Recaps

Gu Yuanqing used his true body’s North Spring World Suppressing Seal to suppress three Chaos Heaven Immortal Great Demons, then escaped their White Bone Tower and continued slaughtering the Devil Race and Devil Beasts for their blood energy. His actions threatened the Devil Master’s and Mu Tianheng’s plans, prompting both sides to prepare to act ahead of schedule.

• Corrosive Heart and two other Great Demons attacked Gu Yuanqing’s Avatar, but Gu Yuanqing’s true body emerged and imprisoned them and the surrounding Devil Race with the North Spring World Suppressing Seal.
• Gu Yuanqing’s Divine Ability damaged the three demons’ Undying Imprints and began to erode their cultivation, until a White Bone Tower disrupted the seal and let them escape.
• The Myriad Skeletons Demon King attacked Gu Yuanqing with the White Bone Tower, but Gu Yuanqing avoided another clash, gathered the blood energy of the Devil Race he had killed, and departed.
• Gu Yuanqing continued hunting across the battlefield, drawing the attention of Mu Tianheng, the Devil Master, the Heaven Monitoring Elder, Lei Fuyue, and Ning Xuxuan.
• The Demon Race Strategist warned the Devil Master that Gu Yuanqing could ruin their plans, so the Devil Master ordered them to wait an hour before acting early.
• Lei Fuyue warned Mu Tianheng that Gu Yuanqing’s actions could cause complications, and Mu Tianheng ordered preparations to bring the plan forward.

Gu Yuanqing hunted devils and Devil Beasts as the battle spread to the Primordial Divine Sect’s last defensive line. The Devil Master began an ancient ritual while Mu Tianheng revealed his true body and awakened the Divine Forbidden Mountain Range to strike the Guiji Forbidden Land.

• Gu Yuanqing slaughtered devils and Devil Beasts, using chaos heaven vital fire to strengthen his avatars as the fighting pushed toward the Small Worlds.
• Devils and Devil Beasts breached the Primordial Divine Sect’s formations, bringing battle into the Small Worlds while the major forces continued their clashes near the Boundary Gate.
• The Devil Master ordered Liao Hanchuan to prepare an altar, and a blood-colored pillar from the enormous eye descended into the Guiji Forbidden Land.
• Gu Yuanqing sensed the altar’s power react with the unrefined aura from the Heavenly Demon Sword Master’s avatar and suspected a link between the Underground Cave Demons and the Devil Race.
• Mu Tianheng revealed his true body to Lei Fuyue and ordered him to proceed with their plan.
• Mu Tianheng awakened the Divine Forbidden Mountain Range, and its Heavenly Law Bell Projection charged toward the Guiji Forbidden Land.

The Devil Master Mingshang used the God Burying Demon Law and the Nirvana Profound Coffin to break through the Primordial Divine Sect’s defenses and drive the Guiji Forbidden Land toward the Boundary Gate. The Ancient Realm then descended over the battlefield, awakening Liao Hanchuan’s hidden memories and prompting the Devil Master to unleash the true demon blood within him, while Gu Yuanqing withdrew his avatars to safety.

• The Devil Master Mingshang empowered the Guiji Forbidden Land with the Nirvana Profound Coffin, shattered a Primordial Divine Sect array platform, and killed two Yin-Yang Cultivators while a Chaos Heaven Cultivator escaped gravely wounded.
• The Primordial Divine Sect revealed the Ancient Realm above the God Ruins, astonishing Gu Yuanqing, Ning Xuxuan, Li Lingyun, and other Great Cultivators.
• Liao Hanchuan recognized the Ancient Realm and revealed that the Devil Master’s true demon blood had kept him alive; Mingshang killed him through the soul seal.
• The red giant eye poured its light into Mingshang’s vertical eye, transforming his body and driving his power toward a Great Dao tribulation as he charged toward the Boundary Gate.
• The Ancient Realm descended over the battlefield, immobilizing those caught within it, while Ning Xuxuan failed to escape and Gu Yuanqing recalled every avatar to North Spring Grotto-Heaven.

