Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping overwhelmed Mo Yachu’s Qiulong with his fists and blade, prompting spectators to question whether they had misjudged Mo Yachu’s strength. Mu Yun explained that Xu Taiping’s monstrous physique countered the Qiulong, but warned that Mo Yachu could create even more formidable beasts; the chapter ended as Mo Yachu summoned a Qiongqi.

• Mu Yuchen and Mu Yun watched Xu Taiping withstand the Bifang’s soul attack and recognized how much his divine soul and bladework had improved.
• Mo Yachu used the Heavenly Craft Creation Art to create a Qiulong, which Xu Taiping fought with his Baxia Form and Dragon-Slaying Form.
• Xu Taiping wounded the Qiulong repeatedly and drove it into a one-sided struggle, leaving the spectators stunned.
• Mu Yun warned that Mo Yachu could create a Qiongqi and a Mountain-Lifting Ape, whose physiques and blood qi surpassed the Martial God realm.
• Mo Yachu summoned a partly constructed Qiongqi before Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping fought Mo Yachu’s three summoned ancient ferocious beasts and was forced to activate his Blade Domain. Mo Yachu merged the beasts into a monster that broke free of the domain, but Xu Taiping awakened the power of his Unceasing Blade Domain and severed its arm.

• Mo Yachu’s Qiongqi and Qiulong overwhelmed Xu Taiping until he counterattacked with the Demon-Slaying Blade’s Crane-Listening Stance.
• Mo Yachu summoned a Mountain-Lifting Ape, which shattered Xu Taiping’s blade momentum and left him trapped between the three beasts.
• Xu Taiping activated his Eight-Zhang Blade Domain and drove all three beasts back with one slash.
• Mo Yachu used the Heavenly Craft Creation Art to merge the Qiulong, Qiongqi, and Mountain-Lifting Ape into a powerful monster that broke free of Xu Taiping’s Blade Domain.
• Xu Taiping invoked his Unceasing Blade Domain, awakened its power, and cut off the merged monster’s arm.

Xu Taiping defeated Mo Yachu’s beastly transformation by enduring his attacks and cutting him apart with the power of his Blade Domain, which strengthened his own body. As Mu Yuchen suffered a backlash from glimpsing Xu Taiping’s Divine Soul, Mo Yachu charged again, unable to surrender because of the Profound Calamity Demon Seed.

• Mu Yun explained to Mu Yuchen that Xu Taiping’s Blade Domain power strengthened his blood, qi, and physique, making his body itself the domain.
• Mo Yachu merged with his white lion, formed a bone whip from his spine, and shattered the visible crane and lotus imagery of Xu Taiping’s Blade Domain.
• Xu Taiping blocked Mo Yachu’s flurry of claw strikes, grew stronger with each exchange, and sliced the transformed beast apart with a sweeping saber stroke followed by a storm of blade shadows.
• Mu Yun explained that Xu Taiping’s Blade Domain could only be broken by killing him, while Mu Yuchen used her eye technique to glimpse a giant dragon atop a mountain and collapsed from the backlash.
• Mo Yachu charged Xu Taiping again with a bone sword, unable to concede because the Profound Calamity Demon Seed would abandon him and leave him a walking corpse.

Xu Taiping defeated Mo Yachu, whose demon seed failed to possess him and was devoured by the Lotus Eye, but the backlash from his blade domain left him in severe pain. As the Golden Scale Assembly announced Xu Taiping would fight for the championship in seven days, Lu Rushuang received a Moonshadow Stone from a man named Su Chan, who warned it concerned her and Xu Taiping’s lives.

• Xu Taiping used Chaotic Cicada to destroy Mo Yachu’s constructed body, then killed him after Mo Yachu’s demon seed failed to possess him.
• The Lotus Eye devoured Mo Yachu’s demon seed, and Xu Taiping suffered the physical and spiritual backlash of maintaining the Unceasing Blade Domain.
• Qiu Shanyuan helped Xu Taiping up and announced that he would face the next match’s winner for the Golden Scale Assembly championship.
• Zhao Linglong, Lin Buyu, and Dugu Qingxiao celebrated Xu Taiping’s victory at Moon Perching Pavilion, while Little Martial Aunt worried about the price he had paid.
• Lu Wen brought Lu Rushuang a Moonshadow Stone from a man named Su Chan, who said it concerned her and Xu Taiping’s lives.

