Chapter Summaries

Yu Ci and the other cultivators reached Ghost God Sword’s gathering beneath the Rain Demon Cloud, where he proposed hunting the demons threatening Donghua Mountain. He offered a chance to claim magical tools from the Sword Discussion Pavilion’s custody as a reward, then warned that many Heavenly Demon Kin were also hiding in the cloud.

• Yu Ci’s party followed Ghost God Sword’s lingering Qi traces through the Rain Demon Cloud and reached a crowded hilltop gathering.
• Ghost God Sword explained that the demons were gathering near a location on Donghua Mountain and that more than five Outer Realm Calamity Demons were suppressing the area.
• Ghost God Sword proposed eliminating the Outer Realm Calamity Demons to ease the threat and promised each cultivator who killed one priority choice of a magical tool held by his sect.
• Ghost God Sword revealed that many Heavenly Demon Kin were mixed among the demons and killed one that had been sneaking nearby.
• Ghost God Sword urged the cultivators to eliminate as many Heavenly Demon Kin as possible and warned that higher-grade ones might be among them.

Yu Ci's group followed Zhai Que'er's clues and investigated whether the heavenly demons' movements revealed a Demonic Domain forming beneath the Rain Demon Cloud. After ruling out one key location, they reached the old market, where the rain had weakened and an unidentified figure approached.

• The Ghost God Sword sent the cultivators along six routes to hunt demons and gather information, with the groups meeting first six hundred miles away.
• Zhai Que'er directed Yu Ci's group to capture demons and remained unusually silent while she studied their distribution.
• Zhai Que'er concluded that a Demonic Domain might be taking shape and led the group to test one of five crucial locations, where they found nothing.
• The group returned toward the old market, and Duanmu Senqiu noticed the rain had lightened and their perception had improved.
• Zhai Que'er proposed that the change might mean the Demonic Domain had lost strength or that too many 'houses' were diverting the flow, as a staggering figure emerged from the rain.

Yu Ci and the others reached the old marketplace and discovered Dao Hua True Man fighting high-grade Heavenly Demon Kin inside a Heavenly Demon Field. Zhai Que'er’s Nine Ghost Heart Bells exposed and weakened the demons’ void-distorting structure, but the group had yet to break through to Dao Hua.

• Dao Hua True Man killed a newcomer whose senses and orifices released water mist, then continued fighting alone in the marketplace.
• Yu Ci, Zhai Que'er, Duanmu Senqiu, Dragon Scar, Ghost Annoyance, and Ye Chi entered the flooded marketplace and realized they could not locate Dao Hua’s battle through the void distortion.
• Zhai Que'er used the Nine Ghost Heart Bells to draw the scattered Heavenly Demons together and devour many of them while preserving their underlying structure.
• The weakened distortion revealed Dao Hua True Man battling several figures amid collapsing buildings and raging heat waves.
• Yu Ci and the others identified the enemies as high-grade Heavenly Demon Kin and recognized that Dao Hua had entered a Heavenly Demon Field.

Yu Ci and the others confronted a Heavenly Demon Field and a Layered Delusion Realm, where illusions and demonic attacks threatened to overwhelm them. After destroying several enemies, they prepared to defend themselves against further corruption.

• Yu Ci, Zhai Que'er, and Duanmu Senqiu’s group hesitated to enter the Heavenly Demon Field, while Zhai Que'er warned that demons were approaching in the rain clouds.
• A piercing demonic howl disrupted the group as figures emerged, and Ye Chi and Yu Ci cut two of them down with their swords.
• Ghost Disgust, Dragon Scar, and Duanmu Senqiu attacked other figures, with Duanmu Senqiu’s target still struggling after being badly injured.
• Zhai Que'er identified the rain-soaked surroundings as a Layered Delusion Realm made from at least ten stacked Heavenly Demon delusions, and Ye Chi said she had encountered one before.
• Zhai Que'er used the Nine Ghost Heart Bells to probe the realm and warned Yu Ci to beware of demonic corruption.

