Chapter Summaries

After returning to Sitting Oblivion Forest, Jiang Yuechu spent much of her Dao Cultivation improving the Chess-Condensing Method and used Lu Bancheng’s Jade Talisman to condense her third Dao Chess Piece. The new piece became Spirit-Grade after absorbing two Wolf Demons, though it rejected the Black-Haired Wild Boar; Jiang Yuechu then turned to the journey’s greatest remaining gain.

• Chen Yuan divided the trial merits among the group and returned Jiang Yuechu’s identity token, promising to report any trouble from Wusang Sect.
• Jiang Yuechu returned to Sitting Oblivion Forest and used over six hundred thousand years of Dao Cultivation to condense the Black-Haired Wild Boar into a Demon Form.
• Jiang Yuechu spent 4.3 million years of Dao Cultivation to raise the Prison-Suppressing Evil-Subduing Chess-Condensing Chapter to Proficient mastery.
• Jiang Yuechu used the Jade Talisman as Dao-Integration Material to condense a Treasure-Grade Dao Chess Piece, triggering a powerful heavenly phenomenon.
• Jiang Yuechu inserted the two Wolf Demons into the new piece, raising it to Spirit-Grade, but the piece rejected the Black-Haired Wild Boar.
• Jiang Yuechu put away the Central Palace and prepared to examine the greatest gain from her journey.

Jiang Yuechu learned the Palm Blood Technique and headed to the Azure Boundary Sect to visit the Five-Qi Treasure Land, where she discovered the sect was mobilizing over the Cloud Dream Palace’s early entry into the Immortal God Grotto-Abode. True Lord Ling Han revealed the grotto-abode might contain a Fragmented Dao Painting.

• Jiang Yuechu spent 4,589,322 years of Dao Cultivation to advance the Palm Blood Technique to Entry, leaving her with 80,101 years remaining.
• Jiang Yuechu decided to visit the Five-Qi Treasure Land and use her merit points to try to condense a fourth Dao Chess Piece.
• Jiang Yuechu arrived at the Azure Boundary Sect’s Deacon Hall and saw Deacons rushing toward the main peak amid a crisis.
• True Lord Ling Han told Jiang Yuechu that the Cloud Dream Palace had entered the Immortal God Grotto-Abode ahead of schedule.
• True Lord Ling Han explained that the grotto-abode was unusual and had an eighty percent chance of containing a Fragmented Dao Painting.

Three demons from Cloud Dream Palace destroyed the Golden Bodies defending Horse-Drinking River and prepared to search for the Dao Painting before the human Dao Sects arrived. A white-robed man emerged from a vast red mist as the demons turned to face him.

• The six remaining Demon Saints and the other demons on Horse-Drinking River cowered as a battle shook the island.
• The three demons from Cloud Dream Palace overwhelmed the Golden Bodies, which stopped reforming after the last one was destroyed.
• The leading demon ordered the others to find the Dao Painting before the realm opened fully and the human Dao Sects arrived.
• The demons decided to draw out the Dao Painting’s holder rather than search for it themselves.
• A white-robed man stepped out of thousands of red clouds, and the leading demon prepared to confront him.

Mo Qianxun confronted the three Great Demons of Cloud Dream Palace to protect the Dao Painting, while True Lord Ling Han explained to Jiang Yuechu that Painting Realm cultivators could claim worlds and slaughter their inhabitants. Jiang Yuechu realized the demons were likely pursuing the Dao Painting in the world of Great Tang, leaving its people in grave danger.

• The Fierce Tiger Demon dismissed the white-robed Mo Qianxun as a weak Second Rank Chess-Player, but Mo Qianxun ignited the red mist and attacked the three demons with a sea of fire.
• True Lord Ling Han explained to Jiang Yuechu that a Dao Painting enabled a cultivator to enter the Painting Realm and rule a World Within a Painting.
• True Lord Ling Han revealed that most Painting Realm cultivators slaughtered the billions living in their worlds to preserve their own strength.
• Jiang Yuechu connected the revelation to the Second Young Master of the Southern Immortal Palace and realized he likely sought the Dao Painting in the world of Great Tang.

