Chapter Summaries

Yong Xian emerged from the Sword Spirit Tower after reaching the sixth trial, while Pei Yang admitted he had failed the fifth. The crowd realized Nie Yun and Nie Tong were responsible for reaching the eighth trial, then watched the ninth floor light up.

• Yong Xian emerged from the tower and revealed he had passed five trials before failing the sixth.
• Pei Yang arrived to a crowd congratulating him for reaching the eighth floor, but Yong Xian said Pei Yang had failed the fifth trial.
• Pei Yang admitted he had not passed the fifth trial, leaving the crowd to wonder who had reached the eighth.
• Yong Xian said Nie Yun and Nie Tong had gone farther than him, and the crowd regretted mocking them and seeking Pei Yang's favor.
• The ninth floor of the Sword Spirit Tower lit up, showing that someone had reached its trial.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong reached the Sword Spirit Tower’s ninth floor and learned that its final trial tested the Sword Realm. Nie Tong entered the trial with his embryonic Sword Realm, while Nie Yun watched as countless swords appeared and attacked him.

• Wen Tao realized that Nie Yun and Nie Tong had reached the eighth and ninth floors despite his belief that they were only Perfected King Realm cultivators.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong mastered the Heavenly Speed Sword Art on the ninth floor.
• The brothers read Great Emperor Lu Xi’s trial instructions: condense a Sword Realm or survive Myriad Swords Devouring Heart to reach Sword Spirit Valley.
• Nie Tong stepped into the trial formation and released his embryonic Sword Realm.
• The formation attacked Nie Tong with countless swords aimed at his heart, and Nie Yun prepared to intervene if necessary.

Nie Tong endured the Sword Spirit Tower’s ninth-floor trial and used its pain to form a complete Sword Realm and break through to the Emperor Realm. Nie Yun then discovered the Sword Realm’s pattern in the trial, but suppressed his own imminent breakthrough so he could pursue a greater one.

• Nie Tong endured Myriad Swords Devouring Heart and used the pain to solidify his Sword Realm.
• Nie Tong broke through to the early-stage Emperor Realm, passed the ninth-floor trial, and was teleported to Sword Spirit Valley.
• Nie Yun entered the Formation and endured the swords’ attacks on his soul.
• Nie Yun recognized that the swords’ trajectories revealed the profound meaning of the Sword Realm and arranged his Sword Dao accordingly.
• Nie Yun felt his breakthrough approaching, then disrupted his Sword Dao and suppressed his cultivation because he wanted to break through by a greater method.

Nie Yun endured the soul-wrenching backlash of Myriad Swords Devouring Heart and survived an illusion in which he relived an unjust past as a medical apprentice. After awakening, he realized he had passed the trials, and immense power surged from within him.

• Nie Yun suppressed the flying swords before the Sword Realm stabilized, triggering unbearable pain in his soul.
• Nie Yun held on rather than advancing into the Emperor Realm, fearing that doing so would ruin his Perfect Domain.
• Nie Yun experienced an illusion in which he was a medical apprentice blamed for a distinguished guest’s death and sentenced to execution.
• Nie Yun’s master rescued him from execution but died after being attacked, prompting Nie Yun to seek revenge.
• Nie Yun discovered that his prescription had been correct and that the distinguished guest’s relatives had framed him as part of a family plot.
• Nie Yun awakened from the illusion, understood that he had passed the trials, and felt vast power surge through his body.

Nie Yun broke through the Myriad Swords Devouring Heart illusion, expanding his Fusion Domain and destroying the Sword Realm that trapped him. Reunited with Nie Tong in Sword Spirit Valley, the brothers discovered a vast field of Sword Rice and saw people approaching.

• Nie Yun awakened his self-awareness during the Myriad Swords Devouring Heart trial and expanded his Fusion Domain to one hundred meters.
• Nie Yun shattered the Sword Realm, passed the test, and was teleported to Sword Spirit Valley, where Nie Tong had waited for him.
• Nie Tong sensed that Nie Yun had grown far stronger and asked whether he had broken through.
• Nie Yun recognized the grain in the valley as Sword Rice and explained its connection to Sword Dao and special domain worlds.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong prepared to find someone to ask about the valley and Great Emperor Lu Xi's inheritance, then spotted a group of people flying toward them.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong were escorted to the High Priest’s residence in Sword Spirit Valley after passing the Sword Spirit Tower’s ninth floor. The straight-browed youth warned them not to seek entry into the inner valley, but Nie Yun refused to promise obedience, and the brothers entered the residence to meet the High Priest.