King Zhao learned that Chu Yinan had secretly obtained the Heavenly Shadow Sword Canon, an Origin Law Inheritance, and became confident he could defeat Xu Taiping. After recovering from his battle with the Demon Seed, Xu Taiping learned he needed to master his second Blade Domain power to have a chance against Chu Yinan, then received a promised reward from Qiu Shanyuan.

• Chu Yinan told King Zhao that he had obtained the Heavenly Shadow Sword Canon two years earlier and believed he could defeat Xu Taiping.
• Zhu Huai confirmed the inheritance was real, and King Zhao celebrated Great Chu's good fortune.
• Xu Taiping recovered in the Golden Scale Pool's Marrow-Replenishing Decoction while discussing Blade Domains with Blade Ghost.
• Blade Ghost advised Xu Taiping to enter his Blade Domain again and master his second power to counter Chu Yinan.
• Qiu Shanyuan offered Xu Taiping the agreed thank-you gift after Xu Taiping's injuries had nearly healed.

Xu Taiping learned from Su Chan’s message that an Earth Calamity Demon Seed threatened the Azure Profound Sect and that winning the Golden Scale Assembly could lead him to the inheritance needed to stop it. Su Chan also vowed to claim that inheritance and destroy Qingxuan himself, while Lu Rushuang brought Xu Taiping a Bronze Casket containing answers about his questions.

• Prefect Qiu Shanyuan revealed that Southern Chu’s third prince had obtained the Sword Tomb inheritance, the Heavenly Shadow Sword Canon.
• Lu Rushuang told Xu Taiping that Su Chan had left a Moonshadow Stone message before departing Youyun Heaven.
• Su Chan warned that an Earth Calamity Demon Seed would awaken in the Azure Profound Sect’s guarded Profound Grotto within one to three years and destroy the sect decades later.
• Su Chan urged Xu Taiping to win the Golden Scale Assembly, reopen the Sword Chief Ranking, and seek the True Martial Great Emperor’s inheritance, then vowed to take it and destroy Qingxuan himself.
• Fairy Lingyue contacted Xu Taiping after awakening and assured him she could help if trouble arose.
• Lu Rushuang entered the study with a Bronze Casket and told Xu Taiping it held everything he wanted to know.

Lu Rushuang revealed that the Azure Profound Sect descended from the Taixuan Sect, which was destroyed by the Great Void Calamity and preserved in part by its Five Elders. She explained that the Taixuan lineage owed its survival to the True Martial Great Emperor and had guarded the Netherdark Demon Grotto for generations.

• Xu Taiping found Lu Rushuang’s jade pendant and seal in the Bronze Casket and realized the pendant connected her to the Taixuan Sect.
• Xu Taiping told Lu Rushuang about discovering a Taixuan Sect Corpse Wraith in the Yunmeng Marsh ruins.
• Lu Rushuang explained that the Azure Profound Sect inherited the Taixuan Sect’s legacy and that the Five Elders preserved the Yunmeng Marsh ruins before sealing them away.
• Lu Rushuang revealed that she, Sword Nine, and Zhou Ang were disciples of the Taixuan Sect’s sect master in their generation.
• Xu Taiping connected the Five Elders’ sacrifice to the Netherdark Demon Grotto, and Lu Rushuang confirmed that the Taixuan lineage had guarded it for generations after the True Martial Great Emperor offered them refuge.

Xu Taiping learned more about the Taixuan Sect’s mysterious legacy and promised Lu Rushuang he would do everything he could to defeat the Third Prince in the Chief’s Battle. Fairy Lingyue began advising him on how to prepare, revealing that the Great Sun Golden Flame Art was connected to an Origin Law.