Yu Ci and the others held off the heavenly demons while Zhai Que'er tracked the likely location of their target. A corrupted Longevity True Man, Fenghua True Man, broke through their defenses to assassinate Zhai Que'er, but Dragon Scar and another cultivator counterattacked.

• Yu Ci and Zhai Que'er quietly steadied Duanmu Senqiu's emotions as he used Corpse Blood Vines to form a barrier from the demons' corpses.
• With the layered delusions weakened and the group's defenses holding, Zhai Que'er ordered everyone forty steps left and then twenty steps forward to follow her deductions.
• Fenghua True Man, a corrupted Longevity True Man, used earth evasion to break into the inner ring and attack Zhai Que'er.
• Dragon Scar used Heaven Has No Sun to sever Fenghua True Man's aura lock and burn him, but Fenghua forced his way through the violet flames and struck again.
• A wondrous stretch of void nullified Fenghua's fist pressure, and Dragon Scar and another cultivator launched a counterattack against him.

Yu Ci used his sword to help Long Shang defeat True Man Feng Hua as the cultivators fought through a demon tide. After the Ghost God Sword failed to stop an outer realm calamity demon from escaping and True Man Dao Hua captured the remaining demons, Zhai Que'er confronted the Ghost God Sword while Lei Tonghao's party approached.

• Yu Ci wounded True Man Feng Hua with his sword, allowing Long Shang to engulf and kill him with purple flames.
• Yu Ci explained his choice to wield the Zhankong sword to conceal his other abilities, while Zhai Que'er led the group onward through the demon tide.
• The Ghost God Sword struck at an ordinary house but failed to stop the outer realm calamity demon from escaping, and Zhai Que'er warned the cultivators to prepare to break through.
• True Man Dao Hua emerged from the Heavenly Demon Field after capturing the outer realm calamity demon and its two transformed kin.
• Zhai Que'er confronted the Ghost God Sword as Lei Tonghao's party approached from the west, while the Dongyang Orthodox Sect remained missing.

Zhai Que'er identified the demon domain anchor point as an Inverted Diagram that could create a region where Heavenly Demons and Outer Dao survived, but it could not open a passage into the world. Her explanation suggested the Demon Tides may already have been arranging its circular formation around Donghua Mountain, leaving the cultivators with little time to respond.

• Zhai Que'er and Ghost God Sword argued over the demon domain anchor point until Dao Hua True Man intervened.
• Zhai Que'er used her Hidden Demon Pool to claim the anchor point, then identified it as an Inverted Diagram.
• Zhai Que'er explained that the Inverted Diagram altered the laws of Heaven and Earth but did not create a passage for Heavenly Demons to descend.
• Zhai Que'er proposed that Donghua Palace was the central area of a passage and that the anchor points should surround it in a circle.
• Dao Hua True Man realized the Demon Tides entering the Southern Lands may have helped construct the Inverted Diagram, while Zhai Que'er said it was already too late to stop them.

The Ghost God Sword led the group through the Rain Demon Cloud while Yu Chi searched beyond its interference. They spotted the Sage Wisdom Walker’s radiance ahead, and Yu Chi recognized an unfamiliar woman near him as strangely familiar.

• Zhai Que'er told Dao Hua True Man and the Ghost God Sword that the Sword Discussion Pavilion should sweep Donghua Mountain for the fulcrums.
• A tide of Heavenly Demons covered the area with a Rain Demon Cloud, disrupting the cultivators’ senses and crushing Duanmu Senqiu’s Corpse Blood Vine barrier.
• The Ghost God Sword ordered everyone to retreat toward Bei-ping Peak, marking their route with repeated sword strikes through the rain.
• Yu Chi secretly asked Gui Yan to watch over Ye Chi and cast his mind beyond the demon tide to avoid its interference.
• The group saw the Sage Wisdom Walker’s Buddhist radiance scatter the Heavenly Demons and followed it through the storm.
• Yu Chi noticed a weak, disheveled woman standing behind the Sage Wisdom Walker and felt that he had seen her before.

