Chapter Summaries

Su Shi'er grew uneasy as he approached Wuliu Town and suspected something had changed there. After Yang Qianxi invited the group inside, Su Shi'er refused and asked him to prepare a banquet outside the array, leaving Yang visibly alarmed.

• Su Shi'er recalled Shen Miaoyin's warning to return to the sect before the Heavenly Absolute Secret Realm opened and wondered whether it related to his agreement with Hou Sihai.
• Yang Qianxi emerged from Wuliu Town, welcomed Su Shi'er, and praised little Feng Fei and Tang Zhuying.
• Tang Zhuying asked Yang Qianxi about Wuliu Plain, and he offered Misty Willow Cloud Tea and a banquet instead of answering immediately.
• Su Shi'er sensed that Yang Qianxi's invitation confirmed his suspicions about Wuliu Town and refused to enter, telling Yang to prepare the banquet outside the array.
• Yang Qianxi panicked at Su Shi'er's refusal but tried not to show his alarm.

Su Shi'er suspected Yang Qianxi of serving Demon Shadow Palace and killed him when his reaction confirmed the suspicion. Wei Wushuang then appeared over Wuliu Town, revealed that he had come for Su Shi'er, and confronted Tang Zhuying as she stood between them.

• Su Shi'er accused Yang Qianxi of being connected to Demon Shadow Palace and Wushuang Young Master.
• Yang Qianxi panicked and denied the accusation, but Su Shi'er killed him with a sword strike.
• A sinister aura rose from Wuliu Town, and Wei Wushuang appeared in the sky beneath black clouds.
• Wei Wushuang identified Su Shi'er and said he had come to capture him, while Su Shi'er realized he faced a powerful enemy despite his injuries.
• Tang Zhuying stepped in front of Su Shi'er and challenged Wei Wushuang, who threatened her for opposing him.

Wei Wushuang overwhelmed Tang Zhuying with a single attack and prepared to pursue Su Shi'er. To protect Tang Zhuying and Feng Fei, Su Shi'er fled using Bloodlight Escape, and Wei Wushuang chased after him.

• Wei Wushuang struck Tang Zhuying with a Skull Head of evil energy, shattering her defensive Jade Talisman and leaving her badly injured.
• Su Shi'er caught Tang Zhuying, gave her the Wuliu Root for Yu Wan'er, and asked her to take Feng Fei back to White Cloud Mountain.
• Tang Zhuying urged Su Shi'er to wait for Cheng Jingfeng, but Su Shi'er refused and told Feng Fei to leave with her.
• Su Shi'er burned his essence blood to escape in a streak of bloodlight and vowed to take revenge on Wei Wushuang and Demon Shadow Palace.
• Wei Wushuang abandoned his attack on Tang Zhuying and pursued Su Shi'er, while Feng Fei cried out and coughed up blood.

Tang Zhuying protected Feng Fei, delivered Su Shi'er's entrusted Wuliu Root to Yu Wan'er, and then met Cheng Jingfeng, whose speculation about Wang Su seemed confirmed. Cheng Jingfeng arrived late and began probing Tang Zhuying about the events at Wuliu Plain.

• Tang Zhuying reassured Feng Fei, stabilized her true essence, and left a bamboo flute to protect her and the others while she went to Wuliu Town.
• Tang Zhuying found Yu Wan'er and delivered the Storage Pouch containing the Wuliu Root and cultivation resources that Wang Su had entrusted to her.
• Yu Wan'er accepted the pouch, thanked Tang Zhuying, and considered seeking help for Su Shi'er after Peak Master Shen Luoyan recovered.
• Cheng Jingfeng caught up with Tang Zhuying and asked about Wuliu Plain, saying the formation had been broken and the demonic beasts nearly wiped out.
• Tang Zhuying said Wang Su and two Golden Core stage Rogue Cultivators had broken the formation, then questioned Cheng Jingfeng for arriving late.
• Cheng Jingfeng was surprised by Wang Su's abilities and said his earlier speculation had been correct.

