Chapter Summaries

Ancestor Gu Liang used Wu An and the Soul-Leaving Cauldron to strip the blood-killing Qi from the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, while Song Gongyuan reinforced the rune arrays with the Zi Wu Magnetic Mountain. Just as Gu Liang launched a second Soul-Leaving Divine Sound, Yu Ci disrupted the cauldron lid, and the Demon Manor Spirit Banner fell as a Zen chant rose from the lava.

• Ancestor Gu Liang completed Wu An’s projection on the Demon Manor Spirit Banner, and Luo Yuniang identified the fiend as Wu An, the Turbid Sea King Beast.
• Song Gongyuan linked himself to the Zi Wu Magnetic Mountain and its rune arrays as Gu Liang used the Soul-Leaving Cauldron and Wu An’s power to consume the blood-killing Qi surrounding the Xuan Huang Killing Sword.
• Gu Liang sealed most of the connection between Wu An’s true body and its projection, while Song Gongyuan realized that Yu Ci remained a threat.
• Gu Liang unleashed the Soul-Leaving Divine Sound again, but Song Gongyuan convulsed and warned the others as the forty-mile cauldron lid heaved upward.
• Magma erupted from the lava lake as a Zen chant rang out, and the Demon Manor Spirit Banner fell.

Yu Ci's unstable realm shielded him from Ancestor Gu Liang while its growth awakened a new consciousness on the Xuan Huang Killing Sword. The Three Suns Tribulation Fire erupted within the realm, and Yu Ci's True Dragon Form Qi moved to protect the newborn consciousness.

• Ancestor Gu Liang regained control of the Demon Manor Spirit Banner and sealed the pit with the Soul-Leaving Cauldron's lid, but he could not probe the space beneath the Zi Wu Magnetic Mountain.
• Yu Ci realized that his newly formed realm remained flawed and depended on the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, though it had withstood Wu An's assault and grown stronger.
• Yu Ci used the Equality Bead divine art to lift the Zi Wu Magnetic Mountain, the Soul-Leaving Cauldron's lid, and the Demon Manor Spirit Banner as he prepared to break through with the Xuan Huang Killing Sword.
• The realm's growth produced a tiny, pure newborn consciousness on the Xuan Huang Killing Sword.
• The Three Suns Tribulation Fire erupted within the realm, and Yu Ci's True Dragon Form Qi shielded the newborn consciousness.

Yu Ci tried to protect the Xuan Huang Killing Sword’s newly emerging consciousness from the Three Suns Tribulation Fire while Ancestor Gu Liang attacked from outside. As the consciousness began to recover fragments of the sword’s past, Yu Ci summoned distant aid and met the next wave of tribulation with a light, nimble thought-sword.

• Yu Ci used his True Dragon Form Qi to shield the Xuan Huang Killing Sword’s nascent consciousness, sacrificing more than half of the Qi as the tribulation fire struck.
• The tribulation fire weakened after the discarded blood-slaughter qi separated from the sword’s consciousness, but the consciousness was burned and left chaotic.
• Yu Ci connected with the consciousness through the transformed Xuan Huang Sword Talisman and saw tangled memories of the sword’s forging, slaughter, and exploits.
• Ancestor Gu Liang unleashed a coercive attack and sent turbid waters from a blood flag into the magma lake.
• Yu Ci sent his intent through Guiyan and Chengqitian, drawing on the distant Cloud Tower Tree’s power to steady the endangered consciousness.
• As the tribulation fire struck again, Yu Ci clashed with it using a light, nimble thought-sword.

Yu Ci used the Twelve Jade Towers Heavenly Sound to shield the newly awakened Xuan Huang Killing Sword from the Three Suns Tribulation Fire, but Xuan Huang took control of the sword intent and carried them beyond the cauldron lid. Yu Ci’s consciousness struggled to keep pace as the ninth turn began.

• Yu Ci’s seven turns of sword intent disrupted the Three Suns Tribulation Fire and forced flames through the cauldron lid.
• Qu Cheng recognized the sword art as the Twelve Jade Towers Heavenly Sound, while the observers realized the tribulation was breaking through.
• Xuan Huang drew on the Supreme True Nine Heavens Flying Immortal Sword Scripture imprint and completed the eighth turn, taking control of the ascent.
• Yu Ci’s consciousness separated from Xuan Huang’s as the sword intent rose beyond the lava lake and the thousand-li strata.
• The eighth turn flowed into the ninth, and Yu Ci’s thoughts felt as though they had surfaced from deep water.