After returning to Screen North Peak, Yu Ci questioned the rescued cultivator and discovered she was Lu Ya, a former attendant of Madame Yellow Springs. Lu Ya’s revelations gave him new insight into Donghua Palace and its attendants, while confirming that the dead Lu Zhi had been a close confidante of Madame Yellow Springs.

• The party returned to Screen North Peak with the second echelon, while Zhan Ji’s group arrived after losing three core formation cultivators.
• Yu Ci asked Sage Wisdom Walker about the rescued female cultivator and received permission to question her.
• Yu Ci confronted the woman with his knowledge of Madame Yellow Springs and learned that her name was Lu Ya and that she had once served Lu Qing.
• Lu Ya answered Yu Ci’s questions about Madame Yellow Springs and explained that she had been marginalized in Donghua Palace before the upheaval trapped her near Donghua Mountain.
• Yu Ci showed Lu Ya the image of the dead cultivator, and Lu Ya identified her as Lu Zhi, a former attendant who had lived in Madame Yellow Springs’s Heart Hut.

Yu Ci learned how Madame Yellow Springs created Madame Qing and assigned Lu Ya to record people connected to Madame Yellow Springs in a Mirage Jade Slip. As the Xuanming True Water trade fair neared its end, he helped Xu Bo and Huo Lian and heard that Shen Wan had acquired a Record Book from the former Shangqing Sect.

• Yu Ci showed Lu Ya the puppet and learned that Madame Qing had been created from Chief Steward Lu Qing using servant girls’ essence blood, explaining her resemblance to Lu Ya.
• Yu Ci tasked Lu Ya with recording people around Madame Yellow Springs in a Mirage Jade Slip and promised to protect her.
• Xu Bo and Huo Lian presented their analysis of the red-skinned gourd, and Yu Ci advised Xu Bo to seek Gu Zhi’s help extending his lifespan.
• Yu Ci learned that materials requested by Zhai Que'er had been refined, though she had not appeared to collect them.
• Shen Wan reported that no Donghua Relics had been purchased and that she had acquired a Record Book from the former Shangqing Sect.

Yu Ci examined a Shangqing Dharma Register Shen Wan had obtained and learned it could summon and command ghosts and monsters. Lu Ya then summoned him to inspect a newly identified statue of Madame Miao, leaving Yu Ci wondering who she was.

• Yu Ci studied the Diagram of Ethereal Spirits and Strange Records and recognized it as a genuine Shangqing relic for commanding ghosts and monsters.
• Yu Ci praised Shen Wan for obtaining the register while privately noting the awkward resonance caused by her practice of a secret art derived from his methods.
• Shen Wan told Yu Ci that Lu Ya wanted to speak with him, and Yu Ci went to see her.
• Lu Ya reported that she had identified a statue of Madame Miao among the relics and that it could not be moved.
• Yu Ci asked Lu Ya who Madame Miao was.

Yu Ci learned more about Madame Yellow Springs’s experiments with divine masters and ordered Lu Ya to send him the Nine Truths records, spells, and statue. He then heard that the hidden cavern had been restored and agreed with Zhai Que’er to investigate it with Little Five before Sword Discussion Pavilion’s deadline.

• Lu Ya told Yu Ci that Lu Miao had become the Divine Consort Miao Hua Xian Niang, whose cult and miracle-working statue had persisted after her consciousness dissolved.
• Lu Ya showed Yu Ci the damaged statue and explained how divine-master incense offerings powered its remaining circular radiance.
• Yu Ci ordered Lu Ya to compile all Nine Truths materials and send them, along with the statue, to his residence.
• Lu Ya shared her findings about Donghua Relics, giving Yu Ci several leads to investigate in the Donghua Palace ruins.
• Zhai Que’er told Yu Ci that the underground cavern had been mostly restored and could sense a vague connection to a distant place.
• Yu Ci agreed to contact Little Five and immediately go to the cavern to determine its exact location before Sword Discussion Pavilion’s deadline.

