Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ying rejected Yu Ji’s plea to spare Yu Ziqi and led Great Huan’s forces to Matsumoto Royal City, where he faced Yu Ziqi’s heavily armored army. After Hojo Soun revealed the vast coalition and infiltrators gathered for the assault, Xiao Ying ordered an all-out attack, and Yu Ziqi raised the Immovable Vajra Mountain Formation as the battle began.

• Xiao Ying kept the campaign against Matsumoto unchanged and authorized Hojo Soun to let the Japanese Otherworlders prove themselves in battle.
• Yu Ji insisted on joining the fight against Yu Ziqi, and Xiao Ying rode to the front with her and his commanders.
• Hojo Soun reported that his Kanto Army, allied clans, volunteer fighters, and Otherworlders surrounded Matsumoto, with thousands already inside the city ready to revolt.
• Xiao Ying ordered the Great Huan coalition to attack Yu Ziqi’s forces and Matsumoto Royal City.
• Yu Ziqi called forth the Immovable Vajra Mountain Formation as the armies charged.

Xiao Ying turned the battle around with the Great Huan Forbidden Guards’ formations, annihilating Yu Ziqi’s Elite Armored Guards and breaking the Immovable Vajra Mountain Formation’s defense. At dawn, Xiao Ying declared the outcome decided as Yu Ziqi saw his army reduced to a few thousand men and Matsumoto Royal City occupied by Great Huan forces.

• Yu Ziqi raised the Immovable Vajra Mountain Formation, blunting the Kanto Army and Yingzhou Army’s attacks while inflicting heavy casualties.
• After half a day of fighting, Xiao Ying sent the Great Huan Forbidden Guards into battle and used the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation to bombard Yu Ziqi’s army.
• Yu Ziqi charged with the Elite Armored Guards using the Eightfold Pagoda Formation, but Xiao Ying countered with the Twelve Capitals Banner-Demon Formation.
• The Great Huan Forbidden Guards slaughtered all one hundred thousand Elite Armored Guards, then joined the Yingzhou soldiers in battering the Immovable Vajra Mountain Formation.
• At dawn, Xiao Ying stopped the battle and declared the outcome decided; Yu Ziqi found only a few thousand soldiers remaining around him and Great Huan banners flying over Matsumoto Royal City.

Yu Ziqi revealed to Xiao Ying that more than a thousand immortals and gods were preparing to attack the Great Huan Dynasty, then sacrificed himself in a final charge. Xiao Ying sent his body back to Chu Emperor Xiang Yu and comforted Yu Ji as the threat of invasion loomed.

• Xiao Ying allowed Yu Ziqi and the surviving Chu soldiers to leave, explaining that he did not blame Yu Ziqi for the defeat.
• Yu Ziqi thanked Xiao Ying for granting him a fair battle and said he was glad Yu Ji had chosen him.
• Yu Ziqi secretly warned Xiao Ying that over a hundred True Immortals and more than a thousand immortals and gods had gathered powerful formations to attack the Great Huan Dynasty.
• Yu Ziqi launched a final attack on Xiao Ying, but arrows and crossbow bolts struck him down before Xiao Ying could stop them.
• Xiao Ying caught Yu Ziqi, recognized that he had already died, and ordered the surviving Chu soldiers to return his body to Chu Emperor Xiang Yu.
• Xiao Ying embraced the grieving Yu Ji and told her that Yu Ziqi had chosen his own fate.

After Yu Ziqi’s death, Xiao Ying ordered the Great Huan armies to launch their planned invasion of Great Chu while seeking an alliance against the thousand descended Immortal Gods. He explained Yu Ziqi’s final scheme to Yu Ji and the other consorts, then prepared to return to the imperial capital and seek help from Great Qin and the Radiant Divine Kingdom.

