Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping defeated Song Tianchou, revealed himself to Sect Master Duan and Madam Jiang, and told them Xiaoyu had been chosen as the Martial God of Youyun Heaven’s successor. Back at Lion Slope, he learned that demons and Demonic Beasts were pursuing his eighth senior brother, Wu Liang, who feared they would use his identity to infiltrate the Seven Peaks.

• Xu Taiping used his Blade Domain to kill Song Tianchou and sealed his Primordial Spirit with the Ghost-Sealing Talisman for Blade Ghost.
• Xu Taiping revealed his identity to Sect Master Duan and Madam Jiang, gave them the Moonshadow Stone from Xiaoyu, and explained that Jiang Cuicui had chosen her as successor.
• Xu Taiping returned to Lion Slope after seven years and learned from Fairy Lingyue that demons and Demonic Beasts were pursuing a Qingxuan cultivator.
• Xu Taiping used the Fish-Seeking Disc to hear the pursuers discuss their plan and Wu Liang warn that his capture could let them infiltrate the Seven Peaks.
• Xu Taiping realized the pursued cultivator was his eighth senior brother and asked Fairy Lingyue to locate him.

Wu Liang, the eighth disciple of Seven Peaks, prepared to die rather than surrender to the demonic beings hunting him. Taiping arrived in the cave just as Wu Liang's defenses were failing, and confronted the pale-faced leader.

• Wu Liang buried a Moonshadow Stone, swallowed his last Minor Restoration Pill, and drew a Corpse Liberation Talisman on his body.
• Two pale-faced men and several Demonic Creatures found Wu Liang and demanded that he plant a talisman inside Dugu Qingxiao.
• Wu Liang prepared to use his True Fire Talisman and perform Corpse Liberation, but Taiping called out to him to hold on.
• Wu Liang summoned a wall of True Fire and refused the pale-faced man's offer to surrender, despite the man's attacks weakening his flames.
• The pale-faced man warned that he would slaughter the disciples of Seven Peaks, but Taiping cut down the Demonic Beasts at the cave entrance and entered with his saber wreathed in True Fire.

Xu Taiping returned to the cavern and defeated the white-faced demonic beast and the monsters waiting there. After rescuing Wu Liang, he began interrogating the captured beast.

• The white-faced demonic beast ordered the others to reveal their true forms and attack while he tried to escape, but Xu Taiping cut down the monsters with a storm of saber strikes.
• The white-faced demonic beast fled toward the exit, but Xu Taiping's Mysterious Origin Avatar struck him with a fist, allowing Xu Taiping to sever his head.
• Xu Taiping told his avatar to guard the entrance, then supported the badly weakened Wu Liang and gave him two pills to treat his injuries.
• Xu Taiping questioned the white-faced demonic beast, who refused to cooperate, so Xu Taiping pierced his eye with a flying spike wrapped in Great Sun Golden Flame.

Xu Taiping tortured a white-faced Demonic Beast into revealing Jin Hezhi’s plan to exploit the Sect Master Inauguration Ceremony and the Mysterious Wasteland Heaven’s involvement. He then learned that the demons planned to abduct Zhao Linglong, but the beast had not yet told him when.

• Xu Taiping questioned and tortured the white-faced Demonic Beast until it named Jin Hezhi as its lord.
• The Demonic Beast revealed that Jin Hezhi intended to challenge the Sect Master and his disciples to sword duels during the inauguration ceremony, allowing Nine Nether’s remnants to attack while the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation was unavailable.
• Xu Taiping learned that someone from the Mysterious Wasteland Heaven was backing Jin Hezhi and suspected a connection to the Faceless Tower.
• The Demonic Beast said Jin Hezhi and Demon Venerable Yinyin planned to abduct Zhao Linglong when she visited her mother's grave on the anniversary of her death.
• Xu Taiping urgently asked the Demonic Beast when the planned abduction would take place.

Xu Taiping disguised himself as Wu Liang to investigate Jin Hezhi’s plot without exposing his return. At Cinnabar Dawn Cave, he found White Rainbow gravely injured and hid when a Faceless One returned.

