Chapter Summaries

Ning Chen bid farewell to Shi Yu and Shi Qing, then pushed himself to master the Qihuang arts before proposing a strategy against the allied imperial clans to the Demonic Emperors. Granted permission to go north with an imperial decree and an assigned escort, he left Xuan Qing confined and told Xuan Que to take charge of the imperial city.

• Ning Chen watched Shi Yu and Shi Qing depart, then shut himself away from the world and trained until the Qihuang arts destroyed his great hall.
• Ning Chen asked the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor and Eight Desolations Demonic Emperor to let him negotiate with the Witch Clan and weaken the enemy alliance by defeating the Scale Clan or Stone Clan first.
• The Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor approved Ning Chen's request to go to the northern battlefield and promised an imperial decree and an escort for the next day.
• Ning Chen visited the sealed Third Prince's Manor, where Xuan Qing saw him through the barrier, but Ning Chen left without speaking to him.
• Ning Chen told Xuan Que that he was going north and urged him to make use of his chance to lead the imperial city.

Ning Chen received orders to assist Prince Xuankong on the northern battlefield and was assigned Gandharva, one of the resurrected Heavenly Demon Eight Legions, as his protector. He challenged Witch Queen Feiyu and wounded her before a White-robed Witch Queen intervened, with Gandharva intercepting her attack.

• The Messenger Envoy ordered Ning Chen to join Prince Xuankong and gave him a Demonic Emperor's Token for the peace negotiations, while assigning Gandharva to protect him.
• Ning Chen asked Gandharva about the Eight Legions and learned that all eight had been resurrected, though only she had awakened.
• Ning Chen reached the northern battlefield, where the Witch Clan army had driven the Heavenly Demons back, and volunteered to fight the Twelve Witch Queens.
• Witch Queen Feiyu countered Ning Chen's sword attacks with her long sash until he used the Nine Transformations of Xuanjie and Inverted Water Moon Sword to sever it and wound her.
• A White-robed Witch Queen rushed in and struck at Ning Chen, but Gandharva entered the battlefield and met her palm strike.

Ning Chen and the Heavenly Demon forces won their first battle against the Witch Clan after Gandharva’s poison helped him grievously wound Witch Queen Feiyu. Five days later, as Prince Xuanqi faced the Stone Clan’s foremost Saint Guardian, the Heavenly Demon Legion known as the Dragon appeared in the stormy sky.

• Ning Chen fought Witch Queen Feiyu while Gandharva and Prince Xuankong held back the Witch Queens who tried to intervene.
• Gandharva released poisonous red mist that weakened Feiyu, allowing Ning Chen to break free of her ribbons and wound her severely.
• Witch Queen Hongxue rescued Feiyu, and Ning Chen, Gandharva, and Prince Xuankong withdrew as the Witch Clan conceded the battle.
• Witch Queen Baizhi carried the unconscious Feiyu north to seek Gou Huang’s help, while Ning Chen returned to camp and spoke with Prince Xuankong.
• Five days later, Prince Xuanqi faced the Stone Clan’s fourth Saint Guardian, and the Dragon appeared amid dark clouds and lightning.

The Heavenly Demon army attacked the Stone Clan in the southeast, where Xuanqi fought Yinxiao and the Dragon of the Eight Legions routed the Stone Clan’s defenders. In the north, Ning Chen waited for news, considering what the two Demon Emperors’ choice of battlefield would reveal about their plans and the Eight Legions.

• The Dragon of the Eight Legions appeared over the southeast battlefield, and Xuanqi challenged Yinxiao while the Dragon advanced on the Stone Clan army.
• Yinxiao summoned the Sky-Shattering Divine Halberd and fought Xuanqi, while two Stone Clan Saint Guardians attacked the Dragon and were quickly defeated.
• Xuanqi ordered the Heavenly Demon army to attack, and the Dragon blocked Yinxiao’s escape as the armies clashed.
• Xuanqi found a flaw in Yinxiao’s stone defense and pierced his chest with the Heart-Burning Demonic Sword, while the Stone Clan army suffered devastating losses.
• In the north, Ning Chen waited with Gandharva and considered how the Demon Emperors’ decision to target the Stone Clan or Scale Clan would affect their position and confirm his suspicions.