Ghost God Sword gathered the cultivators at the Donghua Palace Ruins, where traces of a battle between seven Earth Immortals injured several people who tried to study them. Yu Ci’s group arrived as the others prepared to explore, and Ghost God Sword confronted them for arriving late.

• Ghost God Sword used the Severing Delusion method to calm himself while waiting for Jiu Yan and the others to arrive.
• Cultivators gathered around a shadowy patch in the plaza and suffered mental injuries while trying to comprehend the remnants of the Earth Immortals’ battle.
• Ghost God Sword drove the cultivators away from the shadow and warned them about the dangers ahead, including the site where Lu Chen died.
• Yu Ci arrived with Gui Yan, Zhai Que'er, Dragon Scar, Lu Ya, and Black Robe, drawing attention from the gathered cultivators.
• Yu Ci spotted Duanmu Senqiu and Ye Chi, and Ye Chi revealed her aura before joining him.
• Ghost God Sword complained that Yu Ci’s group had kept everyone waiting.

Ghost God Sword led the cultivators through the ruined Donghua Palace, where Yu Ci examined the lingering traces of Lu Chen and Dragon River Sword Immortal’s battle and considered how to protect Ye Chi. As the group set out along the old route around the peaks, a bloodstained sword cultivator arrived at the head of the party.

• Ghost God Sword offered the cultivators a choice between going directly to Donghua Main Peak and taking the old route, and most chose to circle through the ruins.
• Yu Ci lingered over the battle traces at Heaven's Gate Peak, and Ye Chi explained how Dragon River Sword Immortal had blocked Lu Chen from reaching the earth.
• Yu Ci briefly studied the remnants of the clash but decided that understanding them further was beyond his current abilities.
• Duanmu Senqiu joined Yu Ci and Ye Chi, and Yu Ci resolved to learn why Ye Chi had entered the dangerous treasure hunt so he could look after her.
• A tall, white-robed sword cultivator with conspicuous bloodstains arrived from the clouds and landed at the front of the group.

Yu Ci and the others crossed Donghua Palace’s ruined peaks after Qi Baiyi warned them that Heavenly Demon Kin were roaming nearby. As they sensed the palace’s damaged formations and void, Zhai Que'er questioned the Sword Discussion Pavilion’s handling of the area, leaving the group alert to the growing demonic activity.

• Qi Baiyi warned the group that Heavenly Demon Kin were scattered among the southern peaks after he killed several of them.
• Dao Hua True Man explained that the broken Donghua Formation left the ruins vulnerable during the demon tribulation, and Yu Ci noted that the fiends might have come from within or without.
• Yu Ci and the others followed the cloud bridge, where Yu Ci sensed intermittent changes in the void despite the ruined formations.
• Dao Hua True Man described Lu Chen’s design of Donghua Palace, and Yu Ci reflected on how its peaks once formed a separate world.
• Zhai Que'er told Yu Ci that demonic activity was unusually brisk and criticized the Sword Discussion Pavilion for letting the area become a devil's den.

Yu Ci and his companions learned that a rift to the Outer Domain had opened among the Southern Eight Peaks and hurried to reinforce the battle there. Aboard Lei Tonghao’s Sky Domain Shuttle, they caught up with Ghost God Sword and charged toward the rift.

• Dao Hua True Man explained that damage to the Thirty-Three Peaks of Donghua had left numerous void rifts that might connect to the Outer Domain.
• Ghost God Sword reported that a direct rift had appeared among the Southern Eight Peaks, drawing a horde of demons, and asked Yu Ci’s group to reinforce the fighting.
• Yu Ci, Zhai Que'er, Duanmu Senqiu, and Ye Chi agreed to go with Ghost God Sword.
• Lei Tonghao summoned a lightning-wreathed Sky Domain Shuttle and carried the group toward the southern peaks.
• Ghost God Sword boarded the shuttle, and Lei Tonghao accelerated it as they crashed through toward the rift.

