Chapter Summaries

Ning Fan and Feng Qi destroyed Raging Tide while the others tried to deal with the growing demonic beasts. Chu Luohen attacked A-Yu, but she survived his blows and declared that Yin Yin would soon return to share her eternal life.

• Ning Fan destroyed Raging Tide, and Chu Luohen discovered that cutting the growing black masses only split them into more creatures.
• Chu Luohen asked Feng Qi and Ning Fan to try purification methods, then went to help Su Jiu fight the Demonic Sword.
• Su Jiu told Chu Luohen to seize the Magic Staff from A-Yu, and he attacked her with the Scarless Sword.
• A mingled demonic and spiritual aura blocked Chu Luohen's strike and absorbed his sword qi before disappearing.
• The black masses formed into headless, many-eyed demonic beasts, and A-Yu announced that her mission was complete.
• Chu Luohen pierced A-Yu, but her wound healed immediately as she declared that Yin Yin would return and share her eternal life.

Su Jiu and her allies faced A-Yu after the Demon Seed transformed her into a monstrous creature and unleashed the demonic beasts. A-Yu attacked, while Feng Qi and Ning Fan’s forces trapped the beasts and tried Su Jiu’s high-grade Purification Talismans, but the chapter ended as the beasts battered the formation.

• The Demonic Sword returned to the altar as A-Yu underwent demonization, becoming a branch-filled monster controlled by the Demon Seed.
• Su Jiu ordered Feng Qi’s Enforcement Hall disciples to use high-grade Purification Talismans and Ning Fan’s Shadow Pavilion disciples to form a Slaughter Formation.
• Su Jiu struck A-Yu with a Purification Talisman and confronted her about what Yin Yin would think of her transformation.
• A-Yu became a demonic beast and threatened to kill Su Jiu so Yin Yin would never learn what had happened to her.
• Ning Fan trapped the demonic beasts in his formation while Feng Qi’s disciples attacked with talismans, but the beasts struck back with enough force to shake the formation.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen struggled against the increasingly powerful A-Yu while Feng Qi’s group endured the demonic beasts’ assault. Su Jiu identified A-Yu as a mother brood hellfiend and concluded that killing her would make her offspring disappear.

• Feng Qi questioned whether Su Jiu’s talismans were defective, and she told him to wait.
• A-Yu coordinated her branches and tongues against Su Jiu and Chu Luohen, wounding Su Jiu and damaging both of their protective robes.
• Chu Luohen warned Su Jiu that the demonic beasts attacking Feng Qi’s formation had evolved, and she recognized them as brood hellfiends.
• Su Jiu explained that killing the mother fiend would cause her offspring to dissipate, and Chu Luohen intensified his attacks.
• Su Jiu agreed that they should send A-Yu on her way.

Su Jiu used blood-enhanced Purification Talismans to destroy the Demonic Beasts, while Chu Luohen diverted A-Yu’s vines by attacking her directly. A-Yu survived the purification, and the exhausted group continued fighting her nearly indestructible tongue.

• Su Jiu’s light orb drew A-Yu’s vines away from Chu Luohen, and Chu Luohen attacked A-Yu to draw some of them back.
• Su Jiu fed her blood into the orb, whose golden light devoured the Demonic Beasts and reduced them to black liquid before erasing them.
• Ning Fan and Feng Qi led their people into the battle, allowing Su Jiu to withdraw briefly and take a pill.
• A-Yu’s vines struck back, injuring Enforcement Hall disciples and forcing Su Jiu to return to the fight.
• Su Jiu and the others tried their arts, weapons, talismans, formation disks, and poison against A-Yu’s resilient tongue, but they could not destroy it.

Su Jiu prepared to use the Nine-Star World-Cleansing Pearl to stop A-Yu, but the Snow Sprite intervened and took over the fight. As the Snow Sprite proved far stronger than before, it drew an arrow and fired at A-Yu’s wildly whipping tongue, though Su Jiu suspected it was aiming at something else.

• Su Jiu saw that A-Yu’s remaining consciousness was sustained by her hope of seeing Yin Yin and decided to free her from the demon seed’s control.
• Su Jiu summoned the Nine-Star World-Cleansing Pearl despite Little Pearl’s warning that her depleted body could not withstand using it again.
• The Snow Sprite appeared in its original form, told Su Jiu to put the pearl away, and took charge of the battle.
• The Snow Sprite’s wind and snow slowed the demonic plants, allowing the Enforcement Hall and Shadow Pavilion disciples to cut down the vines more quickly.
• The Snow Sprite formed a bow and arrow from wind and snow and fired toward A-Yu, while Su Jiu suspected its true target was not the tongue.

Su Jiu and the others defeated the demon seed inside A-Yu, whose lingering soul then scattered. They realized someone else controlled the formation, and Su Jiu went to retrieve the Demonic Sword as the ground shook.

