Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping and his companions watched Three Paths Village’s villagers fight the bandits in a desperate, explosive resistance that lasted until dawn. After Tian Shouchun sacrificed himself to save Cuicui and the children, an invisible force crushed the village and killed them, leaving Gu Changming raging at whoever was responsible.

• Xu Taiping and his companions followed the bandits to Three Paths Village and saw the villagers lock the gates, then attack the invaders with Soulfire Stones.
• The villagers fought and died throughout the night, and the battle ended at daybreak.
• The bandit chief threatened Cuicui and the children, but Tian Shouchun tackled him and held him in place.
• Tian Shouchun detonated a Soulfire Stone, killing himself and the bandit chief after telling Cuicui and the children to close their eyes.
• An invisible force flattened Three Paths Village and killed Cuicui and the children, and Gu Changming demanded to know who had done it.

Xu Taiping and the others witnessed Big Yellow repeatedly restore Three Paths Village after an unseen force destroyed it, then swallow the sky to preserve the village’s true history. They returned to the day they first entered the village, where the dying black hound gave Xu Taiping the Three Paths Village Genealogy and asked him to send the villagers on their way.

• Xu Taiping recognized Cuicui’s severed arm when Big Yellow dug it from the rubble, and Big Yellow transformed into a giant monster after realizing she was dead.
• The monster restored Three Paths Village, but an invisible force destroyed it again each time; he vowed to preserve the truth and transformed into a gigantic black hound.
• The black hound swallowed the sky, and Xu Taiping and the others found themselves back at their first day in Three Paths Village, where the houses stood empty.
• The dying black hound thanked Xu Taiping and the others for bringing the lost span of time back, then dropped the Three Paths Village Genealogy before Xu Taiping and asked him to send the villagers on their way.

Xu Taiping used the Book of Life and Death, empowered by the great black hound’s divine marrow, to grant death to the villagers of Three Paths Village and end their calamity. As the last spirits appeared, the hound began explaining how he had survived the village’s destruction and lost Cuicui.

• The great black hound asked Xu Taiping to use the Netherworld Edict on every villager, and Xiao Moji warned Xu Taiping that the edict might have come from Leopard Tail.
• Xu Taiping summoned the Book of Life and Death and used the hound’s divine marrow to write the villagers’ names and causes of death.
• Xu Taiping wrote the final names, and Old Man Liu, Liu Cui'er, and the remaining villagers appeared as spirits.
• Liu Cui'er asked to wait for Big Yellow, while the great black hound watched her and then began telling Xu Taiping about the village’s destruction.
• The great black hound said Cuicui and her grandfather had been crushed beneath the ruins, while he alone had survived and desperately wanted to see Cuicui again.

Black Hound revealed how his longing for Liu Cui had drawn in the Netherworld Edict and trapped Three Paths Village in a seven-day reincarnation, then asked Xu Taiping to see him off. After Xu Taiping released the villagers’ souls to the Yellow Springs, those watching in the Yellow Springs Ruins discovered the village had concealed an untouched Ancient Times Battlefield Ruins.

• Black Hound thanked Xu Taiping for ending the reincarnation and told him he could feed the Netherworld Edict-bearing body to his Yin Gods after Black Hound left.
• Black Hound transformed into Big Yellow and asked Xu Taiping to see him off; Xu Taiping recorded that Big Yellow would accompany Liu Cui to the Yellow Springs.
• Xu Taiping crossed out the names in the Book of Life and Death, releasing Liu Cui'er and the villagers, and he and Xiao Moji's group saluted them as they departed.
• In the Yellow Springs Ruins, Ninth Madam and Qin Ming showed they knew who was behind Three Paths Village's calamity, while Heavenly Lord Xuanbei and Daoist Fengzhu condemned the culprit.
• The phantom image revealed that Three Paths Village had vanished, exposing an untouched Ancient Times Battlefield Ruins filled with Soulfire Stones and enormous broken weapons and treasures.

Xu Taiping and his companions prepared to divide the treasures in the Three Paths Village battlefield ruins before other cultivators arrived. After Gu Changming offered Xu Taiping first choice, Blade Ghost urged him to claim the eastern section, where at least two Peerless-Grade Weapons lay.

