Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping and the Sixth Peak disciples completed the Golden Qilin Formation and prepared to leave the Yunmeng Marsh Ruins. The chapter ended with a Demon Cultivator attacking their courtyard and Zhou Ao crashing against the newly activated barrier.

• Xu Ziyan explained that the Golden Qilin Formation was nearly ready and thanked Xu Taiping for protecting the group while they built it.
• Zhou Ao volunteered to take the night watch, and Xu Taiping gave him a Message Talisman before returning to his room.
• Xu Taiping spent the night tempering his meridians and apertures, then went to relieve Zhou Ao after learning the formation could be activated at any time.
• A violent crash and Zhou Ao's warning that a Demon Cultivator had appeared prompted Xu Ziyan to activate the Golden Qilin Formation.
• Zhou Ao struck the barrier as a burly Demon Cultivator arrived above it, riding a black-vaporous Demon Flood Dragon.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu stopped the Blond Strongman’s Black Lance from killing Zhou Ao, but the weapon’s demonic power threatened the disciples and the attackers battered the not-yet-active grand formation. As the formation weakened, Xu Taiping tried to seal the Demonic Spear with the Ghost-Sealing Incantation.

• Xu Ziyan opened the grand formation to let Zhou Ao fall inside, and Lin Buyu and Xu Taiping deflected the Blond Strongman’s lance before it struck him.
• The Demonic Spear landed in the courtyard and its buzzing made several Sixth Peak disciples vomit blood, so Xu Taiping pulled it from the ground.
• A demon cultivator struck the formation while the Demon Flood Dragon attacked Lin Buyu and the others, forcing them to form the Cloud-Piercing Sword Formation.
• As Xu Taiping struggled to drag the spear away, the formation began to loosen, and he decided to use the Ghost-Sealing Seal on the weapon.
• Xu Taiping gripped the Demonic Spear and chanted the Ghost-Sealing Incantation as it struggled violently to break free.

Xu Taiping destroyed the blond demon cultivator’s Night Demonic Spear with the Ghost-Sealing Talisman and provoked him into agreeing to a physical duel. As the Golden Qilin Formation weakened, Xu Taiping left the courtyard to face him, recalling that the fearless could be invincible.

• Xu Taiping used the Ghost-Sealing Talisman to devour the demonic qi and shadow within the Night Demonic Spear, then threw the purified spear at the blond demon cultivator and staggered him.
• The blond demon cultivator realized Xu Taiping had destroyed his weapon and attacked the barrier in a fury.
• Xu Taiping challenged the blond demon cultivator to a duel limited to physique, qi, and blood, and the demon cultivator swore an oath to accept.
• Xu Ziyan and the other senior sisters urged Xu Taiping to wait for the Golden Scale Grand Formation to activate, but he saw that its formation flag had run out of spiritual energy.
• Xu Taiping left the courtyard to confront the blond demon cultivator and recited, “The fearless can be invincible.”

Xu Taiping fought the blond demon cultivator outside the courtyard, first losing to his overwhelming punches before using borrowed force to wound him. The demon cultivator then grew two extra arms and broke Xu Taiping’s accumulating blade force, leaving their fight unresolved as he removed his heavy iron wrist rings.

• The blond demon cultivator challenged Xu Taiping, who left the courtyard and prepared to fight him outside.
• The demon cultivator’s punch shattered Xu Taiping’s Steel-Breaking strike and broke through the Wind Wall and Profound Ice Armor, but Xu Taiping dodged his next attack.
• Xu Taiping used the Demon-Slaying Blade’s principle of borrowing force to overcome the demon cultivator’s fist and slash open his chest.
• Xu Ziyan recognized Xu Taiping’s borrowed force and urged the others to defeat the demonic flood dragon while he held the demon cultivator off.
• The blond demon cultivator grew two extra arms and smashed apart Xu Taiping’s blade force, then removed the iron rings from his wrists.

Xu Taiping fought a blond martial demon whose overwhelming strength drove him to release the turbid qi in two more apertures and break one of his divine soul’s restraints. He struck the demon into a crater, then prepared to finish the fight quickly before his untempered body gave out.

• The blond demonic cultivator removed his six Mountain-Suppressing Iron weights and attacked Xu Taiping with the strength of a martial demon.
• The martial demon battered Xu Taiping until the Spring Tiger Saber was knocked from his hands, while Lin Buyu and the others urged him to retreat into the formation.
• Xu Taiping let the martial demon’s all-out punch hit a mist double, then countered with punches that released the turbid qi in two more apertures.
• Xu Taiping broke a restraint his divine soul placed on his physique and struck the martial demon into the ground with a punch exceeding ten thousand jin.
• Xu Taiping swallowed Power-Restoring Pills and unleashed Charging Ox Breaks the Formation to end the fight before his body collapsed.

