Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping and Ping'an broke through the hurricane and attacked the Sutra Hall while Old Daoist Mao secretly aided them. The Mad Monk's attempt to refine the Yama Edict Inheritance failed when the Sutra Hall collapsed, leaving Old Daoist Mao under attack.

• Xu Taiping used Hengxu Law to weigh down the hurricane's boulders, then led Ping'an and the clay men and wax figures through the wind wall.
• Ping'an's formation charge struck the Sutra Hall, but its protective formation repelled them.
• Xu Taiping urged Old Daoist Mao through the Spirit Mirror to betray the Mad Monk and revealed the Sutra Hall's fifth pillar as the formation node.
• Old Daoist Mao tried to write in the One-Leaf Book that the Yama Edict's power had turned against the Mad Monk, but the Mad Monk attacked him before he could finish.
• Xu Taiping and Ping'an's formation collapsed the Sutra Hall, causing the Mad Monk to spit blood and fail to refine the Yama Edict Inheritance.

Xu Taiping and Ping'an led the clay and wax figures against the Mad Monk, who used sound waves, Buddhist fire, and a spell that drained their magic power to overwhelm them. Their final attacks severed one of his heads and three of his arms, but his black lotus barrier held, and Xu Taiping caught the nearly depleted Ping'an after a failed charge.

• The Mad Monk shattered the Stored Swords Hall and blasted Xu Taiping and the clay and wax figures with sound waves, but Xu Taiping rallied their battle intent into a shield.
• Ping'an struck the Mad Monk with the Human Sovereign North Wind Spear, but the Mad Monk grew into a six-armed Dharma Body and battered Ping'an and the formation with Buddhist fire.
• Xu Taiping invoked the Human Sovereign Sword to strengthen the formation's battle intent, and its giant ape phantom shattered the Mad Monk's bell defense before the Mad Monk blocked the sword strike.
• The Mad Monk cast a Buddhist incantation that drained Xu Taiping's and Ping'an's magic power while strengthening his own.
• Xu Taiping and Ping'an attacked together, breaking the Mad Monk's bell and severing one head and three arms, but he shielded himself inside a black lotus barrier.
• Ping'an's next charge bounced off the barrier, and Xu Taiping caught him as he flew backward.

Xu Taiping and Ping'an escaped the Black Lotus Temple after stopping the Mad Monk from merging with the Yama Inheritance, but the black lotus trapped them in its shadow. They fought back against its attacks and charged toward the lotus, where Xu Taiping unleashed his Fifth Blade Domain.

• Xu Taiping and Ping'an fled the Black Lotus Temple as the Mad Monk roared after them, and the black lotus lifted the temple and spread a vast lotus shadow that trapped them.
• Xu Taiping and Ping'an revealed their true forms and fought off a phantom vajra warrior, but blood-colored lotuses engulfed them in Red Lotus Karmic Fire.
• Xu Taiping used his true dragon forbidden domain to suppress the flames, then swapped places with Ping'an using the Form- and Shadow-Transposition Technique and urged him to attack the black lotus.
• Xu Taiping and Ping'an charged toward the lotus, and Xu Taiping unleashed his Fifth Blade Domain, Infernal Prison, around it.
• Phantom Buddha statues emerged from the lotus and howled, sending rings of black, smoky ripples through Xu Taiping's blade domain.

Xu Taiping and Ping'an fought the Mad Monk Jinghai, using the Book of Life and Death to destroy his black lotus and badly injure him, but Jinghai repeatedly revived through Nirvana Power. As Dugu Qingxiao rushed to help, Xiaohei awoke and appeared as a gigantic black hound to protect them.

• Xu Taiping and Ping'an damaged Jinghai's black lotus, but Jinghai emerged in his Black Lotus Sacred Body and attacked them with many arms.
• Ping'an told Xu Taiping the Mad Monk's Dharma name was Jinghai, and Xu Taiping used the Book of Life and Death to shatter Jinghai's Buddha claws and black lotus.
• Xu Taiping wrote Jinghai's name in the Book of Life and Death a second time, destroying another lotus and half of Jinghai's body, but the effort exhausted Xu Taiping's Divine Marrow Power.
• Ping'an lent Xu Taiping his Divine Marrow Power as Jinghai burned himself and revived from a new black lotus using Nirvanic Annihilation.
• Dugu Qingxiao told Xu Taiping he had fused with the Yama Inheritance and was on his way, while Xiaohei awoke and emerged as a giant black hound to shield Xu Taiping and Ping'an.

