Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping led sixty thousand Blade and Sword Cultivators through the Mao-Ri Demonic Army’s formation and into the Demon Domain. At the chapter’s end, Great General Huo Xuan was shocked to learn that Xu Taiping had bypassed Qifei City.

• Xu Taiping ordered the Sword Cultivators to charge, and their formation tore a breach into the Mao-Ri Demonic Army.
• Duan Xiaoyu and Yang Hong led forty thousand Blade Cultivators in an assault that widened the breach as the Sword Cultivators attacked the Demonic Beasts overhead.
• A ghost-faced Demonic General struck at Yang Hong, but Xu Taiping intervened and rallied the sixty thousand Blade and Sword Cultivators.
• Xu Taiping combined the army’s battle intent with his Ultimate Realm blade force, splitting the Demonic General’s True Demon Body and cutting through the troops behind him.
• Xu Taiping ordered the army to keep charging, and they swept through the breach into the Demon Domain; Huo Xuan was stunned by the news.

Xu Taiping led sixty thousand troops into the Demon Domain to attack the Zhoujue Demon Grotto while asking the four human armies to intensify their assaults. The Northern Emperor mistook Xu Taiping’s force for a diversion and ordered his commanders to ignore it, leaving Xu Taiping’s real objective unchecked.

• Lei Huo told Huo Xuan that Xu Taiping had entered the Demon Domain with sixty thousand troops to destroy the Zhoujue Demon Grotto and asked the four armies to keep pressure on the front lines.
• Huo Xuan agreed to trust Xu Taiping and explained the plan to Zhao Cangbai, then worried that Wei Ming and Bai Lu would be harder to persuade.
• Yao Pei reported to the Northern Emperor that a force of about sixty thousand had broken through the Mao-Ri Army’s blockade, but could not identify its commander.
• The Northern Emperor dismissed the force as a sacrificial diversion after receiving reports that Xu Taiping was attacking Qifei City and the other human armies were advancing.
• The Northern Emperor ordered Yao Pei to keep fighting the Vermilion Bird Army and said rear forces would intercept the sixty thousand troops.

Xu Taiping led sixty thousand cultivators in a Wind and Thunder Battle Formation against the Nine Abysses garrison at Old Fox Ridge. He killed the demonic general Jingyi and broke through, while Jingyi used his last strength to warn the Northern Emperor that Xu Taiping was a terrifying threat.

• Zhao Qian told Xu Taiping that Old Fox Ridge was guarded by two hundred thousand troops and the Fourth-Vein Demon Emperor Jingyi.
• Xu Taiping ordered the sixty thousand sword and blade cultivators to form the Wind and Thunder Battle Formation and charge Old Fox Ridge.
• The formation broke through the restrictions and the wall of demonic beasts, but demon flood dragons and black flames halted its advance.
• Xu Taiping rallied the formation with his battle intent, then revealed his Dao true dragon divine being body and clashed with Jingyi.
• Xu Taiping and the formation cut through Jingyi and charged past the defenders, turning Jingyi and tens of thousands of demons into blood mist.
• Jingyi sent the Northern Emperor a final warning that Xu Taiping was a terrifying threat and urged him to send troops.

The Northern Emperor learned that Xu Taiping’s sixty-thousand-strong force was heading toward Yuanshan Mountain, where much of his army’s supplies were stored. While deciding how to respond, he received reports of coordinated attacks on every front and ordered the hidden forces deployed, prioritizing the fighting at Qifei Grotto.

• The Northern Emperor asked Elder Yu to divine the identity and location of the Vermilion Bird Army’s battle general, but Elder Yu could not identify him because a treasure concealed heavenly secrets and the troops’ aura.
• Elder Yu intermittently revealed Xu Taiping’s force moving from Tongbai Mountain to Horse-Offering Land and then Yellow Rock Valley, along the route to Yuanshan Mountain.
• The Northern Emperor and Elder Yu considered the force’s likely target, Yuanshan Mountain, and judged that the sixty thousand troops could still tie down demonic forces despite facing two hundred thousand defenders.
• The Northern Emperor received reports that the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise Armies were attacking across the front, and recognized that the offensives were coordinated with Xu Taiping’s advance.
• The Northern Emperor ordered his generals to deploy their hidden forces and attack at full strength, forbidding them to withdraw until the fighting at Qifei Grotto ended.

