Chapter Summaries

Nie Yun discovered that the sword intents before the Tomb of Attire matched the runes on Great Emperor Lu Xi’s iron tablet, which could absorb them. He hid the tablet and chose to proceed with his wager against Lu Tao, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Nie Yun recognized that the sword-intent formations matched the runes on Great Emperor Lu Xi’s iron tablet.
• Nie Yun revealed the tablet, and it absorbed several sword intents, lighting up its runes.
• Nie Yun returned the tablet to his Storage World so the wager could continue.
• Lu Tao offered Nie Yun rewards if he gave up his inner-valley qualification, but Nie Yun refused and accepted the wager.
• Nie Yun reminded Lu Tao that losing would cost him the promised stakes and his qualification to enter the Sword Pool.

Nie Yun used Great Emperor Lu Xi’s iron tablet to absorb the sword intent around the Tomb of Attire, safely paid his respects, and won the wager against Lu Tao. The chapter ended with Nie Yun taking the stakes while Lu Tao collapsed in shock.

• Nie Yun entered the sword-intent region with Great Emperor Lu Xi’s iron tablet, which absorbed the sword intent and protected him.
• Nie Yun placed flowers before Great Emperor Lu Xi’s monument, then returned and demanded the wager’s stakes from Lu Tao.
• Lu Tao and the others entered the cleared region and discovered that the sword intent had truly vanished.
• Lu Tao accused Nie Yun of using an illusion, but Lu Zichao confirmed that the sword intent was gone.
• Nie Yun took the Storage Ring containing the stakes and mocked Lu Tao, who spat blood and nearly fainted.

Lu Tao and three allies tried to kill Nie Yun and frame his death on the Tomb of Attire, but Lu Chao intervened and was trapped alongside him. Nie Yun refused to flee and charged at Lu Tao barehanded as Lu Tao thrust his sword at Nie Yun’s throat.

• Lu Tao surrounded Nie Yun with Lu Zichao and two others, revealing that he had planned to kill him and blame his death on the Tomb of Attire.
• Lu Tao demanded that Nie Yun release Nie Tong from his spatial artifact, while Nie Yun lamented that the descendants of Great Emperor Lu Xi had forced his hand.
• Lu Chao arrived and rebuked Lu Tao for attacking a guest, but Lu Tao and the others drew their swords and formed the Heavenly Net Earth Net to block escape.
• Lu Chao urged Nie Yun to flee and offered to hold the four off, but Nie Yun stepped forward, saying they would beat their enemies to death instead.
• Nie Yun rushed at Lu Tao barehanded, and Lu Tao thrust his longsword toward Nie Yun’s throat.

Nie Yun effortlessly crippled Lu Tao and three others who had been sent to kill him, then sent Lu Chao to take them to the Second Priest. He followed Lu Chao’s directions to the Sword Pool and arrived at its heavily guarded valley with the entry token in hand.

• Lu Tao attacked Nie Yun with Flying Swallow Snatching Mud, but Nie Yun stopped his sword between two fingers and shattered his body with a flick.
• Nie Yun crippled Lu Zichao and the other attackers, leaving all four alive for the Second Priest.
• Nie Yun searched the defeated men and took another ten thousand jin of Sword Rice before asking Lu Chao where the Sword Pool was.
• Lu Chao loaded the crippled attackers into a flying divine artifact and headed for the city to take them to the Second Priest.
• Nie Yun reached the Sword Pool valley, where a powerful Formation blocked entry, and produced the iron token that allowed him to enter.

Nie Yun endured the Sword Pool’s soul-assailing sword intents with his Fusion Domain and the Lu Xi Iron Tablet, advancing far beyond anyone in Sword Spirit Valley’s history. He emerged into a quiet area and found a tidy thatched hut, heading toward it to learn where he was.

• Nie Yun used his Fusion Domain to resist the Sword Pool’s sword intents, but the pressure weakened it as he went deeper.
• Nie Yun brought out the Lu Xi Iron Tablet, which suppressed the surrounding swords and opened a path for him to continue forward.
• Nie Yun advanced several kilometers into the Sword Pool, farther than any Sword Spirit Valley genius was known to have traveled.
• Nie Yun reached an area where the swords and sword qi disappeared, and he concluded that he had left the Sword Pool.
• Nie Yun spotted a clean, well-kept thatched hut and went to ask its occupant where he was.

Nie Yun entered the Sword Pool Heart, where an old man claimed no one could leave and tried to trap him with wine that supposedly sealed his power. The wine had no effect on Nie Yun, who unleashed his Fusion Domain and attacked the old man.

