Chapter Summaries

Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Jin Ping'er entered the Earth Core Fire Source and found the Nine-Tail Celestial Fox imprisoned beneath the Eight Desolations Mystic Fire Array. They began attacking the chains binding her, but their strongest combined strike barely marked the metal.

• Explosions distracted Shangguan Ce and disrupted the formation, giving Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Jin Ping'er a chance to leap into the lava.
• Shangguan Ce realized they were targeting something beneath the lava and ordered the disciples to strengthen the formation.
• Li Xiaoyu used the Mystic Fire Mirror while Lu Xueqi and Jin Ping'er reinforced their defenses as they sank through the lava.
• The three found the Nine-Tail Celestial Fox bound by eight Mystic Fire Chains and told her they had come at the behest of her son, Six-Tail.
• Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Jin Ping'er attacked one chain together, but their combined strike left only faint marks.

Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Jin Ping'er failed to free the Nine-Tail Celestial Fox before Shangguan Ce arrived and attacked them. As Li Xiaoyu struggled against Shangguan Ce, he made a desperate move with the Mystic Fire Mirror, leaving Shangguan Ce alarmed.

• Jin Ping'er failed to cut the Mystic Fire Chain, and the Nine-Tail Celestial Fox explained that only a blow powerful enough to split the volcano could break it.
• Shangguan Ce burst through the lava and attacked Li Xiaoyu with the Nine Cold Freezing Thorn, but Li Xiaoyu narrowly dodged the first strike.
• Lu Xueqi and Jin Ping'er attacked Shangguan Ce from both sides, but he deflected their blows and wounded them.
• Shangguan Ce overwhelmed Li Xiaoyu in a fierce exchange, leaving him injured and struggling to hold on.
• Li Xiaoyu asked Lu Xueqi and Jin Ping'er to hold Shangguan Ce off for three breaths, then threw the Mystic Fire Mirror at the barrier of the Eight Desolations Mystic Fire Array, alarming Shangguan Ce.

Li Xiaoyu used the Mystic Fire Mirror to make the Eight Desolations Mystic Fire Array go berserk, destroying the Mystic Fire Altar and freeing the Nine-Tail Celestial Fox. The explosion left Li Xiaoyu badly injured, and Yun Yilan and Shangguan Ce arrived at the ruins in fury.

• Li Xiaoyu controlled the Mystic Fire Mirror and sent the Eight Desolations Mystic Fire Array out of control, then attacked Shangguan Ce from behind.
• The array exploded before Li Xiaoyu’s sword strike could reach Shangguan Ce, engulfing Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, Jin Ping'er, and the others in fire.
• The array’s backlash knocked the Incense Burning Valley disciples unconscious, and the Mystic Fire Altar collapsed.
• Yun Yilan rushed to the ruined altar and angrily called for Shangguan Ce.
• Li Xiaoyu used the Immortal-Slaying Gourd to shield Lu Xueqi and Jin Ping'er, while the Nine-Tail Celestial Fox broke free of the loosened Mystic Fire Chains and calmed the flames.
• Li Xiaoyu collapsed into Lu Xueqi’s arms as Yun Yilan and the badly wounded Shangguan Ce arrived and blamed the demon fox and her companions for destroying the altar.

Xiao Bai rescued Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Jin Ping'er from the Incense Burning Valley and brought them to a hidden valley to recover. She repaid Li Xiaoyu by teaching him Shrinking Ground to an Inch, and after three days of rest, the group was ready to leave with their cultivation improved.

• The Nine-Tail Celestial Fox confronted Yun Yilan and Shangguan Ce, then opened a rift and escaped with Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Jin Ping'er.
• Xiao Bai brought the three to a secluded grotto-heaven and prepared food while they recovered from their battle.
• Xiao Bai taught Li Xiaoyu the Heavenly Fox Clan's space secret art, Shrinking Ground to an Inch, and he quickly used it to travel a hundred zhang in one step.
• After three days in the valley, Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Jin Ping'er had recovered, and both women had advanced their understanding of their Daoist arts.