• Xiao Ying learned that Xiang Yu had brought the Heavenmight Army and Great Chu’s main forces to Kyoto, then ordered Great Huan’s armies to advance on all fronts and seize Great Chu’s territories in China.
• Xiao Ying instructed the Great Huan Office to contact Qin Shi Huang and the Radiant Emperor and arrange a meeting at the Nine Dragons Imperial Capital.
• Hua Qiandai and Li Yanyan tried to comfort the grieving Yu Ji, and Xiao Ying revealed that Yu Ziqi had chosen his death to protect his family and warn Xiao Ying about the thousand Immortal Gods.
• Xiao Ying told the women that Xiang Yu had given Yu Ziqi the posthumous title Eternal King and vowed that neither he nor Great Chu would harm the Yu Clan.
• Xiao Ying prepared to return to the imperial capital and seek an alliance with Great Qin and the Radiant Divine Kingdom.

Xiao Ying revealed that a thousand Descended Immortal Gods were preparing to attack, then sought support from Qin Shi Huang and the Radiant Emperor. He left the deliberation with both emperors refusing to submit their empires early but agreeing to maintain their existing commitments while Xiao Ying pursued another plan.

• After Xiao Ying revealed the enemy's forces and preparations, Zhang Liang urged the assembly to plan a counterattack, and Xiao Ying declared he would proceed regardless of the cost.
• Xiao He argued that the three emperors and their armies could resist the immortal gods by using Imperial Dao and formations, though the Radiant Emperor doubted Great Huan could command enough troops effectively.
• Qin Shi Huang asked whether Xiao Ying wanted the Great Qin Empire and the Radiant Divine Kingdom to submit early, but the Radiant Emperor refused to risk his empire's foundations.
• Qin Shi Huang offered to hand Great Qin over if Xiao Ying married Princess Huating; otherwise, he would only lend troops to Great Huan.
• Xiao Ying said victory remained possible without either empire submitting and asked the emperors to uphold their agreement and support him in smaller matters.
• Qin Shi Huang promised to keep his word, and the Radiant Emperor's earlier objections gave way as Xiao Ying hinted at another plan.

Huan Emperor Xiao Ying revealed that the Great Huan Dynasty’s hidden defense against the Descended Immortal Gods centered on Yingzhou and a planned blood sacrifice, while Qin Shi Huang warned that the Terracotta Warriors alone could not protect the dynasty. The chapter ended as Divine General Ji Geng shed his stone-like exterior and announced that Tongtian’s Destiny had arrived.

• Xiao Ying asked Qin Shi Huang and the Radiant Emperor to pressure the Dark Council to withdraw from China’s Divine Land and requested more troops from the Radiant Emperor.
• Qi Ji released the Imperial Tomb Terracotta Warriors, and Xiao Ying revealed that their numbers had reached roughly one hundred and seventy million.
• Qin Shi Huang warned Xiao Ying that the Terracotta Warriors could only defend the capital and were vulnerable if the imperial tomb fell.
• Xiao Ying identified Yingzhou as the Great Huan Dynasty’s greatest trump card, and the Radiant Emperor suspected that Xiao Ying planned to blood-sacrifice its inhabitants.
• Divine General Ji Geng’s clay-and-stone shell cracked away, revealing a golden-armored man who declared that Tongtian’s Destiny had arrived.

Divine General Ji Geng revealed the Heaven-Piercing Divine Guards’ ancient power and warned that the coming calamity was only a prelude to the battle of Heaven-Slaying. After Ji Geng vanished, Xiao Ying confirmed Yingzhou’s connection to surviving ancient beings and invited Qin Shi Huang and the Radiant Emperor to visit the Dark Council.

