Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping explained to Lü Daoxuan why he intended to attack Northern Emperor City despite the cost, arguing that the Human Race had endured by daring to face what others feared. He left Lü Daoxuan reflecting on the courage that had carried humanity through danger.

• Lü Daoxuan warned Xu Taiping that declaring his intention to attack Northern Emperor City had revealed him as a target, and Xu Taiping said he had not revealed when or how he would attack.
• Xu Taiping argued that Northern Emperor City had to be taken to give the Human Race Army a chance to turn the war, even though it was defended by some of the Nine Abysses' strongest forces.
• Xu Taiping recalled how the Five Emperors' Army had first been mocked as the Brawny Men's Army for fighting against impossible odds, then praised as brave by the Dragon Emperors.
• Xu Taiping contrasted the fearlessness of the Divine Being Clan, the Dragon Clan, and the Nine Abysses Demon Seeds with humanity's vulnerable beginnings.
• Xu Taiping described how humans had survived by building shelter, overcoming floods, and confronting disease rather than cowering in fear.

Xu Taiping and Lü Daoxuan reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the Human Race and preserving Xu Taiping’s Dao heart as they prepared to set out for Northern Emperor City. After Lü Daoxuan left, Lin Buyan teased Xu Taiping before he asked how close she was to reaching Crimson Heaven Peak’s summit.

• Xu Taiping urged the Human Race Army to stand firm on the Heaven-Demon Battlefield and reclaim its mightiest weapon.
• Lü Daoxuan recalled first seeing Xu Taiping face a tiger wraith and praised him for holding to his original heart.
• Xu Taiping credited Lü Daoxuan and Azure Profound Sect with protecting his Dao heart, and Lü Daoxuan vowed to guide him through one last stretch of cultivation, beginning at Northern Emperor City.
• Lin Buyan, using Lin Buyu’s body and mannerisms, teased Xu Taiping after Lü Daoxuan left, but Xu Taiping insisted she was not Buyu.
• Xu Taiping asked Lin Buyan about her progress toward reaching Crimson Heaven Peak’s summit and clearing Crimson Heaven Spirit Garden.

Xu Taiping learned that Fairy Lingyue had left a token for him on Crimson Heaven Peak and opened its jade box with Primordial Chaos Power. Fairy Lingyue's message congratulated him on reaching the Half-Immortal Realm, then warned that he was approaching a dangerous truth.

• Lin Buyan told Xu Taiping that reaching Crimson Heaven Peak's summit would take three months to half a year.
• Lin Buyan showed Xu Taiping a jade box marked for him and revealed that Fairy Lingyue's divine sense had led her to it on Crimson Heaven Peak.
• Xu Taiping opened the box with Primordial Chaos Power and found a jade pendant and a talisman.
• Xu Taiping activated the pendant and heard Fairy Lingyue congratulate him on reaching the Half-Immortal Realm.
• Fairy Lingyue warned Xu Taiping that he was drawing closer to a truth and a danger that could threaten his life.

Fairy Lingyue revealed that the Ancient Heavenly Court had hidden itself in Taiqing Paradise to escape the Great Void Calamity, and that its departure was tied to the Demon Mother’s awakening. Xu Taiping learned that an edict prevents him from hearing the full truth until the Nine Abysses Great Army is defeated and the Demon Mother is slain.

• Fairy Lingyue explained that her search with Immortal Elder Wuji led them to Rosy Cloud Peak, where she sensed the Dragon-Slaying Stele sealed in Xu Taiping’s Dragon-Trapping Tower.
• Fairy Lingyue said she and Immortal Elder Wuji had reached the summit of Crimson Heaven Peak and had arranged for Qi Haitang and her husband to help Xu Taiping find the token.
• Fairy Lingyue revealed that she had found the treasure that could open Taiqing Paradise’s gate and learned that the Ancient Heavenly Court had hidden there to escape the Great Void Calamity.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that the Ancient Heavenly Court’s departure was tied to the Demon Mother’s awakening and had brought calamity upon Shangqing.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that an edict could erase anyone who learned the secret from the River of Time, and said it would collapse after the Nine Abysses Great Army was routed and the Demon Mother slain.