• Nie Yun and Nie Tong followed a group of Sword Spirit Valley youths to a town, and Nie Tong remarked that their sword talent surpassed Pei Yang’s.
• The straight-browed youth warned the brothers to accept only a reward and refuse any offer to enter the inner valley, but Nie Yun said he would decide for himself.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong noticed the town’s identical houses, clothing, and many swords, and suspected it was a sword-focused sect.
• The straight-browed youth brought the brothers to the High Priest’s grand residence, where an old man appeared and said the High Priest had ordered him to bring them inside.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong met the High Priest after passing the Sword Spirit Tower, and Nie Yun resisted the High Priest’s attempt to challenge his Sword Dao convictions. The High Priest began explaining the tower’s purpose, but Great Emperor Lu Xi’s inheritance remained unexplained.

• Nie Yun and Nie Tong followed an old man into the High Priest’s residence, where Nie Tong sensed that the surrounding sword intent originated.
• The High Priest praised the brothers for passing all nine floors and recognized that Nie Tong had opened a Sword Realm.
• Nie Yun asked about the summons and Great Emperor Lu Xi’s inheritance, but the High Priest instead challenged his understanding of the Sword Dao.
• Nie Yun refused to be drawn into the High Priest’s debate and countered that the High Priest had tried to undermine his Dao Heart.
• The High Priest said the Sword Spirit Tower was a trial ground created by their ancestors to select true Sword Dao geniuses.

Nie Yun rejected the High Priest’s offer of Sword Rice and sword arts, choosing to enter the Inner Valley and pursue Great Emperor Lu Xi’s inheritance. After the brothers left, the High Priest ordered his grandson to pressure them into withdrawing, while another young man arrived to say his old master wished to meet them.

• The High Priest explained that the Sword Spirit Valley’s descendants guarded Great Emperor Lu Xi’s inheritance and offered Nie Yun a choice between entering the Inner Valley or accepting rewards and giving up his chance.
• Nie Yun chose to enter the Inner Valley despite the risks, and the High Priest told the brothers it would open in three days.
• The High Priest ordered his grandson to trouble Nie Yun and Nie Tong without killing them, hoping they would retreat and leave their entry slots for his family.
• The High Priest told his grandson to prepare Xuan to enter the Inner Valley and seek Sword Intent Talismans and the position of priest.
• Nie Tong questioned the High Priest’s motives, and Nie Yun said they would enter the Inner Valley despite the obstruction.
• A refined young man approached Nie Yun and Nie Tong and said his old master had invited them.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong were invited by Lu Chao to meet his old master, while Lu Tao tried to stop them from leaving with him. After watching the two men fight, Nie Yun decided to go with Lu Chao.

• Lu Chao invited Nie Yun and Nie Tong to meet his old master, while Lu Tao claimed he was there to arrange their lodging.
• Nie Yun agreed to meet Lu Chao’s old master, but Lu Tao blocked their way and challenged Lu Chao to a fight.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong watched Lu Tao and Lu Chao battle with their Sword Realms and a vast array of sword moves.
• Nie Tong judged that Lu Tao had the advantage, and Nie Yun decided to go with Lu Chao.

Nie Yun used the Illusion Realm to defeat Lu Tao after Lu Tao attacked him, then continued with Lu Chao toward the old man. Lu Tao remained trapped in the illusion, behaving wildly as the others left.

• Lu Tao defeated Lu Chao in their duel and tried to lead Nie Yun and Nie Tong away, but Nie Yun chose to follow Lu Chao instead.
• Lu Tao blocked their path and attacked Nie Yun with a powerful sword technique, while Nie Tong stopped Lu Chao from intervening.
• Nie Yun used the Illusion Realm to make Lu Tao see him as his grandfather, then see a tree as a beloved woman and strip to embrace it.
• Lu Chao hurried away with Nie Yun and Nie Tong, and Nie Yun told his brother that he had used the Illusion Realm.

Lu Yunzi, the Second Priest of Sword Spirit Valley and the Divine Realm master Yun Luzi, explained that Sword Spirit Valley was a divine artifact left by Great Emperor Lu Xi and revealed why its people had failed to produce another Great Emperor. He described his proposal to let Divine Realm geniuses seek the inheritance, leaving the dispute with the former High Priest unresolved.

