Chapter Summaries

Nie Yun used Great Emperor Lu Xi’s blood to summon a Sword Dao that led him to a hidden hall containing a trial for a Sword-Grinding Stone. He deciphered the mural-based sword techniques and reached the corridor’s end, where a spacious hall awaited.

• After half a day of searching without finding any Sword-Grinding Stones, Nie Yun realized he needed to use the Sword Dao to locate them.
• Nie Yun used Great Emperor Lu Xi’s blood to summon a Sword Dao, which pointed him toward a newly appeared hall.
• Inside the hall, Nie Yun triggered a stone stele that explained he had to reach the corridor’s end before the incense burned down to obtain the Sword-Grinding Stone.
• When the corridor murals came alive with beasts, mountains, and rivers, Nie Yun recognized their power as a sword technique rather than an illusion and performed it to clear the path.
• Nie Yun continued deciphering and performing sword techniques from successive murals until he reached the end of the corridor and entered a spacious hall.

Nie Yun deciphered the Sword-Grinding Stone trials in the Inner Valley and collected eight stones before nightfall. When darkness revealed a ruined landscape, a Perfected Emperor Realm wolf appeared, followed by countless more.

• Nie Yun deduced the sword mark that revealed the first Sword-Grinding Stone and collected it just as the incense burned out.
• Nie Yun followed the Sword Dao river, deciphered the trials at another palace, and obtained a total of eight Sword-Grinding Stones by nightfall.
• Nie Yun used the Storage World's spatial power to illuminate the Inner Valley and saw ruins instead of the lush forest he had seen by day.
• Nie Yun followed a strange cry and found a Perfected Emperor Realm wolf, then saw countless green eyes as more wolves gathered.

Nie Yun followed a wolf pack and witnessed it attack a Sword Spirit Valley trial participant, strip away his Sword-Grinding Stone, and leave. He suspected the High Priest had sent the wolves to gather the stones, but he could not explain why they had not detected him.

• Nie Yun followed the Sword Dao River's direction toward the wolf pack, which had vanished into the forest.
• Nie Yun discovered the wolves surrounding an unfamiliar young trial participant and saw them attack with sword intent.
• The wolves tore the young man's clothes and exposed the Sword-Grinding Stone hidden on his chest.
• The young man backed away from the stone, and a wolf took it before the pack departed.
• Nie Yun suspected the High Priest was using the wolves to collect Sword-Grinding Stones for Lu Xuan, but wondered why they had overlooked him.

Nie Yun followed a wolf pack that was stealing Sword-Grinding Stones and discovered it was targeting people who had collected them. He suspected the High Priest had sent the wolves to gather the stones for Lu Xuan, and decided to track them until they led him to Nie Tong.

• Nie Yun followed the wolf pack to a mountain cave after realizing his Storage World might have kept his Sword-Grinding Stones hidden from them.
• The wolves broke into the cave and overpowered two young men, taking seven Sword-Grinding Stones from their Storage Rings.
• Nie Yun concluded that the High Priest had sent the wolves to collect the stones for Lu Xuan’s chance at Great Emperor Lu Xi’s inheritance.
• Unable to defeat the wolf pack alone, Nie Yun decided to follow it until it found Nie Tong so the brothers could join forces.

Nie Yun followed the wolf pack through the night as it robbed a fourth young man, then watched the wolves vanish as daylight transformed the ruins into a forest. He collected six Sword-Grinding Stones during the day and wondered whether the trials were growing harder as night approached.

• Nie Yun watched the wolves take five Sword-Grinding Stones from a fourth young man, bringing their total to thirteen.
• The wolves scattered, and Nie Yun followed their lead wolf until it flew away and vanished just before dawn.
• Daylight restored the area to a lush forest, and Nie Yun confirmed that the wolves and their tracks disappeared during the day.
• Nie Yun searched nine palaces and obtained six Sword-Grinding Stones, bringing his total to fourteen.
• As night neared, Nie Yun suspected that finding Sword-Grinding Stones had become harder over time.

Nie Yun followed a group of powerful tigers across the transformed grassland and watched them attack Lu Beihuang. Lu Beihuang used a powerful bell to block their sword qi, leaving Nie Yun observing the confrontation from hiding.

