Chapter Summaries

Dongfang Yuejian found Xu You, Xu Taiping’s Origin Beginning Clone, living out his final days in a Mortal Realm village. Xu You explained that he had chosen to relinquish his cultivation and experience mortal life and death, and Dongfang Yuejian questioned what purpose his choice served.

• Xu You prepared a sweet potato for Dongfang Yuejian and refused her plea to accept Spirit Fruits and stay alive.
• Xu You recalled the suffering he had witnessed during their travels through the Five Heavens, including the deaths of a girl he had once saved and her grandmother.
• Xu You told Dongfang Yuejian that he had chosen to give up his cultivation and die as a mortal in Xu Taiping’s place.
• Xu You described his path as seeking death, unlike Dongfang Yuejian’s Great Dao of seeking life.
• Dongfang Yuejian refused to forgive Xu You for leaving without saying goodbye twenty years earlier, then asked what his choice was meant to accomplish.

Xu You sacrificed himself fighting the evil ghosts that had killed his adopted family, and Dongfang Yuejian promised to deliver his sword strike to Xu Taiping. At Vairocana Chan Temple, Abbot Yelai refused to retreat because he had to protect the Grand Teleportation Array Xu Taiping would need to use.

• Xu You explained that he had nurtured a sword with the suffering of the Mortal Realm so Xu Taiping could one day wield a strike against karma and suffering.
• Xu You charged outside to fight the evil ghosts while Dongfang Yuejian honored his wish and stayed inside.
• Dongfang Yuejian killed the ghost creatures around the courtyard, but found Xu You torn in two and dying.
• Xu You asked Dongfang Yuejian to witness his future sword strike, then died; his silver strand of divine sense flew into her hand.
• Dongfang Yuejian vowed to place Xu You's sword strike in Xu Taiping's hands.
• At Vairocana Chan Temple, Yelai dismissed General Duan's plea to retreat and said he would protect the Grand Teleportation Array Xu Taiping would need to pass through.

Duan Xiaoyu agreed to defend Vairocana Chan Temple for one more day while Yelai insisted on staying to sustain its magic formation. When the Blazing Cloud Cavalry fought off a demon assault, a Flood Dragon Demon trapped Duan Xiaoyu and launched a spear at her, but a bronze bell suddenly appeared around her.

• Duan Xiaoyu urged Yelai to evacuate the monks, but he agreed only to let them leave after one more day and vowed to sustain the formation alone.
• A Dark Raven and hundreds of winged demonic beasts attacked the temple, prompting Duan Xiaoyu to lead six thousand Blazing Cloud Cavalry riders into battle.
• The Flood Dragon Demon struck Duan Xiaoyu with its tail, but she counterattacked and forced the surrounding demons to retreat.
• The Flood Dragon Demon trapped Duan Xiaoyu in a cage of flaming claws and prepared a dragon-scale spear while she struggled to break free.
• A bronze bell formed from golden Sanskrit characters suddenly enveloped Duan Xiaoyu as the spear shot toward her.

Duan Xiaoyu and the Blazing Cloud Cavalry killed the Flood Dragon Demon’s body and trapped its fleeing Demon Seed, but the Azure Fish Demon Emperor intervened and blocked their retreat. The six thousand cavalry were surrounded by tens of thousands of demonic troops near Vairocana Chan Temple.

• Duan Xiaoyu broke free of the Flood Dragon Demon’s attack and severed its tail before killing its True Demon Body with a saber strike.
• The Flood Dragon Demon’s Demon Seed unleashed Origin Demon Seed Power and tried to flee, but Duan Xiaoyu trapped it and nearby demons inside the Blazing Cloud Cavalry’s Battle Intent.
• A black Battle Banner disrupted the cavalry’s formation, and Duan Xiaoyu ordered the six thousand Blazing Cloud Cavalry to retreat toward Vairocana Chan Temple.
• The Azure Fish Demon Emperor’s Battle Intent and banners stopped the cavalry’s advance and surrounded them from eight directions.
• Duan Xiaoyu turned to face the enemy and discovered tens of thousands of demonic troops led by the Azure Fish Demon Emperor, who declared that she and Vairocana Chan Temple had nowhere to run.