Mu Tianheng trapped the Devil Race within the Ancient Realm Platform, where the Primordial Divine Sect and Hidden Sun Alliance fought a devastating battle. While Gu Yuanqing cultivated in North Spring Grotto-Heaven, reports of the victory gave way to accusations that he had fled and caused the defensive formation to collapse, with Lu Zeyu and other cultivators publicly denouncing him.

• Mu Tianheng used the Ancient Realm's phantom to trap the Devil Master and transport cultivators from Immeasurable Mountain into the Ancient Realm Platform, where the Primordial Divine Sect prepared to fight.
• The Primordial Divine Sect and Hidden Sun Alliance attacked the Devil Race, but the battle caused heavy casualties and Li Lingyun died suppressing the Devil Master.
• Gu Yuanqing returned to North Spring Grotto-Heaven, warned Li Chengyi to watch for news from Ancient God Mountain, and refined Ye Xuanxiao and the captive devils to strengthen himself.
• After sensing a great battle near the Boundary Gate, Gu Yuanqing learned that the Exquisite World had won the Human-Devil War at a terrible cost, with Mu Tianheng, Lei Fuyue, and Guo Yongquan badly injured.
• Rumors blamed Gu Yuanqing for fleeing and causing the defensive formation to collapse, and Lu Zeyu and cultivators from several boundary domains publicly denounced him.

Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi countered the Primordial Divine Sect’s accusations by spreading suspicions about its schemes and mind-control of Realm Guards. When Ning Xuxuan met Gu Yuanqing through a remnant soul, he revealed that an overwhelming expert watched over Ancient God Divine Mountain and claimed Gu Yuanqing was the Child of Fortune whom the Primordial Divine Sect feared.

• Gu Yuanqing told Li Chengyi to spread claims that Mu Tianheng had staged the Devil Race’s entry and murdered Li Lingyun, while the Primordial Divine Sect used secret techniques to control cultivators.
• Li Chengyi, Li Shi'an, Li Haotian, Li Cunguo, Li Siyuan, and Li Guanrong organized the response, and rumors about the Primordial Divine Sect spread throughout the Ancient Realm.
• Li Chengyi informed Gu Yuanqing that Yi Yunbo had arrived at Nine Bends Mountain, and Gu Yuanqing sent a split soul there to meet him.
• Ning Xuxuan appeared through Yi Yunbo and explained that Mu Tianheng held his wounded true body while only a remnant of his soul had escaped.
• Ning Xuxuan revealed that an expert stronger than the Devil Master had watched the battle at Ancient God Divine Mountain, and Gu Yuanqing confirmed he had sensed the danger and fled God Ruins.
• Ning Xuxuan concluded that Gu Yuanqing was the Child of Fortune and that the Primordial Divine Sect feared him because he might threaten its foundations.

Gu Yuanqing learned that the Primordial Divine Sect might soon target him, so he rushed to strengthen himself and risked refining the Myriad Demon Pill. Meanwhile, Mu Tianheng interrogated Li Lingyun for a mysterious object, but Li Lingyun stayed silent, leaving Mu Tianheng to seek guidance in the Ancestor Hall.

• Ning Xuxuan warned Gu Yuanqing that Mu Tianheng might seize his fortune after the Primordial Divine Sect had eliminated its other threats.
• Gu Yuanqing intensified his cultivation while rumors blamed the Qian Yuan Realm, then swallowed the Myriad Demon Pill and battled its demon souls to temper his Divine Soul.
• In the Primordial Realm's Demon Suppression Prison, Mu Tianheng offered Li Lingyun a pardon in exchange for an item, but Li Lingyun refused to answer.
• Mu Tianheng visited the Ancestor Hall and returned to Lei Fuyue, who asked whether the patriarch had given instructions.

