Chapter Summaries

Yu Ci escaped the demon-infested depths of the Zhaoshen Map, while the people waiting in the Sky Rift Valley learned that the Bai Ri Mansion’s expedition had returned battered and missing members. Old Monster Tu appeared and attacked Cheng Rong after Xiao Jiu fainted, leaving Cheng Rong’s divine soul in grave danger.

• Yu Ci saw demons overwhelm the bottom of the Zhaoshen Map and climbed away, wondering what had rallied them and how to warn the Li Chen Sect.
• As winter worsened, Xiao Jiu repeatedly flew over the Sky Rift Valley searching for Yu Ci while Cheng Rong tried to keep her occupied.
• Cheng Rong, Minglan, Zhengyan, and Xiao Jiu encountered Huang Tai’s returning entourage and noticed that several people, including Liu Siwei, were missing.
• Xiao Jiu guessed that Yu Ci had defeated Huang Tai’s group, but Old Monster Tu appeared behind her and frightened her unconscious with his illusory hand.
• Cheng Rong attacked Old Monster Tu, but his fist struck only a phantom, and Old Monster Tu used the Soul Grabbing Yin Claw to assault Cheng Rong’s divine soul.

Minglan confronted Tu Du and then delivered a mysterious divine decree through Zhengyan, leaving the monk shaken and wary. At the Wanling Sect camp, Cheng Rong awakened and recognized Zhengyan’s companion as Mr. Yu.

• Minglan and Zhengyan traded barbs with Tu Du, who departed after the Wanling Sect disciples carried away the unconscious Cheng Rong and Xiao Jiu.
• Minglan and Zhengyan suspected Tu Du had brought the Sun Soul Banner and was pursuing the True Form Immortal Molt because his lifespan was nearly exhausted.
• Minglan invoked Master Yixin through Zhengyan and passed on the decree to come less often and stop causing trouble; Zhengyan respectfully agreed to obey.
• Minglan patted Zhengyan’s cheek before leaving, and he stood stunned until someone called out to him.
• At the Wanling Sect camp, Elder Yu Xuan struggled to manage the leaders’ arguments until news came that Cheng Rong had awakened.
• Cheng Rong received Zhengyan and his companion, then recognized the companion as Mr. Yu.

Yu Ci found Xiao Jiu suffering from a divine soul injury caused by Tu Du and stayed with her until she calmed and fell asleep. As the Wanling Sect broke camp to retreat, Cheng Rong offered Yu Ci two Ghost Appearance Flowers and promised future cooperation against the Bai Ri Mansion, while Yu Ci questioned Tu Du’s attack on a child.

• Yu Ci and Monk Zhengyan entered Xiao Jiu’s tent and learned from Zhengyan that Tu Du’s dark spirit had injured her divine soul.
• Xiao Jiu woke in a delirium, clung to Yu Ci, and called him “Brother Fishbone” before recognizing him as Mr. Yu.
• Elder Yu Xuan used mind-pacifying incantations to help Xiao Jiu fall asleep, while Cheng Rong learned his own divine soul injury was more severe.
• Cheng Rong told Yu Ci that the Wanling Sect would retreat and leave two Ghost Appearance Flowers for him, then pledged that they would fight the Bai Ri Mansion together in the future.
• Yu Ci reflected that the Wanling Sect and Bai Ri Mansion were alike, and asked why Tu Du had targeted a child; Zhengyan replied that Tu Du was a madman.

Yu Ci learned more about Tu Du and the strange connection between Jingshui Altar and Xuan Yin Sect, then collected the Ghost Appearance Flowers and was ambushed by Huang Tai’s forces. He fought his way west toward Sky Rending Rift as Huang Tai waited to intercept him.

• Monk Zhengyan told Yu Ci about Tu Du and discussed Juebi City's changing circumstances before leaving.
• Yu Ci realized Monk Yi Xin had possessed Zhengyan during his conversation with Minglan and suspected a major plan involving Tu Du and the True Form Immortal Molt.
• After the other sects withdrew from Sky Rending Rift, Yu Ci appeared at night to collect two Ghost Appearance Flowers from Wanling Sect cultivators.
• Huang Tai's men ambushed Yu Ci, and Yu Ci sprinted west toward Sky Rending Rift after killing three Bai Ri Mansion guards with a Great Sun Talisman and his sword.
• Huang Tai led his elite subordinates toward the planned interception point, and fog rose in the forest.

Yu Ci escaped Huang Tai through the fog, but Huang Tai used a tracking talisman to summon Tu Du. As Yu Ci prepared for their pursuit, a blazing crimson object descended from the sky toward him.

