Chapter Summaries

Ning Xiaochuan brought Yu Ningsheng and Xiao Ling'er to the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, stirring rumors and drawing the attention of powerful figures across the Imperial City. After demonstrating that he had reached the Earth Venerable Realm, he met Old Marquis, who enlisted his help in preparing for the Demon Sect's looming attack.

• Ning Xiaochuan brought Yu Ningsheng and Xiao Ling'er into the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, and onlookers spread news that they had a daughter.
• Yu Qianqian learned that Yu Ningsheng was staying at the mansion and arranged an elaborate visit with hundreds of guards and servants.
• The Crown Prince and Cloud Marquis learned of Ning Xiaochuan's return and his bringing Yu Ningsheng home, and Cloud Marquis urged the Crown Prince to denounce him to the Holy Emperor.
• Ning Xiaochuan sensed the mansion's anxiety over the approaching Demon Sect and went to see Old Marquis.
• Old Marquis tested Ning Xiaochuan with a powerful palm strike, then welcomed him after recognizing that he had reached the Earth Venerable Realm.
• Old Marquis told Ning Xiaochuan to help defend the mansion, whose formations and mechanisms had been prepared to repel attackers.

Ning Xiaochuan visited Divine Sword Palace and learned how Yue Mingsong’s artifact refining had made it the Empire’s dominant weapon enterprise. He left after giving Yue Mingsong more chapters of the Mystic Artifact Compendium and decided it was time to publish the Weapon Ranking Chart, while the Demon Sect threat remained unresolved.

• Ning Xiaochuan told Old Marquis about Yu Ningsheng, then left Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion to visit Divine Sword Palace.
• Liu Wenyu showed Ning Xiaochuan the palace’s vast expansion and explained how Yue Mingsong’s Seventh Grade Profound Weapons had earned him the name “Artifact Refinement Maniac.”
• Ning Xiaochuan found Yue Mingsong reveling among maidservants, sent them away, and gave him another nine hundred chapters of the Mystic Artifact Compendium.
• Liu Wenyu told Ning Xiaochuan that Yue Mingsong’s maidservants were all virgins and asked how Divine Sword Palace should respond to the Demon Sect.
• Ning Xiaochuan told Liu Wenyu not to worry about the Demon Sect for now and said Divine Sword Palace should release the Weapon Ranking Chart.

Ning Xiaochuan returned to the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion and found Yu Qianqian confronting Yu Ningsheng, whom she saw as a rival for his affection. After Yu Qianqian left, Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Ningsheng examined the Weapon Ranking Chart, and Yu Ningsheng said the Demon Emperor should not rank first.

• Ning Xiaochuan returned to the mansion and learned that Yu Qianqian had gone to Brocade Embroidery Courtyard to confront Yu Ningsheng.
• Yu Qianqian attacked Yu Ningsheng with zither music, but Yu Ningsheng defended herself with her reed pipe until Little Red interrupted them.
• Ning Xiaochuan entered and stopped Yu Qianqian from having Yu Ningsheng attacked, prompting Yu Qianqian to leave in anger.
• Yu Qianqian considered burning Jade Viewing Pavilion but changed her mind and returned toward the royal residence to devise another plan.
• Ning Xiaochuan showed Yu Ningsheng the Weapon Ranking Chart, and she said the Demon Emperor should not be ranked first.

Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Ningsheng finalized the Weapon Ranking Chart, placing the Jade Ripple Great Emperor first to provoke challenges and promote Netherworld Manor. After the chart stirred debate throughout the Imperial City, Ning Xiaochuan set out with Ning Xiner to visit the Great Golden Roc King Residence and gave her ten Yuan Life Pills.

• Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Ningsheng discussed candidates for the greatest martial master under heaven and chose the Jade Ripple Great Emperor over the Undead City Lord.
• Ning Xiaochuan revised the Weapon Ranking Chart, added Netherworld Manor martial artists, and had Yue Mingsong make it into a Seventh Grade Profound Weapon.
• The Weapon Ranking Chart was displayed at Divine Sword Palace and distributed around the Imperial City, where residents and officials debated its rankings.
• Ning Xiaochuan decided to visit Yu Qianqian at the Great Golden Roc King Residence to apologize, and Ning Xiner asked to go with him.
• Ning Xiaochuan gave Ning Xiner ten Yuan Life Pills and told her to keep them concealed as their carriage headed to the Great Golden Roc King Residence.

