Chapter Summaries

Ning Xiaochuan tested his Demon Sword, then announced his intention to strike the Heaven Extinction Path before leaving White Dragon City. Ji Hanxing returned to camp and persuaded Xiao Cheng to let her hunt Ning Xiaochuan, while Ning Xiaochuan’s birthday gifts left Mu Honglai furious.

• Ning Xiaochuan used two strands of World Extinction Qi to restrain the Demon Sword, but its killing intent forced him to put it away before he could subdue it.
• Ji Hanxing recovered, advanced to the seventh level of the Worldly Detachment Realm, and parted from Ning Xiaochuan, who said he would visit Mu Honglai’s eightieth-birthday celebration.
• At the military camp, Xiao Cheng revealed that he had come to kill Ning Xiaochuan and seize the Northern Darkness Divine Art, then asked Ji Hanxing to marry him.
• Ji Hanxing offered to take charge of finding and killing Ning Xiaochuan, and Xiao Cheng agreed to yield the task to her.
• At Mu Honglai’s birthday banquet, guests found Ku Gu’s and Mu Qingcong’s heads with a note from Ning Xiaochuan, and Mu Honglai reacted with fury.

Ning Xiaochuan provoked Mu Honglai into leading his forces to Chou Wangu’s mansion, igniting a battle across White Emperor City. He fled toward Nine Deaths Cliff despite Ji Hanxing’s warning, while Ji Hanxing turned against Xiao Cheng as he prepared to pursue him.

• Mu Honglai used the Thousand Mile Two-Headed Hound to track Ning Xiaochuan’s scent to Chou Wangu’s mansion and demanded that Chou Wangu hand him over.
• Mu Honglai and Chou Wangu’s forces clashed, and the fighting spread across White Emperor City as the two Martial Venerables entered a Different Dimension to battle.
• Ning Xiaochuan revealed that he had used the heads of Ku Gu and Mu Gongzi to provoke Mu Honglai and spark the conflict, then escaped the city on the Tai Sui Beast.
• Ji Hanxing warned Ning Xiaochuan not to go to Nine Deaths Cliff, but he ignored her and flew onward.
• Xiao Cheng appeared and prepared to pursue Ning Xiaochuan on a Scorpion Lion, but Ji Hanxing attacked him with her Dragon Elephant Halberd Spear.

Ji Hanxing fought Xiao Cheng outside White Dragon City but was defeated, while Ning Xiaochuan learned that Ninth Lady had taken control of the Heaven Extinction Path. Disguised as a Heart Nourisher, he joined a merchant guild bound for the Mo Ling Region and discovered it was guarding a mysterious iron cart; Duanmu Ling'er then revealed she had seen a creature that ate human hearts.

• Xiao Cheng defeated Ji Hanxing with the Primal Silver Ring and flew away on the Scorpion Lion, threatening to kill Ning Xiaochuan.
• Ning Xiaochuan learned in Five Willow Town that Ninth Lady had killed Chou Wangu, seized control of White Dragon City, and badly wounded Mu Honglai.
• Ning Xiaochuan paid Gu Liu to help him join a merchant guild traveling to the Mo Ling Region, posing as an Elementary Heart Nourisher named Ding Xiao San.
• Ning Xiaochuan noticed the merchant guild's strict discipline and hidden Worldly Detachment Realm experts, then suspected its true cargo was inside a sealed iron cart.
• Duanmu Ling'er asked Ning Xiaochuan about creatures that eat human hearts and claimed she had seen one herself.

Ning Xiaochuan traveled with the Demon Sect caravan through the Mo Sha Te Desert as a sealed iron carriage began behaving ominously and the travelers fell victim to a mysterious affliction. As the caravan prepared to burn the afflicted, Ning Xiaochuan examined a little girl and identified Yin Malice and Corpse Poison as the cause.

• Duanmu Ling'er offered Ning Xiaochuan a better cultivation method if he joined the Demon Sect, but a dead body inside the iron carriage began making strange sounds before the caravan departed.
• As the caravan crossed the Mo Sha Te Desert, martial artists fell unconscious or went mad, growing fangs and claws and attacking their companions.
• Cao Baldy warned Ning Xiaochuan that the caravan might not escape the desert, while the Demon Sect prepared to burn the afflicted to prevent the contagion from spreading.
• Ning Xiaochuan entered the guarded area and examined a little girl despite warnings that he might be tainted.
• Ning Xiaochuan diagnosed the afflicted with Yin Malice and Corpse Poison, surprising Elder Lin, Situ Altar Lord, and Duanmu Ling'er.

