Chapter Summaries

Recluse Sansan taught Xu Taiping the Sword Drawing Stance during the battle at Qingxuan, and Xu Taiping used it to slay Demon Venerable Thunder Lion. Xu Taiping and Recluse Sansan then swept across the battlefield, leaving True Martial Heaven with a new Demon-Slaying Sword and raising hopes for the Golden Scale Assembly.

• Recluse Sansan guided Xu Taiping in mastering Sword Drawing by borrowing Rusty Lion.
• Demon Venerable Thunder Lion and two other Demon Venerables overwhelmed Wuyazi and Amon, then charged at Xu Taiping.
• Recluse Sansan urged Xu Taiping to draw his sword, and Xu Taiping killed Thunder Lion with a single strike.
• Xu Taiping and Recluse Sansan raced across Qingxuan, cutting down demonic beasts and destroying their true demon bodies.
• Patriarch Wuya celebrated Xu Taiping as a new Demon-Slaying Sword, while Amon praised his future potential.
• Huang Que and Liu Chuxuan recognized Xu Taiping's sword aura and resolved to have him represent True Martial Heaven at the Golden Scale Assembly.

Xu Taiping and Recluse Sansan killed Demon Venerable Nine Infants, but Su Chan escaped after revealing he intended to retrieve Chixiao at the next Sword Champion contest. Recluse Sansan revealed that he was Grand Martial Uncle Daoxuan, and Xu Taiping collapsed from the strain before Ninth Uncle's sword carried him to safety.

• Xu Taiping and Recluse Sansan destroyed Nine Infants's true demon body and shattered her Demon King Weapon with a sword strike.
• They pursued Su Chan, but struck only his afterimage as he fled more than a hundred li away and promised to retrieve Chixiao at the next Sword Champion contest.
• Recluse Sansan revealed his identity as Grand Martial Uncle Daoxuan, and Xu Taiping bowed to him as Master.
• Xu Taiping's Divine Soul weakened from using too much Divine Essence, and Ninth Uncle used the Rusty Lion Sword to catch and carry him.
• Xu Taiping fell asleep after Ninth Uncle praised him, and dreamed of a thin, limping boy who stammered and was mocked by others.

Xu Taiping dreamed of Lü Sword Nine’s childhood bond with Senior Brother Zhou Ang and the sacrifice that awakened Lü Sword Nine’s swordsmanship, then learned about Qingxuan’s recovery after waking from a three-month sleep. Qingxuan had nominated Zhao Qian as its next sect master, though the succession ceremony would wait until the sect regained its strength.

• In a dream, young Lü Ah Jiu hid behind Zhou Ang as other children mocked him, and Zhou Ang defended him and shared a steamed bun with him.
• In a demon grotto, Lü Sword Nine froze as beasts attacked until Zhou Ang risked his life; Lü Sword Nine then drew Chixiao and slew the beasts.
• The dream showed Zhou Ang entrusting Qingxuan and Tong'er to a shorter man before entering a blood-red cavern, prompting Xu Taiping to wonder if they were his Master and Zhou Ang.
• Three months later, Xu Taiping woke at the Xiaoyao Sect’s Wonderful Hands Studio and learned from Huang Que that Sword Saint Amon had brought him there while Jiang Zhi had cared for him for a month.
• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that Qingxuan had cleared the demonic beasts from the Cloud Lodge secret realm, that its disciples and peak lords were safe, and that the peaks had nominated Zhao Qian as sect master.

Xu Taiping learned that he had been committed to attend the Golden Scale Assembly in Youyun Heaven, where he would seek Emperor Youyun’s fortune for True Martial Heaven. As he prepared to leave, Liu Chuxuan reported that a Youyun Heaven disciple had trapped the Heavenly Blade Sect and threatened to slaughter it unless someone defeated him within fifteen days.

• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that Ninth Uncle was safe but had gone somewhere ordinary people could not enter.
• Huang Que explained that Zhao Qian had agreed to send Xu Taiping to the Golden Scale Assembly in exchange for Nine Prefectures aid rebuilding and guarding the Azure Profound Sect.
• Huang Que explained that True Martial Heaven sought Emperor Youyun’s fortune to strengthen itself before the weakening barrier allowed cultivators from Several Heavens to enter.
• Xu Taiping agreed to attend the assembly and learned that they had to leave within four or five days because the teleportation array would soon close.
• Liu Chuxuan told Huang Que that a disciple from Youyun Heaven had sealed off the Heavenly Blade Sect and threatened to slaughter it within fifteen days, then asked him to recruit Xiaoyao Sect elders to help.

