Chapter Summaries

After inheriting the Mocking Heaven Sect, Chen Qiu and the others were forced from its secret realm into a demonic beast tide and fled into Windward City. There, the Scholar revealed that someone planned to sacrifice the city’s million inhabitants, but the city’s formation had trapped them and cut off their escape.

• Chen Qiu inherited the Mocking Heaven Sect and left the Sword Bone and two slumbering artifact spirits in his possession.
• The secret realm expelled its cultivators, who emerged beneath ominous black clouds and saw a vast demonic beast tide approaching.
• Chen Qiu reunited with Fat Dragon and hurried with the fleeing cultivators into Windward City as the city activated its protective formation.
• The Scholar pulled Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon into an alley and said someone intended to sacrifice all one million people in Windward City.
• The Scholar’s sword could not leave his sleeve, and he explained that the formation had blocked escape routes and severed transmission and divine-sense contact.

Scholar told Chen Qiu that Myriad Demon Child planned to sacrifice Windward City’s million inhabitants to break through to Golden Core, and explained why the evil cultivator’s demon-beast horde could overwhelm the city. He concluded that Myriad Demon Child had likely joined the Evil Hall, making the disaster far more dangerous than a lone Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attack.

• Chen Qiu asked Scholar how he learned of the planned sacrifice, and Scholar identified Myriad Demon Child as the one behind it.
• Scholar explained that Myriad Demon Child controlled the demon beasts and could multiply each slain beast into ten bloodthirsty creatures.
• Fat Dragon questioned whether a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator could truly threaten Windward City, and Scholar described the power and strange methods of evil cultivators.
• Scholar led Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon to the city wall, where they saw demon beasts surrounding Windward City beneath black clouds.
• Scholar reasoned that Myriad Demon Child must have joined the Evil Hall and used its Supreme-Grade Foundation Establishment treasure to control so many beasts.

Windward City was isolated by an Evil Hall formation until a Golden Core cultivator shattered it, triggering a demon beast assault and the descent of black clouds. The Heavenly Dao declared a Devil Invasion centered on the city, and Chen Qiu prepared to show the Devil Race what a spell cultivator could do.

• Scholar explained that the Evil Hall formation cut off communication and travel while demon beasts surrounded Windward City.
• A Golden Core cultivator shattered the formation, and the hidden Myriad Demon Child fled as the demon beasts launched an assault on the city.
• The Heavenward Sect's sect master fled with Zhao Yishi and explained that Devil Invasion would begin around Windward City.
• Black clouds descended across the region, and the Heavenly Dao announced that the Devil Race had thirty days to win or be exterminated.
• Scholar explained that the Devil Race were defeated remnants from the previous Heavenly Dao Version, while Chen Qiu found that the black mist rapidly replenished his spiritual energy.
• Chen Qiu said their luck was good and declared that he would show the Devil Race what a spell cultivator could do.

Scholar explained that the Devil Race were Human Race prisoners cursed by the Heavenly Dao, while Chen Qiu led the others to defend Windward City from demon beasts. Far away, the wounded Myriad Demon Child celebrated that his plan to free his master had succeeded, revealing that he was the last of nine identical brothers.

• Scholar told Fat Dragon that Devil Race members were Heavenly Dao Prisoners who could not advance their cultivation but had perfected their techniques and fought desperately for freedom.
• The city gate collapsed, and Chen Qiu led the group up the wall to deal with the invading demon beasts before the Devil Race arrived.
• Myriad Demon Child reached a hidden cave, where he declared that his master could finally return and that his eight dead brothers could rest in peace.
• Myriad Demon Child recalled that his master had raised the nine brothers, was imprisoned centuries earlier, and had urged them to conceal themselves and abandon their grudges.
• Myriad Demon Child remembered that his eight brothers had died while helping carry out their centuries-long rescue plan, and revealed that he was the last of the nine.