• Ji Geng condemned the Upper Realm’s forces and explained that the Pangu Killing Stratagem would make descended immortal gods vulnerable to the world’s restraints and calamities.
• Ji Geng revealed that the Heaven-Piercing Divine Guards could break their current confinement but ordered Xiao Ying not to unseal them unless absolutely necessary before the Heaven-Slaying battle.
• Ji Geng suggested the God-Devouring Ants might be enough to face the Immortal-God Calamity, then said he would return for Heaven-Slaying and disappeared.
• Qin Shi Huang questioned Xiao Ying about ancient survivors in Yingzhou and whether they planned to unleash Xiangliu against Great Chu and the descended immortal gods.
• Xiao Ying, unwilling to disclose his plans, invited Qin Shi Huang and the Radiant Emperor to accompany him to the Dark Council to kill someone.

Xiao Ying led the other emperors and their allies in a sudden assault on the Dark Forbidden Capital, devastating the city and annihilating over a million dark beings with the Heaven-Earth Bell. The Dark Council and its hidden True Gods trapped the attackers as Xiao Ying tried to teleport them away.

• Xiao Ying teleported the group to the Dark Forbidden Capital and ordered them to stay together and flee if the situation worsened.
• Xiao Ying broke through the Dark Sky Curtain, and the group stormed the city, killing dark scouts and destroying buildings as dark forces rose to meet them.
• Xiao Ying killed the owner of Death God's Left Hand from afar, while the Dark Council's True Gods assembled the Death Skywheel Formation and the city's mage towers gathered power.
• Xiao Ying rang the Heaven-Earth Bell and used Sigh of the Heavens, reducing more than a million dark beings to ash.
• Xiao Ying tried to teleport his group away, but the Dark Council sealed the breach and surrounded them with the Death Skywheel Formation, a sea of blood, and the Dark Magic Towers.

Xiao Ying and his allies escaped the Dark Forbidden Capital after devastating it, killing dark true gods, and warning the Dark Council to withdraw its armies from China. The Dark Emperor ordered a temporary retreat, while the True Immortals in Great Chu recognized the threat Xiao Ying posed and decided to accelerate their plans.

• Xiao Ying, Yu Ji, the Radiant Emperor, and Great Huan's forces broke through the blood sea and Dark Sky Curtain, killing dark true gods as they escaped the Dark Forbidden Capital.
• Zhi Ji used Heaven-Destroying Finger to kill Black Prison Ancestor Woyakal, suffered a grievous injury, and revealed that the attack had advanced her to the True Immortal realm.
• Xiao Ying warned the Dark Council to withdraw its armies from China, then carried Zhi Ji and the others away by translocation as the Dark Council's counterattack struck their former position.
• The Dark Emperor ordered the dark armies in China to withdraw and postponed further action until after the decisive battle between Great Huan and Great Chu.
• Wu She and Song Yi reported the raid to the True Immortals in Handan, and Tianxin Yunlan concluded that they needed to accelerate their plans.

Chapter Summary: Not Betraying the Buddha, Not Betraying You

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Ying and the others successfully return to the Great Huan Dynasty after their surprise attack on the Dark Council’s forces. No one is killed, though Heavenly Empress Zhi Ji and Radiant Emperor Roger are seriously exhausted and injured.
• Zhi Ji’s use of the Heaven-Destroying Finger is revealed to have killed a True God from a great distance, completely destroying the opponent’s soul. The technique’s terrifying power causes the others to view her with awe and unease.
• Several members of the group—including Huan Empress Qi Ji, Dragon Consort Chong Shiqie, Zhi Ji, Martial-Calming King Lan Ge, and Eunuch Qiu—advance into the True Immortal Realm after killing True Gods with Yu Ji’s assistance and benefiting from the Mending-Heaven Divine Stone.
• The group realizes that the Dark Council possesses far more True Gods than expected—over a hundred—and that the coming Immortal-God Calamity may involve far more than the legendary thousand Immortal Gods.
• Xiao Ying asks Qin Shi Huang to participate in the upcoming Battle of Yingzhou, despite its extreme danger.
• Qin Shi Huang asks what Xiao Ying will do if he dies. Xiao Ying promises to protect the Great Qin Empire if it has a successor, even if Great Qin ultimately breaks its agreement to participate in Heaven-Slaying Enlightenment.
• Qin then asks about Princess Huating. Xiao Ying struggles to answer, knowing that the Qin Shi Huang before him is not the true Qin Shi Huang and that Huating is deeply important to him.
• Xiao Ying ultimately promises that, even if doing so forces him to betray his own principles, he will not abandon Huating. Qin Shi Huang is moved by this answer and agrees to fight in Yingzhou, seemingly with the conviction that he may not survive.
• Qin Shi Huang departs with a solemn, almost death-bound resolve. Xiao Ying worries that he may be intentionally walking toward his death.
• Radiant Emperor Roger refuses to clearly commit to the Battle of Yingzhou. He offers the Angel Legion and the Radiant Divine Kingdom’s support but secretly resolves not to participate personally, then quickly leaves.
• Zhi Ji uses her ability to sense Qin Shi Huang’s thoughts and confirms that he possesses a strong will to die and believes he may certainly perish in the battle. She advises Xiao Ying to give Huating a proper answer before it is too late.

