Chapter Summaries

Di Jiang intervened when Taiyi attacked Hou Yi, protected the Witch Clan archer, and fought Taiyi until news of the Tenth Crown Prince’s critical condition forced Taiyi to withdraw. The Demon Court mourned the nine dead Golden Crows, while Di Jiang recognized that the conflict would continue.

• Di Jiang blocked the Chaos Bell’s attack on Hou Yi and told him he would handle Taiyi.
• Di Jiang and Taiyi clashed as Di Jiang defended Hou Yi and sent him through a spatial passage to Witch Clan territory.
• Taiyi pursued Hou Yi, but Di Jiang intercepted the Chaos Bell and kept the passage stable until Hou Yi escaped.
• Di Jun told Taiyi that the Tenth Crown Prince was badly injured, so Taiyi recalled the Chaos Bell and departed with him.
• Di Jiang watched the heat recede and rain return, then looked toward the Demon Court, where Di Jun stood before nine extinguished Golden Crow Life Lamps and the last surviving flame.

After the Ten Suns Calamity ended, tribes sheltered in the Northern Sea began deciding whether to return to their old lands or settle in the Abyss. As the Abyss organized their safe passage and earned their gratitude, demon armies assembled again in the Demon Court.

• Rain returned to the Northern Region, and tribes learned that the ten suns had vanished and the calamity was over.
• At the Three Lives Post Stations, refugees registered to leave, and the Post Station Guard Cultivator arranged water transport toward their homelands.
• Lan Shuang told Mysterious Abyss that tribes were leaving or applying to settle in the Abyss, and Mysterious Abyss ordered that departing tribes be taken only to the edge of the Northern Sea.
• Ao Lie, Han Jue, and the Abyss bureaus organized transport, inspections, and identity checks as Cold Spring Water Boats began carrying people outward.
• Returning tribespeople knelt in gratitude to the Mysterious Abyss Emperor, while Lu Chen sensed their goodwill and returned to cultivation.
• Demon armies assembled in the Demon Court after the fall of the nine suns.

After nine of his sons died, Di Jun restrained the Demon Court from rushing into war with the Witch Clan and ordered its forces to reorganize. He then asked Taiyi whether Mysterious Abyss would shelter the surviving youngest son if he fled to the Northern Sea in a future calamity.

• Di Jun and Taiyi confirmed that the Tenth Crown Prince had survived, while the other nine sons’ life lamps had gone out.
• Ji Meng and other Demon Court leaders urged Di Jun to send troops against the Witch Clan and avenge the nine crown princes.
• Di Jun pointed out that the Witch Clan’s Twelve Ancestral Witches had gathered and that the Demon Court’s Zhoutian Star Dou Great Array was not ready for war.
• Di Jun ordered the Demon Court’s forces to withdraw and reorganize, while warning that he had not forgotten the life Hou Yi owed.
• Di Jun asked Taiyi whether Mysterious Abyss would take in the youngest son if he fled to the Northern Sea during a future calamity, and Taiyi could not answer for Mysterious Abyss.

As refugees began leaving the Northern Sea, Han Jue refused a clan chief’s gift of spirit medicines, while Lan Shuang and Ao Lie managed the Abyss’s orderly transport and new applications to join the Register of Ten Thousand Tribes. Lu Chen sensed Eastern Emperor Taiyi arrive at the Northern Darkness Dao Palace and request a visit.

• At the Seventeenth Three Lives Post Station, Han Jue refused the spirit medicines offered by a grateful clan chief and told the clan to keep them for rebuilding its home.
• Nearby cultivators praised the Abyss for helping refugees without demanding tribute.
• Lan Shuang and Ao Lie reviewed the waterways and new applications from clans whose damaged homelands led them to stay in the Northern Sea.
• Lu Chen noticed the refugees leaving and found the Abyss’s affairs well managed before sensing Taiyi’s arrival.
• Eastern Emperor Taiyi stopped at the Three Lives Gate and called out to Mysterious Abyss.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi visited the Northern Darkness Dao Palace to ask whether the Tenth Crown Prince could seek refuge at the Three Lives Post Station, and Mysterious Abyss explained that he would be judged by its rules and the Cause and Effect Mirror. After noticing Mysterious Abyss’s improved Life and Death Great Dao, Taiyi proposed a test of their Daos, and they prepared to spar.