Yu Ci’s Flying Immortal Sword Intent broke through the tenth and eleventh revolutions, striking at the root of the Three Suns Tribulation and shaking the Heaven and Earth Law Will. The backlash snapped Yu Ci’s connection to Xuan Huang, while the tribulation’s upheaval damaged Ancestor Gu Liang’s treasure and stirred the suppressed Xuan Huang Killing Sword beneath the cauldron.

• Yu Ci realized that casting off the Heaven and Earth Law Will’s constraints had brought him into a sword cultivator’s state of pure, uncompromising intent.
• Xuan Huang guided the Flying Immortal Sword Intent through its tenth revolution, while Yu Ci’s own will hit an invisible barrier and could only watch from behind.
• The Flying Immortal Sword Intent reached its eleventh revolution and struck at the root of the Three Suns Tribulation, causing the Heaven and Earth Law Will to redirect the tribulation fire toward other targets.
• The collision shook Yu Ci’s will, thoughts, and body, snapping his connection to Xuan Huang as his will rapidly recoiled.
• Mister Gai saw the illusory suns distort and a beam of light descend, while Ancestor Gu Liang’s treasure was heavily damaged by the tribulation’s power.
• The Xuan Huang Killing Sword stirred beneath the magnetic mountain, the flames on the Soul-Leaving Cauldron’s lid went out, and Shao Changping and the others sensed danger as fiery smoke escaped the lid.

Yu Ci used the Equality Bead and illusionary techniques to disrupt Ancestor Gu Liang’s forces, but Ancestor Gu Liang contained his sword with the Twelve Golden Armored Generals. Yu Ci sent a piercing sound through the earth, drawing the pursuers toward the underground battle as someone shouted that a masterless sword belonged to the capable.

• Shao Changping raised his Celestial Being Barrier against the fire and smoke, but Yu Ci’s illusionary sword made the Longevity True Men believe they were under attack.
• Ancestor Gu Liang struck at Yu Ci’s sword shadow, then withdrew the Soul-Leaving Cauldron lid as the Equality Bead interfered with the magical treasures and Zi Wu Magnetic Mountain.
• Yu Ci used Rakshasa Illusory Power to evade the encirclement, while Ancestor Gu Liang summoned the Twelve Golden Armored Generals to trap and wear down his sword.
• Yu Ci sent a piercing, nonlethal shriek through the earth, alerting the pursuers beyond the talisman array.
• Tremors reached the underground space, and a pursuer called out, “A masterless sword belongs to the capable!”

Duanmu Senqiu and the Qionglu Society joined the struggle for the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, but Qu Cheng suspected their conspicuous attack was meant to distract the others. A massive collapse and illusionary arts threw the underground battlefield into chaos as someone charged through the confusion.

• Duanmu Senqiu emerged with the Azure Emperor's Treasure Garden and greeted Ancestor Gu Liang on behalf of Elder Qiong.
• Shao Changping accused Duanmu Senqiu of breaking the Gu Liang lineage's talisman formation, and Duanmu claimed the crowd had forced him to burrow through.
• Duanmu announced that he would try to seize the Xuan Huang Killing Sword if it escaped Ancestor Gu Liang.
• Qu Cheng considered the Qionglu Society's unusual role as the spearhead and suspected Duanmu was drawing attention away from another attack.
• A huge section of earth collapsed above the underground space, and dust filled with illusionary arts disrupted the cultivators' senses.
• Duanmu shouted as someone charged through the confusion, plunging the situation into chaos.

Qu Cheng watched the Bag Bandit attack the Xuan Huang Killing Sword while Ancestor Gu Liang remained silent. The sword bypassed the Bag Bandit's defenses and killed him with a single strike.

• Qu Cheng observed the breached talisman array as the Bag Bandit used his Myriad Capture Bag to pull the Xuan Huang Killing Sword from the military formation.
• The Bag Bandit blasted a puppet with three Yang Guiding Pearls, triggering a scorching eruption from the magma lake and exposing Qu Cheng's hiding place.
• The heat damaged the Twelve Golden Armored Generals and weakened the formation, allowing the Bag Bandit to draw the sword closer while Ancestor Gu Liang watched him.
• The sword's strange realm briefly blanked the Bag Bandit's mind, then it slipped past the Myriad Capture Bag and bypassed his defenses.
• The Xuan Huang Killing Sword struck the Bag Bandit and decapitated him.

