Chapter Summaries

After returning from the Netherworld, Xu Taiping learned that its merging with the Mortal Realm could eventually end reincarnation and turn the cosmos into a death domain. When Demonic Mountain attacked the Bamboo Sea Dao Field again, Blade Ghost advised Xu Taiping to further consolidate his cultivation before confronting it.

• Ping'an told Xu Taiping and Blade Ghost that only three days had passed since they entered the Dragon-Trapping Tower.
• Blade Ghost explained that the Netherworld Edict's shattering was merging the Netherworld with the Mortal Realm and said he hoped to find a way to repair it after Xu Taiping's Second Senior Brother defeated the Mad Monk.
• Xu Taiping reassured Ping'an that they had rescued Second Senior Brother and that Elder Huang had stayed in the Netherworld for his own reasons.
• Ping'an reported that Demonic Mountain had attacked the Bamboo Sea Dao Field's barrier, leaving cracks in its sky canopy, but ant demons had driven it away.
• Blade Ghost suggested that Xu Taiping consolidate his cultivation before killing Demonic Mountain and explained that he should merge divine intents with his Primordial Spirit.
• Xu Taiping began listing the divine intents and true intents he had obtained so Blade Ghost could advise him on which to merge.

Xu Taiping learned from Blade Ghost how divine intents and true intents could be merged into the primordial spirit or body, while Ping'an discovered that his bloodline had awakened a wind-spirit true intent. Xu Taiping chose two divine intents and four true intents to refine in the Dragon-Trapping Tower, where he began merging them as his Origin Beginning Clone continued studying the Ten Emperors Scripture.

• Blade Ghost explained that cultivators could acquire thousands of divine intents and true intents, though he had mastered fewer than ten, and that Xu Taiping should first merge a small number into his primordial spirit.
• Blade Ghost demonstrated the golden runes on his arm and explained that divine intents and true intents could also be merged into the body, hair, skin, and organs.
• Ping'an showed Blade Ghost a golden rune in his palm, and Blade Ghost identified it as a wind-spirit true intent awakened through Ping'an's origin bloodline.
• Blade Ghost sent Xu Taiping the method for merging divine intent and asked him to return to the Dragon-Trapping Tower while he guided Ping'an.
• Xu Taiping selected the divine intents Life Without End and One Sword Equals Ten Thousand Soldiers, along with four true intents, and began merging them into his primordial spirit as his Origin Beginning Clone studied the Ten Emperors Scripture.

Xu Taiping consolidated his realm and endured fifteen days of agony to merge Moonfall Divine Intent into his right arm, greatly strengthening his combat power. When he emerged, he learned that Demonic Mountain was attacking the Bamboo Sea Barrier again after the Ant Demons had abandoned the Bamboo Sea, and Blade Ghost asked him to destroy it.

• Xu Taiping awoke from seclusion with stronger divine marrow power after merging divine intent and true intent into his primordial spirit.
• He began merging Moonfall Divine Intent into his right arm and endured severe pain for fifteen days before succeeding.
• Xu Taiping emerged from the Dragon-Trapping Tower and saw Ping'an rushing to meet him.
• Ping'an told Xu Taiping that Demonic Mountain had attacked the Bamboo Sea Barrier during his seclusion and that the Ant King had taken the remaining Ant Demons away.
• The Bamboo Sea Barrier cracked under another attack, and Blade Ghost asked Xu Taiping whether he was ready to destroy Demonic Mountain.

Xu Taiping used Divine Intent and True Intent to topple Demonic Mountain, but the mountain exploded into countless rocks and trapped him amid a fierce counterattack. Zhu Ping warned that Xu Taiping might struggle to damage Demonic Mountain with the abilities he had fused.

• Blade Ghost urged Xu Taiping to rely on Divine Intent and True Intent against Demonic Mountain, while Zhu Ping and Ping'an advised him to fight with all his strength.
• Demonic Mountain broke through the Sky Canopy and charged through the bamboo forest, prompting the group to fear they might have to open the Barrier's final layer.
• Xu Taiping turned the ground beneath Demonic Mountain into a swamp, then struck its head with the Human Sovereign Sword bearing One Sword Equals Ten Thousand Soldiers.
• Xu Taiping combined Swamp True Intent and Mountain Spirit True Intent to topple and pin Demonic Mountain, but Demonic Mountain exploded into rocks that smashed Xu Taiping's body apart.
• Xu Taiping's flesh and blood reassembled through fine threads, and he darted among Demonic Mountain's rocks as they formed walls to trap him.
• Zhu Ping warned that Xu Taiping's fused abilities mainly enhanced his Magic Power and defense, making it difficult for him to damage Demonic Mountain.

