Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping planned to use the black skull to secure guides out of the Ruined Temple, but Gu Qingcheng warned that returning it would strengthen Goshu Miu, who was destined to kill Xuanyuan Xueluo. Wutu Ba trapped everyone in a Blood Prison and forced them into a fight where he would also die if he failed to win every match.

• Xu Taiping planned to give Wutu Ba the black skull only after he had killed all but two Helian Clan disciples, then have the survivors guide the group out.
• Gu Qingcheng warned Xu Taiping that the skull contained Goshu Miu's power and that Goshu Miu would later kill Xuanyuan Xueluo.
• Xu Taiping abandoned his plan to hand over the skull and decided he would have to find a way out through the Dry Well.
• Wutu Ba revealed that he had destroyed everyone's Shadow-Reflecting Stones and threatened Xu Taiping after killing six Helian Clan disciples.
• Wutu Ba invoked the Red Lion Ghost King's Beast-Trapping Power, creating a Blood Prison around the temple's main hall.
• A voice declared that everyone in the cage who refused to fight Wutu Ba would die, and that Wutu Ba would die if he failed to win every fight.

Wutu Ba set a rule that barred both sides from using supernatural power, weapons, or treasures, then killed the first refugee chosen to fight him. As Xu Taiping prepared to challenge Wutu Ba, Xiao Yu of Seven Sages Town suddenly stepped forward to demand his life.

• Wutu Ba asked the Red Lion Ghost King to forbid both sides from using ghostly powers, weapons, or treasures, and the Ghost King accepted the rule for everyone.
• The Red Lion Ghost King chose a refugee to fight Wutu Ba, who dodged the refugee’s punch and killed him with a single knife-hand strike.
• Zhai Mo and Gongshu Nanxing offered to fight Wutu Ba, but Xu Taiping refused and said he would take the next match.
• Xiao Yu of Seven Sages Town leaped into the hall and challenged Wutu Ba, surprising Xu Taiping and the others who recognized his name.

Xu Taiping and the others learned that Wutu Ba’s army had massacred Xiao Yu’s hometown, Seven Sages Town, and watched Xiao Yu begin his second match against him. Xiao Yu wounded Wutu Ba with a sudden surge of power and continued his attack.

• Gu Qingcheng deduced that Guifang’s Wutu Tribe had massacred Seven Sages Town ten years earlier, explaining Xiao Yu’s hatred of Wutu Ba.
• Wutu Ba recognized Xiao Yu as one of the people who had fled Seven Sages Town and admitted he had led the troops into it when it fell.
• The Red Lion Ghost King began the second match, and Xiao Yu attacked Wutu Ba with a fierce claw strike.
• Wutu Ba stopped Xiao Yu’s first attack and countered with a hand blade, but Xiao Yu’s protective True Qi blocked it.
• Xiao Yu strengthened his body and True Qi, slashed Wutu Ba’s chest three times, and followed with a barrage of claw strikes.

Wutu Ba overwhelmed Xiao Yu with manifested blood qi and his Formation-Breaking Finger, leaving Xiao Yu badly wounded in the great hall. As Wutu Ba continued to torment him, Gu Qingcheng and Xu Taiping noticed something in the blood on the ground.

• Xiao Yu attacked Wutu Ba with a barrage of claw shadows, but Wutu Ba shattered them with an evil-ghost phantom and struck Xiao Yu with a blood-red palm.
• Xu Taiping and Zhai Mo recognized that Wutu Ba’s blood qi manifestation made his physical power and martial arts exceptionally dangerous.
• Wutu Ba used his Formation-Breaking Finger to send blood spikes at Xiao Yu, who forced his way through them but was pierced in the back.
• Wutu Ba detonated the embedded blood spikes one by one, repeatedly injuring Xiao Yu as he tried to circle in for an attack.
• As Xiao Yu’s blood spread across the floor, Gu Qingcheng and Xu Taiping noticed something in it.