Huang Que told Xu Taiping that a powerful cultivator from Youyun Heaven had attacked the Heavenly Blade Sect while its master and promising disciples were away. When Huang Que urged the recently injured Xu Taiping to stay behind, Xu Taiping tested his recovery and revealed that his strength had grown, leaving Huang Que astonished by his approach to the Mid Achievement Stage of the Mystic Understanding Realm.

• Huang Que relayed Prefect Liu Chuxuan's warning that a cultivator from Youyun Heaven had attacked the Heavenly Blade Sect, likely using a treasure to resist the Barrier's suppression.
• Huang Que explained that the Heavenly Blade Sect was poorly defended because its sect master and promising disciples had gone to the Thousand Buddha Kingdom to cultivate.
• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that the remaining elders had sheltered the disciples, including Duan Xiaoyu, in the Sword Tomb behind the Blade-Sealing Formation.
• Huang Que planned to contact Xiaoyao Sect elders and leave for the Heavenly Blade Sect, but asked Xu Taiping to wait until he recovered fully.
• Xu Taiping transformed his physique and tested his True Essence, revealing powerful qi and blood and an aura that Huang Que said neared the Mid Achievement Stage of the Mystic Understanding Realm.

Xu Taiping prepared to travel with Huang Que to the Heavenly Blade Sect and learned from Fairy Lingyue how his Python Flood Dragon Physique could advance toward the Dragon Whale Physique. He planned to use the trip to Youyun Heaven to cultivate the Awakened Flood Dragon Realm, while leaving the Furious Flood Dragon Realm to fate.

• Xu Taiping agreed to settle his accumulated affairs and leave with Huang Que for the Heavenly Blade Sect the next morning.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that Xu Taiping’s three months unconscious had brought his Sleeping Flood Dragon Realm nearly to its Ultimate Realm.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping he needed to bring the Awakened and Furious Flood Dragon realms to their Ultimate Realms to gain the Dragon Whale Body and its sea-and-cloud divine abilities.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that righteous anger was essential to mastering the Furious Flood Dragon Realm, while the Awakened Flood Dragon Realm required prolonged wakefulness.
• Fairy Lingyue recommended that Xu Taiping cultivate the Awakened Flood Dragon Realm in Youyun Heaven, where abundant spiritual energy could support him, and not force progress in the Furious Flood Dragon Realm.
• Fairy Lingyue began to reveal another reason she approved of Xu Taiping going to Youyun Heaven.

Xu Taiping learned that the Lotus Eye had controlled his body while he was unconscious, and Fairy Lingyue planned to confront the Yin God when he reached the Spirit Refining Realm. She also urged him to win the Golden Scale Assembly because it could determine whether he could reach the Transformation Realm with a mortal bone body. At the Heavenly Blade Sect’s Sword Tomb, a brutal young man killed a hostage while demanding Duan Tianya’s Demon-Slaying Blade Manual or a blade test.

• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that Blood Rain Forest held a suitable place to plant the Earth Fruit and warned him not to reveal their suspicion that a Divine Beast had fallen there.
• Xu Taiping’s Lotus Eye burned and swallowed most of his Gold Essence Coins, prompting Fairy Lingyue to explain that it had refined medicines and controlled his body during his three-month unconsciousness.
• Fairy Lingyue proposed taking over Xu Taiping’s body when his divine soul left it at the Spirit Refining Realm so she could fight the Yin God, and she told him to win the Golden Scale Assembly to aid his breakthrough to the Transformation Realm.
• At the Heavenly Blade Sect’s Sword Tomb, a burly young man demanded Duan Tianya’s Demon-Slaying Blade Manual or a blade test and threatened to kill a hostage every other day.
• When Xiaoyu tried to leave the Sword Tomb to fight, her Senior Sister stopped her, but the young man killed the older woman and said he would return in two hours.

Xu Taiping learned that reaching the Transformation Realm was the greatest barrier for someone with mortal bones and that Emperor Youyun’s fortune could help him find breakthrough resources. As the group traveled to the Heavenly Blade Sect, Huang Que gave Xu Taiping thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins for his seven years of preparation in Youyun Heaven, but could not provide more before the journey.