Mu Tianheng and Lei Fuyue discussed delaying their attack on Gu Yuanqing while investigating the Lotus Platform, as Gu Yuanqing refined the Myriad Demon Pill and then stabilized his rapidly growing cultivation. After wandering North Spring Grotto-Heaven, he completed his foundation and reached great accomplishment in the Shattering Heaven Realm, leaving him ready to pursue the Chaos Heaven Immortal Level.

• Mu Tianheng told Lei Fuyue he intended to kill Gu Yuanqing personally to protect the sect and refine Gu Yuanqing's fortune, but said they should first learn more about the Primordial Heaven Furnace and the missing Lotus Platform.
• Lei Fuyue suspected Mu Tianheng had manipulated Li Lingyun's actions and gained the advantage while Li Lingyun was blamed and imprisoned.
• Gu Yuanqing refined the Myriad Demon Pill, battling its demon souls and gaining strength, willpower, and insights into many Great Daos.
• After finishing the pill, Gu Yuanqing paused his cultivation to stabilize his foundation and spent seven days nurturing his body and mind.
• Gu Yuanqing wandered through North Spring Grotto-Heaven and gradually merged his cultivation and abilities into a more harmonious whole.
• At the world's boundary, Gu Yuanqing completed his foundation and attained great accomplishment in the Shattering Heaven Realm before returning to the main peak.

After Gu Yuanqing advanced his cultivation, he ordered the Qian Yuan Realm to stop yielding to outside cultivators and announced that he would appear on the Ancient Realm Platform. The Qian Yuan Sect’s growing strength drew attention across the Exquisite Realm Domain, including from the Primordial Divine Sect, as the final battle of the Trial Path approached.

• Gu Yuanqing told Li Chengyi that the Qian Yuan Realm should stop enduring harassment and instructed him to have Gu Yuanqing’s appearance on the Ancient Realm Platform announced a month before the Trial Path opened.
• The Qian Yuan Realm followed Gu Yuanqing’s orders, and its cultivators began fighting back against outside sects instead of avoiding conflict.
• The Yan Shen Sect and Nether Sea Palace attacked the Qian Yuan Realm, but Li Chengyi and the Qian Yuan Sect drove them back; Li Chengyi defeated a Nether Sea Palace cultivator and crippled a Yan Shen Sect elder’s Ancient Realm body.
• Li Chengyi and other Qian Yuan Realm cultivators gained fame, and rival sects became wary after remembering that Gu Yuanqing was a Chaos Heaven Great Cultivator.
• News spread that Gu Yuanqing would appear on the Ancient Realm Platform for the Trial Path’s final battle, prompting realm domains and sects, including the Primordial Divine Sect, to change their plans.

Xu Haoque learned that Gu Yuanqing would attend the Dao Fire Realm Trial Path battle and planned to warn the Primordial Divine Sect. Meanwhile, Gu Yuanqing used the Mystic Womb Heaven Crystal to perfect his Space Dao Principle Imprint, finishing just as Li Chengyi ascended the main peak.

• Xu Haoque spoke with Lu Zeyu, who had joined the Primordial Divine Sect as a Guest Elder and condemned Gu Yuanqing.
• A junior disciple told Xu Haoque that Li Chengyi had said Gu Yuanqing would appear at the Dao Fire Realm Trial Path battle, prompting Xu Haoque to report the news to the Sect Master.
• Gu Yuanqing left a weak avatar at Nine Bends Mountain and focused on cultivation in North Spring Grotto-Heaven.
• Gu Yuanqing used the Mystic Womb Heaven Crystal to inspect and repair his Space Dao Principle Imprint, exhausting the crystal as the imprint transformed.
• Gu Yuanqing felt his mastery of space deepen and opened his eyes as Li Chengyi ascended the main peak.

