Chapter Summaries

After Xiao Ying defeated Tianxin Yunlan, he discovered that her life persisted in a jade pendant and negotiated her release in exchange for her life-bound vital qi and promises of help. Dao Ancestor Hongjun intervened to secure her freedom, and Tianxin Yunlan departed after giving Xiao Ying a seed of the Heavenly Heart Secret Canon.

• Xiao Ying found that Tianxin Yunlan had survived inside a jade pendant and demanded a reward before letting her go.
• Tianxin Yunlan offered a Dao Canon and promised to help Xiao Ying with heaven-slaying enlightenment and escape from the Upper Realm's surveillance.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun sent Xiao Ying a message asking him to release Tianxin Yunlan and promising that the Heavenly Heart Sect would not interfere in the Pangu World's affairs.
• Tianxin Yunlan transferred a strand of her life-bound vital qi to Xiao Ying, allowing him to understand the Heavenly Heart Secret Canon as a method of comprehension and control over the world's power.
• Xiao Ying sent Tianxin Yunlan's remains out of the formation, and she departed after warning that she would find him again.

Xiao Ying crushed Great Chu’s forces at Hikone, where Ying Bu chose death rather than survive his army and subjects. As Great Huan marched toward Kyoto, Xiang Yu’s court learned that Hikone had been destroyed with no survivors and struggled to believe that even the True Immortals and Fairy Tianxin were gone.

• Xiao Ying accepted a True Immortal’s surrender, then had Tisha kill him and the other Great Chu True Immortals.
• Xiao Ying offered Ying Bu a place in Great Huan, but Ying Bu took his own life after lamenting that his army and subjects had perished.
• Xiao Ying spared Ying Bu’s remains, received the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation Diagram, and gave Yu Ji the Blueheart Sky Sword.
• Xiao Ying ordered Great Huan’s army to reorganize and march toward Kyoto for the decisive battle.
• Fan Zeng sensed Ying Bu’s death, and a messenger reported that Hikone Royal City had been destroyed with no survivors.
• Young Master Godless demanded to know what had happened to the True Immortals and Fairy Tianxin.

Xiao Ying oversaw a plan to collapse Kyoto Prefecture and the Kinki Region by destroying geological nodes, then received massive Great Qin reinforcements for the campaign. Qin Shi Huang arrived with Princess Huating and announced that she was Great Qin’s heir, leaving Xiao Ying and the delegation stunned.

• Xiao Ying confirmed with the geologists that destroying three nodes could collapse Kyoto Prefecture and eighteen could collapse the Kinki Region, and ordered further research into the consequences of collapsing Yingzhou.
• Xiao Ying placed the geologists and Otherworlder leaders under strict guard and promised them supplies and rewards for their work.
• Great Qin sent Emperor Grade Forbidden Guards and elite troops to Uji Megacity, raising Great Huan’s morale.
• Qin Shi Huang arrived with Dishi, Zhang Han, Li Xin, and Princess Huating, whom he introduced as Great Qin’s heir.

Xiao Ying sent Qin Shi Huang to confront Great Chu’s remaining Military King while revealing to Princess Huating that he was Prince Hua, not the Qin Shi Huang she remembered. Great Huan’s campaign gained ground with Radiant reinforcements, but a vast Blood Clan army struck back and plunged the war into crisis.

• Xiao Ying asked Qin Shi Huang to take one hundred thousand Great Qin Forbidden Guards and deal with Lian Cheng, and Qin Shi Huang agreed and departed.
• Xiao Ying told Princess Huating that Qin Shi Huang was Prince Hua and held her hand as they reunited; Li Xin interrupted their awkward exchange by recalling their past battles.
• The Radiant Divine Kingdom sent an Angel Legion and a Light Ritualist Legion led by Yennefer, and Xiao Ying deployed them among Great Huan’s armies.
• The Radiant forces’ healing, support, and resurrection abilities reduced Great Huan’s casualties and helped its armies advance toward the Kyoto Imperial Capital.
• A huge Blood Clan army attacked three Yingzhou armies, turning millions of Great Huan soldiers and civilians into blood beings or desiccated corpses and shifting the war’s balance toward Great Chu.