• Nie Yun recovered his strength with a pill as night fell and discovered that the Inner Valley had become a vast grassland.
• Nie Yun followed a tiger to a group of at least forty Perfected Emperor Realm tigers, which moved together under their leader's commands.
• Nie Yun followed the tiger pack until it confronted Lu Beihuang, who was bloodied and wary.
• The tigers attacked Lu Beihuang with sword qi, and he blocked their strikes with a bell-shaped weapon.

Nie Yun watched Lu Beihuang lose his treasures to a pack of tigers that sought Sword-Grinding Stones, then followed the pack through the grass. As a fierce battle erupted ahead and he worried it involved Nie Tong, his younger brother appeared behind him.

• Five Perfected Emperor Realm tigers overwhelmed Lu Beihuang, broke his Storage Ring, and took his twelve Sword-Grinding Stones.
• The tigers left, and Lu Beihuang tried to chase them but was struck down by sword qi.
• Nie Yun continued following the tiger pack, convinced that doing so would reveal why it wanted the Sword-Grinding Stones.
• Nie Yun heard another hidden tracker and a brilliant sword cry, which made him suspect that Nie Tong was fighting the tigers.
• As Nie Yun prepared to rush toward the battle, someone touched his shoulder, and Nie Tong revealed himself behind his brother.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong watched Lu Xuan use a Sword Attendant Token to frighten off the tigers and claim Lu Beihuang’s Sword-Grinding Stones. Lu Xuan’s total rose to twenty-seven, leaving the brothers worried they could not catch up.

• Nie Tong joined Nie Yun and revealed he had followed the tigers to investigate their attacks on trial-takers.
• The tigers surrounded Lu Xuan, broke his storage ring, and exposed fifteen Sword-Grinding Stones among his belongings.
• Lu Xuan displayed a Sword Attendant Token, causing the tigers to return the twelve Sword-Grinding Stones they had taken from Lu Beihuang and flee.
• Lu Xuan collected the stones and other items, bringing his Sword-Grinding Stone total to twenty-seven.
• Nie Yun learned Nie Tong had found eleven stones and realized they had only twenty-five together, while Lu Xuan might use the token to rob the tigers and widen the gap.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong followed the tiger pack to its lair, where they discovered thirteen Sword-Grinding Stones and watched the tigers perform a sacrifice. The sacrifice’s light entered the stones, which began to move, leaving the brothers to face an unexplained change.

• Nie Tong revealed that he had hidden eleven Sword-Grinding Stones inside his Sword Realm, beyond the beasts’ ability to detect.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong caught up with the tiger pack and followed it to a mountain cave before dawn.
• The brothers found thirteen Sword-Grinding Stones in the cave, which Nie Yun suspected the wolf pack had stolen the previous day.
• The tigers formed a formation around the stones and released sword qi that Nie Yun recognized as a sacrifice like the one in Sword Spirit Valley.
• The sacrifice’s light split into thirteen streams and entered the Sword-Grinding Stones, which began to move.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong discovered that the tigers were transformed Sword-Grinding Stones and planned to hunt them for more stones. On the final night of the trial, the terrain shifted to an open desert, making their intended ambush difficult as they set out to find the tiger pack.

• Nie Yun and Nie Tong watched thirteen Sword-Grinding Stones transform into tigers, then hid in the Storage World as the pack approached and vanished at sunrise.
• Nie Yun deduced that the tigers were Sword-Grinding Stones and proposed ambushing them individually at night to obtain more.
• The brothers collected twelve more Sword-Grinding Stones during the day, bringing their combined total to thirty-seven, and Nie Yun speculated that the tiger pack would be smaller that night.
• As night fell on the trial’s final day, the terrain changed into a desert, leaving the brothers with nowhere to hide for an ambush.
• Nie Yun decided they should find the tiger pack first and summoned the Sword Dao River.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong tracked the powerful War Dragon Beasts, only to find Lu Xuan confronting them with his Sword Attendant Token. Lu Xuan claimed their Sword-Grinding Stones and declared that his forty-six stones secured the championship.

• Nie Yun and Nie Tong found War Dragon Beast tracks and estimated that around seventeen beasts were nearby.
• The brothers followed the tracks and discovered several places where human footprints crossed them, suggesting repeated encounters.
• At midnight, Nie Yun and Nie Tong found Lu Xuan facing the War Dragon Beasts and demanding their Sword-Grinding Stones.
• Lu Xuan summoned the Sword Attendant Token, forcing the War Dragon Beasts to lower their heads and surrender twelve stones.
• Lu Xuan counted forty-six Sword-Grinding Stones in total and declared that he had secured the championship, darkening Nie Yun's expression.

