Chapter Summaries

Li Xiaoya's group discovered and collected caches of demonic-qi-tainted treasures on Ancient Demon Mountain while continuing toward the pagoda. After they decided to leave, an unseen voice confronted them for taking its possessions.

• Li Xiaoya's group found a cavern full of blackened medicinal herbs and treasures, and Li Xiaoya recognized the unusual aura as demonic qi.
• Ma Weiqi proposed trading the treasures to Demonic Path cultivators, but Li Xiaoya postponed dividing them and had Ma Weiqi collect everything; Dong Gu Nü sealed the storage pouch.
• A tiny black beetle emerged after the group left and flew toward the pagoda, carrying word of their location to Xuandaozi, who hurried to seek help.
• The group found three more treasure caches, then decided to leave Ancient Demon Mountain because time was short and Zhang Hong and Li Xiaoya felt uneasy.
• As Li Xiaoya's group prepared to depart, a thunderous voice accused them of taking its things.

Li Xiaoya and his companions were surrounded by Demon Beasts in the Ancient Demon Mountain and fought their way toward an escape. As a swarm of Steel Armored Beetles closed in, the Black Qilin revealed a Transformation Stage ability by hovering in midair.

• Li Xiaoya had Dong Gu Nü withdraw the Soundproofing Formation, revealing that the group was surrounded by Demon Beasts summoned by the voice behind the Millennium Beast Calamity.
• Li Xiaoya led Zhang Hong, Dong Gu Nü, Ma Weiqi, and Li Xiangxiang down the cliff and fought through the attacking beasts with his powerful physical techniques.
• The Black Qilin King ordered a swarm of Black Armored Beetles to pursue the group, while Li Xiaoya and the others struggled to break through the encirclement.
• A pitch-black swarm approached, and Li Xiaoya recognized the creatures as Steel Armored Beetles and urged everyone to flee as he cut through the beasts with the Fire Dragon Sword.
• The Black Qilin leaped into the air and hovered above the Black Leopard, displaying a Divine Ability associated with Transformation Stage Demon Beasts.

Li Xiaoya and his companions fought through a horde of mutated Demon Beasts as the steel-armored beetles closed in and Dong Gu Nü was badly injured. They neared a breakthrough in the encirclement, but the Black Qilin attacked Li Xiaoya with a pursuing beam, forcing him to face it with the Fire Dragon Sword.

• Li Xiaoya used the Fire Dragon Sword’s Fire Dragon Spits Pearl to blast the approaching steel-armored beetles, then dodged a barrage of spells and counterattacked the hidden Demon Beasts.
• The steel-armored beetles recovered and rose again as Li Xiaoya carved a bloody path through the advancing beasts, whose blood gleamed purple.
• Dong Gu Nü was blasted toward Li Xiaoya by a black Fireball, and he caught her; she warned the group that a powerful airborne Demon Beast was approaching.
• Ma Weiqi and Dong Gu Nü identified the airborne threat as a Transformation Stage Demon Beast, but Li Xiaoya recognized it as the Black Qilin, possibly the Qilin King from Ancient Demon Mountain.
• As Li Xiaoya led the group toward a break in the encirclement, the Black Qilin fired a black beam that pursued him, and Li Xiaoya turned to meet it with the Fire Dragon Sword.

Li Xiaoya and his companions fought off the Black Qilin and the surrounding Demon Beasts as the Steel-armored Beetles arrived. The Fire Dragon Sword unleashed a devastating roar that knocked everyone unconscious, and Li Xiaoya ended the chapter unable to summon the hovering sword back to him.

• The Fire Dragon Sword absorbed the Black Qilin’s black beam while Zhang Hong, Dong Gu Nü, Ma Weiqi, and Li Xiangxiang defended Li Xiaoya from the Demon Beasts.
• The Black Qilin enlarged its attack, pinning Li Xiaoya in place as the Steel-armored Beetles caught up and Li Xiangxiang trapped them in a vine net they quickly devoured.
• The Fire Dragon Sword tore free from Li Xiaoya’s hands and released a tremendous roar that hurled the group, the Demon Beasts, and the Black Qilin away.
• Li Xiaoya recovered in a tree, found the Demon Beasts unconscious, and spotted the Fire Dragon Sword hovering over the devastated clearing.
• Li Xiaoya tried twice to summon the Fire Dragon Sword with Dream Attraction, but it did not move, so he started toward it.