• Huang Tai sensed Yu Ci’s mist-concealed soul, spotted his escape route, and crushed Tu Du’s Jade Talisman to summon help.
• Yu Ci used mist-transforming sword intent to flee, recovered with Innate Qi, and identified the pursuing smoke crane as a Flying Goose Soul Talisman.
• Yu Ci reflected on the kind of immortality he wanted while preparing three talisman Record Books.
• Yu Ci spotted an immense force racing across the Zhaoshen Map and saw a blazing crimson star descend toward him.

Yu Ci endured Tu Du’s long-range incantations while racing toward Sky Riff Valley, using an Exorcism Charm to resist the attacks. As Tu Du closed in and demanded the secret method for finding Fish Dragon Grass, Yu Ci reached the open meadow near the valley with a prepared spiritual talisman in hand.

• Tu Du’s Flying Star Yin Kill Method struck Yu Ci from afar, injuring his organs and trapping him in a curtain of fire.
• Yu Ci used his blood to draw an Exorcism Charm, which blocked the gloomy Qi long enough for him to escape the flames.
• Yu Ci spotted Tu Du approaching through the Zhaoshen Map and continued running toward Sky Riff Valley, knowing the Core Formation cultivator was faster.
• Tu Du’s incantations locked onto Yu Ci, struck his mind, and caused blood to seep from his nose and ears.
• Tu Du demanded the secret method for finding Fish Dragon Grass as Yu Ci neared the cliff, then Yu Ci crushed a prepared spiritual talisman in the meadow.

Yu Ci tried to slow Tu Du with a Yindu Black Law Ghost Binding Curse, but Tu Du broke free and caught up with him in Sky Rift. Their exchange over Yu Ci’s mission and the Stop Monument ended with Tu Du attacking and Yu Ci fleeing downward.

• Yu Ci used the Yindu Black Law Ghost Binding Curse to halt Tu Du, but Tu Du tore through the chain and continued pursuing him.
• Yu Ci descended the cliff by grabbing branches and stepping across stones, but Tu Du overtook him in the mist and blocked his path.
• Tu Du questioned Yu Ci about his confidence and his connection to Sky Rift, while Yu Ci maintained his composure and traded barbs with him.
• Yu Ci claimed Master Yu had sent him to gather medicinal ingredients and challenged Tu Du over the Stop Monument and his actions in Sky Rift.
• Tu Du realized Yu Ci was the only witness to his entry, broke through the Exorcism Charm’s barrier, and drove his divine intent at Yu Ci as Yu Ci leapt downward.

Tu Du pursued Yu Ci into the Sky Rift and summoned the Sun Soul Banner to protect his yin spirit and expand his attacks. Yu Ci raced down the sheer cliff to evade him, while Tu Du expected the dangerous descent to exhaust him or end in a fatal crash.

• Yu Ci withstood Tu Du’s soul curse and drove him back with Five Thunder lightning before disappearing into the clouds.
• Tu Du tracked Yu Ci, reasoned that the boy’s beast-horn object blocked his curse, and decided to weaken him through relentless pursuit.
• Tu Du brought out the Sun Soul Banner, the long-refined magical artifact that concealed and protected his yin spirit.
• Yu Ci ran down the near-vertical cliff as Tu Du followed overhead, confident that the speed and peril would eventually overwhelm him.
• Yu Ci cut through creatures in his path, and Tu Du noticed the skill of his swordsmanship.

Yu Ci risked a desperate plunge into Sky Rift Gorge to lure Tu Du toward a horde of demons, relying on his swordsmanship to survive the uncontrolled descent. Near forty li deep, Tu Du discovered the demons just as Yu Ci rebounded upward.

• Yu Ci deliberately provoked Tu Du and led him down Sky Rift Gorge, hoping the demons below would sense Tu Du’s aura and attack.
• As the demons remained still, Yu Ci fought to control his descent, using contained sword intent to carve a safe path through the valley’s hazards.
• Yu Ci maintained his precarious balance through the darkness and descended nearly forty li into Sky Rift Gorge.
• Tu Du accelerated after Yu Ci and began casting Ghost Domain Flame Prison, but sensed a dense swarm of demons beneath the clouds.
• Yu Ci suddenly rebounded upward beneath the Sun Soul Banner’s firelight.

Yu Ci broke through Tu Du’s Ghost Domain Flame Prison with a sudden sword strike, using the Divine Movement Talisman and a mysterious Sword Intent to soar high above the gorge. As he fell back toward the Sun Soul Banner, he unleashed a powerful Five Thunder method and revealed that the earlier Five Thunder Talisman had only been a decoy.

