Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lin joined Ji Li and eight other Formation Grandmasters at Falling Phoenix Ridge to discuss formations before the midnight attempt to break a hidden seal. The group prepared to investigate a formation so advanced that none of them could perceive it.

• Ji Li and Xiao Lin discovered that they had both reached the Three-Star Dou Venerable realm.
• Ji Li introduced Xiao Lin to Zuo He, Weng Xing, Baili Qing, Wu Yunfeng, Dai Chenhai, Yi Moqiu, Zhu Fang, and Xi Miaoyun, and the nine Formation Grandmasters exchanged ideas while Ji Li was ignored.
• As midnight approached, Ji Li interrupted their discussion and reminded them to prepare to break the seal.
• Zuo He questioned whether an undetectable formation truly existed at Falling Phoenix Ridge, and Ji Li cited the records left by his ancestor.
• Xiao Lin concluded that the formation must surpass their abilities, exciting the Formation Grandmasters as they prepared to encounter it.

Ji Li gathered Xiao Lin and eight other Formation Grandmasters to break the hidden array surrounding Falling Phoenix Ridge and reveal the resting place of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix. Their synchronized effort shattered space and drew them into the array as a massive fire-red figure appeared above the ridge.

• Ji Li explained that nine Formation Grandmasters had to break the array at nine marked points during its brief midnight weakening, and revealed that Falling Phoenix Ridge concealed the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix’s separate resting space.
• Xiao Lin questioned Ji Li’s role, and Ji Li said he would command from the rear while the nine Formation Grandmasters handled the array.
• The group assigned Xiao Lin the central point and the other eight Grandmasters the surrounding directions, then waited for midnight.
• When the array appeared, Xiao Lin and the eight others broke it simultaneously, sending nine beams of light together and shattering the space before them.
• A powerful twisting force pulled Xiao Lin and the others away as a piercing cry rang out and a massive fire-red figure appeared over Falling Phoenix Ridge, shaking the Southern Region of the Central Plains.

Feng Xian ordered Starfall Pavilion to monitor Falling Phoenix Ridge after an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix phantom appeared there, while factions across the Southern Region reacted. Xiao Lin, Ji Li, and eight formation grandmasters were transported into the true Falling Phoenix Ridge, where they discovered a forest of black Wutong trees and realized the place was dangerous.

• A Starfall Pavilion disciple told Feng Xian that a pillar of light and an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix phantom had appeared over Falling Phoenix Ridge.
• Feng Xian ordered his disciples to watch the ridge but forbade them from approaching, while factions across the Southern Region either set out for it or waited to observe.
• The phantom dissipated, and Xiao Lin, Ji Li, and eight formation grandmasters were carried away to another space as the ridge's formation broke.
• Ji Li identified the unfamiliar space as the true Falling Phoenix Ridge, and Baili Qing sensed something strange about it.
• Xiao Lin pointed out that they stood among black Wutong trees, and Ji Li revealed a frantic reaction while keeping a secret about Falling Phoenix Ridge undisclosed.

Ji Li revealed that he had brought Xiao Lin and the eight Formation Grandmasters to Falling Phoenix Ridge to fulfill his ancestor’s final wish and slay a demon. Xiao Lin accepted the danger and gained a new understanding of a strong person’s responsibility, while the group prepared to face what lay ahead.

• Xiao Lin suspected Ji Li was hiding something, and Ji Li admitted his true purpose was to slay a demon in Falling Phoenix Ridge.
• Ji Li explained that he had concealed the danger and used the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix clue to persuade the eight Formation Grandmasters to come.
• The Formation Grandmasters and Xiao Lin were angered by Ji Li’s deception but struggled to blame him after hearing he was risking his life for all living beings.
• Ji Li said they could cut ties with him or attack him after the demon was dealt with, if he survived.
• Xiao Lin said he would beat Ji Li up afterward and realized that great strength carried responsibility.

Ji Li revealed that an unknown demon threatened the balance of the sealed place, and the Formation Grandmasters agreed to help him fight it. Xiao Lin took command and led the group to prepare for the demon-slaying operation, which began with their decision to seek the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix at a towering Wutong Tree.

• The eight Formation Grandmasters supported Ji Li after learning the truth, and Ji Li thanked them for understanding.
• Xiao Lin stripped Ji Li of command authority and asked him to share what he knew about the demon.
• Ji Li reasoned that the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix might still be fighting the demon, and Xiao Lin proposed finding it.
• Xiao Lin, Ji Li, and Zuo He chose the towering black Wutong Tree as their target.
• Xiao Lin gave High-Tier Formation Disks to the five Formation Grandmasters who lacked their own, and the group set out to begin the demon-slaying operation.

