Chapter Summaries

Nie Yun watched Ying Long gain the Sword Dao Qi’s recognition and searched the Sword God Hall for information about Soul Summoner. The chapter left Nie Yun suspecting that Yun Xuan and Ying Long had captured Thousand Illusions seventy years earlier.

• Yun Xuan warned that Ying Long had to gain the Sword Dao Qi’s recognition, and the stone statue released Sword Dao Qi that entered him.
• Ying Long absorbed the Sword Dao Qi and mastered sword arts he had previously been unable to learn, while Nie Yun found detailed records of Special Talents but no entry for the Top Ten.
• Yun Xuan offered Ying Long a choice between a Supreme Great Sword Art and a Supreme Sword Art, and Ying Long chose the Dust Breaking Absolute Kill Sword Art.
• Yun Xuan revealed that she had named Ying Long champion because of his Special Talent and loyalty, then said his talent had helped capture someone seventy years earlier.
• Nie Yun listened closely and suspected that Yun Xuan was referring to Thousand Illusions.

Nie Yun overheard Yun Xuan and Ying Long reveal that they had betrayed and poisoned Thousand Illusions, and he resolved to capture Ying Long for Thousand Illusions to judge. While investigating the statue that generated Sword Dao Qi, Nie Yun failed to steal or sense its contents but discovered an account of the Top Ten Special Talents carved inside it, and found that the inscription continued.

• Yun Xuan told Ying Long to win the Sword God Trial and do a task for her, threatening him with Thousand Illusions’ fate if he failed.
• Nie Yun learned that Ying Long had helped betray Thousand Illusions and decided to capture him alive after obtaining the Sword Dao Qi.
• Nie Yun used Divine Thief Talent to inspect the statue and saw that a stripped Sword Dao Dantian inside it generated Sword Dao Qi, but he could not steal it.
• Nie Yun’s Soul Force was repelled by a formation within the statue, so he used Heavenly Eye to examine its interior.
• Nie Yun read the carved information on the Top Ten Special Talents, including the Soul Master, Origin Energy Master, and Martial Dao Master, then noticed more writing below.

Nie Yun learned how dantian forms determine a Special Talent’s power and realized he needed to advance his Divine Thief Dantian to steal the Sword Dao Dantian. By recalling how Thousand Illusions stole, he activated its second form.

• Nie Yun read that Special Talents gained power through successive forms and that a talent’s form could outweigh its ranking.
• Nie Yun understood that his Earth Walker Talent had reached its second form and that Thousand Illusions must have advanced his Divine Thief Talent to steal within the statue.
• Nie Yun read the Sword Saint’s final words and reflected on the ten-thousand-year lifespan limit and the vanished Heaven-Ascending Ladder.
• Nie Yun realized his Pill Fire and Storage Dantians had started in their second forms, then wondered how to advance his Divine Thief Dantian.
• Nie Yun recalled Thousand Illusions’ methods and, while pinching the aura around the Sword Dao Dantian, advanced his Divine Thief Dantian to its second form.

Nie Yun advanced his Divine Thief Talent to its second form and formed a Sword Dao Dantian, becoming a Sword Dao Master. At the Sword God Sect, Yun Xuan secretly planned to take the Tianji Sword from him, but the sect’s formations suddenly announced that a new Sword Dao Master had emerged.

• Nie Yun advanced his Divine Thief Talent to its second form and formed his nineteenth dantian as the Sword Dao Dantian.
• Luo Yutian reported that Nie Yun and Old Drunkard had left, and Yun Xuan ordered the sect to publicly befriend Nie Yun while secretly searching for him and planning to seize the Tianji Sword.
• The Sect Master's Seal began glowing, and the Sword God Sect’s formations activated without Yun Xuan’s command, startling the sect and throwing its disciples into confusion.
• Yun Xuan ordered the disciples to return to their positions and went to the Formation Hall after an elder reported trouble there.
• The formations in the Formation Hall formed the words, “Congratulations to the Sword God Sect for producing another Sword Dao Master!”, then went quiet.