Jiang Yuechu resolved to confront the demons threatening the world rather than remain safely in the Azure Boundary Sect. At Hundred Flower Valley, the sect master learned that the Immortal God Grotto-Abode would open in one day and hinted that her disciples could enter ahead of time.

• Jiang Yuechu recalled her past battles and decided to show Cloud Dream Haven that Great Tang could not be threatened.
• Cultivators from various sects arrived at Hundred Flower Valley, but their sect masters stayed away because they distrusted the valley.
• Elder Yunxing told the Hundred Flower Sect Master that the other sect masters had not come, and she accepted their absence.
• Yun Shang reported that the barrier around the Grotto-Abode was weakening and that it would fully open in one day.
• The Hundred Flower Sect Master ordered Yunxing to warn the visiting disciples and Yun Shang to summon the selected disciples, hinting that they could enter the Grotto-Abode early.

Jiang Yuechu traveled with the Azure Boundary Sect toward the Immortal God Grotto-Abode, where True Lord Ling Han warned the disciples about its dangers and Cloud Dream Palace. Elsewhere, the Heavenly Water Qilin ordered Cloud Dream Palace’s demons to search for the Dao Painting and begin slaughtering the world.

• Jiang Yuechu met Lin Feiyan and her fellow disciple aboard the flying vessel bound for the Immortal God Grotto-Abode.
• True Lord Ling Han advised the disciples to seek Dao-Integration Materials or Spirit Techniques, avoid risking their lives for a Dao Painting, and flee if they could not defeat Cloud Dream Palace’s forces.
• The Fierce Tiger Demon tortured the captured Mo Qianxun for the Dao Painting, but he refused to reveal its location.
• The Heavenly Water Qilin stopped the Fierce Tiger Demon and declared that Cloud Dream Palace would search for the Dao Painting themselves and slaughter the world once their powerhouses entered the Painting Realm.
• The Heavenly Water Qilin looked east and ordered the demons to begin their search immediately.

Lin Feiyan, Jiang Yuechu, and the Azure Boundary Sect arrived at Hundred Flower Valley ahead of the Immortal God Grotto-Abode’s opening. True Lord Ling Han again tried to persuade Jiang Yuechu to become a direct disciple, while the group settled for camping outside the valley’s World Within a Painting.

• Lin Feiyan admired Hundred Flower Valley’s flowers as the flying ship descended, while True Lord Ling Han explained the valley’s strengths to Jiang Yuechu and urged her to join the Azure Boundary Sect as a direct disciple.
• Jiang Yuechu gave True Lord Ling Han a noncommittal reply, and he decided to wait for her to recognize the benefits of joining the sect.
• The Azure Boundary Sect’s flying ship landed outside Hundred Flower Valley, where a peach-robed steward greeted the group and identified True Lord Lingxu.
• The steward explained that the Immortal God Grotto-Abode had drawn the Nine Great Dao Sects and many Rogue Cultivators, so Hundred Flower Valley could not let visitors into its World Within a Painting.
• Elder Lingxu accepted the restriction and agreed that the Azure Boundary Sect would camp outside the valley.

Lin Feiyan reunited with True Lord Jingshui as the Azure Boundary Sect learned the Immortal God Grotto-Abode might open the next morning. In Great Tang, the Incense Path collapsed and the True Lord's Golden Body vanished, leaving the court awaiting news of whether the Lu Family's young master had been invited.

• Lin Feiyan hurried to greet True Lord Jingshui and her Eldest Senior Brother when the Azure Boundary Sect group reached the mountain peak.
• True Lord Jingshui told Elder Lingxu that the Immortal God Grotto-Abode's restrictions were weakening and its opening might move to the next morning.
• True Lord Lingxu reassured the anxious disciples that they should flee any Great Demon they could not defeat, and the Azure Boundary Sect disciples vowed not to fail the sect.
• Great Tang martial artists lost most of their Incense Path cultivation and found the True Lord Temples empty, with the Grand Princess's Golden Body gone.
• At the Imperial City, the emperor rose to ask four returning demons whether they had managed to invite the Lu Family's young master.

