Chapter Summaries

The Heartless Demon Emperor threatened all-out war unless Shangqing stopped Xu Taiping from delivering the Buddha Fate Statue to Mysterious Wasteland Heaven. He revealed the statue’s intended location and exploited the three people connected to Xu Taiping there to pressure him into carrying out the inheritance.

• The Heartless Demon Emperor announced that the Nine Abysses would declare war on Shangqing if Xu Taiping delivered the Buddha Statue to Mysterious Wasteland Heaven.
• Heavenly Lord Shihu explained that the threat was meant to pressure Shangqing’s factions and Half-Immortals into stopping Xu Taiping.
• The Heartless Demon Emperor revealed that a Nine Abysses Demonic General had divined the Buddha Statue’s destination and showed hundreds of Demon Cultivators surrounding its mountain.
• The Demon Cultivators began battering the mountain, and the Heartless Demon Emperor identified three figures who had emerged from a ruined temple as people connected to Xu Taiping.
• A Demon Cultivator entered the temple courtyard, and Xiahou You realized the Heartless Demon Emperor intended to use the three people to provoke Xu Taiping into placing the Buddha Fate Inheritance there.

Gui Jue attacked the children and the mad monk at the ruined temple, but the girl's plea awakened the Faceless Clay Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva empowered the three survivors, and their auras shook the Shangqing Realm with the return of a complete Buddha Fate Inheritance.

• Gui Jue revealed that he had killed the girl's parents and the villagers of Bear Ear Village, then knocked her and the boy into the temple.
• Gui Jue wounded the boy as he shielded his sister, and the mad monk revealed his strength while declaring that he and Gui Jue could not share the sky after Gui Jue killed his master.
• Gui Jue repeatedly slashed the mad monk and prepared to kill the girl as she prayed to the Bodhisattva for help.
• The girl's plea awakened the Faceless Clay Bodhisattva, whose golden Buddha hands blasted Gui Jue out of the temple.
• The Bodhisattva empowered the girl, the boy, and the mad monk, releasing immense auras across the Shangqing Realm.

Xu Taiping reassured Dongfang Jing and Zhong Ling that the Buddha Fate Inheritance and its Dharma Protector inheritances could protect the sacred mountain, then prepared to return to Wilderness Heaven. Before he left, the others gave him treasures and a secret scroll that Blade Ghost urged him to accept.

• Xu Taiping explained that the Dharma Protector inheritances could empower recipients to guard the mountain gate, reassuring Dongfang Jing and Zhong Ling about the Nine Abysses’ attack.
• Xu Taiping said the three people receiving empowerment in the ruined temple would be able to protect the sacred mountain and its Buddha Fate Inheritance.
• Dongfang Jing gave Xu Taiping Hidden Immortal Wine and pills, anticipating his need to use Heavenly Dao Edicts against Yin God Huangpao.
• Zhong Ling gave Xu Taiping the Heavenly Sound Bell, which strengthened divine-soul perception and could protect his Primordial Spirit.
• The Yangling Demon Emperor gave Xu Taiping a secret scroll for forging blade-type Great Dao Divine Weapons, and Blade Ghost urged him to accept it.

Xu Taiping returned to Jiaye Temple after receiving the Yangling Demon Emperor's reward and learned that Nine Nether forces were attacking the Buddha Fate Inheritance site. As Xu Taiping went to confront Yellow Robe, three golden bodhisattva manifestations emerged to challenge Demon Emperor Gui Jue.

• The Yangling Demon Emperor used Dongfang Jing's Heaven-Cleaving and Zhong Ling's Divine Soul Power to open a passage from the Mysterious Wasteland Tower to Jiaye Temple, and Xu Taiping returned through it.
• Xu Taiping reunited with Dongfang Yuejian and Master Xuanzhi, who told him that Abbot Jiaye was stabilizing his physical body.
• Dongfang Yuejian showed Xu Taiping a Spirit Mirror revealing Nine Nether demonic riders and Black Demon Flood Dragons attacking the Nameless Little Mountain where the Buddha Fate Inheritance lay.
• Xu Taiping revealed his immense qi and blood and True Essence, concealed his aura with the Blade of Guicang, and flew off to deal with Yellow Robe.
• Three golden bodhisattva manifestations emerged from the ruined temple and challenged Demon Emperor Gui Jue, accusing him of murdering their master and massacring Bear Ear Village.

Three Bodhisattva Dharma Aspects annihilated Demon Emperor Gui Jue and the Nine Abysses demon cavalry, turning their demon seeds into Buddha Candles. Their arrival revealed that Dipankara Buddha had descended into Shangqing using the Annihilation technique, leaving cultivators across the Five Heavens stunned.