Yun Xuan ordered Hu Jia and Ni Xu to capture the unknown Sword Dao Master and turn him into a puppet, while Nie Yun, newly awakened as a Sword Dao Master, ambushed Ying Long to capture him for Huan Qianshou. Ying Long’s third-form Defense Master ability withstood Nie Yun’s attacks, and Nie Yun revealed the Profound Jade Sword as he prepared to continue the fight.

• Yun Xuan learned that a Sword Dao Master had entered the sect and ordered Hu Jia and Ni Xu to find and capture him, keeping the discovery secret.
• Nie Yun realized his Sword Dao Master talent had greatly increased his strength and used his Heavenly Eye to locate Ying Long.
• Nie Yun ambushed Ying Long with the Annihilating Absolute Kill Sword Art, but Ying Long blocked the strike with his third-form Defense Master ability.
• Nie Yun invoked Huan Qianshou’s name and attacked Ying Long with the Four Seasons Swordplay, injuring them both without breaking the defense.
• Ying Long claimed that even a mid-stage Void Absorption Realm expert could not break his defense, and Nie Yun revealed the Profound Jade Sword.

Nie Yun defeated Ying Long by using Hidden Strength to break through his defense, then captured him after taking away his Void Absorption Realm talisman. He stole the Sword God Sect’s central statue and turned his attention to the sword techniques carved on the walls.

• Nie Yun’s hundredfold Hidden Strength severely wounded Ying Long, and his combined soul talents nearly knocked him unconscious.
• Ying Long blocked Nie Yun’s soul attack with his Defense Master talent and produced a Void Absorption Realm talisman, but Nie Yun unexpectedly snatched it with Divine Thief Qi.
• Nie Yun struck Ying Long three more times, knocked him unconscious, and stored him in the Purple Splendor Cave Mansion under guard.
• Nie Yun removed the central statue from the ground and stored it in his Storage Dantian.
• Nie Yun examined the sword techniques carved on the walls and wondered whether he could deduce them through their moves.

Nie Yun copied the Supreme Sword Arts, left a new sword art on the Sword Mark Stone, and stole the Sword God's Sword using Sword Dao Qi and Divine Thief Qi. Sect Master Yun Xuan discovered the theft and accused Ni Xu, while Nie Yun learned that Ni Xu had framed him.

• Nie Yun copied the sword moves from the walls onto jade tablets and left the Heaven Grade Zone when he found the Sword Hall deserted.
• Nie Yun used his Heart Sword realm to carve a new sword art onto the Sword Mark Stone.
• Nie Yun used Sword Dao Qi alongside his Divine Thief Talent to take the Sword God's Sword and hide it in the Purple Splendor Cave Mansion.
• Disciples arrived and discovered that the Sword God's Sword was missing, then summoned the elders and Sect Master Yun Xuan.
• Yun Xuan accused Ni Xu of stealing the sword, and Nie Yun realized from Ni Xu's words that he had framed him.

Yun Xuan discovered that the patriarch’s stone statue and Ying Long had disappeared, then used the Sect Master’s Seal to activate the Sword God Sect’s Protective Array and its Killing Array to flush out Thousand Illusions. Hidden inside a wall, Nie Yun was caught in the attack and realized that fighting back could reveal his presence to Ni Xu and the others.

• Yun Xuan entered the Heaven Grade Zone and found the patriarch’s stone statue gone, the ground devastated, and Ying Long missing.
• Yun Xuan coaxed the hidden Thousand Illusions to emerge, recalling their past and claiming she had once cared for him, but he did not appear.
• Yun Xuan revealed the Sect Master’s Seal, activated the Protective Array, and ordered its Killing Array to attack outsiders.
• Nie Yun, concealed inside a wall, was trapped by the Killing Array and blocked its first wave of Heavenly Bridge Realm peak sword strikes.
• Nie Yun saw the array’s next attack reach half-step Void Absorption Realm power and worried that clashing with it would expose him to Ni Xu and the others.

Nie Yun escaped the Sword Passage by disguising himself as Wen Chao and returned to the crowd without being detected. A new King Sword Mark appeared on the Sword Mark Stone, and when Yun Xuan tried to destroy it, the mark revealed the words “Nie Yun was here.”