• Taiyi arrived at the Three Lives Gate and asked to meet Mysterious Abyss.
• Taiyi asked whether the Tenth Crown Prince could enter the Northern Sea if hunted, and Mysterious Abyss said he could apply after stopping his creation of Disaster Causes, with entry decided by the Cause and Effect Mirror.
• Taiyi noticed that Mysterious Abyss’s Life and Death Great Dao had grown more complete and asked to test it with a single strike using the Chaos Bell.
• Mysterious Abyss agreed to spar, and Taiyi questioned whether he would use only the Old Shell Dharma Body.
• Mysterious Abyss said the Old Shell was enough as his Dao Aura began to rise, and Taiyi looked forward to their bout.

Taiyi and Mysterious Abyss met in a desolate stretch of the Northern Sea so Taiyi could test Mysterious Abyss's transformed Life and Death Great Dao. As Abyss cultivators watched from the Calamity-Viewing Platform, Taiyi sounded the Chaos Bell's first toll, leaving its impact on Mysterious Abyss unresolved.

• Taiyi sensed that Mysterious Abyss had completed a second cycle connecting the Daos of life and death, and learned he had chosen a path that suited him better than severing his corpses.
• Taiyi and Mysterious Abyss agreed to spar cautiously in a remote area, with Taiyi planning to begin with one toll of the Chaos Bell.
• Lan Shuang, Ao Lie, and Han Jue arrived to watch from a distance, and word of the sparring brought Abyss Great Luo cultivators to the Calamity-Viewing Platform.
• Taiyi infused the Chaos Bell with magical power and sounded its first heavy toll across the Northern Sea.

Mysterious Abyss used his newly refined Life and Death Great Dao to scatter Taiyi’s Chaos Bell wave and steadily force the Eastern Emperor back three steps. Taiyi acknowledged that he had underestimated Mysterious Abyss and began preparing to reveal his true abilities.

• Taiyi struck with the Chaos Bell, but Mysterious Abyss used his Death Wheel to wear away and shatter the bell wave with one palm.
• Mysterious Abyss pressed Taiyi with the Life and Death Wheel, eroding his protective bell light and weakening his Solar True Fire.
• Mysterious Abyss advanced three steps and forced Taiyi to retreat three times despite Taiyi wielding the Chaos Bell.
• The Abyss cultivators watching from the Calamity-Viewing Platform reacted with shock as they saw Taiyi driven back.
• Taiyi raised the Chaos Bell and began releasing his full Solar True Fire as its innate Dao patterns lit up.

Taiyi intensified his assault with the Chaos Bell and Golden Crow True Fire, but Mysterious Abyss’s second-revolution Life and Death Great Dao eroded the flames and restored his body. After Mysterious Abyss drove Taiyi back hundreds of li, Taiyi prepared to attack with the Chaos Bell’s physical body.

• Taiyi combined the Chaos Bell with his Golden Crow Natal True Fire and sent both powers against Mysterious Abyss.
• Mysterious Abyss used the Death Wheel to wear away the Solar True Fire while the Life Wheel restored his Old Shell Dharma Body.
• Mysterious Abyss walked through the fading flames and used his Dao wheel and palm strike to drive Taiyi and the Chaos Bell back several hundred li.
• Taiyi declared that he would use the Chaos Bell’s physical body directly, and Mysterious Abyss watched with interest.

Mysterious Abyss held down Taiyi’s Chaos Bell with one palm and pushed him back nine steps, forcing Taiyi to concede the spar. The spectators celebrated as Taiyi put away the undamaged bell and admitted defeat.

