Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping and the Red Armor forces held off the Demonic Beasts while the Old General risked his life to draw out Sea-Calming Tower’s three Divine Weapons. The soldiers’ recitation strengthened the failing formation, but Devil Master Jiao Ling ordered the beasts to break it at any cost.

• Turtle-Shell Demons fired venomous water bubbles at the Red Armor formation, and Bai Yu fanned away the poisonous fog as the beasts charged.
• The Old General poured his blood qi into the formation’s shields, making them sturdier as the Demonic Beasts struck.
• Ping'an told Xu Taiping that Jiao Ling had directed the Turtle-Shell Demons to target the shield above the Old General, and Xu Taiping used Red Armor Ghost Soldiers and a Fire Tornado to burn away the venom.
• Zhang Liang recited the Confucian Sect Sixteen-Character Maxim, and the Red Armor soldiers joined him, sending Vast Righteous Qi upward to support the sinking shields.
• The Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus recognized the Old General’s plan to draw out the three Divine Weapons, and Jiao Ling ordered the Demonic Beasts to break the formation at any cost.

Xu Taiping and his allies fought to hold off Jiao Ling and the demonic beasts as he used the Red Armor Cavalry’s formation to attack her. The chapter left Jiao Ling’s ice defenses shattered, revealing a snow-white fox inside.

• Ping'an charged a Whale Demon and staggered it with a punch, while Bai Yu wounded the other Whale Demon with a strike from his wings.
• Jiao Ling appeared beneath the Immortal-Slaying Sword, and Xu Taiping sent his Mysterious Origin Avatar to confront her while his true body prepared an arrow with the Red Armor Cavalry.
• Xu Taiping’s first formation-powered arrow struck Jiao Ling’s ice sphere but failed to pierce it, as Bai Yu and Ping'an continued fighting the demons.
• Monk Xuanzhi tried twice to cast a spell on Jiao Ling and failed, while Xu Taiping replenished his blood qi by raising his physique to the Furious Flood Dragon Realm.
• Xu Taiping fired another formation-powered arrow, and it shattered Jiao Ling’s ice sphere, revealing a snow-white fox.

Xu Taiping killed Devil Master Jiao Ling and defended the Red Armor military formation from her Immortal-Slaying Sword, but the Eight-Clawed Demon then unleashed the sword’s true power. As the giant sword descended on the formation, Old General Zhang Kaitai sprang into action.

• Xu Taiping killed Devil Master Jiao Ling with the Mysterious Origin True Body’s blade and his great sun golden flame.
• Jiao Ling used her dying strength to send the Immortal-Slaying Sword at the Red Armor military formation, and Xu Taiping’s Mountain-Bearing Form and the formation’s battle intent stopped it.
• Xu Taiping rescued Bai Yu and Ping'an with the Azure Gourd after Devil Masters sent them flying, then fought off demonic beasts at a breach in the formation.
• A Whale Demon smashed through another section of the Red Armor military formation, forcing Xu Taiping to release his Mysterious Origin Avatar.
• The Eight-Clawed Demon summoned the Immortal-Slaying Sword’s true power and sent a giant sword plunging toward the formation.
• Old General Zhang Kaitai leapt up and declared that the demons would repay their blood debts.

Old General Zhang Kaitai used the three Divine Artifacts to kill the Eight-Clawed Demon, but the demon’s flesh empowered the remaining beasts, which overwhelmed the defenders at Tianhai Pass. Xu Taiping exhausted his blood qi trying to protect the city and was left facing the attackers as civilians rushed to help.

• Zhang Kaitai manifested the power of the Divine Artifacts, destroyed the Immortal-Slaying Sword, and killed the Eight-Clawed Demon before his own aura vanished.
• The Eight-Clawed Demon’s dying command drove the beasts to devour its flesh, strengthening them and sending them charging at Xu Taiping and the Red Armor Cavalry.
• Zhang Liang took command while Xu Taiping summoned Red Armor Ghost Cavalry and fought to hold the breaches, rapidly improving his martial techniques amid heavy casualties.
• The Whale Demon smashed through half the city gate, revealing civilians behind it, and an old man was killed when he tried to join the fight.
• Xu Taiping’s blood qi ran dry, his ghost cavalry vanished, and he faced the advancing beasts while the civilians continued rushing toward the gate.