• Lu Chao brought Nie Yun to Lu Yunzi, who welcomed him with wine and introduced himself as the Second Priest of Sword Spirit Valley.
• Nie Yun recognized Lu Yunzi as Yun Luzi, the Sword Dao master whose sword marks he had encountered on Sword Spirit Mountain.
• Lu Yunzi explained that Sword Spirit Valley was a divine artifact containing Great Emperor Lu Xi's inheritance, which selected young talents could try to obtain.
• Lu Yunzi said generations of Sword Spirit Valley's people had failed to become Great Emperors because their innate Sword Dao affinity left them unable to comprehend other Great Daos.
• Lu Yunzi recalled proposing that Sword Spirit Valley admit Divine Realm geniuses to seek the inheritance, but the High Priest of that time had angrily rejected the idea.

Lu Yunzi explained the conflict between his reformist faction and the High Priest’s conservatives, along with why he believed outsiders should enter the Inner Valley. Nie Yun learned that the valley held reusable Sword-Grinding Stones bearing Great Emperor Lu Xi’s sword intent, which seekers had to find anew each time.

• Lu Yunzi explained that he had gained support for the belief that outsiders could help Sword Spirit Valley escape its curse, while the High Priest’s faction upheld bloodline purity and resisted outsiders.
• Nie Yun understood why the High Priest had tried to discourage him from entering the Inner Valley and asked where it was located.
• Lu Yunzi said the Inner Valley was the core of a divine artifact, its location unknown, and that rituals using the clansmen’s dwindling bloodline opened a passage every ten years.
• Lu Yunzi explained that the Great Emperor’s intent was found in Sword-Grinding Stones, which offered insight into how Great Emperor Lu Xi attained the Great Dao through the sword.
• Lu Yunzi told Nie Yun that the roughly hundred Sword-Grinding Stones returned to the Inner Valley after each trial and scattered to new locations, making them effectively inexhaustible.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong left Lu Yunzi after learning that memories of the inner valley and its sword-grinding stones vanished under Great Emperor Lu Xi’s power. Lu Yunzi came to believe the brothers might break the Lu family’s curse and ordered Lu Chao to watch over them, while the brothers headed to a restaurant to find food and lodging.

• Nie Yun promised to help the Lu family break its curse if he gained the power to do so, and Lu Yunzi gave him a jade slip of inner-valley records.
• Lu Yunzi explained that memories of Great Emperor Lu Xi and the sword-grinding stones disappeared after people left the inner valley, then warned Nie Yun that the High Priest was small-minded.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong chose to leave Lu Yunzi’s residence despite the danger, and Lu Yunzi admired their resolve.
• Lu Chao told Lu Yunzi that Nie Yun had made Lu Tao kneel and strip by using a powerful Bewitchment method, strengthening Lu Yunzi’s hope in the brothers.
• Lu Yunzi ordered Lu Chao to secretly follow Nie Yun and Nie Tong and alert him if the High Priest threatened them.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong returned to the ancient city streets and went to a restaurant, since Sword Spirit Valley had no inns.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong learned that Sword Spirit Valley’s restaurant exchanged food and wine for self-created sword arts. Lu Tao arrived and challenged them to a wager over who could earn a meal, and Nie Yun raised the stakes before Lu Tao answered.

• Nie Yun asked the waiter how the restaurant’s food and wine were priced and learned that guests had to demonstrate self-created sword arts at the Trial Sword Stone.
• The waiter explained that the stone graded sword arts by color and recognized previously tested moves, while the diners in the hall had earned only wine and peanuts.
• Lu Tao entered with three companions and confronted Nie Yun, saying he had come specifically to make a wager.
• Lu Tao proposed that whoever failed to earn good food and wine would strip and circle the restaurant three times.
• Nie Yun countered that the losers should also slap themselves ten times and publicly call themselves trash, leaving Lu Tao dark-faced and clenching his fists.

Lu Tao agreed to a swordplay wager against Nie Yun and Nie Tong, with Lu Zichao representing his group. Nie Yun’s gaze briefly put Lu Zichao into an Illusion, and after Lu Zichao demonstrated a remarkable sword move, the groups prepared to continue the contest.

• Lu Tao agreed that each group would send one fighter, and Lu Zichao volunteered to represent his side.
• Nie Yun’s eye contact caused Lu Zichao to fall into an Illusion, prompting Lu Tao to attack Nie Yun.
• Nie Tong intercepted Lu Tao’s attack and shattered his swordplay with his Sword Dao.
• Lu Zichao struck into the void with a powerful sword move, blocking Lu Tao’s attack before realizing the contest had not begun.
• Lu Tao accused Nie Yun of a sneak attack and threatened to abandon the wager, but Nie Yun apologized and agreed to compete.