Chapter Summary: “Swords Pointed at Kyoto”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Eight days after reinforcements from the Great Qin Empire and the Radiant Divine Kingdom arrive, the planned advance on Kyoto is disrupted by the unexpected intervention of the Blood Clan.
• The Blood Clan supports the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty, dramatically shifting the balance of power. Its presence threatens to turn southeastern Kyoto into a death zone and raises fears that other forces of the Dark Council may also become involved.
• Over seven days, the Great Huan forces suffer more than ten million casualties, while over one hundred million civilians are transformed into bloodspawn or otherwise corrupted. Morale collapses, and Kyoto’s southeastern region approaches total devastation.
• The leaders of Yingzhou, headed by Hojo Soun, travel to Uji Megacity to demand that the Huan Emperor deploy the powerful Great Huan Forbidden Guard and Peacock Forbidden Guard.
• The Huan Emperor and his allies hesitate to commit their strongest forces immediately, recognizing that the timing of their decisive strike is crucial.
• Imperial Consort Dishi condemns the Great Chu Emperor Xiang Yu for openly allying with the Blood Clan and argues that the Blood Clan’s eventual withdrawal will not undo the destruction it causes.
• Strategist Sage Marquis Zhang Liang recommends suppressing the Blood Clan while accelerating the decisive battle. Dishi supports this plan, reasoning that the Blood Clan’s intervention may be a test of the Huan alliance’s resolve.
• Xiao Ying ultimately orders all forces outside Uji Megacity to march north and begin the decisive battle for Kyoto.
• After the council disperses, Yu Ji proposes sending Li Yanyan, whose Fuxi Zither and sound-based attacks are especially effective against the Blood Clan. Xiao Ying agrees to send Li Yanyan alone, while forbidding the other consorts from leaving the Divine Land of China without his permission.

Character Developments

• Xiao Ying, the Huan Emperor: Demonstrates strategic patience and political calculation by refusing to deploy his strongest troops prematurely. He ultimately shows resolve by committing to the Kyoto offensive. His private exchanges also reveal his playful, flirtatious side and his awareness that he may not have enough time to resolve all his personal relationships before the coming crisis.
• Imperial Consort Dishi: Takes a firm moral and strategic stance against cooperation with the Blood Clan. Her condemnation of the Undying Forces contrasts with the more pragmatic attitude of the war leaders, though her beauty and presence also visibly unsettle those around her.
• Hojo Soun: Appears desperate for military assistance but remains respectful toward Dishi. He eagerly agrees with her criticism of the Blood Clan, reflecting both his admiration for her and his concern for Yingzhou’s survival.
• Xiao He: Privately recognizes the hypocrisy in Hojo Soun’s condemnation, since the Huan Emperor’s own plans may be equally ruthless. He continues to prioritize political necessity over moral judgment.
• Yu Ji: Shows initiative by directly suggesting that Li Yanyan join the battle. She also reveals her concern for the emotional welfare of Princess Huating and urges Xiao Ying to give Huating a clear answer about their relationship.
• Li Yanyan: Although absent from the council, she is recognized as a crucial weapon against the Blood Clan because of her mastery of sound waves and the Fuxi Zither.
• Princess Huating: Her shy, innocent feelings for Xiao Ying become clear. His teasing proposal embarrasses her so deeply that she flees, while Yu Ji emphasizes that Huating’s devotion is sincere and free of political calculation.

