Chapter Summaries

The old man explained how Nameless Mountain rose to dominate the Human Race and warned Ye Lin that its returning rivals had drawn him into their conflict. Ye Lin argued that neutrality would doom Spirit Hidden Temple, leaving the old man weighing the temple’s survival.

• The old man recounted Nameless Mountain’s victories, its expansion into five prefectures, and the return of the four transcendent powers.
• Ye Lin realized Li Miaoling was a pawn of Nameless Mountain’s rivals and that he had become Nameless Mountain’s pawn.
• Ye Lin asked what the old man wanted from him and argued that, as a Nameless Mountain disciple, he should support it.
• The old man asked whether Spirit Hidden Temple would be destroyed if Nameless Mountain lost.
• Ye Lin warned that neutral powers rarely survived struggles for power and that refusing to choose a side could make Spirit Hidden Temple the first target.
• The old man laughed and said he had to consider the burden of protecting Spirit Hidden Temple’s inheritance.

Ye Lin urged Spirit Hidden Temple’s Grand Elder to trust Nameless Mountain and join its effort to protect the human race, but the elder doubted his guarantee. As Ye Lin left, the elder asked what Spirit Hidden Temple could gain, leaving the possibility of a deal open.

• Ye Lin assured Spirit Hidden Temple’s Grand Elder that Nameless Mountain would remain the leader of the Five Prefectures, but the elder said Ye Lin lacked the strength to guarantee it.
• Ye Lin grew impatient and warned that Nameless Mountain would suppress those who refused to submit, while Toutian privately trusted Ye Lin’s promise.
• Ye Lin asked the elder to gamble on Nameless Mountain’s success and said the human race’s future depended on it.
• When the elder remained silent, Ye Lin bowed and left Spirit Hidden Temple with Toutian.
• As Ye Lin and Toutian were about to leave, the elder asked Ye Lin what Spirit Hidden Temple could gain.

Ye Lin waited in Central City as Spirit Hidden Temple and the other major powers purged Evil Demons across Black Sand Prefecture. After a month, he learned that Wang Teng and two others were plotting against him, but he worried that killing members of the Ten Sequences could threaten his future rise within Nameless Mountain.

• Ye Lin left Spirit Hidden Temple with Toutian after its elder agreed to consolidate the temple's forces and purge Evil Demons.
• Ye Lin and Toutian waited in an inn while Central City descended into chaos and the major powers began purging Evil Demons and other enemies across Black Sand Prefecture.
• A month later, Toutian told Ye Lin that Wang Teng and two others were in a canyon plotting to kill him.
• Ye Lin decided to confront the three but worried that secretly killing members of the Ten Sequences could damage his reputation and ambitions within Nameless Mountain.

Ye Lin summoned Zhao Huaian, Zhao Huaiping, and Leng Ning and asked them to help him secretly kill Wang Teng, Li Qingxuan, and Wang Shengtian. He explained that the three had plotted against him, and the group was left weighing his proposal.

• Ye Lin contacted Zhao Huaian, Zhao Huaiping, and Leng Ning with Jade Talismans and invited them to meet.
• The three arrived, and Ye Lin sealed the room before revealing his plan to kill Wang Teng, Li Qingxuan, and Wang Shengtian.
• Zhao Huaian asked Ye Lin why he wanted them dead, and Ye Lin recounted their plots and attempts to assassinate him.
• Ye Lin said he needed their strength to make the killings go unnoticed and argued that their combined forces could deter an investigation.

Ye Lin pressed Zhao Ping'an and the other two Ten Sequences to help assassinate three rivals, warning that he intended to become Sect Master and would have the power to suppress them if they opposed him. They asked how he planned to carry it out, and he demanded the use of their hidden forces, leaving them weighing the risks.