Jin Ping'er and Xiao Bai departed to pursue their own concerns, while Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi returned to Green Cloud Mountain and resumed meeting each evening. A month later, Lu Xueqi led Li Xiaoyu to Moon-Watching Terrace beneath the full moon.

• Jin Ping'er said farewell to Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi and flew away to secure an advantage for Joyous Union Sect.
• Xiao Bai left to search for her son, Six-Tail, and promised to visit Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi at Green Cloud Mountain.
• Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi flew back to Green Cloud Mountain and reported their experiences to Shang Zhengliang and Master Shuiyue.
• For a month, Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi met each evening in the valley between Morning Sun Peak and Small Bamboo Peak.
• On a full-moon night, Lu Xueqi led Li Xiaoyu to Moon-Watching Terrace on Small Bamboo Peak.

Lu Xueqi performed a sword dance for Li Xiaoyu, recounting their shared history and confessing her love without words. They kissed and began their life together, while disciples of Small Bamboo Peak noticed Lu Xueqi’s changed demeanor and began suspecting she loved Li Xiaoyu.

• Lu Xueqi told Li Xiaoyu that he had become part of her world and performed a sword dance on Moon-Watching Terrace.
• Through her swordplay, Lu Xueqi recalled their first meeting, the Seven Meridians Martial Arts Tournament, and the trials they had shared.
• Li Xiaoyu climbed the terrace, wiped Lu Xueqi’s tears, and kissed her; she embraced him and returned the kiss.
• Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi later appeared before the Green Cloud Sect with their affection for each other evident.
• The female disciples of Small Bamboo Peak noticed Lu Xueqi’s tender glances and suspected she had fallen for Li Xiaoyu.

After Master Shuiyue learned that Lu Xueqi and Li Xiaoyu had pledged themselves to each other, she confronted Lu Xueqi and forbade the relationship. Lu Xueqi was imprisoned on the Cliff of Reflection, and Master Shuiyue summoned Li Xiaoyu, prompting Shang Zhengliang to prepare to confront her.

• News of Li Xiaoyu and Lu Xueqi's romance spread through the Green Cloud Sect, delighting many elders but upsetting Tian Buyi.
• Master Shuiyue summoned Lu Xueqi and demanded to know whether she and Li Xiaoyu had secretly pledged themselves to each other.
• Lu Xueqi admitted their love and defended their relationship, but Master Shuiyue warned that it would endanger her cultivation.
• Lu Xueqi declared she would marry no one but Li Xiaoyu and would rather die than give him up.
• Master Shuiyue ordered Lu Xueqi confined on the Cliff of Reflection and summoned Li Xiaoyu to Small Bamboo Peak.
• Shang Zhengliang grew furious at Master Shuiyue's orders and prepared to confront her.

Li Xiaoyu went to Small Bamboo Peak to face Master Shuiyue over his relationship with Xueqi, defending their love and refusing to end it. Shuiyue attacked him, but a crimson sword light suddenly intervened.

• Li Xiaoyu reassured Shang Zhengliang that he would meet Shuiyue, and Shang Zhengliang promised Morning Sun Peak would support him.
• Li Xiaoyu arrived at Quiet Bamboo Pavilion, where Shuiyue ordered him to kneel and accused him of seducing Xueqi and disrupting her cultivation.
• Li Xiaoyu argued that he and Xueqi loved and supported each other, and that protecting those he cared about was a valid path to the Great Dao.
• Shuiyue demanded that Li Xiaoyu end his relationship with Xueqi, but he refused and vowed never to let her go.
• Shuiyue attacked Li Xiaoyu with her horsetail whisk, and a furious voice called out as a crimson sword light blocked her strike.

Shang Zhengliang intervened to protect Li Xiaoyu from Master Shuiyue, and the two Chief Seats fought until Daoist Daoxuan stopped them. The Sect Leader acknowledged both masters’ concerns but had not yet given his judgment on Li Xiaoyu and Xueqi’s relationship.