Ning Xiaochuan visited the Great Golden Roc King Residence, where West Mu Royal Concubine questioned him about Yu Qianqian and the Weapon Ranking Chart. The chapter left the Great Golden Roc King Residence considering how the Jade Ripple Great Emperor’s conflict with Ning Xiaochuan could help them seize the imperial throne.

• Ning Xiaochuan and Ning Xiner discussed Yu Qianqian, Yu Ningsheng, and Ning Xiner’s lack of interest in her suitors.
• Ning Xiaochuan went to the Great Golden Roc King Residence, where Yu Qianqian first refused to see him but the Queen Consort summoned him instead.
• West Mu Royal Concubine told Ning Xiaochuan to be tolerant of Yu Qianqian and questioned him about compiling the Weapon Ranking Chart.
• Ning Xiaochuan denied having any deeper purpose for the rankings, and West Mu Royal Concubine let him leave.
• After Ning Xiaochuan departed, West Mu Royal Concubine, Worldly Son Jin Du, Yu Qianqian, and Great Golden Roc King discussed how his actions positioned him against the Jade Ripple Great Emperor.
• Worldly Son Jin Du and the others considered the possibility that the empire would fracture into rival warlords and give the Great Golden Roc King Residence a chance to claim the throne.

Ning Xiaochuan refused Yu Qing’s offer to alter the Weapon Ranking Chart and learned that the court was preparing to crush rebellions linked to major sects. The Demon Sect then attacked the Divine Sword Palace, and its white-haired elder recognized Ning Xiaochuan after he saved the Three Great Elders from a fiery assault.

• The Great Golden Roc King left the Purple Bamboo Tower, and Yu Qianqian received a Jade Beauty Pill from the Little Marquis.
• Yu Qing treated Ning Xiaochuan to wine and offered him two hundred thousand taels of Azure Gold to rank him above Ye Nantian on the Weapon Ranking Chart.
• Ning Xiaochuan refused to change the chart unless Yu Qing defeated Ye Nantian himself, and Yu Qing revealed that the court was preparing to suppress rebellions tied to the major sects.
• A dark demonic cloud seized the Weapon Ranking Chart as the white-haired Demon Sect elder rode toward the Divine Sword Palace on a Black-haired Ghost Bat Beast.
• The elder’s beast burned the Three Great Elders, but Ning Xiaochuan absorbed the flames and saved them.
• The white-haired elder recognized Ning Xiaochuan’s Northern Darkness Divine Art and identified him as a member of the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion.

Ning Xiaochuan fought Ghost Bat King in the Imperial City after revealing that he had become the Yulan Empire’s youngest Martial Venerable at age twenty. He ended the chapter by severing Ghost Bat King’s arm with a lightning-charged sword strike.

• Ghost Bat King demanded that Ning Xiaochuan hand over the Northern Darkness Divine Art, but Ning Xiaochuan challenged him and summoned the eighty-seven-meter giant sword.
• Ning Xiaochuan struck Ghost Bat King with the giant sword, and the Black-haired Ghost Bat Beast intervened to save its master from a follow-up attack.
• Ghost Bat King discovered that Ning Xiaochuan had entered the Earth Venerable Realm, shocking the watching warriors and earning their praise.
• Yu Qing and Shi Jin Gan discussed Ning Xiaochuan’s talent and the possibility of joining an Ancient Clan.
• Ghost Bat King and the Black-haired Ghost Bat Beast continued fighting Ning Xiaochuan, while the Sky-series City Domain’s formations shielded the city from their attacks.
• Ning Xiaochuan unleashed nine bolts of lightning and cleaved through Ghost Bat King’s White Bone Hand Claw Print, severing one of his arms.

Ning Xiaochuan pursued the wounded Ghost Bat King, but an Ironclad Death God of the No Life Path intervened and challenged him to fight in a Different Dimension. Ning Xiaochuan entered the battle, killed the Ghost Bat King, and continued facing the Ironclad Death God.

• Ning Xiaochuan chased down the fleeing Ghost Bat King and shattered his Martial Soul Avatar, but the Ironclad Death God appeared and stopped Ning Xiaochuan from killing him.
• The Ironclad Death God challenged Ning Xiaochuan to fight in a Different Dimension, and Ning Xiaochuan forced the wounded Ghost Bat King to enter with them.
• Inside the Different Dimension, the Ironclad Death God attacked Ning Xiaochuan with seventy-two iron swords, but Ning Xiaochuan countered with the Blood City Iron Seal.
• Ning Xiaochuan summoned the Demon Sword and severed one of the Ironclad Death God's steel wings.
• Ning Xiaochuan trapped the Ghost Bat King in a demonic image of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, then killed him with the Demon Sword.