Xu Taiping used the Rain and Dew Garden’s power to grievously wound the blond martial demon, then pressed the Ghost-Sealing Talisman to his forehead to begin sealing him. The demon resisted, and Xu Taiping realized the seal was draining an enormous amount of his Blood Qi.

• Xu Taiping battered the blond martial demon with more than a hundred punches while the Sixth Peak senior sisters fought the Demon Flood Dragon.
• The blond martial demon grew a second pair of arms, broke free of Xu Taiping’s Fist Force, and counterattacked.
• Xu Taiping bit through the Dragon Fang Fruit and combined its power with the momentum of the Rain and Dew Garden to punch through the demon’s chest.
• As the blond martial demon healed with a Blood Pill, Xu Taiping revealed that his plan had been to weaken the demon enough to seal him, not to kill him.
• Xu Taiping activated the Ghost-Sealing Talisman and clamped onto the demon’s head as he resisted, then discovered that the sealing process consumed his Blood Qi.

Xu Taiping used the Water-Cutting Blade to slay the Blond Demon Cultivator, but a powerful Demon Venerable arrived and attacked the Golden Qilin Formation. At Azure Profound Sect, Lü Sword Nine sent two transformed flying swords to Yunmeng Marsh to aid the trapped disciples.

• Xu Taiping grasped the Water-Cutting Blade, learned a Demon-Slaying Blade technique from Duan Tianya’s image, and cut the Blond Demon Cultivator in two.
• Xu Taiping beheaded the Blond Demon Cultivator, collected his corpse and belongings, and fled into the courtyard as a Demon Venerable struck the Golden Qilin Formation.
• Peak Master Meng and Zhao Qian asked Lü Sword Nine to rescue the trapped disciples, including Xu Taiping, and Lü Sword Nine agreed to help.
• Lü Sword Nine transformed the fish Longyuan and Chengying into flying swords and sent them toward Yunmeng Marsh to ask the trapped disciples whether they wanted to return or join the demon-slaying effort.

Xu Taiping endured the Dragon Fang Fruit’s backlash and several other severe pains alone in a sealed stone room. He emerged battered but alive, and his companions began taking him to recover just as thunderclouds gathered overhead.

• Zhou Ao went to check on Xu Taiping, but Lin Buyu barred the courtyard entrance according to Xu Taiping’s instructions.
• Xu Taiping endured the Dragon Fang Fruit’s backlash, the Ghost-Sealing Talisman draining his blood qi, bodily strain, and damage to his divine soul inside the stone room.
• After the pounding and groans stopped, Xu Taiping called for Xu Ziyan and Lin Buyu to enter, and Zhou Ao joined them.
• Xu Ziyan, Zhou Ao, and Lin Buyu found Xu Taiping bloodied and emaciated; Zhou Ao steadied him, and Lin Buyu gave him half a roast goose.
• Xu Taiping ate heartily, and Xu Ziyan proposed taking him to the dining hall for food and a medicinal bath.
• As Xu Taiping and the others left the stone room, thunder sounded and dark clouds gathered overhead.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu learned that the Golden Qilin Formation might soon fall, so they investigated the powers of their paired jade bracelets. They discovered three True Words that could help them survive the coming battle, though the strongest would turn them against each other.

• Xu Ziyan told Xu Taiping that the demon cultivator was probing the Golden Qilin Formation and that the grand formation would reopen in two days.
• Lin Buyu warned Xu Taiping that the Golden Qilin Formation's nodes were faltering and said they should plan for its fall.
• Lin Buyu revealed that the paired jade bracelets held True Words left by the Listening Wind Tower's master.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu interlaced their fingers and learned the three True Words and their effects.
• Xu Taiping suggested using Jade and Stone Burn Together against the demon cultivators, but Lin Buyu refused because it would make them enemies.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu used Hearts in Harmony to learn that the demon cultivators planned to attack the formation node at the Dining Hall, and Lin Buyu persuaded Xu Ziyan to prepare for the strike. By morning, Xu Ziyan had shifted the Grand Formation's power toward that node, while Zhou Ao gave Xu Taiping a powerful bow whose full strength he could draw.

• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu chose Hearts in Harmony and used it together when the demon cultivators attacked the Golden Scale Grand Formation.
• Lin Buyu and Xu Taiping learned that the demon cultivators intended to attack the formation node at the Dining Hall, and Lin Buyu explained the risks of counterattacking through it.
• Lin Buyu offered to persuade Xu Ziyan to reinforce the Dining Hall node, while Xu Taiping agreed that they needed to prepare for the formation's possible fall.
• After deliberating overnight, Xu Ziyan directed the Sixth Peak disciples to shift the Grand Formation's power toward the Dining Hall node.
• Xu Ziyan told Xu Taiping to take Lin Buyu and flee if the formation fell, and Zhou Ao later gave Xu Taiping a powerful bow and an Arrow Case.