At Yuanshan Mountain, Demonic General Feiliao realized the human cavalry was likely heading for Zhoujue Demon Grotto, but doubted sixty thousand troops could threaten it. Demonic General Guichi then warned him that the cavalry had already broken through Yuliu Pass and revealed its commander was Xu Taiping.

• The Northern Emperor warned Demonic General Feiliao that a sixty-thousand-strong human cavalry force might approach Yuanshan Mountain and ordered him to defend the grotto and identify its commander.
• Feiliao and Deputy General Yecha heard fighting near Yuliu Pass and inferred that the human cavalry had attacked the Wuhào Army there.
• Feiliao and Yecha realized the cavalry might be advancing toward Zhoujue Demon Grotto, though they believed nearby forces could stop it.
• Demonic General Guichi sent Feiliao a bloodied message, reporting that the cavalry had cut off communications and breached Yuliu Pass.
• Guichi identified Xu Taiping as the human battle general commanding the cavalry.

Huo Xuan faced mounting pressure to withdraw support from Xu Taiping’s campaign as E Piao’s army advanced on Qifei Grotto and the allied armies threatened to pull back. Lei Huo finally sent word that Xu Taiping had won a resounding victory, leaving Huo Xuan eager to learn whether they had passed Old Fox Ridge.

• Huo Xuan learned that Xu Tianzhu’s Bone-Piercing Army had ambushed the Five Emperors' Demon-Slaying Army at Qifei Grotto.
• Tie Yu reported that at least a hundred thousand Nine Abysses troops, likely led by E Piao, were marching toward Qifei Grotto.
• Zhao Cangwu, Wei Ming, and Bai Lu questioned Xu Taiping’s progress and warned they might withdraw their armies if the Demon-Slaying Army could not hold out.
• Huo Xuan received Lei Huo’s report that Xu Taiping’s force had been fighting throughout the Demon Domain and had won a resounding victory.
• Huo Xuan asked Lei Huo how far the army had advanced and whether it had made it through Old Fox Ridge.

After Xu Taiping’s army broke through Yuliu Pass, Huo Xuan and the other commanders prepared to mass their forces for a counterattack. Alarmed by the advance toward the Zhoujue Demon Grotto, the Northern Emperor ordered Mozhe awakened and E Piao recalled to ensure Xu Taiping did not survive.

• Lei Huo told Huo Xuan that Xu Taiping’s forces had broken through Old Fox Ridge and Yuliu Pass, severely wounding Guichi.
• Xu Taiping asked Huo Xuan to coordinate attacks along the front so the Human Race Army could exploit the fall of the Zhoujue Demon Grotto.
• Huo Xuan told Zhao Cangbai, Bai Lu, and Wei Ming about the breakthrough, and they agreed to mass ninety percent of their fighting strength for an assault on the Northern Emperor Army’s lines.
• Wu Gu questioned the reports that Xu Taiping was leading the force attacking Qifei Grotto, and the Northern Emperor ordered the nearby garrison armies to intercept it.
• The Northern Emperor ordered Wu Gu to awaken Mozhe and summon E Piao back, declaring that Xu Taiping must not return alive.

Xu Taiping’s army approached Zhoujue Demon Grotto and prepared to face its defenders and two large demonic reinforcements. Before the battle began, Xu Taiping cleared the Origin Demon Seed Power from Yang Hong’s wound, allowing him to wield his sabers again.

• Zhao Qian reported that Zhoujue Demon Grotto was a hundred li ahead, and Xu Taiping ordered the army into the Wind and Thunder Battle Formation.
• Xu Taiping learned that two demonic armies, each over a hundred thousand strong, were converging on Zhoujue Demon Grotto, which also held nearly fifty thousand troops.
• Lei Huo suggested broadcasting the battle to damage the Nine Abysses Demonic Army’s morale, and Xu Taiping assigned him the task.
• Xu Taiping ordered the injured Yang Hong to let Duan Xiaoyu lead the blade cultivators, but Yang Hong protested that he could still fight with one arm.
• Xu Taiping used True Dragon Forbidden Domain to remove the Origin Demon Seed Power from Yang Hong, who thanked him and drew both sabers.