Xiao Yu concealed enough strength to get within a zhang of Wutu Ba and launch his true killing move, but Wutu Ba’s iron-tempered body withstood his claws and counterattacked. Xiao Yu then stopped his fall in midair and drove a powerful kick into Wutu Ba’s forehead, leaving everyone stunned by the blow.

• Wutu Ba struck Xiao Yu with blood-qi attacks and sent him crashing into a pillar.
• Xiao Yu broke Wutu Ba’s descending fist shadow and rushed within a zhang, revealing that his earlier reckless attacks had concealed his remaining strength.
• Xiao Yu’s crossed claws shattered against Wutu Ba’s wrought-iron body, and both of Xiao Yu’s arms broke.
• Wutu Ba punched Xiao Yu into the air and struck him down with a blood-qi palm.
• Xiao Yu halted his fall and kicked Wutu Ba’s forehead, forcing the ground beneath Wutu Ba to cave in.

Xiao Yu’s hidden blood-qi traps wounded Wutu Ba, but Wutu Ba fused his qi and blood with true essence and overpowered him. Xiao Yu defied Wutu Ba’s demand for submission, and Xu Taiping intervened as Wutu Ba continued beating him.

• Xiao Yu used phantom kicks formed from blood he had scattered across the hall to interrupt Wutu Ba and make him cough up blood.
• Xiao Yu poured his qi, blood, and true essence into a final kick, driving Wutu Ba into the floor in revenge for Seven Sages Town and his hometown.
• Wutu Ba revealed that he had fused his qi and blood with true essence, then struck Xiao Yu repeatedly and mocked him as a potential slave.
• Xiao Yu slapped Wutu Ba instead of accepting his offer, drawing cheers from the Ningyuan Kingdom refugees.
• Wutu Ba beat Xiao Yu’s head into the dirt and continued punching him until Xu Taiping told him to stop.

Xu Taiping stopped Wutu Ba from killing Xiao Yu by threatening to crush the black skull, forcing Wutu Ba to hand his victim over. As Xu Taiping saved Xiao Yu, Gu Qingcheng decided to follow him regardless of the consequences.

• Xu Taiping told Wutu Ba to stop beating Xiao Yu and openly declared that he would not let Wutu Ba kill him.
• When Wutu Ba prepared to strike Xiao Yu again, Xu Taiping began crushing the black skull and warned that he had nothing to lose.
• Xu Taiping cracked the skull, releasing a powerful surge of aura, and Wutu Ba hurled Xiao Yu to him to prevent its destruction.
• Xu Taiping caught Xiao Yu and reassured Gu Qingcheng that he could save him, explaining that he saw Xiao Yu as a living person despite the others being divine souls.
• Gu Qingcheng reflected on Xu Taiping's choice and resolved to follow him to the death, whatever consequences came next.

Xu Taiping provoked Wutu Ba into a fight while concealing his identity behind the name Helian Su, then struggled against Wutu Ba’s relentless attacks. He turned the fight around with a manifested fist that knocked Wutu Ba into the floor, leaving the spectators stunned by his mastery of blood qi manifestation.

• Xu Taiping taunted Wutu Ba over Xiao Yu’s survival and challenged him under the name Helian Su.
• The Red Lion Ghost King announced the third match, while Gu Qingcheng and Gongshu Nanxing worried about Xu Taiping’s identity and chances.
• Wutu Ba charged Xu Taiping and repeatedly drove him back with powerful strikes and blood-qi attacks.
• Xu Taiping drew the Thunder Soul Blade, but Wutu Ba blocked it and trapped him between crushing palm shadows.
• Xu Taiping conjured a fist shadow that smashed Wutu Ba into a crater, prompting a refugee to exclaim that Helian Su had mastered blood qi manifestation.

Xu Taiping used Blood Qi Manifestation to overpower Wutu Ba until Wutu Ba revealed the Ultimate Realm of his Hundred Refinements Body Tempering Art and broke through Xu Taiping’s attacks. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping taking another palm strike and revealing that his body had turned bronze, astonishing Nanxing, Zhai Mo, and the others.

