Chapter Summaries

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar frightened the Immortal-Slaying Spear into helping Qin An flee, leaving Ye Lin amazed by the jar’s power. Li Unrivaled thanked Ye Lin for saving her and wondered about the artifact on his shoulder.

• The Immortal-Slaying Spear’s spirit emerged and respectfully greeted the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar as Venerable One.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar challenged the Immortal-Slaying Spear to spar, but the spear’s spirit refused and fled with Qin An.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar returned to Ye Lin’s shoulder, and Ye Lin wondered about its master, the Heaven-Devouring Devil Lord.
• Li Unrivaled asked Ye Lin what the jar was, but he called it a secret.
• Li Unrivaled thanked Ye Lin for saving her from Qin An and said she owed him another favor.

Qin An learned that the Immortal-Slaying Spear had fled because the broken jar came from the Primordial Era and was beyond even his father’s knowledge. After Qin An left, Ye Lin warned Li Unrivaled to stay alert, while privately valuing the friendship he hoped to build with her.

• Qin An questioned the Immortal-Slaying Spear about the broken jar, but the spear said it had saved his life and refused to explain further.
• The Immortal-Slaying Spear revealed that the jar came from the Primordial Era and was too mysterious for even Qin An’s father to know about.
• Qin An accepted that the spear would not tell him more, then left while planning to seek another chance to capture Li Unrivaled.
• Ye Lin warned Li Unrivaled that Qin An would likely return and urged her to stay in contact with him.
• Li Unrivaled thanked Ye Lin and acknowledged that she owed him two favors, while Ye Lin privately hoped to gain her friendship.

Ye Lin left Li Unrivaled after helping save his life, then returned to the Dao Heaven Sect and visited Bai Ziran to ask her to teach him formations. He planned to stay close to Bai Ziran so he could use her against Yang Xiu two months later.

• Ye Lin told Li Unrivaled he was leaving and resolved to plan how to bring down Yang Xiu.
• Ye Lin avoided targeting Qin An because he feared being traced through divination after returning to the Star River Cosmos.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar refused to reveal the origins of the Heaven-Devouring Devil Lord, and Ye Lin set aside his curiosity.
• Ye Lin arrived at the Dao Heaven Sect and went directly to Bai Ziran's dwelling, stopping outside her Illusion Formation.
• Ye Lin praised Bai Ziran's formation skills and asked her to teach him, offering to compensate her.
• Ye Lin planned to invite Bai Ziran to watch a grand performance and use her to turn Yang Xiu against his senior sisters.

Bai Ziran challenged Ye Lin to break the Illusion Formation in her courtyard, which her master had laid. After Bai Ziran played her Jade Flute, Ye Lin realized he had already been drawn into an illusion resembling his past.

• Bai Ziran explained that the formation in her courtyard was an Illusion Formation and invited Ye Lin to try breaking it.
• Bai Ziran warned Ye Lin that the formation would conjure illusions from what he imagined and could not let go of.
• Bai Ziran played her Jade Flute, and Ye Lin shut his eyes to guard his mind.
• Ye Lin opened his eyes on a muddy country road, where three young men urged him to hurry to the Azure Cloud Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony.
• Ye Lin realized the flute music had trapped him, while the young men teased him about being lovesick and missing little bellybands.

Ye Lin found himself back at the beginning of his journey to Azure Cloud Sect, now crippled and without talent, and traveled with Gu Qing, Li Luo, and another young man toward the sect. With recruitment two days away and Beast Forest blocking their route, the group faced a dangerous crossing and asked Ye Lin for a plan.

• Ye Lin recognized that he had returned to the start of his journey to Azure Cloud Sect, though he was now a cripple with trash talent.
• Ye Lin joined three young men, including Gu Qing and Li Luo, and traveled with them for a month through difficult terrain.
• Gu Qing explained that Azure Cloud Sect's recruitment assembly would begin in two days and that the group had to cross Beast Forest to reach the sect.
• Li Luo urged the group to brave Beast Forest together, confident they could handle its wild beasts.
• The group asked Ye Lin whether he had any ideas for crossing Beast Forest.