• Nie Yun blocked the sword radiance, knocked Duan Xiao and Wen Chao unconscious, took Wen Chao’s Sword Intent Talisman, and disguised himself as Wen Chao.
• Nie Yun used Immortal Voice Talent to make Duan Xiao forget what had happened, then went with him to the crowd by the Sword God’s Sword.
• Ni Xu and Hu Jia recognized the new mark as a King Sword Mark and suspected its creator was a Sword Dao Master who had refined the Sword God’s Sword.
• Yun Xuan dismissed the mark as an illusion and struck it with the Sect Master’s Seal, flattening it.
• The flattened mark revealed the words “Nie Yun was here,” shocking Yun Xuan.

After Nie Yun’s name appeared on the Sword Mark Stone, Yun Xuan recognized him as the Sword Dao Master and feared he might threaten her position as sect master. She publicly declared him a friend of Sword God Sect and turned the disciples against a hidden Mishin Sect infiltrator, leaving Nie Yun wary of her schemes.

• The disciples saw Nie Yun’s name on the Sword Mark Stone and realized the notorious expert had entered their sect.
• Yun Xuan recognized Nie Yun as a true Sword Dao Master and suspected Elder Nan had sent him to take her sect master position.
• Yun Xuan called Nie Yun a friend of Sword God Sect, claiming the patriarch had acknowledged him and that she had taken the Sword God's Sword to fight an enemy.
• Yun Xuan told the disciples that a disguised Mishin Sect expert was hiding in the sect and ordered them to find and report him.
• The disciples vowed to protect Nie Yun and hunt the infiltrator, while Nie Yun grew more wary of Yun Xuan.

Yun Xuan used the Sect Master's Seal to search the Sword Passage for the intruder, while Nie Yun, disguised as Wen Chao, nearly had his cover exposed. Chen Wenxu's Essence of Martial Skill made the seal reveal him as truly loyal, and Yun Xuan later suspected that Thousand Illusions had returned with Nie Yun to disrupt her plans.

• Yun Xuan rallied the disciples and began inspecting them with the Sect Master's Seal for a Mishin Sect spy.
• Nie Yun tried to edge toward the wall, but Duan Xiao noticed his strange appearance, and Yun Xuan pinned him with the seal.
• Chen Wenxu's Essence of Martial Skill shielded Nie Yun from the seal's scrutiny and made him appear to possess True Loyalty.
• Yun Xuan inspected every disciple without finding an intruder, then reasoned that Thousand Illusions might have come with Nie Yun and captured Ying Long.
• Yun Xuan ordered Ni Xu and Hu Jia to search for the intruder and told Nie Yun to come with her.

Yun Xuan summoned Wen Chao and tested his loyalty and identity as she walked with him. Nie Yun concealed his disguise through a tense confrontation, earning her trust before an unexpected crack caught his attention and left him elated.

• Yun Xuan summoned Wen Chao to accompany her, and Nie Yun decided to face the dangerous test rather than flee.
• Yun Xuan questioned Wen Chao about his loyalty and used a jade token to review his unremarkable three-year record in the sect.
• Yun Xuan pointed out Wen Chao’s guarded posture and asked whether he was Thousand Illusions or Nie Yun.
• Nie Yun realized Yun Xuan was testing his reaction, stood still as she pressed her fingers to his throat, and declared he would accept death at her hands.
• Yun Xuan believed he was Wen Chao and explained that she needed him for a highly secret matter.
• A crisp crack sounded just as Nie Yun relaxed, and he looked toward it with uncontrollable joy.

Nie Yun’s Disguise Talent advanced after he deceived Yun Xuan, allowing him to disguise himself as a demonic beast and evade even the strongest soul scans. Yun Xuan began a sect sacrifice to raise his disguised identity, Wen Chao, to the Heavenly Bridge Realm, and Nie Yun faced the ancestral swords’ test for recognition.