• Xu Taiping repeatedly struck Wutu Ba with a Wrathful-Eyed Vajra apparition formed from blood qi, shattering Wutu Ba’s protective gang qi and forcing him to retreat.
• Gu Qingcheng and Elder Zhang discussed how Xu Taiping might have mastered Blood Qi Manifestation through his Martial Dao training, while Xu Taiping noted its heavy cost in blood qi.
• Wutu Ba mistook Xu Taiping for the Helian Clan’s trump card in the contest over Great General Geshu’s Life-bound Item, and Xu Taiping mocked him to unsettle him.
• Wutu Ba revealed that his Hundred Refinements Body Tempering Art had reached the Ultimate Realm and shattered Xu Taiping’s blood qi attacks with his palm strikes.
• Xu Taiping took another palm strike from Wutu Ba, and his flesh and bones below the neck turned bronze, revealing that he had mastered the Blood Qi Body Tempering Technique.

Xu Taiping used the Blood Qi Body Tempering Technique to fight Wutu Ba while concealing his identity, but Wutu Ba’s stronger physique and Cloud Silver Realm breakthrough left Xu badly wounded. Xu then advanced to the Cloud Silver Realm himself, surprising Gu Qingcheng and Gongshu Nanxing as he struck back against Wutu Ba.

• Xu Taiping reasoned that he could strengthen his body by carefully controlling the blood qi covering his acupoints, sinews, and bones.
• Wutu Ba struck Xu with his evil ghost manifestation and iron fist, cracking Xu’s arms and opening wounds across his body.
• Gu Qingcheng recognized white markings on Wutu Ba’s arms as signs that he had reached the Cloud Silver Realm, while Xu remained in the Black Iron Realm.
• Xu met Wutu Ba’s next punch with an ordinary punch, jolting Wutu Ba’s fist back instead of having his own arm smashed.
• Gu Qingcheng and Gongshu Nanxing saw matching Cloud Silver markings on Xu’s arms and realized he had reached the realm in less than half an incense stick.

Xu Taiping used his fight with Wutu Ba to refine his control of blood qi and body tempering, eventually surpassing Wutu Ba’s silver-hardened strength. As Wutu Ba pushed his tempering further, Xu Taiping prepared to test a technique that would use all of his qi and blood power.

• Xu Taiping fought Wutu Ba to another draw and decided to cover his acupoints with thirty percent of his blood qi power.
• Wutu Ba tempered his arms until they turned silver, then battered Xu Taiping and reopened the wounds on his fists.
• Xu Taiping healed his arm and turned it cloud-silver as he struck Wutu Ba back without retreating.
• Wutu Ba began tempering more of his body despite the danger of backlash, while Gu Qingcheng and the others watched.
• Xu Taiping decided to mobilize all his qi and blood power to test his body-tempering technique against Wutu Ba.

Xu Taiping awakened his python flood dragon physique and mastered the Cloud Silver Realm’s Blood Qi Body Tempering Power during his battle with Wutu Ba. After counterattacking and knocking Wutu Ba down, he missed a finishing blow when Wutu Ba suddenly burned his blood to increase his power.

• Xu Taiping used the Mountain-Bearing Form to divert Wutu Ba’s punch, but Wutu Ba split open his shoulder and knocked him into a temple wall.
• Xu Taiping awakened his python flood dragon physique and covered his body with its blood qi as Wutu Ba launched another attack.
• Xu Taiping’s body turned silver, and Wutu Ba’s punch shattered his wrist while leaving Xu Taiping unharmed.
• Xu Taiping struck Wutu Ba twice in the chest and drove him into the temple floor.
• Wutu Ba sprang back up, dodged Xu Taiping’s next punch, and used the Blood-Burning Method to raise his power.

Xu Taiping broke through to the Golden Essence Realm during his fight with Wutu Ba, helping Helian Su win the challenge. As Xu Taiping prepared to leave Black Mountain, the Red Lion Ghost King exposed his identity and urged him to fight Great General Geshu outside the exit.