Duan Xiaoyu led the Blazing Cloud Cavalry against Demon Emperor Azure Fish and repeatedly broke through the Demonic Army’s battle intent, but Azure Fish overpowered her and struck her down. As Azure Fish prepared to kill her, a familiar aura erupted from Vairocana Temple’s main hall, leaving Duan Xiaoyu wondering if Eldest Brother Taiping had appeared.

• Duan Xiaoyu urged Yelai to lead the monks away, then ordered the Blazing Cloud Cavalry to form the Cross-Shaped Slaughter Formation against the Demonic Army.
• Demon Emperor Azure Fish ordered the Nine Abysses Fish-Dragon Army to crush their battle intent, and its black flood dragon halted the cavalry’s advance.
• Duan Xiaoyu merged her blade force with the cavalry’s battle intent, wounded the black flood dragon, and led the Blazing Cloud Cavalry through a gap in the Demonic Army’s formation.
• Demon Emperor Azure Fish struck Duan Xiaoyu down and shattered the cavalry’s battle intent, but her resolve to die charging the enemy restored their strength for another attack.
• Demon Emperor Azure Fish defeated Duan Xiaoyu again and raised his saber to kill her, just as a familiar pillar of light erupted from Vairocana Temple’s main hall.

Xu Taiping arrived at Vairocana Chan Temple and rushed outside to protect Duan Xiaoyu and her six thousand Blazing Cloud Cavalry from the Nine Abysses Demonic Army. After shattering Demon Emperor Azure Fish’s attack, he realized his strength was not restricted in the Lower Realm under certain conditions.

• Ping'an’s wish for Vairocana Chan Temple to be besieged again was followed by a Black-Scales Spear crashing down outside, and Xu Taiping sensed Xiaoyu and Yelai were in danger.
• Xu Taiping told Ping'an and Bai Yu to protect the temple’s monks, then rushed outside to aid Duan Xiaoyu.
• Xu Taiping used the Human Sovereign Sword’s power to hold back the battle formation of sixty or seventy thousand demonic troops with one sword.
• Demon Emperor Azure Fish ordered the Nine Abysses Demonic Army into the Heavenly Baleful Battle Formation, breaking through Xu Taiping’s sword barrier and launching an attack.
• Xu Taiping blocked Azure Fish’s strike with his saber and shattered the battle-intent flood dragon, then recalled that his strength was unrestricted so long as he avoided the Nine Abysses Demon Cavern and the Heavenly Dao Edict.

Xu Taiping led the Blazing Cloud Cavalry in a devastating charge that broke the Fish-Dragon Cavalry’s formation, then shot down the fleeing Azure Fish Demon Emperor. Xiaohei brought back the wounded demon emperor alive, leaving Duan Xiaoyu stunned by Xu Taiping’s victory.

• Xu Taiping summoned the Blazing Cloud Cavalry’s battle intent, and it matched the formation battle intent of the seventy thousand Fish-Dragon Cavalry.
• Xu Taiping invoked the Demon-Slaying Army, whose battle intent and Lian Xing’s phantom halted the demonic charge before the Blazing Cloud Cavalry broke through the enemy formation.
• Xiaohei swallowed the demon seeds as the Azure Fish Demon Emperor fled from the battlefield.
• Xu Taiping used the Shentu Bow to shoot the Azure Fish Demon Emperor from a great distance and sent Xiaohei to retrieve him.
• Xiaohei returned with the Azure Fish Demon Emperor’s wounded Fish-Dragon Demon God Body, and Duan Xiaoyu realized Xu Taiping had captured him alive.

Xu Taiping and his companions learned that Nine Abysses had sixteen Demon Emperors and two Primordial Lords, while powerful ghost creatures had begun appearing throughout the Five Heavens. At Vairocana Temple, they discovered that the strongest ghost was terrorizing True Martial Heaven, and Blade Ghost warned that the Azure Profound Sect’s seal on the Taixuan Ghost Domain might be failing.