Character Developments

• Xiao Ying: Demonstrates strategic confidence and political foresight, but privately reveals deep anxiety about Qin Shi Huang’s fate. His promise regarding Huating shows that he values personal loyalty and emotional responsibility even when they conflict with his larger ideals and political commitments.
• Qin Shi Huang: Becomes increasingly fatalistic. His concern is not merely the survival of Great Qin but also the protection of Princess Huating. His decision to join Yingzhou despite his premonition suggests a willingness to sacrifice himself for Huating and perhaps to confront the unknown figure connected to his identity.
• Heavenly Empress Zhi Ji: Her overwhelming power is emphasized, but she is left severely injured by the Heaven-Destroying Finger. Her ability to perceive Qin Shi Huang’s inner resolve also establishes her as an important emotional observer and adviser.
• Radiant Emperor Roger: His exhaustion and fear expose the limits of his courage compared with his lofty status. Although he remains willing to support Great Huan indirectly, he clearly wishes to avoid personally entering another deadly conflict.
• The advancing True Immortals: Qi Ji, Chong Shiqie, Lan Ge, Eunuch Qiu, and others gain major breakthroughs, strengthening Great Huan’s forces and demonstrating the benefits of coordinated action and the Mending-Heaven Divine Stone.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty versus principle: The chapter’s title reflects Xiao Ying’s dilemma: whether it is possible to remain faithful to one’s ideals without betraying someone one loves. His promise to Huating shows that personal bonds may outweigh doctrine or political agreements.
• Fate and premonition: Qin Shi Huang’s certainty that he may die in Yingzhou creates an atmosphere of tragic inevitability. The chapter questions whether powerful figures can resist fate or merely choose how to face it.
• Sacrifice and final arrangements: Several characters recognize that the coming calamity is so dangerous that they must prepare for death and settle their responsibilities beforehand.
• Power and hidden strength: Zhi Ji’s divine finger and Roger’s Grand Prophecy Technique reveal that the world’s strongest abilities may be far more formidable than commonly understood. The Dark Council’s hidden army likewise demonstrates the danger of incomplete intelligence.
• Courage versus self-preservation: Qin Shi Huang accepts the risk of death, while Roger seeks to avoid it. Their contrasting reactions highlight different forms of responsibility and bravery.

Important Character Interactions

• Xiao Ying and Roger: Xiao Ying praises Roger’s Grand Prophecy Technique while subtly probing whether Roger is hiding greater power. Their exchange is respectful but also politically calculated.
• Xiao Ying and Qin Shi Huang: Their conversation forms the emotional center of the chapter. Xiao Ying offers protection to Great Qin and, more importantly, promises not to abandon Huating. Qin responds by committing himself to Yingzhou.
• Xiao Ying and Zhi Ji: Zhi Ji’s final warning reinforces Xiao Ying’s concern about Qin Shi Huang and urges him to resolve the emotional issue surrounding Huating.
• Roger and the group: Roger’s attempt to offer support while avoiding personal participation creates a humorous contrast with Qin Shi Huang’s solemn self-sacrifice.
• The group and Zhi Ji: Their fear and admiration after witnessing the Heaven-Destroying Finger show how dramatically her status and perceived power have changed.