Significant Themes

• War and moral ambiguity: The chapter stresses that struggles for power cannot easily be divided into good and evil. Xiao He reflects that history is written by victors, allowing the Huan Dynasty to justify ruthless actions while condemning the Blood Clan.
• The cost of alliances: Alliances with destructive forces may offer military advantages but leave irreversible devastation behind. The Blood Clan’s “support” is portrayed as almost indistinguishable from slaughter.
• Strategic timing and restraint: The Huan Emperor’s decision not to deploy his elite forces immediately highlights the importance of choosing the right moment rather than reacting emotionally to battlefield losses.
• Destruction versus protection: The leaders must balance the need to win the war against the enormous civilian casualties already caused by the Blood Clan.
• Love and unfinished relationships: With a major battle approaching and the future uncertain, the characters feel pressure to settle emotional matters and avoid leaving regrets behind.
• Power and gendered influence: Dishi’s supernatural beauty and presence affect the men around her, while the consorts’ supreme treasures and individual abilities establish them as powerful figures in their own right.

Character Interactions

• Dishi and Hojo Soun discuss the Blood Clan’s alliance, with Dishi sharply rebuking Hojo’s belief that the Blood Clan’s withdrawal will solve the problem.
• Xiao Ying consults the military leaders, especially Zhang Liang, Dishi, and Xiao He, before approving the march on Kyoto.
• Yu Ji respectfully challenges Xiao Ying’s restrictions by requesting Li Yanyan’s participation and later advises him to acknowledge Huating’s feelings.
• Xiao Ying teases Huating about becoming his partner, provoking her embarrassed retreat.
• Yu Ji affectionately defends Huating and warns Xiao Ying that failing to respond to her devotion could cause lasting emotional harm.

Xiao Ying split Great Huan’s forces into separate columns to break the Great Chu Faction’s formation and reach three sides of Kyoto Imperial Capital. He led an attack on Western Capital Megacity, where the Angel and Divine Dragon Legions clashed with the Blood Clan, and the dragons’ breath devastated the enemy formation.

• Xiao Ying proposed sending Great Huan’s army toward Kyoto Imperial Capital’s southern gate while he and the allied elite forces attacked its eastern and western approaches.
• Xiao Ying assigned Han Xin to command the central column and arranged the Great Huan Forbidden Guards and Hero Legions on the left, with Great Qin, Peacock, and Radiant reinforcements on the right.
• Xiao Ying led 2.3 million troops to Western Capital Megacity and ordered Godless and Wufa to attack it from the air with the Angel and Divine Dragon Legions.
• The Angel Legion’s Light Purification and the Blood Clan’s Ultrasonic Waves struck simultaneously, causing tens of thousands of casualties on both sides.
• Wufa’s Divine Dragon Legion unleashed dragon breath, killing much of the Blood Clan force hovering above Western Capital Megacity.

Xiao Ying halted the Great Huan army outside the Western Capital Megacity and used his forces to expose and destroy the Blood Clan’s ambush inside it. After Li Yanyan, Xuan Ming, and Princess Dieyi drove off the Blood-Drinking Sword Immortal and the Dark True God, the Blood Clan army retreated, leaving the city’s transformed inhabitants to their fate.

• Xiao Ying stopped the Great Huan army outside the apparently empty Western Capital Megacity and ordered Heavenless’s Giant Legion to attack the Blood Clan army in the sky.
• The Angel Legion bombarded the city with Light Purification, revealing the hidden Bloodfolk, while Xiao Ying deployed the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation and sent Demonless and the Behemoth Legion into the city.
• The Behemoth Legion rampaged through the streets and the Angel Legion and Great Huan forces overwhelmed the Blood Clan until the Western Capital Megacity’s Dark True God and Blood-Drinking Sword Immortal intervened.
• Li Yanyan, Xuan Ming, and Princess Dieyi counterattacked the two powerful beings and killed many Blood Clan soldiers.
• The Blood-Drinking Sword Immortal fled, the Dark True God ordered a retreat, and the Blood Clan army withdrew while abandoning the Bloodfolk in the city.

After Great Huan’s armies captured the surrounding megacities, they reached the Kyoto Imperial Capital and deployed three massive formations. Inside the capital, Great Chu and its allies debated how to locate Emperor Jian Shang and counter the formations.

