Chapter Summaries

After surviving the collapse of the Great Void, Xu Xuan was caught in the manifestation of the Yuejue Sword Book and fought Liu Qi, who sought to steal his sword intent. As Liu Qi’s attacks closed in, Xu Xuan resonated with the Cave-Transmuting Sword Casket and awakened the Mysterious Womb Life-and-Death Yuejue Sword.

• Xu Xuan witnessed Lingyou, Elder Yuan, and others clash across the Great Void before the Yuejue Sword Book began to manifest.
• Gongsun Xi used a silver rope to ascend toward the scripture, while Liu Qi failed to follow and revealed his intent to kill Xu Xuan for his sword intent.
• Liu Qi used a Lesser Yin spirit talisman to suppress Xu Xuan’s sword intent, and the two exchanged powerful spells and thunder techniques.
• Liu Qi unleashed an imitation of Primordial Form Manifesting Light, breaking Xu Xuan’s Thunder Pool and wounding him.
• When the sword intent overhead briefly restored his sword arts, Xu Xuan attacked Liu Qi, but the talisman suppressed them again.
• Xu Xuan activated the Cave-Transmuting Sword Casket, resonated with the sword intent overhead, and drew the Mysterious Womb Life-and-Death Yuejue Sword into view.

Xu Xuan killed Liu Qi, but the power hidden within Liu Qi emerged as Qing'e, who borrowed Cinnabar Thunder before departing to confront Sword Immortal Wuyi. Xu Xuan then entered the Yuejue Sword Book and received the ancestral sword method Free and Unfettered Journey as he searched for teachings on life and death.

• Xu Xuan overcame Liu Qi’s spells and used the Immortal Executioner to kill him, only for a hidden immortal foundation to emerge from his remains.
• The immortal foundation transformed into Qing'e, a Purple Mansion cultivator, who subdued Xu Xuan and took Cinnabar Thunder.
• Qing'e healed Xu Xuan and left to discuss the sword with True Person Wuyi, while Tiantuo suspected she had caused his death.
• Xu Xuan rode into the Yuejue Sword Book and received the sword method Free and Unfettered Journey.
• Tiantuo urged Xu Xuan to find the sword discourse on the Dao of life and death, and Xu Xuan searched among the scripture’s characters.

Xu Xuan studied the Yuejue Sword Lineage’s ancient scriptures, survived a dangerous encounter with the Root of Heaven and Earth, and witnessed Qing'e return his damaged Cinnabar Thunder. True Person No Doubt rescued Xu Xuan and Lü Guan, identified Xu Xuan’s immortal foundation, and then discussed King Lingyou and the unsealed Yuejue Sword Book with the King of Misty Mountain.

• Xu Xuan nearly burned away his flesh while reading the Root of Heaven and Earth, but Tiantuo woke him and directed him to the Sword Exposition on Life-and-Death Qi.
• Xu Xuan memorized the sword exposition and saw visions of the Yuejue lineage’s history before reaching a Great Void where Greater Yin clashed with Victory Gold.
• Qing'e defeated the Victory Gold sword light and returned Xu Xuan’s badly damaged Cinnabar Thunder.
• True Person No Doubt rescued Xu Xuan and Lü Guan, named Xu Xuan’s Altar Thunder immortal foundation Heaven-Commanding Tribulation, and sent them toward Yue.
• The King of Misty Mountain told No Doubt that King Lingyou was dead and that the Yuejue Sword Book had been unsealed, though its core inheritance had not appeared.

Xu Xuan arrived at Peaceful Mountain with Lü Guan and learned about the sect’s rules, sword tradition, and Lü Guan’s cultivation. As they went to meet Ying Liu and arrange access to the Victory Origin Immortal Stele, Xu Xuan saw the grave of Lü Guan’s son, Lü Si, outside True Person Wuyi’s dwelling.

• Lü Guan brought Xu Xuan to Peaceful Mountain and explained how its main mountain and outer temples governed Yue Province.
• Lü Guan told Xu Xuan that the sect’s rules had been enforced after its patriarch ordered Purple Mansion cultivators executed.
• Stubborn Lion recognized Xu Xuan as a sword cultivator, and Lü Guan sent him to tell Ying Liu that Xu Xuan had arrived and the Victory Origin Immortal Stele could be opened.
• Xu Xuan and Lü Guan discussed sword cultivation, and Lü Guan explained why he practiced greater yin and how his grandfather had rebuilt his cultivation after leaving the sect.
• Lü Guan went with Xu Xuan to meet Ying Liu, and Xu Xuan saw the grave of Lü Guan’s son, Lü Si, near True Person Wuyi’s dwelling.

