featherfall Valley sent four innate experts to kill Fan Lingyue, who faced them as her illness worsened.

• Ning Chen entered seclusion with the Flower of the Other Shore, using its petals to suppress the Yellow Springs poison while continuing to cultivate.
• Fan Lingyue briefly collapsed during the march, then resumed command from a wheelchair as her illness worsened and she hurried the Northern Mongolian army south.
• Xia Mingri forced the Confucian sect to send three thousand disciples to serve Great Xia, while the approaching Barbarian reinforcements offered the weakened dynasty a rare hope.
• Featherfall Valley ordered four innate experts to kill Fan Lingyue so the Eternal Night Divine Cult would be pressured into helping bring the Realm Lord into the world.
• Ning Chen drew insight from the sword intent of Mu Bai and Prince Yan, while the Headmaster declined to intervene as the four experts raced toward the Northern Mongolian camp.
• Fan Lingyue left her tent and confronted the four approaching innate experts as blood drained from her face.

Fan Lingyue fought four Innate experts sent by Featherfall Valley while Ning Chen emerged from seclusion and hurried to her aid. After Ning Chen wounded Xiao Pojun, he and Fan Lingyue joined forces against the four enemies, leaving both battles raging.

• Fan Lingyue faced Xiao Pojun and three other Innate experts, refusing their demand that she cooperate with Featherfall Valley.
• Fan Lingyue used her white light to withstand the four experts, but their combined assault eventually wounded and exhausted her.
• The Master summoned Ning Chen from seclusion and told him about Featherfall Valley, and Ning Chen rode north after taking a petal of the Flower of the Other Shore.
• Ning Chen arrived as Xiao Pojun prepared a killing blow and pierced Xiao Pojun's right chest with the Ink Sword.
• Ning Chen and Fan Lingyue agreed to fight the four enemies together, with Ning Chen attacking Xiao Pojun and the yellow-robed woman while Fan Lingyue faced the other two.

Ning Chen and Fan Lingyue fought four innate masters together, killing one and forcing the others to retreat before returning to their uneasy rivalry. As Fan Lingyue refused to withdraw her army and both hesitated to take the deadly final step toward the innate realm, Ning Chen joined Xia Ziyi’s thirty thousand light cavalry for Great Xia’s decisive counterattack.

• Ning Chen and Fan Lingyue combined their swordsmanship and trust to hold off Ketu, Ancient Edge, Xiao Pojun, and the woman in red, despite their worsening injuries.
• Fan Lingyue used Moonfall Silence while Ning Chen lent her his true qi, allowing them to kill the woman in yellow and injure Xiao Pojun before the remaining enemies escaped.
• Ning Chen again urged Fan Lingyue to withdraw her troops, but she refused and said she had arrangements for Featherfall Valley; neither attacked the other before Ning Chen departed.
• In the Underworld Netherworld, Ning Chen realized that both he and Fan Lingyue feared taking the final step toward the innate realm because it would mean death.
• Xia Ziyi led thirty thousand light cavalry north for Great Xia’s final counterattack, and Ning Chen joined him, explaining they would not wait for the Barbarian Dynasty’s reinforcements.

Great Xia and the Northern Mongols fought a series of battles as Ning Chen’s tactics harried their heavy cavalry, while Fan Lingyue brought the Human Buddha into the war. The Commander of Soldiers revealed that A'man had sought Ning Chen, and A'man continued traveling with Prince Yan toward the Farthest East, hoping to see him again.

• Great Xia’s Imperial Guards and cavalry attacked the Northern Mongol army, while Ning Chen used repeated raids to keep its heavy cavalry under pressure.
• Fan Lingyue summoned the Human Buddha to the Northern Mongol command tent as three thousand Confucian School disciples arrived at Prince Haowu’s camp with the Commander of Soldiers.
• The Commander of Soldiers told Ning Chen that Prince Yan and A'man had visited the Confucian School looking for him, unsettling Ning Chen.
• Prince Yan traveled with A'man toward the Farthest East so he could undergo Tribulation Transcending without endangering others.
• A'man told Prince Yan that she missed Ning Chen, and he promised to take her to find him after they returned.

Great Xia lured Northern Mongolia’s heavy cavalry away from its camp and used repeated attacks, crossbow volleys, and a formation-breaking charge to destroy it. Xia Ziyi killed Qing Wuyou and her four generals, and Northern Mongolia’s heavy cavalry was wiped out to the last man.

