Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan entered Xiaohei’s Divine Sense to help him overcome a Heart Demon trapping him in an ancient memory. They found a village of Ancient People performing a sacrificial rite, but the memory’s significance remained unclear.

• Lin Buyan told Xu Taiping that Xiaohei’s breakthrough had awakened a Heart Demon and asked him to enter Xiaohei’s Divine Sense.
• Xiaohei initially resisted Xu Taiping’s Divine Sense, but accepted it when Xu Taiping called himself Xiaohei’s master.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan entered Xiaohei’s Divine Sense and found a scorched world resembling the Shangqing Realm during Primordial Antiquity.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan followed a procession of Ancient People to their village center, where a feather-clad shaman led a sacrifice beside a bonfire.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan witnessed Xiaohei’s memories as an ancient Hound God whose worshippers suffered under two blazing suns. They realized Xiaohei’s heart demon was the extra sun, but Xiaohei doubted he could swallow it.

• Ancient people worshipped Xiaohei as the Hound God and begged him to swallow the great sun.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan watched the tribe dwindle as the two suns scorched the land, while Xiaohei fell from revered deity to hungry stray.
• A villager beat Xiaohei for stealing food, but village children rescued him and laughed as he walked like a human.
• Hungry children asked Xiaohei when he would eat the extra sun, and Xu Taiping recognized it as Xiaohei’s heart demon.
• Xiaohei barked at the extra sun, then said he could not possibly swallow a great sun.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan watched Xiaohei’s memories reveal how its worship grew as Yi’s people built a city and waged decades of wars beneath the scorching Great Sun. They realized that Xiaohei and Yi had forgotten their original wish to have the Hound God swallow the sun, and the chapter ended with Xiaohei refusing someone’s plea to take them into the heavens.

• Xiaohei’s ability to speak inspired the tribe to worship it, and its divine power grew as it helped unite surrounding tribes.
• Yi and his companions built a city and fought other tribes and city-states for decades while the Great Sun scorched more land.
• Near the end of his life, Yi mourned his dead companions and questioned Xiaohei about why their lives remained painful despite their greater wealth and territory.
• After Yi left, Xiaohei admitted that it could not answer his question, then resumed its aloof bearing when someone entered.
• Xu Taiping reminded Lin Buyan that the tribe had originally prayed for Xiaohei to swallow the Great Sun, and they wondered why Yi and Xiaohei had abandoned that goal.
• Someone begged Xiaohei to take them into the heavens, but Xiaohei refused, warning that the Great Sun would burn their mortal body to ash.

Lin Buyan and Xu Taiping watched Yi and Xiaohei make a desperate attempt to reach the Great Sun, which Yi believed was the true enemy of his people. Yi died on Xiaohei’s back, and Xiaohei fell from the sky without reaching the sun.

• Yi told Xiaohei that he intended to shoot down the Great Sun and asked it to carry the Yi People toward it for generations.
• Xiaohei agreed to carry Yi into the sky as the Yi People gathered to bid them farewell.
• Yi fired hundreds of arrows at the Great Sun, then drew his sword and ordered Xiaohei to fly closer.
• As the sun’s heat burned Yi’s armor and flesh, he urged his people never to back down, even against the heavens.
• Yi burst into flames while pointing his sword at the sun, and Xiaohei howled in grief before continuing upward with him.
• Xiaohei exhausted its divine power and fell from the sky as a gigantic fireball, still far from the Great Sun.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan helped Xiaohei awaken from his sweet dream of the Yi People and stabilize his resolve before the coming battle. Xiaohei left to cultivate, while Lin Buyan explained how his Sun-Eater Power could help them breach Northern Emperor City and revealed that the Northern Emperor held the key to the seal on the Immortal Official’s remains.

• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan watched Xiaohei relive the Yi People’s struggle to shoot down the extra Great Sun and learned that their descendants and worshippers had eventually dwindled.
• Xu Taiping recognized that Xiaohei was saying goodbye to old friends rather than being trapped by a heart demon, then called to him to return to the present and help in the coming battle.
• Xiaohei charged at the Great Sun with Yi, swallowed it, and awakened from the dream with only one sun left in the sky.
• Xiaohei thanked Xu Taiping and Lin Buyan, then went into seclusion to stabilize his Sun-Eater Realm after Xu Taiping promised to summon him when the army marched.
• Lin Buyan said Xiaohei increased their odds against the Northern Emperor by ten percentage points because his Sun-Eater Power could counter the Northern Emperor’s Ten Crows, and she revealed that the Northern Emperor held the key to the seal on the Immortal Official’s remains.

Xu Taiping explained that his Demon-Slaying Army was being held back to strike Northern Emperor City and kill the Northern Emperor, then revealed that the attack would begin only when the Human Race’s forces were completely routed on every front. Lin Buyan arrived to share intelligence about the city’s defenses, leaving the commanders stunned by Xu Taiping’s timing.

• Xu Taiping warned the assembled generals not to enter battle without his orders and revealed that their mission was to breach Northern Emperor City and slay the Northern Emperor.
• After dismissing the generals, Xu Taiping kept Zhang Tianze, Feng Tianxing, and Lü Daoxuan behind to discuss the assault on the city.
• Xu Taiping summoned Lin Buyan, who offered to explain the barriers and checkpoints she knew about in Northern Emperor City.
• When Feng Tianxing asked when the army would deploy, Xu Taiping said it would be when the Human Race’s forces suffered a complete rout on every front.
• Feng Tianxing reacted with horror to Xu Taiping’s revelation.

Xu Taiping revealed that his deductions showed the Human Race Army suffering crushing defeats because the Demon Mother would intervene on the Nine Abysses’ side. The commanders agreed that the still-powerful Demon-Slaying Army must prepare to turn the tide when she appeared.

• Xu Taiping told the commanders that repeated deductions showed the Human Race Army losing and that their current strength could not change the outcome.
• Xu Taiping showed a vision in which the Nine Abysses Demonic Army repeatedly strengthened its battle intent and broke the Human Race Army’s defenses.
• Feng Tianxing recognized the purple eye in the vision as the Demon Mother’s phantom image, and Xu Taiping confirmed she had recovered at least eighty or ninety percent of her power.
• The commanders worried that the Demon Mother could interfere in the Heaven-Demon Battlefield and that the Human Race Army had counterattacked at the wrong time.
• Xu Taiping said the Human Race armies should not withdraw or be told the news, and urged the Demon-Slaying Army to prepare to turn the tide when the Demon Mother intervened.

Xu Taiping planned to crush the Nine Abysses' battle intent by defeating the Northern Emperor Army and slaying the Northern Emperor, then arranged with Venerable Jiaye and Dipankara Buddha to teleport all six hundred thousand troops to Northern Emperor City. The Northern Emperor rejected the other emperors' advice to avoid Xu Taiping, leaving the confrontation imminent.

• Xu Taiping explained that raising human morale by defeating the Northern Emperor Army could counter the Demon Mother's intervention, and the others agreed that this was the Demon-Slaying Army's purpose.
• Xu Taiping told Lü Daoxuan that Ancient Buddha Kasyapa could use Wilderness Heaven's connections to transport the army directly to Northern Emperor City.
• Xu Taiping asked Venerable Jiaye to teleport the army, and Dipankara Buddha offered to help, allowing them to move all six hundred thousand troops.
• At Northern Emperor City, the other three emperors warned the Northern Emperor that Xu Taiping might be targeting him and advised him to avoid the fight, but he sneered at the suggestion.

The Northern Emperor persuaded the other Three Emperors to let him hold Northern Emperor City while the Mother Emperor made her move. Half a month later, Huo Xuan watched the Vermilion Bird Army face a sudden surge in the Nine Abysses Northern Emperor Army’s battle intent and realized the Demon Mother might be behind it, as Wei Ming, Bai Lu, and Zhao Cangbai contacted him.