Xiao Ying focused on the impending war against Great Chu and the immortal-god calamity while leaving Princess Huating’s feelings unresolved. After three months of victories, Great Huan forces surrounded Handan in China’s Divine Land and advanced on Kyoto in Yingzhou, where the final battle with Xiang Yu appeared imminent.

• Qi Ji urged Xiao Ying to give Princess Huating an answer, while Zhi Ji warned that Qin Shi Huang seemed able to sense his approaching death and advised keeping him from the battle.
• Xiao Ying set aside the romantic discussion and concentrated on defeating Great Chu and facing the immortal-god calamity.
• Great Huan armies captured territories across the Central Plains and Yingzhou, while Xiao He’s proclamation allowed transformed Bloodfolk and undead to gather near Pengcheng as subjects.
• After more than three months, Great Huan forces surrounded Handan, the last Great Chu-held territory in China’s Divine Land, and prepared to take the imperial capital.
• Xiao Ying assembled roughly 150 million troops and advanced toward Kyoto, where Xiang Yu and more than 200 million Great Chu troops awaited amid the arrival of immortals and gods.

As Great Huan marched toward Kyoto, Huan Emperor Xiao Ying met the Descended True Immortal Tianxin Yunlan, who challenged his choice to risk the lives of millions in the coming battle. Their conversation ended with Xiao Ying defending the struggle for the world as beyond simple right and wrong.

• Grand General King Ying Bu fortified Hikone Royal City with a vast army and immortals, preparing to block Great Huan's advance toward Kyoto.
• Han Xin commanded Great Huan's 150 million troops as they approached Hikone, while Xiao Ying's Forbidden Guards protected him from spying immortals and gods.
• Tianxin Yunlan descended openly near Xiao Ying's marching army, and Xiao Ying went alone to meet her.
• Tianxin Yunlan introduced herself and questioned Xiao Ying's confidence in the decisive battle; he admitted he had only a thirty or forty percent chance of success.
• Tianxin Yunlan warned that Xiao Ying's decision would cause immense casualties and grief, while he argued that struggles for the world had no simple right or wrong.

Xiao Ying drove Tianxin Yunlan away after arguing over his war, then ordered his pregnant consorts to return to the Nine Dragons Imperial Capital rather than join the Battle of Yingzhou. He revealed that he planned to ascend alone after Heaven-Slaying Enlightenment, but assured everyone that he could break through the spatial barrier and return to this world.

• Tianxin Yunlan rebuked Xiao Ying for risking Great Huan’s people in a war against the immortals and gods, and he frightened her off with the Godslaying Spear.
• Xiao Ying told Hua Qiandai, Li Yanyan, Lü Zhi, Chong Shiqie, and the other women to return to the capital, keeping only Yu Ji with the army because the others were pregnant.
• Lü Zhi and Li Yanyan questioned Xiao Ying about his plans to advance Great Huan’s power and undertake Heaven-Slaying Enlightenment, pointing to the Heaven-Sacrificing Altars he had ordered built.
• Xiao Ying said he would ascend with Qin Shi Huang and the Radiant Emperor after succeeding in Heaven-Slaying Enlightenment, but would take no one from Great Huan.
• Yu Ji, Hua Qiandai, and Eunuch Qiu pleaded not to be left behind, and Xiao Ying assured them he could return from the Upper Realm whenever he wished.