The Mad Monk transformed into his Black Lotus Sacred Body and fought Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Xiaohei inside the Nine Valleys Corpse-Moss Shoal. Xiaohei used newly acquired Netherworld Edicts and devouring powers to injure him, but the Mad Monk recovered, counterattacked, and trapped them behind the shoal's barrier.

• The Mad Monk unleashed the second level of Nirvana Power and transformed into his enormous Black Lotus Sacred Body.
• Xiaohei struck the Mad Monk, bit off one of his hands, and swallowed it, causing its aura to surge.
• The Mad Monk unleashed Red Lotus Fire Prison, but Xiaohei erased the falling karmic-fire lotuses with a Netherworld Edict.
• Xiaohei evaded the Mad Monk's sound-wave attack and used a new long-range devouring power to remove half his body.
• The Mad Monk regenerated, struck Xiaohei with several punches, and summoned Knocking Gate Kṣitigarbha to hinder their escape.
• Xiaohei raced toward the edge of the Nine Valleys Corpse-Moss Shoal, but an invisible barrier stopped them as the Mad Monk revealed he had sealed the area.

Xu Taiping and Xiaohei battled the Mad Monk at the Nine Valleys Corpse-Moss Shoal, with Xiaohei buying time for Xu Taiping to attack. Just as the Mad Monk began to overcome Xu Taiping’s assault, Blade Ghost arrived and cleaved the shoal between them, telling Xu Taiping to rest.

• Xiaohei raced around the Nine Valleys Corpse-Moss Shoal to evade the Mad Monk’s Black Gates while Xu Taiping recovered his strength.
• Xiaohei swallowed the Black Gates and used a Netherworld Edict to force the Mad Monk back into the black lotus.
• Xu Taiping pierced the black lotus with the Human Sovereign Sword, then unleashed his No-Blade Form against the Mad Monk’s Black Lotus Sacred Body.
• The Mad Monk slowed Xu Taiping’s saber strokes with his vertical eye and protected himself with layers of bell shadows, while Xu Taiping’s blade force began to collapse.
• Ping'an offered to take Xu Taiping’s place, but Blade Ghost suddenly cleaved the Nine Valleys Corpse-Moss Shoal between Xu Taiping and the Mad Monk and told Xu Taiping to rest.

Xu Taiping survived the Mad Monk’s attacks with help from Blade Ghost, then watched Dugu Qingxiao arrive and overwhelm the Mad Monk. The chapter left Dugu Qingxiao unleashing an immense aura that Blade Ghost identified as seventy percent of his power.

• The Mad Monk attacked Xu Taiping with blood-red claw shadows, but Blade Ghost arrived and destroyed them with his blade qi.
• The Mad Monk shattered Blade Ghost’s blade shadow and attacked them at full strength, but Dugu Qingxiao struck him into the ruins of the Black Lotus Temple.
• Dugu Qingxiao knocked the Mad Monk into the mire and asked Blade Ghost to protect Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Xiaohei while he fought.
• Blade Ghost carried Xu Taiping and the others a dozen li away and shielded them as Dugu Qingxiao dodged the Mad Monk’s attacks.
• The Mad Monk’s sixteen magic artifacts engulfed Dugu Qingxiao, who responded with an aura that set the Nine Valleys Corpse-Moss Shoal ablaze.
• Blade Ghost said Dugu Qingxiao was using seventy percent of his power, and Xu Taiping congratulated his Second Senior Brother.

Dugu Qingxiao defeated the Mad Monk, absorbed his Yama Inheritance, and promised Xu Taiping that he would help rescue the Azure Profound Sect. Before entering secluded cultivation to assimilate the Mad Monk’s Great Dao Edict, Dugu Qingxiao asked Xu Taiping about Fairy Lingyue.