Ye Lin and the other three entered Beast Forest as part of the Azure Cloud Sect trial, where they discovered signs of enormous beasts. A giant python attacked them, and as they fled, Gu Qing warned that someone would have to lure it away or they would all die.

• Ye Lin agreed to enter Beast Forest despite his doubts about whether his life as a Heavenly Immortal had been only an illusion.
• Li Luo, Qin Feng, Gu Qing, and Ye Lin entered the forest after resting briefly.
• Qin Feng identified droppings and a massive shed skin that suggested tigers, elephants, and a huge python lived in the forest.
• A giant python emerged from the bushes, and the four fled as it pursued them, smashing stones and trees.
• Gu Qing shouted that the python was too fast and someone needed to lure it away.

After Li Luo sacrificed himself to distract the python, Qin Feng, Gu Qing, and Ye Lin faced an impassable gorge and worked together to make a rope from tree bark. They reached the bottom of the cliff, where Qin Feng declared that their next goal was to climb back up.

• Li Luo drew the python away so Gu Qing, Qin Feng, and Ye Lin could escape, but the python swallowed him when he ran out of strength.
• Gu Qing, Qin Feng, and Ye Lin found themselves unable to cross a hundred-meter-wide gorge and began weaving tree bark into a rope.
• Qin Feng kept working despite his bloody hands, and Gu Qing and Ye Lin joined him after an immortal cultivator streaked overhead.
• After a day and night, the three finished the rope, secured it to a tree, and climbed down to the bottom of the cliff.
• Qin Feng pointed toward the cliff face and said their next goal was to climb back up.

Bai Ziran guarded Ye Lin as he remained trapped in an illusion for five days. Inside it, Ye Lin and Gu Qing climbed toward the Azure Cloud Sect, and Ye Lin was left questioning why he felt no grief after Qin Feng fell to his death.

• Bai Ziran noted that Ye Lin had been motionless in the illusion for five days and sat beside him to guard him.
• Ye Lin, Gu Qing, and Qin Feng climbed a dangerous cliff to reach the Azure Cloud Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony in time.
• Exhausted and unable to continue, Qin Feng released his grip and fell to his death after asking Ye Lin and Gu Qing to carry on.
• Ye Lin and Gu Qing continued climbing, while Ye Lin wondered why he could feel no sorrow for his fallen friends.
• Ye Lin and Gu Qing reached the summit and fell asleep from exhaustion.

Ye Lin and Gu Qing woke late for the disciple-taking ceremony, only to encounter a Tiger. Gu Qing charged the beast to give Ye Lin a chance to reach the world of immortal cultivation, leaving Ye Lin to carry their brothers’ hopes forward.

• Gu Qing woke Ye Lin and rushed him toward the disciple-taking ceremony after they slept through the night.
• A Tiger emerged from the shadows, and Gu Qing realized they could not escape by running.
• Gu Qing recalled how he, Ye Lin, Li Luo, and Qin Feng had dreamed of becoming immortal cultivators and traveling together.
• Gu Qing urged Ye Lin to go on without him and charged the Tiger with a wooden stick.
• Ye Lin watched Gu Qing fight while feeling no fear or grief, and Gu Qing called on him to flee.

Ye Lin escaped Beast Forest and learned that Azure Cloud Sect had offered other candidates safer routes, while his three brothers had died because of his mistaken judgment. He reached the sect’s mountain gate, where a disciple healed his injuries.

• Gu Qing shouted at Ye Lin to run and attacked the tiger, while Ye Lin fled through the forest without stopping.
• Ye Lin emerged from Beast Forest and met Wang Dong, who explained that other candidates had taken safer roads to Azure Cloud Sect.
• Ye Lin grieved over the deaths of his three brothers as he followed Wang Dong toward Azure Cloud Sect.
• Ye Lin and Wang Dong arrived at the sect’s mountain gate, where a disciple recognized Ye Lin and healed him with a green light.

After awakening from a ten-day illusion, Ye Lin studied formations with Bai Ziran for over a month and prepared to return to his dojo. He found An Xin dead inside a blood-red formation, which the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar identified as a Desire Formation made to target him.