Xiao Ying revealed that he could cross spatial barriers at will, while Zhi Ji inferred that he likely possessed the supreme treasure sought by immortals and gods. At Hikone Royal City, he ordered Great Huan’s forces to seal the city with walls and dams and use a formation to prevent anyone from escaping, preparing to destroy the Great Chu army inside.

• Xiao Ying told his followers that Heavenly Punishment could not stop him from returning across spatial barriers, and Zhi Ji privately guessed he possessed the Mysterious Supreme Treasure.
• Zhi Ji assured the others that Xiao Ying could be trusted, and they stopped questioning his secret.
• Xiao Ying and Great Huan’s generals surveyed Hikone Royal City, whose powerful Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation made a direct assault costly.
• Zhang Liang explained that the city’s surrounding hills and waterways could be used to contain it, and Xiao Ying ordered walls and dams built around the city.
• Xiao Ying instructed Zhang Liang to use the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Demon-Sealing God-Slaying Formation to seal the air and cut off the Teleportation Formations, trapping everyone inside Hikone Royal City.

Xiao Ying revealed that his last-resort plan against the Immortal Gods involved using earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and a sealing formation to destroy Yingzhou and trap the Great Chu army and Immortal Gods. He admitted he might die carrying out the plan, and his closest companions chose to stay with him as preparations began.

• Han Xin warned that building channels and dams for a water attack would take too long, but Xiao Ying said they only needed walls and dams because Yingzhou’s seismic activity could bring the water in.
• Xiao He realized Xiao Ying intended to trigger earthquakes and split the land, and Xiao Ying confirmed that earthquakes or volcanic eruptions could flood Hikone Royal City.
• Hojo Soun, Han Xin, Zhang Liang, and the ministers left to assign troops to build defenses, camps, and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Demon-Sealing God-Slaying Grand Formation.
• Xiao He asked whether Xiao Ying’s true fallback plan was to destroy Yingzhou and perish with the Great Chu Dynasty and the Immortal Gods, and Yu Ji recognized why he had brought only thirty million troops and refused local allegiances.
• Xiao Ying confessed that he had only a thirty or forty percent chance of winning and would sacrifice himself with the thousand Immortal Gods if no other option remained, warning his companions they might not survive.
• Yu Ji, Xiao Dieyi, Xiao He, and Gao Gong each affirmed their resolve to remain with Xiao Ying, while Gao Gong regretted that he might never fulfill the pact on Nine-Dragon Mountain.

Xiao Ying surrounded Hikone Royal City with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Demon-Sealing God-Slaying Formation, sealing its teleportation and escape methods. He then advanced with seven hundred thousand Forbidden Guards and summoned the Heaven-Defying War God Formation, leaving Great Chu’s defenders unsure how he planned to attack.

• Xiao Ying reassured Gao Gong about their future and suggested Sun Ji might have ascended to the Upper Realm with Divine General Sun Bin.
• Xiao Ying explained that he would use the Thick Earth Underworld King Canon to locate crustal nodes and the War God's Power to strike them.
• Xiao Ying’s forces built rough walls and Heaven-Sacrificing Altars around Hikone Royal City while the defenders debated his intentions.
• The formation’s ten pillars and Twelve Earthly Branch Manifestations appeared, sealing the city’s teleportation and other spatial escape methods.
• Xiao Ying halted seven hundred thousand Forbidden Guards near the city and used the Heaven-Defying War God Statue to gather their power into a towering War God Manifestation.

Emperor Jian Shang used the War God Manifestation to fracture the earth around Hikone Royal City, hiding his plan while the defenders tried to understand his actions. When a violent earthquake struck and the city's teleportation formation proved unusable, Tianxin Yunlan and Ying Bu realized he meant to bury the entire city alive.