• Yu Ci rebounded from the cliff and charged at Tu Du’s Sun Soul Banner, while Tu Du activated Ghost Domain Flame Prison to trap him.
• Yu Ci focused his sword on the banner, broke through the flames and curse-power barrier, and vanished into the clouds with his Sword Intent.
• Tu Du recognized traces of the Li Chen Sect’s Transforming Separation Sword Mist as Yu Ci reappeared high above him and began to fall.
• Yu Ci saw the Sun Soul Banner below and prepared another strike as Tu Du dismissed the threat of his Five Thunder method.
• Yu Ci summoned a sky-filling storm of lightning and revealed that the earlier Five Thunder Talisman had been picked up, declaring that he was now using Five Thunders Crashing Down.

Yu Ci’s sword strike and Five Thunder Talismans damaged Tu Du’s Sun Soul Banner and exposed his Yin spirit to the demons gathering in Sky Rift Valley. As the demons swarmed Tu Du, Yu Ci landed on a nearby cliff and watched the fight unfold.

• Yu Ci’s powerful Five Thunder Talisman struck Tu Du while lingering sword Qi weakened his defenses and damaged his divine soul.
• Thunder sound shattered Tu Du’s defenses, and the sword Qi tore a small hole in the Sun Soul Banner before being consumed.
• More than a hundred demons spotted Tu Du’s exposed Yin spirit and rushed toward the banner, drawing an ever larger swarm from the abyss.
• Tu Du unleashed Bone-Piercing Fire, burning the demons at the front of the swarm.
• Yu Ci landed on the cliff nearby and watched Tu Du face the demons, thinking that Xiao Jiu would enjoy seeing the scene.

Yu Ci escaped Tu Du’s desperate attack after a Core Formation fiend disrupted the fight, then reflected on how Ye Bin’s sword intent had enabled his powerful strike and left him physically exhausted. He climbed toward safety through the nether region, but the Zhaoshen Map revealed a strange one-eyed fiend blocking his path.

• Tu Du unleashed a fiery attack at Yu Ci, but a Core Formation fiend pressed him while swarms of other fiends surged toward the Sun Soul Banner.
• Yu Ci parried burning stones, descended into the clouds, and escaped as Tu Du remained surrounded by fiends.
• Yu Ci realized that Ye Bin’s sword-intent imprint had enabled his Flying Sword strike, but using it had pushed his body to the brink of collapse.
• Yu Ci used the Zhaoshen Map to navigate toward the top of the nether region while avoiding stray fiends.
• The Zhaoshen Map showed a short, broad, one-eyed fiend behaving strangely in the path Yu Ci needed to take.

Yu Ci watched Zheng De’s corpse emit black Qi and die after possessing a sick demon, then realized the demon might expose Zheng De’s connection to his past killings. The possessed demon entered a Core Formation demon’s territory and appeared to settle into a crevice, while Yu Ci remained too exhausted to pursue it.

• Yu Ci spotted a half-headed creature in a monk’s robe approaching a sick demon and recognized its familiar features.
• The creature released black fire and snake-like Qi into the demon, then died as the demon regained its strength and moved away.
• Yu Ci examined the corpse and identified it as Zheng De, whose head he had severed months earlier.
• Yu Ci suspected Zheng De had possessed the demon and worried that Zheng De might reveal Yu Ci’s killing of Lu Quan and Xu Lao Er.
• The demon entered a blurred area on the Zhaoshen Map, which shifted toward Tu Du, and Yu Ci saw the demon curled up in a rock crevice as if asleep.

Yu Ci pursued the transformed demon, became convinced that Monk Zheng De had possessed it, and followed it to a battle-scarred stretch of Sky Rift Gorge. The demon used black qi to locate and place a Chuanxiang Talisman on a cliff, revealing it had companions, just as a streak of black light crossed Yu Ci’s map.

• Yu Ci rested, recovered his strength, and saw that the demon had transformed into a figure resembling Poisonous Snake Monk Zheng De.
• Yu Ci pursued the demon north through Sky Rift Gorge and passed the scorched battlefield where Tu Du had fought the demons, finding no sign of the Sun Soul Banner.
• At a cliff shelf called the rain eave, Yu Ci noticed fresh battle damage as the demon searched the rock for something.
• The demon released a black-qi snake that sensed its surroundings, then used a Chuanxiang Talisman to mark a cliff wall beneath the rain eave.
• Yu Ci realized the possessed demon had companions when a streak of black light crossed the Zhaoshen Map.

Yu Ci watched the fish-dragon defeat the black qi venomous snake and destroy its physical body, then tried to capture the naturally born creature for its value to the Li Chen Sect. His Ghost Binding Talisman chain shattered against the fish-dragon’s tail, leaving the capture attempt unresolved.