• Great Xia’s cavalry raided Northern Mongolia’s camp, then Xia Ziyi led a retreat that drew Xiao Wanhua and the heavy cavalry far from their camp.
• When scouts reported that five thousand cavalry had raided the camp, Xiao Wanhua ordered a withdrawal while Xia Ziyi’s forces intercepted the returning Northern Mongol heavy cavalry.
• Xia Ziyi blocked Qing Wuyou and her generals, while Great Xia’s cavalry used spaced lines and Divine Arm Crossbows to wear down the enemy.
• Great Xia’s heavy cavalry charged into a weakness in Northern Mongolia’s formation, and light cavalry dragged exhausted riders from their horses.
• Xia Ziyi killed Qing Wuyou and her four generals, and half a day later Great Xia had wiped out Northern Mongolia’s heavy cavalry.

The Human Buddha routed Great Xia's Imperial Guards, and the Blood-clothed Marquis died holding him off. As Ning Chen planned how to counter the Human Buddha and the approaching Barbarian Dynasty army, Fan Lingyue's illness worsened, leaving her near death.

• Fan Lingyue sent the Du'e Temple Abbot into battle, where he broke Great Xia's formation and forced the Imperial Guards to retreat.
• The Blood-clothed Marquis ordered his personal guards to withdraw and fought the Human Buddha alone; he never returned, and both armies suffered heavy losses.
• Ning Chen grieved for the Blood-clothed Marquis, then assessed Northern Mongol's remaining forces and sent a letter to the imperial palace seeking help against the Human Buddha.
• In Featherfall Valley, the Calamity King gave the Heavenly Pardon Arrow to the middle-aged man in blue, the woman in red, and Xiao Pojun, directing them to find the Zhao Family bow in Eastern Divine Continent.
• Ning Chen left camp at night to prepare for the Human Buddha as the Barbarian Dynasty's hundred thousand troops drew near.
• Fan Lingyue coughed blood in her command tent, appearing close to death.

As the Northern Mongolian army advanced and Fan Lingyue’s health failed, Ning Chen and his allies prepared to counter the Du'e Temple Abbot. The chapter leaves them using a Confucian array and explosive chests of Buddhist scriptures to wound and distract the Human Buddha.

• Fan Lingyue learned that the Barbarian Dynasty army was six hundred li away and sent Xiao Wanhua from her tent.
• Prince Yan and A'man met Mu Bai, and A'man offered him a pear in exchange for which he gave her a drop of the Sword Blood of the Desolate City.
• Ning Chen and Xia Ziyi relied on the Barbarian Dynasty reinforcements to draw Fan Lingyue’s attention while the Confucian experts prepared to confront the Du'e Temple Abbot.
• The Northern Mongolian army clashed with the Barbarian Dynasty forces, and Ning Chen blocked the Du'e Temple Abbot as the four Confucian command bearers formed an array.
• Ning Chen revealed chests of Buddhist texts rigged with gunpowder, forcing the Du'e Temple Abbot to rush between them as explosions destroyed the inheritance and wounded him.

Ning Chen and the Confucian command bearers fought the Du'e Temple Abbot, landing a decisive arrow and restraining his cultivation, though he escaped. Ning Chen and Xia Ziyi then drove off Xiao Pojun and his companions, while the Northern Mongol army continued its advance toward Great Xia’s capital.

• The four Confucian command bearers and their allies battled the Du'e Temple Abbot as Ning Chen held his bow ready and Xia Ziyi lent him true qi.
• The Confucian command bearers unleashed the Boundless Ocean of Learning, and Ning Chen struck the Abbot’s Tanzhong acupoint with an arrow.
• The Abbot’s rage opened him to the Sky-Piercing Chains, but he shattered the battlefield and escaped; Xia Ziyi said the chains would keep him from using his cultivation for a while.
• Xiao Pojun and two companions confronted Ning Chen, but Xia Ziyi and Ning Chen gained the upper hand in the ensuing fight.
• Ning Chen caught the Heavenly Pardon Arrow and paired it with the Po Shang Bow, frightening Xiao Pojun and the others into fleeing before he departed by ghost sedan.
• Fan Lingyue continued directing the Northern Mongol campaign from her carriage as her army neared the Great Xia Imperial City, with the decisive outcome expected within a month.