Cheng Jingfeng framed Wang Su for Xi Xiaoyun’s murder, claiming he had seen Wang Su attack her with help from a Golden Core cultivator. After Tang Zhuying revealed Wang Su was being pursued by Wei Wushuang, Cheng Jingfeng offered to help, while privately worrying that Tang would hinder his plans.

• Cheng Jingfeng told Tang Zhuying that he had identified Wang Su as Xi Xiaoyun’s killer and blamed the attack on an accomplice tied to Golden-Silver Saint Hand Hou Sihai.
• Tang Zhuying questioned Cheng Jingfeng’s account and decided the accusation against Wang Su required secret investigation.
• Cheng Jingfeng said the Phantom Star Sect planned to summon Wang Su back to answer for the murder.
• Tang Zhuying said Wang Su had been pursued by Wei Wushuang and had escaped using a secret technique.
• Cheng Jingfeng offered to help Wang Su against Wei Wushuang, while privately planning to reach the Great Zhao Dynasty and hoping Tang Zhuying would not accompany him.

Tang Zhuying refused to accompany Cheng Jingfeng back to the Great Zhao Dynasty, while Cheng pursued Su Shi'er and sent out communication talismans. Su Shi'er fled toward the heartland of Great Zhao, where Wei Wushuang caught up and launched a devastating sword attack, leaving Su Shi'er struggling to gather his remaining True Yuan.

• Tang Zhuying refused Cheng Jingfeng's invitation and warned him to be careful of Wei Wushuang.
• Cheng Jingfeng flew toward the Great Zhao Dynasty, cast out communication talismans, and tracked Su Shi'er's lingering aura.
• Su Shi'er burned his blood essence to flee from Wei Wushuang and chose a zigzag route toward the heartland of Great Zhao instead of the Phantom Star Sect.
• As Su Shi'er's blood essence ran low, Wei Wushuang closed in and mocked him, but Su Shi'er insisted that his life remained in his own hands.
• Wei Wushuang revealed that he had made no arrangements in Phantom Star Sect territory, then summoned a corner of a black ancient sword and unleashed powerful sword qi at Su Shi'er.
• Su Shi'er resisted the sword's pressure and forced the last of his True Yuan into a dim three-colored radiance.

Su Shi'er escaped Wei Wushuang’s sword qi by flying into a powerful formation, which blocked Wei Wushuang’s attacks. Wei Wushuang deliberately struck the formation again to trigger its killing state, then retreated to wait for it to settle before entering to retrieve Su Shi'er’s corpse.

• Wei Wushuang’s sword qi destroyed Su Shi'er’s apparent body, but Su Shi'er’s transformed figure fled toward a mountain forest.
• Wei Wushuang sent three streams of sword qi after Su Shi'er, who used the Wind Riding Technique to dodge into a formation that appeared between them.
• The formation swallowed Su Shi'er and withstood Wei Wushuang’s attack, leaving him to realize Su Shi'er had sought shelter there.
• Wei Wushuang studied the formation, judged it too dangerous to enter, and attacked it with twelve streams of sword qi.
• Wei Wushuang decided another attack would activate the formation’s killing state, then retreated and launched one more strike.

Su Shi'er entered the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation to escape Wei Wushuang and recover from his injuries, reaching a secluded mountain cave untouched by the formation’s killing effects. After nearly a month of healing, his true essence had partially recovered, but his depleted blood essence left him too weak to defend himself if Wei Wushuang found him.

• Wei Wushuang’s attack triggered the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Killing Formation, and Su Shi'er realized the formation had become dangerous.
• Su Shi'er used formation seals to reach a secluded valley and mountain cave, where he hoped to recover before Wei Wushuang entered.
• Su Shi'er found the cave unchanged and saw that the Golden Statue had not risen from the dried-up pool.
• Su Shi'er meditated in the cave for nearly a month, refining Spiritual Pills to restore his true essence and heal his injuries.
• Su Shi'er recovered nearly twenty percent of his true essence but remained severely weakened because the Bloodlight Escape had depleted his blood essence.