Xu Taiping broke through to the dragon whale physique and fought to defend Tianhai Pass, but exhaustion left him helpless before the remaining demonic beasts. As they closed in, Zhang Tianze of the Sea-Calming Tower arrived and offered him a hand.

• Xu Taiping broke through to the dragon whale physique and joined Zhang Liang in sealing the breach, but his Buddhist prayer beads shattered and his attacks weakened.
• Monk Xuanzhi cast the Self-Sacrifice Curse, lured demonic beasts away with his flesh and blood, and led them west from the city gate.
• Xu Taiping asked Venerable Jiaye for new Fearless Seals and Demon-Subduing Seals, then fought alongside his Mysterious Origin Avatar until his strength ran out.
• Xu Taiping collapsed after killing the Whale Demon, while Zhang Liang was unable to reach him and the remaining demonic beasts charged toward him.
• A Demon-Slaying Spear pierced a beast near Xu Taiping, and Zhang Tianze of the Sea-Calming Tower appeared and asked his name.

Xu Taiping met Zhang Tianze, who healed him and demonstrated his lethal fist techniques while the demonic beasts attacked Tianhai Town. Zhang Tianze slaughtered six Devil Masters in moments, and Xu Taiping realized the Great General was invincible in the flesh.

• Zhang Tianze introduced himself, healed Xu Taiping, and thanked him for helping save Tianhai Pass and its people.
• Xu Taiping chose to watch the battle, and Zhang Tianze showed him how to strike with clean, deadly punches that killed dozens of demonic beasts.
• Xu Taiping warned Zhang Tianze that more demonic beasts and the two Shark Queens remained at sea, and Zhang Tianze welcomed the chance to avenge the dead.
• Ao Yan and five other Devil Masters attacked Zhang Tianze, who killed all six with strikes powered only by his qi, blood, and physique.

Zhang Tianze punished Ao Yan and fought the revived Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus, cutting off all eight of its tentacles before summoning the fallen Red Armor Cavalry as ghost soldiers. With the cavalry reunited before Tianhai Pass, Zhang Tianze thanked Xu Taiping on behalf of Xiaoman and Zhang Kaitai.

• Zhang Tianze stomped Ao Yan's head into the dirt, then covered him with Demon-Refining Oil and asked Xu Taiping to tend the flames.
• The Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus emerged from the sea, and Zhang Tianze learned it had killed Zhang Kaitai.
• Zhang Tianze crushed the Octopus's demon weapons with Sea Incineration flames and severed all eight of its tentacles with a flaming saber.
• The wounded Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus called up the demonic beasts, and Zhang Tianze summoned the fallen Red Armor Cavalry with his Yin Tally.
• Zhang Tianze thanked Xu Taiping on behalf of Xiaoman and Zhang Kaitai.

Zhang Tianze summoned a hundred thousand Red Armor Ghost Cavalry to slaughter the sea demons, then joined Xu Taiping in fighting the remaining monsters. After Zhang Tianze destroyed the Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus, Xu Taiping set it ablaze with Heart-Burning Oil, but it vowed revenge as it burned.

• Zhang Tianze summoned the Red Armor Ghost Cavalry, including a young woman Xu Taiping recognized, and they charged the demonic beasts at Tianhai Pass.
• Zhang Tianze thanked Xu Taiping for helping Xiaoman die without regrets, then killed four Devil Masters and crippled two Whale Demons with a single spear sweep.
• Xu Taiping poured Heart-Burning Oil on the Whale Demons, and he followed Zhang Tianze toward the shore to hear the Shark Queen scream.
• The Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus confronted Zhang Tianze with a wall of demon weapons, but Zhang Tianze broke through them and crushed its Immortal-Slaying Sword with his bare hand.
• Zhang Tianze pierced the Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus's head with his spear, and Xu Taiping set its body ablaze with Heart-Burning Oil as it threatened them with revenge.