• Fairy Lingyue explained that mortal bones faced a near-insurmountable heavenly chasm when attempting to break through the Transformation Realm.
• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that two Half-Step Spirit Refining elders and thirteen Mystic Understanding cultivators were accompanying them to the Heavenly Blade Sect.
• Huang Que gave Xu Taiping thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins to prepare for the Golden Scale Assembly seven years later and explained that True Martial Heaven’s coins were exceptionally valuable in Youyun Heaven.
• Xu Taiping asked Huang Que for another ten thousand Gold Essence Coins and promised he could advance past the Golden Scale Assembly’s first round.
• Huang Que said the prefectural treasury could not allocate more coins in time and that his remaining sixteen thousand were reserved for activating Xu Taiping’s Teleportation Array.

Xu Taiping traded an ancient Youyun Teleportation Token for Gold Essence Coins and received a map and information about Youyun Heaven from Huang Que. As the Nine Prefectures' party approached the Heavenly Blade Sect, Xu Taiping spotted Duan Xiaoyu among the disciples sheltering in the Sword Tomb.

• Xu Taiping showed Huang Que a Youyun Teleportation Token and asked for all sixteen thousand Gold Essence Coins if it could open the Teleportation Array.
• Huang Que gave Xu Taiping a map and Jade Slips about Youyun Heaven, explaining the route to the Golden Scale Assembly in Southern Chu.
• Xu Taiping promised Huang Que he would give everything he had, especially for Qingxuan.
• Song Wen sent word that his Mountain Patrol Mirror had reached the Heavenly Blade Sect, and Huang Que used a Spirit Mirror to show Xu Taiping the Sword Tomb.
• Xu Taiping saw Duan Xiaoyu among the gathered disciples and wondered whether a cultivator from Youyun Heaven had been threatening them with captured disciples.

Xu Taiping and Huang Que watched Mo Hai threaten the Sword Tomb disciples and saw Duan Xiaoyu step out to face him. Mo Hai gravely wounded Xiaoyu with a single strike as Xu Taiping and the others were still on their way to help.

• Xu Taiping and Huang Que saw Mo Hai threaten to kill a swaddled infant unless the Sword Tomb disciples handed over Duan Tianya's Demon-Slaying Blade manual or sent someone to Test the Blade.
• Elder Su flew ahead to try to hold Mo Hai off while Xu Taiping and Huang Que continued toward Raging Wind Valley.
• Duan Xiaoyu left the Sword Tomb barrier to fight Mo Hai, despite Xu Taiping's fears that she would come out.
• Mo Hai struck Xiaoyu before she could draw her saber, and she counterattacked with One Saber, Dustless.
• Mo Hai drew his saber and broke Xiaoyu's blade force, leaving her with a long wound from her shoulder to her lower abdomen.

Duan Xiaoyu fought Mo Hai with a life-risking saber technique that gathered force through consecutive strikes, but Mo Hai’s Ultimate Realm saber technique overwhelmed her. The chapter left Duan Xiaoyu badly injured after being hurled to the ground, while Xu Taiping and Huang Que recognized the gulf between the two fighters.

• Huang Que and Xu Taiping observed that Mo Hai’s apparent Mystic Understanding Realm cultivation was suppressed by True Martial Heaven’s barrier, despite his overwhelming True Essence.
• Duan Xiaoyu continued attacking Mo Hai and gradually built up her blade force, using a method Xu Taiping recognized from Charging Ox Breaks the Formation.
• Xu Taiping explained to Huang Que that Duan Xiaoyu was risking her life because saber attacks left openings, and Huang Que noticed her accumulating wounds.
• After more than sixty strikes, Duan Xiaoyu unleashed One Saber, Dustless, but Mo Hai shattered her blade light with a strike at the Ultimate Realm.
• Mo Hai’s follow-up blade shadows sent Duan Xiaoyu crashing to the ground, and Huang Que recognized his mastery and cultivation as the reason he dared challenge the Heavenly Blade Sect alone.

Elder Su arrived to rescue Duan Xiaoyu from Mo Hai, who had beaten her and discovered she had consumed zhuyu grass. Elder Su challenged Mo Hai inside the Silver Sand Formation and landed a powerful strike, though Mo Hai remained standing.