• Xiao Ying’s forces purified the Western Capital Megacity, leaving it a lifeless ruin, and the Yingzhou army took control.
• Zhang Liang reported that Martial-Clad Guards had infiltrated the crustal nodes and that Otherworlders were demanding to join the decisive battle, so Xiao Ying ordered the China Alliance to gather the arrivals into an army.
• Great Huan’s three armies advanced through Kyoto Prefecture, then camped outside the Kyoto Imperial Capital and raised three Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper formations.
• Zangtian Wei warned Great Chu’s allies that Emperor Jian Shang might possess Tianxin Yunlan’s formation diagram and cultivation method, making the formations especially dangerous.
• Xuan Zhong asked Fan Zeng for advice, and Fan Zeng proposed meeting formation with formation and overcoming ingenuity with strength.

Fan Zeng persuaded the gathered immortal-god representatives to recruit a hundred thousand loose immortals for a decisive formation against Emperor Jian Shang. Later, Xiang Yu confessed that even victory would feel hollow after the choices that had cost him Yu Ji and Yu Ziqi, and Fan Zeng answered with a crude saying about love.

• Fan Zeng proposed using formations to expose Emperor Jian Shang's true body and argued that overwhelming reinforcements were needed to guarantee victory.
• Kong Jue challenged Fan Zeng's request for more forces, and Fan Zeng asked each immortal-god power to contribute loose immortals toward a hundred-thousand-strong force.
• Jin Yan, Leo, and representatives of other powers pledged enough loose immortals to meet and exceed Fan Zeng's target.
• Xiang Yu told Fan Zeng that he felt unworthy of victory after losing territory and driving Yu Ji's clan and Yu Ziqi away.
• Fan Zeng asked whether Xiang Yu still could not forget Yu Ji, and Xiang Yu admitted that he could not before Fan Zeng offered a cynical saying about love.

Chapter Summary: “Sharpening Weapons and Feeding Horses”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fan Zeng counsels Xiang Yu about his lingering feelings for Yu Ji. Using the vulgar Chu saying “Life was like a play; true feelings were the foundation. Take her hand, then drag her off to feed the dogs,” he argues that human relationships are governed by self-interest, unequal attachment, and emotional contradiction.
• Fan Zeng explains that while genuine affection exists, it often brings suffering. People tend to undervalue what they obtain easily and pursue most desperately what they are most likely to lose.
• Xiang Yu asks whether Fan Zeng’s lifelong solitude reflects this philosophy. Fan Zeng admits that, at his age, he no longer wishes to involve himself in the turmoil of romance or family ties—though the lack of descendants also makes him less vulnerable to political control.
• Fan Zeng urges Xiang Yu to accept that experiencing true love may be enough and that possessing or forcing it could destroy it. Xiang Yu acknowledges the wisdom of this advice but admits that genuine feelings cannot simply be discarded.
• Xiang Yu promises that he will remain resolute during the coming decisive battle. He accepts responsibility for the Yu Clan’s departure and Yu Ziqi’s death, refuses to blame them, and vows to give Yu Ji—referred to as Miao Ge—a chance to survive if possible. However, if she remains his enemy, he will show no mercy on the battlefield.
• The narrative shifts to Great Huan’s military encampment south of Heavenly Capital City. Contrary to widespread expectations, Emperor Xiao Ying has secretly relocated from the western camp to the heavily fortified southern camp, bringing elite Imperial Guards and troops from several heroic legions with him.
• The southern camp contains a powerful inner Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation created with the supreme Formation Diagram. Like the formations in the eastern and western camps, it protects against spies and infiltration, but the southern formation is especially deadly.
• Dragon Soul reports that most Great Xia Otherworlders have been organized and that an agreement has been reached with Sakura Prefecture’s Otherworlders not to attack one another. They will instead operate independently, harassing enemy troops and scouts around Heavenly Capital City.
• Dragon Soul also reports that both the Heavenly Court and Sakura Heavenly Court wish to meet Xiao Ying and coordinate their Otherworlder forces. Xiao Ying rejects the request, unwilling to become entangled in complicated factional and personal relationships.
• Zhang Liang reports that the Heaven-Sacrificing Altars in all three Huan military camps are complete. Once activated, they can seal space and disable Heavenly Capital City’s teleportation formations.
• Xiao Ying considers a four-sided encirclement to trap the city and its immortals and gods, but Zhang Liang warns that Great Huan’s forces are already inferior. Their current three-sided encirclement is the limit of their capabilities and may fail because Great Chu has received additional reinforcements.

