Chapter Summaries

The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage fought Dong Cangzi in his fist domain while Xu Taiping studied the Great Sage’s aura and technique. The Great Sage’s gathered fist shadows began to manifest ultimate Dao power and descended upon the Imperial City.

• Dong Cangzi challenged the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage to avenge his master, and the Great Sage flattened the Golden Throne Hall with a punch using only his physical strength.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage told Xu Taiping to sense the changes in his aura, fist intent, and fist force as he attacked Dong Cangzi again.
• Xu Taiping recognized a Dao rhythm in the Great Sage’s power, but Dong Cangzi stopped his punch with one palm and crushed its fist shadow inside his fist domain.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage repeatedly battered Dong Cangzi’s domain, while Blade Ghost explained that only fist force containing ultimate Dao power could break it.
• The Great Sage merged his falling-star fist shadows into one enormous blow that made the Imperial City collapse and descended toward Dong Cangzi’s fist domain.

Dong Cangzi revealed that his fist domain covered the entire Great Qian Kingdom and effortlessly shattered the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s attack. The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage explained that he had been studying Dong Cangzi through his master’s unfinished punch, then prepared a new punch for Xu Taiping to witness.

• Dong Cangzi restored the Imperial City after the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s punch and revealed that his fist domain extended throughout Great Qian.
• Dong Cangzi shattered the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s fist force, while Blade Ghost suggested the Great Sage might still have a way to counter him.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage told Xu Taiping that his master’s punch had been meant to reveal the limits of Dong Cangzi’s fist domain.
• Dong Cangzi offered the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage another chance to attack before he struck back.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s heart aperture fell silent, and he stepped forward to throw a punch he declared would make all fist cultivators behold him as a god.

The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage shattered Dong Cangzi’s fist domain, but Dong Cangzi remained powerful and prepared to unleash his Martial Dao Origin Edict. As the Great Sage’s strength waned, he explained to Xu Taiping that his own punch had only just reached the summit and revealed how Dong Cangzi’s destructive power differed from his.

• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage struck Dong Cangzi with a deathly punch, and the two exchanged blows that devastated the Imperial City.
• The Great Sage’s black fist shadow shattered Dong Cangzi’s fist domain, but then crumbled as Dong Cangzi’s aura and protective golden light grew stronger.
• Blade Ghost explained that breaking the fist domain had stripped away Dong Cangzi’s armor, while Old Daoist Huang doubted the Great Sage could strike again.
• Dong Cangzi praised Ding Mou’s punch and declared that he would unleash his Origin Edict, prompting Blade Ghost to accuse him of seeking to devour Ding Mou’s power.
• Xu Taiping offered to use the Earth Treasury Fruit to restore the Great Sage if he preserved a wisp of divine sense, but the Great Sage asked what Xu Taiping thought of his punch.
• The Great Sage explained that his punch had only just reached the summit and told Xu Taiping that Dong Cangzi’s returning-to-the-ruins power destroyed and then reconstructed things according to his own will.

The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage spent his remaining life force to unleash the dreamed-of punch against Dong Cangzi, revealing the Dao of a single light shining through eternal darkness. Xu Taiping understood his own path more clearly, but Dong Cangzi answered with renewed force.

• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage rejected the Origin Edict built on destruction and declared that the Fury Fist Sect's power was meant to smash injustice.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage converted his remaining vitality into Magic Power and asked Xu Taiping to carefully sense his final punch.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage's Annihilation Fist Force clashed with Dong Cangzi's Five-Colored Halo, and Dong Cangzi pressed forward to engulf it.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage roared that a bright heart could make a fist as vast as the cosmos, and his black Fist Shadow swelled repeatedly.
• Xu Taiping connected the Great Sage's punch to Driftwood Parting the Sea and understood the Origin Great Dao Edict he sought.
• Dong Cangzi mocked the Great Sage's light and unleashed another surge of Aura Fluctuations.