Fairy Lingyue left Xu Taiping a guide to Crimson Heaven Peak and a path to learn how to reach Taiqing Paradise and rescue her. After Lin Buyan departed to climb the peak with Xiaohei, Xu Taiping planned to divine the battle for Northern Emperor City, but Jade Mother asked to use the next two transformations of his Earth Fruit to restore her strength.

• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that the Crimson Heaven Spirit Garden summit could nurture an Earth Fruit and that planting it would reveal clues to her next token and the entrance to Taiqing Paradise.
• Fairy Lingyue vowed to endure her perilous journey until Xu Taiping could come rescue her, and Xu Taiping resolved to reach her.
• Lin Buyan examined Fairy Lingyue's jade pendant and learned that reaching Crimson Heaven Peak would still take half a year with Xiaohei's help.
• Lin Buyan said clues to Buyu's sealed corpse might be found by capturing Northern Emperor City, then left to join Xiaohei.
• Xu Taiping decided to use his Lotus Eye to divine the battle for Northern Emperor City, while Jade Mother asked to borrow the seventh and eighth transformations of his Earth Fruit to restore her combat strength.

Xu Taiping agreed to give Jade Mother the Earth Fruit's seventh and eighth transformations after she promised help against the Great Void Calamity and to save Chu Lingyue. Five months later, Song Yan reported that the gathered armies were struggling to work together, and Lü Daoxuan learned that none of their commanders would yield to another.

• Jade Mother told Xu Taiping she knew how the Ancient Heavenly Court escaped the Great Void Calamity and promised to save Chu Lingyue in exchange for the Earth Fruit's seventh and eighth transformations.
• Xu Taiping agreed to give Jade Mother those transformations, and she said the ninth had been prepared for him.
• Jade Mother warned Xu Taiping that he still had to take Northern Emperor City, defeat the Nine Abysses Demonic Army, and kill the Demon Mother, then vanished.
• Five months later, Song Yan told Lü Daoxuan that reinforcements had brought the five armies in Heavenly Thunder City to a total of 230,000 soldiers.
• Song Yan explained that the armies had not held a joint drill and their commanders refused to submit to one another.

Xu Taiping emerged from seclusion and learned that Yang Hong was pressing the Five Emperors' Army to choose a commander-in-chief. As Yang Hong prepared to settle the contest through combat at Heavenly Thunder City's drill ground, Xu Taiping arrived and offered to join.

• Song Yan told Lü Daoxuan that Yang Hong was gathering support to elect a commander-in-chief, while many generals resisted Xu Taiping's leadership.
• Xu Taiping emerged from the Dragon-Trapping Tower and declared that he alone should command the Five Emperors' Army.
• Zhao Qian and the Seven Peak Lords emerged from seclusion, and Xu Taiping went with them and Song Yan to the drill ground.
• Yang Hong demanded that the armies choose a commander-in-chief that day and challenged the others to fight for the position.
• Fu Xiao, Fu Liu, and Chu Yinan agreed to face Yang Hong, and Xu Taiping entered the drill ground and asked to be counted in.

At the Heavenly Thunder City drill ground, Xu Taiping faced opposition from Yang Hong and several battle generals over his claim to command the Five Emperors' Army. Chu Yinan challenged him to a spar, and their battle began with Xu Taiping suppressing his cultivation to the Heaven-Connecting Realm as Chu Yinan unleashed his Gui Water Sword Art.

• Old Martial God Zhu Huai declared his support for Xu Taiping, and half the battle generals followed suit.
• Yang Hong argued that the commander-in-chief should be the most capable and challenged Xu Taiping, drawing support from other generals who wanted to test him.
• Chu Yinan insisted on challenging Xu Taiping, and Xu agreed to fight while suppressing his cultivation to the Heaven-Connecting Realm.
• Chu Yinan attacked as a streak of sword light, but Xu Taiping detected its position and struck it away with a thunderflame-wreathed punch.
• Chu Yinan's Gui Water Sword Art engulfed Xu Taiping in flowing sword qi, then formed a thousand-zhang wave of sword qi harder than steel that crashed toward him.

Xu Taiping repeatedly broke Chu Yinan’s Gui Water Sword Art with escalating Fist Force, leaving the watching Battle Generals stunned. With eighteen Great Sun halos gathered behind him, Xu Taiping challenged Chu Yinan to take his next punch.