• Three golden Bodhisattva Dharma Aspects slaughtered the Nine Abysses cavalry, and the woman-faced Bodhisattva beheaded and destroyed Demon Emperor Gui Jue.
• The Bodhisattvas used heavenly thunder and earthly fire to turn the demon seeds into Buddha Candles, invoking a vow to eradicate every demon seed before attaining Buddhahood.
• Heavenly Lord Shihu recognized the Buddha Candles as the method that once illuminated the Heaven-Demon Battlefield, and Xiahou You and Xiahou Qingyuan wondered whether an ancient Buddha had passed it down.
• A golden bell, Prayer Banners, and a Buddhist canopy appeared over the mountain as a Golden Buddha Statue descended, and Heavenly Lord Shihu realized an ancient Buddha had entered Shangqing through the Annihilation technique.
• The Golden Buddha identified himself as Dipankara, and cultivators across the Five Heavens reacted with shock as Heavenly Lord Shihu speculated that Old Ox had recognized him earlier.

Xu Taiping summoned Dipankara Buddha’s inheritance in Mysterious Wasteland Heaven, but the Heartless Demon Emperor threatened to use a weapon that could destroy a heaven if Xu Taiping did not remove it. Xu Taiping ignored the threat and recovered the yellow robe, prompting the Demon Emperor to unleash Moonfall against True Martial Heaven.

• Dipankara Buddha announced that he would hold a Dharma discourse at Vulture Peak in one month, inspiring hope that many Buddhist cultivators would gather in Mysterious Wasteland Heaven.
• The Heartless Demon Emperor warned Xu Taiping that the Nine Abysses could deploy a devastating weapon and offered to spare the realms from an early war if Xu Taiping removed the Buddha Fate Inheritance.
• A Nameless Half-Immortal projected Xu Taiping’s actions into the Moonshadow Stones, and Heavenly Lord Shihu feared Xu Taiping might yield to the threat.
• Xu Taiping crushed Yin God Huangpao beneath a mountain, causing Huangpao to abandon his body and leave the yellow robe behind.
• Xu Taiping withdrew the Heavenly Dao Edict and reached for the yellow robe, but the Heartless Demon Emperor revealed the Demon God Weapon Moonfall descending upon True Martial Heaven.
• The Prefect of the Nine Prefectures called on the Great Emperors to save True Martial Heaven as its moon began falling from the sky.

As Moonfall dragged the bright moon toward True Martial Heaven, the Nine Abysses demanded Xu Taiping withdraw the Buddha Fate Inheritance or watch the heaven be destroyed. Xu Taiping refused to decide at once, weighing the lives of True Martial Heaven against preserving a path of retreat for the Shangqing Realm in the coming Great Void Calamity.

• Great Emperors Cang Ai and Zongyun explained that Moonfall could only be stopped by a Great Emperor using an entire heaven's power, while the Heartless Demon Emperor taunted True Martial Heaven for having none.
• The Heartless Demon Emperor threatened to destroy True Martial Heaven unless Xu Taiping withdrew the Buddha Fate Inheritance, and Liu Chuxuan and other cultivators pleaded with him to comply.
• Dipankara Buddha offered to extinguish the Buddhist candle and choose another Dao Field if Xu Taiping wished, but Xu Taiping said he still needed to think it over.
• Outside Jiaye Temple, Xu Taiping wondered whether to save True Martial Heaven or preserve a retreat for the Shangqing Realm against the Great Void Calamity.

Xu Taiping chose to sacrifice True Martial Heaven’s fortune to secure Shangqing’s chance against the Great Void Calamity, accepting the blame for his decision. In the Azure Profound Sect, Lü Daoxuan emerged from the Demon-Suppressing Gate, took the Emperor Seal, and declared himself the Great Emperor of True Martial Heaven.

• The Lotus Eye advised Xu Taiping to preserve True Martial Heaven, but Xu Taiping chose to protect his master and fellow disciples in the Azure Profound Sect, whatever the cost.
• Xu Taiping asked Dipankara Buddha to make Mysterious Wasteland his place of practice and forge a Buddhist force against the Nine Abysses, drawing curses from the spectators.
• Lü Daoxuan emerged from the Demon-Suppressing Gate and watched Xu Taiping endure the condemnation through the Spirit Mirror.
• Zhao Qian told Lü Daoxuan that only 367 people remained in Qingxuan and warned that using the Emperor Seal would draw the Azure Profound Sect into the Taixuan Ghost Domain.
• Lü Daoxuan took the Emperor Seal, declared himself the Great Emperor of True Martial Heaven, and addressed the Five Heavens.