Gu Yuanqing arrived at the Ancient Realm Platform, where Mu Tianheng accused him of abandoning the war against the devil race and summoned witnesses to support the charge. After the witnesses recounted a dramatic account that turned the gathering against Gu Yuanqing, he questioned how cultivators of their level could have clearly seen a Chaos Heaven battle.

• Gu Yuanqing spoke with Li Chengyi about Qian Yuan Realm’s cultivators and learned that Gu Haochen, his descendant, had won the latest Heaven-Connecting Tower trial.
• Gu Yuanqing and Li Chengyi arrived at the Ancient Realm Platform, where Gu Yuanqing’s presence silenced the gathered cultivators.
• Mu Tianheng accused Gu Yuanqing of fleeing the devil war and blamed him for the deaths and losses that followed.
• Mu Tianheng summoned Lu Zeyu, Qin Ruhao, and other cultivators to recount the battle, while Gu Yuanqing noticed that the witnesses seemed strangely alike.
• Lu Zeyu and the others described Gu Yuanqing’s supposed retreat and Li Lingyun’s heroic sacrifice, prompting the crowd to glare at Gu Yuanqing.
• Gu Yuanqing applauded the account and asked whether the witnesses, who were only at most in the Yin-Yang Realm, could have seen a Chaos Heaven battle clearly.

Gu Yuanqing presented recordings accusing Mu Tianheng and the Primordial Divine Sect of betraying their allies, then demanded that the boundary domains withdraw their Realm Token power from the blockade of Qian Yuan Realm within ten days. He killed Qin Tianyang to demonstrate his strength, while Gu Haochen won the Dao Fire Realm trial battles, and Gu Yuanqing left the others to decide whether to defy the Primordial Divine Sect.

• Gu Yuanqing showed scenes of the Devil Race battlefield and the Ancient God Divine Mountain, then revealed a recording in which Mu Tianheng's forces trapped allied cultivators and suppressed Li Lingyun.
• Mu Tianheng dismissed the recordings as fabricated, while Gu Yuanqing accused him of plotting against Qian Yuan Realm and gave the boundary domains ten days to withdraw their Realm Token power.
• Mu Tianheng threatened to seal Qian Yuan Realm if Gu Yuanqing attacked any boundary domain, and Qin Tianyang urged the gathered cultivators to resist Gu Yuanqing's warning.
• Gu Yuanqing used the Heart Sword to kill Qin Tianyang in front of the assembly, silencing the cultivators and warning them not to become pawns of the Primordial Divine Sect.
• Gu Haochen won first place in the Dao Fire Realm trial battles, and Gu Yuanqing departed with Li Chengyi and Li Shi'an after repeating his ten-day ultimatum.

After Gu Yuanqing killed Qin Tianyang and threatened the Exquisite Realm Domains, he mapped their locations and waited to see whether they would break with the Primordial Divine Sect. The sect’s elders urged Mu Tianheng to attack, but he revealed that the ancestor had ordered him to wait until Gu Yuanqing’s fortune grew stronger, leaving Lei Fuyue alarmed by the plan.

• Mu Tianheng condemned Gu Yuanqing’s killing of Qin Tianyang and promised the Primordial Divine Sect would uphold order, while realm domains reacted with unease to Gu Yuanqing’s ultimatum.
• Li Chengyi, Ji Dai, Li Shi’an, and Li Haotian celebrated Gu Yuanqing’s display of power, though Li Haotian worried the Primordial Divine Sect might strike soon.
• Gu Yuanqing used North Spring Grotto-Heaven, the Mountain Observation Technique, and the Qian Yuan Token to locate the other Exquisite Realm Domains and weigh how his ultimatum could limit their support for the Primordial Divine Sect.
• The realm domains hesitated to break their seals on the Qian Yuan Realm’s Teleportation Arrays, while the Primordial Divine Sect’s elders pressed Mu Tianheng to attack Gu Yuanqing.
• Mu Tianheng told Lei Fuyue that the ancestor had ordered the sect to let Gu Yuanqing’s fortune grow before acting, and said the ancestor would intervene if the sect could not defeat him.