• Xu Taiping confirmed Jin Hezhi had ordered the Hundred Faces Demonic Beast to wait at the mountain’s foot and barred others from entering before the Grand Ceremony.
• Xu Taiping warned Wu Liang not to expose his return, then borrowed his face and stored him in the Dragon-Trapping Tower.
• Xu Taiping went to Cinnabar Dawn Cave to verify the Lotus Eye’s vision and check on White Rainbow.
• Xu Taiping found White Rainbow chained and badly wounded, but Fairy Lingyue warned him not to heal him lest the divination change and Qingxuan fall.
• Fairy Lingyue sensed a Faceless One approaching, and Xu Taiping hid as the stone door opened.

Xu Taiping overheard Wumei and Jin Hezhi discussing their plot to weaken Qingxuan and seize its disciples, then hid as they entered the cavern. When Wumei sensed killing intent, White Rainbow repeatedly attacked him and Jin Hezhi, apparently giving Xu Taiping time to escape.

• Xu Taiping overheard Wumei and an ally discuss planting a Poison Curse on Zhao Linglong, weakening Qingxuan disciples during the Sword Inquiry, and ensuring Duyan would support their scheme.
• Wumei and Jin Hezhi entered the cavern disguised as Yan Bing and Huang Qi, and Jin Hezhi asked to take Qingxuan's disciples and spirit beasts after their plan succeeded.
• Wumei sensed a trace of killing intent and began searching the cavern with his Divine Soul, putting Xu Taiping on alert.
• White Rainbow sprang at Wumei, but Jin Hezhi struck it into the rocky wall.
• White Rainbow rose and charged Wumei and Jin Hezhi again, seemingly buying Xu Taiping time to escape.

Xu Taiping returned to Qingxuan disguised as Wu Liang and accompanied Zhao Linglong to visit her mother's grave. There, he discovered that black fish were plotting to kill him before attacking Zhao Linglong, and prepared to deal with them.

• After Wumei lashed White Rainbow, Fairy Lingyue calmed Xu Taiping, who vowed to make his enemies repay White Rainbow's suffering.
• Disguised as Wu Liang, Xu Taiping walked through Qingxuan and sensed that the sect had grown more upright and vibrant during his seven-year absence.
• Xu Taiping brought food and wine to Zhao Linglong and agreed to accompany her to her mother's grave.
• At the graveyard, Xu Taiping used the Fish-Seeking Disc and heard black fish plan to kill him before attacking Zhao Linglong.
• Xu Taiping put away the disc and stretched, saying their plan would save him trouble.

Xu Taiping waited at Muxiang Pavilion as the Demonic Beasts closed in, then learned that refining the Shentu Bow had granted him the Thunder Lion Arrow’s power. He killed five Demon King Realm beasts in an instant, while their goat-horned leader escaped to report the attack.

• Xu Taiping reflected with Fairy Lingyue on the comfort of having Cloud Cottage Mountain as a home.
• The Shentu Bow finished refining, and a lightning Luan Bird appeared in Xu Taiping’s pill embryo.
• Xu Taiping saw five Demonic Beasts hiding near Muxiang Pavilion and sensed their leader activating a Sound-Isolating Barrier.
• As the leader counted to two, Xu Taiping drew his saber and killed all five beasts with a lightning-fast strike.
• The goat-horned demoness saw the deaths through her Spirit Mirror and fled into the forest to report to His Excellency.

Xu Taiping defeated the Ram-Horned Demoness before she could report to Jin Hezhi, then assessed the speed boost and cost of his lightning power. He discovered that Zhao Linglong was safe and overheard her say that Junior Sister Buyu might like him, which he refused to believe.