Lu Changfeng reassured Great Tang’s court that Jiang Yuechu was still alive after her Golden Bodies vanished, though he began to explain possible causes. In Hundred Flower Valley, the sect master sent dozens of disciples to delay Cloud Dream Palace’s demons, even at the cost of their lives.

• The emperor hurried outside to meet Lu Changfeng after Old Red Flood Dragon admitted he had left him waiting outside the hall.
• Lu Changfeng told the emperor that Great Tang’s incense cultivators had lost cultivation but remained alive, indicating Jiang Yuechu had not fallen.
• Lu Changfeng said Jiang Yuechu may have deliberately severed her incense connection or that another cause was responsible.
• The Hundred Flower Sect Master ordered her disciples to find and hold off the demons from Cloud Dream Palace, even if it cost them their lives.
• The Hundred Flower disciples accepted the order, bowed farewell to their sect, and followed their master toward the Immortal God Grotto-Abode while Yun Shang watched them leave.

After Jiang Yuechu's Golden Body vanished, the emperor ordered Great Tang to prepare for an unknown catastrophe, while Lu Changfeng secretly sent a message toward Phoenix Perch Mountain. As Chang'an kept watch outside the True Lord Temple, purple mist and three immense black silhouettes appeared over the city.

• Lu Changfeng told the emperor that Jiang Yuechu's Golden Body might have destroyed itself while averting a disaster, and the officials reported no signs of danger across Great Tang.
• The emperor ordered an investigation, nationwide martial law, closed gates, and the border troops to prepare for battle.
• Lu Changfeng withheld what Old Red Flood Dragon had told him about Jiang Yuechu leaving Great Tang, then sent a hidden message to Phoenix Perch Mountain with an ancient talisman.
• Cui Yuan stood guard outside the empty True Lord Temple in Chang'an and recalled Jiang Yuechu's rise from a young martial artist to a deity worshipped by the people.
• Purple mist covered the moon above Chang'an, and three enormous black silhouettes formed within it and looked down at the city.

Three Great Demons descended on Chang’an City, and Great Tang’s strongest fighters failed to stop them. The Heavenly Water Qilin found no trace of a Dao Painting and called off the search, while the Grand Princess remained absent.

• Cui Yuan saw the demons looming over Chang’an and realized the city was under attack.
• Great Tang’s High Ancestor and Bai Yulou gathered more than ten powerful fighters, including reserves secretly strengthened by Cauldron Sect’s Realm-Breaking Pills.
• High Ancestor tried to question the demons, but the Fierce Tiger Demon rejected negotiation, so Great Tang’s fighters launched their strongest attacks.
• The Fierce Tiger Demon shattered their Qi and sent them crashing toward Chang’an, leaving the citizens longing for the absent Grand Princess.
• The Heavenly Water Qilin said there was no trace of a Dao Painting and decided to leave, while the Fierce Tiger Demon complained that they had only just arrived.

Heavenly Water Qilin and the other Cloud Dream Palace demons confronted the arriving Hundred Flower Valley disciples, whose deadly array nearly killed Fierce Tiger Demon. Heavenly Water Qilin intervened at the last moment, killing the disciples and declaring itself the humans’ Heaven.

• Dozens of Hundred Flower Valley disciples arrived through the purple mist and attacked the demons with a peach-red spike.
• Heavenly Water Qilin broke the spike with one claw, while Fierce Tiger Demon and Black Bird Demon summoned their Demon Palace phantoms.
• Fierce Tiger Demon charged the disciples, but their sixteen-stance array wounded and overwhelmed it.
• The disciples united their stances into a blood-red flower and trapped Fierce Tiger Demon as it called for help.
• Heavenly Water Qilin shattered the blood flower with one hand, killing the sixteen disciples, then asked how mortal humans dared look upon their Heaven.