Su Shi'er decided to rely on puppets while recovering from his depleted blood essence and damaged foundation, but first refined the azure lightning in his body. After three days of painstaking work, he finished repairing the Grade 3 Top-tier Puppet and prepared to use the experience to refine a Wood Element Puppet from the Wood Ghoul.

• Su Shi'er realized that repairing the Grade 3 Top-tier Puppet and refining a Wood Element Puppet from the Tree Demon's Wood Ghoul could help him overcome his predicament.
• He focused on refining the azure lightning within his organs using the Five Thunders Orthodox Method, enduring severe pain until the lightning vanished from around him.
• Su Shi'er inspected the damaged puppet and determined that he needed to reforge its western extreme geng metal skeleton, restore its formations, and repair its body.
• He used a fire-element formation and refined lightning to melt the western extreme geng metal inside the puppet.
• Over three days, Su Shi'er reshaped the puppet's skeleton, engraved its formations, and repaired its body while preparing to refine the Wood Ghoul into a Wood Element Puppet.

Su Shi'er restored a Grade 3 Top-tier Puppet with Sect member Duan's Golden Core Pill and began refining the Tree Demon shell into a Wood Element Puppet powered by its Demonic Core. As he infused the shell with true essence, it began to shrink.

• Su Shi'er used Sect member Duan's blank Golden Core Pill to restore and test the Grade 3 Top-tier Puppet, giving himself a better chance of escaping Wei Wushuang.
• Su Shi'er extracted a powerful Demonic Core from the Wood Ghoul and identified its six patterned willow leaves as evidence of strength comparable to a sixth-grade Golden Core.
• Su Shi'er planned to use the Demonic Core as the energy source for a Wood Element Puppet, while deciding not to risk fighting Wei Wushuang.
• After pondering the refining method for seven days and seven nights, Su Shi'er infused the Wood Ghoul with his true essence.
• The Wood Ghoul formed a connection with Su Shi'er and began shrinking as he nourished its body.

Su Shi'er completed a Wood Element Puppet and placed it on guard, giving him added protection while he continued recovering from his injuries. He inspected the belongings of two slain Golden Core cultivators and discovered an ancient scroll that might be the powerful Ancient Secret Scroll Sect member Yu had mentioned.

• Su Shi'er completed the Wood Element Puppet, inserted a Demonic Core, and used part of his divine sense to bring it under his control.
• Su Shi'er stationed the puppet at the cave entrance and considered using his two puppets to protect himself from Wei Wushuang while keeping them hidden from Hou Sihai.
• Su Shi'er searched Sect member Yu's Storage Pouch and found abundant resources, including three hundred Golden Core cultivation pills and twenty thousand Spirit Stones.
• Su Shi'er found Western Extreme Geng Metal and a gray, ancient-looking scroll among Sect member Yu's possessions.
• Su Shi'er recalled that Sect member Yu had mentioned an Ancient Secret Scroll and wondered if the scroll he had found was the same one.

Su Shi'er considered the lost art of spells and examined an ancient scroll, hoping to decipher it at the Phantom Star Sect's Scripture Pavilion. He discovered that Sect member Duan's ring was the Xuanji Ring, a storage artifact with an enormous interior space.

• Su Shi'er recalled that spells were powerful but had nearly vanished as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi declined, and he decided he should prepare to learn them.
• Su Shi'er examined the Ancient Secret Scroll but could not decipher its patterns, so he planned to consult the Phantom Star Sect's Scripture Pavilion.
• Su Shi'er resolved to return to the Phantom Star Sect after his agreement with Hou Sihai concluded, partly because Feng Fei remained there and Shen Miaoyin had sent him a message.
• Su Shi'er studied Sect member Duan's storage ring and recognized the characters “Xuanji” in its ancient patterns.
• Su Shi'er entered his consciousness into the Xuanji Ring and discovered that its storage space extended a hundred zhang in every direction.