• The Ram-Horned Demoness transformed and attacked Xu Taiping, but his saber strike shattered her demon body and leveled the forest.
• Xu Taiping took the demoness’s Voice Transmission Jade Slip and demanded that she tell Jin Hezhi she had planted the Poison Curse on Zhao Linglong.
• Xu Taiping sealed the demoness’s divine soul for Blade Ghost to interrogate and stored her body in his gourd.
• Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue that refining the Shentu Bow had greatly increased his speed, though using its lightning power consumed true essence rapidly.
• Xu Taiping checked the Fish-Seeking Disc, confirmed that Zhao Linglong was safe, and heard her say that Junior Sister Buyu might like him.
• Xu Taiping blushed and insisted that Senior Sister Linglong must be talking nonsense.

Zhao Linglong told Xu Taiping how the people of Cloud Cottage Mountain had become her family, and Xu promised to help protect it from the Faceless Tower. Six days later, the Tower’s nine third-floor seats discussed a seven-year plan targeting Qingxuan and argued over whether Xu Taiping could disrupt it.

• Zhao Linglong and Xu Taiping flew back toward Cloud Cottage Mountain, and she described how her fellow disciples had made the mountain feel like home.
• Zhao Linglong accidentally called Xu Taiping “Little Junior Brother,” then corrected herself, and Xu promised to guard the mountain and make the Faceless Tower pay if it threatened them.
• Six days later, the Faceless Tower’s third-floor seats met and confirmed that One-Eye and Wumei had spent seven years laying plans in Qingxuan.
• The third seat proposed raising the bounty if Xu Taiping appeared, while the second seat insisted that the two agents’ plans could withstand his return.

The Faceless Tower’s First Seat paid Youyun Prefecture to broadcast the Azure Profound Sect’s Grand Ceremony, confident that One-Eye and Wumei’s scheme would let him profit from Qingxuan. Xu Taiping and Zhao Linglong visited Jiang Zhi to check whether the Sect Master’s plan to earn money from the ceremony was working, and they were stunned by the amount collected.

• The First Seat explained that Youyun Prefecture had bought a Mountain Patrol Mirror so people in other heavens could watch the Grand Ceremony, and said he expected One-Eye and Wumei’s scheme to bring him a hundredfold return from Qingxuan.
• Zhu Ling dismissed the Faceless Tower members who had died and expressed interest in how Sect Master Zhao Qian would handle the ceremony.
• Disguised as Eighth Senior Brother, Xu Taiping traveled with Zhao Linglong toward Dragon Gate Hall and learned that Zhao Qian was charging viewers to help fund the Azure Profound Sect’s rebuilding.
• Zhao Linglong suggested checking the viewing payments with Jiang Zhi, and Xu Taiping agreed since the Sword Inquiry would not begin for another hour.
• Jiang Zhi showed Zhao Linglong the Spirit Mirror’s payment figures, and Zhao Linglong exclaimed in disbelief at how much Gold Essence Coins had been collected.

Xu Taiping and his senior sisters learned that the Azure Profound Sect had earned over eight hundred thousand Gold Essence Coins by implying he might attend the sect master's succession ceremony. As the ceremony began, Huang Que asked Zhao Linglong and Jiang Zhi to stage a sword match to appease the spectators.

• Zhao Linglong watched the Spirit Mirror's earnings climb while Jiang Zhi explained that viewers paid five thousand Gold Essence Coins per hour and the Nine Prefectures would receive a share.
• Jiang Zhi revealed that Huang Que had spread word that Xu Taiping might appear, and that the sect master had brought the ceremony forward because Youngest Martial Uncle might not be able to wait.
• Dugu Qingxiao hurried Jiang Zhi, Zhao Linglong, and Xu Taiping toward the Ancestor Worship Ceremony as the sect master's disciples were required to attend.
• Huang Que asked Zhao Linglong and Jiang Zhi to perform a sword match for the spectators, and Xu Taiping suspected they were really there to see the swords.

Xu Taiping watched Qingxuan’s Grand Ceremony and resolved to deal with the Faceless Tower infiltrators hidden among the disciples. After Zhao Qian became sect master, three disciples unexpectedly challenged him to a Sword Inquiry, while Huang Que realized he had been poisoned and Qingxuan was in peril.