• Xu Taiping shattered Chu Yinan’s Heaven Generates Water strike with successive punches, then broke the Gui Water Sword Qi cage and its Thousand Blades attack.
• Chu Yinan froze the platform with A Thousand Miles of Frost and turned the ice into an unending barrage of blades, piercing the divine phantom formed by Xu Taiping’s Fist Force.
• Xu Taiping raised his Fist Force three more levels and formed eighteen Great Sun halos, which erased Chu Yinan’s frost blades before they could reach him.
• Xu Taiping took his Fist Stance and asked Chu Yinan whether he dared take the punch.

Xu Taiping defeated Chu Yinan’s Ultimate Realm sword strike with his own fist force, helping Chu Yinan overcome his fear of facing him. He then challenged Yang Hong to a duel over the commander-in-chief’s seat, and Yang Hong imposed restrictions on how Xu Taiping could fight.

• Xu Taiping’s fist force overwhelmed Chu Yinan’s Heavenly Water, A Single Line and sent him crashing toward the ground.
• Chu Yinan’s renewed excitement showed Zhu Huai that his disciple had overcome the knot in his heart, and Zhu Huai thanked Xu Taiping for helping him.
• Xu Taiping faced the battle generals who opposed his appointment and challenged Yang Hong to fight for the commander-in-chief’s seat.
• Xu Taiping promised to forgo the position and serve under Yang Hong if he lost.
• Yang Hong accepted the challenge and forbade Xu Taiping from using Half-Immortal Realm cultivation, fists, or a sword.

Xu Taiping accepted Yang Hong’s challenge to a blade duel and overwhelmed his attacks by repeatedly increasing his blade force. He continued raising that force as he prepared to test the ultimate realm of his transformation of force.

• Xu Taiping agreed to use a blade, hoping to win over the Peerless Nether Heaven blade cultivators behind Yang Hong.
• Yang Hong unleashed his grandfather Yang Ben’s Great Avalanche, but Xu Taiping split it apart with one strike.
• Yang Hong attacked with Snow Domain True Dragon Blade, and Xu Taiping’s blade force rose nine layers as he shattered the towering blades and struck him.
• Yang Hong asked what blade technique Xu Taiping had used, and Xu Taiping explained that he was only increasing his blade force.
• Xu Taiping raised his blade force further and assumed a blade-drawing stance to test its ultimate realm.

Xu Taiping defeated Yang Hong’s Frost Dragon blade force with an overwhelming strike, then challenged him and the other battle generals to face him. Yang Hong and the generals remained too afraid to raise their heads, leaving Xu Taiping disappointed and the army’s loyalty unresolved.

• Yang Hong unleashed his Frost Dragon blade force across the drill ground and sent two frost dragons at Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping realized Yang Ben had been sealing Yang Hong’s true ability and answered with eighteen blade lights and a five-colored slash that destroyed the frost dragons.
• Xu Taiping’s blade shadow stopped above Yang Hong’s head, and Yang Hong lowered his gaze in terror as the battle generals did the same.
• Xu Taiping ordered Yang Hong and the other generals to raise their heads and warned that those who could not face their commander should leave the Five Emperors’ Army.
• Yang Hong tried to look up when Xu Taiping called his name again but could not overcome his fear.

Xu Taiping tested the battle generals’ resolve, expelled those who could not withstand his pressure, and rallied the rest to join him in attacking Northern Emperor City. He learned that Lin Buyan had reached Crimson Heaven Peak and found another Dragon-Slaying Stele, prompting him to go to her at once.

• Xu Taiping gave Yang Hong one last chance to face him, and Yang Hong stood up, reignited his battle intent, and vowed to surpass him.
• Xu Taiping expelled the battle generals who could not raise their heads, then offered the remaining generals a chance to join an attack on White Emperor City.
• The battle generals rallied behind Xu Taiping, while Zhu Huai and Chu Yinan reacted to the prospect of an attack on Northern Emperor City.
• Xu Taiping told Zhu Huai that an attack on Northern Emperor City could happen soon and that he was preparing the army for it.
• Lin Buyan contacted Xu Taiping from the summit of Crimson Heaven Peak, said Xiaohei had gone to meet him, and revealed she had found another Dragon-Slaying Stele.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan reached the summit of Crimson Heaven Peak and discovered that its secret realm held a projection of the Ancestral Dragon's Legacy. Lin Buyan claimed the Crimson Heaven Spirit Garden, which could supply the Five Emperors' Army with weapons and pills as Xu Taiping prepared to attack Northern Emperor City.

