Chapter Summaries

Gu Xing accepted Marquis Changze’s invitation to the Azure Sea Dragon Palace, where the struggle over Azure Sea Lake’s throne would be settled at a banquet. The next day, he arrived with a thousand followers and several powerful cultivators, while Marquis Wu Ze was also expected to attend.

• Marquis Changze invited Gu Xing and Gu Changqing to a banquet and promised not to use Dao Soldiers if they avoided war.
• The envoy offered Gu Xing a chance to leave Azure Sea Lake and establish a residence elsewhere, but Gu Xing accepted the invitation and told his uncle to surrender the Azure Water Dragon Palace instead.
• Gu Xing placed Elder Mo and Du Ziqian in charge of Tai Chi Hall and asked several seventh-tier cultivators to accompany him to the banquet.
• Gu Xing and Liu Sui discussed the danger of the journey, and Liu Sui vowed to protect him.
• The next day, Gu Xing traveled to the Azure Sea Dragon Palace with a thousand followers and several seventh-tier cultivators as news spread that the banquet would decide Azure Sea Lake’s future Dragon Monarch.

Marquis Changze prepared a banquet at the Azure Sea Dragon Palace to settle the struggle for Azure Sea Lake’s Dragon Monarch, and both Gu Changqing and Gu Xing agreed to attend. The chapter ended with Gu Changqing meeting his allies and Flame Mountain’s envoy as they considered Gu Xing’s unexpected choice.

• Hu Xiaozi and Jiang Ziyang entered Tai Chi Hall, strengthening Gu Xing’s position with the Water Owl Tribe’s support.
• Gu Changze learned that Gu Changqing had agreed to attend the next day’s banquet, while Elder Zhuang urged caution about Marquis Wu Ze’s intentions.
• Gu Xing also agreed to attend, surprising Gu Rui and Xie Yuan and prompting Gu Changze to order the banquet to proceed.
• Gu Changze declared that he would not yield the fruit status to Gu Xing, while Elder Zhuang congratulated him on his expected rise as Dragon Monarch.
• Gu Changqing met with Gu Feng, several allied tribe chiefs, and an eighth-tier cultivator from Flame Mountain, and he was surprised that Gu Xing would attend the banquet.

Gu Changqing gathered his allies before Marquis Changze’s banquet and revealed that Fragrant Consort had borne Gu Rui in exchange for Gu Changze abandoning his bid for the Dragon Monarch’s throne. After dismissing the others, Silver Consort took on Gu Feng’s dead mother’s face and begged Gu Changqing to let her accompany him as his wife before the coming conflict.

• Silver Consort arrived and reported that Jiang Ziyang had chosen to support Gu Jingming, then met Xia Guang, Flame Mountain’s eighth-tier cultivator.
• Gu Changqing assessed his allies’ strength and said he would defeat Marquis Changze to claim the Dragon Monarch fruit status.
• Gu Changqing revealed that Fragrant Consort had promised Gu Changze a son in return for his withdrawal, shocking Gu Feng with the possibility that Gu Rui was Gu Changze’s son.
• Gu Changqing told Gu Feng that he was not his father and criticized Gu Jingming for using marriages and alliances to secure the throne.
• After Gu Changqing dismissed the others, Silver Consort changed her face to resemble Gu Feng’s dead mother and asked to accompany him as his wife before the next day’s banquet.

The Third Prince and Marquis Wu Ze arrived at the Azure Sea Dragon Palace for the banquet that would decide the next Dragon Monarch. With the contenders and powerful clan leaders gathered beneath ominous tribulation clouds, Gu Changze began the banquet.

• The Third Prince rode to the Dragon Palace with his seventh-tier allies and a thousand elite troops, wearing the Crown Prince's five-clawed python robe.
• The Third Prince and Marquis Wu Ze arrived by separate avenues as fortune-born tribulation clouds darkened over the palace.
• Marquis Wu Ze entered the hall, exchanged brief greetings with Gu Changze and Fragrant Consort, and took his seat among the gathered leaders.
• The Third Prince entered and greeted Gu Changze, Fragrant Consort, Gu Changqing, Gu Rui, and Gu Feng before sitting down.
• After all the distinguished guests had assembled, Gu Changze ordered the banquet to begin.

At the Dragon Palace banquet, Gu Changqing challenged the Seven Sword Slaves’ presence before turning the gathering’s attention to the Fragrant Consort and her swordsmanship. His pointed remarks about her relationship with Gu Changze and the Dragon Monarch ended with the declaration that Azure Sea Lake had long been ruled by the struggle to become Dragon Monarch.