Xu Taiping used a powerful bow to wound a Demon Flood Dragon and distract the white-haired Demon Venerable while the Golden Qilin Formation struck another attacker. The Demon Venerable then decided to summon the Immortal-Slaying Demon Blade and slaughter everyone as the Demon Lotus neared ripening.

• Xu Taiping tested the bow Zhou Ao gave him and found he could draw it by using his full strength.
• Xu Taiping shot a Demon Flood Dragon in the head, then knocked the young demon cultivator from his attack with another arrow.
• Xu Taiping drew the white-haired Demon Venerable's attention while the young demon cultivator's Demon Flood Dragon attacked the dining hall formation node.
• The Golden Qilin Formation manifested a golden qilin that seized the Demon Flood Dragon and its flames, severely injuring them.
• Xu Taiping shot the distracted Demon Venerable and delayed him from helping the young demon cultivator.
• Xu Taiping heard the Demon Venerable decide to summon the Immortal-Slaying Demon Blade and slaughter everyone.

At Yunmeng Marsh, Cloudview Palace’s Jing Yun offered to break the ruins’ barrier in exchange for a place in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven. Before Huang Que could seek approval, two flying swords broke through the barrier and defeated the Nine Prefectures’ six Guest Elders, identifying themselves as Longyuan and Chengying.

• Huang Que struggled to answer the gathered cultivators’ demands for a way into the Yunmeng ruins before the ancient Teleportation Array opened.
• Jing Yun presented Cloudview Palace’s Cloud-Crossing Boat and asked the Nine Prefectures to grant one of his disciples a place in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven in return for its use.
• As Huang Que prepared to seek approval, Longyuan and Chengying’s flying swords pierced the clouds and broke through the barrier above the ruins.
• Huang Que summoned the Nine Prefectures’ hidden Guest Elders, but the swords’ combined Sword Qi sent all six flying.
• Liu Bai respectfully asked the swords for their names, and they identified themselves as Longyuan and Chengying.

Longyuan and Chengying arrived at Yunmeng Marsh under Lü Daoxuan’s orders, cleaved open the ruins’ barrier, and flew inside to bring home the Qingxuan disciples and destroy the Nine Nether Demon Army. Inside the ruins, Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu realized the white-haired Demon Venerable was using his assault on the Golden Qilin Formation to buy time to summon the Immortal-Slaying Blade, and Lin Buyu proposed knocking Xu Ziyan unconscious to warn her.

• Longyuan and Chengying announced Lü Daoxuan’s orders to retrieve the Qingxuan disciples and slaughter the Nine Nether Demon Army in the ruins.
• Longyuan and Chengying cleaved open the cloud-and-mist barrier, then flew into the ruins as a few dozen cultivators followed.
• Huang Que told Jing Yun that the Nine Prefectures had withdrawn their agreement after hearing that Lü Daoxuan had acted, and Jing Yun decided to enter the ruins himself.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable shattered the Golden Qilin Formation’s golden qilin with a massive blade shadow while Xu Ziyan reassured the others that the formation could absorb attacks.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu secretly realized the Demon Venerable was buying time to summon the Immortal-Slaying Blade, and Lin Buyu suggested knocking Xu Ziyan unconscious so Lin Buyan could bewilder her soul.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu learned that the Demon Venerable planned to use the Immortal-Slaying Blade to break the Golden Qilin Formation, so they arranged to retreat to the restricted cellar. Xu Ziyan led the disciples in a surprise attack, but the Demon Venerable summoned Immortal-Slaying as the formation’s power began to run out.

• Lin Buyu persuaded Xu Ziyan to prepare to retreat into the cellar, while Xu Taiping recognized that the Immortal-Slaying Blade was a Second-Rank Demon King Weapon.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu heard the Demon Cultivators say that the Immortal-Slaying Blade was about to emerge after a sacrifice, and learned that they intended to kill and claim the disciples.
• Xu Ziyan combined the Golden Qilin Formation with the Cloud-Piercing Sword Formation and instructed the disciples to strike before fleeing to the cellar.
• Xu Ziyan unleashed the Golden Qilin Formation against the Demon Cultivators, injuring two Demon Flood Dragons and killing a Demon Cultivator.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable blocked the golden qilin’s attack, then raised his arm and called for Immortal-Slaying.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu escaped the Demon King Weapon Immortal-Slaying when Longyuan and Chengying appeared and defeated it. After the swords opened an exit for the Azure Profound Sect disciples, Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu chose to stay and help slaughter the Nine Abysses Demon Army.