Lu Xuan followed the War Dragon Beasts after securing forty-six Sword-Grinding Stones, threatening the Nie brothers’ chance to catch up. Nie Yun sent Nie Tong ahead with Lu Xi’s blood and their stones, then pursued Lu Xuan and secretly burrowed through the sand to try to steal his stones.

• Lu Xuan decided to track the War Dragon Beasts so he could find the outsiders and seize any Sword-Grinding Stones they collected.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong realized Lu Xuan’s pursuit had ruined their chance to ambush the beasts, so they agreed that Nie Yun would draw Lu Xuan away while Nie Tong hunted alone.
• Nie Yun gave Nie Tong Lu Xi’s Golden Blood and all their Sword-Grinding Stones, warning him to use the blood if the War Dragon Beasts threatened his life.
• Nie Yun followed Lu Xuan’s trail, found him watching the War Dragon Beasts from behind a sand mound, and burrowed through the sand to approach unseen.

Nie Yun tried to steal Lu Xuan’s forty-six Sword-Grinding Stones, but a sudden fight between Lu Beihuang and four other trial participants and the War Dragon Beasts disrupted his attempt. He realized the beasts might be forbidden from killing participants, but with Lu Xuan still nearby and the battle raging, he had no clear way to claim the stones or escape safely.

• Nie Yun crept beneath Lu Xuan and reached to steal his Sword-Grinding Stones, but a sudden disturbance made him lose his balance and forced Lu Xuan to rise.
• Lu Beihuang and four young men attacked the seventeen War Dragon Beasts, desperate to recover the stones stolen from them.
• Nie Yun watched from underground and noticed that the War Dragon Beasts defended themselves without killing the attackers.
• Nie Yun suspected Great Emperor Lu Xi had barred the beasts from killing trial participants and considered using that rule to defeat them.
• Nie Yun saw that Lu Xuan remained nearby while the battle continued, leaving him trapped in a chaotic situation with no easy plan.

Nie Yun repeatedly tried to steal the Sword-Grinding Stones from Lu Xuan while Lu Beihuang and the others fought the War Dragon Beasts, but stray sword attacks and Lu Beihuang’s call kept ruining his attempts. The chapter ended with Lu Xuan joining the battle just as Nie Yun was close enough to steal from him.

• Lu Beihuang and the others realized the War Dragon Beasts would not kill them and fought harder to reclaim the Sword-Grinding Stones.
• Nie Yun approached Lu Xuan to steal the stones, but a stray sword strike made Lu Xuan leap out of reach.
• Another sword strike forced Nie Yun to flee his hiding place, though Lu Xuan still did not notice him.
• Nie Yun tried again and crept close to Lu Xuan, but Lu Beihuang called him into the fight.
• Lu Xuan charged into the battlefield, leaving Nie Yun frustrated once more.

Nie Yun abandoned his attempt to steal Lu Beihuang’s Sword-Grinding Stone and instead exposed Lu Xuan’s theft of the stones taken by the War Dragon Beasts. Lu Beihuang and the others turned their suspicion toward Lu Xuan, who denied the evidence as Nie Yun demanded that they inspect his storage ring.

• After failing three times to steal the Sword-Grinding Stone, Nie Yun gave up and decided to turn Lu Beihuang and the others against Lu Xuan.
• Nie Yun burst from beneath the desert, attacked Lu Xuan, and accused him of controlling the War Dragon Beasts and taking the stolen Sword-Grinding Stones.
• Lu Xuan denied the accusation and claimed Nie Yun was trying to drive a wedge between them.
• Nie Yun showed a recording of Lu Xuan ordering the War Dragon Beasts to plunder the trial participants and boasting that he had collected forty-six Sword-Grinding Stones.
• Lu Beihuang and the others turned on Lu Xuan, while Nie Yun challenged him to let them inspect his storage ring.

Lu Xuan admitted to taking the Sword-Grinding Stones and used the Sword Attendant Token to attack Nie Yun. Nie Yun fled from the Sword Attendants, and Lu Xuan turned his attention to Lu Beihuang and the others.