• Gu Changqing questioned whether the Seven Sword Slaves should attend because they had once attacked Gu Xing, and Gu Changze offered to execute them if Gu Xing objected.
• Gu Xing expressed trust in Gu Changze and allowed the Seven Sword Slaves to perform their sword dance.
• After praising the Seven Sword Slaves, Gu Changqing called the Fragrant Consort Azure Sea Lake’s greatest sword dancer and invited her to perform.
• The Fragrant Consort danced with a flexible sword, impressing the guests with her refined swordsmanship and profound cultivation.
• Gu Changqing criticized the Dragon Monarch for not loving the Fragrant Consort and remarked that she could not become principal consort, provoking Gu Changze before he regained his composure.
• Gu Changqing declared that Azure Sea Lake’s history could be summed up as a struggle to become the Dragon Monarch.

At the Dragon Palace banquet, Gu Changqing exposed the struggle for the Dragon Monarch's throne, and Gu Changze transported everyone into the Three Stars Water Fruit Status's heavenly grotto. The eighth-tier cultivators began fighting, while Gu Rui and Gu Feng turned on you, with Gu Rui declaring he had long wanted to teach you a lesson.

• Gu Changqing challenged Gu Changze over his ambition to become Dragon Monarch, and Elder Zhuang read a decree accusing Gu Changqing of treason and sentencing him to death.
• Gu Changze drew the banquet into the Three Stars Water Fruit Status's sealed heavenly grotto, where Gu Changqing recognized the fruit status domain and learned no outsiders could intervene.
• Gu Changqing admitted he had promised Flame Mountain an eighth-tier remainder status in exchange for support, and he and Gu Changze unleashed their eighth-tier power against each other.
• Xia Guang and Fragrant Consort fought in the sky, matching their eighth-tier Dao powers as the other guests kept their distance.
• Gu Rui and Gu Feng, both newly advanced to the seventh tier, turned toward you, and Gu Rui said he had long wanted to teach you a lesson.

Gu Xing’s allies fought Gu Rui and Gu Feng’s forces while the three brothers faced off, and Gu Xing effortlessly countered Gu Rui’s water domain with Water Binding. He ended by inviting both elder brothers to attack him together, leaving the throne contest at a tense impasse.

• Liu Sui, Daoyuan, Lingmiaozi, Jiang Ziyang, and Hu Xiaozi stepped forward to fight the opponents chosen by Gu Rui and Gu Feng, splitting the battlefield into several duels.
• Hu Xiaozi and Xie Yuan clashed, Jiang Ziyang and Silver Consort fought, and the larger confrontation settled into a stalemate while the eighth-tier cultivators’ battle remained decisive.
• Gu Rui challenged Gu Xing and unleashed the Pure Water Life-Ordering Book’s water arts to trap him, while Gu Feng watched and waited to join in if Gu Rui succeeded.
• Gu Xing used Water Binding to tame Gu Rui’s water and revealed that he had mastered the seventh-tier divine ability.
• Gu Xing criticized Gu Rui’s understanding of water and invited Gu Feng to join the fight, saying he did not want anyone to claim he had bullied his two elder brothers.

Gu Xing confronted Gu Rui and Gu Feng as they revealed the lethal powers they had prepared to seize the Dragon Monarch’s throne. As the brothers charged him together, Gu Xing summoned a vast purple dragon phantom and challenged their claim to rule Azure Sea Lake.

• Gu Rui manifested his Pure Water Demonic Dragon form and fused the Male-Female Twin Shears into his horns, while Gu Feng summoned twenty-four Pure Water Pearls.
• Gu Xing accused Gu Feng of murdering twenty-four sixth-tier Pure Water Demonic Dragons to make the blood pearls, and Gu Feng admitted he had sacrificed them to increase his power.
• Gu Feng declared that fear and strength mattered more than his kin’s respect, while battles elsewhere kept Liu Sui, Hu Xiaozi, and the other allies from aiding Gu Xing.
• Gu Feng and Gu Rui confessed their hatred of Gu Xing and charged him together, each seeking to claim the Dragon Monarch’s throne.
• Gu Xing condemned their ambitions and summoned a hundred-yard purple dragon phantom as he declared that a true Dragon Monarch must govern water virtue and bring clouds and rain.