• Ye Lin warned the three that their factions would abandon them if they lost the future struggle for Sect Master, and that he would suppress them if he won.
• The three hesitated because assassinating members of the Ten Sequences could bring an investigation from Nameless Mountain's Ancestral Land.
• Zhao Ping'an asked Ye Lin how they would carry out the assassinations.
• Ye Lin said the four of them could not act directly and demanded the hidden forces the three had cultivated during their time among the Ten Sequences.
• The three considered using their forces, which included Spirit Transformation True Persons, but hesitated over the scale of the commitment.

Ye Lin pressured Zhao Ping'an, Zhao Huaiping, and Zhao Huaian into helping him kill three of Nameless Mountain's Ten Sequences. They agreed to join the ambush in Black Sand Prefecture, and Ye Lin proposed gathering enough Spirit Transformation cultivators to kill the targets instantly.

• Zhao Ping'an said the three needed time to consider Ye Lin's proposal, fearing the consequences of killing their fellow disciples.
• Ye Lin gave them three minutes to agree or said he would find someone else.
• Zhao Huaiping agreed to help, and Zhao Huaian soon agreed as well.
• Ye Lin revealed that the three targets were in Black Sand Prefecture and said he knew their exact location.
• Zhao Huaian noted that the targets had to be killed before they could resist, flee, or send word.
• Ye Lin proposed that the three gather ten Spirit Transformation cultivators to join him and his companions in the ambush.

Ye Lin and the three Ten Sequences arranged a force of twenty Spirit Transformation-level fighters to ensure their plan to kill three people succeeded. They set off on Little Red with Toutian guiding the way using the Heaven-Peering Compass.

• Ye Lin decided to contribute his own strength rather than involve Taichu's forces.
• Zhao Huaiping and the other two contacted allies and gathered sixteen Spirit Transformation True Persons.
• Ye Lin, Toutian, Zhao Huaiping, and the other two prepared to leave after confirming their forces were assembled.
• Toutian used the Heaven-Peering Compass, and Ye Lin summoned Little Red.
• Little Red enlarged, and the group climbed onto her back to set off.

Ye Lin and his allies arrived at a canyon in Black Sand Prefecture and began surrounding it with a Heaven-Shrouding Grand Formation. Inside, Wang Teng pressured Li Qingxuan and Wang Tian to gather their forces against Ye Lin, while the formation went unnoticed.

• Little Red flew Ye Lin and Toutian to the canyon in Black Sand Prefecture.
• More than a dozen Spirit Transformation True Persons arrived, and Zhao Huaian, Zhao Huaiping, and Leng Ning organized them to set up the Heaven-Shrouding Grand Formation.
• Wang Teng told Li Qingxuan and Wang Tian that Ye Lin would seek revenge and urged them to follow his command.
• Li Qingxuan and Wang Tian considered cooperating with Wang Teng because they feared Ye Lin and had no safer alternative.
• Wang Teng demanded that Li Qingxuan and Wang Tian mobilize all their power and stop holding back.

Wang Teng tried to recruit Li Qingxuan and Wang Shengtian to ambush Ye Lin, but the two turned on him instead. Ye Lin and his companions watched from above as the fight intensified, waiting for the three to wear themselves out.

• Wang Teng told Li Qingxuan and Wang Shengtian that they needed to find and kill Ye Lin before the situation grew more chaotic.
• Wang Shengtian and Li Qingxuan attacked Wang Teng, who defended himself with his saber and demanded to know why they were trying to kill him.
• Wang Shengtian sealed off the surrounding space as he and Li Qingxuan continued their assault on Wang Teng.
• Zhao Huaiping asked Ye Lin whether they should attack, but Ye Lin decided to wait until the three had exhausted themselves.
• Wang Teng, Li Qingxuan, and Wang Shengtian fought fiercely in the gorge, each trying to kill the others.

Ye Lin revealed that he had watched Wang Teng, Li Qingxuan, and Wang Shengtian fight inside a trapped gorge. He demanded that Li Qingxuan kill the two men beside him within three breaths to earn forgiveness.