Xiao Lin and the group reached the giant black Wutong Tree and found Huang Wuji, the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix, waiting there. Huang Wuji revealed that he had suppressed the demon beneath the forest and expected it to be destroyed within a few years, leaving Xiao Lin and Ji Li to react uneasily.

• Xiao Lin and the nine others crossed the Black Wutong Forest without encountering danger, which made them increasingly anxious.
• Xiao Lin and Ji Li calmed the group and led them onward to the giant Wutong Tree.
• Xiao Lin and the others flew up the tree and stopped when they saw a man meditating on a branch.
• The man identified himself as Huang Wuji, the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix, and said he was sustaining himself through the area's special environment.
• Huang Wuji told Xiao Lin and Ji Li that the demon was suppressed beneath the earth and that the black Wutong Forest was helping destroy it.
• Xiao Lin and Ji Li exchanged a silent glance after hearing Huang Wuji's explanation.

Xiao Lin and Ji Li saw through the demon disguised as Huang Wuji and stopped the group from opening an exit that could have let it escape. The revealed impostor identified himself as the Dark Demon King of the Dark Demon Clan.

• Huang Wuji told the group to fly to the top of the Wutong Tree and strike the barrier to open the exit.
• As the group prepared to leave, Xiao Lin slashed Huang Wuji with the Zhuiyue Blade.
• Xiao Lin accused Huang Wuji of occupying the real Huang Wuji's body, and Ji Li supported his accusation.
• The demon dropped his act and admitted that Xiao Lin and Ji Li had exposed him because his claims contradicted what they knew about the balance between Huang Wuji and the demon.
• The impostor announced that he was the Dark Demon King of the Dark Demon Clan.

Xiao Lin recognized the Dark Demon King as a likely member of the Evil Clan and warned Ji Li that the enemy wielded Demonic Qi. The group prepared to fight the weakened demon, and the chapter ended as Xiao Lin and Ji Li launched their first attacks.

• Xiao Lin identified the Dark Demon King as a likely invader from the Evil Clan and warned Ji Li about his Demonic Qi.
• The Dark Demon King decided to kill Xiao Lin and the others to keep his identity secret, while revealing he could currently wield the strength of a Demon General.
• Xiao Lin ordered eight Formation Grandmasters to deploy their Formation Disks and contain the Dark Demon King while he and Ji Li attacked.
• Ji Li summoned Fiery Rain Shooting Stars, and Xiao Lin followed with Earth Dragon Roll.
• The Dark Demon King shouted Evil Spirit Break and released an invisible ripple as the attacks approached.

Xiao Lin and Ji Li faced the Dark Demon King after he effortlessly destroyed their combined attack. They revealed hidden power and Ji Li summoned a Child Flame of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, leaving the others to discover his connection to the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint.

• The Dark Demon King shattered Xiao Lin and Ji Li's combined attack and challenged them to give up.
• Xiao Lin urged Ji Li to stop holding back, and both prepared to fight at full strength while hoping Huang Wuji would join them.
• Xiao Lin revealed Mid-Heavenly Realm Soul Power and raised his cultivation from Three-Star to Six-Star Dou Venerable.
• Ji Li summoned a milky-white fire lotus that suppressed the Dark Demon King's Demonic Qi.
• Zuo He identified the flame as the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, and Ji Li explained it was a Child Flame that had devoured two other Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Lin inferred that Ji Li was descended from the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint, and Ji Li asked whether Xiao Lin had already guessed his identity.

Ji Li revealed that he was descended from the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint and used his child flame to counter the Dark Demon King's Demonic Qi. Xiao Lin and Ji Li teamed up to wound the Dark Demon King and knock him from the sky, though Xiao Lin remained unsure whether the attack had defeated him.

• Xiao Lin revealed Ji Li's descent from the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint, and the other Formation Grandmasters continued maintaining the formation as they reacted to his identity.
• The Dark Demon King attacked Ji Li with an Evil Spirit Spear, but Xiao Lin intercepted it with the Zhuiyue Blade and showed that his Astral Dou Qi resisted Demonic Qi.
• Xiao Lin and Ji Li charged the Dark Demon King from opposite sides, combining blade strikes and purifying flame attacks.
• Ji Li struck the Dark Demon King's arms with a flame-wreathed kick, cleansing some of his Demonic Qi and making him howl in pain.
• Xiao Lin slashed the Dark Demon King's back with an Astral Power-infused blade strike, and the combined force of starlight and flame smashed him down from the sky.