Gu Xing revealed an emerging eighth claw and a seven-colored Chisai mark, crushing Gu Rui and Gu Feng’s combined attack through overwhelming bloodline pressure. Though Gu Rui insisted the larger battle was already lost, Gu Xing declared he would ascend to the Dragon Monarch’s throne as the fighting continued.

• Gu Rui and Gu Feng launched coordinated attacks against Gu Xing, but his true dragon form’s pressure shattered their attacks and left both princes gravely injured.
• Gu Rui recognized Gu Xing’s emerging eighth claw, while Liu Sui noticed the seven-colored mountain mark of the Chisai Clan on his true form.
• Gu Xing explained that he had concealed his talent to survive, then defeated both brothers without using a spell or divine ability.
• Xie Yuan lost focus at the sight of Gu Xing’s transformation, allowing Hu Xiaozi to strike and injure him; other fighters also gained the upper hand as the demons recovered their composure.
• Gu Rui taunted Gu Xing that the battle’s outcome remained beyond his control while four eighth-tier cultivators fought overhead.
• Gu Xing calmly told Gu Rui to watch him ascend to the Dragon Monarch’s throne.

Gu Xing sealed Gu Rui and Gu Feng, then killed Xie Yuan with the Mountain-Burning Art, forcing the demon factions to unite against him while the eighth-tier marquises remained locked in battle. Outside the Dragon Palace, Gu Rui’s followers worried over the succession, and Guizhi predicted that Gu Xing was destined to lose.

• Gu Xing placed an Internalized Water-Binding Restriction on Gu Rui and Gu Feng, preventing them from using their spiritual power.
• Gu Xing used the Mountain-Burning Art to trap and kill Xie Yuan, refining his body and source origin consciousness into a pill.
• Elder Zhuang and Silver Consort joined forces against Gu Xing, while other clan chiefs occupied Tai Chi Hall’s cultivators.
• Guizhi, Qinglin, and Jiao Ling watched the tribulation clouds from Spring Excursion Palace and discussed Gu Rui’s chances and the Dragon Monarch’s succession.
• Guizhi said Gu Xing would lose, while Qinglin worried about Gu Rui and Jiao Ling considered her options if Gu Rui’s faction fell.

At the Dragon Palace banquet’s battlefield, Gu Xing withstood Elder Zhuang’s imitation of the young Demon Emperor’s punch and captured Silver Consort, displaying the fused power of his water and fire fruit statuses. As he moved to kill her, Marquis Wu Ze, Gu Changqing, attacked him from the heavens.

• At Three-Eyed Mountain, Jinhai and Gu Feng’s followers discussed the Dragon Palace banquet and wondered who would become Azure Sea Lake’s new Dragon Monarch.
• Shuimu, Han Mo, Elder Zhuang, and Silver Consort joined forces against Gu Xing, with Elder Zhuang unleashing a painting that preserved a seventh-tier punch from the Demon Emperor of Southern Shu.
• Gu Xing fused his water and fire powers, met the punch head-on, and captured Silver Consort while the other attackers recoiled.
• Gu Xing told Silver Consort he would spare her clan and prepared to kill her, while Gu Rui raged at Gu Xing’s survival.
• Gu Changqing descended in the form of a Golden Giant Dragon’s claw and attacked Gu Xing.

Gu Xing endured Gu Changqing’s eighth-tier attack unharmed by fusing the powers of two fruit statuses through extremal sublimation. As Gu Changqing prepared to kill him, Gu Xing broke through to the eighth tier of sword Dao fruit status and covered the heavenly grotto with his sword intent.

• Gu Changqing attacked Gu Xing with an eighth-tier dragon claw, but Gu Xing held it back with his Pure Water Demonic Dragon and Chisai dharma forms.
• Gu Changqing drove Gu Xing into a ravine, while Liu Sui tried and failed to reach him through the force of the clash.
• Silver Consort abandoned her body and escaped as immortal sense, but Gu Xing emerged from the ravine unharmed.
• Han Mo and Shuimu recognized that Gu Xing had achieved extremal sublimation by fusing two fruit status powers within the seventh tier.
• Gu Changqing unleashed his full eighth-tier power, and Gu Xing declared he would face him at the eighth tier before releasing sword intent that enveloped the heavenly grotto.

Gu Xing revealed that he had reached eighth-tier sword dao fruit status, reshaping the struggle for power in Azure Sea Lake. Gu Changqing challenged him with Rakshasa Lake, but Gu Xing declared that his sole ambition was to ascend beyond the world and vowed to take the inner demon down with him if he failed.