• The Mad Monk trapped Dugu Qingxiao in a black lotus, but Dugu Qingxiao broke free and pinned him down with sword light.
• The Mad Monk summoned a ghostly Buddha Domain and hid in its blood pool, but Dugu Qingxiao saw through his plan and destroyed the domain.
• Dugu Qingxiao killed the Mad Monk and swallowed the Yama Inheritance sealed in a Ghost Eye Stone.
• Dugu Qingxiao told Xu Taiping he would not leave him to face danger alone again and said he needed to assimilate the Mad Monk’s Great Dao Edict in seclusion.
• At Fallen Immortal Temple, Dugu Qingxiao asked Xu Taiping whether he knew Fairy Lingyue, leaving Xu Taiping wondering how he knew about her.

Xu Taiping and Dugu Qingxiao discussed Fairy Lingyue’s past help for Dugu in Yellow Springs and the jade pendant she had entrusted to him. Dugu revealed a possible way to leave Yellow Springs through Mad Monk’s Yin-Yang Realm Buddha Domain Power, and they planned to use a Soul-Summoning Talisman to bring him into the Taixuan Ghost Domain.

• Dugu Qingxiao recalled that Fairy Lingyue had saved him from the Ghost Marshal Inheritance’s backlash, leaving him a restraining rune and several Dharma Methods.
• Dugu Qingxiao gave Xu Taiping the jade pendant Fairy Lingyue had entrusted to him, which contained something she wished to pass on.
• Xu Taiping explained that Fairy Lingyue had left him tokens to guide him toward her whereabouts after ascending to Outer Heaven.
• Dugu Qingxiao said he could use Mad Monk’s Yin-Yang Realm Buddha Domain Power to enter the Mortal Realm after integrating the Origin of the Great Dao Edict.
• Xu Taiping proposed using the Soul-Summoning Talismans on the Wangchuan Stone and Yellow Springs Jade Pillow to bring Dugu Qingxiao into the Taixuan Ghost Domain.

Xu Taiping and Dugu Qingxiao sought a fragment of the White Jade Golden Bridge to help Dugu Qingxiao inherit enough of Mad Monk’s Edict power to enter the Taixuan Ghost Domain with his forces. Blade Ghost revealed that Xu Taiping could pursue one through the Chaotic Stars Assembly’s Demon-Slaying Ranking, and Xu Taiping resolved to compete.

• Dugu Qingxiao said he would take his Ghost Wardens and Ghost Marshals into the Taixuan Ghost Domain if he could obtain Mad Monk’s Buddha Domain power, but he needed to merge with at least ninety percent of Mad Monk’s Edict.
• Dugu Qingxiao explained that a fragment of the White Jade Golden Bridge could help him reach that level of inheritance.
• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping and Dugu Qingxiao that fragments of the White Jade Golden Bridge could be found in the Flame Emperor’s Treasury and that top finishers in the Chaotic Stars Assembly’s Demon-Slaying Ranking could claim its treasures.
• Xu Taiping decided to compete for the ranking despite Dugu Qingxiao’s concern, saying he had Ping'an, Xiaohei, and Elder Huang to support him.
• Dugu Qingxiao expressed confidence in Xu Taiping, and the brothers agreed to save their chance to fight side by side for the Taixuan Ghost Domain.

Xu Taiping and his companions discussed staying in Yellow Springs to pursue the Yama Inheritances, while Xu Taiping remained intent on reaching the Immortal Realm. Dugu Qingxiao explained how the Taixuan Ghost Domain’s otherworldly ghosts could bring about a calamity that would consume Shangqing.

• Blade Ghost asked to stay in the Fallen Immortal Temple to repair his divine soul, and Dugu Qingxiao welcomed him.
• Dugu Qingxiao revealed that six unclaimed Yama Inheritances remained and that claiming them all would restore order in Yellow Springs and reopen its Path to Heaven.
• Xu Taiping chose to pursue the Immortal Realm, while Ping'an decided to seek a Yama Inheritance after the Chaotic Stars Assembly; they discussed Old Daoist Huang doing the same.
• Blade Ghost urged Xu Taiping to aim for first place on the Demon-Slaying Ranking to receive guidance from the Flame Emperor’s divine sense and strengthen his body-tempering cultivation.
• Dugu Qingxiao explained that Taixuan Ghost Domain creatures came from beyond the domain and could invade through the corpses of Shangqing’s living, devour its cultivators, and leave the realm lifeless.

Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping and Dugu Qingxiao that the Great Void Calamity would bring ghost, human, and immortal disasters to Shangqing, and that the calamity could turn the Cultivation World into a Ghost Domain. He revealed that he and others were still resisting it, warned that it might arrive in three to five hundred years, and urged the two to grow stronger.