Ning Xiaochuan killed the Ghost Bat King and used the Seven Aperture God Demon Heart to enslave the Ironclad Death God. He returned to Divine Sword Palace with the Weapon Ranking Chart, publicly declared the Demon Sect’s defeat, and left the No Life Path Lord furious.

• Ning Xiaochuan drained the Ghost Bat King with the Netherworld Demon Sword, killing him and taking the Weapon Ranking Chart.
• The Ironclad Death God recognized Ning Xiaochuan and tried to escape, but Ning Xiaochuan broke his scythe and controlled his mind with the Seven Aperture God Demon Heart.
• The No Life Path Lord and the Asura Path Lord assumed the Ironclad Death God had captured Ning Xiaochuan and discussed their plans against the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion.
• Ning Xiaochuan emerged at Divine Sword Palace, announced the Ghost Bat King's death, and presented the Ironclad Death God as his subdued follower.
• The No Life Path Lord erupted in anger over losing two Martial Venerables, while the Old Marquis taunted him and invited him to join the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion.

The Demon Sect attacked the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, forcing Sword Pavilion Marquis and No Life Path Lord to unleash their sects' Ninth Grade Profound Weapons in a battle over the Imperial City. Ning Xiaochuan rushed to defend the Marquis Mansion and found its people slaughtered, including Ji Bo, before striking back at the invaders.

• Sword Pavilion Marquis used the Sword Pavilion to repel No Life Path Lord's attack, and the Jade Ripple Great Emperor ordered the Nine Dukes to activate the Celestial Dipper Grand Luo Formation.
• No Life Path Lord and Asura Path Lord awakened the Slaughtering Millstone and clashed with Sword Pavilion Marquis's Sword Pavilion, shaking the Imperial City and damaging the Divine Sword Palace.
• Sword Pavilion Marquis ordered Ning Xiaochuan to protect the Marquis Mansion after Ning Xiaochuan offered to help control the Sword Pavilion.
• Ning Xiaochuan met Yu Qing and Shi Jin Gan, who agreed to help him despite the Divine Dragon King's order not to intervene.
• Ning Xiaochuan reached the breached, burning Marquis Mansion and found Ji Bo dead, then killed more than twenty Demon Sect martial artists with a palm strike.

Ning Xiaochuan fought to defend the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion as the Demon Sect invaded to seize its treasures. After rescuing Ning Xiner at the Scripture Pavilion, he confronted the Demon Sect forces at the Seven Stars Treasure Cave and accused the Silver-Clad Asura of killing Ji Bo.

• Ning Xiaochuan ordered the Ironclad Death God to hold the breach, then entered the burning mansion and killed a Demon Sect elder who attacked him.
• Ning Xiaochuan found Ning Xiner and the elders defending the Scripture Pavilion against the Gold-Clad Asura, until Little Black revealed itself as a Seventh-Grade Mystic Beast and drove the attackers back.
• Ning Xiaochuan arrived and injured more than ten Demon Sect elders with Myriad Swords Turn to Rain, sending the Gold-Clad Asura and other invaders fleeing.
• After checking Ning Xiner's wound, Ning Xiaochuan left Little Black to protect her and rushed to the Seven Stars Treasure Cave, where Demon Sect Martial Venerables had killed its two guards and cornered nearly a thousand young disciples.
• Ning Xiaochuan stood between the disciples and the Demon Sect forces; the Gold-Clad Asura demanded that he surrender the mansion, while the Silver-Clad Asura offered to spare them if they joined the Asura Path.
• Ning Xiaochuan recognized Ji Bo's aura on the Silver-Clad Asura and asked whether he had killed Ji Bo.

Ning Xiaochuan and Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion fought off the Demon Sect's assault, revealing a far greater force than its enemies expected. As Ning Xiaochuan battled three Martial Venerables, a mysterious Dark Knight ambushed him, then killed Silver-Clad Asura with one strike.

• Ning Xiaochuan ordered everyone to retreat into Seven Stars Treasure Cave as the Demon Sect's three Martial Venerables confronted him.
• Little Red and the Two-Headed Stone Beast joined the battle, while Ning Xiaochuan merged with Little Red and faced the three enemies; the Great Golden Roc King told Yu Qianqian that the court would not intervene.
• Ning Xiaochuan fought the three Martial Venerables to a draw until a Dark Knight attacked him from behind and severely wounded him and Little Red.
• The Dark Knight dismissed Ning Xiaochuan as mediocre, then killed Silver-Clad Asura with a single saber strike.