Myriad Demon Child said farewell to his brothers and unleashed a blood-fueled beast assault on a city to avenge them. As Windward City faced a swarm of demonic beasts, Chen Qiu advanced to meet them while the Scholar and Fat Dragon discussed Myriad Demon Child and the Scholar’s past encounters with him.

• Myriad Demon Child placed a ninth spirit tablet beside his brothers’ tablets, revealed that Windward City had been chosen for his master’s descent, and destroyed the cave that had been their home.
• Myriad Demon Child admitted he had secretly memorized the names of those who killed his brothers and had lured the Golden Core cultivators to one place so he could target their juniors.
• Myriad Demon Child flew to a city connected to Carefree Daoist and unleashed “Blood Flood for a Thousand Miles,” driving demonic beasts into a frenzy and sending them to attack the city.
• At Windward City’s shattered gates, Chen Qiu faced the charging beasts and summoned hundreds of lightning bolts with his sword, killing many of them.
• Fat Dragon questioned how Myriad Demon Child could use so many powerful techniques, and the Scholar explained that he had killed Myriad Demon Child’s External Incarnations three times while pursuing his reputation as Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator.

Chen Qiu slaughtered more than eleven thousand demon beasts at Windward City's gate, widening his Dao Foundation while his growing horde of Wraiths left him exhausted and chilled. When he and Fat Dragon entered the city to help, they found the streets in chaos, and Wraith demon beasts rushed to save a little girl from a bear-type demon beast.

• Chen Qiu used Palm Thunder to kill more than eleven thousand demon beasts at the city gate, widening his Dao Foundation to over twenty-one thousand li and gathering more than eighty thousand Wraiths.
• Chen Qiu learned from Fat Dragon that Scholar and the others had gone into the city to fight, and he set off with Fat Dragon despite his exhaustion.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon entered Windward City, where demon beasts attacked amid the confusion and cries of its residents.
• A bear-type demon beast lunged at a crying little girl, and dozens of Wraith demon beasts charged from the mist and slammed into it.

Chen Qiu endured the backlash from commanding a vast army of wraith demon beasts until the Devil Race cultivators appeared outside Windward City. He led the wraiths and the city’s cultivators into battle, while Fat Dragon wondered whether the abandoned treasures of Heaven-Question Market could become their reward.

• Chen Qiu sheltered a crying girl, then reflected on the deaths caused by the Devil Invasion and the other cities left vulnerable.
• Chen Qiu reached Windward City’s eastern gate with nearly one hundred and fifty thousand wraith demon beasts, but their resentment left him dangerously weak.
• Fat Dragon urged Chen Qiu to stop waiting before the wraiths’ backlash killed him, but Chen Qiu said the Devil Race cultivators had finally arrived.
• Chen Qiu sent the wraith army charging at the black-clad Devil Race cultivators as several thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators from Windward City joined the battle.
• A bare-chested Devil Race cultivator complained that their descent point was a poor target, while Fat Dragon asked whether Heaven-Question Market’s abandoned treasures might be theirs if they survived.

Chen Qiu drew the attention of the Devil Race cultivators by unleashing hundreds of lightning spells, while Windward City’s cultivators tried to protect him. As the enemies closed in, Chen Qiu revealed that his spiritual energy had already recovered and gathered an enormous storm of lightning.

• A Devil Race archer struck Chen Qiu with a golden arrow, destroying dozens of his Golden Bell Talismans and injuring his arm.
• Chen Qiu retaliated with hundreds of bolts of lightning, throwing the battlefield into greater chaos and drawing the Devil Race cultivators’ attacks.
• Hundreds of Devil Race cultivators charged Chen Qiu, while Foundation Establishment cultivators from Windward City rushed to defend him.
• Scholar suggested that Chen Qiu retreat and recover, but Chen Qiu stayed and said, “Unified reply: not enabled.”
• Chen Qiu’s fully recovered Dao Foundation spun up, gathering thousands of bolts of lightning around him.