Ning Xiaochuan secretly used the Demon Sword and a medicinal soup to cure the caravan members afflicted by Yin Fiend and Corpse Poison, earning the Demon Sect’s gratitude. The caravan reached Celestial Ancient City, where its leaders reported to the Demon Sect Saintess about the coffin carrying Shang Pojun’s body.

• Ning Xiaochuan treated the infected caravan members with medicinal soup and secretly absorbed their Yin Fiend using the Demon Sword.
• The infected martial artists recovered, and Elder Lin and Situ Altar Lord invited Ning Xiaochuan to join them, but he postponed deciding until the crisis had passed.
• Ning Xiaochuan learned that the iron carriage carried Shang Pojun’s corpse and that Duanmu Ling'er was the Life-Forfeiting Ghost Envoy serving the Demon Sect Saintess.
• The caravan arrived at Celestial Ancient City and entered the manor where the Demon Sect Saintess was staying.
• Duanmu Ling'er, Elder Lin, and Situ Altar Lord knelt before the veiled Saintess, who asked whether the coffin had been delivered.

Ning Xiaochuan searched unsuccessfully for the medicine needed to refine a Worldly Detachment Pill, then encountered Zi Zhui'er and Xiao Cheng in Celestial Ancient City. Xiao Cheng slaughtered the Fox Immortal Path experts who came to defend Zi Zhui'er and demanded that Ning Xiaochuan surrender the Northern Darkness Divine Art.

• Duanmu Ling'er reported strange phenomena surrounding the Iron Coffin, and the Demon Sect Saintess ordered it taken to Nine Deaths Cliff the next day.
• Ning Xiaochuan failed to find Worldly Detachment Pine Bark at several Heart Nourishing Halls in Celestial Ancient City.
• Zi Zhui'er caught up with Ning Xiaochuan and told him that rumors linked him to the Ruthless Ghost Envoy's death.
• Ning Xiaochuan sensed Xiao Cheng's killing intent and confronted him at a wine stall.
• Xiao Cheng seized Zi Zhui'er by the throat, but Ning Xiaochuan cut through the hand seal and freed her.
• Xiao Cheng killed more than thirty Fox Immortal Path experts and demanded that Ning Xiaochuan hand over the Northern Darkness Divine Art.

Ning Xiaochuan survived Xiao Cheng’s attack after the Demon Sect Saintess intervened, then joined her party on the journey to Nine Deaths Cliff. As Zi Zhui'er traveled beside him, Ning Xiaochuan rejected her marriage hopes while thinking of Yu Ningsheng.

• Xiao Cheng slaughtered the Fox Immortal Path experts, but the Demon Sect Saintess struck him with a powerful palm and forced him to flee on his Scorpion Lion.
• Zi Zhui'er concealed Ning Xiaochuan’s identity by claiming Xiao Cheng attacked her, and Duanmu Ling'er invited them both to travel to Nine Deaths Cliff.
• The Demon Sect Saintess played her zither, sending the spectacle of Ten Thousand Dragons Soaring across Celestial Ancient City, while Ning Xiaochuan admired her cultivation and wondered where Yu Ningsheng was.
• After heavy snow fell, Ning Xiaochuan and Zi Zhui'er set out with the reduced caravan escorting the Iron Coffin.
• Ning Xiaochuan told Zi Zhui'er that he could never marry her because he served the imperial court and she belonged to the Demon Sect, but Zi Zhui'er defended the possibility of their love.

Ning Xiaochuan learned more about the Demon Emperor’s conflict with his daughter and traveled with Zi Zhui'er toward Nine Deaths Cliff for the Demonic Sect Assembly. When the Iron Coffin unleashed Yin Fiend Spirits, Duanmu Ling'er destroyed them, and Liu Canyang stepped forward claiming his Yin Season Pill could save the afflicted.

• Zi Zhui'er told Ning Xiaochuan that the previous Demon Sect Saintess and her Little Marquis husband were sentenced to death eleven years ago, after which the Demon Emperor barred Demon Sect members from entering the Imperial City.
• Zi Zhui'er explained that Demon Sect experts would gather at Nine Deaths Cliff for a significant Demonic Sect Assembly, and she said the current Holy Maiden had Once in Three Millennia talent.
• The Iron Coffin shook violently, and the Demon Sect Saintess used a purple cauldron to suppress its Yin Qi.
• Yin Fiend Spirits escaped the Iron Coffin and possessed dozens of people, while Ning Xiaochuan protected Zi Zhui'er with Cloudglow Return Essence Qi.
• Duanmu Ling'er summoned more than a hundred lightning bolts and destroyed the Yin Fiend Spirits; Elder Lin then reported that fifty-six people had been afflicted.
• Liu Canyang criticized the plan to brew Mysterious Medicine and claimed his Yin Season Pill could drive out the Yin Fiend Qi.