• Lu Rushuang told Xu Taiping that her Eldest Senior Brother had been willing to enter the Netherdark Demon Grotto to protect the Taixuan Sect’s legacy and the proof that its people had existed.
• Xu Taiping promised Lu Rushuang he would contend with the Third Prince to give the Azure Profound Sect hope, and she left to do what she could before the next match.
• Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue what Lu Rushuang had shared, and Lingyue inferred that the True Martial Great Emperor had known how to resolve the Great Void Calamity and had valued the Taixuan legacy.
• Xu Taiping described his cultivation and the Third Prince’s strength to Fairy Lingyue, explaining why he doubted ordinary spells could threaten his opponent.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that she had urged Xu Taiping to practice the Great Sun Golden Flame Art because it was a branch of an Origin Law in her sect’s legacy.

Fairy Lingyue offered Xu Taiping a portion of an Origin Law refined from the Great Sun Golden Flame Art, explaining that his Illuminated Dao Heart and Mysterious Origin Avatar would help him learn it quickly. Xu Taiping refused out of fear that the technique would expose her to her enemies, but Lingyue reassured him that she had grown powerful enough to appear before him from afar and insisted on helping him in return.

• Fairy Lingyue explained that Xu Taiping could inherit part of an Origin Law quickly because he had an Illuminated Dao Heart and a Mysterious Origin Avatar.
• Xu Taiping realized Lingyue could refine ordinary techniques into Origin Laws and suspected her enemies sought that ability.
• Xu Taiping refused the Origin Law lesson because he feared it would reveal Lingyue to her enemies during the Golden Scale Assembly.
• Fairy Lingyue appeared from the gourd as a phantom, cupped Xu Taiping's face, and told him she had grown much stronger.
• Lingyue recalled Xu Taiping's past sacrifices and declared that it was now her turn to help him, so he could not refuse.

Fairy Lingyue taught Xu Taiping the Great Sun Golden Crow Finger and explained her plan to draw out and kill the Master of the One-Leaf Book. As the Golden Scale Assembly championship approached, Xu Taiping trained in Blade Ghost’s Blade Domain and earned recognition as a true blade cultivator.

• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping she would use his hand to announce Huangting Dao Palace’s heir and draw out the Master of the One-Leaf Book, whom she intended to kill.
• Fairy Lingyue taught Xu Taiping the Sun True Fire Art’s Great Sun Golden Crow Finger.
• Liu Chuxuan confirmed plans to reopen the Sword Chief Ranking, while Zhao Qian worried about Xu Taiping facing Southern Chu’s gifted third prince.
• Huang Que prepared a formation to show the Golden Scale Assembly championship match to spectators at the Five Elders Pool Sword Platform and let Liu Chuxuan address the Five Heavens.
• Xu Taiping trained in Blade Ghost’s Blade Domain, and Blade Ghost congratulated him on becoming a true blade cultivator.

Xu Taiping prepared for the championship trial as Fairy Lingyue advised him on using his Great Sun Golden Crow Finger and warned him not to rely on the Hidden Sword Art, which he had forgotten. Unable to sleep, he activated the Moonshadow Stone Huang Que had brought him, and an image appeared.

• Fairy Lingyue taught Xu Taiping to gather Great Sun Golden Flame in his palm before using the Great Sun Golden Crow Finger, and cautioned him against combining it with the Azure Luan Ring.
• Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue that Rusty Lion had begun to rust in the Dragon-Trapping Tower and that he had forgotten every move of his master's Hidden Sword Art.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping not to count on the Hidden Sword Art in the championship trial, then left him to rest.
• Xu Taiping could not fall asleep and thought of his senior brothers and the Moonshadow Stone Huang Que had given him.
• Xu Taiping poured True Essence into the Moonshadow Stone, causing an image to appear above it.

Xu Taiping watched a Moonshadow Stone recording of his senior brothers and sisters wishing him well before the Golden Scale Assembly. His master Lü Daoxuan urged him to fight for Qingxuan and show him the view from the top of the Golden Scale Ranking, and Xu Taiping vowed to do so.

• Zhao Linglong recorded words of encouragement for Xu Taiping, and Jiang Zhi wished him a safe return.
• Dugu Qingxiao warned Xu Taiping not to risk his life at the Golden Scale Assembly, while the other senior disciples offered their well-wishes.
• After everyone left, Lü Daoxuan appeared in the recording and asked Xu Taiping to win at the Golden Scale Assembly for him and Qingxuan.
• Xu Taiping watched the recording end and vowed to let Lü Daoxuan see him at the top of the Golden Scale Ranking.