Li Xiaoya captured the Fire Dragon Sword after subduing the strange force inside it, but the roar awakened the Black Qilin and the valley’s demon beasts. He led the Heavenly Dao Sect group toward a distant canyon, where they reached a forest and were shocked by what they saw.

• Li Xiaoya reunited with Li Xiangxiang and located Dong Gu Nü, Zhang Hong, and Ma Weiqi, while Ma Weiqi secretly picked up a white object.
• Li Xiaoya used a blood ritual to draw the roaring presence into the Fire Dragon Sword, making the sword return to its short form.
• The Black Qilin woke and rushed toward the group, but stopped as Li Xiaoya and the others fled.
• The Black Qilin’s roar began waking the scattered demon beasts, so Li Xiaoya led the group toward a distant canyon instead of the exit.
• The Black Qilin roused the beasts to pursue them, then descended with a sinister grin as Li Xiaoya and the others entered a forest and saw something that shocked them.

Li Xiaoya and his companions fled up a mountainside path as the Black Qilin sent Steel-armored Beetles after them. During the escape, Li Xiaoya discovered that his Necklace was missing, and the group continued climbing as the path’s growing gravity began to drain their strength.

• Li Xiaoya led the group up a narrow mountain path, while Dong Gu Nü laid formations to slow the pursuing Demon Beasts.
• The Black Qilin released Steel-armored Beetles, which devoured Dong Gu Nü’s wind formation and raced after the group.
• Li Xiangxiang and Zhang Hong noticed the growing pull of gravity, while Li Xiaoya realized his Necklace had vanished and decided to retrieve it later if they escaped.
• When the beetles broke through Dong Gu Nü’s remaining defenses, Li Xiaoya slowed them with a Fire Serpent and an Illusion Formation before catching up.
• Li Xiaoya finally noticed that his own steps were getting heavier, though the others had already spent much of their magic power resisting the force.

Li Xiaoya fought off the Steel-armored Beetles while the group struggled up a mountain under powerful gravity. The beetles finally lost their ability to fly, but then underwent a strange transformation.

• Li Xiaoya stayed behind to hold off the Steel-armored Beetles after they broke through Li Xiaoya’s Illusion Formation, using the Fire Dragon Sword to blast them back.
• Li Xiaoya realized the beetles’ armor resisted his sword and recalled that they were legendary insects known for their toughness and ability to devour spiritual qi.
• The Black Qilin sent the Black Leopard and the other Demon Beasts toward a pagoda, then remarked that an aura seemed to belong to an ancient one.
• Dong Gu Nü helped the exhausted Li Xiangxiang keep climbing, while Zhang Hong later joined them in supporting her.
• Li Xiaoya noticed the strange gravity slowed the beetles as well, and eventually used a Fire Serpent to knock many of them down so they could no longer fly.
• The grounded Steel-armored Beetles suddenly underwent a strange transformation, startling Li Xiaoya.

Li Xiaoya discovered that the Steel-armored Beetles were evolving and hurled them into the abyss to escape them. The Black Qilin pursued the group, but then plunged into the abyss after the beetles, giving Li Xiaoya and the others a chance to continue toward the top of the stairs.

• Li Xiaoya realized the fallen Steel-armored Beetles were evolving inside white cocoons and learned that their evolution could greatly increase their strength.
• Li Xiaoya split the cliff stairs beneath the cocoons, sending the Steel-armored Beetles and a chunk of rock into the abyss, then hurried after Zhang Hong and the others.
• The Black Qilin flew toward Li Xiaoya, who gathered the group and dodged its black beam as it collapsed the stairs behind them.
• Li Xiaoya caught Zhang Hong and the others with a red radiance as they fell, while Dong Gu Nü spat blood from her injuries and the heavy gravity.
• The Black Qilin plunged into the abyss after the Steel-armored Beetles, and Li Xiaoya led the group onward as Ma Weiqi spotted the top of the stairs.