Mu Tianheng questioned the imprisoned Li Lingyun about a mysterious treasure while the Primordial Divine Sect remained silent as Gu Yuanqing’s deadline expired. Gu Yuanqing arrived at the Yan Shen Sect and began a countdown, demanding that it withdraw its power from the Ten Directions Token.

• Mu Tianheng revealed that he had secretly provided Li Lingyun with the world origin needed to reach the chaos immortal realm, then asked who had given him the mysterious treasure.
• Leaders from the Nether Sea Palace and Yan Shen Sect visited Ancient God Mountain, but Xu Haoque refused to let them meet Mu Tianheng or explain the Primordial Divine Sect’s plans.
• On the tenth day, Gu Yuanqing chose the Yan Shen Sect as his first target and sent an avatar to the Crimson Flame Realm.
• The Yan Shen Sect activated its Mountain Protecting Great Formation and raised the Crimson Flame Tokens as Gu Yuanqing approached.
• Gu Yuanqing demanded that the Yan Shen Sect withdraw its power from the Ten Directions Token, and began counting down when Qin Tianyang refused.

Gu Yuanqing attacked the Yan Shen Sect while using the Crimson Flame Realm’s Heavenly Punishment Power to strengthen his divine abilities. The sect’s elders withdrew their support for the Ten Directions Token, and Qin Tianyang died in a final attack as the heavenly punishment began to weaken.

• Qin Tianyang ordered the Yan Shen Sect to activate its protecting formation and the Crimson Flame Realm’s domain power against Gu Yuanqing.
• Gu Yuanqing’s palm seal overwhelmed the sect’s formation while Heavenly Punishment Power struck his true body.
• Gu Yuanqing absorbed and redirected the heavenly punishment’s lightning, fire, and Calamity qi to nourish his divine abilities, reassuring Li Chengyi that he had planned to do so.
• The Yan Shen Sect’s elders withdrew their Crimson Flame Tokens’ power from the Ten Directions Token, choosing to preserve the sect’s legacy.
• Qin Tianyang accepted responsibility for the sect’s actions, charged at Gu Yuanqing, and was reduced to ashes after withdrawing his token’s power.
• Gu Yuanqing noticed that the Heavenly Punishment Power was weakening.

Gu Yuanqing forced the Yan Shen Sect to pay for its attack, then traveled to the Nether Sea Realm to confront the Nether Sea Palace. The palace submitted, but Zhang Rui attacked with a Realm Token, prompting Gu Yuanqing to invite the sect to test whether heavenly punishment could harm him.

• Qin Tianyang sacrificed himself to weaken the Five Directions Great Formation, but Gu Yuanqing destroyed the Yan Shen Sect's defenses and refused the elders' plea for mercy.
• After an incense stick burned, the Yan Shen Sect's four remaining elders gave Gu Yuanqing an apology before destroying their cultivation and dying.
• Gu Yuanqing told Li Chengyi that the elders' deaths might make the Yan Shen Sect target their descendants, then traveled to the Nether Sea Realm to confront the Nether Sea Palace.
• Ye Haichen and the Nether Sea Palace elders withdrew the Nether Sea Token's power and offered Gu Yuanqing three Exotic Objects, asking him to spare them.
• Gu Yuanqing used the Heart Sword Technique against the Nether Sea Palace's powerful cultivators, but Zhang Rui attacked him with a Realm Token and summoned heavenly punishment.
• The Nether Sea Palace elders subdued Zhang Rui and weakened the heavenly punishment, while Gu Yuanqing told them to test whether it could harm him.