Xu Taiping realized that his Great Dao Edict, “A lamp instantly brightens a thousand-year dark room,” could reverse an ultimate-realm disadvantage, but the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage refused to claim it and died after entrusting his unfinished punch and a message for Chao Ci or her mother to Xu Taiping. Xu Taiping watched Dong Cangzi turn the Great Sage’s corpse into a golden man and asked Blade Ghost how long it would take him to reach the Half-Step Half-Immortal Realm.

• Dong Cangzi used his extremes-reverse edict to devour the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s fist power, and Xu Taiping recognized how the edict worked.
• Xu Taiping’s Great Dao Edict manifested, and he told the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage that “A lamp instantly brightens a thousand-year dark room” could reverse a dire disadvantage.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage refused to take Xu Taiping’s edict, entrusted his unfinished punch to him, and asked him to give a divine soul mark from the moonlight stone to Chao Ci or her mother.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage’s final blade force shattered, and he ejected Xu Taiping’s consciousness before dying.
• Xu Taiping saw Dong Cangzi cast the Great Sage’s corpse into a golden man beside his master’s, then asked Blade Ghost how long it would take to reach the Half-Step Half-Immortal Realm.

Blade Ghost explained the dangers of reaching the half-step half-immortal realm and warned Xu Taiping not to rush the heart-demon trial. As they prepared for the Taixuan Ghost Domain, the group considered seeking help from A Meng, and they raised a toast to the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage.

• Blade Ghost told Xu Taiping that he should carry out Ding Mou's unfinished punch but should not rush into the half-step half-immortal realm.
• Blade Ghost explained that reaching the realm required drawing an Otherworldly Heavenly Demon heart demon into his body, surviving its trial, and refining it, and Xu Taiping promised not to attempt it before the Taixuan Ghost Domain.
• Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Old Daoist Huang discussed their preparations for the Taixuan Ghost Domain, while Blade Ghost worried that the Demon Mother's corpse might revive.
• The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage suggested seeking A Meng, and Blade Ghost explained that A Meng was Yun Guanxuan, a half-immortal whose Dao Field was likely in a Ziyang Sect Secret Realm.
• Blade Ghost and the others raised their cups to the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage, while Zhu Ping briefly woke to call for more wine before falling asleep again.

Xu Taiping decided to attend the Chaotic Stars Assembly without Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang so he could temper the Ten Emperors Scripture alone. As the Assembly approached, Zhu Ping began explaining its rules to him.

• Xu Taiping told Blade Ghost, Ping'an, and Old Daoist Huang that he wanted to face the Chaotic Stars Assembly alone to cultivate the Ten Emperors Scripture, and Blade Ghost recognized it as the technique Xu Taiping had obtained at the Dragon-Slaying Assembly.
• Blade Ghost took Ping'an and Old Daoist Huang to the Yellow Springs to pursue the Yama Inheritance, while Ping'an left Xiaoyu in the White Gourd and gave Xu Taiping Bai Yu's feather, which could reveal Bai Yu's location.
• Xu Taiping promised to look for the old Daoist who had captured Bai Yu and reassured Ping'an that he could manage the Assembly, though he planned to meet Junior Sister Buyu there.
• Xu Taiping reflected that entering alone would let him keep all the points he earned from hunting demonic beasts, then thanked Zhu Ping for hosting him during his three years in the Bamboo Sea Dao Field.
• Zhu Ping reminded Xu Taiping that the Chaotic Stars Assembly would begin in about a dozen days and offered to explain its rules, which Xu Taiping eagerly asked him to do.

Xu Taiping learned the Demon-Slaying Assembly’s rules from Little Pig Demon Zhu Ping and prepared to seek a Demon-Slaying Token. Five days later, Xu Taiping and Zhu Ping parted at the exit of the Bamboo Sea Grotto-Heaven as Xu Taiping set out for the assembly.

• Zhu Ping explained that cultivators needed to pass a trial at the Demon-Slaying Platform to obtain a Demon-Slaying Token, which recorded their actions and enforced the assembly’s rules.
• Zhu Ping told Xu Taiping that the beast’s rank determined the team size allowed and the team’s initial ranking seats, while the token distributed points according to each cultivator’s contribution.
• Zhu Ping explained that the first team to attack a demonic beast received at least sixty percent of its points, while repeated cooperation between teams caused their points to be halved.
• Xu Taiping let the wine-drowsy Zhu Ping rest in his room after their conversation.
• Five days later, Xu Taiping and Zhu Ping exchanged farewells at the exit of the Bamboo Sea Grotto-Heaven, and Zhu Ping wished him first place at the Chaotic Stars Assembly.