Zhang Tianze defeated the demonic Flood Dragon while Xu Taiping watched, and Monk Xuanzhi returned to life and attained the arhat fruit stage. Three months later, Xu Taiping returned to the Imperial Capital and was mistaken for a beggar at the Relic-Seeking Studio.

• Zhang Tianze killed the Eight-Clawed Demon Octopus and struck the sea, revealing two Shark Queens beneath the waves.
• One Shark Queen swallowed the other and transformed into a winged Flood Dragon, which Zhang Tianze defeated with his spear.
• Xu Taiping asked to keep the Flood Dragon's bones, tendons, and hide to sell, and Zhang Tianze agreed in exchange for a future drink.
• Xu Taiping and Zhang Tianze witnessed Monk Xuanzhi regenerate from a skeleton, and Zhang Tianze explained that Xuanzhi had attained the arhat fruit stage.
• Three months later, Xu Taiping returned to the Imperial Capital and went to the Relic-Seeking Studio for Gold Essence Coins to feed the painful Lotus Eye.
• A shop assistant mistook Xu Taiping's worn clothes for a beggar's and shoved him away from the Relic-Seeking Studio.

Xu Taiping was turned away from the Relic-Seeking Studio for looking unkempt and decided to sell his treasures at a street stall instead. After stopping the shopkeeper from beating an assistant, he reached the vendors’ area, where an elderly cultivator offered him a spot.

• Xu Taiping explained that he had returned from Blood Rain Forest with treasures to sell, but the shop assistant refused him entry because Mu Yuchen was visiting and the studio required guests to dress properly.
• Xu Taiping recalled the valuables he had collected, including the Whale Demon's Shark-Headed Sledgehammer, and decided to set up a stall to earn Gold Essence Coins for his Lotus Eye.
• The shopkeeper kicked the shop assistant for failing to send Xu Taiping away, and Xu Taiping restrained the shopkeeper with one hand.
• Xu Taiping challenged the shopkeeper's attitude and asked whether the studio could forbid improperly dressed street vendors, then headed for the permitted stall area.
• An elderly cultivator selling herbs offered Xu Taiping a good spot, but Xu Taiping told him to sell his own goods there.

Xu Taiping set up a stall outside the Relic-Seeking Studio and sold hundreds of Jade-Eyed Demon Wolf pelts after learning the wolves had vanished from the Blood Rain Forest seven years earlier. Head Shopkeeper Song noticed the crowd outside and contacted Shopkeeper Sun to prevent trouble before Miss Mu arrived.

• Xu Taiping laid out a Jade-Eyed Demon Wolf King's hide and tooth, then piled hundreds of Jade-Eyed Demon Wolf pelts onto his stall.
• The elderly cultivator told Xu Taiping that Jade-Eyed Demon Wolves had vanished from the Blood Rain Forest seven years earlier and their pelts now sold for three Gold Essence Coins each.
• Xu Taiping offered his pelts for two Gold Essence Coins apiece, and customers quickly bought all eight hundred or so, earning him more than a thousand Gold Essence Coins.
• Head Shopkeeper Song saw the crowd around Xu Taiping's stall and contacted Shopkeeper Sun, warning him to prevent trouble before Miss Mu of Peerless Nether Heaven arrived.

Xu Taiping sold Jade-Eyed Demon Wolf pelts before bringing out Golden Toad Pearls, which drew a crowd of eager buyers. He realized the pearls could bring in enough Gold Essence Coins to ease his financial troubles, just as Shopkeeper Sun rushed over to his stall.

• Shopkeeper Sun watched Xu Taiping sell his wolf pelts and defended the Relic-Seeking Studio's decision to turn him away.
• Nearby shopkeepers bought all the pelts, but Xu Taiping refused to sell his Wolf King pelt mat and teeth.
• Xu Taiping displayed Golden Toad Pearls, and a middle-aged shopkeeper identified them as rare pearls from Golden Toad Valley.
• Shopkeeper Bai offered to buy every pearl, while other customers objected to him monopolizing the supply.
• Ping'an told Xu Taiping the pearls were valuable ingredients for Appearance-Retaining Pills and that buyers would pay at least one hundred Gold Essence Coins apiece.
• Xu Taiping calculated that his 150 pearls could earn him 15,000 Gold Essence Coins, and Shopkeeper Sun hurried to his stall.