Xu Xuan and Lü Guan visited True Person Qingyue to seek access to the Origin-Victory Stele, which could reveal Xu Xuan’s Sword Lineage but might also connect him to dangerous remnants. Xu Xuan struck the stele with Calamity-Splitting, and the name [upper successive union] began to appear.

• Lü Guan told Ying Liu that they had safely retrieved the [Qian Metal Military Manual], then asked True Person Qingyue to open the Origin-Victory Stele while Xu Xuan accompanied him.
• As Stubborn Lion carried them to Qingyue’s residence, Lü Guan explained Stubborn Lion’s origins, True Person Ru Su’s history, and the founding emperor True Lord [Yingli].
• True Person Qingyue warned that the stele could link Xu Xuan to dangerous Sword Lineages, then asked whether he knew how Wen Fufeng died.
• Xu Xuan said the Immortal Sect had issued a decree ordering Wen Fufeng’s death, so Qingyue took him and Lü Guan to the Origin-Victory Stele.
• Xu Xuan struck the stele with his tribulation sword intent, and [Calamity-Splitting] appeared as the name [upper successive union] began to form.

Xu Xuan learned that his sword lineage came from Tribulation Command Manor and that revealing it could draw others’ attention to the lineage’s hidden remnants. After discussing the dangerous inheritance he had chosen, he left Victory Cloud Peak wary of Peaceful Mountain and the factions watching him.

• True Person Qingyue identified Xu Xuan’s [Tribulation Law] sword lineage as a direct transmission from Tribulation Command Manor and explained its connection to Upper Successive Union.
• After Xu Xuan and Lü Guan left, True Person Lingjing asked Qingyue whether True Lord Upper Successive Union still responded, and lightning filled the hall.
• Tiantuo warned Xu Xuan that revealing his lineage could prompt others to probe Tribulation Command and Upper Successive Union, and that their remnants might affect him.
• Lü Guan asked Xu Xuan which inheritance he had chosen, and Xu Xuan disclosed that it was the 'Sword Exegesis of Life-and-Death Qi.'
• Lü Guan warned Xu Xuan that the scripture involved paired swords and underworld transformations, and Xu Xuan departed after further discussion.

Fan Huayan and Fan Qingzhu explained Long Cloud Gate’s history and left to rebuild the sect, returning Liu Yanyu to Xu Xuan. Xu Xuan brought the fire crane to an artifact workshop, where he caught Wang Cheng Yan and Wen Guang experimenting with a demonic Soul Banner.

• Xu Xuan met Fan Huayan, Fan Qingzhu, and Xianghe as they arrived with the fire crane, and Fan Qingzhu announced that they intended to leave.
• Fan Huayan and Fan Qingzhu explained that her Transformation-Aspect Woman constitution was linked to Long Cloud Gate’s troubled bloodline and the divided Merciful Yuanjun.
• Xu Xuan gave Fan Qingzhu a letter to collect artifacts and spiritual treasures, and Fan Huayan returned Liu Yanyu to the sect while asking about her ancestral jade pendant.
• Fan Qingzhu, Fan Huayan, and Xianghe departed, and Xu Xuan took Liu Yanyu to Desolate Awakening Peak to find her duties in the sect.
• Xu Xuan discovered Wang Cheng Yan and Wen Guang secretly experimenting with Cihai’s Soul Banner alongside the Scenery Sun Great Furnace and Cinnabar Thunder.

Xu Xuan inspected the artifacts Wen Guang and Wang Cheng Yan had refined, approved a safer redesign for the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner, and examined Cinnabar Thunder’s transformation into a Thunder Pool. The chapter ended with Xu Xuan satisfied with the pool’s sword-forming power but still wondering how to find the spark of life remaining after lightning’s total annihilation.

• Xu Xuan questioned Wang Cheng Yan about the Soul Banner and learned how he and Wen Guang had condensed Heavenly Demon qi into a demonic seed inside Cihai’s Monastic Saber.
• Xu Xuan discussed the risks of using Heavenly Demon artifacts with Tiantuo, then restricted who could handle them and forbade collecting human souls.
• Wen Guang proposed remaking the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner as a respectable storage artifact for Fa Yan, and Xu Xuan approved the plan.
• Xu Xuan assigned Flamefeather to help in the Forge Rectitude artifact chamber after Wen Guang corrected the fire crane’s mistaken greeting.
• Xu Xuan examined Cinnabar Thunder’s new Thunder Pool, which could manifest its lightning as many Heavenly Swords, and tested its different sword forms.
• Xu Xuan found the new Thunder Pool highly satisfactory but remained troubled by how to seek the spark of life left after lightning’s utter annihilation.