• Taiyi enlarged the Chaos Bell and brought the Innate Supreme Treasure down against Mysterious Abyss.
• Mysterious Abyss met the bell with his palm and used the Life-and-Death Wheel to erode Taiyi’s power and halt its descent.
• Mysterious Abyss channeled his replenished strength into a counterattack, driving the Chaos Bell and Taiyi backward nine steps.
• The cultivators at the Calamity-Viewing Platform erupted in celebration as they witnessed Mysterious Abyss overpower Taiyi.
• Taiyi put away the undamaged Chaos Bell and conceded the match to Mysterious Abyss.

Mysterious Abyss defeated Eastern Emperor Taiyi in a sparring match, forcing back the Chaos Bell and demonstrating the power of his Life and Death Great Dao. Taiyi admitted his loss to Di Jun, who ordered the Demon Court to avoid provoking Mysterious Abyss and the Northern Sea Abyss.

• Taiyi ended his fight with Mysterious Abyss, acknowledged his strength, and left the Northern Sea after confirming that the Three Lives Post Station would follow its rules.
• Abyss cultivators and observers reacted with astonishment when they learned that Taiyi had admitted defeat and that Mysterious Abyss had repelled the Chaos Bell with a palm.
• Lu Chen withdrew his divine sense and returned to cultivating the Life and Death Abyss Great Dao.
• Taiyi returned to the Demon Court and told Di Jun and the Demon Saints that Mysterious Abyss had defeated him despite his use of the Chaos Bell.
• Di Jun ordered the northern demon armies to stay away from the Abyss Boundary Stele and Three Lives Post Station, and warned that the Demon Court would not defend anyone who trespassed into the Abyss.

After Mysterious Abyss defeated Eastern Emperor Taiyi in a sparring match, Lan Shuang published the complete recording to counter exaggerated rumors. The Demon Court and Witch Clan ordered their forces to respect the Abyss’s boundaries, then both asked to use its Three Lives Waterway.

• Lan Shuang warned Mysterious Abyss that rumors about his match with Taiyi were spreading, and he ordered her to release an accurate account of the sparring.
• The recording spread through the Sixty-Seven Three Lives Post Stations, showing Mysterious Abyss withstand the Chaos Bell and Taiyi concede defeat.
• After watching the recording, a Demon General ordered his soldiers to respect the boundary steles and avoid provoking the Abyss.
• Di Jiang assessed Mysterious Abyss as far stronger than expected and ordered the Witch Clan to follow the Three Lives Post Stations’ rules and keep battles away from the Abyss’s water veins.
• As Mysterious Abyss returned to cultivating, Lan Shuang reported that the Demon Court and Witch Clan both wanted to use the Three Lives Waterway.

The Abyss refused the Demon Court’s and Witch Clan’s requests to use its waterways for military movements, setting rules that reserved passage for refugees, wounded soldiers, and supplies for the Abyss. After the rules were sent to both sides, envoys from the Demon Court and Witch Clan arrived at the Northern Sea together.

• Lan Shuang, Ao Lie, Han Jue, and Lu Chen saw that the Demon Court’s and Witch Clan’s proposed routes could let each side flank the other’s front line.
• Lu Chen ordered the Abyss to refuse troop transport, and Ao Lie proposed allowing refugees and withdrawn wounded soldiers while barring military units, formations, and offensive supplies.
• Lan Shuang asked what would happen if either side insisted, and Lu Chen said they could come to the Northern Sea and ask in person.
• Ao Lie issued the new waterway rules to the Demon Court, the Witch Clan, and every Three Lives Post Station.
• An Abyss disciple and a Water Clan cultivator discussed the rules and recalled Mysterious Abyss defeating Taiyi in their recent confrontation.
• A Demon Court envoy and a Witch Clan envoy arrived at the thirty-first Three Lives Post Station at the same time.

At the Thirty-First Three Lives Post Station, Ao Lie rejected the Demon Court’s and Witch Clan’s requests to use the Three Lives Waterway to move troops around enemy lines. He offered to transport qualifying wounded soldiers instead, and the Demon Court envoy reported the offer to Demon Saint Ji Meng.