Nie Tong used Lu Zichao’s newly created sword technique to win the Trial Sword Stone’s light-blue rating after learning the move from a single demonstration. Lu Tao and the others realized Nie Yun had tricked them, while Lu Zichao was left furious and awed by Nie Tong’s skill.

• Nie Yun accepted Lu Tao’s wager and asked Nie Tong to demonstrate their sword technique.
• Nie Tong copied Lu Zichao’s newly created move, performed it more powerfully, and earned a light-blue glow from the Trial Sword Stone.
• Lu Tao accused Nie Yun and Nie Tong of stealing the move and denying Lu Zichao the chance to have it recorded first.
• Nie Yun insisted that the wager still stood and demanded that Lu Tao’s group perform their own sword technique.
• Lu Zichao mourned losing credit for his creation, then realized Nie Tong had mastered the difficult move after seeing it once, frightening the Sword Spirit Valley group.

After losing a swordsmanship wager, Lu Tao and his companions bargained with Nie Yun to replace their humiliating punishment with valuable payment. They planned another wager at the Sword Pool, a place Nie Yun and his companion would have to visit before entering the inner valley.

• Lu Tao admitted defeat, but Nie Yun insisted that he and his companions honor their wager to run naked around the tavern and slap themselves.
• Lu Tao offered sword techniques and swords instead of the punishment, and Nie Yun demanded ten sword techniques, two Perfected Emperor Realm swords, and ten thousand jin of Sword Rice.
• Lu Tao and the others agreed to gather the payment, then plotted to make Nie Yun and his companion lose a new wager and pay them back.
• Lu Tao revealed that the Sword Pool was the place where they could force the outsiders to accept another wager before entering the inner valley.

Lu Tao and Lu Zichao plotted to trap Nie Yun and Nie Tong in another wager, but Nie Yun ignored their taunts and enjoyed Sword Rice with his brother. Lu Tao finally offered his chance to enter the Sword Pool as the stake and challenged them to accept.

• Lu Tao and Lu Zichao planned to use the Tomb of Attire as a wager, convinced outsiders could never enter it.
• Lu Tao’s group gave Nie Yun the requested Sword Rice and two Perfected Emperor-grade swords, and then proposed another wager.
• Nie Yun refused to hear Lu Tao’s offer and sat down with Nie Tong to eat.
• Nie Yun tasted Sword Rice and felt its sword intent ease his doubts about the Sword Dao.
• Lu Tao explained that the Sword Pool prepared visitors to withstand the Trial Sword Stone, then offered his Sword Pool entry chance if either brother completed his wager and demanded they accept.

Nie Yun demanded enormous stakes for a wager over entry to the inner valley, while privately expecting that anyone who accepted would be confident of winning. As Lu Tao went to seek the High Priest’s approval, Nie Tong prepared to cultivate with Sword Rice and a Corpse Core before the inner valley opened.

• Nie Yun demanded one hundred sets of sword techniques, twenty Perfected Emperor Realm longswords, and one hundred thousand jin of Sword Rice in exchange for wagering his inner-valley qualification.
• Lu Tao said he could not approve the stakes himself and went to ask the High Priest, leaving Lu Zichao and the others to watch Nie Yun and Nie Tong.
• Nie Tong warned Nie Yun that anyone accepting the wager might be certain of victory, and Nie Yun explained he was willing to risk his qualification because he chiefly wanted Great Emperor Lu Xi’s inheritance for Nie Tong.
• Nie Tong said he had reached the Emperor Realm and could use the Corpse Core with Sword Rice to improve his strength within three days.
• Nie Yun gave Nie Tong the ten thousand jin of Sword Rice he had won and placed him in the Storage World to cultivate.

Lu Tao brought Nie Yun to Great Emperor Lu Xi’s Tomb of Attire and challenged him to approach it as a wager for their Sword Spirit Valley slots. After discovering that the tomb’s sword qi destroyed his Soul Force but let the Storage World’s spatial power pass, Nie Yun realized its sword-intent pattern looked familiar.

• Lu Tao agreed to Nie Yun’s wager, which would require the loser to leave Sword Spirit Valley and surrender their inner valley slots, and proposed approaching the Tomb of Attire to pay respects to Great Emperor Lu Xi.
• Nie Yun refused to accept without knowing the challenge, so Lu Tao took him and the others to the ancient tomb outside the city.
• Nie Yun extended his Soul Force toward the tomb, but its sword qi shredded it and injured him.
• Nie Yun used the Storage World’s spatial power to examine the sword qi, discovering it formed a deadly sphere about one hundred meters from the tomb.
• Nie Yun concluded that he could not reach the tomb, then recognized that the arrangement of its sword intents seemed familiar.