• The fish-dragon repeatedly rammed the black qi venomous snake, resisted its soul-attacking Curse Arts, and chased it as it fled toward its physical body.
• Yu Ci cut off the demon’s head with the Pure Yang Talisman Sword, and the fish-dragon swallowed the black qi venomous snake after it lost its body.
• The fish-dragon expelled black smoke but showed no lasting signs of possession, then drifted down the cliff while Yu Ci decided to capture it.
• Yu Ci formed a Yindu Black Law Ghost Binding Talisman and activated it when he approached the fish-dragon.
• The fish-dragon flicked its tail and shattered Yu Ci’s Ghost Binding Talisman chain.

Yu Ci discovered that the yulong was immune to his spirit-binding techniques and found the Yinjie Tree rootstock it guarded. After harvesting the rootstock, he drove the yulong into a narrow fissure and discovered a vast hidden chamber beyond it.

• Yu Ci realized the yulong’s spirit and body were fused, making his Ghost Binding Talisman chains unable to restrain it.
• Yu Ci identified the half-dead tree as a Yinjie Tree and traced its roots deep into the cliff.
• Yu Ci extracted the Yinjie Tree rootstock and stored it, bringing his collected medicinal herbs to two of six.
• The yulong sensed the rootstock’s removal, charged at Yu Ci, then fled into a narrow cliff fissure after he parried its attack.
• Yu Ci followed the yulong’s path on the Zhaoshen Map and found it swimming in a huge chamber hidden behind the fissure.

Yu Ci discovered that the cavern was the ghost beast’s hidden nest, concealed behind Illusionary Arts, and found Xu Lao Er’s ruined Spirit Binding Rope inside. He cornered the fish-dragon in a narrow passage, leaving it hesitating with no easy escape.

• Yu Ci used the Zhaoshen Map to expose the Illusionary Arts hiding a vast cavern and passed through the illusion.
• Yu Ci recognized the ghost beast’s scent and deduced that the cavern was its old nest, then found Xu Lao Er’s ruined Spirit Binding Rope among the claw-marked ground.
• Yu Ci drove the fish-dragon toward a narrow corner by throwing stones and blocking its escape routes.
• Yu Ci trapped the fish-dragon between the cave walls and his body, and it coiled in midair, uncertain how to escape.

Yu Ci caught a valuable fish dragon and sealed it in a stone box, then discovered a strange hook-cable in the cave. When its chimes shattered the box and freed the fish dragon, Yu Ci rushed to stop its escape, just as the creature changed again.

• Yu Ci trapped the fish dragon beneath his Qi-infused robe and subdued it with talismans.
• Yu Ci identified the fish dragon as a rare specimen beginning to develop dragon blood and sealed it in a stone box.
• Yu Ci found a delicate hook-cable in the ghost beasts’ nest and discovered that its chimes could affect his divine soul.
• Yu Ci’s infused Qi made the hooks collide, and their strange energy burst open the stone box, freeing the fish dragon.
• Yu Ci pursued the escaping fish dragon with his Pure Yang Talisman Sword, but the fish dragon changed again.

Yu Ci captured the fish-dragon just as a sudden cold tide surged upward through Sky Rift, driving demons and monsters toward higher levels. Elsewhere, two powerful figures fought through the freezing storm, and the one who kicked their opponent into a cliff also lamented that something had gone terribly wrong.

• Yu Ci grabbed the fish-dragon after its soul-devouring ability failed to find him outside the cave’s illusory entrance.
• Yu Ci realized the fish-dragon’s power disrupted qi and blood before unsettling the soul, then secured the creature and returned to the cave.
• A vast cold tide erupted from deep in Sky Rift, sending freezing air currents racing upward and driving demons and monsters to flee in both directions.
• Yu Ci saw the cold tide split the demon and monster hordes and feared they would be forced into the rebuilt ecological zones above.
• Amid the freezing storm elsewhere in Sky Rift, a grayish-white figure escaped a shadow’s reach but was kicked into a cliff by its pursuer, who said something had gone terribly wrong.

A cloaked fighter battered an ashen-gray intruder in the Sky Rift Valley and suspected he was imitating a Moon Demon. After an accomplice invoked Lord Huangquan and escaped with the intruder, the fighter wondered who had invoked that name as a joke and decided to investigate.

• The cloaked fighter repeatedly struck the ashen-gray shadow and accused him of pretending to be a Moon Demon.
• As the cold tide worsened, the cloaked fighter worried that the collision of primordial energies could bring heavenly retribution upon him.
• The ashen-gray shadow tried to flee, but a black-flame attack from an accomplice distracted the cloaked fighter.
• The accomplice called out, "Lord Huangquan sends his regards to Senior Brother Liu," then escaped underground while the ashen-gray shadow fled along the cliff.
• The cloaked fighter concluded that Huangquan herself was not involved and vowed to investigate who had invoked her name.
• A streak of fire shot through the hail and frost toward the cloaked fighter.