Xu Xuan investigated the mysterious Green-Wasteland Abbey and learned that its late Foundation Establishment leader was called the Earth Desolation Daoist. After refusing to involve himself in the Hollow Sword Gate conflict, he left the Duan Clan while Duan Pingdu and He Xin discussed the abbey’s strange destiny and the approaching upheavals.

• Xu Fayan told Xu Xuan that he had reached the eighth level, mastered the [Great Sun Baleful-Mara Radiant Body], and discovered that the Green-Wasteland Abbey had settled near the Duan Clan.
• Xu Xuan investigated the abbey and learned from Tiantuo that its hidden leader was at Foundation Establishment Late Stage, had an unusual Immortal Foundation, and seemed unlike a human.
• Duan Pingdu met Xu Xuan and identified the abbey’s leader as the Earth Desolation Daoist, then told him that Wei Yan had returned and attacked a Hollow Sword Gate station.
• Xu Xuan refused to interfere in the Hollow Sword Gate conflict and left the Duan Clan, while Duan Pingdu insisted that Xu Xuan would eventually become involved.
• Duan Pingdu and He Xin suspected the Earth Desolation Daoist carried a dangerous Azure Locust destiny and agreed to watch events as the time for upheaval drew near.

Liang Xilan completed a blood-fueled breakthrough and ordered Yuan Lu and Liang Yuanming to find Wei Yan, but Wei Yan ambushed and killed them before Wu Heyong revived them and overwhelmed him with poison. Xu Xuan arrived to save Wei Yan and confronted Wu Heyong, preparing to kill him.

• Liang Xilan reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment through a transformation fueled by starlight and Blood Qi, then ordered Liang Yuanming and Yuan Lu to find Wei Yan and arrange his death.
• Yuan Lu and Liang Yuanming flew toward the Wu Clan’s territory, where Wei Yan killed them with the Blood Drinker Sword.
• Wu Heyong revived Yuan Lu and Liang Yuanming, then used Five-Colored Poison Light and poisonous insects to subdue Wei Yan.
• Xu Xuan arrived and shattered the poison surrounding Wei Yan with Silver Filament Lightning, revealing himself to Wu Heyong.
• Wu Heyong challenged Xu Xuan over his intervention, and Xu Xuan summoned the Tribulation Pool and declared that Wu Heyong would die.

Xu Xuan fought Wu Heyong, whose insect armor and Five Poisons Dao Body withstood repeated attacks before Xu Xuan’s sword art nearly destroyed him. Wu Heyong escaped with a Purple Mansion Escape Talisman, leaving Xu Xuan to investigate which Purple Mansion cultivator was backing him.

• Wei Yan accepted Xu Xuan’s permission to leave after recovering with Blood Drinker, while Xu Xuan acknowledged his guilt over Zuo Hemo’s death.
• Xu Xuan and Wu Heyong fought, and Xu Xuan used the Thunder Pool and Cinnabar Thunder to drive Wu Heyong back despite his formidable body and insect armor.
• Tiantuo warned Xu Xuan about Wu Heyong’s poison, so Xu Xuan put on the Gu Bo feather robe and continued the battle.
• Xu Xuan’s execution art stripped away Wu Heyong’s armor, magical power, and physical strength, but Wu Heyong rebuilt his body with poisonous creatures and revealed his Five Poisons Dao Body.
• Wu Heyong declared the score settled and warned Xu Xuan not to meddle in the Hollow Sword Gate’s affairs before escaping with a Purple Mansion Escape Talisman.
• Xu Xuan headed toward Green Peaks, determined to identify the Purple Mansion cultivator behind Wu Heyong.

Wanjin confronted Venom-Folding in the Great Void, then turned his attention toward Green Peaks as Xu Xuan investigated Wu Heyong’s plans and prepared to protect Wen Si'an. The chapter ended with Wanjin arriving near Xu Xuan’s door while Tiantuo warned him that a Purple Mansion cultivator was nearby.

