Chapter Summaries

A Demonic Fiend of the Outer Path sent empowered demons to seize the Hidden Dragon Pearl and went to confront the Bifang Bird in Su City. His forces trapped She Xilu and the Little Pomeranian in a false demonic domain, while he approached the Calligraphy and Painting Shop.

• The young man ordered more than twenty shadowy figures to cover much of Su City with false demonic domains and hunt the Heavenly Dog for the Hidden Dragon Pearl.
• The young man sensed the Bifang Bird inside a small shop in Su City's old district and suspected a Mortal Immortal might be hiding there.
• At Su City University, She Xilu watched a couple while Youchan complained that the young man was a steel straight man.
• Youchan warned She Xilu that Outer Demons were approaching, but the world around She Xilu turned gray and cut off her phone signal.
• Twenty-one empowered outer demon beasts appeared before She Xilu and the Little Pomeranian inside the false demonic domain.
• The young man crushed a stray ant and walked toward the Calligraphy and Painting Shop, where a blurred human silhouette showed inside.

Xiao Sui detected a false demonic domain in Qing City and sent Voice Transmission Talismans to summon cultivators before entering it herself. Inside, She Xilu unleashed Youchan’s demonic consciousness to repel the Outer Demons, but their leader ordered them to kill her for the Supreme Sovereign’s reward.

• Xiao Sui noticed the false demonic domain and feared the Demonic Fiend of the Outer Path had come for Little Snake or the Hidden Dragon Pearl.
• Xiao Sui sent out Voice Transmission Talismans, then entered the domain with her original body to protect She Xilu.
• She Xilu and Youchan faced a group of Outer Demons, and their leader declared the Hidden Dragon Pearl was absent and prepared to kill She Xilu.
• Youchan’s demonic consciousness emerged through She Xilu and forced eighteen second-rank Outer Demons to kneel.
• The old man recognized She Xilu as a reincarnated outer demon and ordered the others to kill her for a great contribution.

Xiao Sui arrived to protect She Xilu as three powerful Outer Demons revealed their true forms and attacked. As Xiao Sui faced the assault, she called on Earthly Immortals and other allies for help, and several received her summons.

• She Xilu and Youchan waited for Lin Zhishui until Xiao Sui arrived and drove back the pressure that had frightened the Outer Demons.
• Xiao Sui confronted the Outer Demons, and the hunched old man ordered them to reveal their true forms.
• Qiongqi, Kui Ox, and Taotie led the transformed beasts in a joint attack on Xiao Sui and She Xilu.
• Xiao Sui summoned Taoist Black Tortoise, who left his mountain cave to investigate the disturbance in Su City.
• Xiao Sui summoned Tianxingzi, who agreed to act in the mortal world, while Daoist Prisoner sent Living Yama, Blood Immortal, and Nine-Life Lord to Su City.
• Xiao Sui sent further summons to Master Kongchen, Zhu Chenghuo, Yuluo, Venerable Dragon Subduer, and other allies.

Xiao Sui and She Xilu were cornered by Outer Demons in a false demonic domain, but Master Kongchen, Tianxingzi, Taoist Black Tortoise, and cultivators from the Fifth Heavenly Pass arrived to reinforce them. As Taotie realized the Hidden Dragon Pearl had been entrusted to an unknown guardian elsewhere, it sensed that something was wrong.

• Xiao Sui held off the Outer Demons with the Moon-Covering Jade Disc while She Xilu worried that she could not help, and Xiao Sui prepared to use one of Senior Lin's calligraphy scrolls as the barrier weakened.
• Youchan warned Xiao Sui that another Demonic Fiend of the Outer Path was hidden in the false demonic domain and that it was not the Book Reader.
• Master Kongchen arrived and struck the Outer Demons with a golden Buddhist palm, then Tianxingzi used an Eight Trigrams Diagram to summon lightning and kill a porcupine-like beast.
• Taoist Black Tortoise blocked Qiongqi's claws with a tortoise-shell barrier, while Master Kongchen and Tianxingzi continued fighting the Outer Demons.
• Zhu Chenghuo, Fairy Featherfall, Venerable Dragon Subduer, and other Fifth Heavenly Pass cultivators arrived, forcing Taotie to reconsider whether to summon its Master.
• Taotie realized the Hidden Dragon Pearl was elsewhere with an unknown guardian and sensed an ominous premonition.