As the armies paused in the rain, Fan Lingyue and Ning Chen each prepared to leave, while Northern Mongolia held Mingyue’s wedding to Su Feiyan. Ning Chen arrived for the ceremony and shared a final farewell with Mingyue before leaving with Fan Lingyue, whose illness worsened.

• After days of rain and hesitation, Ning Chen put away the Heavenly Pardon Arrow and traveled south as the armies advanced toward the final battlefield.
• Fan Lingyue ordered the Northern Mongol army to break camp, then prepared Mingyue for her wedding to Su Feiyan.
• Ning Chen arrived at the palace before the wedding rites began, and Fan Lingyue let him sit beside her despite the ministers’ disapproval.
• Mingyue offered her first cup of wine to Fan Lingyue, her second to Ning Chen, and her third to the old Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.
• After the ceremony, Mingyue embraced Ning Chen, and he infused her jade pendant with his blood before he and Fan Lingyue left the palace.
• Fan Lingyue staggered and coughed up blood after leaving, staining her blue robes.

Fan Lingyue’s failing health ended Northern Mongol’s campaign at Falling Moon City, and she spent her final night with Ning Chen before facing three tribulations. As she died, she left Ning Chen the Scroll of Chaos and a warning about the Eternal Night Divine Cult.

• Fan Lingyue asked Ning Chen to keep Featherfall Valley sealed for a year after breaking through his restraints, while she prepared Northern Mongol for the unrest expected after her death.
• Ning Chen aimed the Heavenly Pardon Arrow at Fan Lingyue’s carriage but held his fire, and Northern Mongol advanced toward Falling Moon City.
• Fan Lingyue ordered the Northern Mongol army to drive fire-startled horses through Falling Moon Gorge, clearing Great Xia’s defenses and opening the way to Falling Moon City.
• After Fan Lingyue collapsed during the siege and awoke seven days later, she ordered Northern Mongol to withdraw and entrusted its future to Xiao Wanhua and the old Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.
• Ning Chen pushed Fan Lingyue through Falling Moon City, where she warned him about the Eternal Night Divine Cult and the Du'e Temple Abbot guarding Featherfall Valley.
• Fan Lingyue faced the Heavenly Demon, Heavenly Fire, and Heavenly Lightning Tribulations, gave Ning Chen the Scroll of Chaos, and died as Pure Karma Primeval descended.

After Great Xia’s war ended, Ning Chen searched for Ning Xi’s soul and the Heavenly Tower before facing his final tribulations in Featherfall Valley. Mu Chengxue returned to the Underworld Netherworld too late to see him, while Ghost Maiden mourned his death.

• Ning Chen left Great Xia after the war, returned the Scroll of Earth to Mu Chengxue’s chamber, and gave the Barbarian Crown Prince an ancient mirror for A'man.
• Great Xia repelled the Eternal Night Divine Cult and made peace with Northern Mongol, while Ning Chen remained absent and his reputation was gradually restored.
• Ning Chen fought the Underworld Son, then later defeated the Heavenly Tower’s guardian and retrieved one of Ning Xi’s souls before returning it to her.
• Ning Chen said farewell to The Master, left the Scroll of Chaos with him, and then waited for Mu Chengxue before departing with the Scroll of Life.
• Ning Chen entered Featherfall Valley and endured the Heavenly Demon Tribulation and Heavenly Fire Tribulation; afterward, Ghost Maiden told Mu Chengxue that he was dead.
• Mu Chengxue left with the Scroll of Life, and Ghost Maiden wept alone in the Underworld Netherworld.

After Ning Chen was presumed lost in the heavenly fire, Prince Yan brought A'man back to Featherfall Valley and vowed to find him. Ning Chen revived on Nine Heavens Mountain in an unfamiliar realm, while the sect prepared for its upcoming disciple recruitment and one venerable refused to take students.

• Prince Yan found Featherfall Valley reduced to ashes, then took A'man to the academy, where The Master could not divine Ning Chen's whereabouts.
• A'man briefly awakened and insisted Ning Chen was alive, and Prince Yan used three swords to break through space and take her away.
• Ning Chen's consciousness fought the phoenix soul within Phoenix Blood until he took shape and fell into the back mountain of Nine Heavens Immortal Mountain.
• Yun Shisan found Ning Chen, carried him to Bamboo Listening Pavilion, and later explained that Nine Heavens Mountain was in an unfamiliar realm ruled by the Realm Lord.
• After waking from nearly half a month of sleep, Ning Chen learned about the sect and accompanied Yun Shisan to the dining hall, where Yun Shisan declined a request to take another disciple because he had promised Little Stone.
• At Grand Profound Hall, the sect leader asked four venerables to consider accepting recruits, but one young woman refused to take disciples.