• Nie Yun’s Disguise Talent entered its second form, strengthening his disguises and letting him take the form of demonic beasts without detection.
• Nie Yun convinced Yun Xuan of Wen Chao’s loyalty, and she promised to raise his cultivation through a sect sacrifice.
• Yun Xuan explained that the sacrifice would test Nie Yun against 4,546 ancestral swords, and one sword’s recognition would qualify him for the inheritance.
• Yun Xuan offered a peak Heavenly Bridge Realm demonic beast and began the sacrifice in Sword God Hall.
• The ancestral swords sent waves of aura toward Nie Yun, leaving him pale as he sat in meditation on the altar.

While Nie Yun endured the Sword Ancestors’ sword intents to seek their recognition, Yun Xuan learned from Chen Wenxu about the Sword God Gate and the Sword God’s Heart. The chapter ended when hundreds of swords in the Sword Passage broke free and pointed toward the Sword God Hall.

• Nie Yun realized that he needed a Sword Dao matching one of the ancestors’ comprehensions to gain a sword’s recognition.
• Yun Xuan visited Chen Wenxu, whose remaining Soul Imprint was sustained by the Soul Gathering Lamp, and told him about Ye Jianxing and Nie Yun’s Sword God Trial results.
• Yun Xuan threatened Chen Wenxu with Xie Zhanghuizi and Ye Jianxing, then changed her questions to the Sword God Gate after he refused to reveal how to tame a monster.
• Chen Wenxu explained that opening the Sword God Gate required the old ancestor’s heart, and that he had left the route to the gate on his personal sword, which was in Ye Jianxing’s hands.
• Elder Ni Xu summoned Yun Xuan to the Sword Hall, where hundreds of sealed swords broke free and pointed toward the Sword God Hall.

Nie Yun avoided exposing himself as a Sword Dao Master by having Black Rock receive an inheritance in his place, then used the opportunity to confront the captured Ying Long. Ying Long recognized Nie Yun as Tong Yun and was stunned by how much his strength had grown.

• Nie Yun found that none of the ancestral Sword Daos matched his own, but circulating his Sword Dao Dantian made every sword in the Sacrifice Ground acknowledge him.
• Nie Yun released Black Rock and Little Tiger to seek an inheritance, and Black Rock resonated with an ancestor who had cultivated the heavy sword.
• Nie Yun hid inside the Purple Splendor Cave Mansion with Little Tiger and disguised Black Rock as Wen Chao, allowing Black Rock to receive the inheritance.
• Yun Xuan arrived with Ni Xu, noticed that the Sword Passage's swords had bowed in Nie Yun's direction, and ordered Ni Xu to bring Ye Jianxing to her.
• Nie Yun awakened the captured Ying Long and revealed his trial appearance, prompting Ying Long to recognize him as Tong Yun and marvel at his peak Spirit-level soul.

Nie Yun revealed that he was a Defense Master and forced Long Ying to explain how he had betrayed Thousand Illusions. Long Ying then disclosed that Yun Xuan had sent him to the Sacrifice Ground to search for an ancestor’s corpse, leaving Nie Yun facing a new mystery about her plans.

• Nie Yun revealed his identity and demanded that Ying Long explain what had happened to Huan Qianshou seventy years earlier.
• Ying Long boasted that his Defense Master talent made him immune to soul-searching, but Nie Yun revealed that he was also a Defense Master and threatened him.
• Ying Long admitted his real name was Long Ying and confessed that Yun Xuan had persuaded him to poison Thousand Illusions after he helped steal the Sword God's Sword for her.
• Nie Yun pieced together how Yun Xuan had used Thousand Illusions and Long Ying to protect her path to becoming Sword God Sect Master.
• Ying Long revealed that Yun Xuan had sent him into the Sacrifice Ground to search for an ancestor's corpse, relying on his Defense Master talent to avoid its deadly protections.

Nie Yun learned that Yun Xuan had secretly placed jade seals on the corpse of Feng Ge, a peak Void Breaking Realm expert, but Ying Long did not know why. After Black Rock completed the inheritance at half-step Void Absorption Realm, Nie Yun returned to the Sword God Hall and learned that Yun Xuan had assigned him and Ye Jianxing to a mission whose details remained unknown.