Ning Xiaochuan used the Demon Sword to extract Yin Fiend Spirits from afflicted martial artists, disguising his power as a technique called the Heart Nourishing Miracle Hand Technique. He treated eight of fifty-five victims, while Duanmu Ling'er grew suspicious of his claims and decided to wait until he had finished helping them.

• After the Demon Sect Saintess's Intermediate Heart Nourisher was invaded by a Yin Fiend Spirit, Situ Altar Lord summoned Ning Xiaochuan to treat the victims.
• Ning Xiaochuan claimed that his master had taught him the ancient Heart Nourishing Miracle Hand Technique and used the Demon Sword to extract Liu Canyang's Yin Fiend Spirit.
• Ning Xiaochuan extracted and refined the spirits from a second victim, and the convoy continued its journey with him treating the afflicted martial artists.
• Over the course of a day, Ning Xiaochuan treated eight of the fifty-five victims and absorbed the energy of their Yin Fiend Spirits.
• Duanmu Ling'er questioned Liu Canyang about Ning Xiaochuan's technique, and Liu Canyang said Ning Xiaochuan was lying and should be seized.
• Duanmu Ling'er refused to interrupt Ning Xiaochuan while he was saving people and decided to hear his explanation after he had treated everyone.

As Ning Xiaochuan tried to break through to the second level of the Worldly Detachment Realm, Duanmu Ling'er and Elder Lin discovered his identity and confronted him. Xiao Cheng killed Elder Lin and appeared, leaving Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Ling'er facing him in the desert.

• After absorbing the Yin Fiend Spirits of fifty-five martial artists, Ning Xiaochuan slipped out of the relay station to break through in the desert.
• Duanmu Ling'er and Elder Lin followed Ning Xiaochuan and demanded to know his identity, so he revealed that he was Ning Xiaochuan.
• Duanmu Ling'er attacked Ning Xiaochuan while he was breaking through, but his divine powers and defenses kept her from stopping him.
• Duanmu Ling'er breached Ning Xiaochuan's shield and struck at him, but his Myriad Swords Turn to Rain forced her to retreat with her robe in tatters.
• As Elder Lin prepared to join Duanmu Ling'er against Ning Xiaochuan, Xiao Cheng ambushed and killed him.
• Xiao Cheng confronted Ning Xiaochuan and claimed that staying alive was what mattered, while Ning Xiaochuan continued pushing toward his breakthrough.

Ning Xiaochuan broke through to the second level of the Worldly Detachment Realm and fought Xiao Cheng long enough to escape with Duanmu Ling'er. At the Frontier Town, they discovered Shang Pojun's corpse had escaped and Xiao Cheng confronted them again, leaving Ning Xiaochuan and Xiao Cheng poised to clash.

• Xiao Cheng revealed that Duanmu Ling'er was Ning Xiaochuan's cousin, then demanded the Northern Darkness Divine Art and used the Primal Silver Ring to capture her.
• Ning Xiaochuan shed his second layer of mortal skin, reached the second level of the Worldly Detachment Realm, and fought Xiao Cheng with his divine abilities.
• Ning Xiaochuan suppressed Xiao Cheng with the World Extinction Divine Monument, then escaped with Duanmu Ling'er toward the Frontier Town.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Ling'er found the relay station deserted and bloodied, and the dying Situ Altar Lord told them Shang Pojun's corpse had turned evil and escaped.
• Xiao Cheng caught up with them and again demanded the Northern Darkness Divine Art, while Ning Xiaochuan transformed into a Lightning Divine Beast and charged at him.

Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Ling'er fled Xiao Cheng into the Mo Sha Te Desert, where Ning Xiaochuan cultivated Dragon Tiger Profound Qi. After a powerful breakthrough exposed a buried ancient tree, he discovered the Worldly Detachment Pine.

• Ning Xiaochuan crushed a Thousand Year Time Sleep Pill to make Xiao Cheng retreat, then escaped with Duanmu Ling'er on the Tai Sui Beast.
• Ning Xiaochuan rejected Duanmu Ling'er's plan to flee to Nine Deaths Cliff and led her toward the Mo Sha Te Desert instead.
• After two days in the desert, Ning Xiaochuan explained the grades of profound qi and revealed his first strand of Dragon Tiger Profound Qi.
• Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Ling'er traveled through the desert for ten days while he cultivated and charged her for Grain Avoidance Grass.
• Ning Xiaochuan unleashed Dragon Tiger Profound Qi to destroy a sand dune, uncovering a buried ancient tree.
• Ning Xiaochuan recognized the tree as the Worldly Detachment Pine.