Xuanqi fought the Stone Emperor after the Stone Clan army overwhelmed the Stone Clan’s defenders, and the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor intervened before Xuanqi was killed. The Stone Clan withdrew, and the chapter ended with an emperor appearing before Ning Chen at the Heavenly Demon army camp.

• Xuanqi defeated Yinxiao, but the Stone Emperor descended and struck at him before he could finish Yinxiao.
• Xuanqi unleashed the Heavenly Demon Seven Transformations and fought the Stone Emperor, wounding him but suffering severe injuries himself.
• The Stone Emperor drove Xuanqi hundreds of miles away and moved to kill him, but the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor arrived and blocked the attack.
• The Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor called for a truce, and the Stone Emperor ordered the Stone Clan army to retreat.
• The Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor helped Xuanqi up, and Xuanqi said his cracked demonic sword could be reforged.
• At the Heavenly Demon army camp, the Demonic Emperor's Token at Ning Chen's waist blazed, and an emperor appeared.

Ning Chen entered the Witch Clan camp alone as an envoy of the Heavenly Demon Royal Clan and proposed peace talks to the ten Witch Queens. After a report revealed the Stone Clan’s defeat, he used the shifting battlefield balance to urge the Witch Queens to negotiate, warning that he did not want the Witch Clan to share the Stone Clan’s fate.

• Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor told Ning Chen that the Stone Clan had been routed and urged him to secure the outcome he wanted.
• Ning Chen dressed in his royal robe, took the Royal Staff, and approached the Witch Clan camp to request an audience with the Twelve Witch Queens.
• Dark Moon Witch Queen allowed Ning Chen to enter, and he announced that he had come to negotiate peace on behalf of the Heavenly Demon Royal Clan.
• Dark Moon Witch Queen rejected the proposal, but an urgent report arrived stating that the Stone Clan had been routed.
• Ning Chen argued that the defeat freed Heavenly Demon forces to reinforce other battlefields and urged the Witch Queens to negotiate, invoking his gratitude to Gou Huang.

Ning Chen pressured the Witch Queens into considering peace as the Heavenly Demon Clan gained the upper hand, while Xuan Que sought Demonic Emperor Kunyi’s help to free Xuan Qing from confinement. Gou Huang agreed to a temporary ceasefire and ordered a meeting with Ning Chen in seven days, leaving the peace talks unresolved.

• After news of the Stone Clan’s defeat arrived, Ning Chen shifted from persuasion to threats and urged the ten Witch Queens to accept peace talks.
• The Eight Desolations Demonic Emperor and Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor praised Ning Chen’s envoy skills and discussed his potential role in supporting Xuan Zhen.
• Xuan Que traveled to Sky-Pillar Peak, told Demonic Emperor Kunyi that Xuan Qing had been framed, and learned to invite Asura to help break the deadlock.
• Ning Chen warned the Witch Queens that the Eight Legions included powerful figures such as Asura and Deva, and the Dark Moon Witch Queen promised an answer within ten days.
• The Witch Queens summoned Gou Huang, who agreed to a temporary ceasefire and ordered Dark Moon to arrange a peace-talk meeting with Ning Chen seven days later.

Ning Chen negotiated peace with the Witch Clan while the Demonic Emperors ordered him to accept their demands and stabilize the northern front. Meanwhile, Xuan Que awakened Asura, who was commanded to return to the imperial city and rescue Crown Prince Xuan Qing.

• Ning Chen presented the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor's Token and began peace negotiations with Dark Moon Witch Queen and Witch Queen Hongxue.
• Dark Moon Witch Queen demanded that the Heavenly Demon Royal Clan promise not to invade Witch Clan territory and surrender the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Demon, including the eighth transformation.
• Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor told Ning Chen to accept the demands, and Ning Chen agreed to the Witch Queens' conditions.
• Xuan Que invoked Demonic Emperor Kunyi's decree at the Demonic Source Death Realm, awakening Asura, the Demonic Race War God.
• Asura emerged from the death realm, and Xuan Que ordered him to return to the imperial city to rescue Crown Prince Xuan Qing.

Asura, the Devil Race War God, arrived at the Three Imperial Cities to free Xuan Qing and fought the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor when he tried to stop him. Asura broke Xuan Qing’s seal, and the other Demonic Emperors ended the battle before their power could destroy the realm.