• The Demon Court and Witch Clan envoys arrived at the Thirty-First Post Station and registered their requests to use the waterway.
• Ao Lie showed both envoys the map connecting all sixty-seven Three Lives Post Stations.
• Ao Lie refused both sides’ requests to transport troops, explaining that their routes would let them bypass the front lines and attack the other side.
• The Demon Court envoy asked whether disarmed troops could use the waterway, but Ao Lie rejected the proposal because their military organization and intent would remain unchanged.
• Ao Lie offered to transport severely wounded soldiers, including Great Luo-level wounded by special Cold Spring Water Boats.
• The Demon Court envoy sent a report to Demon Saint Ji Meng, urging him to discuss the wounded transport arrangement in person.

The Demon Court and the Witch Clan each sought to use the Three Lives Waterway to move troops around the Northern Sea, but Mysterious Abyss refused both sides. The Demon Emperor and Ancestral Witch accepted the decision and allowed wounded fighters to use the post stations, while Ji Meng prepared to visit the Northern Sea to discuss transport.

• Ji Meng learned that Ao Lie had refused the Demon Court’s request to transport troops through the Three Lives Waterway, and that the Witch Clan’s similar request had also been denied.
• Di Jun and Taiyi agreed that Ao Lie had been right to refuse both sides, and Di Jun ordered the Demon Court to move troops by their original routes while allowing wounded soldiers to apply for transport under Abyss rules.
• Di Jiang told the Witch Clan to stop seeking troop passage and ordered its wounded to be sent to the Northern Sea post stations for treatment.
• Lan Shuang was relieved that both sides accepted the Abyss’s decision, and Han Jue wondered that the Demon Emperor and Ancestral Witch had let the matter go.
• Ji Meng decided to go to the Northern Sea himself to discuss transporting the wounded.

Demon Saint Ji Meng visited the Thirty-First Three Lives Post Station to inspect its waterway and arrange transport for wounded Demon Court soldiers. After he agreed that injured Great Luo and Taiyi cultivators could be admitted under reasonable procedures, Jiu Feng arrived, and the two recognized each other warily.

• Ji Meng arrived at the post station and asked to meet Hall Master Ao Lie, respecting the boundary stele as he waited.
• Ao Lie guided Ji Meng through the waterway, where Ji Meng examined its integrated formations and praised the work of the Abyss’s clans.
• Ji Meng inspected the Cold Spring Water Boat and confirmed that severely wounded Demon Court Great Luo and Taiyi cultivators could be transported to the post station after leaving battle.
• Ao Lie explained that companions could provide identities for those unable to register, with checks completed during treatment, easing Ji Meng’s concerns.
• Jiu Feng arrived in a surge of Witch Clan blood Qi, and she and Ji Meng recognized each other with suspicion.

Great Shaman Jiu Feng joined Demon Saint Ji Meng at the Thirty-First Post Station to arrange transport for their gravely wounded soldiers. When emergency requests arrived from both armies, the Water Vein could safely escort only one wounded Great Luo at a time, leaving the two rivals facing a difficult choice.

• Jiu Feng arrived at the Thirty-First Post Station and told Ao Lie she wanted to transport wounded Witch Clan warriors.
• Ao Lie explained the station’s rules and showed Jiu Feng and Ji Meng how the Cold Spring Water Boat could suppress injuries from lightning and fire.
• Jiu Feng and Ji Meng agreed to send details of their wounded to the Water Vein Hall for transport arrangements.
• An Abyss disciple reported simultaneous emergency requests from the Demon Court’s northern army and the Witch Clan’s War Department, each for a gravely wounded Great Luo.
• Ao Lie discovered that the Cold Spring formation could reliably escort only one of the two wounded cultivators, and Ji Meng and Jiu Feng both focused on the waterway.

At the Thirty-First Post Station, the main Water Vein could transport only one gravely wounded Great Luo at a time, so Jiu Feng agreed to let Ji Meng’s Demon Court soldier go first because his Primordial Spirit was in more immediate danger. After both wounded warriors entered the waterway, fighting between the Witch and Demon Clans shook the Water Vein while the Witch Clan warrior was still inside.