Character Developments

• Xiang Yu: Becomes more emotionally self-aware. Although still deeply attached to Yu Ji, he shows a growing willingness to restrain his personal feelings for the sake of military necessity. He accepts responsibility for past mistakes and prepares himself to act decisively even against someone he loves.
• Fan Zeng: Reveals a more personal and paternal side beneath his harsh strategic exterior. His advice comes from long experience, loneliness, and concern for Xiang Yu. His refusal to marry or establish a family is presented both as a personal choice and as protection against political leverage.
• Xiao Ying: Is shown as distrustful, detached, and strategically cautious. He avoids alliances with Otherworlder and Heavenly Court factions, preferring independence and control. His secret relocation demonstrates his willingness to deceive enemy observers and even friendly forces for strategic advantage.
• Dragon Soul: Acts as an intermediary between Xiao Ying and the Otherworlder factions. He understands Xiao Ying’s distrust but still feels compelled to convey the Heavenly Courts’ requests.
• Zhang Liang: Provides a sober assessment of Great Huan’s military limitations. He prioritizes realistic strategy over Xiao Ying’s more ambitious desire to trap every enemy force.

Significant Themes

• The conflict between emotion and duty: Xiang Yu must choose between his love for Yu Ji and his responsibilities as emperor and commander.
• The complexity of human attachment: Fan Zeng argues that affection is rarely equal or uncomplicated, and that desire often creates distance rather than intimacy.
• Love versus possession: The chapter suggests that true feelings may be preserved only by relinquishing the desire to control or possess the beloved.
• Political vulnerability and personal bonds: Fan Zeng’s lack of family protects him from manipulation, while Xiang Yu’s love creates a potential weakness enemies may exploit.
• Strategic deception and distrust: Xiao Ying’s hidden headquarters, layered formations, and rejection of outside alliances emphasize the importance of secrecy in the approaching decisive battle.
• The limits of ambition: Even strong leaders must recognize when their forces cannot accomplish every strategic goal. The attempted encirclement reflects the tension between ideal plans and battlefield reality.

Character Interactions

• Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng: Their exchange combines disagreement, blunt criticism, and emerging mutual understanding. Xiang Yu initially resists Fan Zeng’s cynical view of love but gradually recognizes the sincerity behind his counsel.
• Xiang Yu and Yu Ji/Miao Ge: Though Yu Ji does not appear directly, her relationship with Xiang Yu dominates the first half of the chapter. Xiang Yu’s memories of her loyalty to the Huan Emperor show that their emotional and political loyalties now stand opposed.
• Xiao Ying and Dragon Soul: Dragon Soul cautiously conveys the Heavenly Courts’ requests, while Xiao Ying dismisses them sharply, reinforcing the emperor’s isolation and distrust.
• Xiao Ying and Zhang Liang: Their interaction reflects the balance between strategic ambition and practical military judgment. Xiao Ying seeks a complete encirclement, while Zhang Liang explains why such a plan is currently impossible.

Xiao Ying’s military conference learned that the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty had positioned a hundred thousand Loose Immortals behind the Great Huan forces to block their retreat. Xiao He persuaded Xiao Ying to bring in Otherworlders and seize the northern battlefield, leaving both sides preparing to encircle each other around Kyoto.