• Zhao Linglong and Jiang Zhi fought an exhibition match, and Dugu Qingxiao also matched against the other senior brothers as Xu Taiping saw how much Qingxuan had improved.
• Xu Taiping spotted Wumei disguised as Yan Bing and Jin Hezhi disguised as Huang Qi, and decided to eliminate the threat they posed to Qingxuan.
• Huang Que lamented that Xu Taiping had not appeared and complained about the ceremony’s modest earnings, while Dugu Qingxiao led Xu Taiping toward the altar.
• After the sacrificial rites, Zhao Qian received the sect master’s thumb ring and became Qingxuan’s sect master.
• Huang Qi, Yan Bing, and Su Mu appeared on the altar and challenged Zhao Qian to a Sword Inquiry; Huang Que smelled a strange fragrance, realized he had been poisoned, and sensed Qingxuan was in danger.

The Nine Seats learned that One-Eye and Wumei had trapped Qingxuan with a Spirit-Eroding Thunder God Vine and an Eight-Branched Cloud-Swallowing Python. Huang Que discovered that the Sword Inquiry prevented Zhao Qian from using Qingxuan’s Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, and he asked Liu Chuxuan why harming a disciple would not override that restriction.

• The Nine Seats explained that the Spirit-Eroding Thunder God Vine poisoned cultivators who used their full power and praised One-Eye and Wumei for preparing it.
• An Eight-Branched Cloud-Swallowing Python appeared above Dragon Gate Hall and covered the area in clouds that would isolate Qingxuan for an hour.
• The First Seat and Second Seat concluded that the python and the vine would leave Qingxuan helpless.
• Huang Que confirmed with Liu Chuxuan that the attack was likely the work of the Faceless Tower, and Liu Chuxuan explained that the Sword Inquiry barred Zhao Qian from deploying the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.
• Huang Que asked Liu Chuxuan why the Sect Master could not use the formation even if a Qingxuan disciple were harmed.

Huang Que learned that the poisoned Azure Profound Sect’s leaders could not win the Sword Inquiry, while Xu Taiping secretly searched for One-Eye before making his move. Wumei threatened the gathered sects and tried to divide Qingxuan, but Dugu Qingxiao and the Seven Peaks disciples stood together.

• Liu Chuxuan told Huang Que that the Spirit-Eroding Thunder God Vine’s poison would steadily weaken the Azure Profound Sect’s fighters, leaving Huang Que to save as many disciples as he could.
• Xu Taiping used the Fish-Seeking Disc to listen for Wumei’s transmissions to One-Eye, waiting to locate the hidden Faceless Tower member before acting.
• Guest retainers and Qingxuan peak masters tried to break through the Eight-Branched Cloud-Swallowing Python’s cloud barrier, but its Gang Wind blasted them back.
• Wumei declared that the Faceless Tower had come for Qingxuan and offered to spare disciples who joined a Sword Inquiry against Zhao Qian and his disciples.
• Dugu Qingxiao challenged the wavering disciples to stand firm, and the Seven Peaks disciples released their auras despite the poison.

The Faceless Ones, disguised as Qingxuan disciples, challenged the Sect Master and the Seven Peaks to a sword inquiry, while Xu Taiping searched for One-Eye. The battle began with Dugu Qingxiao and Zhou Liang quickly facing the disguised enemies’ overwhelming strength.

• Jiang Zhi and the Seven Peaks disciples stood together against the Faceless Ones, and Zhao Qian agreed to let them fight as long as they did not stake their lives.
• Wumei, disguised as Yan Bing, challenged the Sect Master’s Personal Disciples, while Zhao Qian prepared to face the threat himself before Dugu Qingxiao and Jiang Zhi stopped him.
• Xu Taiping continued using the Fish-Seeking Disc to search for One-Eye before the sword inquiry ended.
• Jin Hezhi, controlling Huang Qi, taunted Dugu Qingxiao about his wedding and wounded him by breaking his Fury Lotus strike.
• Jiang Zhi intervened against Jin Hezhi as Zhou Liang attacked Wumei and Su Mu, but Wumei shattered Zhou Liang’s Blade Force with his Sword Intent.