A young man came to Lin Zhishui’s Calligraphy and Painting Shop to take the Hidden Dragon Pearl, but Lin’s landscape painting trapped and killed him. As the young man’s final warning reached his companion, the companion remained inside the false demonic domain with Xiao Sui and the other cultivators.

• The young man sensed the Hidden Dragon Pearl in Lin Zhishui’s shop and entered, demanding it in exchange for leaving Heavenly Dog alone.
• Lin Zhishui refused to hand over the pearl and went to the bathroom as the young man prepared to attack.
• Taotie warned the young man that Xiao Sui and a group of cultivators were gathering at Heavenly Dog, while his companion revealed that She Xilu was a powerful reincarnated outer demon.
• Realizing he might be in danger, the young man grabbed for the Hidden Dragon Pearl, but Lin Zhishui’s landscape painting pulled him into its painted world.
• A mountain and water dragon crushed the young man and annihilated his primordial spirit after he transmitted a final warning to his companion to run.

Xiao Sui used Lin Zhishui’s calligraphy to summon a projection of Guanghan Palace and seemingly destroy Fortune-Teller, but he survived by sacrificing his second primordial spirit. Fortune-Teller then challenged Xiao Sui to use another treasure as he advanced on her and the others.

• Tianxingzi, Master Kongchen, and the cultivators at the Fifth Heavenly Pass killed several Outer Demon beasts while Taoist Black Tortoise defended them.
• Fortune-Teller emerged from underground, struck Taoist Black Tortoise’s barrier, and demanded that Xiao Sui let him kill She Xilu.
• Xiao Sui activated Lin Zhishui’s calligraphy, summoning the Lunar Star and a phantom corner of Guanghan Palace that froze Fortune-Teller and reduced him to powder.
• Youchan warned Xiao Sui that Fortune-Teller was still alive, and he reappeared after sacrificing his second primordial spirit.
• Fortune-Teller asked Xiao Sui whether she had another treasure like the calligraphy, while she fell silent.

Xiao Sui used a second calligraphy scroll to bluff the Fortune-Teller into abandoning his attack, but let him and the other Outer Demons leave after he warned of an even stronger demon in the mortal world. As they prepared to depart, Sword Immortal Lu appeared and told them not to leave.

• The Fortune-Teller expanded his false demonic domain and prepared to attack the exhausted cultivators.
• Xiao Sui revealed a second scroll bearing Lin Zhishui’s name, causing the Fortune-Teller to retreat and plead for his life.
• The Fortune-Teller warned Xiao Sui that a demon stronger than the Book Reader lurked in the mortal world, then persuaded her to preserve the scroll and let him go.
• The Fortune-Teller gathered Taotie, Qiongqi, Kui Ox, and the other Outer Demons and prepared to leave the domain.
• Sword Immortal Lu appeared on a nearby rooftop and ordered the Outer Demons to stay.

Lu Qingfeng revealed that he had been hiding nearby and confronted the Fortune-Teller, then used the Azure Edge Sword to destroy Kui Ox and severely wound the Fortune-Teller with one strike. Xiao Sui realized Lu Qingfeng had reached the perfected Great Golden Immortal realm of sword Dao and wondered whether Senior Lin had taught him.

• Lu Qingfeng told Xiao Sui he would eliminate the Fortune-Teller and the other Outer Demons, then explained that he had arrived before the others and witnessed the Palace of Vast Cold fragment destroy the Fortune-Teller’s Second Primordial Spirit.
• Lu Qingfeng declared that he intended to kill the Fortune-Teller, and Kui Ox charged at him with a powerful kick.
• Lu Qingfeng pointed toward the Fortune-Teller, and the Azure Edge Sword pierced Kui Ox, destroying his body and Primordial Spirit.
• The sword continued through the Fortune-Teller’s mirror-like divine ability and wounded him, causing his Outer Demon power to dissipate.
• Xiao Sui recognized that Lu Qingfeng’s sword Dao had reached the perfected Great Golden Immortal realm and wondered whether Senior Lin had taught him.