• Zhang Liang reported that the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty had received a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, who were deployed behind the Great Huan army to cut off its retreat.
• Xiao He proposed using the enemy’s plan as an opening to send a contingent north and expand the Great Huan encirclement around Kyoto.
• Xiao He suggested mobilizing Otherworlders from Yue State, Japan, and China, and Xiao Ying approved voluntary participation for China’s Otherworlders while ordering Yue State and Japan to provide full support.
• Xiao Ying ordered fifteen Teleportation Formations built across the three camps and directed the arriving army to seize the northern battlefield if possible.
• Otherworlders poured into Kyoto Prefecture, intensifying the fighting as the Great Huan Faction and the immortals and gods formed opposing encirclements.

Great Huan’s forces advanced on Kyoto, where Xiang Yu and the Great Chu defenders prepared to meet them. After siege engines opened fire on the city walls, the decisive battle for Kyoto began.

• More than twenty million Otherworlders and a renewed Great Huan army marched north, and Xiao Ying ordered the war drums sounded after the northern camp reported its defenses were ready.
• Great Huan deployed sixty million troops outside Kyoto, while Xiang Yu, Cao Jiu, Fan Zeng, Ge Le Gangrel, and other defenders debated how to counter the advance.
• Xiang Yu moved to the western wall and said he would lead a charge to force Emperor Jian Shang to appear, while the defenders prepared to seal the battlefield if he did.
• Great Huan halted ten li from Kyoto and positioned its siege engines, as hundreds of thousands of Blood Clan members flew out from the city and Kyoto’s gates opened.
• Great Huan’s siege engines fired boulders, bolts, and spellcraft at Kyoto’s walls, beginning the decisive battle.

The Great Huan Faction and Great Chu forces fought a bloody battle outside the Kyoto Imperial Capital, until Overlord Emperor Xiang Yu and Huan Emperor Xiao Ying met in combat. Xiang Yu accepted Xiao Ying’s challenge to resume their Battle of Mount Tai pledge and used his Violet Lightning Heavy Pupils to raise his strength beyond the True Immortal realm.

• The Kyoto Imperial Capital’s defenders exchanged siege fire with Great Huan while cavalry and Blood Clan forces charged into the battle, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties.
• Xiang Yu led the Jiangdong Sons and Brothers and the Heavenmight Army out of the city, and Great Huan’s Wang Ben, Gao Gong, and Yang Ning rode out to intercept him.
• Xiang Yu smashed through Great Huan’s Tower Shield Troops and prepared to strike Wang Ben’s Heaven-Defying War God Manifestation with the Heaven-Opening Axe.
• Huan Emperor Xiao Ying countered Xiang Yu’s Heaven-Cleaving attack with the Godslaying Spear’s Dragon Emperor’s Wrath, and the clash blasted a vast empty zone across the battlefield.
• Xiao Ying taunted Xiang Yu and challenged him to resume their broken pledge at the Battle of Mount Tai; Xiang Yu accepted and drove back the True Immortals rushing toward them.
• Xiang Yu activated his Violet Lightning Heavy Pupils, raising his power beyond the True Immortal realm without provoking heavenly punishment.

Xiao Ying and Xiang Yu clashed as their armies fought around them, and Xiang Yu’s Violet Lightning Heavy Pupils and Pangu True Form gave him the advantage. After Xiao Ying rebuked Xiang Yu for betraying the Primordial Humans, he summoned the power of the stars and launched a new attack, leaving their duel unresolved.

• Xiao Ying and Xiang Yu exchanged powerful attacks, and Xiang Yu’s strength forced Xiao Ying onto the defensive.
• Xiao Ying used the Heaven-Earth Bell to repel Xiang Yu’s Heaven-Opening Axe and injure him, then attacked with nine Imperial Avatars and his true body.
• Xiang Yu transformed into his Pangu True Form, grew to a hundred-meter giant, and shattered Xiao Ying’s avatars before blasting Xiao Ying into a trench.
• Xiang Yu challenged Xiao Ying to reveal his Ancestral Return Form, but Xiao Ying denounced him for betraying the Primordial Humans, briefly shaking his resolve.
• Xiao Ying invoked the Violet Star River Record and the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation, summoning falling stars to bombard Xiang Yu’s Pangu True Form.