Xu Taiping refused Shopkeeper Sun’s offer for his golden toad pearls and sold them to Shopkeeper Bai and other merchants instead. After the crowd left to see Mu Yuchen at the Relic-Seeking Studio, Xu Taiping displayed hundreds of bone spears taken from Deep-Sea Demonic Beasts, drawing the attention of cultivators across the nearby streets.

• Shopkeeper Sun offered Xu Taiping 180 Gold Essence Coins per golden toad pearl, but Xu refused to sell to the Relic-Seeking Studio.
• Xu sold the pearls to Shopkeeper Bai for 130 Gold Essence Coins apiece and asked him to reserve some for the other merchants.
• Shopkeeper Sun warned the crowd that the Relic-Seeking Studio would soon stop admitting visitors, sending the merchants inside to see Mu Yuchen.
• After the crowd dispersed, Xu Taiping decided to keep his stall open and brought out a bone spear from his gourd.
• Xu piled hundreds of Deep-Sea Demonic Beast bone spears at his stall, startling Shopkeeper Sun and attracting cultivators throughout the nearby streets.

Xu Taiping attracted a growing crowd after displaying Deep-Sea Demon Weapon Bone Spears outside the Relic-Seeking Studio. He sold some to Gongshu Bai and Shopkeeper Bai as word of his bargain spread through the venue.

• Xu Taiping set out Bone Spears, drawing the attention of cultivators who recognized them as Deep-Sea Demon Weapons.
• Gongshu Bai, a cultivator from Mysterious Wasteland Heaven, offered to buy all the weapons but admitted he could not afford them.
• A cultivator bought ten Bone Spears for 130 Gold Essence Coins each.
• Shopkeeper Bai purchased twenty-two Bone Spears for 3,000 Gold Essence Coins and invited Xu Taiping to visit Changchun Hall.
• More people came out of the Relic-Seeking Studio after hearing Xu Taiping was selling Deep-Sea Demon Weapons cheaply.

Gongshu Bai explained that Thousand Mechanisms City was under siege in Mysterious Wasteland Heaven and offered Xu Taiping a treasure for his Deep-Sea Great Yao Spirit Bone weapons. He revealed two Golden Men as payment, but nearby cultivators dismissed them, prompting him to defend the Gongshu Family’s Mechanical Arts.

• Shopkeeper Sun decided to ask the government office to clear the crowd around Xu Taiping’s stall before the Divine Maiden of Shadowless Heaven arrived.
• Gongshu Bai told Xu Taiping that Demonic Beasts had besieged Thousand Mechanisms City for thirty years and that his family needed Sea Yao Spirit Bones to build the Divine Weapon Heavenly Punishment.
• Xu Taiping agreed to consider a treasure in exchange for the Bone Spears but said he would sell them to others if Gongshu Bai’s offer did not satisfy him.
• Gongshu Bai transformed two black spheres into Golden Men and offered them as powerful guards and potential clones.
• Nearby cultivators mocked the Golden Men, and Gongshu Bai angrily defended his family’s Mechanical Arts.

Xu Taiping believed Gongshu Bai’s account of Mysterious Wasteland Heaven’s crisis and traded two Golden Men for the Spirit Bone Spears Gongshu needed to fight demonic beasts. Gongshu gave Xu a Torrential Rain Pearl as a gift and hurried away, leaving the crowd convinced Xu had been swindled.

• Bai Yu and Ping'an confirmed that Gongshu Bai’s anger and the spiritual power inside his Golden Men were genuine.
• Xu Taiping agreed to take the two Golden Men and let Gongshu Bai have the remaining Spirit Bone Spears, explaining that he believed him.
• Gongshu Bai asked Xu’s surname, then gifted him a Torrential Rain Pearl containing 312 secret iron beads.
• Gongshu Bai paid for and swept up every Spirit Bone Spear before vanishing with them.
• Onlookers called Xu swindled and urged him to display more treasures, but Xu decided he had little suitable to sell.