On the day of the Golden Scale Assembly’s Chief Battle, the crowds compared the distinguished guests invited by Third Prince Chu Yinan with the sparse gathering at Xu Taiping’s stand. Lu Rushuang revealed that Taiping’s friends were on their way, then went to welcome them.

• Spectators in Southern Chu’s Imperial Capital discussed the contest between Chu Yinan and Xu Taiping as the honored guests began arriving.
• Youyun Prefecture’s steward announced the many royal, clan, and sect guests invited by Chu Yinan, while Xu Taiping’s stand appeared nearly empty by comparison.
• Wu Tiegu and Zhu Lengqiu joined Lu Rushuang and others at Xu Taiping’s stand, where they heard spectators mock Taiping’s lack of status and connections.
• Lu Rushuang told Wu Tiegu that Taiping’s friends would soon arrive and declined to list her newly risen companions as honored guests.
• Lu Zhuo informed Lu Rushuang that Taiping’s friends were near, and she rose to welcome them.

As Xu Taiping competed in the Golden Scale Assembly, his invitations brought a succession of powerful Buddhist abbots and other honored guests to watch, silencing the crowd and eclipsing the Chu imperial clan. The final announcement revealed that Zhang Tianze of the Sea-Calming Tower had also accepted Xu Taiping’s invitation.

• At Five Elders Pool, the Nine Prefectures’ guest retainers and the Seven Peaks disciples worried that Xu Taiping was facing the Golden Scale Assembly without their support.
• The Third Prince of Southern Chu’s invitations brought three high immortals to watch, prompting disappointment among those waiting for Xu Taiping’s match to begin.
• Xu Taiping’s invitation brought Abbot Guangze of Prajna Temple, whose Arhat Realm strength astonished the spectators.
• Four more abbots from the Cloud Emergence Kingdom’s great temples arrived, and Dugu Qingxiao recalled that they had joined forces against Mad Wolf Stronghold because of Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping’s invitation brought Abbot Faxian of Cloud-Hidden Temple, whose Martial God-level reputation eclipsed the Chu imperial clan and soured King Zhao of Chu’s expression.
• The steward announced that Zhang Tianze of the Sea-Calming Tower had come to watch at Xu Taiping’s invitation.

As Xu Taiping prepared to face Chu Yinan for the Golden Scale Assembly championship, the arrival of Zhang Tianze confirmed his ties to powerful figures and moved his senior siblings to support him. Meanwhile, Mu Yun identified Xu Taiping’s reliance on blood and qi as a weakness that Chu Yinan might exploit.

• Zhao Linglong and Jiang Zhi learned from Dugu Qingxiao that Zhang Tianze’s attendance confirmed the rumors about Xu Taiping, and they urged him to claim the championship.
• At a teahouse, cultivators debated whether Xu Taiping’s impressive guests mattered against Chu Yinan, while King Zhao of Chu and Zhu Huai heard High Immortal Qionghua declare that countermeasures would prevent Xu Taiping from using his Blade Domain or blood and qi.
• Qiu Shanyuan announced the championship’s rewards as the Golden Scale Assembly’s attention returned to the platform.
• Mu Yuchen asked Mu Yun whether Xu Taiping could win, and Mu Yun said Chu Yinan had the advantage of the Chu Imperial Clan and could exploit Xu Taiping’s reliance on blood and qi.

Chu Yinan trapped Xu Taiping and used a Cold Crow Blood-Cooling Formation to suppress his blood energy, leaving him vulnerable to a deadly sword strike. Just as the spectators believed the fight was over, Xu Taiping unleashed an aura that rivaled Chu Yinan’s and surrounded himself with an ice-and-snow storm.

• Chu Yinan trapped Xu Taiping in a water-prison formation and began laying a Cold Crow Blood-Cooling Formation with cold crow fire.
• Xu Taiping broke free of the water prison with his Dragon Whale physique, but the formation froze him and suppressed his blood energy.
• Chu Yinan prepared hundreds of Kui Water Sword Shadows to attack Xu Taiping while his Martial God physique was sealed.
• Ji Ye told Mu Yun and Mu Yuchen that Xu Taiping’s true essence had seemed extraordinarily abundant when they fought.
• Xu Taiping released a powerful aura rivaling Chu Yinan’s and formed a storm of ice and snow around himself.