After Gu Yuanqing forced the Nether Sea Palace to withdraw its support for the Ten Directions Token, the Primordial Divine Sect sealed itself away for a century. Gu Yuanqing suspected the sect planned to act once a new Exquisite Realm Domain was born, while Li Chengyi began building ties for the Qian Yuan Realm.

• Gu Yuanqing spared the Nether Sea Palace after it withdrew its empowerment, then killed Zhang Rui and warned the elders not to oppose him again.
• The Yan Shen Sect and Nether Sea Palace’s withdrawals prompted other realm domains to lift their support, reopening the Qian Yuan Realm’s Teleportation Array.
• The Primordial Divine Sect announced a century-long Sect Sealing, and Gu Yuanqing sensed that its realm concealed immense power.
• Gu Yuanqing conjectured that the Primordial Divine Sect meant to harvest him after a century, when the new Exquisite Realm Domain was born.
• Li Chengyi arranged to connect the Qian Yuan Realm’s Teleportation Array with the Myriad Treasures Realm and requested supplies from the Heavenly Treasure Chamber of Commerce.

As the Qian Yuan Realm resumed contact with the Myriad Treasures Realm, Gu Yuanqing prepared to open the Qingping Grotto-Heaven, hoping to find the inheritance that could help him advance. He opened its gate on Qian Yuan Island, and the Heavenly Demon Sword Master in the Spirit Realm sensed it.

• The Qian Yuan Realm reopened its Teleportation Array, and Li Chengyi oversaw fair trades with factions across the Exquisite Realm Domain.
• Gu Yuanqing told Li Chengyi he planned to open the Qingping Grotto-Heaven and reassured him that Li Miaoxuan should survive her coming Chaos Heaven Tribulation.
• Gu Yuanqing emerged from North Spring Mountain as an avatar, and the Mountain-Bearing Divine Turtle planted itself on the seabed to support the opening.
• Gu Yuanqing sent everyone on Qian Yuan Island into the North Spring Grotto-Heaven and used the Demon Subduing Sword to activate the runes on the turtle's back.
• A gate to the Qingping Grotto-Heaven opened, and the Heavenly Demon Sword Master sensed it in the Spirit Realm.

The Heavenly Demon Sword Master opened a hidden passage into Qingping Grotto-Heaven, while Gu Yuanqing entered through the Demon Subduing Sword and faced its inheritance trials. As the other three sword phantoms appeared, Gu Yuanqing reached the Myriad Sword Tomb and advanced through its assault, gaining a new level of mastery over sword dao.

• The Heavenly Demon Sword Master explained that the Four Swords were keys to Qingping Grotto-Heaven and opened a concealed stone gate with the Heavenly Demon Sword.
• Gu Yuanqing entered Qingping Grotto-Heaven through the Star Pivot Platform and studied its sword domain as he crossed the sea of sword qi clouds.
• The Heavenly Demon Sword, Demon Sealing Sword, and Demon Purging Sword phantoms appeared in the sky, showing Gu Yuanqing that the other sword wielders had entered by separate routes.
• Gu Yuanqing countered the sword domain’s trials, including three Sword-Fiend Star Wolves, while refining his Demon Subduing Sword Formation.
• Gu Yuanqing reached the Myriad Sword Tomb and climbed through attacks from countless swords, using the North Spring Mountain Phantom to withstand their combined power.
• As Gu Yuanqing advanced, his sword intent and Heart Sword Technique sharpened, and the Demon Subduing Sword responded to him like an extension of his arm.

Gu Yuanqing reached the summit of the Myriad Sword Tomb and received the Demon Subduing Sword Dao’s inheritance by facing Old Man Heavenly Sword’s trials. He surveyed the Qingping Grotto-Heaven, spotted the Heavenly Demon Sword Master, and set out toward the Qingping Dao Palace at its center.