Ning Xiaochuan fought the Dark Knight with the Heavenly Emperor Blade, but the opponent’s superior cultivation repeatedly overwhelmed him. After Ning Xiaochuan recognized the Dark Knight as Yue Wuyang, an old Herb Gathering Farmer appeared on the shattered street.

• The Ironclad Death God of the No Life Path and the Gold-Clad Asura fled, leaving Ning Xiaochuan to face the Dark Knight alone.
• Ning Xiaochuan summoned the Heavenly Emperor Blade and exchanged powerful blows with the Dark Knight, who wounded him and devastated the Imperial City.
• The Dark Knight demanded the Northern Darkness Divine Art and threatened the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, but Ning Xiaochuan refused to surrender it.
• Ning Xiaochuan used the Northern Darkness Divine Art and the Demon Sword to drain the Dark Knight's blood qi, forcing him to injure himself and retreat.
• The Dark Knight struck Ning Xiaochuan with Chaotic Cloud Sever, and Ning Xiaochuan identified him as Yue Wuyang.
• As the Dark Knight prepared to finish Ning Xiaochuan, an Herb Gathering Farmer arrived along the shattered street.

Ning Xiaochuan and the Dark Knight faced the Herb Gathering Farmer, who overpowered the Dark Knight and fought the Great Golden Roc King before the imperial court ordered the king to let him go. Ugly Old Woman then arrived with her transformed corpse slave, confronting the Herb Gathering Farmer and checking on Ning Xiaochuan.

• The Herb Gathering Farmer appeared, recognized Ning Xiaochuan's Seven Aperture God Demon Heart, and crushed the Dark Knight with a blood-red palmprint.
• The Great Golden Roc King arrived with four Martial Venerables, whose Dragon Hide Array Diagrams attacked the Herb Gathering Farmer as the king joined the battle.
• The Great Golden Roc King and the Herb Gathering Farmer exchanged powerful attacks, but neither defeated the other.
• The palace Chief Eunuch relayed the Jade Ripple Great Emperor's order to let the Herb Gathering Farmer leave, and the Great Golden Roc King stopped attacking.
• As the Herb Gathering Farmer prepared to depart, Ugly Old Woman arrived with the golden corpse slave and warned him that he should not have escaped the Demon Palace.
• Ugly Old Woman asked Ning Xiaochuan why she always found him badly injured, while the transformed corpse slave stared at him with gleaming golden eyes.

After helping repel the Demon Sect’s assault on the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion, Ning Xiaochuan returned to find the mansion victorious but badly damaged. As the Thousand-Year Ancient Demon continued battling Ugly Old Woman’s golden corpse servant, the Holy Emperor’s army arrived under Yue Wuyang’s command.

• Ugly Old Woman’s golden corpse servant fought the Thousand-Year Ancient Demon and held its own, while Ning Xiaochuan discovered the Dark Knight had escaped.
• Yu Ningsheng met Ning Xiaochuan as he left the ruined city district, and they returned together to the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion.
• Ning Xiaochuan learned that the mansion had driven off the Demon Sect at heavy cost and ordered repairs, defenses, compensation for victims’ families, and the execution of captured enemies.
• Cloud Marquis, Yue Wuyang, arrived with the Black Armor Army, claiming he had come under the Holy Emperor’s decree to assist the mansion.
• Ning Xiaochuan decided to meet Yue Wuyang and see how many troops the Holy Emperor had sent.

Ning Xiaochuan thwarted Yue Wuyang’s attempt to exploit the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion’s weakness, then subdued the Black-haired Ghost Bat Beast. After the Old Marquis returned, he summoned Ning Xiaochuan to meet the mansion’s four First Generation Elders and learn its deepest secrets.

• Ning Xiaochuan accepted Yue Wuyang’s offer of court funds and demanded that the Holy Emperor pay for the mansion’s losses within three days.
• Yu Qing and Yu Qianqian arrived with their armies, forcing Yue Wuyang to withdraw the Black Armor Army; Yu Qianqian gave Ning Xiaochuan a Bone Body Pill that helped heal his injuries.
• Ning Xiaochuan used the Mystic Beast Appraisal to subdue the Black-haired Ghost Bat Beast and add it to the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion’s divine beasts.
• The Old Marquis returned and summoned Ning Xiaochuan to the Sword Pavilion, where he met the four powerful First Generation Elders.
• One of the Four Old Ancestors told Ning Xiaochuan that, since he had reached the Earth Venerable Realm, he could learn some of the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion’s secrets.