• Gu Rui, Gu Feng, Hu Xiaozi, Jiang Zifan, and the others were stunned when Gu Xing revealed his eighth-tier sword dao fruit status.
• Gu Changqing and Gu Changze recognized Gu Xing as a rival, and the three factions of Azure Sea Lake stood against one another as Gu Xing rose to their level.
• Gu Changqing summoned Rakshasa Lake, which created an eighth-tier inner-demon phantom matching Gu Xing.
• Gu Xing told Gu Changqing that Rakshasa Lake could not reflect an inner demon because he had never had one.
• Gu Xing declared that he sought only to ascend beyond the world and warned that if he could not ascend, he would take the inner demon down with him.

Gu Xing confronted Gu Changqing and Gu Changze in the Three Stars Water Fruit Status Heavenly Grotto, revealing his ambition to claim Azure Sea Lake’s Fruit Status and wielding the Sword Ancestor’s Demon-Slaying Sword. As Gu Changqing’s Dust-Cleansing Pool stripped cultivation from those caught in its rain and his Sea-Gathering Gates unleashed torrents of dangerous spirit water, Gu Xing’s sword descended toward the four gates.

• Gu Xing made the Rakshasa Heart-Demon dissolve, shattered Gu Changqing’s Rakshasa Lake barrier, and admitted he intended to contend for Azure Sea Lake’s Fruit Status.
• Gu Xing warned that outside Fruit Status holders would not intervene, then challenged Gu Changze and Gu Changqing to fight him.
• Gu Xing summoned the Demon-Slaying Sword, terrifying the demons and prompting Gu Changze to ask whether Gu Xing had inherited the Sword Ancestor’s legacy.
• Gu Changqing and Gu Changze attacked together as Gu Changqing’s Dust-Cleansing Pool washed away the cultivation and Divine Abilities of demons caught in its rain.
• Gu Changqing unleashed the Sea-Gathering Gates, flooding the Heavenly Grotto with four dangerous spirit waters while Gu Xing prepared to counter with his sword.
• Gu Xing brought the Demon-Slaying Sword down toward the four gates of the Sea-Gathering Gates Divine Ability.

Yanli confronted Jiao Xiu above Azure Sea Lake and questioned whether he had spent centuries plotting to seize its three stars water fruit status. Their conversation revealed that both had come in response to Gu Jingming’s concerns, while Jiao Xiu also discussed his grandson’s prospects and the allies he had gathered for the Dragon Palace banquet.

• Yanli revealed herself to Jiao Xiu above Azure Sea Lake and challenged him over his plans for the three stars water fruit status.
• Jiao Xiu and Yanli discussed their long history, their differing bloodline traditions, and the possibility that Jiao Xiu had arranged his daughter’s marriage into Azure Sea Lake as part of a thousand-year plan.
• Yanli admitted that Gu Jingming had asked her to come because she owed him a favor, and Jiao Xiu realized Gu Jingming had long guarded against his ambitions.
• Jiao Xiu said his grandson could become Blazing Sun Mountain’s Crown Prince if he failed to inherit the Dragon Monarch’s position, and Yanli wondered whether the two houses’ bloodlines had produced a rare blend of water and fire.
• Jiao Xiu said he had summoned the Divine Silkworm Daoist and another ally, and that the Demon Emperor had promised to intervene, while Yanli questioned whether the Jianmu Assembly was merely a Southern Shu Demon Race performance.

Yanli, Jiao Xiu, and the Blood Extremity Devil Venerable gathered above Azure Sea Lake as four fruit status holders, joined by Yu Liuli of the Seven Mysteries Demon Gate. Yu Liuli announced that the Heavenly Devil Master had sent her to recommend Gu Changze as Azure Sea Lake’s master, leaving Yanli and Jiao Xiu surprised by his intervention.

• Yanli sensed that the Blood Demon Cavern’s people had arrived, and the Blood Extremity Devil Venerable appeared above Azure Sea Lake.
• Yanli recalled the old grudge between herself, Jiao Xiu, and the Blood Extremity Devil Venerable, who had once plotted to refine them into blood essence.
• Yu Liuli arrived and greeted Yanli, Jiao Xiu, and the Blood Extremity Devil Venerable.
• Yu Liuli said she had come on the Heavenly Devil Master’s command to recommend a master for Azure Sea Lake.
• Yu Liuli named Gu Changze, surprising Yanli and Jiao Xiu.