• The Snow Sprite struck the fissure in A-Yu's head, gravely wounding the demon seed and leaving it unable to control her body.
• Su Jiu used her innate origin qi to destroy the demon seed, and A-Yu's soul scattered while she mourned her lost chance to roam with Yin Yin.
• Su Jiu realized the formation was still operating and concluded that someone other than A-Yu controlled it, so she urged the others to leave.
• The ground shook violently, and Su Jiu decided to take the Demonic Sword from the formation; Chu Luohen suggested it might have been taken from Xia Jue.
• Su Jiu reached the center of the formation, where the Demonic Sword stood.

Su Jiu faced the Demonic Sword’s illusion, which confronted her with the people whose deaths were tied to her and tried to exploit her feelings about Wenren Qingtang and Silver Snow. She saw through the offer to resurrect Silver Snow and exposed the demon’s scheme, though the sword’s trial remained unresolved.

• Su Jiu grasped the Demonic Sword and was drawn into an illusion filled with hateful voices and apparitions of A-Yu, Yi Feng Chen, Hong Ming, and Ming Yun.
• Su Jiu recognized that the scenes were likely illusions created by the Demonic Sword and continued onward despite the accusations.
• A phantom of Wenren Qingtang followed Su Jiu and offered to bring Silver Snow back to life if she became his formation eye once.
• Su Jiu questioned the phantom’s claim and learned he had offered A-Yu a similar bargain to resurrect Yin Yin.
• Su Jiu explained that the demon seed would drain its host’s life even if the task succeeded, exposing the offer as a trap.

Su Jiu's consciousness was trapped inside the Demonic Sword, where a man wearing Wenren Qingtang's features tried to force her into a bargain. Outside, Chu Luohen fought the sword's Barrier while Feng Qi and Ning Fan searched for the mastermind's hideout, and the man attacked Su Jiu before she could question her suspicions.

• The Demonic Sword raised a Barrier around Su Jiu, repelled Chu Luohen, and kept her motionless inside the formation.
• Chu Luohen ordered Feng Qi and Ning Fan to search the other Demonic Sword formations for the mastermind's hideout, then attacked the Barrier with the Scarless Sword.
• Feng Qi explained that the linked formations had a main formation and reassured a disciple that Su Jiu's innate origin qi would protect her.
• Inside the Demonic Sword, Su Jiu realized the man had trapped her consciousness and challenged him to reveal his true identity.
• The man transformed into black mist and surrounded Su Jiu with Fierce Thorns, then attacked when she refused his bargain.

Su Jiu confronted Dao Lord Qing Ci and learned that he had died, been revived, and was working for someone who promised to help him ascend. After connecting his demonic qi and control of the Demonic Sword to the Gray-Clothed Man, she asked whether he was the one behind Qing Ci’s revival and actions.

• Su Jiu recognized Dao Lord Qing Ci beneath the black spikes and challenged him about his identity and his purpose in infiltrating her sect.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci hinted that Yun Huanling knew more about him and was hiding things from Su Jiu.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci said he had died once, been brought back to life, and agreed to help his savior in exchange for assistance ascending.
• Su Jiu realized that Dao Lord Qing Ci’s demonic qi and control of the Demonic Sword pointed to the Gray-Clothed Man, not someone from her sect.
• Su Jiu asked whether the Gray-Clothed Man had revived Dao Lord Qing Ci and made him carry out his plans.

Dao Lord Qing Ci taunted Su Jiu with hints about the Heaven-Connecting Tower and secrets among those close to her before she was pulled out of the Demonic Sword. She found herself trapped in a barrier with the Demonic Sword and a black vortex, and urged Chu Luohen to leave while she claimed she had another way out.

• Dao Lord Qing Ci refused to reveal who had saved him and teased Su Jiu about her trust in others and the Heaven-Connecting Tower.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci hinted that the Heaven-Connecting Tower was close at hand and that Su Jiu had twice overlooked someone beside her, then vanished as a black vortex appeared beneath her.
• Su Jiu emerged from the Demonic Sword onto a matching black vortex and saw Chu Luohen trying to break through a barrier with the Scarless Sword.
• Su Jiu joined Chu Luohen in attacking the barrier with ice and snow, but their combined effort only made it shudder briefly.
• Su Jiu told Chu Luohen to leave because she had her own way out, but he questioned her plan and insisted he was her elder.

Su Jiu and Chu Luohen struggled against the formation as a vortex pulled her underground, and Chu Luohen stopped exhausting his spiritual power after she told him Dao Lord Qing Ci had promised they would meet again. When an earthquake shattered the barrier and the vortex swallowed Su Jiu, Chu Luohen jumped in after her and realized the trap had been aimed specifically at A Jiu.