Qu Cheng studied the Xuan Huang Killing Sword’s explosive strike and realized Duanmu Senqiu had used the chaos to steal Bag Bandit’s corpse, likely for the Azure Emperor’s Treasure Garden. As Qu Cheng reconsidered the Xiyu Alliance’s intentions and strengthened himself through the Heavenly Evasion Sect’s Melting Shadow Escape, he sensed the sword and crushed the rock wall beside him.

• Qu Cheng recognized that the Xuan Huang Killing Sword’s strike against Bag Bandit had gathered power like an assassin’s sword and could not be repeated immediately.
• Root-vines seized Bag Bandit’s corpse and carried it underground while Duanmu Senqiu laughed and escaped through the breach in the talisman formation.
• Qu Cheng realized Duanmu Senqiu’s true target had been Bag Bandit and suspected he needed a Void Artifact for the Azure Emperor’s Treasure Garden.
• Qu Cheng questioned the Heavenly Evasion Sect’s choice to come deal with Xue Pingzhi as he considered Duanmu Senqiu’s actions and the major sects’ ambiguous stance.
• Qu Cheng used Melting Shadow Escape to draw in and refine the surrounding cultivators’ power, then sensed the Xuan Huang Killing Sword and crushed the rock wall beside him.

Qu Cheng suspected Yu Ci was using the Heavenly Evasion Sect’s Melting Shadow Escape, while Yu Ci forged a protective boundary around the dormant Xuan Huang consciousness and the elevated Flying Immortal Sword Intent. Yu Ci began cutting through the talisman-array strata to escape, knowing Ancestor Gu Liang was watching his boundary closely.

• Qu Cheng sensed a resonance like the Heavenly Evasion Sect’s stealth arts and suspected Yu Ci was using Melting Shadow Escape.
• Yu Ci’s Flying Immortal Sword Intent rose to a new realm, while Xuan Huang broke the Three Suns Tribulation and fell dormant to digest the impact.
• Yu Ci formed a furnace boundary using the Furnace Heart Method to seal Xuan Huang’s new consciousness and the essence of the Flying Immortal Sword Intent.
• Yu Ci cut into the talisman-array strata through a gap Sen Qiu had opened, while Ancestor Gu Liang kept his will fixed on Yu Ci’s boundary.

Yu Ci kept Ancestor Gu Liang at bay after killing Bag Bandit, while Gu Liang tried to provoke Qu Cheng and the pursuing cultivators into testing Yu Ci’s sword. The seven Rogue Cultivator True Persons secretly agreed to bargain with Sword Discussion Pavilion and then attacked together as the Xuan Huang Killing Sword neared the edge of the talisman formation.

• Yu Ci maintained pressure on Ancestor Gu Liang and avoided using a second sword strike as he headed outward.
• Ancestor Gu Liang compared Yu Ci’s sword strike to Hui'an’s Unreturning Wheel, prompting Qu Cheng to realize Gu Liang was baiting others into testing the sword.
• Qu Cheng dropped away after realizing he had overlooked someone, while the damaged talisman formation slowed the Xuan Huang Killing Sword and let pursuers close in.
• Tong Xu and six other Rogue Cultivator True Persons secretly negotiated terms for a deal with Sword Discussion Pavilion rather than trying to claim the sword for themselves.
• As the pursuers neared the talisman formation’s core boundary, Tong Xu charged forward and the seven True Persons combined their strength to destroy the surrounding formations.

Tong Xu and six other Longevity True Men freed the Xuan Huang Killing Sword from the talisman arrays and pursued it, but Yu Nan intercepted them by attacking Wu Yao. Tong Xu and Wu Yao turned back to fight Yu Nan while the sword and the other five escaped, until a distant clang and the cry of “Two Forms Circle!” abruptly changed the battle.

• Tong Xu and the six allies broke the talisman arrays’ restraint, allowing the Xuan Huang Killing Sword to speed away as they followed it.
• Yu Nan used his Great Returning Heart Mirror to expose the pursuers’ weaknesses and attacked Wu Yao, separating him from the group.
• Tong Xu chose to turn back and rescue Wu Yao, telling the others to continue after the sword and reminding them about his shop.
• Wu Yao joined Tong Xu in attacking Yu Nan and demanded a ten percent stake in the shop as his reward.
• The Xuan Huang Killing Sword and the other five allies moved more than ten miles ahead while Tong Xu and Wu Yao fought Yu Nan.
• A clear clang from the sword’s direction froze the surrounding strata and injured Tong Xu and Wu Yao, while someone cried, “Two Forms Circle!”