• Wutu Ba healed his wounds and reached the brink of the Golden Essence Realm, but Xu Taiping turned his arms gold, seized Wutu Ba, and evaded his punch.
• Xu Taiping realized that golden blood-qi tempering could complement the Flame Emperor Body Tempering Art, while Gu Qingcheng suspected he had been chosen by Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland.
• The Red Lion Ghost King declared Helian Su the winner, and Gu Qingcheng urged Xu Taiping to leave Black Mountain and destroy the Black Skull rather than attempt to assassinate Geshu.
• The Red Lion Ghost King revealed that he knew Xu Taiping was an Otherworlder and offered to keep his identity secret if Xu Taiping fought Geshu outside Black Mountain.
• Xu Taiping asked why the Red Lion Ghost King would help him when he seemed to be on Geshu's side.

Xu Taiping considered the Red Lion Ghost King's offer to fight Goshu Miu, while Gu Qingcheng explained the risks and revealed that history inside the Mysterious Wasteland Tower repeatedly resets when the Northern Garrison Manor heir is killed. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping asking what happens to Otherworlders when time resets.

• The Red Lion Ghost King offered to help Xu Taiping fight Goshu Miu in the Beast Cage and keep the group safe if Xu Taiping accepted.
• Gu Qingcheng recognized the offer as a possible trap but explained that the Beast Cage could seal part of Goshu Miu's power, and that its victor could request one favor from the Red Lion Ghost King.
• Gu Qingcheng urged Xu Taiping to seize the chance to destroy Goshu Miu's clone and black skull, which could weaken his true body and improve Xuanyuan Xueluo's chances of surviving.
• Gu Qingcheng revealed that a stele recorded how Guifang repeatedly rewrote Ningyuan Kingdom's history, killing the Northern Garrison Manor heir and causing the kingdom's destruction before time reset to its founding.
• Xu Taiping asked Gu Qingcheng what happened to Otherworlders when time inside the Mysterious Wasteland Tower turned back.

Xu Taiping agreed to fight Goshu Miu under the Red Lion Ghost King’s terms, hoping to protect Xuanyuan Xueluo and prevent another reset in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower. After securing a promise of help for his companions, he led the group out of the mountain, while the Tower Spirit announced a reward if he won.

• Gu Qingcheng told Xu Taiping that the tower erased memories and returned climbers to earlier layers, and explained that saving Xuanyuan Xueluo was key to reaching the Ninth Layer.
• Xu Taiping agreed to the Red Lion Ghost King’s deal and demanded that Goshu Miu be restricted to fighting with qi and blood, physique, and martial arts.
• Xu Taiping used his Beast Cage Battle victory to ask the Red Lion Ghost King to protect him and his companions, and the Ghost King promised to help them escape Black Mountain’s blockade or send them out of Guifang if Xu Taiping won.
• The Red Lion Ghost King gave Xu Taiping a lock of his hair to use when Goshu Miu’s clone came looking for him.
• Xu Taiping told the surviving Helian Clan Guifang Hunters that they were leaving the mountain.
• The Tower Spirit announced that Rusty Lion would receive a treasure from Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland and take the Azure Dragon Armor to the Eighth Layer if he defeated Goshu Miu.

Goshu Miu arrived at Black Wind Valley to claim his Life-bound Item and subdued the black hound guarding the entrance. When the blood mist cleared, Xu Taiping, still disguised as Helian Su, appeared with the surviving Helian Clan disciples and a group of refugees.

• Helian Zhi accompanied Goshu Miu and Guifang clan elders into Black Wind Valley, where Goshu Miu said he feared unforeseen trouble before recovering his Life-bound Item.
• The black hound attacked Helian Zhi, but Goshu Miu drove it back with his Gang Qi and froze it into stone with ghostly energy.
• Goshu Miu praised the Helian Clan and offered Helian Su a place under his command in the campaign against the Southern Kingdom, angering the Wutu Clan elders.
• An explosive blast sent the blood mist receding, revealing Xu Taiping, disguised as Helian Su, with the surviving Helian Clan disciples and a group of refugees.