• Xiaohei restrained the Azure Fish Demon Emperor while Ping'an searched his mind and learned that sixteen Demon Emperors and two Primordial Lords now operated in the Lower Realm.
• Duan Xiaoyu explained that ghost creatures had been appearing across the Five Heavens for thirty years, weakening the Cultivation World and helping Nine Abysses counterattack.
• Xu Taiping and his companions went to Vairocana Temple, where Duan Xiaoyu and Yelai described the ghost attacks and named a sword cultivator's remains as the source of the strongest ghost yet seen.
• Duan Xiaoyu said the strongest ghost had killed many experts in True Martial Heaven, including Qian Yi of the Pure Yang Sword Sect.
• Blade Ghost warned Xu Taiping that the Azure Profound Sect’s seal on the Taixuan Ghost Domain might have loosened and that the sect master and the others might not hold out much longer.

Xu Taiping and his companions learned that True Martial Heaven had been cut off for half a year, but he insisted on going there immediately and prepared to leave through the Grand Teleportation Array. While the array was being activated, the elders proposed clearing the ghost creatures and demonic beasts around Vairocana Chan Temple.

• Duan Xiaoyu explained that no cultivators had returned from True Martial Heaven for half a year, and Yelai revealed that Vairocana Chan Temple had also lost several investigating martial monks there.
• Xu Taiping refused to delay the journey, and Blade Ghost, Heavenly Lord Xuanbei, and Daoist Fengzhu said the group was powerful enough to face the danger.
• Xu Taiping had Ping'an and Bai Yu release their auras, startling Duan Xiaoyu and Yelai; Ping'an then described Xu Taiping's strength and achievements.
• Yelai began activating the Grand Teleportation Array with several monks, and Xu Taiping agreed to wait while it was prepared.
• Blade Ghost proposed clearing nearby ghost creatures and demonic beasts, and Xu Taiping, Ping'an, and Bai Yu prepared to join the elders in battle.

Xu Taiping and his companions hunted down ghost creatures and Nine Abysses demonic beasts around Vairocana Temple while its Teleportation Platform activated. After clearing the enemies within a thousand li, they prepared to depart for True Martial Heaven.

• Bai Yu took Ping'an and Duan Xiaoyu out to hunt, while Xu Taiping and the elders used their divine senses and treasures to kill powerful enemies across the surrounding land.
• As the Teleportation Platform began to activate, Yelai discovered that the area around Vairocana Temple had been cleared of ghost creatures and demonic beasts.
• Bai Yu returned with Ping'an and Duan Xiaoyu and confirmed that Xu Taiping and the elders had cleared the enemies within a thousand li.
• Xu Taiping told Yelai and Duan Xiaoyu that they would have to defend Vairocana Temple and Cloud Emergence Kingdom themselves, then exchanged farewells with them.
• Blade Ghost warned Xu Taiping that the ghost creatures in True Martial Heaven could pose a greater threat, and Xu Taiping led everyone onto the Teleportation Platform and activated the Sky Demon Token to depart.

The Pure Yang Sword Sect faced annihilation as two skeletal evil ghosts overwhelmed Sect Master Xiao Ming and Ancestor Nangong Xuan. Chen Hao sacrificed himself trying to stop them, and Xiao Ye watched the sect’s defenses collapse.

• Xiao Ye saw the evil ghosts’ swords crack Xiao Ming’s and Nangong Xuan’s Life-Bound Flying Swords, while Xiao Ming’s arm burst into blood mist.
• Chen Hao told Xiao Ye to lead the surviving disciples to the Stone Coffin, then charged the evil ghosts with his Broken Sword.
• The skeletal evil ghost shattered Chen Hao’s sword light, and Xiao Ming severed Chen Hao’s sword arm to save him before exploding with his own sword.
• Nangong Xuan’s Longsword burst apart, and the evil ghosts’ Flying Swords rushed toward him as Xiao Ye believed the sect was doomed.

Nangong Xuan sacrificed his body to restrain the two Withered-Bone Ghost Creatures, but a gigantic ghostly figure swallowed his Primordial Spirit and turned its power against the Pure Yang Sword Sect survivors. As Xiao Ye, Chen Hao, and Xiao Ming faced death, enormous golden wings swept into the sky.

• Nangong Xuan's Primordial Spirit illuminated the battlefield and forced the two evil ghosts to their knees.
• A gigantic ghostly figure seized and devoured Nangong Xuan's Primordial Spirit, restoring the Withered-Bone Ghost Creatures' strength.
• Xiao Ye used dozens of flying swords to help Chen Hao and Xiao Ming withstand the Rusty Swords, though many of his swords shattered and he spat blood.
• The ghostly figure's gaze set the surrounding mountains ablaze and engulfed the three survivors in flames.
• A golden-winged Peng Bird's enormous wings swept toward them, drawing the ghostly figure's attention away from the three.