Ning Chen settled on Nine Heavens Mountain as an outer disciple while trying to understand the world and recover his lost cultivation. After a powerful intruder attacked the mountain, he resumed training and attempted to climb toward the Nine Heavens, hoping to find a way back.

• Yun Shisan explained the five halls and Venerables of Nine Heavens Mountain, then arranged for Ning Chen to stay as an outer disciple and taught him a cultivation method.
• Ning Chen quietly swept the Heaven-Ascending Stairway while an unknown black-clad intruder attacked the mountain, grievously injuring Yun Shisan and many disciples.
• Ning Chen protected Little Stone from the intruder's palm strike, and the Sword Venerable, the headmaster, and Meng Xuanji each fought the attacker before the intruder escaped.
• After the attack, Ning Chen left the mountain and continued sweeping and cultivating, while Little Stone sometimes visited him.
• Ning Chen began rebuilding his true qi, then tried to climb toward the Nine Heavens but turned back when his weakened body could not endure the cold and altitude.

Ning Chen deliberately lost his first match in Nine Heavens Mountain’s grand competition and focused on restoring his cultivation while avoiding notice. As he swept the Heaven-Ascending Stairway, he thought of the people he had left behind and wondered whether he would meet Mu Chengxue again.

• Ning Chen feigned defeat against Yin Shuangshuang, the timid girl in the first round, and left the competition without winning a match.
• Little Stone won his first match but was eliminated in the second round, then went to visit Medicine Venerable with Yun Shisan.
• Yin Shuangshuang visited Ning Chen to apologize for injuring his forehead, and he told her he was fine.
• Ning Chen stayed away from the competition and quietly cultivated, wary that a breakthrough without restored cultivation could bring a fatal tribulation.
• Ning Chen continued sweeping the Heaven-Ascending Stairway and thought about Changsun, Qing Ling, A'man, Little Mingyue, Ghost Maiden, and Mu Chengxue.

At the apprenticeship ceremony, Ning Chen rejected offers from Flower Venerable, Medicine Venerable, and Sword Venerable, then drew Meng Xuanji’s unexpected attention. The Nine Heavens Mountain Sect Master ordered Ning Chen expelled and banned from the mountain, fulfilling Ning Chen’s wish to leave.

• The Nine Heavens Mountain elders chose apprentices, while Little Stone became Yun Shisan’s official disciple.
• Flower Venerable and Medicine Venerable both requested Ning Chen as a nominal disciple, and Sword Venerable joined them after recognizing him.
• Ning Chen declined to become a nominal disciple, so the Nine Heavens Mountain Sect Master ordered him to withdraw.
• Meng Xuanji struck Ning Chen and declared that she would take him as her disciple, prompting Sword Venerable to make the same offer.
• Ning Chen said he did not want to learn martial arts, and the Nine Heavens Mountain Sect Master ordered him thrown off the mountain and permanently banned.
• Yun Shisan and Little Stone knelt to plead for Ning Chen as he quietly welcomed the chance to leave.

Meng Xuanji forcibly took Ning Chen to the Jade Mechanism Hall, where he remained under her watch while Nine Heavens Mountain’s disciples advanced and competed. At Longevity Palace, Calamity King arranged a banquet to draw Meng Xuanji away, and a summons from the Realm Lord reached the Jade Mechanism Hall.

• Meng Xuanji sealed Ning Chen with the Life-Death Severance Seal and took him to the Jade Mechanism Hall despite his protests.
• Prince Yan and A'man traveled through the frozen northern frontier while searching for Ning Chen and exploring the Four Extremes Realm.
• Ning Chen cultivated slowly under Meng Xuanji’s surveillance as Yun Shisan won the inner disciples’ competition and other young disciples made rapid progress.
• Calamity King ordered a Longevity Banquet to lure Meng Xuanji from Nine Heavens Mountain so his plans to breach the realm barrier could continue.
• The Nine Heavens headmaster sent Yun Shisan to deliver the Realm Lord’s invitation to the Jade Mechanism Hall, where Meng Xuanji appeared after Ning Chen said he did not know where she was.