• Ninth Madam and Ghost King Qin Ming both considered offering Xu Taiping protection and competed to make their jurisdictions his choice.
• Gu Changming and the others put away their Spirit Mirrors, while Xu Taiping stored the Big Yellow Hound’s canine tooth in the Dragon-Trapping Tower.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping that he could identify peerless-grade treasures and recover his cultivation by possessing the Water-Cutting Blade and thrusting it into the ground.
• Gu Changming divided the battlefield ruins into four sections for the group to share the ancient artifacts and Netherworld Artifacts equally, while they would gather Soulfire Stones according to their abilities.
• Xiao Moji and Xu Taiping agreed that they could help Ye Lingxu gather Soulfire Stones, and Gu Changming gave Xu Taiping first choice of section.
• Blade Ghost urged Xu Taiping to choose the east, where he sensed at least two Peerless-Grade Weapons.

At the battlefield ruins, Xu Taiping gathered ancient weapons after Blade Ghost revealed the ruins were once the God-Burying Mound. Blade Ghost then led him to an intact suit of Heavy-Fortification Armor, which Xu Taiping unearthed as Gu Changming watched enviously.

• Blade Ghost identified Xu Taiping’s rusted great saber as the peerless-grade weapon Zhuosang and explained that the battlefield ruins were once the God-Burying Mound, where Divine Being heroes from the ancient Sky Demon War were buried.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping that the weapons in the ruins could rival the era’s Immortal Weapons, and Xu Taiping collected hundreds of ancient weapons and Netherworld Artifacts.
• Blade Ghost recognized a long-ruler-shaped relic as the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, which Xu Taiping stored in his Iron Gourd for Elder Huang.
• Blade Ghost sensed another peerless-grade weapon a hundred zhang beneath Xu Taiping, who carved out a huge block of earth with the Water-Cutting Blade.
• Xu Taiping found an undamaged suit of Heavy-Fortification Armor on a corpse transformed into Soulfire Stone, pulled both from the ground, and drew Gu Changming’s envy.

Xu Taiping found the Heavy-Fortification Armor too burdensome to wear and decided to give it to Ping'an, while planning to seek the Flame-Thunder Armor from the Flame Emperor's Heavenly Emperor Treasury. After Blade Ghost identified the areas containing Peerless Grade Soulfire Stone, Xu Taiping cut through the peak of a small hill in Gu Changming's area and revealed its rich aura.

• Xu Taiping tried on the Heavy-Fortification Armor, found it too heavy, and decided to give it to Ping'an; Blade Ghost suggested he seek the Flame-Thunder Armor in the Flame Emperor's Heavenly Emperor Treasury.
• Xu Taiping asked Blade Ghost how to identify Peerless Grade Soulfire Stones, and Blade Ghost identified one mountain in each of Gu Changming, Xiao Moji, and Ye Lingxu's areas.
• Xu Taiping flew to Gu Changming's area to gather Soulfire Stone, and Gu Changming let him take whatever he wanted.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping that only the upper section of a small hill beside Gu Changming was Peerless Grade Soulfire Stone.
• Xu Taiping's first slash failed to scratch the hill, but his next slash cleaved off its peak, releasing a rich Soul Power aura that Gu Changming recognized as Peerless Grade Soulfire Stone.

Xu Taiping used the Water-Cutting Blade’s Great Dao power to cut open several mountains containing Soulfire Stone, then sent Blade Ghost into the underground vein. When a powerful swordswoman appeared in the western sky, Blade Ghost recognized her as his mortal enemy and warned Xu Taiping to sever their connection.

• Xu Taiping discovered that the Water-Cutting Blade’s Great Dao power let him cut through peerless-grade Soulfire Stone with ordinary strokes, though Blade Ghost warned that the power was limited.
• Xu Taiping found and cut Soulfire Stone mountains near Xiao Moji and Ye Lingxu, using the Annihilating Blade Art on the final one as the Water-Cutting Blade’s power weakened.
• Xu Taiping possessed the No Edge Bone Blade with Blade Ghost and drove it into the underground Soulfire Stone vein without alerting the others.
• A disturbance from the west revealed that someone was trying to enter the realm, and Ye Lingxu said the ruins’ barrier would hold them off for a while.
• A thousand-zhang Sword Qi appeared in the western sky, and Blade Ghost identified its aura as belonging to his mortal enemy and urged Xu Taiping to sever their connection with the Blade of Guicang.