Ning Xiaochuan found a Worldly Detachment Pine and began refining its bark into Worldly Detachment Pills, but the pill fragrance drew the Mystic Beast God-Slaying Battalion to him and Duanmu Ling'er. The battalion’s commander, Yan Lingfeng, demanded the Northern Darkness Divine Art and ordered Ning Xiaochuan to die, while thirty-eight soldiers aimed their God-Shooting Crossbows at him.

• Ning Xiaochuan refused Duanmu Ling'er a share of the Worldly Detachment Pine, then summoned his Heart Nourishing True Cauldron to refine Worldly Detachment Pills.
• Duanmu Ling'er learned that Ning Xiaochuan could summon a Heart Nourishing True Cauldron and asked how much he would charge for the pills.
• Ning Xiaochuan sensed approaching hoofbeats and realized that the pill fragrance had drawn a group of black, armored Mystic Beasts.
• Ning Xiaochuan identified the creatures as the Mystic Beast God-Slaying Battalion, and Yan Lingfeng transformed from a violent ape into a man and identified himself as its Hundred Banner Governor.
• Yan Lingfeng demanded the Northern Darkness Divine Art and told Ning Xiaochuan to take his own life, claiming the Holy Emperor wanted him dead.
• All thirty-eight God-Slaying Battalion soldiers drew their God-Shooting Crossbows and aimed at Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan fought the God-Slaying Battalion after its soldiers attacked him with forbidden military artifacts, killing one soldier and driving off two others. With Duanmu Ling'er escaped underground, he remained behind to defend the Worldly Detachment Pine and continued attacking the battalion.

• Yan Lingfeng ordered the God-Slaying Battalion to fire its thirty-eight God-Shooting Crossbows, and Ning Xiaochuan dodged the bolts with Seven-Colored Shift before using the Two-Headed Stone Beast as a shield.
• Ning Xiaochuan battled a God-Slaying Battalion soldier, broke through his armor, and killed him after he transformed into a Rhino Horn Beast.
• Yan Lingfeng ordered the remaining thirty-seven soldiers to attack, and Ning Xiaochuan sent Duanmu Ling'er away on the Tai Sui Beast while he stayed to protect the Worldly Detachment Pine.
• Ning Xiaochuan struck at the soldiers with the Dragon-Slaying Blade, then used the World Extinction Divine Monument to kill one of three pursuing Mystic Beast pythons and wound the other two.
• The two wounded pythons transformed into black-clad men and burrowed underground, and Ning Xiaochuan pursued them.

Ning Xiaochuan resisted the Heavenly Emperor Blade’s temptation and unleashed the Demon Sword, turning the battle against the God-Slaying Battalion into a thousand-li pursuit that left its soldiers dead. The next day, Duanmu Ling’er and her companions found him gravely wounded but alive among the corpses, and the Fox Immortal Path Lord sensed that he had awakened.

• Ning Xiaochuan endured severe wounds and absorbed a God-Slaying Battalion soldier’s blood and mystic qi to stabilize himself.
• Ning Xiaochuan formed a third strand of World Extinction Qi, summoned the Demon Sword, and killed more soldiers as Yan Lingfeng ordered a retreat.
• Ning Xiaochuan pursued the fleeing God-Slaying Battalion through the desert, killing its soldiers and staining the sand with blood.
• Duanmu Ling’er, Duanmu Linye, Zi Zhui’er, and the Fox Immortal Path Lord followed the battle’s traces and found Ning Xiaochuan amid the corpses twelve hundred li away.
• Duanmu Ling’er confirmed Ning Xiaochuan was alive, and Zi Zhui’er tried to help him before the Fox Immortal Path Lord sensed that he had awakened.

Ning Xiaochuan was seized by Duanmu Ling'er after the Demon Sword’s backlash left him gravely injured, while Duanmu Linye and the Fox Immortal Path Lord tracked the Demon Sect Saintess to Celestial Ancient City. There they fought Shang Pojun’s transformed corpse, which overpowered them and continued its rampage.

• Ning Xiaochuan refused to go with the Demon Sect, but Duanmu Ling'er took him away while Zi Zhui'er helped control his injuries.
• Duanmu Linye tracked the Demon Sect Saintess toward the east, and the Fox Immortal Path Lord followed him as Ning Xiaochuan refined his killing intent into a sixth strand of World Extinction Qi and began recovering.
• At Celestial Ancient City, Shang Pojun’s corpse attacked the injured Demon Sect Saintess and tore through the city.
• Duanmu Linye struck Shang Pojun with the Corpse Suppression Bell, but the corpse broke free and wounded him; the Fox Immortal Path Lord then joined the fight with her Azure Jade Fan.
• Shang Pojun’s corpse defeated both Martial Venerables, shattered the Corpse Suppression Bell, and emerged from the ruined city as they attacked it again.