Yu Ci and the others joined a battle against Heavenly Demons, helping Sword Discussion Pavilion cultivators kill two powerful kin and disrupt a rift. They discovered a slain Thousand Poison Dragon and learned that the Heavenly Demons had launched a full-scale invasion of the Outer Domain.

• Lei Tonghao used the Sky Domain Shuttle to charge through the battlefield, killing one Heavenly Demon Kin while allied sword cultivators killed another.
• The Sword Discussion Pavilion cultivators routed the remaining demons, then disrupted the rift and left a marker before departing.
• Yu Ci learned that the Sky Domain Shuttle could combine its passengers’ power and travel rapidly through the Outer Domain.
• Ghost God Sword and Zhai Que'er led the group to a giant corpse buried beneath the mountain ruins, which Zhai Que'er identified as a Thousand Poison Dragon, one of the Thirteen Outer Paths.
• Ghost God Sword said Martial Uncle Qi had slain the creature and warned that at least ten such demons had entered, declaring the situation a full-scale Heavenly Demon invasion.

Yu Ci and the others questioned Ghost God Sword about the three intersecting voids near Donghua Palace and agreed to help Sword Discussion Pavilion contain the disturbances in exchange for magical treasures and Sword Offering Talismans. The groups parted to handle different areas and planned to meet again at Donghua Main Peak in seven days.

• Zhai Que'er asked why the True Realm, Outer Domain, and Donghua's Self-Created World had not collapsed upon intersecting, and Yu Ci suspected a power or treasure on Donghua Main Peak was stabilizing them.
• Zhai Que'er demanded that Ghost God Sword explain the situation and how Sword Discussion Pavilion intended to seal the void rifts, but he offered only a vague account.
• Yu Ci proposed that Sword Discussion Pavilion focus on the north and south while his group handled the west and others were alerted in the east.
• Ghost God Sword agreed to compensate Yu Ci's group with one top-tier magical treasure and six reusable Sword Offering Talismans.
• Yu Ci distributed the talismans, and the groups separated with plans to meet at Donghua Main Peak seven days later.

Yu Ci led the group to Shaoqing Peak to search for Wang Renye's escape mechanism and establish a retreat route, using Li Xia's Sorcery Flying Wheel to guide them. Their formation disc failed because Sword Discussion Pavilion had stripped the ley veins, but Xiaowu removed a Thousand Poison Dragon that burst from a Void Rift, allowing the group to proceed.

• Yu Ci used the Sorcery Flying Wheel and information from Lu Ya to guide the group toward Shaoqing Peak, where Li Bocai had defeated the seven instructors.
• The group landed on Shaoqing Peak and searched for Wang Renye's corpse ground and escape mechanism.
• Black Robe buried a formation disc meant to create an escape route, but it failed because Sword Discussion Pavilion had removed the spiritual ley veins.
• A Thousand Poison Dragon burst from the strata near the formation disc, and Xiaowu swept it away with five-colored auspicious light.
• Yu Ci praised Xiaowu and told everyone they could split up and act.

Yu Ci gathered his remaining companions and followed Lu Ya to a concealed portal beneath Shaoqing Peak that led to the Nether Lake. When they found the portal buried under rubble, Yu Ci decided to enter the Nether Lake by another route and see the place where Lu Chen imprisoned his legal wife.

• Duanmu Senqiu left to explore, while Yu Ci ordered Xiao Wu to accompany Ye Chi for her safety.
• Gui Yan spread his demonic intent over the surrounding area as Yu Ci followed Lu Ya down a hidden passage beneath Shaoqing Peak.
• Lu Ya led Yu Ci to a concealed Nether Lake portal, which they found blocked by collapsed rubble and failed restriction mechanisms.
• Lu Ya suspected the portal's guards had tried to relocate after the Sword Discussion Pavilion moved the ley lines.
• Yu Ci dismissed the danger of getting lost and chose to descend directly into the Nether Lake.