• Ye Lin awoke from the illusion, thanked Bai Ziran, and accepted her instruction in the Dao of formations.
• After more than a month of study, Ye Lin told Bai Ziran he needed to return; she proposed they visit Yang Xiu in ten days, and he agreed.
• Ye Lin returned to his dojo and sensed something was wrong as he approached the grand hall.
• Ye Lin opened the hall doors and found An Xin dead in the center of a blood-red formation.
• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar warned Ye Lin that the crude Desire Formation seemed designed specifically to deal with him.

After learning that An Xin was dead, Ye Lin confronted Li Shanchang, who revealed that the Blood Tower had carried out the killing. Ye Lin spared Li Shanchang and left to pursue the assassins, while the assassin who had infiltrated the Dao Heaven Sect discussed demanding more compensation.

• Ye Lin recalled An Xin pleading to become his disciple and left the great hall in a fury.
• Ye Lin confronted Li Shanchang and asked whether he had caused his disciple’s death.
• Li Shanchang confessed that he had hired the Blood Tower to target Ye Lin’s state of mind, and said the Blood Tower must have killed the disciple.
• Ye Lin seized Li Shanchang by the neck, then spared him and left to find the people responsible.
• In a forest, a Blood Tower assassin told his young companion that he had infiltrated the Dao Heaven Sect and killed someone without being detected.
• The assassin reasoned that Ye Lin might have gone into qi deviation and decided to demand more compensation.

Ye Lin trapped Mingren and his young disciple inside his domain and killed them. He then destroyed Mingren’s remains and headed alone to the Dao Heaven Sect, where countless figures had gathered in his dojo.

• Mingren tried to flee with his young disciple after recognizing Ye Lin as the mission target.
• Ye Lin drew the three of them into his blood-red domain and suppressed Mingren, while his young disciple vanished instantly.
• Mingren survived Ye Lin’s first attack but suffered severe injuries and lost access to the laws of heaven and earth.
• Ye Lin attacked with Spatial Blades, killing Mingren and shredding his Primordial Spirit.
• Ye Lin ground away Mingren’s corpse, left his domain, and headed alone to the Dao Heaven Sect, where countless figures filled his dojo.

After An Xin’s death, Ye Lin became increasingly detached as he accepted the Dao Heaven Sect’s compensation and waited for the planned visit to Yang Xiu. He set events in motion so Bai Ziran and Hong Yanran would witness Yang Xiu kill Li Shanchang, unaware of the circumstances behind it.

• Bai Ziran offered to help find An Xin’s killer, but Ye Lin told her he had already killed the culprit and went to the main hall.
• Ye Lin buried An Xin in the Back Mountain and reflected on the dangers of losing oneself on the path of cultivation.
• Over the next five days, Bai Ziran told Ye Lin that the Blood Tower had been identified as the force behind the attack and delivered its compensation.
• Five days later, Ye Lin reminded Bai Ziran that they were due to visit Yang Xiu, and she hurried off, thinking Hong Yanran might already be there.
• Ye Lin anticipated that Li Shanchang would attack Yang Xiu and that Yang Xiu would kill him, leaving Bai Ziran and Hong Yanran to witness the killing without knowing the truth.

Ye Lin witnessed Yang Xiu kill Li Shanchang and several Dao Heaven Sect disciples, after which the Sect Master’s forces seized Yang Xiu. At the Sect Master Hall, elders accused Yang Xiu of hiding his strength and demanded his execution.

• Ye Lin arrived at Yang Xiu’s residence with Bai Ziran and Hong Yanran, then pulled them to safety as lightning destroyed the residence.
• Yang Xiu killed the kneeling Li Shanchang, and the lightning also killed several Inner Sect disciples.
• A powerful purple hand captured Yang Xiu, and the sect ordered its Inner Sect elders to gather at the Sect Master Hall.
• Bai Ziran and Hong Yanran went to the hall, unsettled by how unfamiliar Yang Xiu seemed to them.
• The Sect Master questioned the captured Yang Xiu, while elders accused him of concealing his cultivation and demanded his execution.

Yang Xiu faced judgment in Dao Heaven Sect after his hidden strength was exposed and disciples were killed, but he refused to explain his actions or reveal his identity. The Sect Master ordered him imprisoned in the Nine Nether Thunder Domain for three hundred years.