Chen Qiu overwhelmed the Devil Race cultivators with tens of thousands of Lightning-Channeling Arts and used Scholar’s flying sword to chase down those who fled. He left the battlefield hovering above them, ready to continue the attack.

• Chen Qiu gathered tens of thousands of lightning serpents, causing the Devil Race cultivators and Windward City reinforcements to flee from the coming barrage.
• Chen Qiu asked Scholar to carry him beyond the Lightning-Channeling Art’s range, and Scholar flew him across the battlefield on the Azure Edge Sword.
• Chen Qiu returned above the fleeing Devil Race cultivators and unleashed the lightning barrage, killing nearly a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Chen Qiu pursued a Devil Race cultivator on a flying sword and killed him with lightning serpents.
• Chen Qiu hovered above the battlefield and declared that spell cultivators were not weak.

Chen Qiu and Scholar joined forces to devastate the Devil Race cultivators outside Windward City, then sent the Windward City cultivators to gather the spoils. Meanwhile, the Heavenward Sect Master tried to comfort Zhao Yishi, who fretted about finding a Dao companion and questioned the Sect Master’s promise that Golden Core cultivators could choose any beauty.

• Chen Qiu and Scholar used flying swords, spells, and Palm Thunders to defeat nearly ten thousand Devil Race cultivators outside Windward City.
• Chen Qiu asked about Scholar’s poisoned cultivation, considered ways to help him recover, and ordered the Windward City cultivators to search the corpses.
• The Heavenward Sect Master apologized to Zhao Yishi for being unable to return to Windward City for Zhao’s friends and urged him not to lose hope.
• Zhao Yishi told the Sect Master he was worried about finding a Dao companion, and the Sect Master promised that reaching Golden Core would let him choose any beauty.
• Zhao Yishi pointed out that the Golden Core Sect Master had no interest in beauties, then asked if it was because he could no longer perform.

Golden Core Peak attendants suppressed the Devil Race across the region, and the Heavenly Dao declared the Devil Invasion defeated while introducing a Fame Leaderboard. Chen Qiu used the lingering dense spiritual energy to cultivate after breaking through to Foundation Establishment Second Layer, postponing his choice of new traits.

• At Heaven-Question Market, Qiu Lao complained that His Majesty feared the consequences of the Heavenly Dao Prisoners being released, while his companion urged him not to speak against their ruler.
• Qiu Lao crushed two Golden Core Devil Race cultivators, seized the market’s treasures, and arranged to blame the theft on the dead devils so he and his companion could keep the loot.
• Qiu Lao’s Golden Core Peak pressure swept the surrounding cities, killing devil cultivators and pinning Chen Qiu and other cultivators to the ground.
• The Heavenly Dao announced the Devil Race’s defeat and introduced the real-time Fame Leaderboard, which would grant daily blessings based on rank.
• Chen Qiu cultivated as the black mist dispersed, taking advantage of the dense spiritual energy after reaching Foundation Establishment Second Layer and delaying his choice of three new traits.

Chen Qiu reached the Foundation Establishment Second Layer as spiritual energy flooded Windward City, then selected the Revival Wind Trait to recover from injuries while absorbing spiritual energy. After reviewing his abilities, he realized he lacked a spiritual treasure suited to a spell cultivator.

• Foundation Establishment cultivators across Windward City, including Fat Dragon, sat down to absorb the dense spiritual energy as Chen Qiu's cultivation surged.
• The black mist cleared, sunlight returned to Windward City, and White-Eyed Black Crows circled overhead as Chen Qiu reached the Foundation Establishment Second Layer.
• Chen Qiu chose the Revival Wind Trait, which gradually healed his injuries as he absorbed spiritual energy.
• Chen Qiu reviewed his Traits, techniques, and self-destruct options, noting that he had fourteen Traits and three spells.
• Chen Qiu considered his lack of a spiritual treasure suited to spell cultivation and rejected carrying his sword around as an unsuitable choice.