• Wanjin used the True-Heart Golden Thread to monitor Wei Yan while watching the battle below Red Cloud.
• Venom-Folding challenged Wanjin over his interference, but withdrew after recognizing Golden Scale as Tai Zhen's artifact.
• Song Zongxiang warned Wanjin and Venom-Folding not to fight directly, and Wanjin left for Green Peaks.
• Xu Fayan cultivated the Great Sun Baleful-Mara Radiant Body and resolved to advance to Foundation Establishment, unsettled by a vivid nightmare.
• Xu Xuan considered Wu Heyong’s interest in Wen Si'an and the Hollow Sword Gate’s hidden legacy while Tiantuo warned him that Wanjin had arrived nearby.

Xu Xuan explored the stabilized Scarlet Radiance Abode while Wanjin’s golden winds supported it from the Great Void. A jade slip revealed that the Cosmic Stars Dao lineage once encompassed time, and a mysterious message appeared before Wanjin confronted Constant Light outside.

• Wanjin’s golden winds spread through the Great Void, and Xu Xuan entered the Scarlet Radiance Abode after its token summoned him.
• Xu Xuan explored the ruined residence with Constant Light and Cinnabar Thunder, then followed Constant Light to the Qi Sea Tower.
• Xu Xuan found records stating that Yaokong built the tower and that the Cosmic Stars Dao once included the Cosmic Way, which the Immortal Lord had stripped away.
• Constant Light illuminated a jade slip, revealing the golden words “I depart”; Xu Xuan absorbed their aura before the slip crumbled to ash.
• Wanjin sensed the spiritual sword’s response, invoked Constant Light, drew Golden Scale, and paid his respects to [Tai Zhen], but the Great Void remained still.

Xu Xuan explored the ruined Scarlet Radiance Abode and uncovered clues about its lost history and the treasures taken from it. He learned that the essences of Constant Light and Star River were hidden in the Hollow Sword Gate’s Radiant Sky Abode, leaving him determined to intervene despite fearing he could not protect them.

• Xu Xuan found that the Demon-Stilling and Truth-Seeking Halls had been stripped of their spirituality and reflected on the mysteries surrounding the Shu Kingdom’s fall and the Profound-Enshrining Palace.
• Xu Xuan reached the Heavenly Fire Gathering Radiance Vista, where Tiantuo explained that a Golden Core spiritual fire had been taken away, leaving its radiance behind.
• As the abode shifted and forced Xu Xuan onward, he entered the Free and Unfettered Sword-Walking Mystic Vista and saw a strange creature transform from a Mystic Whale into a Roc.
• Constant Light stirred the sea of swords and revealed that the essences of Constant Light and Star River were hidden in the unopened Radiant Sky Abode of the Hollow Sword Gate.
• The abode’s golden winds swept Xu Xuan back to the peak, where he resolved to reclaim the two sword essences and discussed the danger with Tiantuo.

Xu Xuan searched for Wei Yan and arranged for Liu Xingfang to become the Discipline Warden Elder while preparing to support Wei Yan’s return to the Void Sword. He then visited Wen Si'an, who had reached the ninth level and explained the powers and limits of her revived Fu Yi bloodline.

• Xu Xuan told Liu Xingfang to spread word that Wei Yan might seek refuge in the Great Red Abbey and to investigate the Void Sword Gate from within.
• Xu Xuan appointed Liu Xingfang Discipline Warden Elder and gave him the new Discipline Warden Token and the [Essentials of Fuxi Sword Mystic Qi].
• Xu Xuan went to Colorful Cloud Peak and found Wen Si'an had emerged from seclusion after breaking through to the ninth level.
• Wen Si'an showed Xu Xuan her true one light scales and explained that her revived Fu Yi bloodline could awaken thirty-six manifestations, though they could not sustain cultivation realms on their own.
• Xu Xuan told Wen Si'an about the Hollow Sword Gate and the Wu Clan as they walked together.

Wei Yan stayed hidden in Du Wang City while listening to cultivators argue over Xu Xuan and Zhou Shi. When Qi Zhengyi heard Daoist Changye disparage Great Scarlet, he confronted him and challenged him to fight outside the city, leaving the tavern crowd jeering as Wei Yan watched.

• Wei Yan reflected on his new fourth-grade immortal foundation and learned that Protector Xiang had taken Qi Wen to Shu.
• Rogue cultivators in the Fragrant Dew tavern argued over whether Xu Xuan or Zhou Shi was the stronger Sword Immortal.
• Qi Zhengyi arrived with two junior brothers and heard Daoist Changye mock the advantages enjoyed by sect disciples.
• Qi Zhengyi confronted Daoist Changye, lifted him by the shoulder, and challenged him to fight outside without using his spear.