• Nie Yun found an old man singing beside a thatched hut and asked where they were.
• The old man explained that they were in the Sword Pool Heart, a place with no exit unless the Sword Pool was destroyed.
• Nie Yun searched for the path back, found it gone, then returned to drink with the old man.
• Nie Yun realized the old man had created the place and was trying to keep him trapped.
• The old man revealed that the wine carried his will and was meant to seal Nie Yun's power, but Nie Yun remained unaffected.
• Nie Yun released his Fusion Domain and shot a stream of water at the old man with a flick of his finger.

Nie Yun uncovered the old man's attempt to seize his body and fought back, only to discover that the old man knew the true Great Evolution Tianji Sword. The Lu Xi Token then overwhelmed the old man, leaving Nie Yun to wonder at its power.

• Nie Yun revealed that he had hidden the wine and used the Heavenly Eye to recognize the old man as a being that was not human.
• The old man attacked with strength beyond the Perfected Emperor Realm, and Nie Yun countered with the Great Evolution Tianji Sword.
• The old man blocked Nie Yun's sword and demonstrated a vastly superior version of Shattering Stars, leaving Nie Yun too stunned to resist.
• The Exquisite Pearl Pagoda automatically shielded Nie Yun from the old man's attacks, which the old man identified as a Heavenly Dao divine weapon.
• Nie Yun drew the Lu Xi Token, whose golden light made the old man shrink away until a drop of golden liquid appeared.

Nie Yun identified the golden droplet as Great Emperor Lu Xi's essence blood, took it from the Sword Pool, and emerged as the pool began to lose its source of stability. Meanwhile, the High Priest failed to punish Nie Yun openly and plotted to have him and the other outsider killed in the Inner Valley.

• Nie Yun recognized the golden droplet as Great Emperor Lu Xi's blood and stored it for Nie Tong to use after his breakthrough.
• Nie Yun left the Sword Pool with the Lu Xi Token and Golden Blood, leaving the pool's suspended swords on the verge of chaos.
• Lu Chao brought back the crippled Lu Tao and the others, and the Second Priest's side stopped the High Priest from pursuing charges against Nie Yun.
• The High Priest secretly decided to kill Nie Yun and the other outsider in the Inner Valley, planning to bring several ancestral Sword Attendants.

The High Priest plotted to have the outsiders killed in the Inner Valley, while Nie Yun emerged from the Sword Pool after a day and learned how extraordinary his progress had been. After hearing that the High Priest might target him, Nie Yun agreed to meet the Second Priest.

• The High Priest gave the young man a scepter to track the outsiders and claimed the four Sword Attendants could kill them.
• Lu Chao told Nie Yun he had spent a full day in the Sword Pool and explained the danger of staying too long among its overwhelming sword intent.
• Lu Chao said only Lu Xuan and Lu Beihuang had reached one kilometer in the Sword Pool, and Nie Yun concealed that he had gone much farther.
• Lu Chao reported that the Second Priest had used Lu Tao's case to put the High Priest at a disadvantage.
• Lu Chao warned that the High Priest might use underhanded methods against Nie Yun and took him to meet the Second Priest.

Lu Yunzi explained the difference between true and Pseudo Sword Realms and suggested that Sword Spirit Valley’s sheltered training weakened its disciples’ foundations. He warned Nie Yun that the High Priest would retaliate for Lu Ran and the others, then hinted that the High Priest’s position had a deeper significance.

• Lu Yunzi told Nie Yun that Sword Realms were ranked by purity, and that most people in Sword Spirit Valley formed Pseudo Sword Realms by relying on Sword Realm Valley.
• Lu Yunzi explained that even those with true Sword Realms were weakened by growing up with only one kind of power, and wondered if that also kept Sword Spirit Valley’s people from breaking through the final barrier.
• Lu Yunzi warned that the High Priest would seek revenge on Nie Yun and offered him protection at his residence, but Nie Yun refused because he believed he could protect himself.
• Lu Yunzi cautioned Nie Yun not to underestimate the High Priest and asked why Sword Spirit Valley’s leader was called the High Priest rather than a family head or clan chief.

Lu Yunzi warned Nie Yun that the High Priest controlled most of Sword Spirit Valley and could send powerful Sword Attendants after him, urging him to stay until the Inner Valley opened. Their conversation was interrupted when Lu Bo arrived to confront Nie Yun over Lu Tao’s injuries.