The Dark Demon King unleashed the Demonic Qi that had corrupted the Wutong Forest, preventing Xiao Lin, Ji Li, and the formation masters from replenishing their Dou Qi. Empowered by the Demonic Qi, he turned the battle against Xiao Lin and Ji Li and slammed them into the ground.

• The Dark Demon King recovered from Xiao Lin and Ji Li's attacks, though Ji Li's Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Seed Flame left burns that would not heal.
• The Dark Demon King caused the Wutong Forest to surge with Demonic Qi, revealing that it had been corrupted over countless years.
• Xiao Lin and Ji Li realized they could no longer absorb Dou Qi, and Zuo He urged the eight Formation Grandmasters to sustain the formation with medicinal pills.
• Ji Li and Xiao Lin charged the Dark Demon King, but the Demonic Qi strengthened him and prevented them from repeating their earlier success.
• The Dark Demon King overpowered Xiao Lin and Ji Li and smashed them into the ground.

Xiao Lin and Ji Li struggled against the Dark Demon King, whose Demonic Qi blunted most of their attacks. While Ji Li held the demon off, Xiao Lin broke through to Low-Tier Human-Rank Spirit Array Master Grandmaster, preparing to use the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation.

• Ji Li and Xiao Lin recovered with pills as they realized they could barely damage the Dark Demon King and could not defeat him by fighting together.
• Xiao Lin asked Ji Li to hold the Dark Demon King off while he prepared a desperate plan, and Ji Li agreed to fight alone.
• Xiao Lin withdrew and began condensing Spirit Seals while Ji Li focused on defending against the Dark Demon King's attacks.
• Xiao Lin used the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation diagram Ji Li had given him as the basis for his plan to defeat the demon.
• Xiao Lin condensed his two-thousandth Spirit Seal and advanced to Low-Tier Human-Rank Spirit Array Master Grandmaster.

Ji Li stalled the Dark Demon King while Xiao Lin prepared the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation. Ji Li summoned a phantom of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint to badly injure the demon, and Xiao Lin completed his breakthrough but continued studying the formation.

• Ji Li struggled to hold off the Dark Demon King while Zuo He and seven other formation grandmasters interfered, buying him time for Xiao Lin.
• When the Dark Demon King’s attack left Ji Li unable to dodge, Ji Li summoned a phantom of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint, which crushed the demon and destroyed half his body.
• The Dark Demon King recovered with Demonic Qi but paused, wary that Ji Li might have another powerful trump card.
• Xiao Lin successfully broke through to become a low-tier Human-Rank Spirit Array Master and continued studying the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation.

Xiao Lin struggled to master the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation while Ji Li fought the Dark Demon King and was gravely wounded. Ji Li’s bluff bought Xiao Lin time to activate the formation, and the chapter ended as Xiao Lin unleashed its lightning against the demon.

• Xiao Lin tried to take control of the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation while Ji Li battled the Dark Demon King.
• The Dark Demon King recovered from the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint’s strike and battered Ji Li until he could barely stand.
• Ji Li frightened the Dark Demon King into retreating by pretending to summon the saint again, buying Xiao Lin more time with a tossed gold coin.
• The Dark Demon King charged at Ji Li, but Xiao Lin activated the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation and appeared beside him.
• Xiao Lin identified the formation and commanded it to slay the demon, sending lightning crashing down on the Dark Demon King.

Xiao Lin’s simplified Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation weakened the Dark Demon King, but the demon reclaimed the Demonic Qi and broke free in his true form. With the array destroyed and their allies injured, Xiao Lin and Ji Li could only hope that an unseen ally would intervene.

• Xiao Lin unleashed the Myriad Lightning Demon-Slaying Formation, which restrained the Dark Demon King with purifying thunder.
• The Dark Demon King recalled the Demonic Qi from Wutong Forest and gathered it to break through the formation.
• The Dark Demon King returned to the surface and shattered the eight formation grandmasters’ arrays, while his Demonic Qi swallowed Xiao Lin’s lightning.
• Ji Li steadied Xiao Lin after the formation’s destruction, and the Dark Demon King revealed his Demon King True Form.
• Xiao Lin told Ji Li that they had to rely on the person he expected to have a scheme, while the Dark Demon King approached them.

The true Huang Wuji emerged from the Dark Demon King's restored true form and revealed that he had allowed himself to be suppressed while waiting for this chance. He sacrificed his remaining soul power to attack the demon, leaving the battle at its decisive moment.