• Xu Taiping recognized the giant Dragon-Slaying Stele as a projection of the Ancestral Dragon's Legacy and told Lin Buyan about his promise to Dragon Emperor Cangzhou.
• Lin Buyan shared what she knew about the Ancestral Dragon's Legacy and advised Xu Taiping not to pursue it if the search proved dangerous or difficult.
• Lin Buyan used the Grotto-Heaven Hub to become the master of the Crimson Heaven Spirit Garden, gaining command of everything within it except its Origin Edict.
• Lin Buyan said the garden could supply enough resources for at least three hundred thousand soldiers in the Five Emperors' Army.
• Xu Taiping said he would assign Zhao Linglong and Azure Profound Sect Disciples to forge weapons and Xiahou You and other trusted cultivators to refine pills.

Xu Taiping learned from Lady Jade Mother that the Crimson Heaven Secret Realm was a fragment of the Buddhist Kingdom’s Glazed Heaven, which could become a Buddhist artifact and a place to cultivate Earth Fruit. Lady Jade Mother also deduced that the Dragon-Slaying Steles recorded the Ancestral Dragon’s proposed solution to the Great Void Calamity, and offered to take Xu Taiping into the Seven Lodges Treasury if he found a hundred thousand Demon Seeds.

• Lin Buyan returned a jade pendant to Xu Taiping, who said he could not open it because it was restricted.
• Lin Buyan took Xiaohei to face the Great Fire Python again after Xu Taiping allowed Xiaohei to help her pursue a breakthrough.
• Lady Jade Mother identified the secret realm as a fragment of Glazed Heaven and said Xu Taiping could eventually forge it into a Buddhist magic artifact.
• Lady Jade Mother proposed using the fragment to plant Earth Fruit, which might extract a Buddhist treasure.
• After examining the Dragon-Slaying Stele, Lady Jade Mother deduced that the Ancestral Dragon had foreseen the Great Void Calamity and inscribed a possible way to overcome it.
• Lady Jade Mother told Xu Taiping she could help him enter the Seven Lodges Treasury after awakening if he found a hundred thousand Demon Seeds.

Xu Taiping weighed whether to attack Qifei Grotto or Zhoujue Grotto, then received a request to rescue a trapped Jade Balance Mountain army. Suspecting the request was a trap, he decided to use it as a diversion while sending a small force to strike Zhoujue Grotto.

• Xu Taiping considered the need to obtain a hundred thousand demon seeds and asked the Lotus Eye which demon grotto to attack before Northern Emperor City.
• The Lotus Eye recommended Qifei Grotto as the safer target and Zhoujue Grotto as the more rewarding but much riskier one.
• The Demon-Suppressing Stele relayed Heavenly Lord Shihu’s request for aid after ten thousand Jade Balance Mountain troops were trapped in Dragon-Snake Valley by Qifei Grotto’s demonic army.
• Xu Taiping suspected the distress call might be a trap but decided to turn it to his advantage by making a diversionary move against Qifei Grotto.
• Xu Taiping planned to take sixty thousand troops, including twenty thousand sword cultivators and forty thousand blade cultivators, on a swift assault against Zhoujue Grotto.
• The Lotus Eye estimated that the nearest two-hundred-thousand-strong demonic army would need at least six days to return and defend Zhoujue Grotto.

Xu Taiping prepared a risky strike against the Zhoujue Demon Grotto and began arranging troops and support. When the four army commanders and Heavenly Lord Shihu asked him to rescue the Jade Balance Army at the Qifei Demon Grotto, Xu Taiping offered to send his army if they agreed to one condition.