• Nie Yun accused Lu Xuan of using War Dragon Beasts to steal the group's Sword-Grinding Stones, and Lu Beihuang and the others joined the confrontation.
• Lu Xuan admitted taking the stones but refused to return them, then summoned four Sword Attendants with his token.
• A Sword Attendant struck Nie Yun, whose Exquisite Pearl Pagoda blocked the blow before he fled using the Nine Transformations of Netherflame.
• Lu Xuan sent two Sword Attendants after Nie Yun while keeping the other two near him.
• Lu Beihuang threatened to report Lu Xuan for violating the ancestral rules, and Lu Xuan began considering killing him.

Nie Yun used the Sword Attendants pursuing him to attack the War Dragon Beasts, turning their pursuit into a way to collect Sword-Grinding Stones for Nie Tong. By the end, Nie Yun had helped Nie Tong surpass Lu Xuan, though the Sword Attendants were still after him.

• The Sword Attendants battered Nie Yun, and he discovered that the Lu Xi Token could not command them.
• Nie Yun realized he could lead the Sword Attendants to the War Dragon Beasts and make them fight each other.
• Nie Yun found Nie Tong battling seventeen War Dragon Beasts and drew him into the Storage World.
• The Sword Attendants attacked Nie Yun among the beasts, provoking the War Dragon Beasts to fight back.
• The Sword Attendants killed more than nine War Dragon Beasts, which transformed into Sword-Grinding Stones that Nie Yun collected for Nie Tong.
• Nie Yun rejoiced that the collected stones had helped Nie Tong surpass Lu Xuan and called Lu Xuan a good man too.

Nie Yun chased the fleeing War Dragon Beasts while using the Sword Attendants’ attacks to gain speed, hoping to uncover the secret behind the Sword-Grinding Stones. When the sand collapsed beneath him, he fell into an underground palace and found a statue of Great Emperor Lu Xi that stopped the Sword Attendants from attacking.

• Nie Yun pursued the War Dragon Beasts as the Sword Attendants struck him from behind, and he used their blows to accelerate.
• The Sword Attendants killed the fleeing War Dragon Beasts one by one, leaving only their leader and bringing Nie Yun’s Sword-Grinding Stone count to fifty-three.
• Nie Yun overtook the leader, but the sand collapsed and dragged them both into a long corridor beneath the desert.
• Nie Yun followed the leader through the corridor and entered a vast palace with a towering statue he recognized as Great Emperor Lu Xi.
• The Sword Attendants entered the hall but stopped before the statue, and Nie Yun noticed something that drew him farther into the palace.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong discovered that Lu Xi's blood essence opened the barrier protecting a talisman left by Great Emperor Shennong. Great Emperor Lu Xi’s message explained how the Sword Pool and Inner Valley trials led to the inheritance, and why the talisman was necessary to safely refine the blood essence.

• Nie Yun failed to break the barrier around the talisman with his strongest sword technique and noticed a small depression in the platform.
• Nie Yun suspected the depression was meant for Lu Xi's blood and summoned Nie Tong to place the blood essence inside it.
• Lu Xi’s illusory figure appeared and explained that the blood essence contained his Sword Dao understanding and would kill anyone who refined it without sufficient willpower.
• Lu Xi explained that he had designed the Sword Pool trial and Inner Valley to test candidates’ will, talent, and discernment.
• Lu Xi revealed that Yanhuang’s talisman could harmonize the blood essence’s power and prevent backlash during refinement.

Nie Yun and Nie Tong recovered Great Emperor Lu Xi’s blood essence and Shennong’s talisman, then disabled the Sword Attendants by removing their energy sources. At dawn, the brothers were teleported out of the Inner Valley, leaving the Sword Dao inheritance and their next steps unresolved.

• Nie Yun explained that Great Emperor Lu Xi had enlisted Great Emperor Shennong to create the talisman, and Nie Tong stored it and the blood essence in his Sword Realm.
• Nie Yun deduced that the dragon leader had been the talisman transformed into a living being.
• Nie Yun advised removing the Sword Attendants’ energy sources, and he extracted a golden sphere from each puppet.
• Nie Yun concluded that the spheres’ power had nearly run out after hundreds of millions of years, then stored the spheres and Sword Attendants.
• Nie Yun and Nie Tong left the Inner Valley and were teleported away when dawn broke.