Xu Taiping used the Lotus Eye and the Human Sovereign Sword to overwhelm the Demonic Mountain, forcing it to flee from the bamboo sea. Though Blade Ghost warned that the demon could recover among mountains, Xu Taiping pursued it to try to seal it with another divine intent.

• Blade Ghost told Ping'an and Little Pig Demon that Xu Taiping seemed to anticipate the Demonic Mountain's attacks, and Ping'an realized he was using the Lotus Eye.
• Xu Taiping evaded the Demonic Mountain's attacks and destroyed its stone fists, fragments, and smaller mountains with the Human Sovereign Sword.
• Xu Taiping's Lotus Eye revealed a Nine-Petal Lotus, and his golden sword light pierced the Demonic Mountain repeatedly until its aura weakened.
• The Demonic Mountain fled the bamboo sea after attacking Xu Taiping with a rain of stones.
• Blade Ghost warned that the Demonic Mountain could recover among mountain ranges, but Xu Taiping pursued it to try to seal it with another divine intent.

Xu Taiping used a third divine intent, Moonfall, to bury the Demonic Mountain beneath falling peaks, then recovered and refined his blade skills. A Moonlight Stone tied to the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage grew hot, and Xu Taiping learned that the Great Sage had unexpectedly challenged Dong Cangzi three years earlier than planned.

• Xu Taiping unleashed Moonfall, crushing and burying the Demonic Mountain before exhausting his magic power and falling from the sky.
• Blade Ghost caught Xu Taiping and realized he had fused a third divine intent into his body.
• Ten days later, Xu Taiping demonstrated blade intent to Old Daoist Huang and declined Blade Ghost's challenge so he could conserve strength for the attack on Black Lotus Temple.
• Xu Taiping's Moonlight Stone grew searingly hot, and he wondered whether something had happened to the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage.
• Ping'an and Little Pig Demon Zhu Ping showed Xu Taiping a Spirit Mirror in which Ding Mou announced his challenge to Dong Cangzi of Yanggu Heaven, earlier than expected.

Xu Taiping learned that Heaven-Hunting Great Sage had completed his Great Dao Edict early after witnessing Xu Taiping’s breakthrough, forcing him to accept Dong Cangzi’s challenge. The battle was set for the first full moon day three months later, and new reports said Liu Dong Cang had damaged Dong Cangzi’s Great Dao Edict.

• Blade Ghost explained that cultivators with Great Dao Edicts of the same lineage were compelled to clash, and Half-Immortals needed to win nine such clashes to advance.
• Heaven-Hunting Great Sage contacted Xu Taiping through the moonlight stone and congratulated him on reaching the Dao Integration Realm.
• Heaven-Hunting Great Sage said Xu Taiping’s breakthrough had helped him complete his Great Dao Edict early, prompting Dong Cangzi to threaten his disciples and force a fight.
• Heaven-Hunting Great Sage told Xu Taiping that he would fight Dong Cangzi on the first full moon day three months later and invited him to watch through the moonlight stone.
• Zhu Ping received news that the contest would happen in three months and that Liu Dong Cang had damaged Dong Cangzi’s Great Dao Edict.

Xu Taiping and the others watched Liu Dong Cang and an unnamed cultivator attack Dong Cangzi inside the Black Square Tower with the Golden Fire of Karmic Cleansing. When their fire failed to break through Dong Cangzi’s defenses, they summoned a five-colored mist and a gigantic female phantom, prompting Dong Cangzi to condemn Liu Dong Cang for colluding with her.

• Xu Taiping realized Liu Dong Cang was attacking Dong Cangzi inside Yanggu Heaven’s Black Square Tower.
• Liu Dong Cang and the unnamed cultivator used the Golden Fire of Karmic Cleansing to burn the tower, which split into countless blocks and counterattacked.
• Dong Cangzi covered the tower and its scattered pieces in ice, stopping the Golden Fire from melting them.
• Liu Dong Cang’s formation changed the Golden Fire into five-colored mist, and Blade Ghost recognized that the attackers had brought a woman.
• A gigantic female phantom struck the Black Square Tower, and Dong Cangzi angrily accused Liu Dong Cang of colluding with her.