• Asura awakened in the Demonic Source Death Realm and set out with Xuan Que to rescue the Heavenly Demon Third Prince.
• The Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor blocked Asura from releasing Xuan Qing, and the two began a battle that shook the Demonic Realm.
• Asura and the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor unleashed increasingly powerful attacks, and Asura was wounded for the first time.
• Asura sent divine spears toward the Third Prince’s Manor, breaking its demonic barrier and allowing Xuan Qing to emerge.
• Asura resumed his fight with the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor until the Eight Desolations Demonic Emperor and Xuan Jiuyou intervened.
• Asura withdrew, the Demonic Emperors departed, and Xuan Que congratulated Xuan Qing on regaining his freedom.

Xuan Qing regained his freedom with Asura’s help, prompting the Seven Luminaries and Eight Desolations Demonic Emperors to plan how to restrain him. After Ning Chen returned from the northern peace talks, he learned that the emperors could not restore his cultivation and secretly confirmed their connection to the Phoenix Race’s inheritance, leaving Xuan Qing and Xuan Que under suspicion.

• Xuan Qing emerged from the shattered barrier, thanked Xuan Que for seeking help from the Farthest East, and vowed to remember Asura’s aid.
• The Seven Luminaries and Eight Desolations Demonic Emperors agreed to recall Ning Chen and try to use him to restrain Xuan Qing.
• Ning Chen received the imperial decree, learned that Asura had freed Xuan Qing, and hurried back to Three Imperial Cities with Gandharva.
• The Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor tried to restore Ning Chen’s cultivation but found that Ning Chen’s body could not retain power.
• Ning Chen asked about the Phoenix Race’s inheritance, and the Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor denied that it was within the clan while ordering him not to raise the subject again.
• After Ning Chen departed, the emperors suspected Xuan Qing or Xuan Que of leaking the inheritance’s secret and helping Asura awaken.

Ning Chen met with Xuan Que, who urged him to prepare for Xuan Qing’s return while Xuan Zhen remained trapped on the western battlefield. The Demonic Emperors decided Ning Chen should help restrain Xuan Qing and bestowed the Nine Kings Pearl on him; the chapter ended with the Messenger Envoy arriving at Ning Chen’s manor to announce a decree.

• Ning Chen received Xuan Que at the Crown Prince’s Estate and discussed the war, Xuan Qing’s release, and Xuan Zhen’s delayed return.
• Xuan Que warned Ning Chen that Xuan Qing might suspect them and regain power, and Ning Chen pretended to agree while privately judging Xuan Que’s role in the release foolish.
• Gandharva told Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor that Ning Chen had shown no suspicious behavior, and Eight Desolations Demonic Emperor agreed that he could be trusted.
• Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor and Eight Desolations Demonic Emperor ordered the Messenger Envoy to give Ning Chen the Nine Kings Pearl, placing him on equal footing with First Prince and Third Prince.
• The Messenger Envoy reached Thirteenth Prince’s Manor and called on Ning Chen to receive the decree, startling the city.

Ning Chen received the Nine Kings Pearl and displayed his sword power, drawing a challenge from Xuan Qi and reshaping the balance among the princes. The Demonic Emperors summoned him to the Heavenly Demon Ancestral Land and assigned him to find evidence identifying the culprit behind Twelfth Prince’s assassination.

• The Messenger Envoy delivered the Demonic Emperor’s decree, and Ning Chen received the Nine Kings Pearl, granting him access to King Realm-level power.
• Xuan Que and Xuan Qing reacted with alarm as Ning Chen’s new status placed him on equal footing with the leading princes.
• Ning Chen’s sword display attracted Asura, who visited Xuan Jiuyou, before Xuan Qi sent a powerful sword strike from the Southeast Territory and Ning Chen met it in the sky.
• Asura shielded Three Imperial Cities from the clash, and Ning Chen thanked Xuan Qi for the guidance before returning to his manor.
• Ning Chen recognized that the Demonic Emperors had positioned him against Xuan Qing, then visited the Heavenly Demon Ancestral Land after Xuan Jiuyou warned him to prepare for the struggle.
• Seven Luminaries Demonic Emperor tasked Ning Chen with finding evidence against the culprit who had assassinated Twelfth Prince.