• Xu Ziyan used the Golden Qilin Formation to strike Immortal-Slaying, creating an opening for Xu Taiping and the others to escape.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable transformed Immortal-Slaying into a Giant Whale and tried to swallow Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu.
• Longyuan and Chengying arrived and severed the Giant Whale's head with their combined sword light.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable attacked Xu Taiping and the others, but Longyuan and Chengying shattered the blade wave and forced him to flee with the remaining Demon Cultivators.
• Chengying opened an exit for the Azure Profound Sect disciples, then asked Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu whether they would leave or stay to fight.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu chose to stay and help slaughter the Nine Abysses Demon Army.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu reached Taixuan Hall as Nie Shu consumed the black lotus and became a Devil Master. When Nie Shu attacked them with the Immortal-Slaying Blade, an unseen force disrupted his weapon and terrified him into fleeing.

• Xu Ziyan told Lü Su and Zhou Ao that Longyuan and Chengying were the swords Junior Martial Uncle had used against the Devil Master of the Nine Nether.
• Guided by Longyuan and Chengying, Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu cut down the demon cultivators in the immortal mansion ruins and arrived at Taixuan Hall.
• Nie Shu announced that the Nine Nether had reclaimed the black lotus, then absorbed its power and declared himself a Devil Master.
• Longyuan and Chengying shielded Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu from the demonic qi and the Immortal-Slaying Blade's barrage of attacks.
• Nie Shu's strike broke through the swords' defenses, but an unseen force made the scene distort and shattered the Immortal-Slaying Blade.
• Terrified, Nie Shu abandoned his attack and fled Taixuan Hall's mountain as black fog.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu entered Taixuan Hall to seek the Taixuan Sect’s hidden treasures after Nie Shu was devoured by a mysterious presence. Xu Taiping obtained three treasures and Lin Buyu obtained five before the hall’s colored mist dispersed.

• A mysterious force emerged from Taixuan Hall, seized Nie Shu, and dragged him inside, while Longyuan and Chengying explained that it devoured powerful beings who appeared in the secret realm.
• Longyuan and Chengying brought Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu to Taixuan Hall, where they entered before the multicolored mist could disperse.
• Xu Taiping caught a jade slip containing the Taixuan Sect’s Heaven Rank movement technique, Endless Horizon.
• Two more lights struck Xu Taiping and gave him a Grass Return Pill recipe and an Azure Ox Great Sage Fist manual.
• After the mist dispersed, Xu Taiping told Longyuan and Chengying that he had obtained three treasures, and Lin Buyu said she had obtained five.

After returning from Taixuan Hall, Xu Taiping recovered from his injuries and prepared for the Blade Ghost’s monthly retaliation. As night fell, he strengthened himself with pills and waited for the Ghost-Sealing Talisman to drag him into the blade domain.

• Longyuan and Chengying warned Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu not to reveal what they had found in Taixuan Hall, then carried them out of the ruins.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu spotted two flying jiangshi dining at Listening Wind Tower as they passed overhead.
• Four days after returning to the Azure Profound Sect, Xu Taiping recovered, handed over some of the ruins’ treasures for merit points, and considered his gains.
• Xu Taiping saw that the Ghost-Sealing Talisman had developed bloody gashes and decided to face the Blade Ghost’s retaliation by crossing blades with him.
• At night, Xu Taiping took pills, sat with the Spring Tiger Saber, and heard the Blade Ghost roar, “Wretch, come in and meet your death!”

Xu Taiping confronted the Red-Haired Blade Ghost in the blade domain, using clones and improved Green Ox Fist techniques but failing to overcome the ghost’s overwhelming power. The Blade Ghost tortured him and demanded that he undo the Ghost-Sealing Talisman, while Xu Taiping refused and braced himself for a year of suffering inside the domain.

• Xu Taiping entered the blade domain and used a clone to distract the Red-Haired Blade Ghost before striking him with Ox Horn Crashes the Mountain.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost shattered Xu Taiping’s attacks with a roar of blade qi, leaving Xu Taiping severely wounded.
• Xu Taiping told the Blade Ghost that he would not undo the Ghost-Sealing Talisman, and the Blade Ghost repeatedly cut him apart while keeping him alive.
• The Blade Ghost warned that he could torture Xu Taiping for a year in the blade domain, and Xu Taiping answered that he could endure it.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost repeatedly mutilated and tortured Xu Taiping, then began the torment again.

Xu Taiping endured repeated deaths in the Red-Haired Blade Ghost’s domain and used each exchange to study the ghost’s movements. After landing a small but genuine wound, he proved his progress with a deeper cut, and the Blade Ghost shifted from tormenting him to testing him with the saber.

• Xu Taiping recovered after many deaths and told the Red-Haired Blade Ghost that he would catch up to his speed.
• Xu Taiping studied the Blade Ghost’s attack and landed a thin scratch, enraging the ghost, who cut him apart.
• After recovering, Xu Taiping challenged the Blade Ghost again and dodged far enough to leave a visible wound on his chest.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost examined the wound, restored Xu Taiping instead of tormenting him, and resumed his saber-drawing stance.