The people of Great Tang and their allies rallied against Heavenly Water Qilin, despite knowing they were outmatched. As they charged, Heavenly Water Qilin unleashed a colossal palm strike that descended from the sky.

• The surviving disciples of Hundred Flower Valley formed an array and attacked Heavenly Water Qilin, while Great Tang's High Ancestor lamented that his people could only watch others die for them.
• Old Red Flood Dragon, Niu Ben, Hu Cuihua, Demon Emperor Juechen, Lu Changfeng, Zhou Xuan, and Cauldron Sect cultivators gathered before the High Ancestor to fight for Great Tang.
• The High Ancestor rallied the assembled defenders, and they charged toward the heavens with every remaining force Great Tang could muster.
• Heavenly Water Qilin gathered the purple qi into his palm and brought down a massive purple-gold strike against the charging defenders.

Lin Feiyan invited Jiang Yuechu to secretly scout the Immortal God Grotto-Abode before it opened, and Jiang Yuechu agreed to accompany her. They reached the edge of the barren mountains hiding its entrance, where Lin Feiyan warned that powerful cultivators and demons were watching from the shadows.

• Jiang Yuechu reflected on her life of killing while resting alone in Hundred Flower Valley.
• Lin Feiyan visited Jiang Yuechu and claimed she had come for a nighttime walk, then revealed she had overheard the Grotto-Abode’s location.
• Lin Feiyan proposed that she and Jiang Yuechu sneak out to inspect the Grotto-Abode’s outskirts, and Jiang Yuechu agreed to follow her.
• Jiang Yuechu and Lin Feiyan traveled hundreds of li from their camp and reached the desolate mountains near the Grotto-Abode.
• Lin Feiyan stopped Jiang Yuechu at the mountain’s edge and warned that powerful demons and cultivators watched the hidden entrance.

Jiang Yuechu abruptly left Lin Feiyan and flew toward the Immortal God Grotto-Abode, while Chang'an's defenders lay devastated beneath the Heavenly Water Qilin's attack. As the demons watched the city’s desperate resistance, a brilliant golden light and a towering blood-red-and-black Central Palace arrived.

• Jiang Yuechu sensed something, told Lin Feiyan to return alone, and flew toward the Immortal God Grotto-Abode.
• Lin Feiyan rushed back to the Azure Boundary Sect's encampment, realizing she had to report that Jiang Yuechu had charged into enemy territory.
• Lu Changfeng, Old Red Flood Dragon, Hu Cuihua, and the wounded Niu Ben lay amid Chang'an's ruins after the Heavenly Water Qilin's attack.
• The Heavenly Water Qilin watched the defenders continue to resist, while Fierce Tiger Demon and Black Bird Demon observed him.
• A brilliant golden light surged into the sky, accompanied by a towering blood-red-and-black Central Palace.

Jiang Yuechu arrived in Chang'an as the Grand Princess, giving its people hope, and attacked the wounded Fierce Tiger Demon. She wounded it with Li Fire and extreme cold, but the Heavenly Water Qilin and Black Bird Demon remained threats.

• Cui Yuan recognized the arriving Great Demon as Jiang Yuechu, and Chang'an’s people knelt in hope.
• The Heavenly Water Qilin watched as Jiang Yuechu charged the Fierce Tiger Demon with her Crimson Fire Sword.
• The Black Bird Demon struck Jiang Yuechu from behind, but she used the blow’s force to drive her sword deeper and stab the Fierce Tiger Demon with extreme cold.
• The Fierce Tiger Demon summoned armor from the Demon Palace and retreated, badly wounded and unsettled by the Heavenly Water Qilin’s mocking gaze.