• Gu Yuanqing climbed the Myriad Sword Tomb for three days and reached the summit, where he found the Demon Subduing Sword Dao Stele.
• The Sword Scar summoned Old Man Heavenly Sword’s phantom, which tested Gu Yuanqing with successive Demon Subduing Sword formations and transformations.
• Gu Yuanqing endured the trials, received the sword cultivators’ accumulated insights, and bowed to the now-still Sword Dao Stele.
• From the summit, Gu Yuanqing saw the floating islands, spiritual-vein rivers, and formations of the vast Qingping Grotto-Heaven, and identified the Qingping Dao Palace as its center.
• Gu Yuanqing spotted the Heavenly Demon Sword Master on a distant summit, considered the Half-Volume Heavenly Dao Scripture he carried, and headed toward the center as the Heavenly Demon Sword Master also departed.

Gu Yuanqing reached Grinding Sword Peak, tempered his Sword Dao on its trials, and joined the bearers of the other three swords at the summit. The Four Swords returned to their places in the Circulation of Heaven Star Array, beginning the opening of the Qingping Dao Palace.

• Gu Yuanqing reached the mountain and rejected Qiu Weifeng’s offer to cooperate, destroying one of his manifestations with the Formless Calamity Finger before climbing Grinding Sword Peak.
• Gu Yuanqing overcame the peak’s illusions and used its growing pressure to refine his Sword Dao, eventually defeating a chaos heaven immortal-level sword cultivator and reaching the summit.
• Gu Yuanqing met Qingxu, Chi Jinyu, and Qiu Weifeng, who each carried one of the Four Swords, and the four agreed to proceed to the Qingping Dao Palace.
• The four sword bearers reached the palace, summoned their swords, and sent them into the four sword phantoms of the Circulation of Heaven Star Array.

Gu Yuanqing entered the painting in the Qingping Dao Palace and recognized the illusion of his previous life, where he encountered the King of the Underworld. The King offered him a transaction to inspect the other three intruders’ illusions in exchange for fetching Ten Thousand Dao Stone, and took him to a manor.

• Gu Yuanqing opened the Qingping Dao Palace doors and entered the hall, where the Heavenly Demon Sword Master discovered him depicted in an ink painting.
• Gu Yuanqing’s true body followed his fading connection to the avatar, saw the painting, and woke in an illusion of his former life as an office worker.
• Gu Yuanqing struck Zhang Rong, escaped the frozen office, and explored the convincing illusion before recognizing the King of the Underworld.
• The King of the Underworld explained that his aura lingered in the painting and proposed a deal: Gu Yuanqing would inspect the other three intruders’ illusions and retrieve Ten Thousand Dao Stone from the Boundless River.
• Gu Yuanqing accepted, and the King of the Underworld transported him to a manor.

Gu Yuanqing watched Qiu Weifeng’s life unfold in the painting, learning how he became the Heavenly Demon Sword Master and split himself into separate figures, including Daoist Qingxu and Chi Jinyu. After receiving Old Man Heavenly Sword’s sword-dao inheritance, Gu Yuanqing climbed toward the mountain’s immortal destiny, while the Heavenly Demon Sword Master and Daoist Qingxu arrived and searched for him.

• Gu Yuanqing and the King of the Underworld watched Qiu Weifeng’s life in the illusion, including his family’s slaughter, his revenge, and his rise as the Heavenly Demon Sword Master.
• Qiu Weifeng split his body and soul into separate figures, and Gu Yuanqing recognized two of them as Daoist Qingxu and Chi Jinyu.
• The King of the Underworld departed, and Gu Yuanqing entered the sword-hall inheritance, where Old Man Heavenly Sword’s insights merged into his divine soul.
• Gu Yuanqing met Old Man Heavenly Sword’s spiritual manifestation on the mountain path and passed his test with a strike from the Demon Subduing Sword Dao.
• The Heavenly Demon Sword Master, Daoist Qingxu, and another figure appeared in the Qingping Dao Palace, and Daoist Qingxu pointed out Gu Yuanqing on the mountain.