After receiving the Nine Kings Pearl, Ning Chen drew the attention of powers across the Primeval Demonic Realm as he opened his manor to visitors. Yin Ji of Yinhai Ghost Prison pledged herself to him, and Beixuan Yaoxue arrived from the Third Prince’s faction, setting the stage for a rivalry between their forces.

• Yinhai Ghost Prison sent Yin Ji to offer the Thirteenth Prince an opportunity to build his power.
• Xuan Qing rejected his guards’ proposal to kill Ning Chen and sent Beixuan Yaoxue to test his intentions instead.
• Ning Chen welcomed visitors at his manor, where his revealed sword pressure stunned the arriving factions.
• Yin Ji endured Ning Chen’s sword attack and pledged her allegiance to him after he asserted that the ghost race had few other choices.
• Beixuan Yaoxue arrived at the manor, and Ning Chen introduced her to Yin Ji as a future frequent rival.

Ning Chen used the flood of factions pledging allegiance to strengthen his position, while Xuan Zhen sent a dangerous congratulatory gift that brought the princes’ rivalry into the open. When Ning Chen gripped the Mo Yuan demonic sword, it erupted and exploded.

• Yin Ji saw more than ten factions pledge allegiance to Ning Chen, who explained that they hoped to profit if he inherited the throne.
• Xuan Zhen learned that Ning Chen’s influence was growing, while Xuan Yue urged him to focus on the Sacred Domain’s attack.
• Gou Huang continued studying the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Demon, and the effort worsened the backlash against her.
• Ning Chen’s faction rapidly expanded as visitors flocked to his manor, while Xuan Qing suspected the Demonic Emperors were backing him against the other princes.
• Xuan Luo delivered the Mo Yuan demonic sword as Xuan Zhen’s congratulatory gift and challenged Ning Chen to prove he could wield it.
• Ning Chen gripped Mo Yuan, causing the sword to crack apart and explode in a devastating blast.

Ning Chen survived Xuan Luo’s attack while concealing the extent of his injuries, then sought to secure allies and time as the struggle among the princes continued. He swore to Xuan Que that he would never claim imperial authority and learned Asura might be sent to the battlefield, a prospect he strongly opposed.

• Ning Chen emerged from the demonic energy after catching the First Prince’s strike and told Xuan Luo he accepted the congratulatory gift.
• After Xuan Luo departed, Ning Chen spat blood, hid his injuries from the watching factions, and told Yin Ji he needed his own power; she left to seek Yinhai Ghost Prison’s decision.
• Ning Chen spoke with Gou Huang, promised to buy time for him to unravel the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Demon, and agreed to restrain Asura for three months.
• Ning Chen visited Xuan Que and swore he would never assume the imperial lineage’s great authority, resolving Xuan Que’s suspicions and restoring their understanding.
• Ning Chen and Xuan Que discussed Asura’s awakening and the princes’ positions, and Ning Chen reacted gravely when Xuan Que said Asura would likely be sent to the battlefield.

Ning Chen persuaded Xuan Que to use Xuan Qing to keep Asura from leaving the Demonic Source Death Realm, since Xuan Zhen could return from the western battlefield with overwhelming military prestige. Xuan Que visited Xuan Qing, whose own discussion of Asura made him realize the danger of Xuan Zhen returning victorious.

• Ning Chen explained to Xuan Que that Asura’s departure could help Xuan Zhen win on the western battlefield and return to challenge the princes in the Imperial City.
• Ning Chen asked Xuan Que to persuade Xuan Qing to keep Asura in the Demonic Source Death Realm, and Xuan Que agreed.
• Xuan Que asked why Ning Chen had no interest in the throne, and Ning Chen said he valued his bond with his siblings more than imperial power.
• Ning Chen met Xuan Mo on the street, and they acknowledged that their paths were now diverging.
• Xuan Que visited Xuan Qing and learned that the Four Xuan Guards served him and that the western war remained difficult despite the Dragonkin’s involvement.
• As Xuan Qing spoke of Asura changing the western battlefield, he realized that Xuan Zhen could return with great military achievements and become impossible to restrain.