Xu Taiping’s stall was driven away by the City Guards, so he set up across the street and drew customers from the Relic-Seeking Studio with a massive Shark-Head Hammer. Head Shopkeeper Song learned that Shopkeeper Sun had driven Xu Taiping away just as Miss Mu arrived, leaving him under pressure to welcome her.

• The City Guards cleared the stalls outside the Relic-Seeking Studio, and Xu Taiping packed up after earning nearly twenty thousand Gold Essence Coins.
• Shopkeeper Sun barred Xu Taiping’s customers and fellow vendors from entering the studio, so Xu Taiping moved across the street and set up another stall.
• Head Shopkeeper Song came downstairs to prepare for Miss Mu’s arrival, while Shopkeeper Sun told him the other vendors had left.
• Customers hurried out of the Relic-Seeking Studio after hearing Xu Taiping was displaying a Shark-Head Hammer, and Shopkeeper Sun collapsed when he saw it.
• The shop assistant told Head Shopkeeper Song that Shopkeeper Sun had refused Xu Taiping entry because of his untidy clothes, but the Abbot’s message announced that Miss Mu had arrived.

Xu Taiping sold the Shark-Head Hammer to the Relic-Seeking Studio for 120,000 Gold Essence Coins and accepted Head Shopkeeper Song’s invitation to an evening banquet. Ping'an then revealed that Song was thinking of delivering Commandery Princess Xiaoxiao’s letter to Xu Taiping, leaving Xu alarmed that something had happened.

• Head Shopkeeper Song offered Xu Taiping 100,000 Gold Essence Coins for the Shark-Head Hammer, and Ping'an told Xu that Song could pay up to 120,000.
• Xu demanded 120,000 Gold Essence Coins, and Song agreed to buy the hammer at that price.
• Xu collected the money at the Relic-Seeking Studio and gave Song only his surname, keeping his identity secret.
• Song invited Xu to an evening banquet during the Divine Maiden’s visit, and Xu considered attending to learn about the Chu Kingdom and the Golden Scale Assembly.
• Ping'an told Xu that Song hoped to deliver Commandery Princess Xiaoxiao’s letter to Young Master Xu Taiping, and Xu sensed that something had happened.

Xu Taiping secretly received a warning from Chu Xiaoxiao that his movements were being watched by people trying to keep him out of the Golden Scale Assembly. After learning of a secret route to the Golden Scale Pavilion, he decided to register for the competition despite the danger.

• Xu Taiping discreetly identified himself to Head Shopkeeper Song and received Chu Xiaoxiao’s letter without revealing his identity aloud.
• As Xu Taiping left, Mu Yuchen noticed his unusually pure divine soul and found that her Heart-Observing Art could not read his thoughts.
• Bai Yu read the letter, which warned Xu Taiping that his visit to the Relic-Seeking Studio had put him under surveillance and that Princess Tiancheng had arranged a secret passage to the Golden Scale Pavilion.
• Xu Taiping learned that enemies might attack him inside the Golden Scale Pavilion and wondered who wanted to stop him from joining the assembly.
• After a bell announced Lu Xiao’s entry into the ranking, Xu Taiping told Bai Yu to find the secret passage and go register.

Xu Taiping followed Commandery Princess Xiaoxiao's secret passage to the Golden Scale Pavilion, where he fought off magi sent to stop him from joining the Golden Scale Assembly. He reached the pavilion and discovered that the tea prepared for him was poisoned.

• Xu Taiping failed to contact Dharma Master Chongde and worried that something had happened to him and Little Martial Aunt.
• Following Chu Xiaoxiao's letter, Xu Taiping entered a hidden route arranged by Princess Tiancheng and advanced under concealment with his Mysterious Origin Avatar.
• Seven foreign-dressed magi ambushed Xu Taiping's avatar in an abandoned dye works, but he killed them with a single Chaotic Cicada and burned their bodies away.
• Xu Taiping entered the Golden Scale Pavilion and waited while the steward went to notify the Prefect.
• Bai Yu detected poison in the tea, and Xu Taiping sipped it while asking whether a clone could be poisoned.