Xu Taiping and the others watched Liu Dong Cang confront Dong Cangzi and discovered that the unnamed cultivator beside Liu was Xu Taiping’s former Senior Brother, Su Chan. Old Daoist Huang then awakened in the Yellow Springs, prompting Xu Taiping and Blade Ghost to suspect that trouble was unfolding there.

• Dong Cangzi shattered part of the Black Square Tower while repelling the woman, then offered Liu Dong Cang another chance if he captured the cultivator beside him.
• Liu Dong Cang taunted Dong Cangzi about his coming contest with the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage, and the unnamed cultivator reminded Liu of their agreement.
• Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Blade Ghost recognized the unnamed cultivator as Su Chan and suspected he had driven Liu Dong Cang's plot against Dong Cangzi.
• Xu Taiping allowed Little Pig Demon Zhu Ping to sell the information they had learned, except details concerning Su Chan and Xu Taiping.
• Old Daoist Huang contacted Xu Taiping after waking in the Yellow Springs, and Xu Taiping and Blade Ghost grew concerned that something was happening there.

Xu Taiping and his companions tested Old Daoist Huang’s Jade Pillow Talismans and successfully reached Yellow Springs, where Dugu Qingxiao offered them Nine Springs Water to strengthen their cultivation. Xu Taiping returned alone to the Dragon-Trapping Tower, and Blade Ghost began instructing him in the final step of consolidating his Heaven-Connecting Realm cultivation.

• Old Daoist Huang explained that the Jade Pillow Talisman could transport its user to a fixed location in Yellow Springs, though each person could use it for only three round trips.
• Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Old Daoist Huang used the talismans to reach Dugu Qingxiao and Xu Ziyan in Yellow Springs.
• Dugu Qingxiao gave Xu Taiping and Ping'an Nine Springs Water, which let them refine Netherworld Qi into power that could become cultivation and magic power in the Mortal Realm.
• Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang stayed in Yellow Springs to cultivate, while Xu Taiping returned alone to the Dragon-Trapping Tower.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping to fuse his Great Dao Edict with his Nascent Soul as the final step in consolidating his cultivation.

Xu Taiping learned that his Tai Su Balance-Void Law was a powerful Great Dao Edict but not an edict of the Origin of the Great Dao, then continued trying to merge it with his Nascent Soul. At Sea-Viewing Cliff, he struggled to follow Blade Ghost’s advice until storm clouds gathered and Zhu Ping urged him to return to the Pine and Bamboo Residence.

• Xu Taiping described his Great Dao Edict to Blade Ghost, who explained how ordinary Great Dao Edicts differed from an edict of the Origin of the Great Dao.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping to begin merging his edict with his Nascent Soul by seeing mountains and seas as mayflies and mayflies as the azure sky, without using the edict’s power.
• One month later at Sea-Viewing Cliff, Xu Taiping reflected that the edict’s power and his Nascent Soul remained separate despite his efforts.
• Dark clouds gathered over Sea-Viewing Cliff, and Zhu Ping warned Xu Taiping that the rain in the Bamboo Sea Dao Field was unusually heavy.
• Xu Taiping thanked Zhu Ping but stayed on the cliff to keep watching the clouds, while Zhu Ping called him another martial fanatic.

Xu Taiping watched a piece of driftwood endure a raging storm and realized how it could guide him in merging the Great Dao Edict with his nascent soul. He declared that the driftwood had triumphed over the sea, and the driftwood then appeared to cleave the sea apart.

• Xu Taiping kept his attention on a piece of driftwood as a storm battered the sea and repeatedly submerged it.
• After the storm passed, Xu Taiping saw the driftwood still afloat and declared, "It has triumphed over the vast sea!"
• The Great Dao Edict transformed into a thin gauze around Xu Taiping's nascent soul, and golden light and Dao resonance surrounded him.
• Blade Ghost recognized that Xu Taiping had found the key to merging the Great Dao Edict with his nascent soul and asked what he had seen.
• Xu Taiping pointed out the driftwood, and Zhu Ping watched in terror as it pressed down on the sea and cleaved its waters apart.