• Shang Zhengliang arrived at Small Bamboo Peak in time to shield Li Xiaoyu from Master Shuiyue’s attack.
• Shang Zhengliang defended Li Xiaoyu and accused Master Shuiyue of trying to separate him and Xueqi.
• Master Shuiyue and Shang Zhengliang fought, while their disciples gathered and prepared for a possible clash.
• Daoist Daoxuan appeared and ordered everyone to stop, ending the fight and calming the crowd.
• Daoist Daoxuan acknowledged Master Shuiyue’s concerns for Xueqi and Shang Zhengliang’s desire to protect Li Xiaoyu.

Daoist Daoxuan required Li Xiaoyu to accept a ten-year mission to investigate and purify the Heavenly Fiend Demon Domain as proof of his worthiness to marry Xueqi. In private, he revealed that the trial was also meant to settle sect politics, then hinted that Cangsong's betrayal had warned of a greater danger.

• Daoist Daoxuan asked Li Xiaoyu to lead a team to the Heavenly Fiend Demon Domain within ten years, find the cause of its spreading pollution, and discover how to purify it.
• Li Xiaoyu accepted the mission, and Daoist Daoxuan promised to bless his marriage to Xueqi if he succeeded; Master Shuiyue agreed to the terms.
• Daoist Daoxuan summoned Li Xiaoyu to the Jade Purity Hall and explained that the trial was meant to give Master Shuiyue a way to accept the relationship and silence sect gossip.
• Daoist Daoxuan told Li Xiaoyu that, as the leader of the Young Generation, he needed to learn important matters, and said Cangsong's betrayal had been only a warning.

Daoist Daoxuan appointed Li Xiaoyu captain of the secret Dawn Squad to guard the Green Cloud Sect and the world against hidden threats. Three days later, he publicly named Li Xiaoyu the Green Cloud Sect’s first Grand Instructor, and the gathered disciples celebrated.

• Daoist Daoxuan warned Li Xiaoyu that the Demon Sect’s rising generation and deeper hidden threats endangered the Divine Land and the Green Cloud Sect.
• Daoist Daoxuan formed the secret Dawn Squad and appointed Li Xiaoyu its first captain, giving him a token and authority to choose its members and direct its operations.
• Three days later, Daoist Daoxuan announced the creation of the Grand Instructor position before disciples from all Seven Peaks.
• Daoist Daoxuan appointed Li Xiaoyu of Morning Sun Peak as the first Grand Instructor, and the disciples cheered his selection.
• Qi Hao stood among the Dragon Head Peak disciples with his head lowered, his cultivation still stagnant after his damaged Dao heart.

Li Xiaoyu became Green Cloud Sect’s Chief Instructor and welcomed Xiao Bai to Morning Sun Peak. When he showed her the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, Xiao Bai recognized it and reacted with profound gravity, leaving Li Xiaoyu convinced she knew its origin.

• Daoist Daoxuan appointed Li Xiaoyu Chief Instructor, and Li Xiaoyu promised to teach the Green Cloud Sect disciples without reservation.
• Li Xiaoyu began giving daily lessons at Morning Sun Peak, drawing disciples from every branch to learn from him.
• Xiao Bai visited Li Xiaoyu, praised his progress, and asked for the fine wine he had promised her.
• Li Xiaoyu hosted Xiao Bai, who told him that she and her husband were recovering in seclusion on the East Sea Coast.
• Li Xiaoyu showed Xiao Bai the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, and she touched it with caution before reacting to its ancient power.

Xiao Bai explained that Li Xiaoyu's Immortal-Slaying Gourd was a living spirit treasure that needed to devour the world's fundamental powers to grow. She pointed him toward the Far North Ice Plains and its Northern Profound Dark Iron as a promising but dangerous source of power.