Yu Nan crippled Wu Yao with the Blood Finger Heart Sword while Tong Xu carried him away, as Xue Pingzhi trapped the rogue cultivators and the Xuan Huang Killing Sword in her Two Forms Circle. Qu Cheng tried to seize the sword and suppress knowledge of Yu Ci’s cultivation method, but Yu Nan’s questions unsettled him and left him facing Xue Pingzhi and Yu Nan at a disadvantage.

• Yu Nan struck Wu Yao with the Blood Finger Heart Sword, and Tong Xu grabbed the wounded Wu Yao and fled.
• Xue Pingzhi’s Two Forms Circle trapped five rogue cultivators and stalled the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, though Qu Cheng’s sword intent disrupted the circle.
• Qu Cheng asked Xue Pingzhi to hand over the person attached to the sword, but she refused to yield.
• Qu Cheng warned Xue Pingzhi that using the Melting Shadow Escape could worsen the harm caused by the Rakshasa Illusory Power, but she dismissed his concern.
• Yu Nan challenged Qu Cheng’s claim that Yu Ci’s cultivation method belonged to their sect, pointing to a Dharma form within the Two Forms Circle that appeared to come from another lineage.
• Qu Cheng’s certainty and killing intent wavered as he faced Xue Pingzhi and Yu Nan together.

Qu Cheng’s negotiations with Xue Pingzhi collapsed, and she continued using the Two Forms Circle to crush the five Rogue Cultivator True Persons. Yu Ci then appeared as a powerful projection bearing the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, leaving Xue Pingzhi, Yu Nan, and Qu Cheng facing an opponent they could not easily defeat.

• Qu Cheng considered retreating, then tried to persuade Xue Pingzhi to preserve their sect’s ties, but she rejected his warning and the negotiations ended.
• Yu Nan activated the Two Forms Circle, gathering the earth qi and threatening to erase the five Rogue Cultivator True Persons’ Dao foundations.
• A Black Tortoise Dharma Aspect emerged beneath the circle, and a star-robed, sword-bearing human form manifested from it.
• Yu Nan identified the figure as a projection or duplicate, while Qu Cheng recognized the extraordinary power it displayed.
• Xue Pingzhi, Yu Nan, and Qu Cheng realized that Yu Ci’s projection left him in an effectively undefeated position.

Yu Ci tried to protect the Xuan Huang Sword Spirit and keep his projection clone alive while negotiating with Xue Pingzhi and Ancestor Gu Liang. When Ancestor Gu Liang demanded that the spirit be erased, Yu Ci invoked the Heavenly Escape Killing Sword to force the powerful cultivators to reconsider their positions.

• Yu Ci revealed himself to Xue Pingzhi, offered to discuss the Two Forms Circle, and greeted Ancestor Gu Liang as the Five Rogue Cultivator True People collapsed from their injuries.
• Ancestor Gu Liang praised Yu Ci's sword attainments but demanded that the Xuan Huang Sword Spirit be erased before he would discuss a trade for the sword.
• Yu Ci argued that the Sword Spirit was newly conscious and that he had saved it out of friendship, but Ancestor Gu Liang refused to yield.
• Ancestor Gu Liang postponed the dispute and invited Xue Pingzhi to Hundred Flowers Valley, while Yu Ci recognized that the two Grandmasters had reached an understanding that threatened to keep him under their control.
• Yu Ci offered to explain the heart method and demonstrated the Unreturning Wheel, provoking Qu Cheng to demand where Yu Ci had learned the Heavenly Escape Killing Sword.

Yu Ci’s attempt to force Xue Pingzhi to state her position set off a clash between Xue Pingzhi and Ancestor Gu Liang, while Yu Nan drove Qu Cheng away. The chapter ended with Yu Nan asking the two grandmasters to stop fighting.

• Luo Yuniang urged Xue Pingzhi to act, and Xue Pingzhi attacked Yu Ci with the Two Forms Circle.
• Ancestor Gu Liang blocked the Two Forms Circle and protected Yu Ci’s unstable projection as the two grandmasters clashed.
• Yu Nan threatened Qu Cheng with death unless he left the region within half an hour, and Qu Cheng departed after deciding not to fight.
• Qu Cheng added Yu Nan, Yu Ci, Xue Pingzhi, Ancestor Gu Liang, and their associates to his list of enemies over the Heavenly Evasion arts.
• Yu Nan asked Xue Pingzhi and Ancestor Gu Liang to cease their confrontation.