• Mo Hai stomped on Duan Xiaoyu, broke her jaw, and prepared to put her in a Small Universe Pouch after realizing she had consumed zhuyu grass.
• Elder Su attacked the Silver Sand Formation while Huang Que and Xu Taiping watched through the Spirit Mirror.
• Mo Hai opened a gap in the formation and provoked Elder Su into entering.
• Elder Su introduced himself as Su Changgeng of Xiaoyao Sect and fought Mo Hai with a series of bending sword strikes.
• Elder Su's final sword strike pierced Mo Hai's blade qi and sent him flying backward, forcing him to brace himself with his saber.

Xu Taiping realized Mo Hai’s trump card was a grand formation that suppressed Elder Su’s cultivation, while Mo Hai’s Martial Saint Realm body let him keep fighting at full strength. As Mo Hai began overpowering Elder Su, Huang Que recognized that Mo Hai followed the same path as Xu Taiping.

• Xu Taiping watched Elder Su’s Seven-Star Sword break through Mo Hai’s blade force and treasured armor, driving Mo Hai to clash with him head-on.
• A silver-sand rune formation appeared beneath Elder Su and suppressed his cultivation, allowing Mo Hai to break his sword intent and wound him.
• Xu Taiping told Huang Que he could not break Mo Hai’s formation because it differed from the Buddhist power he had used before.
• Mo Hai taunted Elder Su and revealed that his body had reached the Martial Saint Realm, growing into a towering, beastlike form.
• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that Mo Hai followed the same path as him.

Xu Taiping and Huang Que hurried toward Raging Wind Valley as Elder Su struggled to hold off Mo Hai, a Martial Saint Realm blade cultivator. Elder Su protected Duan Xiaoyu until Xu Taiping arrived, pinning Mo Hai with his blade force as he descended from the sky.

• Xu Taiping told Huang Que to leave Mo Hai to him when they reached Raging Wind Valley, while Elder Su continued delaying Mo Hai.
• Mo Hai forced Elder Su into a direct clash, then used Duan Xiaoyu as leverage to make him keep fighting.
• Elder Su agreed to test Mo Hai’s blade, endured a series of heavy strikes, and let his arm be wounded so he could reach Duan Xiaoyu.
• Elder Su crushed a Jade Talisman to shield himself and Duan Xiaoyu from Mo Hai’s attack.
• Xu Taiping descended with his saber and pinned Mo Hai in place with a powerful blade force as cicada song rang out.

Xu Taiping arrived to face Mo Hai, the Mo Household’s eldest son, while helping the badly injured Duan Xiaoyu. Mo Hai trapped Xu Taiping inside the Silver Sand barrier, and Duan Xiaoyu began to identify his origins.

• Xu Taiping arrived and drove Mo Hai back with a flurry of blade shadows before landing beside Elder Su and Duan Xiaoyu.
• Xu Taiping gave Duan Xiaoyu Qi-Gathering Pills, and she regained consciousness and recognized him as Brother Taiping.
• Mo Hai activated the Silver Sand barrier, trapping Xu Taiping inside while Huang Que and Elder Song were shut out.
• Xu Taiping questioned Mo Hai about his affiliation, and Mo Hai accused him of attacking from behind as they sized each other up.
• Duan Xiaoyu struggled to tell Xu Taiping that Mo Hai was the eldest son of the Mo Household, one of the Western Liang Kingdom’s three great aristocratic clans.

Xu Taiping fought Mo Hai inside a formation that suppressed cultivation and talismans, but his awakened python flood dragon physique let him break Mo Hai’s blade and withstand his attacks. Mo Hai was sent reeling, then drew two blades and launched a fiery assault at Xu Taiping.

• Xu Taiping inferred that Elder Duan Tianya had helped reduce the Mo Household from a first-rate clan to a third-rate one, provoking Mo Hai into attacking.
• Mo Hai’s grand formation suppressed Xu Taiping’s cultivation, weakening his Cicada Cry Form and forcing him back.
• Xu Taiping awakened his python flood dragon physique and used Steel-Breaking to sever Mo Hai’s blade, astonishing Mo Hai and Su Changgeng.
• Xu Taiping used Hundred Cicadas Crying in Unison to shatter Mo Hai’s Golden Body Talisman and send him stumbling backward.
• Mo Hai surged with qi and blood, drew a blade in each hand, and charged Xu Taiping in a whirl of flames.