Lü Daoxuan revealed himself as True Martial Heaven’s Great Emperor and used a single sword strike to halt the falling bright moon. He left the Five Heavens with a defiant challenge to anyone who would compromise with Nine Abysses or force Xu Taiping to bear infamy.

• Lü Daoxuan’s shout silenced the abuse in the Spirit Mirror, and spectators questioned whether he was truly True Martial Heaven’s Great Emperor.
• Xiahou You and Xiahou Qingyuan identified Lü Daoxuan as Xu Taiping’s master, while Heavenly Lord Shihu reasoned that the Emperor Seal must have recognized him without trials because of his exceptional strength.
• Spectators urged Lü Daoxuan to prove himself and stop the falling moon, but he did not speak directly to Xu Taiping in Wilderness Heaven.
• Lü Daoxuan sent a sword beam into the bright moon and slowed its descent without using the Emperor Seal’s power.
• Cultivators of True Martial Heaven recognized Lü Daoxuan as Ninth Uncle, and he challenged anyone who denied his status or demanded that Xu Taiping bear infamy.

Lü Daoxuan asserted his succession as True Martial Heaven’s Great Emperor, defended Xu Taiping, and reassured him that he would no longer face choices alone. Wuxin then empowered the falling moon with ninety-nine dragon skeletons, sending it crashing toward True Martial Heaven as Xu Taiping feared even his master might not stop it.

• Lü Daoxuan confronted the watching Great Emperors, who welcomed him as the successor to True Martial Heaven’s seat, and he rebuked True Martial Heaven’s cultivators for cursing Xu Taiping.
• Lü Daoxuan called to Xu Taiping through the projections and promised that he and Qingxuan would share his burdens from then on.
• Wuxin crushed Lü Daoxuan’s sword light and turned the falling moon into a crimson ghost moon.
• Wuxin summoned ninety-nine dragon skeletons beneath the ghost moon, accelerating its descent through True Martial Heaven’s restrictions.
• Xu Taiping realized the ghost moon could strike within a cup of tea and worried that Lü Daoxuan could not stop it.

Lü Daoxuan revealed that he had hidden a sword in Zhenwu for three thousand years and began drawing on the spiritual energy of Azure Profound Sect to prepare his strike against the Nine Abysses’ Moonfall. Xu Taiping watched closely as Lü Daoxuan’s power and physique rapidly returned, while Zhao Qian celebrated his revival.

• Great Emperor Cang Ai and Liu Qingshan warned that the ninety-nine-dragonbone Moonfall had been made to kill a realm’s Great Emperor.
• Lü Daoxuan told Xu Taiping to watch his next sword strike, then declared that he had kept a sword hidden in Zhenwu for three thousand years.
• Xu Taiping understood why Lü Daoxuan had urged him to study the strike and vowed not to disappoint his master.
• Lü Daoxuan drew in the spiritual energy of the Cloud Foothills Immortal Mansion, causing his skeletal body to grow taller and stronger.
• Zhao Qian was driven back by Lü Daoxuan’s rising aura and joyfully declared that his Junior Martial Uncle had returned.

Lü Daoxuan’s sword strike briefly stopped Moonfall, but Wuxin strengthened the weapon by sacrificing the dragon-bone puppets and sent it crashing toward True Martial Heaven. As Xu Taiping anticipated the next move, a second sword rose from Yellow Maple Valley’s Spirit Resonance Mountain, leaving everyone asking where it had come from.

• Lü Daoxuan’s Sword Light halted Moonfall, astonishing onlookers and revealing his power to Heavenly Lord Shihu.
• A hidden Half-Immortal in the teahouse recognized Lü Daoxuan and sighed that he had suffered for Shangqing.
• Wuxin declared that he knew Lü Daoxuan’s identity, then used the dragon-bone puppets’ self-destruction to strengthen Moonfall and shatter Lü Daoxuan’s Sword Light.
• Xu Taiping recognized that his master’s strike was only a prelude and anticipated the sword leaving its scabbard.
• A Sword Cry sounded, and Yellow Maple Valley’s spiritual energy gathered at Spirit Resonance Mountain to form a towering beam of Sword Light.

Lü Daoxuan drew upon sword intent he had hidden throughout True Martial Heaven’s mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, gathering it into a colossal strike against the falling moon. As he unleashed his strongest sword, he told Xu Taiping that it would be the last one he could teach him.