As the Seven Peaks disciples fell under the Qingxuan challengers’ swords, Zhao Linglong stepped forward to defend the rules, but Yan Bing’s strike wounded her and the others. After Ping'an located One-Eye, Xu Taiping shielded Zhao Linglong from Jin Hezhi and challenged the opponents as Wu Liang, the eighth disciple of the Seven Peaks.

• Wumei defeated Zhou Liang, while Jin Hezhi and Su Mu overpowered Jiang Zhi and Dugu Qingxiao.
• Zhao Linglong blocked Jin Hezhi and Su Mu from striking the fallen disciples, then insisted that she meet their swords under Qingxuan’s rules.
• Zhao Linglong and two other disciples faced Yan Bing, whose sword strike blasted them away and left them wounded.
• Ping'an told Xu Taiping that One-Eye was in Tianshui Cave, west of the mountain peak where Dragon Gate Hall stood.
• Xu Taiping used a Golden Body Talisman to shield Zhao Linglong and challenged Jin Hezhi as Wu Liang, the eighth disciple of the Seven Peaks.

Xu Taiping, disguised as Wu Liang, invoked Qingxuan’s Sword Inquiry rules and faced Su Mu while Jin Hezhi and the others threatened the sect. He was badly wounded on the sacrificial platform, leaving the outcome of the confrontation uncertain.

• Xu Taiping pointed his sword at Jin Hezhi and the others, insisting all three had to draw their swords or their Sword Inquiry would fail.
• Jin Hezhi claimed they could avoid drawing their swords by killing Wu Liang, and Su Mu advanced to attack him.
• Zhao Qian urged Wu Liang to return, but Wu Liang refused and asked his sect master to trust him.
• Su Mu’s first sword strike forced Wu Liang to roll aside, disappointing spectators who had hoped he had a hidden trump card.
• Huang Que’s Mountain Patrol Mirror showed a sudden rise in viewers and Gold Essence Coins as he wondered whether Zhao Qian would intervene.
• Su Mu finally struck Wu Liang, shattering his Golden Body Talisman and opening a deep wound across his chest.

Xu Taiping, disguised as Wu Liang, revealed his hidden strength during the Sword Inquiry and killed Su Mu with one punch after Fairy Lingyue helped capture One-Eye. The chapter ended with the hall stunned by the supposed weakest disciple’s victory.

• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that she and his two Mysterious Origin Avatars had subdued One-Eye, allowing him to stop stalling.
• Xu Taiping shattered Su Mu’s sword intent with a powerful slash, but his sword broke and Su Mu survived.
• Xu Taiping discarded his broken sword and faced Su Mu with his fists as Su Mu unleashed a vicious wolf-shaped sword attack.
• Xu Taiping shattered Su Mu’s sword intent with one punch and blasted Su Mu into a cloud of bloody mist.
• The people at Dragon Gate Hall fell silent as they realized Wu Liang had killed the Faceless Tower’s challenger.

Xu Taiping revealed himself after Qingxuan’s restrictions failed to harm him, exposing Jin Hezhi’s suspicions and prompting the Seven Peaks disciples to recognize him. With One-Eye defeated and Bai Yu ready to face the Cloud-Swallowing Python, Xu Taiping no longer needed to hold back against Jin Hezhi and the remaining enemies.

• Jin Hezhi challenged Xu Taiping’s identity and forced Elder Black Dragon to request judgment from the Five Elders through Qingxuan’s restrictions.
• Zhao Qian warned the disguised Xu Taiping to step down, but Xu Taiping stood unharmed after a lightning strike from the restrictions.
• Jin Hezhi and Wumei realized the figure on the Sacrificial Platform was Xu Taiping, and Zhao Linglong, Dugu Qingxiao, and Huang Que recognized him too.
• Xu Taiping condemned Jin Hezhi for conspiring with Nine Nether and the Faceless Tower.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that One-Eye had been defeated, while Bai Yu said he had reached the Demon Venerable Realm and would fight the Cloud-Swallowing Python.