• Su Jiu kept using her arts to relieve pressure on Chu Luohen, even as the vortex dragged her farther down, and told him to stop before he damaged his foundation.
• Su Jiu told Chu Luohen that her consciousness had encountered Dao Lord Qing Ci inside the Demonic Sword, and Chu Luohen eased his efforts after she warned that his actions could become her heart demon and hinder her ascension.
• Su Jiu realized Chu Luohen might have recovered his seven emotions and six desires, but he deflected her questions and began regulating his breathing.
• An earthquake made Su Jiu sink faster and weakened the barrier, so Chu Luohen shattered it with the Scarless Sword and tried to pull her free.
• The vortex swallowed Su Jiu before Chu Luohen could save her, and he leaped in after her, realizing the trap had been planned specifically for A Jiu and thinking of Dao Lord Qing Ci.

Su Jiu woke in a false meadow and uncovered the hidden domain where Dao Lord Qing Ci had trapped her. After breaking through his disguise, she confronted him as the blood-red sun signaled worsening danger beyond the Demon-Subduing Land.

• Su Jiu woke alone in a meadow without spiritual or demonic qi, and an unseen voice claimed she was not human and asked whether she liked the world.
• Su Jiu rejected the voice’s claim that the meadow was a Sumeru space, summoned her Snowfall Domain, and recognized the place as a disguised domain.
• Su Jiu expanded her domain and eroded the hidden space, forcing the illusion to reveal an exquisite courtyard inside the Demon-Subduing Land.
• Su Jiu saw the blood-red sun above the courtyard and suspected the world outside the Demon-Subduing Land faced even greater turmoil.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci appeared and tried to speak with Su Jiu, who drew the Frostbound Purple Ultimate Sword and confronted him.

Su Jiu confronted Dao Lord Qing Ci, who revealed that Yun Huanling was not human and hinted that he had followed Su Jiu for his own reasons. The chapter ended with Su Jiu questioning how Qing Ci had arranged to accompany her.

• Su Jiu attacked Dao Lord Qing Ci, but he stopped her and made her cough up blood by revealing the unconscious Yun Huanling beside him.
• Su Jiu accused Qing Ci of abducting Yun Huanling and working with the Sword Demon, whom Qing Ci dismissed as a mere tool.
• Su Jiu concluded that Qing Ci was working with the Gray-Clothed Man, and Qing Ci hinted that his goal concerned something every cultivator in the Azure Realm wanted.
• Qing Ci called Yun Huanling nonhuman, and Su Jiu angrily defended him, insisting that he had flesh and blood and a beating heart.
• Qing Ci asked Su Jiu to guess why he had followed her, leading her to suspect that he had manipulated True Lord Yuxiu into arranging it.

Dao Lord Qing Ci revealed that he had used mental guidance to manipulate events throughout Su Jiu’s journey, including the time barrier meant to confirm Yun Huanling’s identity. He left Su Jiu reeling after declaring that Yun Huanling was the Heaven-Connecting Tower she had been searching for.

• Su Jiu confronted Dao Lord Qing Ci about the strange events on their journey, and he admitted that he had guided events at the village and the Vermilion Bird Sacred Hall.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci revealed that he had created the time barrier and guided Lin Jiaojiao to bring Su Jiu’s group there so he could confirm Yun Huanling’s identity.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci admitted that he had once tried to kill Yun Huanling while he was alone and said he had no intention of killing Su Jiu because the Azure Realm’s hopes depended on her.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci told Su Jiu that Yun Huanling was the Heaven-Connecting Tower, leaving her shocked as she recalled his unusual behavior and abilities.

Feng Qi led the Enforcement Hall disciples through the Demon-Subduing Land in search of the remaining formations and the Gray-Clothed Man, while the demonic plants remained unnaturally still. After finding a second Demonic Sword and refusing to split up, Feng Qi’s group discovered Xia Jue, who had appeared unharmed.

• Chu Luohen felt a wrenching pain in his chest as he prepared to look for another way to find Su Jiu, then left the Demonic Sword behind.
• Feng Qi and Ning Fan split their groups to search the Demon-Subduing Land for the remaining formations and the Gray-Clothed Man.
• Feng Qi found an unguarded formation with a Demonic Sword embedded in it, but could not pull the sword free.
• Feng Qi rejected the disciples’ suggestion to split up, warning them that the motionless demonic plants could still be dangerous.
• Feng Qi’s group searched the final direction and encountered Xia Jue, prompting the Enforcement Hall disciples to greet their Hall Master with relief.

Xia Jue told Feng Qi that the Gray-Clothed Man was a powerful pure demon and explained that his Seal-Breaking Formation was already running. He sent Feng Qi to gather powerful cultivators to face the demons that would awaken when the Demon-Subduing Land’s seal shattered.