• The Dark Demon King sensed Huang Wuji's presence and called him out, and the true Huang Wuji appeared in a soul state.
• Huang Wuji told the Dark Demon King that his suppression beneath the Black Wutong Forest had been deliberate and that he had waited for the demon to restore his true form.
• Ji Li and Xiao Lin realized the space had maintained a balance between Huang Wuji and the Dark Demon King until they arrived.
• Huang Wuji thanked Xiao Lin, Ji Li, and the Formation Grandmasters before burning his remaining soul power into the Nirvana Holy Flame.
• Huang Wuji unleashed Holy Flame Purges Sins against the terrified Dark Demon King, who cried out as the flames rushed toward him.

Huang Wuji destroyed the Dark Demon King with his Holy Flame Cleansing Evil, which healed Xiao Lin and the others while leaving behind pure energy crystals. He explained that their actions had spared him from sacrificing his egg, and the chapter ended with Huang Wuji reunited with his child.

• Huang Wuji burned his soul to unleash the golden holy flames, destroying the Dark Demon King's defenses and wiping out the Demonic Qi.
• Huang Wuji's flames healed Xiao Lin, Ji Li, and the eight Formation Grandmasters, then faded to reveal numerous pure blue energy crystals.
• Xiao Lin and the others could no longer sense the Dark Demon King, and Huang Wuji's nearly transparent soul reappeared beside the largest crystal.
• Huang Wuji explained that his contingency plan would have destroyed the Dark Demon King but cost him what he treasured, and that Xiao Lin and the others had changed the outcome by forcing the enemy to reveal his true form.
• Huang Wuji summoned an egg from the Wutong Tree and revealed that it was his child, which he had planned to sacrifice as a final weapon if the others had not arrived.

Huang Wuji sacrificed his soul and vitality to destroy the Dark Demon King, then entrusted his surviving child and the Realm Bead to Xiao Lin and his companions. After Huang Wuji vanished, the group absorbed the Energy Crystals for a month, broke through to higher realms, and prepared to leave using the Realm Bead.

• Huang Wuji told Xiao Lin and the others that his final strike had destroyed the Dark Demon King, and asked them to care for the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix egg.
• Xiao Lin and his companions promised to protect Huang Wuji's child, and Huang Wuji gave them the Energy Crystals and explained how to use the Realm Bead to move the space.
• Huang Wuji's soul dissipated after he entrusted the future of the Dou Qi Continent to the group.
• Xiao Lin led the ten companions in absorbing the Energy Crystals throughout Wutong Forest.
• A month later, Xiao Lin and Ji Li reached Five-Turn Dou Venerable, while the other eight companions also advanced several minor realms.

After the group’s breakthroughs, Xiao Lin raised the question of how to divide Huang Wuji’s final inheritance: the spatial domain and the egg believed to hold the last Ancient Heavenly Phoenix. The chapter left the group poised to decide what to do with these shared treasures.

• Zuo He, Yi Moqiu, Zhu Fang, and Xi Miaoyun celebrated their gains after a month of refining Energy Crystals, while Xiao Lin and Ji Li had reached Five-Turn Dou Venerable.
• The eight Formation Grandmasters thanked Xiao Lin and Ji Li for sharing the Energy Crystals and helping them survive the demon-extermination mission.
• Xiao Lin asked everyone about their plans, and Ji Li and Zuo He urged him to speak plainly, saying they trusted him.
• Xiao Lin asked how they should divide the spatial domain and Huang Wuji’s egg, which he called their common property.
• Xiao Lin considered the spatial domain a potential faction’s foundation and the egg a highly coveted Ancient Heavenly Phoenix inheritance.

Xiao Lin proposed that he and the eight Formation Grandmasters establish a sect devoted to the Dao of Formations, jointly owning the special space and raising the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Egg. His proposal excited the Grandmasters, who considered joining as founding elders, while Xiao Lin waited for their answer.

• The eight Formation Grandmasters refused to claim a share of the special space or the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Egg, saying Xiao Lin and Ji Li deserved to decide what to do with them.
• Xiao Lin told the group that their demon-subjugation rewards should be shared and asked them to hear his idea.
• Xiao Lin proposed founding a sect in the special space to revive the Dao of Formations and jointly nurture the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Egg.
• The eight Formation Grandmasters were moved by Xiao Lin's proposal and considered becoming the sect's founding elders.
• Xiao Lin waited quietly as the eight Formation Grandmasters exchanged glances, already seeming to have made their choice.