• Ying Long told Nie Yun that Yun Xuan had visited Feng Ge's corpse every five years to place a jade seal, though he knew nothing about her purpose.
• Black Rock finished receiving the inheritance and reached half-step Void Absorption Realm with a peak spirit-grade soul.
• Black Rock told Nie Yun that Yun Xuan had left with Ye Jianxing, prompting Nie Yun to disguise himself as Wen Chao and return to the Sword God Hall.
• Yun Xuan entered the hall with Elder Ni Xu and Ye Jianxing, then approved of Wen Chao's apparent late Heavenly Bridge Realm strength.
• Yun Xuan ordered Wen Chao and Ye Jianxing to undertake a mission together, and Ye Jianxing asked what the mission was.

Yun Xuan assigned Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing a secret, dangerous mission concerning the Sword God Sect’s survival, then ordered Ni Xu to implant Golden Silk Illusion Heart Gu in them to ensure their silence. After Ni Xu planted the Gu, Yun Xuan took the two disciples through a Teleportation Array, leaving their destination unknown.

• Yun Xuan told Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing that their mission was vital to the Sword God Sect and demanded secrecy, and both agreed to proceed.
• Yun Xuan ordered Ni Xu to capture Nie Yun while Ni Xu produced two Golden Silk Illusion Heart Gu and insisted the disciples take them.
• Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing objected to being forced to swallow the Gu, but Yun Xuan ordered Ni Xu to proceed and subdued Ye Jianxing when he tried to resist.
• Ni Xu planted a Golden Silk Illusion Heart Gu in each disciple, and Nie Yun failed to detect the insect after swallowing it.
• Yun Xuan dismissed Ni Xu, then opened a Teleportation Array and led Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing away.

Yun Xuan sent Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing through a Blood Demon Gate to retrieve Ancestor Feng Ge’s corpse from the Sword God Sect’s Sacrifice Ground, claiming it had begun transforming into a dangerous Zombie Demon. After they departed, Yun Xuan revealed her deeper ambition to gain power and kill Old Drunkard, while Elder Ni Xu appeared in the abandoned chamber.

• Yun Xuan told Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing to enter the forbidden Sacrifice Ground and bring out Ancestor Feng Ge’s corpse, which she said was becoming a Zombie Demon.
• Yun Xuan gave them a powerful suppression talisman and two strands of Defense Qi, warned them to keep the mission secret, and explained that they must avoid disturbing anything else in the burial ground.
• Nie Yun accepted the mission while doubting Yun Xuan’s motives, then recognized her use of the demon people’s Blood Demon Shuttle as suspicious.
• Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing entered the Blood Demon Gate and arrived in the Sacrifice Ground.
• Yun Xuan watched their arrival, vowed to kill Old Drunkard and defeat Huayun Sect’s Supreme Elders, then entered the Blood Demon Gate herself.
• Elder Ni Xu appeared in the dark chamber after Yun Xuan left.

Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing entered the Sacrifice Ground, where they used Defense Qi and a disguise from Elder Ni Xu to evade its dangers while searching for Feng Ge’s burial place. After Ye Jianxing used Yun Xuan’s talisman on the tomb, a terrifying aura rose from within, and Nie Yun suspected a Drought Demon was awakening.

• Elder Ni Xu opened a Blood Demon Gate to enter the Sacrifice Ground and help Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing.
• Nie Yun revealed his identity and showed Ye Jianxing that he had stolen the Sword God’s Sword.
• The pair used Defense Qi to resist the Sacrifice Song and realized Elder Ni Xu’s Golden Silk Illusion Heart Gu concealed their human aura from the Living Soul Soldiers.
• Nie Yun and Ye Jianxing reached Feng Ge’s Burial Sword Tomb after avoiding the soul soldiers and sword spirits.
• Ye Jianxing thrust Yun Xuan’s Dantian Acupoint Realm talisman into Feng Ge’s grave, triggering a violent tremor and an ominous aura that Nie Yun recognized as possibly belonging to a Drought Demon.