• Lü Daoxuan’s sword intent emerged from Yellow Maple Valley’s Spiritual Resonance Peak and joined his sword light, halting the falling moon.
• A second sword rose from Xiaoyao Sect’s Xianxia Peak and helped push the moon back, but the Dragon-Bone Puppets flared and drove it downward again.
• Sword lights erupted across True Martial Heaven, and Xiahou Qingyuan realized Lü Daoxuan had hidden sword intent throughout the realm’s famed landscapes.
• Lü Daoxuan summoned a towering Dharma Aspect and gathered the scattered sword lights into a giant sword, declaring, “Ten thousand swords emerge from Zhenwu!”
• Lü Daoxuan’s Dharma Aspect slashed at the falling moon, while Lü Daoxuan told Xu Taiping to watch the strongest—and last—sword strike he could teach him.

Lü Daoxuan cleaved the bright moon with a sword strike, then revealed that he and the Azure Profound Sect would imprison themselves in the Taixuan Ghost Domain and owed Zhenwu and Shangqing nothing further. Xu Taiping learned that his master had left him a divine soul mark and entered the Dragon-Trapping Tower to open it safely.

• Lü Daoxuan shattered Moonfall and carved a vast sword scar across the bright moon, while Xu Taiping memorized the strike’s archaic characters.
• Xu Taiping recalled Lü Daoxuan calling it the last sword strike he would teach him and wondered what his master meant.
• A golden sword-light entered Xu Taiping’s brow, carrying Lü Daoxuan’s message that the Azure Profound Sect would imprison itself in the Taixuan Ghost Domain and that Xu Taiping should find somewhere safe before opening the divine soul mark.
• Lü Daoxuan declared that Qingxuan owed neither Zhenwu nor Shangqing anything after guarding Shangqing’s tomb for another hundred years.
• Xu Taiping asked Dongfang Yuejian to have Abbot Jiaye watch the Dragon-Slaying Stele, then entered the Dragon-Trapping Tower to go into seclusion.
• Lotus Eye and Abbot Jiaye warned Xu Taiping that powerful divine souls were searching for him, and Xu Taiping focused on the golden feather in his sea of consciousness.

Xu Taiping learned that Lü Daoxuan had concealed the truth about the Azure Profound Sect and the Taixuan Sect Ruins, and that merging them would activate the Heaven-Severing Grand Formation and trap the sect within the ghost domain. Lü Daoxuan offered Xu Taiping a way into the Yunmeng Marsh Secret Realm if he met certain conditions, beginning with rescuing Dugu Qingxiao from the Yellow Springs Secret Realm.

• Lü Daoxuan revealed that the Azure Profound Sect and the Taixuan Sect Ruins had always occupied the same land, with the Yunmeng Marsh Secret Realm sealed off as the ghost domain.
• Lü Daoxuan explained that undoing the seal would merge the sect and ruins, activating the Heaven-Severing Grand Formation and trapping the Azure Profound Sect with the ghost creatures and demonic beasts for up to a hundred years.
• Xu Taiping felt guilty that delivering the Buddha Fate Inheritance would trigger the formation, while Lü Daoxuan urged him not to blame himself and said the sect could endure.
• Lü Daoxuan said he and Zhao Qian had agreed to tell Xu Taiping how to enter the Yunmeng Marsh Taixuan Ghost Domain Secret Realm if he fulfilled their conditions.
• Lü Daoxuan named the first condition: Xu Taiping had to bring Dugu Qingxiao out of the Yellow Springs Secret Realm.

Lü Daoxuan explained the three conditions Xu Taiping needed to meet before entering the Taixuan Ghost Domain, where he would retrieve the Taixuan Sect's legacy and the next steps for stopping the Great Void Calamity. He warned Xu Taiping to enter during a brief lull in the Ghost Domain's power, one hundred years after it broke through its seal.

• Lü Daoxuan told Xu Taiping that he must bring Dugu Qingxiao out of the Netherworld's Yellow Springs to accompany him into the Taixuan Ghost Domain.
• Lü Daoxuan said Xu Taiping must reach the Dao Integration Realm or higher because the Ghost Creatures and Demonic Beasts would grow stronger than the Heaven Shocking Realm after the seal opened.
• Lü Daoxuan's third condition was that Xu Taiping obtain a Great Dao Divine Weapon, and he warned that all three conditions were essential for survival.
• Lü Daoxuan said a Spirit Beast in the Yunmeng Marsh Secret Realm would guide Xu Taiping into Yunze once he fulfilled the conditions.
• Lü Daoxuan urged Xu Taiping to enter the Taixuan Ghost Domain during its brief ebb one hundred years after the seal broke and retrieve his legacy from the Taixuan Hall.