Li Xiaoya and the others struggled toward the golden summit as black lightning ravaged the Southwestern Ancient City. The lightning was drawn toward the summit, while the Black Qilin rallied the demon beasts and Shao Shiqi waited outside the city for the storm to pass; Li Xiaoya and his companions stopped just short of the summit, uncertain whether to continue.

• Li Xiaoya carried Li Xiangxiang and supported Zhang Hong up the gravity-laden steps, while Dong Gu Nü put on golden armor and Ma Weiqi used azure light to ease his burden.
• The Black Qilin escaped the abyss as black lightning pursued him, then lightning began striking Ancient Demon Mountain and the Southwestern Ancient City.
• Black lightning turned aside toward the golden summit whenever it neared Li Xiaoya and his companions, so they continued climbing toward it.
• The Black Qilin summoned a black sphere that drew in nearby lightning, rode the Black Leopard, and led the demon beasts toward the pagoda.
• Shao Shiqi arrived at the city outskirts, judged the storm too dangerous to enter, and sheltered in a cave to wait it out.
• With only a few dozen steps left, Li Xiaoya asked the others whether they should continue toward the summit.

Li Xiaoya and the others were pulled into a golden hall by a powerful suction, where they recovered and discovered its floor could repair itself. As the group began discussing how to escape, Zhang Hong objected to Li Xiangxiang’s suggestion to split up.

• Ma Weiqi was swept toward the golden light, and Li Xiaoya, Li Xiangxiang, Zhang Hong, and Dong Gu Nü were pulled in after him.
• Li Xiaoya landed inside a vast golden hall and caught the others as they fell in, then changed clothes while they were unconscious.
• Li Xiaoya revived the group and tested the hall’s floor with the Fire Dragon Sword, finding that it healed itself immediately.
• Ma Weiqi tested the floor too, while Dong Gu Nü treated Li Xiangxiang’s strained arm and Zhang Hong examined the hall.
• Li Xiangxiang suggested that they look for an exit by splitting up, but Zhang Hong objected.

Li Xiaoya and the others searched for an exit from the Southwestern Ancient City and found a wall lined with sealed chambers. Ma Weiqi discovered a matching key and opened one chamber as the others found a Teleportation Formation nearby.

• Zhang Hong persuaded the group to stay together, and Li Xiaoya led them along the wall of numbered doors.
• Li Xiaoya guessed the doors opened sealed chambers, but the group found no way to unlock them and continued searching for an exit.
• The group discovered a qilin-like skeleton and Black Qilin scales, prompting Li Xiaoya to fear they might be trapped.
• Li Xiangxiang ran ahead in distress, while Ma Weiqi kicked the skeleton and uncovered a heavy black key.
• Ma Weiqi matched the key to a door and opened it, as Li Xiangxiang and Dong Gu Nü shouted that they had found a Teleportation Formation.

Ma Weiqi discovered a key to an artifact-refining chamber and lured Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong away from the Teleportation Formation, while concealing his hostile intentions. The chapter ended with Ma Weiqi urging Dong Gu Nü and Li Xiangxiang to join them, despite his unease about leaving them behind.

• Ma Weiqi found a key inside a Qilin skeleton and briefly considered attacking Li Xiaoya to seize the treasures in his Storage Pouch.
• Ma Weiqi closed the chamber door, then pretended to be excited about finding a key and called Li Xiaoya over.
• Li Xiangxiang chose to stay beside the Teleportation Formation with Dong Gu Nü, believing Li Xiaoya would share any treasures and worrying she would hinder the others.
• Ma Weiqi handed the key to Li Xiaoya, who confirmed it matched the chamber door and asked how Ma Weiqi had found it.
• Ma Weiqi explained that the Qilin could not use the Teleportation Formation, and Zhang Hong watched him suspiciously.
• Ma Weiqi secretly signaled Dong Gu Nü, then called for her and Li Xiangxiang to come over and share in any valuables.