Chen Qiu and his companions set out for Heaven-Question Market after discussing their spoils and Scholar’s past failures to kill Myriad Demon Child. They arrived to find the market devastated, and an old fortune-teller explained that he had warned the slain guard captain of the coming calamity.

• Chen Qiu listed the spells, spirit treasures, and survival techniques he wanted to acquire, then received the group’s collected spoils from Fat Dragon and the others.
• Chen Qiu realized Heaven-Question Market was likely unguarded and hurried there with Scholar before inspecting the loot.
• Scholar explained the strength of sword cultivators, then described how he had killed Myriad Demon Child several times only for him to return.
• Fat Dragon’s teasing prompted Scholar to recount his past, while his younger brother revealed Scholar had primarily saved a storyteller during Windward City’s crisis.
• Chen Qiu and the others reached Heaven-Question Market and found its buildings looted and destroyed, with the guard captain Chen Qiu knew lying dead.
• An old voice explained that he had foretold the market’s bloody calamity and warned the guard captain to leave, but the man had not believed him.

After the Devil Invasion devastated Heaven-Question Market, Chen Qiu and his companions encountered the mysterious fortune-teller and were then seized by the market’s master, the Barefoot Immortal. The Barefoot Immortal discovered the Lower-Grade Golden Core Spirit Treasure hidden with Scholar and prepared to take it, despite Scholar’s plea for mercy.

• The old Daoist fortune-teller explained to Scholar why he had not warned Heaven-Question Market about the disaster, then told Chen Qiu that Devil Race cultivator Wraiths had replaced the demon beast Wraiths on his body.
• Chen Qiu resolved to dispose of the Devil Race Wraiths if he could not use them before nightfall.
• The Barefoot Immortal appeared and pressed Chen Qiu and his companions to the ground, accusing them of looting Heaven-Question Market and killing its people.
• The Barefoot Immortal noticed the scent of a Lower-Grade Golden Core Spirit Treasure on Scholar, released the group from his spiritual threads, and trapped them in a spiritual-energy cage.
• Scholar identified himself as White Robe, a former Golden Core cultivator and Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator, and asked the Barefoot Immortal to spare them.

Chen Qiu, Scholar, and their allies killed the Barefoot Immortal after luring him into an ambush, then Scholar used Azure Edge to capture his escaping Golden Core. Chen Qiu swallowed the Golden Core to rapidly increase his cultivation and began digesting its power.

• The barefoot man recognized Scholar as the White-Clad Sword Cultivator and threatened to deliver him to the Capital Zhang Clan, but Scholar distracted him by claiming to know a way to reach Nascent Soul.
• Chen Qiu appeared behind the barefoot man and struck him with four powerful Lightning-Channeling Arts, shattering his defenses.
• Fat Dragon, the bearded burly man, and Chen Qiu attacked the badly wounded barefoot man, whose body broke apart as his Golden Core fled.
• Scholar sent Azure Edge after the escaping Golden Core and returned with it pierced on the sword tip.
• Scholar explained that swallowing a Golden Core could greatly increase Chen Qiu's cultivation, and Chen Qiu swallowed it before sitting down to digest its spiritual energy.

After consuming a Golden Core, Chen Qiu assessed his cultivation and the traits he had spent to defeat Barefoot Immortal. He gathered his companions to divide their spoils and invited Scholar to join the Mocking Heaven Sect as an elder, leaving Scholar happy to belong to a group.

• Chen Qiu found his cultivation at 96% toward Foundation Establishment Third Layer and reviewed the four traits he had self-destructed to help kill Barefoot Immortal.
• Chen Qiu considered the remaining traits he could sacrifice and decided not to waste his Retrospection Talismans unless necessary.
• Fat Dragon reported that three of Barefoot Immortal's six storage rings had survived, and Chen Qiu proposed taking stock of their gains and sharing anything useful.
• Scholar declined a share of the spoils because he received monthly pay as a retainer, so Chen Qiu told him his pay would end and invited him to join the Mocking Heaven Sect as an elder.
• Scholar accepted the invitation, pleased by the chance to belong to a group and hopeful that the sect might help restore his cultivation and improve his swordsmanship.