Xu Taiping arrived at the Demon-Slaying Platform, where Flame Guards recognized him for defeating Xiao Huang and escorted him to collect a Demon-Slaying Token. Chi Fan explained the platform’s history and trial, and Xu Taiping learned that most attendees had already earned their tokens.

• Xu Taiping told the Flame Guards he belonged to the Azure Profound Sect, and they recognized him as the cultivator who had defeated Xiao Huang in the Black Prison.
• Chi Fan had an impatient cultivator escorted away and offered to personally guide Xu Taiping, following the Flame Court lord’s instruction not to neglect him.
• Chi Fan led Xu Taiping across the suspended stone stairs, explaining that only Half-Immortal Realm experts could fly through the deadly gang winds above the platform.
• Xu Taiping stood firm against a fierce gust on the Demon-Slaying Platform, impressing Chi Fan with his physique.
• Chi Fan described how the Flame Emperor built the platform to execute evil demons and explained that attendees earned Demon-Slaying Tokens by defeating demon incarnations.
• Xu Taiping asked why the trial area was quiet, and Chi Fan said the challenges had begun four or five days earlier and most attendees had already obtained their tokens.

Xu Taiping learned that Buyu had earned a Heaven-tier seat but was excluded by Three Corpses Cave, then watched two cultivators challenge a Lion Demon. When the male cultivator called his partner Fairy Ning Shuang, Xu Taiping recognized the name and asked whether her surname was Qu.

• Chi Fan told Xu Taiping that Buyu had reached the half-step heaven-connecting realm and earned a Heaven-tier seat, but faced exclusion at Three Corpses Cave.
• Xu Taiping and Chi Fan watched two cultivators fight a third-stage Lion Demon, and Chi Fan explained that teams could challenge stronger demons together.
• The female sword cultivator and her male partner attacked the Lion Demon, but its roar blasted them back and disrupted their assault.
• Chi Fan explained that the female cultivator had challenged the demon five times to help other Lower Realm cultivators gain recognition at the Chaotic Stars Assembly.
• The male cultivator called the female Fairy Ning Shuang, and Xu Taiping asked Chi Fan whether her surname was Qu.

Xu Taiping recognized Qu Ningshuang as the daughter of Qu Shuang and confirmed the connection through the Sword Intent of Ten Thousand Edges. After Qu Ningshuang’s sword broke during her trial against the Lion Demon, Xu Taiping offered her his Ancient Sword.

• Chi Fan told Xu Taiping that Qu Ning Shuang had ascended from Peerless Nether Heaven over a hundred years earlier.
• Xu Taiping drew Ten Thousand Edges and sensed its Sword Intent respond to Qu Ningshuang, confirming her identity.
• Qu Ningshuang was struck off the trial platform by the Lion Demon, and her Flying Sword shattered.
• Despite her injuries and the jeers of nearby cultivators, Qu Ningshuang asked for another chance to fight and tried to borrow an Immortal Sword of Immortal Weapon grade.
• Xu Taiping held up Ten Thousand Edges and told Qu Ningshuang to try it.

Xu Taiping lent Qu Ningshuang the ancient sword Ten Thousand Edges, allowing her to enter the Demon-Slaying Platform and challenge the Lion Demon. She and Zhou Xie struck the demon together, leaving it gravely injured but not yet defeated.

• Xu Taiping gave Qu Ningshuang Ten Thousand Edges after the Flame Guard demanded she wield a peerless-grade sword to enter the platform.
• Qu Ningshuang drew the ancient sword, and its power astonished the cultivators as Xu Taiping revealed it had belonged to Sword Immortal Qu Yang.
• Qu Ningshuang flew onto the Demon-Slaying Platform, and Zhou Xie joined her as the Lion Demon was released.
• Qu Ningshuang cut through the Lion Demon's sound waves and sliced away part of its head.
• Zhou Xie followed with a massive axe strike that split the Lion Demon's head a third of the way down.