Gu Xing shattered Gu Changqing’s divine abilities with Endless Sword Qi and used Morning Farewell to crack the three stars water fruit status heavenly grotto. As Gu Changqing, Gu Changze, the Fragrant Consort, and Daoist Xia Guang joined forces against him, Gu Xing summoned Fellow Daoist Xuanji from the Crimson Gourd.

• Gu Changze and Gu Changqing’s eighth-tier divine abilities flooded the heavenly grotto and threatened the seventh-tier demons, forcing the clans to unite in defense.
• Gu Xing repeatedly struck Gu Changqing’s concealed Sea-Gathering Gates with Demon-Slaying Swords, damaging the divine ability as Gu Changze and Gu Changqing unleashed more attacks.
• Gu Xing used Endless Sword Qi to destroy the Ice-Soul Lotus Illusory Realm and Sea-Gathering Gates, rescuing the demons from the spells’ effects.
• Gu Xing unleashed Morning Farewell, wounded Gu Changze and cracked the heavenly grotto’s boundary, prompting Gu Changze, Gu Changqing, the Fragrant Consort, and Daoist Xia Guang to join forces against him.
• Gu Xing summoned Fellow Daoist Xuanji from the Crimson Gourd for help.

Xuanji emerged from the Crimson Gourd and used his Dusk-Bearing Sword Body to battle Xia Guang and the Fragrant Consort, overpowering both with his sword techniques. As he drove them back, you invoked the sword dao fruit status to try to cleave open the Three Stars Water Fruit Status heavenly grotto.

• Xuanji emerged from the Crimson Gourd and agreed to hold off Xia Guang and the Fragrant Consort while you faced the others.
• Xuanji formed a temporary flesh-and-blood body with Dusk-Bearing Sword Body, restoring much of his former strength at the cost of a thousand years of accumulated fortune.
• Xuanji wounded Xia Guang with his First Cause, Last Effect sword intent, destroyed her protective treasure, and forced her to retreat beyond its effective range.
• The Fragrant Consort defended herself with the Rakshasa Lake and Azure Deep Waterfall, while Xia Guang summoned the Vermilion Sun Python; Xuanji cut down the fire spirit and pressed both women with relentless sword attacks.
• Xuanji overpowered Xia Guang and the Fragrant Consort, while you invoked the sword dao fruit status to cleave open the fruit status heavenly grotto.

At Azure Sea Lake, Yu Liuli invoked the Heavenly Devil Master’s authority to support Gu Changqing, but the Divine Silkworm Daoist and Yanli challenged the Devil Master’s interference. A sword dao fruit status reflection then appeared above the lake, revealing that Gu Xing had reached eighth-tier Sword Way and was about to overwhelm Gu Changqing and Gu Changze.

• Yu Liuli claimed that the Heavenly Devil Master supported Gu Changqing, prompting the Divine Silkworm Daoist to declare that the Devil Master had overstepped in the Demon Race’s internal affairs.
• Yanli argued that the secluded Devil Master could not have issued the decree, leaving Yu Liuli unable to answer the other cultivators’ objections.
• A sword dao fruit status reflection manifested above Azure Sea Lake, and the Divine Silkworm Daoist realized an eighth-tier Sword Way cultivator was cleaving open the Three Stars Water Fruit Status heavenly grotto.
• The cultivator was revealed to be Gu Xing, astonishing Jiao Xiu as the sword light exposed the Dragon Palace beneath the lake.
• Inside the grotto, Gu Xing suppressed Gu Changqing and Gu Changze, merged eighteen sword intents into Myriad Forms Returning to the Hidden, and struck to shatter their fruit status world.

The protagonist and Xuanji defeated Gu Changqing and Gu Changze, but Yanli intervened to save Xia Guang as five fruit-status holders gathered above Azure Sea Lake. The Fragrant Consort discovered Gu Changze had poisoned Gu Rui with turbid water and learned that he had hated her for thousands of years.

• The protagonist cleaved open the heavenly grotto and grievously wounded Gu Changqing and Gu Changze with one sword strike.
• Xuanji trapped Xia Guang in his Sword Domain, but Yanli arrived and carried her to safety.
• The Fragrant Consort found Gu Changze gravely wounded, but he attacked her with poison and then revealed his resentment over losing the Dragon Monarch's throne.
• Gu Rui's blood ran wild, and the Fragrant Consort drew turbid water essence from him to save his life, exposing the poison's effect on herself.
• The Fragrant Consort accused Gu Changze of cultivating a turbid water body using their clansmen and poisoning Gu Rui, and Gu Changze admitted he had hated her for thousands of years.