Xiao Ying used the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation to repel Xiang Yu, but Great Chu launched an unexpected all-out assault with several powerful formations. Xiao Ying ordered a retreat and prepared to sacrifice Kyoto Prefecture or the Kinki Region if the battle turned disastrous, while the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation attacked the Great Huan camp.

• Xiao Ying’s star attack devastated both armies outside Kyoto, forcing Xiang Yu to retreat and killing tens of thousands of soldiers on each side.
• Kong Jue and Old Immortal Nanhua persuaded Xiang Yu to launch a decisive battle, and Cao Jiu ordered the entire Great Chu army to attack.
• The Great Chu forces deployed the Twofold Dust Formation and the Heaven-Covering Formation, so Xiao Ying ordered the Great Huan armies to withdraw.
• The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation sent a tide of Sword Qi after Xiao Ying, who struck back with the Emperor’s Palm of the Stars before shifting to the western camp.
• Xiao Ying told Qiu Li to prepare to detonate Kyoto Prefecture or the Kinki Region if necessary, then 256 immortals and gods attacked the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation with tens of thousands of swords.

The Great Huan Faction’s linked formations stalemated the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation as the Great Chu army advanced, but a powerful earthquake struck Kyoto Prefecture. Fan Zeng urged the Great Chu commanders to use their formations and immortal gods to protect Kyoto and let the earthquake weaken the Great Huan forces.

• The Great Huan Faction activated the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Demon-Sealing God-Slaying Formation, and its Earthly Branch Dharma Forms wounded and killed immortal gods attacking the western camp.
• The immortal gods strengthened the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, but the Great Huan troops reinforced their formations, leaving both sides locked in a stalemate.
• An earthquake shook the battlefield as the Great Chu Faction advanced, disrupting both armies and opening fissures that released black mist and fiery fumes.
• Cao Jiu, Xiang Yu, and Fan Zeng suspected the Great Huan Faction might be exploiting the earthquake, while Xiang Ta questioned why it would risk destroying both armies.
• As the Kyoto Imperial Capital’s walls cracked and buildings collapsed, Song Yi urged a breakout, but Cao Jiu warned that fleeing could repeat the disastrous losses at Hikone.
• Fan Zeng proposed that the Great Chu Faction use its defensive measures and immortal formations to stabilize the earth veins, protect Kyoto, and let the Great Huan Faction bear the earthquake’s consequences.

Fan Zeng and the Great Chu commanders chose to hold Kyoto Imperial Capital as the earthquake worsened, while Xiao Ying revealed that Great Huan intended to intensify the disaster by attacking the formations sealing heaven and earth. The chapter ended with Great Huan’s formations striking back across the battlefields as the ground split open and poisonous mist and fiery fumes surged from the fissures.

• Fan Zeng argued that Great Chu should withdraw the Heaven-Covering Formation to protect Kyoto Imperial Capital and let Great Huan and the immortals exhaust each other, while Song Yi warned that Yingzhou might collapse.
• After a night of earthquakes, Great Huan had lost about fifteen million troops, and its armies faced a vastly larger Great Chu and Blood Clan force besieging their camps.
• Han Xin questioned whether Great Huan had miscalculated the earthquake, but Xiao Ying explained that Great Chu had weakened the disaster by withdrawing the Heaven-Covering Formation and ordered an all-out battle to intensify the destruction.
• Great Chu and the Blood Clan attacked Great Huan’s camps as the southern camp unleashed Emperor’s Palm of the Stars and the western camp formed the Heaven-Defying War God Formation.
• Great Huan’s eastern and northern camps attacked the Twofold Dust Formation, worsening the tremors and splitting the surrounding ground into vast fissures that spewed black mist and fiery fumes.
• The western formation unleashed the Twelve Capitals Banner-Demon Formation, which killed tens of thousands of Great Chu and Blood Clan troops before attacking the Twofold Dust Formation.