Su Shi'er transferred his treasures into the Xuanji Ring and tried to refine the Candle Dragon Bow using the Five Thunders Orthodox Method. Before he could complete the process, an Eighth-grade Golden Core bearing Hou Sihai's soul burst into the cave, forcing Su Shi'er to retreat.

• Su Shi'er moved his belongings into the Xuanji Ring and found Four Directions Spirit Water among Sect member Duan's resources.
• Su Shi'er tried to refine the Candle Dragon Bow, but his true essence could not penetrate its defenses.
• Su Shi'er used the Five Thunders Orthodox Method to weaken the bow and began to make progress refining it.
• A sudden roar outside the cave interrupted Su Shi'er as he prepared to pour his gathered true essence into the Candle Dragon Bow.
• Su Shi'er recognized an Eighth-grade Golden Core carrying Hou Sihai's soul and quickly withdrew into the cave as it flew toward him.

Su Shi'er reached Hou Sihai’s cave while injured, and Hou Sihai accused him of bringing two pursuers to the formation. After they discussed Su Shi'er’s Golden Core and Spirit Sculpting Pill, Hou Sihai offered to help with the pursuers only if Su Shi'er helped him break the formation, leaving their alliance uncertain.

• Hou Sihai accused Su Shi'er of leading two enemies to the cave, and Su Shi'er claimed they were Demon Shadow Palace cultivators who had pursued him after an ambush.
• Hou Sihai inspected Su Shi'er's injuries and sensed that he had reached the Golden Core stage.
• Hou Sihai asked about the Spirit Sculpting Pill, and Su Shi'er said he had refined and consumed one low-grade pill.
• Hou Sihai questioned what treasure had made Demon Shadow Palace pursue Su Shi'er, but Su Shi'er blamed his past display of wealth in Night Demon Cloud City.
• Hou Sihai said Su Shi'er must help him break the formation and warned that he might leave without helping him face the two pursuers.

Su Shi'er explained the Candle Dragon Bow’s origins to Hou Sihai while concealing the Heaven and Earth Furnace, and the two prepared to free Hou Sihai from his bindings. Hou Sihai’s Golden Core entered the dried pool and raised a golden statue containing his bound figure, leaving Su Shi'er poised to act.

• Su Shi'er claimed the Candle Dragon Bow had brought the Demon Shadow Palace and Duanmu Family after him, while keeping the Heaven and Earth Furnace secret.
• Hou Sihai recognized the bow from the Phantom Star Sect’s earlier attack but stopped questioning Su Shi'er and warned that the treasure tempted him.
• Su Shi'er put the Candle Dragon Bow away, and he and Hou Sihai agreed to begin their attempt to free him.
• Hou Sihai sent his Golden Core into the dried-up pool, and a three-zhang golden statue rose from its depths.
• Su Shi'er saw Hou Sihai bound inside the statue, and Hou Sihai urged him to strike while he circulated his power.

Su Shi'er and Hou Sihai shattered the Golden Statue that sealed Hou Sihai, but eight mysterious chains immediately bound him again. Su Shi'er recognized the chains as part of the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation and warned Hou Sihai that struggling would only hurt him unless he could sever all eight at once.

• Su Shi'er unleashed the Nine Swords of Yungge and the World-Shocking Three Swords, draining his true essence as he gathered a torrent of sword qi.
• Hou Sihai attacked the Golden Statue from within while Su Shi'er struck it from outside, and their combined assault covered it in cracks.
• Hou Sihai broke free when the Golden Statue exploded, but its fragments became golden light and formed eight chains that bound him again.
• Hou Sihai tried to break the chains with golden and silver power, but they tightened and pinned him in midair.
• Su Shi'er warned Hou Sihai that the chains connected to the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation and that he needed to sever all eight simultaneously.