Qi Zhengyi defeated Daoist Changye in a duel, but a strange disturbance in his left ear revealed a hidden Five-Colored Centipede. Wei Yan followed Qi Zhengyi and his junior brothers toward Green Luo after deciding that Du Wang was no longer safe and learning that the Great Red Abbey's abbey master wanted to see him.

• Qi Zhengyi overwhelmed Daoist Changye with his spear and lightning, but a sudden metallic ringing in his left ear made him drop his weapon and gave Changye a chance to attack.
• Qi Zhengyi recovered, broke through Changye's fire serpent, and struck him down before leaving with his two junior brothers.
• Qi Zhengyi's companions watched a sword light and ghostly qi emerge from his left ear, followed by a Five-Colored Centipede that crumbled into ash.
• Wei Yan, hidden nearby, heard an unseen voice advise him to go to Green Luo rather than Du Wang and saw the Great Scarlet disciples summon help with a token.
• Wei Yan learned that the Great Red Abbey's abbey master wished to see him, then merged into the earth veins to follow Qi Zhengyi and his companions.

Xu Fayan discovered that a strange presence had entered Qi Zhengyi’s left ear and summoned Xu Xuan, who followed it inside and confronted Empty-Handed. Empty-Handed offered to serve Xu Xuan, but Xu Xuan denied knowing him and told him to leave.

• Xu Fayan examined Qi Zhengyi’s injured ear with a jade centipede, but a sword light destroyed it and an unknown presence drew Xu Fayan inside.
• Xu Xuan defeated Wu Heyong and returned to the sect, where he learned Xu Fayan had disappeared into Qi Zhengyi’s ear.
• Xu Xuan entered Qi Zhengyi’s ear and fought alongside Xu Fayan until Empty-Handed emerged from it.
• Xu Xuan summoned Liu Xingfang to check the treasury and questioned Empty-Handed about his arrival.
• Empty-Handed offered to serve Xu Xuan, but Xu Xuan claimed not to know him and asked him to leave.

Xu Xuan accepted Empty-Handed, a historical paper likeness from White Paper Blessed Land, as a temple protector and learned of his powerful Netherworld-based abilities. He then allied with Wei Yan to reclaim the Hollow Sword Gate by first taking down the Wu Clan, while wondering how his plans would eventually bring him into conflict with the Zhu Clan.

• Empty-Handed explained that White Paper Blessed Land created him as a paper likeness of the Great Feng assassin and described the origins of Gongsun Xi and Elder Yuan.
• After consulting Tiantuo, Xu Xuan appointed Empty-Handed as a protector in exchange for control of the page recording his history; Empty-Handed revealed his concealment and assassination skills.
• Xu Xuan met Wei Yan, told him that Heavenly Poison Mountain had extinguished his master's spiritual perception, and warned him not to seek revenge yet.
• Xu Xuan and Wei Yan agreed that Xu Xuan would hold the Dharma Sword Star River, which might be restored to a Purple Mansion Spirit Sword, until the Hollow Sword Gate could reclaim it.
• Xu Xuan and Wei Yan planned to seize the Wu Clan before moving on the Hollow Sword Gate, with Xu Xuan intent on killing Wu Heyong.
• Xu Xuan considered the temple's expansion into the Plainlands and wondered what Zhu Yucheng was seeking before turning back to plans against the Wu Clan.

Xu Xuan led the Guarding the Azure Camp in an assault on the Wu Clan, which surrendered after Empty-Handed killed Wu Hezhi and Xu Xuan broke its formation. Wu Heyong then revealed that he had taken control of the clan and destroyed Lushwood in a formation-powered escape, directing Xu Xuan to Ascending Stars Mountain.

• Wu Hezhi questioned Wu Qinghe about the clan's plans while they inspected Lushwood's formation.
• Xu Xuan arrived aboard the Unmoored Boat, and Empty-Handed secretly killed Wu Hezhi before Xu Xuan and Liang Yong breached the formation.
• Wu Shanchan surrendered the Wu Clan, and Wu Qinghe revealed Wu Heyong's ties to the Void Sword and a Great Shaman called [Venom-Folding].
• Poisonous insects emerged from the Wu Clan members as Wu Heyong spoke through them, dismissing his clansmen and challenging Xu Xuan to find him at Ascending Stars Mountain.
• The Wu Clan members' Dharma Bodies merged into the [Rigid Branch Golden Flow Formation], which destroyed Lushwood and left only withered branches and fallen leaves.