Lu Qingfeng defeated the Fortune-Teller, who revealed that he had comprehended the Great Luo Supreme Realm of the sword path with a senior’s help. The Book Reader died after intruding on Lin Zhishui, leaving the Fortune-Teller terrified and the cultivators to recognize that Senior Lin had protected She Xilu through Lu Qingfeng.

• The Fortune-Teller revealed Lu Qingfeng’s Great Golden Immortal sword realm, and Lu Qingfeng said a senior had helped him attain it.
• The Fortune-Teller begged for his life and threatened that the Book Reader would avenge him, but Lu Qingfeng remained cautious about the oath binding them.
• The Book Reader’s Primordial Spirit imprint vanished, and his False Demonic Domain collapsed after his Primordial Spirit was destroyed.
• Xiao Sui identified Lin Zhishui as the one who had killed the Book Reader after he went looking for the Hidden Dragon Pearl at the Bifang Bird.
• Lu Qingfeng realized Lin Zhishui had asked him to protect She Xilu, and Xiao Sui said the Book Reader’s death had removed a threat to her.

Lu Qingfeng and the cultivators forced the white-robed Fortune-Teller to reveal that at least seventeen Outer Path true fiends were in the mortal world, including one who had orchestrated the Lingyan Pavilion conflict. Before he could name her, she killed him remotely, then realized a Reincarnated Outer Demon had joined the cultivators.

• Lu Qingfeng weakened the Fortune-Teller, and Xiao Sui sealed his power with the Nine Heavens Divine Restriction so Youchan could question him through She Xilu.
• Youchan revealed a terrifying presence that convinced the Fortune-Teller she had once served the Supreme Sovereign, and he agreed to answer rather than risk annihilation.
• The Fortune-Teller said he had learned of seventeen true fiends in the mortal world, most of whom had arrived during the conflict over Lingyan Pavilion two thousand years earlier.
• The Fortune-Teller said a hidden female true fiend had engineered that conflict and passed him the Primordial Qi Refining Technique, but he was incinerated before he could name her aspect.
• The hidden woman spoke through the black flames, realized a Reincarnated Outer Demon had sided with the cultivators, and called the discovery interesting.

After the black-flame demon killed the Fortune-Teller, the False Demonic Domain collapsed and the cultivators discussed the threat posed by the black flames’ master. They concluded that Lin Zhishui was likely the hidden power keeping her in check, but Xiao Sui still decided they should report the danger to the Upper Realm.

• Xiao Sui sealed the stadium as Sword Immortal Lu destroyed the remaining Outer Demon beasts, and the cultivators returned to the real world.
• Xiao Sui and the other masters concluded that the black-flame demon had likely killed the Fortune-Teller through a restriction and possessed power approaching a Great Golden Immortal’s.
• Master Kongchen identified Senior Lin as Lin Zhishui, and Xiao Sui suggested that his presence explained why the mortal world had remained peaceful.
• Lu Qingfeng revealed that Lin Zhishui had guided him toward the Great Golden Immortal realm, convincing the other masters that Lin could restrain the black-flame demon.
• Xiao Sui said Lin Zhishui had more important matters than this threat, so she told the others to contact their Upper Realm lineages and report it.

After warning Lu Qingfeng and Xiao Sui not to ascend, Lin Zhishui had Lu Qingfeng protect She Xilu from the shadows. Youchan explained the Outer Demons’ power tiers and suggested the Master of Black Flame may have descended after a cultivator survived four previous fiends, leaving Xiao Sui worried about a hidden plot behind the first Dharma Body cultivator.

• Xiao Sui congratulated Lu Qingfeng on reaching the Great Golden Immortal level, and he said he would not ascend while the mortal world faced turmoil.
• Youchan relayed Lin Zhishui’s warning against ascending, and Lu Qingfeng agreed to stay and secretly protect She Xilu.
• Youchan explained that Lu Qingfeng’s strength was comparable to an Upper True Immortal and slightly above a third-class fiend, while the Master of Black Flame was a first-class fiend.
• Youchan proposed that the Master of Black Flame either cultivated to his level or descended after a cultivator survived four previous Outer Demon attacks.
• Xiao Sui connected the Master of Black Flame’s existence to a possible hidden plot against the first Dharma Body cultivator and decided to report the matter to the Upper Realm.