• Xiao Bai told Li Xiaoyu that ancient spirit treasures had their own wills and Dao, and identified his gourd as the Immortal-Slaying Gourd described in Chronicles of Gods and Demons.
• Xiao Bai explained that the gourd was hungry and needed treasures containing fundamental power to strengthen its sword qi, prompting Li Xiaoyu to thank her and resolve to seek such materials.
• Xiao Bai warned Li Xiaoyu that a calamity was approaching and said he would need greater power to protect what mattered to him.
• Li Xiaoyu asked where the purest sharp metal qi could be found, and Xiao Bai named the dangerous Demon Sect's Wilderness in the west before suggesting another place.
• Xiao Bai asked Li Xiaoyu whether he had heard of the Far North Ice Plains, and Li Xiaoyu recognized that Northern Profound Dark Iron could be found there.

Li Xiaoyu prepared to journey to the Far North Ice Plains in search of Northern Profound Dark Iron, despite Xiao Bai warning him of the region’s dangers and secrets. Before he could leave, Daoist Daoxuan summoned him to investigate the Styx Sect’s threat to Wind-Snow City, which lay on his route north.

• Xiao Bai explained that Northern Profound Dark Iron could strengthen Li Xiaoyu’s sword qi, but warned him about the Far North Ice Plains’ deadly gales, ancient beasts, and hidden presence connected to the Ancient Witch Tribe and Ghost Path.
• Li Xiaoyu resolved to travel north, and Xiao Bai gave him a Life Feather that could shield him from the cold, conceal his presence, and summon her aid in a crisis.
• Li Xiaoyu researched the Far North Ice Plains in Heaven-Reaching Peak’s Secret Chamber, found a damaged map, and gathered pills for the journey.
• Daoist Daoxuan summoned Li Xiaoyu and told him that the Styx Sect was using vengeful spirits and an Ancient Battlefield near Wind-Snow City for a wicked ritual.
• Daoist Daoxuan warned that Wind-Snow City was close to falling, and Li Xiaoyu realized it lay along his planned route to the Far North Ice Plains.

Li Xiaoyu accepted Daoist Daoxuan’s mission to lead the Dawn Squad to Wind-Snow City and confront the Styx Sect. He began recruiting trusted members, and Lu Xueqi arrived as he was preparing to visit Small Bamboo Peak.

• Daoist Daoxuan ordered Li Xiaoyu to lead the Dawn Squad to Wind-Snow City for its first trial, and Li Xiaoyu accepted.
• Li Xiaoyu told Shang Zhengliang about the mission and squad, and Shang Zhengliang selected Chu Yuhong and other Morning Sun Peak disciples to join.
• Li Xiaoyu found Zeng Shushu boasting to junior disciples and invited him to provide intelligence and magical support for the Dawn Squad; Zeng Shushu agreed.
• As Li Xiaoyu prepared to go to Small Bamboo Peak, Lu Xueqi arrived before him on a streak of sword light.

Li Xiaoyu led the newly formed Dawn Squad north, using the journey to train its members and build their teamwork. After a successful battle against monsters, the squad reached Wind-Snow City, ready to face the coming conflict with the Styx Sect.

• Lu Xueqi insisted on joining Li Xiaoyu despite the danger, and Zeng Shushu joined them as the Dawn Squad’s strategist.
• Three days later, Li Xiaoyu led the assembled squad from Morning Sun Peak toward the north and trained them to fly in formation.
• Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Zeng Shushu taught the junior disciples combat and survival skills as the squad grew more coordinated.
• Li Xiaoyu led the squad into a monster-infested mountain range, where they followed his battle plan and killed an advanced Jade Purity Realm Black Bear Spirit.
• After half a month of training, the battle-hardened Dawn Squad arrived in sight of Wind-Snow City.

Dawn Squad arrived in Wind-Snow City and learned that the Styx Sect was terrorizing the city with vengeful spirits, walking corpses, and a deadly formation. After Zeng Shushu suspected the sect planned to open a rift to the Netherworld, Li Xiaoyu ordered the squad to investigate the Ancient Battlefield ruins that night.