• Disciples outside the grand hall blamed Yang Xiu for the deadly incident and questioned his concealed strength.
• The Sect Master asked Yang Xiu to explain himself, but Yang Xiu said he had nothing to say.
• Hong Yanran challenged Yang Xiu, and Bai Ziran said she believed he was not bloodthirsty but asked why he had acted as he did.
• Yang Xiu kept silent because revealing his identity would draw the attention of this world's Heavenly Dao.
• The Sect Master ordered Elder Ye to take Yang Xiu to the Nine Nether Thunder Domain and imprison him for three hundred years.

Ye Lin escorted Yang Xiu to the Nine Nether Thunder Domain after the Sect Master sealed Yang Xiu's cultivation. Ye Lin discovered that Yang Xiu was destined to turn his imprisonment into a breakthrough and eventually overpower the Dao Heaven Sect.

• The Sect Master ordered Ye Lin to escort Yang Xiu to the Nine Nether Thunder Domain and secretly told him that Yang Xiu's cultivation had been sealed.
• Ye Lin accepted the order and led Yang Xiu out of the great hall, believing it would now be easy to deal with him.
• Ye Lin read Yang Xiu's fate panel and learned that he would master Nine Nether lightning, break the seal, and reach the True Immortal realm.
• Ye Lin learned that Yang Xiu was destined to suppress the Dao Heaven Sect and find the Broken Sword in its treasure vault.

After Yang Xiu survived his trial, Ye Lin escorted him away from the Dao Heaven Sect’s grand hall, where disciples and his senior sisters reacted to his release. Ye Lin then revealed that he had been ordered by the Sect Master to kill Yang Xiu, but Yang Xiu’s Primordial Spirit resisted his attack and remained unharmed.

• The Sect Master and elders left after Yang Xiu’s trial assembly ended, and disciples crowded around to discuss his survival.
• Hong Yanran and Bai Ziran left after Hong Yanran told Yang Xiu that he had disappointed her, and Ye Lin flew away with him.
• Yang Xiu asked Ye Lin to take care of his senior sisters, then noticed that Ye Lin was not heading toward the Nine Nether Thunder Domain.
• Ye Lin attacked Yang Xiu, crushed his skull, and said the Sect Master had ordered him to kill him.
• Ye Lin bound Yang Xiu’s Primordial Spirit with golden chains, but a burst of thunder sent Yang Xiu flying and his spirit remained unharmed.

Ye Lin unleashed his full sword art against Yang Xiu, who was close to breaking free of Dao Lin’s seal. Just as Ye Lin’s attack seemed certain to kill Yang Xiu, a terrifying presence emerged through shattered space and destroyed the strike.

• Ye Lin saw Yang Xiu’s aura surge and the purple chains of Dao Lin’s seal begin to crack.
• Ye Lin summoned eight sword phenomena and sent them crashing toward Yang Xiu.
• Yang Xiu realized Ye Lin had concealed his strength and suspected he had been plotting against him since their first meeting.
• A presence burst through the space behind Yang Xiu, shattered Ye Lin’s sword phenomena, and cracked the space before him.

Ye Lin survived Yang Xiu’s attack with the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar’s protection and witnessed the power of an unknown figure before a sword gleam restored space. Inspired by what he saw, he understood the Ninth Sword and killed Yang Xiu, then collapsed from exhaustion.

• The Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar shielded Ye Lin from a devastating shockwave, but he crashed to the ground as a jade-white finger pressed toward him.
• Dao Lintian and other cultivators felt terror at the finger’s overwhelming power as an indifferent voice made it crumble before it reached Ye Lin.
• Ye Lin saw a veiled figure standing amid radiant universes, but another voice and a dazzling sword gleam healed space and dispelled the terror.
• Ye Lin realized the Ninth Sword gathered the first eight swords into one and named his strike Sword Nine—Heaven-Sundering.
• Ye Lin slashed at Yang Xiu, who was breaking the True Immortal seal, and Yang Xiu crumbled away before he could see the attack.
• After Yang Xiu died, Ye Lin fell toward the ground, exhausted and wanting to sleep.