Li Xiaoya, Zhang Hong, and Ma Weiqi entered an Artifact Refining Room and discovered a strange black cauldron as the door began to close on them. Meanwhile, Shao Shiqi learned from the Black Qilin King that the Heavenly Dao Sect disciples had been driven out of the city, though the Qilin concealed a sinister secret about his offspring.

• Ma Weiqi let Li Xiaoya open the Artifact Refining Room, and Zhang Hong pointed out the unusual black furnace inside.
• Shao Shiqi entered the ruined Southwestern Ancient City and contacted the Black Qilin King through Divine Sense Transmission.
• The Black Qilin King told Shao Shiqi that the Heavenly Dao Sect disciples had left after he drove them out, and Shao Shiqi flew east to look for them.
• The Black Qilin King privately gloated that his darling would complete its evolution in two hundred years.
• Li Xiaoya approached the black cauldron with Zhang Hong while Ma Weiqi stayed behind, and the chamber door began closing.
• Zhang Hong rushed for the closing doorway, but dozens of Wind Blades shot toward her.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong were trapped inside the sealed chamber while Ma Weiqi attacked them from outside. When Dong Gu Nü and Li Xiangxiang arrived, Ma Weiqi deceived them and launched another attack, leaving all three women swept into the air.

• Ma Weiqi attacked Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong as the metal door descended, but Zhang Hong dragged Li Xiaoya clear before it shut.
• Li Xiaoya discovered his hair was caught beneath the door, argued with Zhang Hong, and prepared to force his way out.
• Ma Weiqi complained that Zhang Hong had foiled his plan, then lied to Dong Gu Nü and Li Xiangxiang that a Mechanism Beast had trapped Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong.
• Dong Gu Nü warned Li Xiangxiang, but Ma Weiqi's wind blades struck her and left her badly injured.
• Dong Gu Nü attacked Ma Weiqi with the Bronze Cymbals, but he dodged behind her and struck back with a wind sphere, sweeping her, Li Xiangxiang, and the cymbals into the air.

Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong struggled to escape a sealed chamber as the Southwestern Ancient City began closing, while Ma Weiqi fled with stolen treasures and attacked Dong Gu Nü after she escaped with Li Xiangxiang. The city continued rising into a black void, and Ma Weiqi hurled a wind attack at Dong Gu Nü as an unknown cultivator approached.

• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong searched for a way out while Dong Gu Nü defended the injured Li Xiangxiang from Ma Weiqi and tried to reach them.
• The Southwestern Ancient City began closing, and Ma Weiqi escaped through a Teleportation Formation after leaving Spirit-Avoidance Pearls behind.
• Li Xiaoya damaged the chamber's door mechanism, triggering metal walls that trapped him and Zhang Hong inside.
• Shao Shiqi reached the rising city but was forced back by the black hole's suction, while Ma Weiqi emerged elsewhere with stolen treasures and Li Xiaoya's White Pearl.
• Dong Gu Nü escaped the city with Li Xiangxiang and fled when Ma Weiqi pursued them; as another cultivator approached, Ma Weiqi attacked her from behind with a ball of wind.

Dong Gu Nü and Huang Hua turned the tables on Ma Weiqi after he attacked them, wounding him and forcing him to flee. Huang Hua and Dong Gu Nü pursued Ma Weiqi, who threw Spirit-Avoidance Pearls in their path.

• Ma Weiqi blasted Dong Gu Nü and Li Xiangxiang into the sea with Wind Blades, then recognized Huang Hua as he arrived.
• Dong Gu Nü emerged from the water and warned Huang Hua, but Ma Weiqi attacked him; Huang Hua blocked the Wind Blades and countered with his golden sabers.
• Dong Gu Nü struck Ma Weiqi with her Bronze Cymbals, allowing Huang Hua's sabers to pierce his thigh and shoulder.
• Huang Hua ordered Ma Weiqi to return with him to face the Sect Master, but Ma Weiqi swallowed an azure elixir and fled.
• Huang Hua and Dong Gu Nü pursued Ma Weiqi, who hurled several Spirit-Avoidance Pearls at them, and Dong Gu Nü warned Huang Hua not to touch them.