• Feng Qi asked Xia Jue what had happened, and Xia Jue revealed that the Gray-Clothed Man had taken his Demonic Sword and was at least at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.
• Xia Jue told Feng Qi to return to the sect and ask for cultivators at the Body Integration Realm or above, while he went to rescue Ning Fan and the others.
• Feng Qi recounted how Su Jiu had rescued them from the Life-and-Death Tree, and Xia Jue identified the formation in the Demon-Subduing Land as a Seal-Breaking Formation.
• Xia Jue explained that the formation could bypass the Vermilion Bird Spirit Vein and break the seal without using its formation eye.
• Xia Jue revealed that the formation was already running and that the seal’s destruction would awaken the true demons buried in the Demon-Subduing Land.

Ning Fan found a Demonic Sword embedded in a formation and suspected it was the main formation, but a powerful Gray-Clothed Man injured his divine sense and appeared before the Shadow Pavilion group. The Gray-Clothed Man recognized Ning Fan’s connection to Xia Jue, and the chapter ended as he turned the yin wind into a black giant dragon.

• Xia Jue escorted Feng Qi’s group out of the Demon-Subduing Land, then returned inside alone.
• Ning Fan found a formation with a Demonic Sword whose killing intent suggested it might be the main formation.
• Ning Fan searched the area with his divine sense, but an unseen malicious force injured him and stirred up a fierce yin wind.
• The Gray-Clothed Man appeared in the storm, and Ning Fan recognized him as a figure he had seen before the Rift Passage was sealed and before Swallowing Heaven fell.
• Ning Fan signaled his deputy to conceal some of the group, but the Gray-Clothed Man swept his sleeve and shaped the yin wind into a black giant dragon.

Ning Fan and the Shadow Pavilion disciples faced the Gray-Clothed Man, who revealed that he was a demon and had controlled their movements from the beginning. As the demonic wind overwhelmed their defenses, Ning Fan resolved to act against an enemy far beyond their strength.

• The black Giant Dragon wounded hidden Shadow Pavilion disciples with identical slashes, and Ning Fan ordered the Deputy to cancel the plan and move everyone.
• Ning Fan recognized the Gray-Clothed Man as a nonhuman being whose demonic qi resembled the Four-Aspect Demon's, and the man admitted creating the Four-Aspect Demon seal.
• The Gray-Clothed Man revealed that he knew Ning Fan's movements, had arranged for the group to find him, and had been monitoring their progress.
• The Gray-Clothed Man said Su Jiu's interference had disrupted his plans, then unleashed a yin wind that cracked the disciples' Defense Talismans and destroyed Ning Fan's defensive formation.
• A Shadow Pavilion disciple urged Ning Fan to charge, and Ning Fan looked at the wounded and determined disciples before making up his mind.

Dao Lord Qing Ci revealed to Su Jiu that Yun Huanling was the Heaven-Connecting Tower’s reincarnated artifact spirit and would be erased when the tower returned to its original form. Su Jiu refused to accept that fate, while Qing Ci warned that opposing it would make her an enemy of the Azure Realm.

• The Gray-Clothed Man’s wind blades vanished as another man arrived and confronted him for breaking their agreement not to harm his people.
• Dao Lord Qing Ci told Su Jiu that Yun Huanling was the Heaven-Connecting Tower’s artifact spirit and that the tower’s awakening meant Yun Huanling would die.
• Qing Ci taunted Su Jiu with claims that the person beside her also kept secrets and shared a mysterious bond with her.
• Su Jiu asked why Yun Huanling would die, and Qing Ci explained that the Heaven-Connecting Tower could not retain an artifact spirit once it returned to its original form.
• Su Jiu rejected Qing Ci’s demand to accept the truth, and he warned that resisting would set her against the entire Azure Realm, including her own sect.

Ning Fan and the Shadow Pavilion disciples were mysteriously transported out of the Demon-Subduing Land and returned to their sect’s territory. Meanwhile, the Azure Realm’s worsening demonic crisis exposed a traitor within the Azure Tide Sect, while Su Jiu feared the people around her would abandon her.

• Su Jiu recalled Wenren Qingtang’s curse and feared that protecting Yun Huanling would leave her facing the entire Azure Realm alone.
• Ning Fan and the Shadow Pavilion disciples were swept through a whirlpool and emerged back in their sect’s territory.
• Ning Fan gathered the wounded disciples aboard a flying boat and set out to report what happened and seek help for his junior sister and the others.
• The red scar in the sky spread demonic qi across the Azure Realm, and demonic cultivators attacked sects and cities as some Dao cultivators turned traitor.
• After the Azure Tide Sect’s plan was leaked and its forces suffered their first casualties, Ning Hai and the Heavenly Origin Hall members realized a traitor sat among them.