Ning Xiaochuan learned that the Old Marquis had only four years to live after his battle with two Demon Sect Dao Lords, and he sought Heaven and Earth Essence Qi to heal him. Yu Ningsheng lent Ning Xiaochuan a jade cauldron filled with the essence qi, giving the Four Old Ancestors hope of restoring the Old Marquis.

• The Four Old Ancestors told Ning Xiaochuan they had survived the evil dragon’s poison and had fought off the Demon Sect’s Bright Heavenly King during the attack on the mansion.
• The Old Marquis revealed that his wounds left him with at most four years to live and said Ning Xiaochuan should take over the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion.
• Ning Xiaochuan insisted Heaven and Earth Essence Qi could heal the Old Marquis and went to find some.
• Yu Ningsheng recognized why Ning Xiaochuan had come and lent him a jade cauldron containing a river of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi from the Heavenly Emperor Divine Palace.
• Ning Xiaochuan brought the essence qi to the Four Old Ancestors, who were overjoyed by the prospect of healing the Old Marquis.

Ning Xiaochuan helped the Sword Pavilion Marquis recover by giving him Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and Yuan Life Pills, then concealed the Old Marquis’s condition to protect the mansion. The Jade Ripple Great Emperor exploited rumors of the Old Marquis’s illness to order a campaign against the great sects, while Ning Xiaochuan focused on advancing his cultivation.

• Ning Xiaochuan gave the Sword Pavilion Marquis Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and five Yuan Life Pills, and they agreed to spread word that the Old Marquis was near death so Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion could avoid attention.
• Ning Xiaochuan told Ning Xiner and the mansion’s elders that the Old Marquis was gravely injured, took command of the mansion, and ordered everyone to keep the news secret.
• The Jade Ripple Great Emperor issued a decree ordering several marquises to lead armies against the great sects, intending to test the Old Marquis’s condition and put Ning Xiaochuan in danger.
• Ning Xiaochuan assessed the Dark Knight’s overwhelming strength and resolved to improve his cultivation.
• Ning Xiaochuan continued trying to cultivate the eighth layer of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi using the White Bone Pearl.

Ning Xiaochuan absorbed the White Bone Pearl and broke through to the eighth layer of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, gaining extraordinary cultivation and refining speed. The pearl fused with his brow and Burning Sky with Scorching Sun, leaving him with a Heavenly Venerable Seal and a greatly enhanced divine power.

• The White Bone Pearl entered Ning Xiaochuan’s bloodstream, and his damaged blood vessels expanded as he broke through to the eighth layer of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi.
• Ning Xiaochuan absorbed a bottle of Nine Colors Profound Water in an hour, and his blood vessels recovered tougher than before.
• Ning Xiaochuan discovered an ancient Heavenly Venerable Seal mark on his brow and found that the White Bone Pearl had fused with his brow bone.
• The Heavenly Emperor Blade said the White Bone Pearl and Mystic Beast Appraisal came from the same person’s bones, which were at least demi-god bones and possibly Divine Bones.
• Ning Xiaochuan found that the White Bone Pearl had merged with Burning Sky with Scorching Sun and made its power greater than the World Extinction Divine Monument.

Ning Xiaochuan learned that his Martial Dao Divine Power had become a Figurative Divine Power, then received the Emperor’s order to lead the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s troops against the sects. He entered the imperial palace to meet the Emperor, where he encountered Silver Pool Madam and Qi Ming, who were representing the Qi Tian Marquis’s Mansion.

• The Heavenly Emperor Blade explained that Ning Xiaochuan’s fusion of the White Bone Pearl and “Burning Sky with Scorching Sun” had created a Figurative Divine Power, and Ning Xiaochuan gave the blade the Blood City Iron Seal.
• Eunuch Ji delivered the Emperor’s decree ordering several marquises, including the Sword Pavilion Marquis, to campaign against the sects and summoned Ning Xiaochuan to court.
• Ning Xiaochuan accepted the decree on behalf of the Sword Pavilion Marquis’s Mansion and volunteered to lead its troops, despite Eunuch Ji’s icy attack on his hands.
• Ning Xiaochuan prepared to enter the palace and resolved to continue improving his cultivation.
• At the palace gates, Ning Xiaochuan encountered Silver Pool Madam and Qi Ming, who had come to represent the Qi Tian Marquis’s Mansion in the campaign.