Lü Daoxuan revealed that the Azure Profound Sect had sealed the Nine Abysses Demon Mother's Source-Origin Body in the Netherdark Demon Grotto, and warned Xu Taiping to flee if he encountered her. He also told Xu Taiping that Fairy Lingyue had gone in search of the Taiqing Paradise, leaving clues for him to follow if she did not return.

• Lü Daoxuan told Xu Taiping that the Netherdark Demon Grotto held the Demon Mother's Source-Origin Body, the final piece needed for her full awakening, and warned him to escape if he found her.
• The Lotus Eye recognized the Source-Origin Body and praised the Azure Profound Sect for keeping it sealed across generations.
• Xu Taiping vowed that Qingxuan would not be forgotten and that it had not failed Zhenwu or Shangqing.
• Lü Daoxuan revealed that Fairy Lingyue had gone with the Wuji Immortal Elder to seek the Old Heavenly Court's Path to Heaven and enter the dangerous Taiqing Paradise.
• Lü Daoxuan explained that Fairy Lingyue had agreed to leave Xu Taiping clues to follow after he reached the Heaven Shocking Realm, and Xu Taiping thanked his master.

Xu Taiping learned that the jade box held clues to Taiqing Paradise and Fairy Lingyue, while Lü Daoxuan warned him to strengthen himself before returning to True Martial Heaven. Lü Daoxuan and the Qingxuan sword cultivators charged into the Taixuan Ghost Domain, and Lotus Eye later completed a costly deduction to find a way to rescue Xu Taiping’s fellow disciples.

• Lü Daoxuan told Xu Taiping that the jade box containing the Soul-Merging Pill recipe held clues to Taiqing Paradise and Fairy Lingyue, and warned him to open it only after severing its karma and fortune.
• Lü Daoxuan urged Xu Taiping to avoid True Martial Heaven and focus on cultivation for the next thirty to fifty years, while Xu Taiping vowed to rescue him and the others from the Taixuan Ghost Domain.
• Lü Daoxuan and Zhao Qian led more than three hundred Qingxuan sword cultivators, including Jiang Zhi and Zhao Linglong, toward the Taixuan Ghost Domain to reclaim the Taixuan Main Hall.
• Ten days later, Lotus Eye told Xu Taiping it was ready to use great deductive power to find a way to rescue his fellow disciples, warning that the effort would leave him unable to use spells for six months to a year.
• Lotus Eye completed the deduction after consuming most of Xu Taiping’s divine soul power and a large portion of its stored divine power.

Xu Taiping completed the Lotus Eye’s great deduction and chose one of three routes toward entering the Taixuan Ghost Domain and rescuing everyone from Qingxuan. The first task revealed was to seize a Star Map in the Withered Stone Sea, a rare path to victory that left Xu Taiping questioning whether the deduction was correct.

• Xu Taiping recovered with Hidden Immortal Wine and learned that the Lotus Eye had completed its great deduction.
• The Lotus Eye presented three routes, and Xu Taiping chose the golden lotus on the far right.
• The other deductions vanished, leaving seven golden lotuses whose divine soul marks Xu Taiping had to open in order.
• Xu Taiping opened the first mark and saw cultivators gathering in the Withered Stone Sea beneath a night sky.
• The Lotus Eye explained that the Star Map there led to a celestial palace’s ruins and offered a rare chance to aid Xu Taiping’s later journey.
• Xu Taiping asked whether the deduction was certain after learning that missing the Star Map would cost him that narrow chance of success.

Lotus Eye showed Xu Taiping a vision of Xiahou You, Xiahou Qingyuan, Duan Xiaoyu, and the Four Young Cultivators from Mysterious Wasteland Heaven facing Demon Emperor Jiao’s ambush. The vision revealed that Xu Taiping would join the battle, slay Demon Emperor Jiao, and take the Star Map Stone, while the Kunwu Sword flew to him.

• Xu Taiping realized that nearly a year had passed in Wilderness Heaven, long after the expected date for the Star Map contest.
• Lotus Eye showed Xiahou You and Xiahou Qingyuan trapped in Demon Emperor Jiao’s Yellow Wind Grand Formation, where yin demon sand worms attacked cultivators and destroyed their Star Map Stones.
• Duan Xiaoyu and the Four Young Cultivators from Mysterious Wasteland Heaven joined the battle, but Demon Emperor Jiao’s forces overwhelmed the group and dragged Xiahou Qingyuan underground.
• Demon Emperor Jiao attacked Duan Xiaoyu, but Xu Taiping appeared in the vision and severed one of the demon emperor’s arms with a blade strike.
• The vision showed Xu Taiping killing Demon Emperor Jiao and picking up the Star Map Stone, and the Kunwu Sword flew out of the Iron Gourd toward him.