Su Shi'er considered how to free Hou Sihai from the Eight Trigrams chains while weighing the danger of breaking the formation and revealing his own methods. Hou Sihai offered a way for Su Shi'er to temporarily wield his peak strength, but Su Shi'er asked what side effects it carried.

• Su Shi'er told Hou Sihai he could sever the chains only after recovering from his severe injuries, which might take ten to twenty years.
• Hou Sihai protested that his lifespan was nearly exhausted and urged Su Shi'er to find a faster solution, promising support if he reached the Nascent Soul Stage.
• Su Shi'er questioned Hou Sihai about his remaining contingencies while concealing his own plans and assessing the risks of breaking the formation.
• Hou Sihai admitted he could not heal Su Shi'er quickly but claimed he could let him temporarily exert his peak strength.
• Su Shi'er asked whether Hou Sihai's method had side effects.

Hou Sihai showed Su Shi'er a stone stele whose sword scars contained the Heavenly Sword Art, then told him about its creator, Xiao Wujian. After drawing strength from memories of his loved ones, Su Shi'er steadied his resolve and learned that Xiao Wujian had created two moves before mysteriously disappearing.

• Hou Sihai brought out an ordinary stone stele, and Su Shi'er felt its sword scars release a terrifying aura when he looked at them.
• Hou Sihai explained that the scars recorded the Heavenly Sword Art, created by the legendary sword genius Xiao Wujian.
• Hou Sihai recounted how Xiao Wujian used the art’s first move to defeat his enemies and later used its second to suppress Nascent Soul experts for a hundred years.
• Su Shi'er felt discouraged by Xiao Wujian’s talent, then remembered his loved ones and renewed his resolve to seek revenge.
• Su Shi'er asked whether the Heavenly Sword Art had only one move, and Hou Sihai clarified that Xiao Wujian had created two before vanishing without a trace.

Su Shi'er studied the sword marks left by Xiao Wujian and began comprehending the first move of the Heavenly Sword Art, Heaven's Will Is Unpredictable. He witnessed a vision of a wounded swordsman using a devastating sword technique to kill eleven attackers, but the swordsman's identity and fate remained unclear.

• Hou Sihai explained that Xiao Wujian's sword marks held the essence of the first move of the Heavenly Sword Art and urged Su Shi'er to comprehend it to break his chains.
• Su Shi'er asked about the move's name, and Hou Sihai called it Heaven's Will Is Unpredictable.
• Hou Sihai planted the Fire Barbarian Flower seed in the dried-up pool and asked Su Shi'er for his Thousand Year Jade Marrow Liquid to help grow the Southern Bright Leaving Fire as a backup.
• Su Shi'er gazed at the stone stele, let its illusory sword qi engulf him, and entered a tranquil state to comprehend the sword art.
• Su Shi'er saw a vision of eleven figures besieging a wounded man, who rose and unleashed sword light that killed all eleven attackers.

Su Shi'er spent a year contemplating the wounded man's sword technique and realized it had borrowed the momentum of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Meanwhile, Hou Sihai cultivated two Southern Bright Leaving Fires and waited for Su Shi'er to awaken so they could help him break the chains.

• Su Shi'er recalled how he had borrowed the momentum of Yandang Lake to defeat Baili Zhuilong and reasoned that the wounded man had borrowed invisible Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
• Su Shi'er considered wind and the changing sky as sources of momentum, then continued contemplating the sword technique without moving for a full year.
• Hou Sihai destroyed newly sprouting buds on a Fire Barbarian Flower plant so its two remaining buds could grow.
• The two buds burst into flame and bloomed as Southern Bright Leaving Fires, consuming the plant and filling the cave with heat.
• Hou Sihai stored the two Southern Bright Leaving Fires in jade bottles and wondered why Su Shi'er had not yet awakened.