• Lu Yunzi explained that the priests drew power from Sword Spirit Valley, and that the High Priest held sixty percent control of the divine artifact.
• Lu Yunzi warned Nie Yun that four Sword Attendants could overpower even a half-step Emperor Realm expert and urged him to remain inside until he entered the Inner Valley.
• Nie Yun promised to do his best to enter the Inner Valley with Nie Tong and help the people of Sword Spirit Valley escape.
• Lu Chao reported that Lu Bo and several others had come demanding that Nie Yun be handed over, and the Second Priest identified Lu Bo as Lu Tao’s grandfather.
• Lu Bo and his group forced their way into the Second Priest’s residence, where Lu Bo accused Nie Yun of crippling Lu Tao and challenged him for mocking Sword Spirit Valley.

Nie Yun confronted Lu Bo and the elders after they demanded he be punished for crippling their descendants. When the High Priest’s warrant allowed them to settle the matter as a personal grievance, Nie Yun attacked Lu Bo and forced him to his knees.

• Lu Bo and three elders demanded that Nie Yun cripple his cultivation to atone for injuring Lu Tao and the others.
• The Second Priest, Lu Yunzi, tried to stop the elders from attacking a guest who had passed the Sword Spirit Tower.
• Steward Lu Meng arrived with the High Priest’s warrant, preventing Lu Yunzi from intervening in the personal grievance.
• Nie Yun accepted the elders’ challenge and teleported behind Lu Bo to strike him.
• Lu Bo’s palm attack hit Nie Yun’s protective barrier, and Nie Yun’s power forced Lu Bo to his knees.

Nie Yun used the pressure of Great Emperor Lu Xi’s bloodline to defeat and poison four Sword Spirit Valley elders and Lu Meng. After the Second Priest asked whether Nie Yun had concealed his strength, Nie Yun agreed, leaving his true abilities unexplained.

• Nie Yun knocked Lu Bo to his knees and poisoned him with a palm strike.
• Nie Yun used the Exquisite Pearl Pagoda and Lu Xi’s bloodline pressure to defeat and poison the three other elders.
• Nie Yun teleported to Lu Meng and left him convulsing on the ground as well.
• The Second Priest asked whether Nie Yun had hidden his strength, and Nie Yun nodded.

Nie Yun learned about Stealing Heaven Borrowing Life experts, who surpassed the Perfected Emperor Realm and secretly borrowed lifespan from the Heavenly Dao. Lu Yunzi explained why ascenders could become Boundless Commanders and revealed his belief that Sword Spirit Valley had no such experts because it existed inside a divine weapon, outside the Divine Realm.

• Lu Yunzi explained that Stealing Heaven Borrowing Life experts could live for millions of years but risked erasure if they used power beyond the Perfected Emperor Realm.
• Lu Yunzi told Nie Yun that seven-star Boundless Guards, called Boundless Commanders, were Stealing Heaven Borrowing Life experts.
• Lu Yunzi explained that ascenders’ souls were not bound to the Divine Realm’s Heavenly Dao, allowing them to reveal their strength without being hunted as long as they stayed within the limit.
• Nie Yun realized that his own lifespan might not be limited because he was an ascender, and considered why the Divine Realm’s natives resented ascenders.
• Lu Yunzi said Sword Spirit Valley had no Stealing Heaven Borrowing Life experts and guessed that the divine weapon’s lack of a Heavenly Dao made it impossible to borrow lifespan.

Nie Yun explained the danger posed by Stealing Heaven Borrowing Life experts, then took the injured Lu Meng to the High Priest’s residence to demand compensation. He concealed himself nearby with Lu Yunzi, and a deadly poison on Lu Meng infected the guards who tried to help him.

• Lu Yunzi explained that people in the divine weapon could not reach the Stealing Heaven Borrowing Life Realm and warned Nie Yun about the realm’s hidden dangers.
• Nie Yun decided to detain Lu Bo and the others until they paid a ransom, then said he would personally take Lu Meng to the High Priest’s residence and demand compensation.
• Nie Yun and Lu Yunzi arrived at the residence, left Lu Meng outside its gates, and hid in the Weaver Girl Shuttle to watch.
• The guards recognized Lu Meng and tried to help him, but the poison on him infected them, causing them to collapse and vomit blood.

The High Priest and Medical Immortal Lu Chang tried to treat Steward Lu Meng after he was poisoned, but both were infected by the deadly poison. Nie Yun and Second Priest Lu Yunzi watched from above until the High Priest spotted them, leaving them to face him.