Xu Taiping returned to True Martial Heaven and destroyed the enormous ghost shadow with his clone. After Xiaohei swallowed the remains and Ping'an trapped two other evil ghosts, Ping'an asked Golden Wings to lend him a flame.

• Golden Wings countered the ghost shadow's golden attack, but the ghost shadow drew a flaming blade and struck at the bird.
• Xu Taiping appeared and blocked the blade with a golden barrier, then his clone punched the ghost shadow apart.
• Chen Hao warned Xu Taiping that two skeletal evil ghosts might devour the fallen ghost shadow and revive it.
• Xiaohei swallowed the ghost shadow's remains while Ping'an blocked and trapped the two pursuing evil ghosts.
• Ping'an turned to Golden Wings and asked his second brother to lend him a flame.

Xu Taiping’s powerful companions annihilated two ghost creatures and then wiped out two massive hordes, astonishing the Pure Yang Sword Sect. As Senior Blade Ghost wanted to keep fighting, Xu Taiping reminded him that business came first.

• Golden Wings burned the two skeletal sword ghosts in Ping'an’s palm to ashes, and Xiao Ye and Chen Hao realized that Xu Taiping’s spirit pets had grown immensely powerful.
• Several hundred ghost creatures approached the Pure Yang Sword Sect, and Chen Hao flew to help Xu Taiping despite Xiao Ye’s warning about his injuries.
• A red-haired old man slaughtered the approaching horde with one crimson slash, then Xuanbei used his Heaven and Earth Sleeve to draw another group of ghost creatures toward the others.
• A gray-robed old man destroyed the second horde with his Heaven-Sinking Finger, leaving Xiao Ye and Chen Hao stunned and Chen Hao hopeful that True Martial Heaven could be saved.
• Senior Blade Ghost asked Xuanbei to draw more ghost creatures so he could fight, but Xu Taiping reminded him that business came first.

Xu Taiping learned that the Pure Yang Sword Sect had endured attacks from powerful ghost creatures and sought a shortcut to Dongting Blessed Land. After Bai Yu and Ping'an uncovered the submerged Teleportation Platform at Cold Mirror Lake, ghost creatures ambushed Chen Hao as he approached it.

• Xiao Ming told Xu Taiping that a powerful mantis-shaped ghost creature had pierced Boundless Hall before Ghost Shadow attacked the Pure Yang Sword Sect.
• Xu Taiping said he had come to resolve the Taixuan Ghost Domain Calamity and asked about a route to Dongting Blessed Land.
• Xiao Ming revealed that an ancient Teleportation Array lay within the sect, while Chen Hao warned that Dongting Blessed Land was overrun with ghosts and its route to Yunmeng Marsh had been destroyed.
• Chen Hao led Xu Taiping and the others to Cold Mirror Lake, where Bai Yu and Ping'an shattered rocks blocking the lake outlet and revealed the Teleportation Platform.
• Ghost corpses with human bodies and snake tails burst from the lake and attacked Chen Hao, but blade shadows struck toward them.

Xu Taiping and his companions cleared ghost creatures beneath the lake and began repairing the teleportation platform so they could enter the Taixuan Ghost Domain. As the repairs continued, Xu Taiping learned that his Lower Realm Origin Beginning Clone had died, and his Lotus Eye suddenly began to burn.

• Xu Taiping froze the lake to seal the ghost creatures beneath it, and Daoist Fengzhu used Taoguang to destroy them all without releasing the ice.
• Old Daoist Huang began repairing the teleportation platform while Blade Ghost advised Xu Taiping to inspect Kang Cangzi's moonlight stone before attempting a costly deduction.
• Xu Taiping's Origin Beginning Clone appeared and revealed that the clone he had left in the Lower Realm had died.
• Old Daoist Huang and Chen Hao repaired the second damaged section of the teleportation platform as it shook violently.
• Xu Taiping's Lotus Eye suddenly grew unbearably hot while the group waited for the third section to be repaired.