Xu Taiping fought Mo Hai inside a formation that suppressed his cultivation and sealed his Spiritual Power, while Mo Hai used a Phoenix Cry Pill to strengthen his body. After removing his massive Ship-Ballast Iron armor, Xu Taiping faced Mo Hai’s scorn as their fight continued.

• Xu Taiping countered Mo Hai’s fiery blade attack, but the formation shattered his Cicada Cry blade shadows and sealed his Spiritual Power.
• Mo Hai took a Phoenix Cry Pill, transformed his Qi and Blood, and revealed that he recognized Xu Taiping’s Demon-Slaying Blade as the move that had killed his grandfather.
• Su Changgeng warned Xu Taiping that Mo Hai’s enhanced physique would be difficult to overcome while the formation suppressed his True Qi.
• Xu Taiping removed his Ship-Ballast Iron inner armor, which weighed at least thirty thousand jin, revealing his heavily tempered body.
• Mo Hai dismissed Ship-Ballast Iron body tempering as the lowest form of Body Tempering.

Xu Taiping revealed his full physique and defeated Mo Hai in a contest of strength, then captured Mo Hai’s fleeing primordial spirit. A powerful cultivator from Youyun Heaven arrived and attacked Xu Taiping, but Fairy Lingyue stepped in to handle the threat.

• Mo Hai revealed that the Phoenix Cry Pill had raised his physique to the peak of the Martial Saint Realm and challenged Xu Taiping to submit.
• Xu Taiping released the restraints on his physique, transforming into a furious flood dragon and matching Mo Hai’s peak Martial Saint aura.
• Xu Taiping shattered Mo Hai’s arm and battered him with Charging Ox Breaks the Formation until Mo Hai’s body burst into blood mist.
• A voice from above revealed that the Grand Formation had been undone, and Mo Hai crushed a Great Sage Golden Body Talisman to shield himself.
• Xu Taiping weakened the golden-body Dharma aspect with All Beings Are Equal, destroyed it with Heaven-Shaking Stance, and drew Mo Hai’s fleeing primordial spirit into the Azure Gourd.
• A powerful cultivator’s pressure made Xu Taiping spit blood, and Fairy Lingyue said she would handle the attacker.

Mo Yu, a deacon of the Mystic Blade Sect, attacked Xu Taiping and demanded Mo Hai’s primordial spirit, then abducted Duan Xiaoyu when her assault failed. Xu Taiping pursued Mo Yu, while Huang Que, the elders, and the Walkers of the Nine Prefectures followed toward the Teleportation Platform.

• Fairy Lingyue took control of Xu Taiping’s body and blocked Mo Yu’s powerful blade strike with his techniques and treasures.
• Mo Yu introduced herself as a deacon of the Mystic Blade Sect and demanded that Xu Taiping hand over Mo Hai’s primordial spirit.
• Fairy Lingyue readied the Shentu Bow and Leibo Arrow, but Mo Yu vanished from her attack and seized Duan Xiaoyu.
• Mo Yu threatened to harm Duan Xiaoyu unless her younger brother’s divine soul was returned when the True Martial Heaven Barrier opened.
• Xu Taiping pursued Mo Yu, and Huang Que, the elders, and the Walkers of the Nine Prefectures chased after him toward the Teleportation Platform.

After Mo Yu abducted Duan Xiaoyu, Xu Taiping prepared to travel to Youyun Heaven, where he would seek to grow stronger before trying to rescue her. The chapter ended with Duan Xiaoyu’s mother knocking on Xu Taiping’s door.

• Xu Taiping arrived too late to stop Mo Yu from teleporting away with Duan Xiaoyu, and Duan Xiaoyu’s parents arrived moments later.
• Huang Que warned Xu Taiping about the dangers of teleporting to Vairocana Chan Temple and told him the Heavenly Blade Sect would lend funds for his journey.
• Xu Taiping asked Huang Que to have the Nine Prefectures support the Heavenly Blade Sect and reminded him that he planned to return to the Azure Profound Sect.
• Xu Taiping gave Huang Que a Chaos Stone for the Azure Profound Sect’s sect master and letters for his senior brothers, including one for Lin Buyu.
• After Huang Que left, Duan Xiaoyu’s mother came to Xu Taiping’s door.