Xu Taiping, Zhu Ping, and Blade Ghost shared bamboo spirit mouse stew and Hidden Immortal Wine at the Pine and Bamboo Residence. After Zhu Ping drank himself unconscious, Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping he had figured something out, leaving him waiting to hear what it was.

• Zhu Ping served bamboo spirit mouse stew, and Xu Taiping offered his Hidden Immortal Wine.
• Blade Ghost recognized the wine as Hidden Immortal Wine and toasted Zhu Ping for his cooking and care.
• Xu Taiping and Blade Ghost praised the stew while Zhu Ping drank several cups of wine.
• Zhu Ping passed out after Blade Ghost teased him about his drinking, and Xu Taiping and Blade Ghost continued drinking together.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping that he had figured something out over the past few days, and Xu Taiping asked what it was.

Blade Ghost hinted at the catastrophe that destroyed the Heavenly Court and promised to explain it after Xu Taiping watched the battle between the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage and Dong Cangzi. Their conversation ended when Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang returned with news that Black Lotus Temple was attacking Yizili.

• Blade Ghost reminisced about losing his youthful resolve and said he would stake everything on Xu Taiping if the Heavenly Court’s catastrophe returned.
• Blade Ghost warned Xu Taiping that learning who destroyed the Heavenly Court could let them erase him, and agreed to explain after the battle over the Great Dao Edict.
• Xu Taiping and Blade Ghost drank and discussed cultivation until daylight, while Zhu Ping slept off his drunkenness in Xu Taiping’s room.
• Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang rushed back and told Xu Taiping that Black Lotus Temple had attacked Yizili and its barrier might soon fall.
• Blade Ghost reacted with surprise that Mad Monk’s injuries had healed so quickly.

Xu Taiping and his companions planned to use Blade Ghost’s Avīci Blade Domain to hold off Black Lotus Temple’s forces while Xu Taiping and Ping'an attacked the Mad Monk, buying Dugu Qingxiao time to assimilate the Yama Inheritance. As the Ghost Monks broke through Yizili’s barrier, Blade Ghost trapped them in a blood-colored sphere and Xu Taiping and Ping'an set off for Black Lotus Temple.

• Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang explained that the Mad Monk remained injured at Black Lotus Temple, but his disciples and nearly a hundred Ghost Monks had attacked Yizili.
• Xu Taiping, Blade Ghost, and Ping'an entered the Yellow Springs while Old Daoist Huang guarded their bodies; there, they met Dugu Qingxiao, who had assimilated less than eighty percent of the Yama Inheritance.
• The group considered their options and learned that Blade Ghost could use a Ghost Eye Stone Fragment to sustain the Avīci Blade Domain for up to three days.
• Xu Taiping proposed that he and Ping'an attack the Mad Monk while Blade Ghost trapped the Ghost Monks, giving Dugu Qingxiao time to finish assimilating the Yama Inheritance.
• After the Ghost Monks broke through Yizili’s barrier, Blade Ghost cried, “Open Avīci!” and sealed them in a blood-colored sphere as Xu Taiping and Ping'an flew toward Black Lotus Temple.

Xu Taiping and Ping'an traveled toward Black Lotus Temple, where they hoped to stop Mad Monk from healing and draw away the ghost monks surrounding Yizili without confronting Mad Monk directly. The Lotus Eye awakened at its third stage and revealed a new power that could deduce solutions, though Yellow Springs might force Xu Taiping to use Tai Bai Eclipse Power for any deduction.

• Ping'an explained that the clay effigies guarding Black Lotus Temple would turn hostile if intruders entered, and Xu Taiping decided they should avoid alerting them.
• Xu Taiping reasoned that he needed only to stop Mad Monk from healing and draw the ghost monks away from Yizili, since he could not defeat Mad Monk in a direct fight.
• Xu Taiping drank Nine Springs Water to replenish his magic power from the netherworld qi around him.
• The Lotus Eye awakened at its third stage and told Xu Taiping that he had gained Nine-Lotus Insight Power, which let him anticipate opponents' movements.
• After Xu Taiping described the rescue of Dugu Qingxiao and their current predicament, the Lotus Eye revealed Nine-Lotus Deduction Power, which could deduce solutions to specific problems.
• The Lotus Eye warned Xu Taiping that Yellow Springs weakened its power, so he would need Tai Bai Eclipse Power to make a reliable deduction there.