• The High Priest nearly poisoned himself while trying to help Lu Meng, so he summoned Medical Immortal Lu Chang.
• Lu Chang used the Detoxification Medical Codex, which Lu Yunzi identified as a relic written by Medical Sage Youyang.
• The codex initially faded the poison on Lu Meng, but the poison turned its light black and infected Lu Chang, who collapsed convulsing.
• The High Priest realized Lu Meng had been sent to the Second Priest's Residence to find Nie Yun and suspected Lu Yunzi had poisoned him.
• The High Priest spotted Nie Yun and Lu Yunzi hiding overhead, and they descended from the Weaver Girl Shuttle.

Nie Yun forced the High Priest's faction to pay Sword Rice to cure Lu Meng, Lu Bo, and the others, but Lu Yunzi warned him that the High Priest might target him in the Inner Valley. As Nie Yun began preparing for the Inner Valley's opening, he sensed that Nie Tong had finished cultivating.

• Nie Yun demanded two hundred thousand jin of Sword Rice for Lu Meng's life and threatened the High Priest with the poisoned Lu Bo, Lu Meng, and physician.
• After a guard collapsed from Nie Yun's poison, Nie Yun demanded another two hundred thousand jin of Sword Rice from each of Lu Bo's family members and left with the Second Priest.
• The High Priest agreed to send the Sword Rice, plotted to stop Nie Yun from leaving with it, and planned to raise Lu Xuan's cultivation to the Perfected Emperor Realm.
• The High Priest's Residence and the families of Lu Bo and the others delivered one million jin of Sword Rice, and Nie Yun cured the poisoned men.
• Lu Yunzi warned Nie Yun that the High Priest might send Sword Attendants after him in the Inner Valley, and Nie Yun agreed to prepare for the opening.
• Nie Yun sensed that Nie Tong had finished cultivating and entered the Storage World.

Nie Tong refined the Corpse Core with Sword Rice and broke through to the peak Emperor Realm, then tested his strength against Nie Yun in the Storage World. Nie Yun gave him Great Emperor Lu Xi’s blood to use after stabilizing his cultivation, and Nie Tong asked to train with Nie Yun’s time acceleration.

• Nie Tong told Nie Yun that he had refined the Corpse Core and reached the peak Emperor Realm by cultivating with Sword Rice.
• Nie Yun tested Nie Tong’s strength in a sword fight but stopped after Nie Tong overwhelmed him.
• Nie Tong said Nie Yun could defeat him with the Exquisite Pearl Pagoda or after reaching the Emperor Realm, while Nie Yun spoke of his difficult path toward the Perfect Domain.
• Nie Yun gave Nie Tong a drop of blood that he identified as Great Emperor Lu Xi’s, and Nie Tong decided to wait until his cultivation stabilized before refining it.
• Nie Tong asked Nie Yun to use time acceleration so he could stabilize his cultivation and temper his swordsmanship.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong prepared for the Inner Valley trial, with Nie Tong stabilizing his breakthrough in Yan Huang Hall while Nie Yun tempered his soul. At the sacrifice ceremony, the clan’s dwindling bloodline power proved too weak to open the Inner Valley, leaving the Second Priest fearful that the Sword Spirit Valley might soon lose access to it forever.

• Nie Yun used Yan Huang Hall to accelerate time for Nie Tong’s cultivation and spent the remaining two days tempering his own soul.
• Nie Tong emerged with his new power fully suppressed, and Nie Yun learned that the Inner Valley was ready to open.
• The Second Priest introduced his grandson Lu Beihuang, who was to enter the Inner Valley with the Nie brothers.
• The High Priest began the sacrifice, and Sword Spirit Valley’s clansmen offered their bloodline power to the Sacrifice Token.
• The token turned only pale red, and the Second Priest explained that the clan’s weakening bloodlines might soon be insufficient to open the Inner Valley.

The Sword Spirit Valley clansmen drained their bloodlines to open the Inner Valley, and Nie Yun entered the trial after being transported to a separate location from the others. Unable to fly or use tracking methods, he set out to find Nie Tong in the vast forest.

• The clansmen burned their bloodlines five times before the Sacrifice Token turned deep red and opened a crack to the Inner Valley.
• Nie Yun, Nie Tong, Lu Xuan, Lu Beihuang, and four other Peak Emperor Realm cultivators entered the ritual’s light and were transported away separately.
• After the crack closed, the clansmen collapsed, while the Second Priest hoped the entrants would resolve Sword Spirit Valley’s crisis and the High Priest hoped Lu Xuan would kill Nie Yun and Nie Tong.
• Nie Yun awoke alone in a vast forest and discovered that he could not fly, though he used Nine Transformations of Netherflame to move quickly through the trees.
• Unable to use bloodline resonance, aura tracking, or communication, Nie Yun chose a direction and began searching for Nie Tong.