Xu Taiping revealed that he had mastered the Cloud-Riding Art and used the Frost Breath Art and Azure Luan Ring’s Cloud-Piercing Form to counter Chu Yinan’s attacks. Chu Yinan unleashed thousands of Kui Water swords, and Xu Taiping blanketed the Golden Scale Platform in dense mist as they rushed toward him.

• Mu Yun, Mu Yuchen, and Ji Ye recognized Xu Taiping’s Cloud-Riding Art and realized he had concealed his cultivation strength.
• Chu Yinan attacked Xu Taiping with hundreds of Kui Water swords, but Xu Taiping froze them with the Frost Breath Art and blocked the flying sword with an ice wall.
• Xu Taiping used The World Within Reach to slip into Chu Yinan’s blind spot and fired the Azure Luan Ring’s Cloud-Piercing Form at him.
• Chu Yinan raised a wave to evade Xu Taiping’s strike, then summoned three to four thousand Kui Water swords with Sword Rain Like a Waterfall.
• Chu Yinan sent the thousands of swords toward Xu Taiping, who exhaled again and filled the Golden Scale Platform with dense mist.

Xu Taiping used a clone capable of casting Heaven Rank spells to trap the Third Prince, Chu Yinan, in his own frozen water tower. The spectators realized Xu Taiping had an Illuminated Dao Heart, while High Immortal Qionghua prepared to signal Chu Yinan to reveal more of his strength.

• The Third Prince, Chu Yinan, filled the mist-shrouded platform with flying swords, but Xu Taiping emerged and attacked with the Heavenly Fire Finger.
• Chu Yinan’s swords pierced what he thought was Xu Taiping, but the figure vanished as a clone, and the real Xu Taiping attacked from behind with Sea-Splitting.
• Chu Yinan formed a water tower to defend himself, and Xu Taiping’s clone froze it before he could counterattack.
• Mu Yun recognized the clone as a Profound Origin lifebound clone created by the Supreme Clarity Profound Origin Clone Technique, and he and Ji Ye realized Xu Taiping had an Illuminated Dao Heart.
• Zhu Huai warned that Chu Yinan’s Cold Crow Fire would soon fade and urged him to stop concealing his strength, so High Immortal Qionghua raised his sword fingers toward him.

Xu Taiping and the Third Prince repeatedly unleashed sealed stores of True Essence as they struggled for control of the Golden Scale Platform. The Third Prince shattered more rings to break Xu Taiping’s ice, but Xu Taiping opened his Lotus Eye and revealed an even greater reserve of power.

• The Third Prince shattered one ring to release his sealed True Essence and began cracking the ice tower Xu Taiping had created.
• Xu Taiping drew out the True Essence stored as snowflakes on the Great Snow Mountain of his Cinnabar Heart and froze the Third Prince again.
• The Third Prince shattered two more rings, increasing his aura to a level approaching major attainment in the Spirit Refining realm.
• Xu Taiping opened his Lotus Eye and drew out its stored True Essence, unleashing an aura even stronger than the Third Prince’s.

Xu Taiping trapped the Third Prince in an enormous ice tower and struggled to contain him with Frost Breath Chill. The Third Prince shattered another sealed ring, broke free, and sent Xu Taiping fleeing as Gui Water Sword Qi filled the air.

• Xu Taiping froze the ice tower, the Golden Scale Platform, and the Golden Scale Pool, trapping the Third Prince inside.
• Xu Taiping and the Third Prince struggled to maintain and break the ice tower with their True Essence.
• Dugu Qingxiao warned that the Third Prince would release another ring, while Zhao Linglong doubted he would risk the backlash.
• The Third Prince released one of his remaining sealed rings, causing his aura to surge dramatically.
• The Third Prince struck the ice tower from within, and Xu Taiping and his Mysterious Origin Avatar failed to refreeze it.
• Xu Taiping used the Mist Concealment Technique to flee as the ice tower exploded and thousands of Gui Water Sword Qi shot through the air.