Xu Taiping used the power of Insight and Deduction to find a way to disrupt the Mad Monk’s healing and turn the clay effigies at the Black Lotus Temple against him. The vision revealed that Ping'an’s Mind-Heart Communication and the Human Sovereign Sword might let them command the effigies, though Xu Taiping had not yet tested the plan.

• Xu Taiping spent divine marrow power and tai bai eclipse power to activate Insight and Deduction, while worrying that the effort would leave him weakened for the confrontation with the Mad Monk.
• The Lotus Eye warned Xu Taiping that Yellow Springs’ Netherworld Edict was exhausting its divine sense and that it would have to sleep again.
• The Lotus Eye showed Xu Taiping a vision of the Black Lotus Temple, where clay effigies rose from the mud swamps and attacked him and Ping'an.
• In the vision, Ping'an used his spiritual resonance power with Xu Taiping’s tai bai eclipse power to freeze the effigies, then urged them to follow and breach the temple.
• Xu Taiping realized Ping'an’s Mind-Heart Communication could turn the effigies against the Black Lotus Temple, and saw the Human Sovereign Sword appear as his vision-self ordered the effigies into formation.

Xu Taiping and Ping'an used Mind-Heart Communication to combine their divine marrow power and storm Black Lotus Temple before its Lotus Throne sealed it. The Clay Effigies rose to block them, but Ping'an took control of the first group, alarming Mad Monk and Old Daoist Mao.

• Ping'an discovered that Xu Taiping's deep divine marrow power could help him control the thousands of Clay Effigies surrounding Black Lotus Temple.
• Mad Monk closed the Lotus Throne around Black Lotus Temple and told Old Daoist Mao he was preparing to merge with a Yama Inheritance.
• Xu Taiping and Ping'an set out to attack Black Lotus Temple before the Lotus Throne closed, carrying the Thunder Sound Banner and relying on Nine Springs Water.
• More than a hundred Clay Effigies rose from the Nine Valleys Corpse-Moss Shoal and blocked Xu Taiping and Ping'an.
• Ping'an linked his mind with Xu Taiping's and ordered the Clay Effigies to obey him; they answered in unison, shocking Old Daoist Mao.

Xu Taiping and Ping'an used Ping'an’s command over the clay and wax figures to form a battle formation and smash through the Black Lotus Barrier, entering Black Lotus Temple before the platform closed. Mad Monk ordered Old Daoist Mao to use One-Leaf Book to mislead them while he finished digesting Yama's Complete Inheritance.

• Old Daoist Mao explained that the Black Lotus Barrier had eighty-one layers as Xu Taiping and Ping'an struck at it.
• Ping'an revealed his Mountain-Lifting Ape Bloodline and shattered more than seventy layers of the barrier with a powerful blow.
• Ping'an commanded the thousands of clay and wax figures, then led them and Xu Taiping in a formation charge that broke all eighty-one layers.
• Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and the clay and wax figures entered Black Lotus Temple before the Black Lotus Platform closed.
• Mad Monk ordered Old Daoist Mao to use One-Leaf Book to make the intruders lose their way while he finished digesting Yama's Complete Inheritance.
• Old Daoist Mao wrote that the figures would return to the Buddha and drive the intruders out, then asked Mad Monk for more magic power.

Old Daoist Mao tried to use the One-Leaf Book to delay Xu Taiping and Ping'an while Mad Monk merged with the Yama Inheritance, but Xu Taiping broke its spells and offered Mao a chance to escape Mad Monk. Mao secretly chose to help Xu Taiping’s party by revealing the hidden gate to the Western Courtyard.

• Mad Monk lifted Old Daoist Mao’s seal and ordered him to use the One-Leaf Book to delay Xu Taiping and Ping'an.
• Xu Taiping stopped at the Heavenly King Hall and ordered his party to go to the Sutra Hall, while Mao’s attempts to write new tribulations were broken.
• Mad Monk returned some of Mao’s magic power, and Mao used the One-Leaf Book to trap Xu Taiping’s party inside Black Lotus Temple before Mad Monk sealed him again.
• Xu Taiping sent Mao a message offering to join forces and warning that the One-Leaf Book could not truly trap his party.
• Mad Monk promised Mao more magic power and said he would merge with the Yama Inheritance within half an incense stick’s time.
• Mao secretly wrote that a fierce gust would reveal the hidden Western Courtyard gate, deciding to gamble on helping Xu Taiping rather than remain Mad Monk’s servant.