• The Northern Emperor argued that tying down Xu Taiping’s army at Northern Emperor City would relieve pressure on the other fronts, and the other Three Emperors agreed.
• The Western Emperor said the battle could restore the Mother Emperor’s combat power, and the Northern Emperor urged his brothers to seize the opportunity.
• Half a month later, Huo Xuan watched the Vermilion Bird Army push back the Nine Abysses Northern Emperor Army and considered sending Xu Taiping’s Demon-Slaying Army into battle.
• The Nine Abysses Northern Emperor Army’s battle intent suddenly tripled, and Zhu Yan led the Vermilion Bird Army in a desperate fight to hold its formation.
• Huo Xuan spotted a Purple-Pupil Phantom Image and suspected the Demon Mother had intervened, then received messages from Wei Ming, Bai Lu, and Zhao Cangbai.

The Demon Mother tripled the Nine Abysses armies’ battle intent, forcing the Human Race armies to retreat while Xu Taiping’s allies urged him to send support. Xu Taiping revealed that his army would wait for a full rout before attacking Northern Emperor City, and every general in the hall agreed to join him.

• Huo Xuan learned that the Nine Abysses armies facing the other Human Race forces had also grown stronger and recognized the Demon Mother’s purple-eyed phantoms.
• Huo Xuan and Zhao Cangbai’s armies retreated under the enhanced battle intent, while Bai Lu and Wei Ming continued to hold their lines.
• Chu Yinan and Gongshu Bai urged Xu Taiping to send support, but Xu Taiping refused because the Demon-Slaying Army’s mission remained to attack Northern Emperor City and kill the Northern Emperor.
• Xu Taiping and Feng Tianxing explained that the Demon-Slaying Army would attack after the Human Race armies were routed, projecting the siege so the Northern Emperor’s death would weaken the Nine Abysses armies and break the Demon Mother’s method.
• Xu Taiping invited the generals to join the attack, and every general in the hall stood up.

Xu Taiping tested the enormous formation on Heavenly Thunder City's drill ground as the Demon-Slaying Army prepared to assemble. He secretly readied the Yellow Springs Underworld for the coming assault, and Feng Tianxing's army arrived first for review.

• Xu Taiping told Elder Huo to hold the Vermilion Bird Army's second defensive line, promising that the Demon-Slaying Army's advance could turn the battlefield.
• Jiang Yu completed the drill-ground formation, and Xu Taiping tested it with half his divine soul power, briefly activating the entire formation.
• Xu Taiping revealed that he was close to eight inches of Void Insight and said he might enter the Land of Myriad Tribulations to slay the Nine Abysses' mighty generals.
• Xu Taiping ordered Song Yan and Gu Huai to bring the Demon-Slaying Armies onto the drill ground and told Xiaohei to have the Yellow Springs Underworld follow their original plan while concealing most of its strength.
• Feng Tianxing led the Chenglong Demon-Slaying Army onto the drill ground, where its soldiers formed ranks and summoned an azure dragon of battle intent.

Xu Taiping reviewed his forces as the five Demon-Slaying Armies and three additional armies assembled in formation at Heavenly Thunder City. The eight armies took their assigned positions, their combined battle intent illuminating the city.

• Xu Taiping ordered Mu Yun's Jueming Demon-Suppressing Army to enter the Xun position after the Chenglong Demon-Slaying Army took the Qian position.
• Gongshu Bai led the Mysterious Wasteland Demon-Breaking Army onto the drill ground and placed it in the Gen position.
• Zhang Tianze led the Youyun Demon-Expelling Army into the Kun position, joining the first three armies.
• Lü Daoxuan led the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Army into the Zhen position as its sword-shaped battle intent gathered around an image of the Xuanyuan Sword.
• Song Yan and Gu Huai reacted to the five armies' reunion before Shihu, Jiang Fu, and Yang Hong arrived with three more armies.
• Xu Taiping assigned the Yuheng Army to Dui, the Ziyang Army to Kan, and the Red Blade Army to Li, completing the eight-army formation as its combined battle intent lit Heavenly Thunder City.