After Chen Qiu formed the Mocking Heaven Sect with Xia Xundao and others, the group surveyed the devastation in Windward City. The new Fame Leaderboard inspired the Wang Family head and Liu Attendant to plan how to spread recordings of the head’s feats across Great Xia.

• Xia Xundao joined Chen Qiu’s group, and Fat Dragon, the scholar, and the bearded man claimed the first three elder positions in the Mocking Heaven Sect.
• The Wang Family head emerged from hiding after Windward City was devastated and wondered how the Devil Race cultivators had been killed so quickly.
• Liu Attendant explained that the Heavenly Dao had introduced a Fame Leaderboard, whose ranked figures received daily blessings.
• The Wang Family head reviewed the famous figures on the list and doubted that he and Liu Attendant could compete with them.
• Liu Attendant proposed selling recordings of the Wang Family head chopping down nine bulls to local powers throughout Great Xia to rapidly increase his fame.
• The Wang Family head worried that local powers might charge too much for the recordings, limiting how many people saw them.

Liu Attendant arranged a publicity scheme to raise the Wang Family head’s fame, while Ji Taiping reacted to the Fame Leaderboard and resolved to find and kill White Robe. The chapter ended with Chen Qiu struggling under the freezing wraith of a Fourth-Layer Golden Core cultivator as Fat Dragon and the others guarded him.

• Liu Attendant told the Wang Family head to stage a wager against the Heavenly Dao and record a catchy challenge to boost his fame.
• The Heavenly Dao introduced a Fame Leaderboard that granted lasting fame points and daily blessings to highly ranked cultivators.
• Ji Taiping saw himself ranked thirteenth and spoke with Ji Renjian about his ambition to become the strongest sword cultivator and marry her.
• Ji Taiping recognized White Robe on the leaderboard and planned to find and kill him to settle doubts about his standing as Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator.
• Chen Qiu circulated his cultivation method in an inn while a freezing Fourth-Layer Golden Core wraith pressed down on him, and Fat Dragon and the others guarded him helplessly.

Chen Qiu’s Golden Core Wraith’s backlash left him near collapse, so he sought a vulnerable Golden Core cultivator to kill and gain another core. The Scholar identified Poison-Thunder Old Fiend at Poison-Thunder Marsh, and Chen Qiu’s group arrived at the poisonous marsh to confront him.

• Chen Qiu recovered enough to stand after the Fourth-Layer Golden Core Wraith’s resentment nearly overwhelmed him, and he wished he could kill another Golden Core cultivator.
• Chen Qiu asked the Scholar for a weak, unsupported Early Golden Core Rogue Cultivator whom his Wraith could defeat.
• The Scholar named Poison-Thunder Old Fiend, a cruel Golden Core cultivator secluded in Poison-Thunder Marsh, and explained his past grievances with him.
• Chen Qiu ordered the group to visit Poison-Thunder Old Fiend, and they traveled in fits and starts toward the marsh.
• Chen Qiu and his group reached Poison-Thunder Marsh and saw its poisonous clouds, churning mud, and foul haze.

Chen Qiu sent his wraiths into Poison Mist Marsh, where they slaughtered the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples training there. Scholar helped prevent a survivor from escaping, and Chen Qiu reflected that Scholar had been a valuable partner.

• Chen Qiu released the Fourth-Layer Golden Core wraith and ordered it to kill every living creature in the swamp.
• Scholar recognized the voices of Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples and warned that survivors could bring retaliation.
• Chen Qiu sent his nearly ten thousand Devil Race cultivator wraiths into the marsh and gave Scholar Lightning-Drawing Talismans to use with his flying sword.
• The wraiths killed the sect disciples, and Scholar struck down the only Golden Core that fled.
• Chen Qiu praised Scholar and admired the Golden Core impaled on their flying sword.