• Li Xiaoyu led Dawn Squad into Wind-Snow City, where City Lord Wang Hao described the Styx Sect’s attacks and the deaths caused by its formation on full-moon nights.
• Wang Hao told Li Xiaoyu that the Styx Sect was based in the Ancient Battlefield ruins ten li from the city, but he knew nothing of its numbers or strength.
• Li Xiaoyu told Dawn Squad to rest and prepare to visit the Styx Sect that night.
• Zeng Shushu explained that the ancient battlefield’s lingering resentment might be powering the Styx Sect’s schemes.
• Zeng Shushu suspected the Styx Sect intended to tear open a rift to the Netherworld, so Li Xiaoyu ordered Dawn Squad to investigate the ruins that night.

Li Xiaoyu led the Dawn Squad into the Ancient Battlefield at midnight to investigate the Styx Sect's formation, but the group was ambushed by walking corpses and a vast army of wraiths. The squad struggled to hold its formation as the wraiths wounded spirits and corrupted magical treasures.

• Li Xiaoyu led the Dawn Squad from Wind-Snow City toward the Ancient Battlefield, warning them to resist the growing yin energy.
• The squad reached the blood-red ruins, where walking corpses erupted from the ground as soon as they stepped onto the battlefield.
• Thousands of wraiths surrounded the group, and Li Xiaoyu ordered the Dawn Squad to form a defensive circle.
• A wraith pierced a Morning Sun Peak disciple's spiritual protection, and Chu Yuhong warned that the creatures could harm their spirits.
• Zeng Shushu used talismans and Lu Xueqi wielded the Tianya Divine Sword to destroy wraiths, but the horde kept advancing and began corrupting their magical treasures.
• The Dawn Squad's formation shrank under the relentless assault, leaving its members in grave danger.

Li Xiaoyu led the Dawn Squad in forming a defensive formation against the Styx Sect’s army of Yin Souls, then unleashed the Mystic Fire Mirror’s Pure Yang Fire with his sword to destroy the attackers. His strike cleared the battlefield ahead and sheared half the peak from a distant mountain.

• As the Dawn Squad suffered wounds from the Yin Souls, Li Xiaoyu ordered the team to regroup around him and form the Three Talents Origin-Returning Formation.
• The squad established an azure barrier that repelled the Yin Souls, and Li Xiaoyu told them he would handle what came next.
• Li Xiaoyu drew on the Mystic Fire Mirror and the flame-control art taught by the Six-Tailed Demon Fox, surrounding himself with Pure Yang Fire.
• Li Xiaoyu infused the Autumn Water Sword with Pure Yang Fire and Geng Metal Sword Qi from the Immortal-Slaying Gourd.
• Li Xiaoyu swept his sword once, annihilating the Yin Souls and walking corpses in a hundred-zhang fan-shaped area and slicing half the peak from a distant mountain.

Li Xiaoyu defeated the Styx Sect demon and the vengeful spirits with his flaming sword, then captured the demon to question him. The demon tried to destroy his own soul, but Li Xiaoyu stopped him and prepared to use Truth Serum to learn the Styx Sect’s plans.

• Li Xiaoyu drove the vengeful spirits away and struck down the Styx Sect demon as he fled.
• Li Xiaoyu ordered Zeng Shushu and Chu Yuhong to search for the demon, while Lu Xueqi guarded the team and tended to the wounded.
• Zeng Shushu and Chu Yuhong returned with the badly burned demon, whose Cultivation had been destroyed by the Pure Yang Fire.
• The demon threatened the Dawn Squad and tried to shatter his soul, but Li Xiaoyu sealed his meridians and knocked him unconscious.
• Li Xiaoyu explained that his bottle contained Truth Serum from Jin Ping'er and gave a drop to the demon before waking him.