Lu Qingfeng learned that the sealed demon in Qing City was far stronger than the avatar he had spent five hundred years preparing to defeat, and he vowed to keep pursuing revenge for his senior sister. She Xilu returned home safely, while Lin Zhishui mistook Lu Qingfeng’s altered painting for petty jealousy and unknowingly threw away a painting that contained a deadly miniature world.

• Youchan told Lu Qingfeng that the seal in Qing City contained an existence beyond a Demonic Fiend of the Outer Path, and Xiao Sui recalled how its avatar had been stopped five hundred years earlier.
• Lu Qingfeng revealed that the Banished Immortal who repaired the seal was his senior sister and vowed to pursue revenge, while She Xilu offered to help him.
• Xiao Sui departed, and Lu Qingfeng vanished after promising to protect She Xilu from the shadows.
• Lin Zhishui found his ink painting smeared, assumed Lu Qingfeng had ruined it out of jealousy, and threw it away.
• She Xilu told Lin Zhishui she had been safe with Xiao Sui and Lu Qingfeng, and Youchan explained that the painting had contained a grotto-heaven world capable of killing the B-Book Reader.

She Xilu awakened the first heavenly pass of the Queen Mother of the West Dharma Body and gained a vision of Lu Qingfeng burning in black flames, warning her of a possible attack by the Master of Black Flame. She asked Lin Zhishui for more protective calligraphy and an Ink Wash Painting, while he mistakenly believed she wanted gifts for building connections and promised to support her from behind the scenes.

• She Xilu and Youchan discussed carrying Lin Zhishui's calligraphy and waiting to learn Sleeve Dimension before collecting more pieces.
• After matchmaking couples at a movie theater, She Xilu fully awakened the Marriage Princess and prepared to cultivate the Calamity-Breaking Princess's second heavenly pass.
• While cultivating, She Xilu foresaw Lu Qingfeng being consumed by black flames and told Youchan that the Master of Black Flame might be responsible.
• Youchan explained that Lin Zhishui's calligraphy alone might not stop a first-rank true fiend, and advised She Xilu to ask him for more calligraphy or an Ink Wash Painting.
• She Xilu asked Lin Zhishui for protective works, and he misunderstood her reasons before embracing her and promising to support her from behind the scenes.

She Xilu learned from Youchan that their past-life death and reincarnation had been arranged by a powerful Outer Demon, while Lin Zhishui wrote a farewell calligraphy piece for Mr. Qiao at his stationery shop. After Lin left, the black cat Cat Keeper revealed that the Outer Path planned to free the Demon Dragon and that she had already arrived.

• She Xilu asked Youchan about the hero in her first book and learned that he had killed them to send them into reincarnation after they asked to escape the Outer Path.
• Youchan explained that the Outer Demons and Heavenly Realm had opposing allegiances, and she suspected conflict within the Heavenly Realm over the Primordial Celestial Palace's destruction and the spread of secret teachings.
• Lin Zhishui went to Guanshi Plaza to buy supplies and discovered that Mr. Qiao planned to transfer his stationery shop.
• Lin Zhishui wrote Mr. Qiao a calligraphy piece, bought the remaining paper and ink, and exchanged farewells with him.
• After Lin Zhishui left, Cat Keeper confronted Mr. Qiao and ordered him to help gather the mortal world's Outer Demons for a coming war.
• Cat Keeper told Mr. Qiao that the Outer Path had found a way to destroy the Myriad-Age Dragon-Subduing Array and release the Demon Dragon, who had already arrived.

Boss Qiao refused Cat Keeper’s order to fight cultivators, and Cat Keeper’s second primordial spirit attacked him. A calligraphy spell banished the cat into a distant starry sky; Cat Keeper’s original body arrived, but the woman intervened and gathered the Outer Demons to discuss an important matter.

• Boss Qiao rejected Black Cat’s order, insisting that his freedom mattered more than obedience to the Outer Path.
• Black Cat used a false demonic domain and wounded Boss Qiao, but a calligraphy sheet from Boss Lin opened a hole to a distant starry sky.
• Boss Qiao used his black lotuses to weaken Black Cat, and the cat was pulled through the hole and destroyed.
• Cat Keeper’s original body arrived in a false demonic domain and prepared to attack Boss Qiao, but a woman’s black flame ordered him to stand down.
• The woman reaffirmed Boss Qiao’s freedom, summoned the other Outer Demons, and began addressing the gathered group.

