Arc 53Chapters 1301–1325
No recap yet.
No recap yet.
Xu Taiping repeatedly hurled himself at the Heavenly Gate, enduring the heavenly might and the destructive effects of the pills rather than abandon his resolve. After finally resisting the gate’s recoil and continuing to strike, he transformed into a white dragon and began to loosen the gate.
Xu Taiping endured heavenly lightning and true fire while forcing the Heavenly Gate open, despite his dragon-form body being battered and burned. As Fairy Lingyue weighed a scroll that could save him but banish him from the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, Xu Taiping kept tapping the gate with his half-burned tail.
Xu Taiping forced the Heavenly Gate open through sheer persistence, but Heavenly Might destroyed his body and left him falling toward death. An aged voice reminded him that he still had a sword, and he pointed his skeletal fingers at the gate, vowing to open it with that sword.
Xu Taiping used Ninth Uncle’s Hidden Sword technique to shatter the Heavenly Gate and ascend to the twelfth layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower. The Tower Spirit then granted him access to the thirteenth floor, where he could meet Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland’s true spirit, alarming the Abyssal Pavilion.
Xu Taiping reached the Twelfth Layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, where Dongfang Jing and Blade Slave restored his strength, raised his primordial spirit realm, and gave him a treasured ring left by Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland. He learned that he could ascend to the thirteenth layer and question the Great Emperor, though Dongfang Jing and Blade Slave could not accompany him.
Xu Taiping reached the Thirteenth Layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, where Dongfang Jing told him the bronze bell could summon Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland’s true spirit. As Thousand Mechanisms City faced a demonic assault, Xu Taiping rang the Heaven-Questioning Bell, and its chime resounded across Mysterious Wasteland Heaven.
Xu Taiping rang the Heaven-Questioning Bell and called for Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland to descend, while observers in True Martial Heaven warned that inviting a Heavenly Immortal could bring deadly Heavenly Dao backlash. Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland appeared above the tower, shattered the demonic clouds, and engulfed the tower in golden light.
The Eight Emperors used the Nine Abysses' Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation to trap Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland's true spirit and suppress his Great Sun Golden Flame. The Golden Crows he unleashed shattered the formation and left the Eight Emperors' swords cracking.
Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland destroyed the tribulation cloud but could not attack the Eight Emperors again without risking being driven back to the upper realm. He told Xu Taiping that a hidden treasure could let him act undetected and asked Xu to help, leaving Xu to face the cost of opposing the Nine Abysses Demon Domain.
Xu Taiping asked Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland to explain why he needed his help against the Nine Abysses Demonic Beasts. Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland revealed that Xu Taiping would have to bear the Heavenly Dao’s backlash when he acted, then brought out the Netherworld Book of Life and Death as the key to his plan.
Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland explained that Xu Taiping could use the Book of Life and Death to kill the eight emperors, but would have to sacrifice fortune and bear their sealed souls in endless agony. Xu Taiping asked for time to consider the full price before deciding whether to save Mysterious Wasteland Heaven this way.
Xu Taiping struggled to decide whether to use the Book of Life and Death, knowing its price could ruin his cultivation and bring the Nine Abysses’ vengeance. Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland’s touch brought back a childhood memory of Xu Taiping telling his grandpa he wanted to live as freely as a bird.
Xu Taiping remembered his childhood desire to save others and chose freedom over immortality, accepting the Book of Life and Death and carving knife from Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland. As the tower’s thirteenth floor appeared in the Abyssal Palace’s projection, Fairy Lingyue recognized the book and reacted with horror.
Fairy Lingyue confirmed that Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland had given Xu Taiping the Netherworld Book of Life and Death, a divine treasure that lower-realm cultivators must not touch lightly. As Xu Taiping invited the people of Mysterious Wasteland Heaven to report the Eight Emperors’ crimes, Fairy Lingyue feared the price he would have to pay to use the book.
Xu Taiping accepted the Book of Life and Death to judge the eight Demon Emperors, choosing his own path despite the risk of losing himself. He began by calling Demon Emperor Black Hound to account, while Black Hound answered with a river of blood and countless skeletons.
Xu Taiping used the Book of Life and Death and the Heaven-Questioning Bell to turn Zhai Mo’s anger at Demon Emperor Black Claw’s crimes into a sword strike. Black Claw’s blood river shattered, and the sword pierced his chest, leaving him stunned.
After Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland’s sword pierced Demon Emperor Blackclaw, Xu Taiping called on the people of Mysterious Wasteland Heaven to testify against him. A little girl accused Blackclaw of destroying her village and killing her brother, prompting Xu Taiping to record the crime and demand that Blackclaw admit his guilt.
Xu Taiping used the Netherworld Book of Life and Death to condemn Demon Emperor Black Claw for his crimes, and the Black-and-White Skeletons tore Black Claw apart. The chapter ended with the Abyssal Palace witnesses stunned by the Demon Emperor’s apparent execution.
Xu Taiping faced the Book of Life and Death’s demand to seal Demon Emperor Black Claw’s primordial spirit inside his own body, accepting the risk to his cultivation and sanity. He consented to the first soul brand on his left arm and screamed as it burned his divine soul.
After sealing Demon Emperor Black Claw, Xu Taiping summoned the victims of the remaining seven Demon Emperors to accuse them and began executing them through the Book of Life and Death. Heartless Demon Emperor intervened to stop him, but Xu Taiping resisted his power and carved Heartless Demon Emperor’s name into the book.
Xu Taiping used the Book of Life and Death to call the Heartless Demon Emperor to account, while people across Mysterious Wasteland Heaven sent a rain of sword light against him. The Heartless Demon Emperor shattered the attacks with “Heaven and Earth Without Me,” and Heavenly Lord Cangzhu suggested that his words had made people forget their hatred of him.
Xu Taiping resisted the Heartless Demon Emperor’s tempting offers and declared that he would execute him regardless of guilt. The Book of Life and Death unleashed a vast tide of Netherworld Qi, and a massive pale hand struck toward the Heartless Demon Emperor.
Xu Taiping used the Book of Life and Death to force a life-for-life struggle with Heartless Demon Emperor, sacrificing his remaining lifespan to continue writing the demon emperor’s name. The Book’s enormous hand crushed the Yin Soldiers but had not yet finished Heartless Demon Emperor, who tried to sway Xu Taiping again.
Xu Taiping rejected the Heartless Demon Emperor’s offer and forced him to retreat to the Demon Abyss by taking his own life and preparing to be reborn. Despite the cost, Xu Taiping then executed the remaining seven Demon Emperors, keeping his promise to his friends and the innocent people who sought justice.
The Book of Life and Death annihilated seven Demon Emperors, badly weakening the Nine Abysses, but its backlash left Xu Taiping facing the Soul Seals of eight Demon Emperors. The chapter ended with the Prefects preparing to seize him if the seals turned him into a Corpse Wraith or Corpse Demon.