Yu Nan brokered a ten-year pact among Ancestor Gu Liang, Xue Pingzhi, and Yu Ci, using a Primordial Spirit Blood Curse to protect Xuan Huang's Sword Spirit while Yu Ci taught Xue Pingzhi a cultivation method. After the others left, Yu Ci began teaching Xue Pingzhi and discovered an unexpected difficulty.

• Yu Nan proposed that he guard the place for ten years while Xuan Huang's newly born Sword Spirit matured.
• Yu Nan established a Primordial Spirit Blood Curse, and Ancestor Gu Liang, Xue Pingzhi, and Yu Ci accepted its terms.
• Ancestor Gu Liang agreed not to harm Yu Ci or Xuan Huang's Sword Spirit for ten years, while Xue Pingzhi agreed to protect two lives and remain neutral afterward.
• Yu Ci agreed not to reveal Xuan Huang or its Sword Spirit's knowledge and to teach Xue Pingzhi the cultivation method; the curse unexpectedly took hold of his projected avatar.
• Ancestor Gu Liang left, followed by Yu Nan and the others, leaving Yu Ci and Xue Pingzhi alone.
• Yu Ci began teaching Xue Pingzhi and, a day later, realized he had run into an unexpected obstacle.

Yu Ci failed to teach Xue Pingzhi the Furnace Heart Method directly, so he devised a talisman-based approach and sought help adapting it. After Yu Nan warned that their underground base had attracted attention, Xue Pingzhi decided they would leave for Longxiao City.

• Yu Ci realized Xue Pingzhi’s established Dao foundation could not readily cultivate the Furnace Heart Method, and he began designing a talisman to apply it to her.
• Yu Ci completed a rough talismanic prototype and explained that its effects would not provide a permanent solution.
• Yu Ci suggested Ma Mingchu might help with the talisman, but Yu Nan reported that Ma Mingchu had already departed to attend lectures under his teacher.
• Yu Nan warned Xue Pingzhi that their formation had drawn attention and that escaped rogue cultivators might spread news of their location.
• Xue Pingzhi chose Longxiao City as their destination, and Yu Ci agreed to travel with them after changing his appearance and obtaining a scabbard.
• Xue Pingzhi produced a folding fan with a vivid spring-excursion painting on one side and a blank surface on the other.

Yu Ci used the Heartless Treasure Fan to imitate Zhang Yan and traveled with Xue Pingzhi, Yu Nan, and Luo Yuniang toward Longxiao City. On the way, Yu Nan explained the deal involving the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, prompting Luo Yuniang to question why it had been arranged years before the sword’s presence became known.

• Xue Pingzhi gave Yu Ci the Heartless Treasure Fan, which revealed shifting memories and could imitate someone’s form, spirit, and aura.
• Yu Ci’s memories formed a scene blending Zhixin Temple with the Tongtian River, and he transformed into Zhang Yan using the fan.
• Yu Ci and the others left for Longxiao City, where Yu Nan recommended that he cultivate in seclusion at Shaoyang Sword Cave.
• Yu Ci asked what transaction Ancestor Gu Liang had made to erase Xuan Huang’s spiritual awareness, and Yu Nan agreed to explain it to the group.
• Yu Nan said that eight years earlier an unnamed visitor had offered a unique cultivation method in exchange for help sealing the Xuan Huang Killing Sword at Seven River Peak City.
• Luo Yuniang questioned why the visitor had acted eight years earlier when the strange events at Seven River Peak City had only become known the year before last.

Yu Nan explained the secret plot against the Xuan Huang Killing Sword and the reward Gu Liang received, while Yu Ci weighed the account and considered who the hidden mastermind might be. They arrived in the City of Longxiao, where Yu Nan arranged a stay in the Shaoyang Sword Cave and offered Yu Ci access to its facilities.

• Yu Nan said the hidden conspirator had planned for years to weaken the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, and that Gu Liang had been promised a secret tribulation method that might help him achieve the Dao.
• Xue Pingzhi questioned why Gu Liang would trust the promised method, and Yu Ci concluded that only a few powerful factions could have supplied it.
• Yu Ci and Yu Nan reached the City of Longxiao, where Yu Nan described the region’s thriving cultivation culture and the Chunyang Sect’s presence.
• Xue Pingzhi and her disciple parted from Yu Ci and Yu Nan to seek high-level talisman masters.
• Yu Nan registered Yu Ci for a cave dwelling in the Shaoyang Sword Cave and gave him access to a sword-forging chamber and a sword-comprehension pavilion.