Ugly Old Woman subdued a ferocious corpse and reunited with Ning Xiaochuan on the road to Celestial Ancient City. She revealed that the heart imprisoned in the Demon Palace had escaped and was killing powerful martial practitioners to restore its strength, leaving Ning Xiaochuan warned of a danger stalking the Yulan Empire.

• The Fox Immortal Path Lord and Duanmu Linye struggled against a powerful corpse until Ugly Old Woman arrived and subdued it with a touch of white light.
• Ning Xiaochuan, Zi Zhui'er, and Duanmu Ling'er encountered Ugly Old Woman and a heartless old man while traveling toward Celestial Ancient City.
• Ugly Old Woman recognized Ning Xiaochuan's recent advancement, questioned him about Qian Qian, and rebuked him over his companions.
• Ning Xiaochuan learned that the heart from the Demon Palace had escaped and was stealing the hearts of powerful martial practitioners, possibly including Shang Pojun.
• Ugly Old Woman warned Ning Xiaochuan to flee if he sensed the heart, then departed with the corpse and the old man.

Ning Xiaochuan recuperated at Soaring Qi Pavilion while Duanmu Linye and Zi Yunlan learned that the Demon Sect planned to return to the Imperial City after the Demonic Path Assembly. As Duanmu Ling'er explained the Holy Maiden's background, Ning Xiaochuan began to suspect the Dark Sky King was connected to the massacre eleven years earlier.

• Duanmu Linye and Zi Yunlan discussed whether Ning Xiaochuan should meet the Demon Emperor, and Duanmu Linye worried the Demon Emperor's hatred of the court could put him in danger.
• Duanmu Linye and Zi Yunlan reported to the Demon Emperor, who said a great calamity was coming and ordered them to prepare for the Demonic Path Assembly.
• The Demon Emperor announced that the Demon Sect would return to the Imperial City after the assembly, prompting Duanmu Linye to keep quiet about Ning Xiaochuan.
• Ning Xiaochuan healed at Soaring Qi Pavilion and spotted the Golden Masked Holy Maiden watching him from a nearby pavilion.
• Duanmu Ling'er told Ning Xiaochuan that the Holy Maiden was the Dark Sky King's daughter, and Ning Xiaochuan wondered whether the Dark Sky King was involved in the massacre eleven years earlier.

Ning Xiaochuan questioned the Demon Sect Saintess about the Ruthless Ghost Envoy and the mystery from eleven years ago, then discovered that his Mystic Beast Egg had hatched into a little girl. Her fragrance helped him master the seventh level of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi and heal much of his injuries, while Duanmu Ling'er mistook his request for children’s clothes for something shameful.

• Ning Xiaochuan asked Duanmu Ling'er about the Dark Sky King and requested the return of the Worldly Detachment Pine, but she refused.
• Ning Xiaochuan visited the Demon Sect Saintess, who knew that Ji Hanxing had killed the Ruthless Ghost Envoy but denied knowing about the events eleven years earlier.
• Ning Xiaochuan collected seven Worldly Detachment Pills and discovered a sleeping little girl inside his Universe Pouch where the Mystic Beast Egg had been.
• Ning Xiaochuan realized that the little girl had hatched from the egg, and her fragrance helped him cultivate the seventh level of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi and recover much of his injuries.
• Ning Xiaochuan asked Duanmu Ling'er for clothes for the little girl, and she accused him of being a beast when she saw the child.

Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Ling'er tried to find clothes for a mysterious little girl who called them Daddy and Mommy, prompting rumors that they were her parents. They went to Duanmu Ji Shuang's residence, where the sisters fought and Duanmu Ji Shuang pulled Ning Xiaochuan into her room.

• The little girl woke up, called Ning Xiaochuan Daddy and Duanmu Ling'er Mommy, and said she was hungry.
• Duanmu Ling'er draped her robe over the girl and decided to seek clothes from her elder sister, Duanmu Ji Shuang.
• Ning Xiaochuan agreed to go with Duanmu Ling'er, while the Demon Sect Saintess arrived at the empty room and speculated about the girl's parentage.
• Duanmu Ling'er explained the rumors surrounding Duanmu Ji Shuang's daughter and went with Ning Xiaochuan to borrow clothes.
• Duanmu Ji Shuang teased her sister, defeated Duanmu Ling'er in a brief fight, and pulled Ning Xiaochuan into her room.