Gu Yuanqing continued through the painting’s trials, learning from a Go-playing elder and a swordsmith whose hammering helped his sword become a Dao Artifact. He met the painting’s mysterious master, who recognized that Gu Yuanqing possessed something of his and offered him one item if he answered three questions to the master’s satisfaction.

• The Heavenly Demon Sword Master, Chi Jinyu, and Daoist Qingxu concluded that Gu Yuanqing held the Heavenly Dao Scripture and could not control the Demon Subduing Sword from inside the painting, so they planned to seize Qingping Dao Palace.
• Gu Yuanqing played a Go game against an old man whose moves turned the board into a contest of sword domains and formations; the old man ended the game and urged him to continue uphill.
• Gu Yuanqing observed a blacksmith refining a Sword Embryo, then took up the hammer and tempered his sword intent until his sword gained three complete dao principle imprints and became a Dao Artifact.
• Gu Yuanqing sensed a disturbance in the Demon Subduing Sword and suspected the three sword masters were trying to take control of the palace, then followed a page to meet the painting’s blue-robed master.
• The blue-robed master recognized Gu Yuanqing’s caution and said something of his was already in Gu Yuanqing’s possession; he offered one item if Gu Yuanqing answered three questions to his satisfaction.

Gu Yuanqing rejected the Person in the Painting’s three supposed opportunities, escaped the trap, and sent an avatar to Qingping Dao Palace to free the Demon Subduing Sword. The Heavenly Demon Sword Master and his allies spotted him and unleashed the Circulation of Heaven Star Array against him.

• The blue-robed Person in the Painting questioned Gu Yuanqing about reality, a future Calamity, and his Dao, then offered him Yellow Springs, a Five Elements Creation Pill, and the Ten Thousand Dao Stone.
• Gu Yuanqing refused the gifts, and the Person in the Painting turned hostile and tried to seize his body; Gu Yuanqing escaped the painting as an avatar.
• Back at North Spring Grotto-Heaven, Gu Yuanqing used chaos heaven vital fire and the Object Control Art to suppress and seal the ink smoke that had followed his avatar.
• Gu Yuanqing sent another avatar to Qingping Dao Palace, where it empowered the Demon Subduing Sword and broke the sword’s blockade within the Circulation of Heaven Star Array.
• The Heavenly Demon Sword Master, Daoist Qingxu, and Chi Jinyu located Gu Yuanqing and used the formation’s combined sword powers to attack him.

Gu Yuanqing repelled the Heavenly Demon Sword Master, Daoist Qingxu, and Chi Jinyu, then discovered that they had allied with the Person in the Painting and were trying to seize the Dao Palace and control the Circulation of Heaven Star Array. He disrupted their efforts and searched for the formation’s array bases, determined to stop them from gaining control.

• The Heavenly Demon Sword Master, Daoist Qingxu, and Chi Jinyu attacked Gu Yuanqing with the Circulation of Heaven Star Array, but his North Spring Grotto-Heaven empowered him to withstand and break their strikes.
• The three men used illusions and Chi Jinyu’s thousand-year-nurtured Demon Purging Sword Qi, but Gu Yuanqing destroyed their apparent bodies and subdued the sword qi.
• A treasured sword offered by the Person in the Painting turned into ink and tried to attack Gu Yuanqing, but he pulled it into North Spring Grotto-Heaven and suppressed it.
• Gu Yuanqing found the real Heavenly Demon Sword Master, Daoist Qingxu, and Chi Jinyu inside the Dao Palace, where the Person in the Painting was also present, and retreated as the palace doors sealed shut.
• Gu Yuanqing realized the three had joined forces with the Person in the Painting and were using the palace as a barrier while they tried to control the Circulation of Heaven Star Array.
• Gu Yuanqing disrupted the three swords with the Demon Subduing Sword and studied the formation for its array bases, relying on North Spring Grotto-Heaven to sustain the contest.