• Ao Lie warned Ji Meng and Jiu Feng that the damaged main waterway could carry only one Great Luo at a time, and the wounded Qing Yue and Witch Clan warrior arrived.
• The clinic elder judged Qing Yue’s Primordial Spirit to be seventy percent fractured, with three hours left, while the Witch Clan warrior could survive up to ten hours if Cold Spring suppressed the lightning fire.
• Jiu Feng yielded the first transfer to Qing Yue, and Ji Meng thanked her as the medical hall stabilized Qing Yue’s Primordial Spirit.
• After the main waterway recovered, Ao Lie sent the Witch Clan warrior toward the Ninth Post Station’s medical hall.
• Ao Lie detected Witch and Demon Clan fighting at the Northern Sea’s edge, whose aftershocks violently shook the Water Vein while the Witch Clan warrior was still inside.

Residual Demon lightning and Witch Clan baleful aura threatened the Three Lives Waterway and the wounded Witch Clan Great Luo aboard a boat bound for the Ninth Post Station. Ji Meng, Jiu Feng, and Ao Lie stabilized the route together, and as the patient arrived safely, Ji Meng said he finally understood the waterway’s value and prepared to ask Ao Lie something again.

• Demon lightning and Witch Clan baleful aura disrupted the waterway while the Cold Spring Water Boat carried an unconscious Witch Clan Great Luo toward the Ninth Post Station.
• Ao Lie used his water vein divine ability to steady the main waterway, while Jiu Feng stabilized the seabed earth veins with her blood Qi.
• Ji Meng drew the residual Demon lightning into a neighboring undercurrent so it could be discharged into the Northern Sea’s outer waters.
• Ao Lie, Jiu Feng, and Ji Meng restored the waterway, and the boat reached the Ninth Post Station safely with the wounded passenger.
• Ji Meng told Ao Lie that he understood the waterway’s value and said he still wanted to ask him something; Jiu Feng guessed what he meant.

Ji Meng and Jiu Feng accepted Ao Lie’s refusal to let Witch Clan or Demon Court armies use the Abyss waterways, while the wounded could still be treated and safely transported. They returned to their forces as a new battle began to take shape near the Northern Sea.

• Ji Meng asked Ao Lie to permit small War Department units to pass through the Three Lives Waterway, but Ao Lie refused because either side could use it for a surprise attack.
• Ao Lie reaffirmed that the Abyss would treat wounded from either side and transport them to safe exits, but would not allow armies to pass through.
• Ji Meng and Jiu Feng agreed to respect the Abyss’s rules, then left the Three Lives Post Station and resumed their roles as enemies outside it.
• Ji Meng returned to the Demon Court’s camp, while Jiu Feng returned to the Witch Clan’s War Department as both received new military orders.
• The Demon Court army moved east as the Witch Clan prepared to cut off its retreat, and the forces drew closer near the Northern Sea.

Ji Meng and Jiu Feng moved their armies away from the Three Lives Post Stations before their forces clashed at the Northern Sea. Their battle shook a nearby water vein, and an Abyss disciple discovered damage near the twelfth Three Lives Post Station.

• Ji Meng ordered the Demon Court vanguard three million li east to keep the fighting away from the Three Lives Post Stations, and Jiu Feng ordered the Witch Clan to move outward as well.
• Distant cultivators realized both armies were avoiding the Three Lives Post Stations because neither side wanted to provoke Mysterious Abyss.
• Ji Meng unleashed the Demon Court's lightning array, and Jiu Feng answered with her Witch Clan blood and vitality before the two leaders began fighting directly.
• Ji Meng used Water and Thunder divine abilities to keep Jiu Feng at a distance while Jiu Feng tried to close in, and their armies' attacks sent shockwaves across the sea.
• An Abyss disciple found a fine crack in a water vein array platform near the twelfth Three Lives Post Station, then called for the Water Vein Hall when the underwater vein convulsed.