Xu Taiping gathered weapons and soulfire stones from the ruins, then helped Ye Lingxu break open a frozen stone mountain. After Ye Lingxu gave him a jade jue and promised future aid, Gu Changming asked for the same help.

• Xu Taiping collected weapons and soulfire stones while Ye Lingxu searched the ruins.
• Ye Lingxu asked Xu Taiping to help split a large stone mountain and promised to come to his aid in the future.
• Ye Lingxu froze the soulfire-stone mountain with his Heaven-Frost Art, and Xu Taiping shattered it with his Heaven-Touching Stance.
• Ye Lingxu gave Xu Taiping a jade jue so he could summon him when needed.
• Gu Changming offered Xu Taiping weapons and future aid in exchange for help splitting a stone mountain.

Xu Taiping helped Gu Changming collapse a mountain of Soulfire Stones while Blade Ghost recovered his strength. As the ruins’ ancient barrier broke and a woman found them, Blade Ghost asked Xu Taiping to lend him his body.

• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping he was absorbing soul power from the Soulfire Stone vein and asked him to hold on.
• Gu Changming merged with a rocky mountain and showed Xu Taiping the weak point he needed to strike.
• Xu Taiping used the ultimate realm Heaven-Touching Stance to shatter the weak point, collapsing the mountain and exposing its Soulfire Stones.
• A sword rainbow cleaved a fissure through the ancient barrier, and an enormous palm shadow pressed down into the ruins.
• An angry woman declared that she had found them, and Blade Ghost asked Xu Taiping to lend him his physique.

A Half-Immortal’s sword strikes broke through the God-Burying Mound’s barrier and severed Xu Taiping and his companions’ connection to the teleportation array. Xu Taiping answered with a blade strike from the ruins, revealing another unknown Half-Immortal in the Shangqing Realm as the clash continued across the Yellow Springs Ruins.

• Qin Ming, Ninth Madam, Heavenly Lord Xuanbei, and Daoist Fengzhu watched sword qi batter Fengdu Prefecture’s defenses while Xu Taiping and the others remained inside the God-Burying Mound.
• Heavenly Lord Xuanbei and Daoist Fengzhu concluded that the mound’s barrier could withstand the distant sword strikes, while Xu Taiping helped Ye Lingxu and the others and appeared to be waiting for something.
• A powerful sword shadow cracked the mound’s barrier and cut off the group’s connection to the Grand Teleportation Array.
• An enraged woman called out that she had finally found Xu Taiping and sent another sword shadow toward the ruins.
• Xu Taiping drew his blade, shattering the Spirit Mirror as snowbright blade light rose from the mound and struck back at the sword wielder.
• The blade wielder condemned the attacker as a traitor who had destroyed their forebears, and the clash illuminated the sky and shattered several Ruin Stars, leaving Xuanbei and Fengzhu stunned by the unknown Half-Immortal’s power.

Xu Taiping regained consciousness after Blade Ghost’s three strikes left him gravely injured, while the group learned that he and the others had returned from the ruins unconscious. Blade Ghost explained that his strikes had wounded the enemy and bought them several years, then prepared to retreat into seclusion and asked Xu Taiping for one more favor.

• Qin Ming received word from Cold Spring Hall that Xu Taiping and the others had returned from the forbidden grounds severely injured and unconscious.
• Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang rushed to Cold Spring Hall, followed by Heavenly Lord Xuanbei and the others.
• Xu Taiping woke and learned from Blade Ghost that he had used Xu Taiping’s body to unleash three strikes, nearly exhausting its essence blood source.
• Blade Ghost said his strikes had wounded the enemy and would keep her in seclusion for three to five years.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping to wait until he returned from up to half a month of seclusion before attempting to break through to the Dao Integration Realm.
• Blade Ghost asked Xu Taiping to help him with one more thing before he entered seclusion.

Xu Taiping discussed Blade Ghost’s request for the Thousand Faces puppet body and learned that Blade Ghost knew where Zhao Xuantan was. After recovering from the ruins, Xu Taiping concealed what had happened there, and several days later he learned that Fengdu Prefecture had prepared a Dao field for his breakthrough.

• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping that the Heavenly Emperor’s Treasury held the Thousand Faces puppet body and promised to reveal Zhao Xuantan’s whereabouts in exchange for it.
• Ping'an rushed to Xu Taiping, while Old Daoist Huang and Ghost King Qin Ming checked the survivors and confirmed that their injuries were not serious.
• Xu Taiping told Ninth Madam that a mysterious blade cultivator had fought the sword qi in the ruins, then pretended to pass out to avoid further questions.
• Several days later, Xu Taiping recovered in a guest room at Fengdu Prefecture and learned from Ping'an that Qin Ming wanted to show him the Dao field prepared for his breakthrough and tribulation transcendence.

After recovering from his injuries, Xu Taiping prepared for another breakthrough to the Dao Integration Realm and gave Old Daoist Huang the Heaven-Measuring Ruler he had found in the ruins. He then presented Ping'an with a gift from the ruins: a suit of Heavy-Fortification Armor.

• Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang visited Xu Taiping and told him Fengdu Prefecture had found a cultivation ground for his breakthrough.
• Xu Taiping worried that his breakthrough would draw a stronger Heavenly Tribulation and Otherworldly Heavenly Demons, while Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang reassured him about their preparations and mentioned Xiaoyu's lightning attacks.
• Xu Taiping showed Old Daoist Huang the ruler he had found in the God-Burying Mound ruins, and Old Daoist Huang confirmed it was the Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
• Xu Taiping gave the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to Old Daoist Huang, who warned that accepting it would bind him to Xu Taiping through karma.
• When Ping'an prepared to spar with Old Daoist Huang, Xu Taiping stopped him and offered him the Heavy-Fortification Armor.

Ping'an discovered that the Heavy-Fortification Armor suited him, and his punch accidentally smashed through the house’s window and formation restrictions. Ghost King Qin Ming pledged Fengdu Prefecture’s full support for Xu Taiping’s breakthrough to the Dao Integration Realm, then asked whether the armor came from Three Paths Village’s secret realm ruins.

• Old Daoist Huang recognized the Heavy-Fortification Armor and explained its ancient origins, weight, and exceptional sturdiness.
• Ping'an put on the armor, summoned his physical strength, and found that its weight made his attacks extraordinarily powerful.
• Ping'an accidentally punched through the room’s window and formation restrictions as Ghost King Qin Ming arrived.
• Qin Ming was astonished that Ping'an could move in the armor and said he would serve as another dharma protector for Xu Taiping’s breakthrough.
• Qin Ming promised Fengdu Prefecture would spare no effort to help Xu Taiping reach the Dao Integration Realm, then asked where Ping'an’s armor came from.

Xu Taiping agreed to sell Fengdu Prefecture the ancient objects and netherworld artifacts he brought out of the Yellow Springs Ruins after his breakthrough. Ghost King Qin Ming escorted him to a forbidden ground in the Bitter Spring Domain for his Dao Integration breakthrough, where Ninth Madam and his protectors were already waiting.

• Xu Taiping told Ghost King Qin Ming that he had brought back two or three hundred ancient objects and netherworld artifacts and would sell them to Fengdu Prefecture if the price was right.
• Qin Ming promised that Fengdu Prefecture would spare no effort to help Xu Taiping break through to the Dao Integration Realm.
• Qin Ming led Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Old Daoist Huang toward a teleportation array bound for a forbidden ground containing the Yellow Springs Ruins' star marrow.
• Qin Ming explained that the Great Emperor had allowed Xu Taiping to use the star marrow site as his breakthrough Dao Field because Xu had recovered the Sunken Abyss Bell.
• Qin Ming revealed that Ninth Madam, Heavenly Lord Xuanbei, and Daoist Fengzhu were waiting at the forbidden ground, and warned the group not to speak its name outside it.
• Xu Taiping and the others boarded the Grand Teleportation Array, which activated and plunged them into darkness.

Xu Taiping arrived at Xuān Pǔ Palace, where Fengdu Prefecture had prepared a powerful cultivation ground for his breakthrough. The Six-Nostril Mirror urged him to stay long enough to investigate the Jade Mother's lingering divine intent, while Daoist Fengzhu and Heavenly Lord Xuanbei immediately asked to verify his token.