Xu Taiping, disguised as Helian Su, used the Red Lion Ghost King’s Beast-Trapping Power to cage the valley entrance and force Goshu Miu into a fight. Goshu Miu recognized that Xu Taiping was an Otherworlder and demanded his name before agreeing to battle.

• Goshu Miu probed Xu Taiping’s aura, but the Red Lion Ghost King’s power concealed his identity.
• Xu Taiping approached Goshu Miu with the Black Skull and secretly invoked a vow to trap everyone at the valley entrance and compel Goshu Miu to fight.
• The Red Lion Ghost King’s Beast-Trapping Power formed a cage around the valley exit, and Xu Taiping challenged Goshu Miu to a contest of blood qi and physique.
• Helian Zhi attacked Xu Taiping, but the Red Lion Ghost King struck him into the ground and declared that Goshu Miu would die if he refused the fight.
• Goshu Miu identified Xu Taiping as an Otherworlder and demanded his name before he would fight.

Xu Taiping revealed himself as the Otherworlder Rusty Lion and fought Goshu Miu in the Beast Cage. After initially knocking Goshu Miu down, Xu Taiping was struck by Goshu Miu’s Golden Essence Physique and sent flying into the cage.

• Xu Taiping confirmed he was Rusty Lion and revealed his Python Flood Dragon Physique, shocking Helian Zhi and the other clan elders.
• Goshu Miu challenged Xu Taiping, and Xu Taiping struck him twice with the Great Sage Fist: Baxia Form before knocking him down with an Awakened Flood Dragon Realm punch.
• Goshu Miu sprang back up and traded punches with Xu Taiping, then attacked with a hidden fist and revealed his Golden Essence Physique.
• Goshu Miu broke through Xu Taiping’s Mountain-Bearing Form and punched him into the Beast Cage.
• Ye Chensha watched through the Haotian Mirror and cried out that they should not have provoked Goshu Miu.

Fairy Lingyue and Ye Chensha watched Xu Taiping challenge Goshu Miu and learned that Goshu Miu could trap outside cultivators’ divine souls forever. After Goshu Miu battered Xu Taiping, Xu revealed a Golden Essence physique of his own, leaving Ye Chensha stunned.

• Ye Chensha warned Fairy Lingyue that Goshu Miu had killed many Northern Garrison Manor heirs and could seal the divine souls of outside cultivators in his Wangchuan Ghost Eye.
• Fairy Lingyue concluded that Xu Taiping must have had an important reason to accept the fight despite the danger.
• Goshu Miu struck Xu Taiping hard enough to break his blocking forearm, and Ye Chensha explained that Goshu Miu had a Golden Essence physique.
• Xu Taiping took another blow to the chest, but his Cloud Silver physique left him unharmed.
• Goshu Miu battered Xu Taiping until his skin split, then Ye Chensha saw Xu's arms turn golden and realized he had reached the Golden Essence Realm.

Xu Taiping used his Golden Essence Realm-tempered arms and Great Sage Fist to break through Goshu Miu’s golden physique, only for Goshu Miu to reveal powerful martial techniques and speak as though possessed by other Martial Gods. As Xu Taiping struggled against Dugu Ye’s Thousand Palms Move Mountains, Gu Qingcheng told him that Dugu Ye was helping him.

• Xu Taiping drove Goshu Miu into a Beast Cage pillar with a relentless barrage of Great Sage Fist strikes, breaking through his golden physique.
• Fairy Lingyue realized that Xu Taiping’s Blood Qi Tempering Method worked well with the Flame Emperor Body Tempering Art, while Ye Chensha feared Xu Taiping would die in the match.
• Xu Taiping broke Goshu Miu’s arm, but Goshu Miu blocked his next punch with a golden bell phantom and called himself Zhu Kaishan, the Golden Bell Martial God.
• Goshu Miu then identified himself as Dugu Ye and unleashed the Thousand Palms Move Mountains technique against Xu Taiping.
• Gu Qingcheng told Xu Taiping that Dugu Ye had once perished in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower and was helping him, leaving Xu Taiping confused about Goshu Miu’s changing identities.