As the Nine Abysses Demonic Army overwhelmed the human defensive line, Xu Taiping finally activated a Teleportation Array beneath Heavenly Thunder City and prepared to attack Northern Emperor City. The chapter ended with Huo Xuan receiving urgent pleas to retreat as his army could no longer hold the line.

• Huo Xuan set a final deadline for Xu Taiping to act before ordering the armies to withdraw.
• Chijia argued that Xu Taiping had chosen to preserve his forces, while the Northern Emperor defended the human race and expected victory at the front.
• Xu Taiping ordered his more than six hundred thousand troops to form the Wind and Thunder Cloud-Piercing Battle Formation and march on Northern Emperor City.
• Xu Taiping commanded Commandant Jiang to activate the Teleportation Array, and Yang Hong recognized it as the soldiers roared their readiness to fight.
• Huo Xuan received urgent messages warning that the Vermilion Bird Army could no longer withstand the enemy and needed to retreat.

Xu Taiping teleported his six-hundred-thousand-strong Demon-Slaying Army to the Demon Domain and charged toward Northern Emperor City, aiming to slay the Northern Emperor. His surprise attack bolstered the allied armies as his forces broke through the Abyssal Giants and continued their advance.

• Huo Xuan sensed the troops vanish from Heavenly Thunder City, then heard Xu Taiping command the Demon-Slaying Army to breach Northern Emperor City and slay the Northern Emperor.
• Xu Taiping's army appeared near Northern Emperor City in the Wind and Thunder Cloud-Piercing Battle Formation and charged toward the city.
• Huo Xuan rallied the Vermilion Bird Army to hold its line, while Xu Taiping's attack renewed allied morale and shook the Nine Abysses Demonic Army.
• Xu Taiping ordered the Mysterious Wasteland Demon-Breaking Army to attack the Abyssal Giants, and its Divine Mechanism Puppets smashed through them unharmed.
• Xu Taiping's army resumed its charge toward Northern Emperor City, and Huo Xuan ordered his troops to defend their positions as he hoped Xu Taiping would succeed.

Xu Taiping led the Demon-Slaying Army into the Black Domain, the second restriction before Northern Emperor City, despite warnings that it rapidly drained cultivators’ power. He told Lin Buyan that his plan was to bring the Black Wood within range of his Shentu Bow, while Northern Emperor City began preparing its defenses.

• Xu Taiping used the Overlord's Breath to command the Demon-Slaying Army and ordered it to charge into the Black Domain.
• Lin Buyan warned Xu Taiping that the Black Domain drained Dao essence, divine marrow, and qi and blood, but he said he had a plan.
• Xu Taiping told Lin Buyan that after another three thousand zhang, the Black Wood would be within range of his Shentu Bow.
• Huo Xuan and Zhao Cangbai worried that Xu Taiping had ignored the recommended Heavenly Lang Battle Formation and might lack a countermeasure.
• The Northern Emperor and Chijia took the army's slow progress as time to activate Northern Emperor City's defenses and prepare for the battle.

Xu Taiping used the Demon-Slaying Army’s battle intent and the Shentu Bow to overcome the Northern Emperor’s black domain. His three divine arrows destroyed the Towering Black Wood, leaving the Northern Emperor and Chijia stunned.

• The Northern Emperor and Chijia watched the Demon-Slaying Army struggle to move through the black domain and assumed Xu Taiping had no countermeasure.
• Xu Taiping ordered the army to form the Earthly Fire Mingyi Formation, which accumulated its combat power even as the black domain drained it.
• Xu Taiping grew to a thousand zhang and asked the Demon-Slaying Army to entrust their lives to him, and its officers agreed they were willing to die for him.
• The soldiers’ battle intent formed phantom armor over Xu Taiping, amplifying his power enough to push back the black domain.
• Xu Taiping drew the Shentu Bow with the Wind Earl, Thunder Master, and Fire Virtue arrows, then released them at the Towering Black Wood.
• The three arrows struck the Towering Black Wood and annihilated it in flames, thunder, and wind.