Huang Hua rescued Dong Gu Nü and the badly injured Li Xiangxiang after Ma Weiqi escaped, then learned why Ma had attacked them. Elsewhere, Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong remained trapped in a shaking metal chamber, where repeated tumbles left them clinging to each other.

• Ma Weiqi escaped after detonating the Spirit-Avoidance Pearls and using an azure talisman to speed away.
• Huang Hua and Dong Gu Nü flew toward a deserted island to treat Li Xiangxiang, and Huang Hua explained how he had returned to the area.
• Dong Gu Nü began telling Huang Hua about the events after the group reached the Rear Mountain Pagoda.
• Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong failed to break through the metal chamber wall, and its sudden shaking threw Zhang Hong into Li Xiaoya's arms.
• Zhang Hong bit Li Xiaoya after he grabbed her by accident, but the shaking threw her back into his embrace as the chamber continued to rock.

As the Southwestern Ancient City vanished, Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong were tossed around inside a sealed chamber and ended up in an awkward confrontation. Meanwhile, a powerful old cultivator found Huang Hua on a remote island and moved toward the cave where Dong Gu Nü and the others were hiding.

• The Southwestern Ancient City disappeared, and Shao Shiqi flew east to search for the missing juniors while Dong Gu Nü followed Huang Hua to his island cave.
• Li Xiaoya cushioned Zhang Hong during the chamber's violent shifts, then accidentally groped her and saw her robe fall open before she slapped him.
• Li Xiaoya calmed himself with the Spirit-Calming Art as he and Zhang Hong fell into an uneasy silence.
• A Nascent Soul Realm old man arrived at Huang Hua's island and used his pressure to pin Huang Hua in place.
• The old man sensed two injured people in the cave and sent azure light toward it despite Huang Hua's plea for mercy.

Third Elder Shao Shiqi rescued Huang Hua, Dong Gu Nü, and Li Xiangxiang, then learned what had happened in Ancient Demon Mountain and took them back toward the Heavenly Dao Sect. Meanwhile, Ma Weiqi hid with Li Xiaoya’s pearl and tricked the imprisoned Feng Chenzi by claiming Li Xiaoya had met with disaster.

• Shao Shiqi healed Li Xiangxiang’s wounds with azure light and gave Dong Gu Nü a bottle of Healing Pills.
• Dong Gu Nü and Huang Hua recognized Shao Shiqi as the Heavenly Dao Sect’s Third Elder and told him what had happened in Ancient Demon Mountain.
• Shao Shiqi became furious when he learned Ma Weiqi had attacked his fellow disciples, went looking for him, and later flew back with Li Xiangxiang, Dong Gu Nü, and Huang Hua.
• Ma Weiqi stayed hidden in a damp cave, convinced that Huang Hua had stopped searching and pleased that he had gotten rid of Li Xiaoya.
• Ma Weiqi released the barrier around Li Xiaoya’s White Pearl and told Feng Chenzi that something terrible had happened to Junior Brother Li.

Feng Chenzi uncovered Ma Weiqi’s lies about Li Xiaoya and offered to teach Ma Weiqi divine abilities in exchange for meeting his conditions. Ma Weiqi eagerly accepted, unaware that Feng Chenzi considered him an easy target.

• Ma Weiqi told Feng Chenzi that Demonic Path cultivators had gravely wounded Li Xiaoya, but Feng Chenzi questioned his account and learned they had entered the Southwestern Ancient City.
• Feng Chenzi realized Ma Weiqi’s story conflicted with Li Xiaoya’s and accused Ma Weiqi of stealing Li Xiaoya’s bead.
• Ma Weiqi decided he no longer cared about the distinction between the Righteous and Demonic Paths and falsely claimed to be a disciple of the Fire Dragon Palace.
• Feng Chenzi recognized Ma Weiqi as a Heavenly Dao Sect disciple, then offered to teach him divine abilities if he accepted certain conditions.
• Ma Weiqi eagerly agreed to hear Feng Chenzi’s conditions, while Feng Chenzi privately judged him greedy and gullible.