Qu Ningshuang and Zhou Xie failed to defeat the berserk Lion Demon, and Qu Ningshuang returned Ten Thousand Edges to Xu Taiping. After agreeing to lend her the sword again tomorrow, Xu Taiping was challenged to take the trial himself.

• Qu Ningshuang cut through the Lion Demon's first roar to protect Zhou Xie, but the remaining sound waves knocked him off the trial platform.
• The Lion Demon grew a second head and blasted Qu Ningshuang off the platform with another roar, causing A Zhu to announce that both contestants had failed.
• Qu Ningshuang returned Ten Thousand Edges to Xu Taiping and gave him a Voice Transmission Jade Slip, promising to help him if he ever needed her.
• Qu Ningshuang asked to borrow Ten Thousand Edges again the next day, and Xu Taiping agreed despite the heckling from nearby cultivators.
• After Chi Fan stopped a quarrel between Zhou Xie and a heckler, another cultivator challenged Xu Taiping to try the trial, and Chi Fan offered to arrange it.

Xu Taiping accepted a trial-platform challenge, then requested a powerful enough opponent to qualify for the Heaven seats. He killed the Third Stage Upper Grade Five-Headed Lion-Tiger Demon with a single punch, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Chi Fan offered Xu Taiping an early challenge, and Xu Taiping agreed to fight on the trial platform.
• Xu Taiping noticed Lin Buyu's name among the Heaven seats and asked Chi Fan what level of opponent would earn him a place there.
• Chi Fan explained that Xu Taiping had to challenge at least a Third Stage Upper Grade Evil Demon incarnation, so Xu Taiping requested a different demonic beast.
• The Flame Guards brought out a Third Stage Upper Grade Five-Headed Lion-Tiger Demon, alarming Qu Ningshuang and Zhou Xie.
• Xu Taiping's golden tower phantom blocked the demon's roar, and his golden fist instantly reduced it to blood mist.

Xu Taiping revealed that he was a Lower Realm cultivator after killing a demonic beast with one punch, and Chi Fan placed him in the Heaven Character Seat for the Chaotic Stars Assembly. As Xu Taiping set out for Heavenly Unity Ruin Star, A Zhu warned that Qu Ningshuang and the other Lower Realm cultivators might be in danger.

• Xu Taiping introduced himself as a disciple of the Azure Profound Sect in the Lower Realm, and Chi Fan announced that he would occupy the Heaven Character Seat alone.
• Xu Taiping saw his name beside Buyu's on the stone stele, received his Demon-Slaying Token, and planned to visit Heavenly Unity Ruin Star.
• Chi Fan explained how the assembly's teleportation arrays worked and reminded Xu Taiping to return to the Demon-Slaying Platform on time.
• A Zhu reported that powerful cultivators with ulterior motives had discovered the Ruin Star where Qu Ningshuang and the other Lower Realm cultivators were staying.

Xu Taiping learned that cultivators from Yellow Origin Palace threatened Qu Ningshuang and set off to rescue her despite the Flame Court’s reluctance to get involved. Qu Ningshuang received his warning at an Abandoned Temple, where she and Zhou Xie began to realize he was coming to help.

• A Zhu told Xu Taiping and Chi Fan that a Yellow Origin Palace cultivator was among those threatening Qu Ningshuang and other Lower Realm cultivators.
• Chi Fan explained that the Flame Court feared provoking Yellow Origin Palace, and Xu Taiping volunteered to handle the rescue without killing anyone.
• Xu Taiping entered the Teleportation Array, while Chi Fan and A Zhu worried about his chances against Yellow Origin Palace’s Old Palace Master.
• Qu Ningshuang received Xu Taiping’s Voice Transmission asking her to identify the Void Star where she had landed.
• Qu Ningshuang asked Zhou Xie about their companions’ Heavenflame Cauldron, then played Xu Taiping’s warning and prompted Zhou Xie to wonder if the sender was Daoist Taiping.