• Wang Teng realized Li Qingxuan and Wang Shengtian were trying to kill him to gain Ye Lin's forgiveness and fled from them.
• A golden barrier sealed the gorge, stopping Wang Teng's escape and convincing him that his pursuers had prepared an array.
• Wang Teng, Li Qingxuan, and Wang Shengtian discovered Ye Lin, Zhao Ping'an, and more than a dozen Spirit Transformation True Persons watching from outside the barrier.
• Li Qingxuan blamed Wang Teng and distanced himself from him, while Wang Shengtian looked on with disdain.
• Ye Lin told Li Qingxuan to kill the two men beside him within three breaths if he wanted forgiveness.

Ye Lin sent Little Red into the one-way canyon to kill Wang Teng, and Little Red overwhelmed him with powerful attacks. Ye Lin refused Zhao Huaian’s offer to help, leaving Little Red to fight the trapped opponents.

• Ye Lin ordered Little Red to enter the canyon and kill Wang Teng.
• Wang Teng complained that Ye Lin had sent a pet beast, then attacked Little Red with Overlord Slash.
• Little Red tore apart Wang Teng’s blade light and blasted him into the ground with a crimson beam.
• Wang Shengtian urged Li Qingxuan to help Wang Teng, and Li Qingxuan charged toward Little Red.
• Zhao Huaian offered to intervene, but Ye Lin declined and let Little Red continue fighting.
• Little Red suppressed Wang Teng, Wang Shengtian, and Li Qingxuan until they could barely resist.

Little Red overwhelmed Wang Teng, Wang Shengtian, and Li Qingxuan with his Phoenix True Form. Wang Teng tried to escape, but Ye Lin dragged him back, leaving him in Leng Ning’s hands.

• Little Red unleashed Phoenix True Form and struck Wang Teng down before sending Wang Shengtian and Li Qingxuan flying.
• Wang Teng, wounded and unable to fight, crushed a Jade Talisman to escape through a black hole.
• Wang Teng threatened Ye Lin as he fled, but Ye Lin used golden chains to pull him back.
• Leng Ning held a sword to Wang Teng’s neck and said it was time for him to repay what he had done.

Leng Ning and the others killed Wang Teng and his two companions, then concealed the evidence and prepared to give an account when questioned. Ye Lin and Toutian flew toward Tianhe Prefecture to investigate Jian Unrivaled, while Divine Sword City faced a demand to surrender.

• Leng Ning cut Wang Teng apart and burned his soul to ashes, while Little Red tore his two companions to pieces.
• Zhao Huaiping used a treasure bottle to hide the traces of what had happened in the canyon.
• Leng Ning warned that the deaths would be discovered within three days and that they would be summoned for questioning.
• Ye Lin and Toutian rode Little Red toward Tianhe Prefecture to find out what had happened to Jian Unrivaled.
• An enemy gave an old man in Divine Sword City the choice of surrendering the city or being killed until it submitted.

A young man in a golden sedan chair demanded Divine Sword City submit, but Jian Xu refused and faced execution by Elder Meng. Divine Sword City’s Martial Ancestor appeared to defend it, revealing himself as the legendary Sword Venerable.

• Jian Xu rejected the young man's demand, declaring that Divine Sword City obeyed only Nameless Mountain.
• The young man ordered Elder Meng to kill Jian Xu and the others after negotiations failed.
• Jian Xu realized Elder Meng was a True Lord as the elder reached for him.
• An enraged voice rang out from Divine Sword City, and its Martial Ancestor appeared beside Jian Xu.
• The young man recognized the Martial Ancestor as Sword Venerable, the famed sword cultivator from a hundred thousand years ago.

Sword Venerable confronted an old Dao Integration True Lord who opposed Nameless Mountain, but his hidden injuries left him weakened after their clash. As the old man prepared to kill him, Sword Venerable summoned Wooden Fish from Divine Sword City.