• Tianxin Yunlan and Ying Bu watched Emperor Jian Shang's War God Manifestation and wondered why it was pounding the ground instead of attacking Hikone Royal City.
• The War God Manifestation split the earth and sent an earth dragon toward the city, opening trenches that released sinister black mist and scorching fumes.
• Tianxin Yunlan suspected underground dangers, but Rokkaku Taihei denied that the area faced a volcanic threat, and Ying Bu's side waited behind the city's defenses.
• After half a day of pounding the ground, Emperor Jian Shang triggered a massive earthquake that cracked the earth, shook the walls, and strained the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation.
• Tianxin Yunlan realized Emperor Jian Shang intended to bury the city, and Ying Bu ordered his army to withdraw before learning that the city's Teleportation Formation had stopped working.

Hikone Royal City was devastated by poisonous fumes, earthquakes, floods, and collapsing walls as the Great Chu forces faced the disaster and the sealed being beneath the city. Tianxin Yunlan tried to escape through a jade talisman, but an enormous bell cut off its light and trapped her group.

• The Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation collapsed, and poisonous smoke, fiery fumes, earthquakes, and flooding devastated Hikone Royal City.
• Ying Bu ordered the Great Chu troops to break out as the city walls crumbled and a terrifying being stirred underground.
• Tianxin Yunlan killed Rokkaku Taihei in anger, then considered the True Immortals’ proposal to hide beneath the rubble rather than face the enemy formation.
• Tianxin Yunlan activated a jade talisman that opened a pillar of light through the enemy formation, and she agreed to take Ying Bu with her.
• The desperate survivors crowded Tianxin Yunlan, but an enormous bell severed the pillar of light and left her group trapped.

Xiao Ying explained Yingzhou’s ancient origins and the plan to unleash the being buried beneath it, while his allies debated the moral and political risks. As Hikone Royal City crumbled, Tianxin Yunlan and other True Immortals broke out, but Xiao Ying intercepted them and demanded their surrender.

• Xiao Ying used War God's Power and the Two Principles Roc-journeying Wonder Formation to help destroy the crustal node and merge the army into the sealing formation.
• Xiao Ying told Xiao He, Chengshalina, Zhang Liang, and the others how Yingzhou formed from the site where Devil Ancestor Luohou and Devil Emperor Chi You were suppressed, and how Yu the Great built Yamatai over Xiangliu.
• Xiao Ying and his allies discussed whether the buried being could escape, whether the Great Chu and the descended immortal gods knew the secrets, and what side the present-day humans belonged to.
• Xiao Ying urged the Great Huan forces to do their best and keep their consciences clear, while privately suspecting the being would soon die under Heavenly Punishment and Upper Realm surveillance.
• Tianxin Yunlan and other True Immortals escaped from collapsing Hikone Royal City, but Xiao Ying knocked back their breakout with the Great Huan Imperial Seal.
• Tianxin Yunlan accused Emperor Jian Shang of destroying Hikone, and Xiao Ying pointed his Godslaying Spear at the group and demanded they surrender.

Xiao Ying fought Tianxin Yunlan and the forces trapped in Hikone Royal City while suspected aid from the Upper Realm battered his formation. He killed Tianxin Yunlan with the Godslaying Spear, and the long-bearded True Immortal began self-detonating in response.

• Thunderclouds gathered over Xiao Ying’s formation and struck it with chaotic heavenly lightning, leading him to suspect Tianxin Yunlan had called for help from the Upper Realm.
• Xiao Ying ordered an attack, and his Earth Dragon Roar buried hundreds as Tianxin Yunlan shattered the earth dragon with her sword technique.
• Princess Dieyi and Xuan Ming attacked the trapped forces, and Xuan Ming’s baleful flood killed more than half of the gathered cultivators before Ying Bu recognized her as Himiko.
• Tianxin Yunlan unleashed Tianxin’s Sorrow, but Xiao Ying used the Heaven-Earth Bell to scatter her sword qi and followed with the Godslaying Spear, piercing her chest.
• The long-bearded True Immortal cursed Xiao Ying over Tianxin Yunlan’s death, then began detonating his own magical power.