Qu Ningshuang and Zhou Xie learned from Xu Taiping that Lu Ming might have betrayed them, but Lu Ming trapped them and helped the Yellow Origin Palace break the ruined temple’s barrier. As the enemy figures arrived, Xu Taiping messaged Qu Ningshuang that he was above the Ruin Star and would handle the rest.

• Lu Ming tried to stop Qu Ningshuang from revealing their location to Xu Taiping, but Xu Taiping warned her through the Voice Transmission Jade Slip that Lu Ming was the traitor.
• Lu Ming urged Qu Ningshuang and Zhou Xie to flee to the back courtyard, and rune chains suddenly bound them as they turned away.
• Lu Ming confessed that he had betrayed them for the Yellow Origin Palace and signaled its cultivators to break through the barrier.
• The barrier shattered, and several Yellow Origin Palace figures descended before the ruined temple.
• Xu Taiping sent Qu Ningshuang a message saying he was above the Ruin Star and telling her to wait for a chance to free herself.

Qi He and his allies arrived at the ruined temple to claim Qu Ningshuang, but a mysterious cultivator descended and killed Tu Shan with overwhelming force. The newcomer’s black hound swallowed Tu Shan’s Nascent Soul, leaving Qi He and the others stunned.

• Lu Ming presented Qu Ningshuang and Zhou Xie to Qi He, who struck Lu Ming for dragging Qu Ningshuang roughly before reaching for her.
• A burly figure crashed down from the sky, prompting Qi He, Black-Robed, Tu Shan, and Gu Qi to summon their treasures and defenses.
• Tu Shan attacked the newcomer with his spiked club and azure wolf phantom, but the figure froze him in midair and crushed his body with falling dust.
• Tu Shan’s Nascent Soul launched itself at the young cultivator, but its force faded before the cultivator, and an enormous black hound swallowed it.
• Black-Robed trembled as she realized the hound had swallowed a Nascent Soul unharmed.

A young cultivator avenged his injured friend by overwhelming Qi He, Black-Robed, and Gu Qi with his Great Dao Edict Power and martial strength. He destroyed their defenses and killed Black-Robed and Gu Qi, while Qi He was left pinned to the ground.

• After the Black Hound swallowed Tu Shan's Nascent Soul, Qi He demanded to know who the young cultivator was and why he had interfered.
• The young cultivator attacked with dust and stone chips, forcing Qi He to shield himself, Black-Robed, and Gu Qi with the Lihuo Banner and Black-Robed's formation.
• Qi He used Lihuo Molten Gold to counter the attack, and Gu Qi sent three Heavenly Ox Gu insects after the young cultivator.
• The young cultivator shattered the Heavenly Ox Gu insects with three Fist Shadows and turned their remains into a barrage of heavy metal and stone fragments.
• The fragments shattered Qi He's defenses, killed Black-Robed and Gu Qi, and pinned Qi He to the ground.

Xu Taiping rescued Qu Ningshuang and Zhou Xie from Qi He, then gave Qu Ningshuang the sword Ten Thousand Edges and the truth about her father, Qu Shuang. As Xu Taiping prepared to leave, his white feather reacted, suggesting Bai Yu—and possibly the Old Palace Master of Yellow Origin Palace—was nearby.

• Xu Taiping's arrival and Xiaohei's power freed Qu Ningshuang and Zhou Xie from Qi He's attack, and Xiaohei swallowed Qi He while preserving his Nascent Soul.
• Xu Taiping gave Qu Ningshuang Ten Thousand Edges, which held a divine soul mark recounting how he met Qu Shuang.
• Qu Ningshuang learned that her father had died fighting the Primordial Lord and grieved that he had never understood she needed a father more than a sword.
• Xu Taiping said he had fulfilled Qu Shuang's commission, and Qu Ningshuang vowed to make Ten Thousand Edges renowned in Shangqing.
• As Xu Taiping was about to leave, his white feather flew from his sleeve, making him suspect Bai Yu and the Old Palace Master were nearby.