Xu Taiping’s Lotus Eye grew increasingly hot as Old Daoist Huang and the others repaired the Teleportation Platform, but it produced no deduction until the platform was activated. The group prepared to enter the Dongting Blessed Land, and Xu Taiping warned Blade Ghost to be careful without revealing what the Lotus Eye had sensed.

• Xu Taiping noticed that his Lotus Eye grew hotter whenever Old Daoist Huang and the others repaired a damaged section of the Teleportation Platform.
• After the seventh section was repaired, Xu Taiping’s Lotus Eye burned intensely and bled, but showed him no scenes of deduction.
• Blade Ghost realized that the Lotus Eye’s deduction might begin when the Teleportation Platform was activated.
• Blade Ghost, Daoist Fengzhu, and Heavenly Lord Xuanbei poured their magic power into the platform, activating it while Chen Hao stepped off.
• Blade Ghost asked Xu Taiping what he had seen, and Xu Taiping warned that they might need to be more careful in the Dongting Blessed Land.

Xu Taiping showed the group a Lotus Eye Divination of their disastrous arrival at Dongting Prefecture, where three powerful ghost creatures attacked them and three greater ghosts appeared. Chen Hao identified the ghosts as Shadow Lord, Sword Bone, and Black Baleful Intent, then began to offer information from his sect’s secret canon in exchange for a favor.

• Xu Taiping used the moonlight stone to show the group a vision of their unprepared arrival on a mist-shrouded island, where ghostly sound waves restrained them and six palms attacked.
• Three larger ghosts—Shadow Lord, Sword Bone, and Black Baleful Intent—appeared and regarded the survivors as a feast before the vision went dark.
• Blade Ghost, Ping'an, Old Daoist Huang, Bai Yu, and Xu Taiping discussed how preparation and Bai Yu’s golden wings might counter the ghosts’ attacks.
• Heavenly Lord Xuanbei and Daoist Fengzhu said they did not recognize the ghosts, but Chen Hao identified them from the Pure Yang Sword Sect’s secret canon.
• Chen Hao offered to share the canon’s knowledge about the ghosts and asked the seniors to grant his presumptuous request, explaining that Zhenwu faced the Ghost Domain Calamity.

Xu Taiping and the others entered Dongting Blessed Land and launched a prepared assault on its Great Ghosts. Bai Yu destroyed three ghostly figures, and Ping'an struck Shadow Lord, leaving Xu Taiping to attack her with his saber.

• Chen Hao asked the group to share scenes from Dongting Blessed Land with the True Martial Heaven Cultivation World, and Xu Taiping agreed after learning about the three Great Ghosts.
• Blade Ghost assigned Bai Yu to break the seal, Xu Taiping and Ping'an to hold off Shadow Lord, and Heavenly Lord Xuanbei and Daoist Fengzhu to seek Sword Bone and Black Baleful Intent.
• The seven were teleported to a deserted island surrounded by gray mist and unleashed their auras as ghostly figures approached.
• Bai Yu sliced the three enormous ghostly figures into pieces, but Shadow Lord emerged from the mist and attacked the group.
• Ping'an charged Shadow Lord in his Ultimate Realm Demon Saint body, knocked her back, and set her ablaze with his Qi and Blood Power.
• Shadow Lord tried to douse the flames with lake water, but Xu Taiping revealed his Ultimate Realm True Dragon Divine Being Body and slashed at her.

Xu Taiping, Ping'an, Daoist Fengzhu, and Heavenly Lord Xuanbei defeated the Shadow Lord, Sword Bone, and Black Baleful Intent. When the Shadow Lord offered information about the Ghost Domain formed from the ruins of the Taixuan Sect, Blade Ghost contained him in his Blade Prison so Xu Taiping could question him.

• Xu Taiping and Ping'an battered the wounded Shadow Lord until he was nearly destroyed.
• Sword Bone and Black Baleful Intent attacked, but Daoist Fengzhu and Heavenly Lord Xuanbei overcame them and reduced them to ash.
• Ping'an struck the Shadow Lord until only his head remained, and Xu Taiping prepared to finish him with the Annihilating Blade Art.
• The Shadow Lord offered to reveal what he knew about the Ghost Domain formed from the ruins of the Taixuan Sect, and Xu Taiping paused when he heard it.
• Blade Ghost stopped Xu Taiping from striking and enclosed him and the Shadow Lord in his Blade Prison for questioning.