Emperor Jian Shang’s Twelve Capitals Banner-Demon Formation routed Great Chu and the Blood Clan, then threatened to split Kyoto Imperial Capital apart. Fan Zeng urged the immortals to use the Myriad Immortals Formation to trap the manifestations and Emperor Jian Shang, but Kong Jue hesitated over sacrificing their final reserve.

• Xue Wufeng tried to move the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation toward Emperor Jian Shang, but the War God Formation and four Earthly Branch Dharma Forms pinned it in place.
• The twelve Capital-Heaven Demon God manifestations devastated the Great Chu and Blood Clan armies, while the Houtu-like manifestation widened fissures in the ground toward Kyoto Imperial Capital.
• A fissure reached Kyoto’s walls and cracked them despite the city’s protective formation, prompting Fan Zeng and Xiang Ta to warn that the capital could collapse within hours.
• Xiang Yu suspected a spy had revealed their deployment, while Fan Zeng argued that the Myriad Immortals Formation could counter the threat.
• Kong Jue objected that deploying the Myriad Immortals Formation would leave the Twofold Dust Formation unable to contain Great Huan, but Fan Zeng and Xiang Ta argued that trapping the twelve manifestations would also trap Emperor Jian Shang.
• The twelve manifestations battered Kyoto’s Heaven-Covering Formation, and Kong Jue and the other immortals remained reluctant to change their deployment.

Xiang Yu and Xiao Ying led their forces into a massive formation battle, while Xiao Ying secretly redirected much of the enemy’s power into the earth. After hours of combat, the ground began to tremble and split apart.

• Kong Jue ordered the forces to use the Twofold Dust Formation to seal the southern battlefield and the Myriad Immortals Formation to attack the twelve Capital-Heaven Demon God aspects.
• Xiang Yu struck the Houtu Primordial Human aspect with the Heaven-Opening Axe, but Xiao Ying revealed his Primordial Human True Form and gathered more than a dozen True Immortals, Cloth Warriors, and Loose Immortals around him.
• Kong Jue’s forces activated the Myriad Immortals Formation, trapping Xiao Ying and his allies as Xiao Ying countered with the Celestial Cycle Star-Dipper Formation diagram.
• Xiao Ying’s twelve Demon God aspects and the Myriad Immortals Formation exchanged overwhelming attacks, while Xiao Ying redirected most of the enemy’s power into the ground.
• As the battle continued until sunset, the battlefield’s foundations shattered, and a sudden tremor and deep cracking sounds signaled that the earth was splitting apart.

A catastrophic upheaval split Yingzhou apart and destroyed Kyoto’s defenses, trapping the Great Chu and Great Huan forces amid poisonous mist, fire, and collapsing earth. As Xiang Yu struggled to escape and Xiao Ying urged him to turn against the immortals, heavenly and demonic powers gathered over the ruins.

• The ground ruptured across Yingzhou, killing countless soldiers and civilians as mountains, cities, and the Kyoto Imperial Capital collapsed.
• The Heaven-Covering Formation failed, and survivors fled into the air only to be trapped and killed by the sealed region’s poisonous mist and fiery fumes.
• Xiang Yu used the Heaven-Opening Axe to strike the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Demon-Sealing God-Slaying Formation, but could not break it.
• Xiang Yu demanded that the immortals and gods help the survivors escape, but they ignored him and then cast him out of the Myriad Immortals Formation.
• Xiao Ying told Xiang Yu that the Upper Realm had used Great Chu as a pawn and offered safety if he joined Great Huan against the immortals.
• The immortals unleashed the Two Modes Absolute Slaughter, damaging the Capital-Heaven Demon Gods, as heavenly and demonic might gathered above Kyoto.