Xu Taiping led nearly sixty thousand troops in a charge against two hundred thousand demonic troops before Zhoujue Grotto, breaking through their formation with his own strength and coordinated sword and blade attacks. As the battle turned in his army’s favor, a blood-colored pillar of light appeared at Zhoujue Grotto, suggesting a Demon Emperor might be emerging.

• Xu Taiping rallied his generals and charged toward the demonic army blocking Zhoujue Pass.
• Xu Taiping shattered the demonic army’s final barrier and opened a gap in its formation, which Yang Hong led the blade cultivators through while the sword cultivators rained attacks down on the enemy.
• Three demonic generals used the battle intent of two hundred thousand troops to drive back the human battle generals and threaten to halt the charge.
• Xu Taiping punched one demonic general away and slashed back the other two, leading the commanders watching through the Heaven-Patrolling Mirror to recognize that his strength covered the formation’s weaknesses.
• A blood-colored pillar of light rose near Zhoujue Demon Grotto, and Bai Lu feared that a Demon Emperor was emerging.

Bai Lu identified the demon breaking through in the Zhoujue Demon Grotto as Mozhe, while Xu Taiping’s smaller army crushed through the Nine Abysses Demonic Army’s defenses. Mozhe seized command and halted Xu Taiping’s charge, then unleashed rising waves of battle intent as their armies clashed.

• Bai Lu recognized Mozhe as the demon about to break through to the first vein realm, alarming Huo Xuan, Zhao Cangbai, and Wei Ming.
• Xu Taiping used his Thunder Sound Banners and military formation to devastate the demon-armored soldiers and push back three Demonic Generals.
• Xu Taiping’s forty thousand saber cultivators smashed through the Nine Abysses Demonic Army’s final defensive line, but Mozhe arrived and stopped their charge with waves of blood.
• Xu Taiping and Mozhe exchanged attacks, and Xu Taiping blocked Mozhe’s blood-colored fist shadows while their armies’ battle intents remained evenly matched.
• Mozhe increased his battle intent and sent thousand-zhang waves crashing toward Xu Taiping and his formation.

Xu Taiping broke Mozhe’s army formation and defeated the demonic general, then went alone to the Zhoujue Demon Grotto to face the Primordial Lord. The Heaven-Patrolling Mirror came back on to reveal that Xu Taiping had slain the Primordial Lord by himself.

• Xu Taiping drew the Demon-Slaying Blade and Human Sovereign Sword, then summoned ten thousand armored cavalry and a hundred thousand Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Army troops to reinforce his formation.
• Xu Taiping’s army shattered Mozhe’s battle intent and charged into the demonic ranks, while Mozhe gathered the surviving troops’ strength for a counterattack.
• Xu Taiping gathered his army’s combat power into himself and cut Mozhe’s blood demon’s body in two with a single slash.
• Xu Taiping ordered Zhao Cangwu and Yang Hong to clear the battlefield, then went alone to the Zhoujue Demon Grotto to kill the Primordial Lord.
• The Heaven-Patrolling Mirror went dark after a terrifying aura surged from the grotto, then Lei Huo reported that Xu Taiping had slain the Primordial Lord alone.

Xu Taiping’s army celebrated his slaying of the Zhoujue Demon Grotto’s Primordial Lord, then faced an encircling force as he revealed how he could restore their strength. He led the revived Demon-Slaying Army toward battle, while Huo Xuan’s warning about Demonic General E Piao’s interception had already been sent.

• Huo Xuan learned that Demonic General E Piao was heading to intercept Xu Taiping and warned Lei Huo to bring him back to the city.
• Xu Taiping returned with the Primordial Lord’s demon seed, and the Demon-Slaying Army hailed him for killing the Primordial Lord.
• Xu Taiping called for the Northern Emperor’s death, and the soldiers roared their support as pursuers gathered behind them.
• Xu Taiping activated his nine cauldrons physique and swallowed the demon seed, restoring the soldiers’ depleted magic power.
• Xu Taiping ordered the army to cut through the approaching demon-armored soldiers and strike fear into their enemies.

Xu Taiping led the Demon-Slaying Army through successive formations of Nine Abysses troops, breaking their battle intent and killing tens of thousands as Lei Huo showed the battle to the commanders-in-chief. The chapter left the commanders recognizing that Xu Taiping’s fewer than sixty thousand soldiers could defeat an ordinary army of a hundred thousand.