• Blade Ghost privately told Xu Taiping and Dugu Qingxiao that the Great Void Calamity would bring three disasters: ghosts, humans, and immortals.
• Blade Ghost explained that possession would spread from Ghost Creatures and mortals to cultivators, while each disaster would produce a powerful being like or stronger than the Demon Mother.
• Xu Taiping asked whether the Heavenly Court's destruction was connected to the calamity, and Blade Ghost revealed that the Heavenly Court had used him as a sacrificial pawn before the calamity fell dormant.
• Blade Ghost said many cultivators had failed to find a way to stop the calamity, though some were still secretly fighting it, including himself and possibly Senior Ye Po.
• Blade Ghost warned Xu Taiping and Dugu Qingxiao that the calamity might fully descend within three to five hundred years and urged them to increase their combat strength.

Xu Taiping learned from Fairy Lingyue’s Jade Pendant that she had entered a dangerous passage on the Heaven-Demon Battlefield and might need rescuing if she failed to return within sixty years. After resolving to become stronger, he learned the Ten Emperors Scripture could greatly improve his cultivation and combat strength, despite the risk of losing his cultivation for ten days.

• Xu Taiping recalled that the Five Elders of the Taixuan Sect and Zhao Xuantan had stayed behind to confront the Great Void Calamity, then decided to focus on raising his cultivation and finding Fairy Lingyue.
• Xu Taiping activated the Jade Pendant and heard Fairy Lingyue explain that she and Immortal Elder Wuji had entered a passage on the Heaven-Demon Battlefield in search of the Taiqing Paradise.
• Fairy Lingyue gave Xu Taiping the passage’s location and told him to wait at least sixty years before attempting to find them, while warning him to leave the world if she had perished and the Great Void Calamity proved unavoidable.
• Xu Taiping wondered whether ascending and abandoning the world was truly his path, then set the question aside and resolved to become stronger.
• Xu Taiping merged his Divine Sense with his Origin Beginning Clone and received its completed initial insights into the Ten Emperors Scripture.
• Xu Taiping learned that cultivating the Ten Emperors Scripture risked dispersing his cultivation for ten days, but eagerly decided to cultivate it for the promised gains.

Xu Taiping prepared to watch Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s battle with Dong Cangzi through the Moonlight Stone. As the Great Sage approached Yanggu Heaven, he explained that the stone linked their minds and let Xu Taiping see and feel what he did.

• Xu Taiping considered how to prepare for the Ten Emperors Scripture’s tribulation before Zhu Ping told him Yanggu Heaven would broadcast the Great Dao battle across the Upper Realm.
• Xu Taiping returned to Pine and Bamboo Residence, where Blade Ghost, Elder Huang, Ping'an, and Zhu Ping gathered to watch the match.
• Xu Taiping entered the Dragon-Trapping Tower and used his magic power to activate the Moonlight Stone.
• Heaven-Hunting Great Sage explained that the Moonlight Stone linked their minds and transmitted his perceptions to Xu Taiping.
• Heaven-Hunting Great Sage said they were still some distance from Yanggu Heaven and began chatting with Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping learned how Ultimate Dao power could be cultivated as the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage explained two methods and prepared to face Dong Cangzi. The Great Sage arrived at an enormous palace city in Yanggu Heaven, where Dong Cangzi resided.

• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage told Xu Taiping that Dong Cangzi was his predecessor and had mastered both fist and blade techniques to the Ultimate Dao Realm.
• The Great Sage explained that cultivators could reach the Ultimate Dao Realm by perfectly merging an Origin Edict with a technique or ability cultivated to the Ultimate Realm or Extreme Law.
• The Great Sage described a second method: an Ultimate Realm technique might attain Ultimate Dao standing during combat against a comparable opponent, though he warned Xu Taiping against relying on it.
• The Great Sage encouraged Xu Taiping to pursue the dangerous method if his heart was set on it.
• The Great Sage landed before an enormous palace city, and Xu Taiping asked whether it was Yanggu Heaven, where Dong Cangzi resided.

Xu Taiping and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage entered Dong Cangzi’s mortal world and were escorted through the imperial city to meet the emperor. Their progress stopped when General Zheng Ye challenged them outside the palace.

• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage identified himself to the soldiers as Ding Mou, an envoy from the Heavenly Prefecture, and explained that Dong Cangzi’s Great Dao Edict suppressed cultivators entering his world.
• The soldiers escorted the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage and Xu Taiping through the city, where they encountered Eunuch Liu Yu.
• Liu Yu delayed the envoy, but the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage threatened him into leading them to Dong Cangzi.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage told Xu Taiping that Liu Yu was a powerful Dao-Integration Heavenly Communion Realm cultivator who had willingly castrated himself after losing to Dong Cangzi.
• General Zheng Ye blocked the group near the imperial city and demanded that the envoy face his iron spear before seeing the emperor.

As Zheng Ye challenged the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage in the street, Xu Taiping recognized Dong Cangzi’s trap: any outcome could leave a flaw in the Great Sage’s Dao Heart before their coming battle. After Zheng Ye demanded an upright contest, Xu Taiping advised the Great Sage to answer with the most perfect punch of his life.

• Zheng Ye announced his challenge and had the Golden Guards form a barrier around him and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage warned Zheng Ye that someone could die, but Zheng Ye said he had already told His Majesty that life and death were of no consequence.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage revealed his overwhelming aura, and Xu Taiping realized that fighting Zheng Ye could damage the Great Sage’s Dao Heart either way.
• Zheng Ye attacked, and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage deflected his spear and punched him into the barrier without seriously injuring him.
• Zheng Ye accused the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage of toying with him and demanded an upright contest.
• Xu Taiping advised the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage to throw the most perfect punch of his life.

Xu Taiping took control of the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s body to answer Zheng Ye’s challenge with a punch, despite the immense power it consumed. As Zheng Ye drove his spear toward him, Xu Taiping’s fist aura suddenly grew more than ten times stronger.

• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage asked Xu Taiping to throw a punch through his body, and Xu Taiping agreed to expend a strand of origin divine marrow power.
• Zheng Ye renewed his challenge, and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage withdrew his consciousness so Xu Taiping could control his body.
• Xu Taiping assumed his fist stance, unleashing a different fist intent that made Zheng Ye’s spear assault feel like it faced a towering mountain.
• Zheng Ye broke through Xu Taiping’s defensive gang wind and thrust his spear toward his chest.
• Xu Taiping lowered his raised fist a few inches, and his fist aura abruptly became more than ten times fiercer and denser.

Xu Taiping and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage defeated Zheng Ye, then challenged Dong Cangzi in the Imperial City. After Dong Cangzi rallied the people and revealed how their reverence strengthened him, the Great Sage headed for the city with wine, inviting Xu Taiping to drink before their fight.

• Xu Taiping overwhelmed Zheng Ye with his fist intent but deliberately let his final punch pass by, breaking the Barrier’s Formation Flags instead of killing him.
• When Zheng Ye asked why he had been spared, Xu Taiping answered that it had nothing to do with him, and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage declared that the one he wanted to kill was His Majesty the Emperor.
• Xu Taiping realized the Great Sage was answering Dong Cangzi’s challenge to his Dao Heart by undermining the people’s faith in him.
• Dong Cangzi told Ding Mou that he would become the eighth Golden Man guarding the Imperial City, and the cheering crowd’s worship strengthened Dong Cangzi.
• Dong Cangzi challenged the Great Sage to enter the city and fight, and the Great Sage set off with a jar of wine, inviting Xu Taiping to share a drink.

Xu Taiping and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage reached the Imperial City, where the Great Sage revealed how Dong Cangzi had destroyed his Fury Fist Sect and killed his master and fellow disciples. The Great Sage challenged Dong Cangzi, and Xu Taiping saw a yellow-robed figure seated on the throne in the imperial throne hall.

• Xu Taiping and the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage took turns drinking as they walked toward the Imperial City.
• At the last Golden Man, the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage poured out the final mouthful of wine and honored his master, Zhou Yue of the Imperial Extreme Fist.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage told Xu Taiping how Dong Cangzi had killed his senior disciples, defeated Zhou Yue, and left him alone.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage told Xu Taiping to memorize every movement, then transformed into a giant and declared a fist challenge as Ding Mou of the Fury Fist Sect.
• Ding Mou punched through the Imperial City gates and struck toward the imperial throne hall, where Xu Taiping saw a yellow-robed figure seated on the dragon throne.