• Sword Venerable rejected the old man's claims that Nameless Mountain was weak and accused him of betraying the Human Race.
• The old man and Sword Venerable faced off, and Sword Venerable coughed blood after losing their clash.
• Jian Xu rushed to support Sword Venerable as the old man wondered who had injured him.
• Sword Venerable suppressed his injuries and called for Wooden Fish, prompting a wooden sword to fly from Divine Sword City.

The Sword Venerable prepared to hold off an old Dao Integration True Lord while Jian Xu led the others toward Nameless Mountain. Ye Lin arrived and invoked the authority of Nameless Mountain and his master Taichu to interrupt the confrontation.

• The Sword Venerable told Jian Xu to take the others to Nameless Mountain, then faced the old man alone with Wooden Fish.
• The old man mocked the Sword Venerable and claimed he could kill him in one move.
• Ye Lin arrived with Little Red and challenged the two Dao Integration True Lords for fighting in Human Territory.
• Ye Lin introduced himself as Taichu's disciple, making the old man wary.

Ye Lin confronted the man in the sedan to protect Divine Sword City, and the man challenged him to withstand three swords. The first sword, wrapped in a golden dragon phantom, charged toward Ye Lin as he watched calmly.

• Ye Lin argued that he had to defend Divine Sword City as a disciple of Nameless Mountain, and Elder Mo threatened to kill him.
• The man in the sedan stopped Elder Mo, revealed himself, and challenged Ye Lin to take three swords or be destroyed along with his allies.
• The man shattered two swords against Ye Lin to test him, then promised to leave if Ye Lin survived three of his strikes.
• Ye Lin sent Little Red and Toutian away before facing the first sword, which flew at him wrapped in a golden dragon phantom.

Ye Lin faced the young man’s sword trials, effortlessly receiving the first two strikes and earning his recognition. As the young man unleashed a Vermilion Bird sword art, Ye Lin prepared to counter it, while Jian Xu realized that Ye Lin’s strength might now surpass his own.

• Ye Lin used Evil Slayer to deflect the young man’s golden sword strike.
• Ye Lin wore down the young man’s cyan sword with successive waves of sword radiance and knocked it away.
• The young man praised Ye Lin, then announced that he would use a serious third sword.
• The young man released a fiery-red sword that formed a Vermilion Bird and charged at Ye Lin.
• Ye Lin invoked Sword Two, One Sword Opens Mountains and Seas, while Jian Xu watched in grave astonishment at Ye Lin’s growth.

Ye Lin defeated Wen Tian’s Vermilion Bird attack, and Wen Tian agreed to leave Divine Sword City. When Wen Tian tried to depart after taking three of Ye Lin’s swords, Ye Lin challenged him with a strike of his own, forming a black sword from the Yellow Springs.

• Ye Lin used spiritual-energy petals to defeat Wen Tian’s Vermilion Bird and prove himself worthy of learning Wen Tian’s name.
• Wen Tian introduced himself, honored his promise not to touch Divine Sword City, and prepared to leave with Elder Mo.
• Ye Lin stopped Wen Tian and demanded that he take three of his swords in return for the three Wen Tian had taken.
• Ye Lin opened First Turn, then invoked Sword Three, Sword Slash of the Yellow Springs, and shaped the river’s black water into a sword.

Ye Lin’s sword strike injured Wen Tian and forced him to retreat, after which Ye Lin went to visit Jian Unrivaled and try to guide him through his troubles. The chapter left Jian Unrivaled’s recovery uncertain as Jian Xu hoped Ye Lin could reach him.

• Ye Lin unleashed his strongest sword strike against Wen Tian’s sedan chair, and Sword Venerable blocked the resulting shockwave.
• Wen Tian admitted that Ye Lin had injured him and vowed to kill him the next time they met before disappearing into the void.
• Sword Venerable and Jian Xu thanked Ye Lin for helping them and asked him to speak with Jian Unrivaled.
• Ye Lin headed to Jian Unrivaled’s residence while Toutian and Little Red slipped into Divine Sword City.
• Jian Xu hoped Ye Lin could help Jian Unrivaled recover, and Sword Venerable left to stabilize his hidden injuries.