Jiang Yuechu defeated and killed the Fierce Tiger Demon, but the Heavenly Water Qilin, the Black Bird Demon, and the overwhelming Purple-Robed Man remained. As Chang'an celebrated, Lu Changfeng wondered whether she could defeat the rest.

• The Fierce Tiger Demon rejected the Black Bird Demon's aid and challenged Jiang Yuechu to prove his worth, while the Heavenly Water Qilin watched.
• Jiang Yuechu drew the Ten Directions Mountain and River Staff and traded heavy blows with the wounded Fierce Tiger Demon.
• Jiang Yuechu let the demon's spear graze her cheek, then struck his chest with a Spirit Technique and crushed his head with her staff.
• Jiang Yuechu gained 3,359,425 years of Dao Cultivation as the Fierce Tiger Demon's body crashed outside Chang'an, prompting cheers from the city's people.
• Lu Changfeng and the martial artists remained anxious about the surviving demons and Purple-Robed Man, and Lu Changfeng wondered whether Jiang Yuechu could still win.

Jiang Yuechu had slain the eighth-rank Fierce Tiger Demon despite being only a third-rank Chess-Player, earning the Heavenly Water Qilin’s respect but not his understanding of her loyalty to humans. After she refused to abandon those she protected, he prepared to fight, threatening that his clan would slaughter them if he died.

• The Heavenly Water Qilin recognized that Jiang Yuechu’s victory over the Fierce Tiger Demon was an unprecedented feat and asked why she risked her life for humans he considered ants.
• Jiang Yuechu recalled the people who had helped and cared for her, including Wei He, Wei Qing, Zhao Zhongliu, the Imperial High Ancestor, and the emperor-brother.
• The Heavenly Water Qilin dismissed her loyalty as youthful fervor and questioned why she had not outgrown it.
• Seeing Jiang Yuechu silently ready herself to continue fighting, the Heavenly Water Qilin revealed his scarred body and declared that Cloud Dream prodigies earned their standing through slaughter.
• The Heavenly Water Qilin summoned his two Immortal-Grade Dao Chess Pieces and a Dragon Scale Spear, warned that his clan would kill the humans if he fell, and claimed Jiang Yuechu could not defeat him.

Jiang Yuechu fought Heavenly Water Qilin as he unleashed an Immortal God's spear art and then drew on his remaining Dao Chess Pieces to attack with the Heaven One Divine Hand. After Jiang Yuechu briefly gained the upper hand, Heavenly Water Qilin’s next strike descended over Chang'an, leaving the watching humans’ hopes shattered.

• Heavenly Water Qilin infused himself with an Immortal-Grade Dao Chess Piece and attacked Jiang Yuechu with the Eight Spears of Demon Defeat.
• Jiang Yuechu caught the Dragon Scale Spear in her wounded hand, corroded it with blood-red light, and struck Heavenly Water Qilin’s chest with her other palm.
• Jiang Yuechu realized her attack had gained only a slight advantage and decided she needed to end the fight quickly.
• Heavenly Water Qilin summoned the seven remaining Dao Chess Pieces, formed full Purple Gold Armor, and unleashed the Heaven One Divine Hand.
• The Azure Dragon Profound Image crashed down toward Jiang Yuechu as the people of Chang'an lost hope and Black Bird Demon trembled at the sight.

Jiang Yuechu unleashed her accumulated Dao Cultivation and defeated Heavenly Water Qilin despite his overwhelming strength, then killed Black Bird Demon as he tried to flee. All three Great Demons of Cloud Dream Palace were dead.

• Jiang Yuechu summoned ancient talismans to halt Heavenly Water Qilin’s Heaven One Divine Hand and charged toward him.
• Jiang Yuechu struck Heavenly Water Qilin with a blood-red palm, pierced his chest, and shattered his body.
• Black Bird Demon tried to flee, but Jiang Yuechu caught up and killed him with another blood-red strike.
• With Heavenly Water Qilin and Black Bird Demon slain, all three Great Demons of Cloud Dream Palace had been killed.