• Ghost King Qin Ming brought Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Old Daoist Huang to the floating immortal mountain and explained that the secret realm was Xuān Pǔ Palace, once governed by the Jade Mother.
• Qin Ming described the restored palace barrier, which could protect a hundred-mile area with seven tiers of jade towers, and Xu Taiping welcomed it as an ideal place to break through.
• The Jade Thumb Ring grew hot, and the Six-Nostril Mirror told Xu Taiping that he could awaken the Jade Mother's divine intent and should remain in the realm while it searched the ruins.
• Xu Taiping arrived on the Sword Platform, where Daoist Fengzhu demanded to see his token and Heavenly Lord Xuanbei asked to verify that it was genuine.

Xu Taiping negotiated with Ninth Madam and Ghost King Qin Ming over his Soulfire Stone, artifacts, and a place to prepare for his breakthrough. He secured a half-month stay at Xuān Pǔ Palace and agreed to pay Ninth Madam fifty jin of peerless-grade Soulfire Stone to arrange Heavenly Lord Hanjian as his Dharma Protector.

• Xu Taiping offered the water lily to Heavenly Lord Xuanbei and Daoist Fengzhu, who insisted they would only take it after his realm breakthrough and examined it instead.
• Xu Taiping told Ninth Madam he had three hundred jin of peerless-grade Soulfire Stone to sell, and Ninth Madam arranged for the Black Prison to buy it while Qin Ming yielded the sale.
• Xu Taiping admitted he had brought out two or three hundred ancient objects and netherworld artifacts, prompting Qin Ming to claim them for Fengdu Prefecture and Ninth Madam to try to win them for the Black Prison.
• Xu Taiping asked to remain at Xuān Pǔ Palace until his planned breakthrough in half a month, and Qin Ming agreed.
• Ninth Madam offered to arrange Heavenly Lord Hanjian as Xu Taiping's Dharma Protector for fifty jin of peerless-grade Soulfire Stone, and Xu Taiping accepted.

Xu Taiping prepared for his Dao Integration Realm breakthrough and entered the Zhenwu Treasury to seek more Thunder Sound Banners. The Sword Chief Ranking’s Ranking Spirit had been waiting for him, and the chapter ended as the Treasury’s bronze gates opened.

• Heavenly Lord Xuanbei and Daoist Fengzhu verified Xu Taiping’s token and promised to protect his breakthrough in half a month.
• Xu Taiping decided to add the Earth-Splitting Five-Direction Thunder Sound Formation to defend against enemies and Otherworldly Heavenly Demons, despite having only four Thunder Sound Banners.
• Xu Taiping told Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang that he would enter the Zhenwu Treasury to seek more banners, and they agreed to guard him.
• Xu Taiping entered the Zhenwu Treasury through the Sword Champion Token and greeted its keeper, Old Chang.
• Old Chang told Xu Taiping that the Ranking Spirit had been waiting for him, and Xu Taiping knocked on the bronze gate and was invited inside.

Xu Taiping entered the Zhenwu Treasury to seek a General-Rank Thunder Sound Banner and the Flame-Thunder Armor before breaking through to the Dao Integration Realm. Elder Wu agreed to lend him the Thousand Faces puppet for Blade Ghost, while the Mysterious Man offered the armor on the condition that the Treasury choose his next opponent, and Zhu Peiniang called Lü Kui to battle.

• Elder Wu praised Xu Taiping’s cultivation and explained that obtaining a General-Rank Thunder Sound Banner required defeating a martial general’s heroic spirit and demonstrating command of formations.
• Xu Taiping asked to borrow the Thousand Faces puppet for Blade Ghost, who promised to find and return Zhao Xuantan, Divine General Zhao, and Elder Wu agreed to let the puppet leave the Treasury.
• Elder Wu revealed that Blade Ghost had once fought alongside the True Martial Great Emperor.
• Xu Taiping requested the Flame-Thunder Armor, and the Mysterious Man offered it on the condition that the Treasury choose his next Thunder General opponent.
• The Mysterious Man asked Zhu Peiniang to select an opponent, and she called Lü Kui to battle.