• Xu Taiping used the Wind and Thunder Demon-Slaying Formation to break through an eighty-thousand-strong Nine Abysses army and kill or wound ten to twenty thousand soldiers.
• Xu Taiping broke another pursuing army apart and led his troops out through the Zhoujue Demon Grotto, conserving his strength for the demonic general E Piao.
• Lei Huo projected the battle across the Heaven-Demon Battlefield, and Huo Xuan and the other commanders-in-chief watched Xu Taiping’s army fight.
• Xu Taiping used the Thunder Sound Five-Direction Earth-Splitting Formation to clash with a demonic army and killed its general with a golden blade strike.
• Xu Taiping seized the general’s demon seed and led his troops in splitting a hundred-thousand-strong army, killing at least thirty thousand soldiers and crushing the survivors’ battle intent.
• Zhao Cangwu, Bai Lu, and Wei Ming said Xu Taiping’s army could crush an ordinary army of a hundred thousand.

Xu Taiping used the Nine Cauldrons Physique to refine demon seeds into pure Dao Essence and strengthen the Demon-Slaying Army. When Demonic General E Piao attacked with his hundred-thousand-strong army, Xu Taiping defeated him in a single exchange.

• The commanders worried that Xu Taiping’s army would run out of pills as it advanced toward Qifei Grotto.
• Demonic General E Piao arrived with his hundred-thousand-strong E Piao Army to intercept Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping ate a demon seed and transformed its power into pure Dao Essence that the Demon-Slaying Army could draw upon.
• Huo Xuan and the other commanders recognized that Xu Taiping possessed General Xiang Kui’s Nine Cauldrons Physique.
• Xu Taiping crushed more demon seeds, then cleaved through E Piao’s attack and slashed open E Piao’s chest in a single exchange.

Xu Taiping and the Demon-Slaying Army continued their march toward Qifei Grotto, defeating E Piao’s army and then Xu Tianzhu’s Bone-Piercing Army. The commanders watching through the Heaven-Patrolling Mirror realized that Xu Taiping was deliberately building his army’s battle intent with every victory, and the army charged onward with its momentum growing.

• Xu Taiping ate a demon seed, rallied the Demon-Slaying Army, and broke through E Piao’s army after defeating E Piao.
• The Demon-Slaying Army gathered demon seeds and continued toward Qifei Grotto, routing demonic forces along the way.
• The commanders watching the Heaven-Patrolling Mirror discussed how Xu Taiping’s victories were accumulating extraordinary battle intent in his army.
• Xu Taiping trapped and slew Xu Tianzhu, while the Demon-Slaying Army shattered the Bone-Piercing Army’s formation.
• Xu Taiping and his army charged toward the next demonic gathering place, their battle intent surging higher.

The four Human Race commanders-in-chief resolved to seize the chance to counterattack the Nine Abysses and backed Xu Taiping as he led the armies against the Qifei Demon Grotto. Months later, his Demon-Slaying Army had grown to six hundred thousand, and the commanders summoned him to plan an assault on Northern Emperor City, where Bai Lu questioned whether Xu Taiping had reached Void Insight Seven Inches.

• Bai Lu reminded Zhao Cangbai, Huo Xuan, and Wei Ming of General Xiang Kui’s tragic fate and urged them not to waste Xu Taiping’s strength.
• Wei Ming, Huo Xuan, and Zhao Cangbai agreed that the time to strike back had come and resolved to unite the Human Race armies behind Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping reunited his Demon-Slaying Armies and led nearly 160,000 soldiers toward the Qifei Demon Grotto.
• Several months later, Song Yan reported that Xu Taiping’s army had grown to six hundred thousand, and Xu Taiping entered seclusion before planning to march on Northern Emperor City.
• Huo Xuan and the other commanders-in-chief contacted Xu Taiping to discuss attacking Northern Emperor City, and Bai Lu asked whether he had broken through to Void Insight Seven Inches.

Xu Taiping told the four Commanders-in-Chief that he was close to reaching Void Insight Eight Inches, which would summon him to the Land of Myriad Tribulations and force him to face the Eighty-One Demon Generals. He chose to keep pursuing cultivation and proposed that the Demon-Slaying Army attack Northern Emperor City before he had to break through, leaving the chapter with Zhao Cangwu asking what they would do if the Northern Emperor fled.