Xuan Qing used Demonic Emperor Kunyi’s token to confine Asura to the Demonic Source Death Realm for three months, while the worsening battlefronts forced Seven Luminaries and Eight Desolations to awaken Garuda. Garuda set out for the western battlefield, where his arrival confronted the Sacred Domain’s forces as Ning Chen prepared for a decisive struggle of his own.

• Xuan Qing summoned Asura to the Demonic Source Death Realm and used the Demonic Emperor’s Token to order him not to leave for three months.
• The Messenger Envoy reported the worsening battles to Seven Luminaries and Eight Desolations, who learned that Asura had entered death seclusion and could not help.
• Seven Luminaries ordered Garuda awakened and sent to support the western battlefield, and Garuda attacked the Messenger Envoy before Seven Luminaries intervened.
• Garuda agreed to head west and vanished at extraordinary speed, while Yin Ji pledged the Yinhai Ghost Prison clan’s loyalty to Ning Chen, who gave her instructions for the coming decisive battle.
• Garuda arrived at the western battlefield, where Long Zhong recognized him and Sha Luo suspected he was the Heavenly Demon Clan’s legendary variable.

Garuda defeated and killed Dilu in the battlefield clash, giving the Heavenly Demon Clan a major victory before the Sacred Domain forces withdrew. Ning Chen considered how to draw out the remaining members of the Eight Legions, while Xuan Qing received Ning Chen at his manor, leaving their meeting poised to begin.

• Garuda arrived to join the Heavenly Demon army, and Dilu stepped forward to face him on behalf of the Sacred Domain.
• Garuda’s speed overwhelmed Dilu, who was badly wounded despite unleashing Wild Ox Strength.
• Dilu caught Garuda’s claw through his heart and used his final attack to injure Garuda before dying beneath a collapsed mountain.
• Shaluo recovered Dilu’s corpse and withdrew with Luojia as the Dragon Legion arrived; Xuan Zhen chose not to pursue them.
• Ning Chen read the battle report and resolved to force the remaining members of the Eight Legions out of hiding.
• Ning Chen visited Xuan Qing, and the two princes faced each other in the royal hall.

Ning Chen proposed that he and Xuan Qing settle their contest for the throne by racing to recruit two of the four remaining Eight Legions, while secretly planning to use the legions for his own ends. After Xuan Jiuyou revealed that a sword from the Reincarnation Sea carried the spirit of one of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, Ning Chen set out to seize it as the Plain-clothed Figure hurried toward the sea.

• Ning Chen visited Xuan Qing and proposed that they wager the throne on which of them recruited two of the remaining Eight Legions first.
• Xuan Qing consulted Dongxuan Yuting and Beixuan Yaoxue, who judged Ning Chen’s proposal reasonable given the danger of weakening themselves before the First Prince returned.
• Ning Chen returned to his manor and reflected that he intended to draw out the remaining Eight Legions so the four great royal clans could eliminate them.
• Xuan Jiuyou told Ning Chen that a sword taken from the Reincarnation Sea carried the spirit of one of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, and Ning Chen vowed to kill its bearer and take the sword.
• The Plain-clothed Figure raced toward the Reincarnation Sea, concerned that the sword spirit’s appearance in the Primeval Demonic Realm was inexplicable.

After Xuyao defeated Xiaoxiao and Wan'er with the Immortal Severance Sword, Ning Chen arrived in time to shield them, but Star Soul shattered under Xuyao's attack. Ning Chen recognized the sword and prepared to face Xuyao, while Xiaoxiao and Wan'er withdrew and the battle's killing intent continued to build.

• Xuyao fought Xiaoxiao and Wan'er at the Reincarnation Sea, using the Immortal Severance Sword and forbidden techniques to gain the advantage.
• Ning Chen arrived as Xuyao launched a decisive strike at the two sisters and blocked it with Star Soul, which shattered.
• Xuyao challenged Ning Chen, and Xiaoxiao took Wan'er away from the battlefield despite her anger toward him.
• Ning Chen recognized Xuyao's weapon as the legendary Immortal Severance Sword and recalled its reputation among the four immortal swords.
• Ning Chen and Xuyao prepared to fight as Xiaoxiao secretly gathered Demonic Essence and the danger around the battlefield mounted.