The True Demons planned to break the Myriad-Age Dragon-Subduing Array and free the ancient Outer Demons, but first needed to deal with a reincarnated Outer Demon and her mysterious protector. After learning that Lin Zhishui had written the calligraphy that destroyed the Book Reader’s Second Primordial Spirit, the woman in the black flame realized he had come looking for her.

• The woman in the black flame outlined the plan to empty Qing City, rebuild the Hidden Dragon Illusory World Formation, and have her preside over it to break the Myriad-Age Dragon-Subduing Array.
• The Book Reader revealed that a reincarnated Outer Demon beyond True Demon Level had destroyed his Second Primordial Spirit and wiped out the Fortune-Teller’s group.
• The woman explained that killing the reincarnated Outer Demon could earn enough reward for her to break through the limitations of a True Demon.
• The Book Reader and Boss Qiao connected the mysterious protector to Lin Zhishui and the calligraphy piece that had banished the Cat Keeper.
• The woman concluded that Lin Zhishui had come looking for her.

Lin Zhishui attended Guan Shiyin and Xia Guyu’s charity fundraiser, where a random draw brought him onstage to meet them. His casual remarks convinced Guan Shiyin that he had secretly marked her, while Xia Guyu wondered whether he suspected Guan Shiyin’s hidden identity.

• Lin Zhishui saw the charity fundraiser poster at Guanshi Plaza and donated 299 yuan to enter the event.
• Xia Guyu and Guan Shiyin appeared onstage, and Lin Zhishui noticed Xia Guyu greet him while she spoke.
• Guan Shiyin stopped the random draw at Lin Zhishui’s number, 522, and he went onstage to claim the prize.
• Lin Zhishui shook hands with Xia Guyu and Guan Shiyin, but Guan Shiyin mistook his innocent greeting for a test or an attempt to mark her.
• Lin Zhishui declined the autographs and joked about their handshake, leaving Guan Shiyin convinced he had secretly placed a mark on her.
• Xia Guyu wondered whether Guan Shiyin was dangerous, while Guan Shiyin warned her original self that Lin Zhishui might know her true identity.

The Savior of the World told the True Demons how her second primordial spirit, Guan Shiyin, became a Banished Immortal and why Lin Zhishui might have discovered her identity. After failing to find the mark Lin Zhishui left on Guan Shiyin, the Savior of the World feared he had reached the legendary realm of primordial unity limitless.

• The Savior of the World explained that her second primordial spirit had once been an Outer Demon, ascended to the Heavenly Realm, and was banished to the mortal world six hundred years earlier.
• The True Demons learned that the Savior of the World had secretly destroyed the Demon Dragon's baleful qi avatar and that the Sword-Obsessed Fairy had repaired the array's crack.
• Guan Shiyin arrived and told the Savior of the World that Lin Zhishui had examined her consciousness, left a concealed mark, and seemed to know she was a reincarnated Outer Demon.
• The Savior of the World took human form and examined Guan Shiyin but could not find any trace of the mark.
• The Savior of the World suggested Lin Zhishui might have attained primordial unity limitless, leaving Guan Shiyin stunned.

The woman in white and Guan Shiyin called on Lord Thousand Eyes to find a concealed mark Lin Zhishui had placed on Guan Shiyin, but even his thousand eyes could not locate it. Lord Thousand Eyes concluded that Lin Zhishui had mastered primordial unity limitless and warned the True Demons not to provoke him while he sought guidance from the Demon Venerable.

• The woman in white summoned Lord Thousand Eyes through a Black Lotus of the Other Shore to examine Guan Shiyin and remove Lin Zhishui's concealed mark.
• Lord Thousand Eyes used his God-Breaking Eyes, opening all thousand eyes, but failed to detect the mark on Guan Shiyin.
• Lord Thousand Eyes deduced that Lin Zhishui had mastered primordial unity limitless and said even the Demon Venerable could only locate the mark, not remove it.
• Lord Thousand Eyes decided to report the situation to the Demon Venerable and warned the True Demons not to provoke Lin Zhishui.
• The woman in white ordered the True Demons to hide, restrain their subordinates, and avoid causing trouble.