• Bai Lu explained that anyone who broke through to Void Insight Eight Inches would be summoned to the Land of Myriad Tribulations to face the Eighty-One Demon Generals.
• Xu Taiping said he was only one step away from Void Insight Eight Inches but refused to abandon his cultivation path to avoid the challenge.
• Xu Taiping estimated that he could suppress his cultivation for three months and asked the Commanders-in-Chief to help breach Northern Emperor City before then.
• Xu Taiping assigned the Commanders-in-Chief to pin down the Southern Emperor, Eastern Emperor, and Western Emperor, while the Demon-Slaying Army attacked Northern Emperor City.
• Xu Taiping revealed that he had been building the Demon-Slaying Army's Unvanquished Battle Intent to prepare for a future battle against the Demon Mother.
• Zhao Cangwu asked what they should do if the Northern Emperor abandoned the city and fled.

Xu Taiping discussed plans with the four commanders-in-chief to tie down the armies outside Northern Emperor City, then went to Glazed Heaven to free Lady Jade Mother. He found his master and the other peak lords safely forging swords, and Jade Mother dismissed his concerns about the Nine Abysses Demon Seeds.

• Xu Taiping explained that the Northern Emperor would attack his Demon-Slaying Army before it could threaten the Demon Mother, and he and the commanders-in-chief planned how to tie down the armies outside Northern Emperor City.
• After three days of planning, Xu Taiping sensed the Crimson Heaven Spirit Garden and learned that Lü Daoxuan and the other peak lords were nearing the end of their sword forging.
• Xu Taiping told Lin Buyan that his master was safe, learned Xiaohei was close to a breakthrough, and heard that Lin Buyan had recovered memories about Buyu.
• Xu Taiping reached Glazed Heaven, where Lady Jade Mother urged him to cut down the plum tree and welcome her out.
• Xu Taiping explained the Land of Myriad Tribulations to Jade Mother, who said he should simply kill all the Nine Abysses Demon Seeds.

Xu Taiping freed Jade Mother from the Earth Fruit plum tree and received instruction in blade techniques. After giving him consecrated Buddhist prayer beads, she suggested that his ability to combine Daoist and Buddhist arts could help him forge the Calamity-Overcoming Sword.

• Xu Taiping said he wanted to take Northern Emperor City and kill the Northern Emperor before entering the Land of Myriad Calamities, and Jade Mother agreed that the city could not wait.
• Xu Taiping cut down the Earth Fruit plum tree with his full strength, and Jade Mother emerged from its blossoms in a young woman's form.
• Jade Mother demonstrated a powerful blade strike, then told Xu Taiping that his blade techniques lacked the thought behind each strike and encouraged him to keep seeking his ultimate realm.
• Jade Mother formed Buddhist prayer beads from plum petals and gave them to Xu Taiping, whose Buddhist seals summoned a Vajra Dharma Aspect.
• After Xu Taiping described meeting Venerable Jiaye, Jade Mother said that combining Daoist and Buddhist arts might help him forge the Calamity-Overcoming Sword.

Lady Jade Mother battered Xu Taiping while he activated his Dao body furnace, helping him melt the Shoushan Copper and tempering him with her fists. After the session, Lin Buyan urgently called him to help protect Xiaohei, whose breakthrough had gone wrong.

• Lady Jade Mother pummeled Xu Taiping until he activated his Dao body furnace, revealing that her blows were helping melt the Shoushan Copper.
• Xu Taiping used his Buddhist mudras to heal his injuries as Lady Jade Mother explained how the Buddhist Kingdom’s power could repair his body across cultivation realms.
• Lady Jade Mother continued the tempering for the time it took an incense stick to burn, leaving Xu Taiping badly wounded and melting a little less than half of the Shoushan Copper.
• Lady Jade Mother returned to Xu Taiping’s gourd and told him the next tempering session might have to wait until the eighth earth fruit seed burning, stressing the sword’s importance to him and the Shangqing Realm.
• Lin Buyan contacted Xu Taiping and said Xiaohei’s breakthrough had encountered a problem, so Xu Taiping immediately agreed to go help protect him.