• Xu Taiping asked Lotus Eye to simulate the Nine Abysses Demonic Army and planned to coordinate the frontline armies’ attacks before his sixty thousand troops struck the Zhoujue Demon Grotto.
• Zhao Qian questioned the plan, but Lü Daoxuan backed Xu Taiping, and they began selecting troops, including Jiang Cuicui and Duan Xiaoyu’s blade cultivators.
• Song Yan told Xu Taiping that the Vermilion Bird Army’s commander-in-chief wanted to discuss rescuing the Jade Balance Army, and Xu Taiping agreed to meet the commanders.
• Huo Xuan, Wei Ming, Bai Lu, Zhao Cangbai, and Heavenly Lord Shihu challenged Xu Taiping about delaying his response to their request for aid.
• Xu Taiping said his Five Emperors' Demon-Slaying Army could reach the Qifei Demon Grotto the next day if the commanders accepted one condition.

The Northern Emperor and Xu Taiping both prepared for a trap at Qifei City, while Xu Taiping deliberately slowed his army to test the demon forces. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping asking Huo Xuan to coordinate attacks on the other Nine Abysses fronts if his army still had not reached Qifei City the next day.

• The Northern Emperor told E Piao to remain at Zhoujue Grotto, explaining that Xu Tianzhu and his Bone-Piercing Army were heading to Qifei City and that a larger force would spring a trap on Xu Taiping.
• The Northern Emperor planned to have E Piao lead one hundred thousand troops from Zhoujue City to attack once Xu Taiping reached Qifei City, coordinating with Yao Xiong and Xu Tianzhu to destroy the Five Emperors' Demon-Slaying Army.
• Huo Xuan learned from Lei Huo that Xu Taiping's army had marched only three hundred li in half a day and contacted Xu Taiping for an explanation.
• Xu Taiping told Huo Xuan that he was probing the Northern Emperor, who he believed would not act rashly while both sides waited for the other to reveal its plans.
• Xu Taiping assured Huo Xuan that he was confident in victory and asked him to persuade the other three army commanders to attack the Nine Abysses front lines if his army had not reached Qifei City by the next day.

Xu Taiping delayed his march to Qifei City while the Human Race armies launched their assaults as planned, and the Northern Emperor misread his intentions. At Huzhao Valley, Xu Taiping revealed that he planned to lead sixty thousand sword and blade cultivators on a surprise attack through Zhoujue Grotto, and his companions agreed to follow him.

• Huo Xuan persuaded the other commanders to begin their attacks at noon the next day, whether or not Xu Taiping had reached Qifei City.
• The Northern Emperor learned that the Human Race armies had attacked early and concluded that Xu Taiping would keep advancing toward Qifei City, where he planned to trap him with hidden reinforcements.
• The Northern Emperor ordered E Piao to hold Zhoujue City and prepare a hundred-thousand-strong force to cut off Xu Taiping's retreat once his troops reached Qifei City.
• At Huzhao Valley, Xu Taiping told Lei Huo, Duan Xiaoyu, and Chu Yinan that he would lead sixty thousand sword and blade cultivators on a surprise attack toward Zhoujue Grotto.
• Chu Yinan, Duan Xiaoyu, Yang Hong, and Lei Huo all declared their willingness to serve under Commander-in-Chief Taiping.

Xu Taiping concealed his sixty-thousand-strong force in Huzhao Valley and prepared to break through the approaching Mao-Ri Demonic Army with the Demon-Breaking Sword Formation. The enemy arrived with 150,000 troops instead of the expected 100,000, and the chapter ended as Yang Hong led a sudden strike that destroyed three hundred demonic scouts.

• Xu Taiping briefed Chu Yinan and the central army generals, ordered them to avoid lingering in battle, and told Duan Xiaoyu to watch Yang Hong.
• Lei Huo reported that the Well Ghost Army was approaching, while Zhao Qian later spotted 150,000 demonic troops advancing toward Huzhao Valley.
• Xu Taiping ordered the generals to form the Demon-Breaking Sword Formation and told Lei Huo to warn the Vermilion Bird Army about the enemy’s concealed strength.
• As the demonic army drew near, Xu Taiping used the Blade of Guicang to hide his force from its scouts.
• When the scouts reached one thousand zhang away, Yang Hong led several hundred blade cultivators in a charge that killed all three hundred scouts.