Xu Taiping’s Demon-Slaying Army broke through Northern Emperor City’s Black Domain, prompting Huo Xuan to launch the Vermilion Bird Army’s counterattack. The army then entered the more perilous Land of the Ten Crows, where ten Golden Crows’ flames halted its advance.

• Xu Taiping shattered the Black Domain and replenished his army’s strength by swallowing the black-tree demon seed.
• Huo Xuan ordered the Vermilion Bird Army to counterattack, and its battle intent overwhelmed the Northern Emperor Army’s weakening formations.
• The Vermilion Bird Army’s pressure drove the front line toward the Demon Domain as the Northern Emperor Army’s battle intent collapsed.
• Xu Taiping’s Demon-Slaying Army charged into the Land of the Ten Crows, where the Golden Crows’ heat began burning away its wind-and-thunder power.
• The Northern Emperor and Chijia watched the Demon-Slaying Army become trapped in the Land of the Ten Crows and felt relieved.

Xu Taiping and the Demon-Slaying Army crossed the land of Ten Crows after a black hound swallowed all ten Golden Crows. The Northern Emperor ordered Chijia to meet them, authorizing him to use the Mother Emperor’s decree if he could not defeat Xu Taiping.

• The Northern Emperor and Chijia watched Xu Taiping's army charge through the land of Ten Crows and realized its flames had weakened because one Golden Crow was missing.
• A black hound leaped from behind Xu Taiping's formation and swallowed the remaining Golden Crows, clearing the army's path.
• The Northern Emperor ordered Chijia to sortie and warned him not to underestimate Xu Taiping.
• The Northern Emperor permitted Chijia to use the power of the decree bestowed by the Mother Emperor if he could not defeat Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping looked toward the projected image and told the Northern Emperor that he had come to kill him.

Xu Taiping led the Demon-Slaying Army to Northern Emperor City and ordered it to break through the giant demons guarding the city. As the other Human Race armies counterattacked across the fronts, the Demon-Slaying Army opened a breach and Feng Tianxing led his troops against the beasts.

• The Northern Emperor ordered Chijia and Zhenyue to intercept Xu Taiping outside Northern Emperor City while he prepared the city's offensive measures.
• Huo Xuan rallied the Vermilion Bird Army to counterattack the Northern Emperor Army, and Zhao Cangwu, Bai Lu, and Wei Ming reported that their armies were counterattacking on the other fronts.
• Huo Xuan urged Xu Taiping to attack Northern Emperor City fiercely, and Xu Taiping promised not to disappoint him.
• Xu Taiping ordered the Demon-Slaying Army into the Rushing Current Battle Formation as it reached the city walls.
• Xu Taiping sent the Mysterious Wasteland Demon-Breaking Army's Divine Mechanism Puppets against the giant demons, and they broke open the outer perimeter.
• Xu Taiping ordered Feng Tianxing's Chenglong Demon-Slaying Army to slay the giant demons, and Feng Tianxing led his troops into the attack.

Xu Taiping led the Demon-Slaying Army to Northern Emperor City and engaged the Nine Abysses Northern Emperor Army in a fierce battle. After his precise command broke open several sections of the enemy line, the Red Blade Army tore through it with a devastating strike.

• Xu Taiping's six-hundred-thousand-strong Demon-Slaying Army broke through the defenses outside Northern Emperor City and advanced toward its walls.
• The gates opened, and Chijia and Zhenyue led five hundred thousand Nine Abysses troops out of the city, accompanied by battle-intent manifestations of Nine Infants and the Sky-Splitting Xi.
• Zhenyue challenged Xu Taiping to fight, but Xu Taiping ignored him and ordered the Demon-Slaying Army to charge the enemy formation.
• Zhenyue's Sky-Splitting Xi nearly shattered the Demon-Slaying Army's giant cauldron before its Xuanyuan Sword pierced the beast, and the two armies' formations collided.
• Xu Taiping directed his troops to exploit their individual strengths, breaking through several sections of the Northern Emperor Army's line before the enemy sealed the gaps.
• Xu Taiping ordered Yang Hong and the Red Blade Army to break the enemy formation, and their combined strike tore open its battle line again.