Chapter Summaries

Old Smoky Ghost broke Xia Qi’s Immortal-Trapping Sword attack and nearly killed him, revealing that Xu Taiping had deliberately placed a powerful Grade A ghost creature among the Eight Views Dao Palace’s opponents. When Liu Qingyuan pressured Xu Taiping to use the Azure Dragon Token to strengthen Xia Qi and the others, Xu Taiping complied, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Old Smoky Ghost shattered Xia Qi’s Immortal-Trapping Sword radiance, but Xia Qi escaped with a Substitute Talisman that swapped him with another cultivator, whom Old Smoky Ghost killed and swallowed.
• Mu Yun, Ji Ye, and Mu Yuchen concluded that Xu Taiping had encountered Old Smoky Ghost in the Snow Domain and deliberately set a trap for the Eight Views Dao Palace.
• Zhao Linglong and the Azure Profound Sect leaders realized Xu Taiping had planned to outmaneuver the Eight Views Dao Palace, while Liu Qingyuan decided to test him by demanding he strengthen Xia Qi.
• Xu Taiping recognized the pressure tactic but raised every Azure Dragon Armor wearer’s cultivation by one tier except his own, despite the risk of losing the Azure Dragon Token.

Xia Qi and the Eight Views Dao Palace cultivators fought Old Smoky Ghost with the Immortal-Trapping Sword Formation, but his ghost power reflected harm back onto attackers and overwhelmed them. As the survivors begged Xu Taiping to save them, every watcher turned toward him.

• Liu Qingyuan approved of using the Azure Dragon Token to raise Xia Qi and the others’ cultivation, while Guangyuanzi worried about the criticism it might bring.
• Xia Qi struck Old Smoky Ghost with the Immortal-Trapping Sword, but Old Smoky Ghost revealed that anyone who harmed him suffered the same injury and severed Xia Qi’s head.
• Old Smoky Ghost shattered the Immortal-Trapping Sword Formation, killed Huang Jinpeng and the sword cultivators, and trapped the remaining Eight Views Dao Palace disciples.
• The surviving disciples pleaded with Xu Taiping to save them, drawing the attention of everyone watching through the spirit mirrors.

Xu Taiping watched Old Smoky Ghost kill the trapped Eight Views Dao Palace disciples and turn their flesh, blood, and Primordial Spirits into tobacco, while the captives begged him for help. The chapter left Xu Taiping still unmoved as Xiahou You wondered whether Old Smoky Ghost’s Ghost Power resembled the origin power of a Demon Seed of the Nine Abysses.

• Xiahou Qingyuan realized Xu Taiping had let the Eight Views Dao Palace disciples’ pleas go unanswered so Old Smoky Ghost could expose their fate.
• The trapped disciples begged Xu Taiping to save them or kill them, but Old Smoky Ghost impaled them, severed their heads, and fastened the heads to his waist.
• Old Smoky Ghost ground one disciple’s head into tobacco and smoked it, causing a figure of white smoke resembling the victim to form at his feet.
• The heads pleaded with Xu Taiping to intervene, and Huang Jinpeng offered anything the Youyun Heaven Huang Household owned, but Xu Taiping remained calm and silent.
• Old Smoky Ghost ground Huang Jinpeng’s head into tobacco and smoked it, prompting Xiahou Qingyuan to remark on the torment and Xiahou You to ask whether his Ghost Power resembled a Nine Abysses Demon Seed’s origin power.

Xu Taiping watched Old Smoky Ghost kill the Eight Views Dao Palace cultivators, saying it was not yet time to save them. When he finally attacked, he shattered Old Smoky Ghost’s smoke and sent him flying, leaving the onlookers wondering whether he meant to kill the Ghost King.

• Xiahou Qingyuan and Xiahou You recognized Liu Qingyuan’s accusation as an attempt by the Eight Views Dao Palace to turn the tower climbers against Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping told Liu Qingyuan that he would save the cultivators when the time came, then watched as Old Smoky Ghost killed the remaining Eight Views Dao Palace disciples.
• Mu Yun argued that Xu Taiping would need to defeat Old Smoky Ghost to earn the other cultivators’ willing obedience, while Mu Yuchen and Ji Ye doubted he would do so.
• Xu Taiping charged at Old Smoky Ghost, smashed through his smoke attacks, and struck him with Baxia, sending the Ghost King tumbling thousands of zhang.
• Ji Ye realized Xu Taiping had waited for the right moment, and Mu Yuchen wondered whether he intended to kill Old Smoky Ghost.

Xu Taiping attacked Old Smoky Ghost with his blade and fists, using Mysterious Origin Avatars to absorb the ghost’s imitated counterattacks. After identifying how Old Smoky Ghost’s ghost power worked, Xu Taiping pulverized his body, but Old Smoky Ghost challenged him to withstand the copied force of his own next strike.

• Xu Taiping slashed Old Smoky Ghost with the Chaotic Cicada Stance and Demon-Slaying Blade, while a Mysterious Origin Avatar took the ghost’s copied counterattack.
• Xu Taiping struck Old Smoky Ghost with Baxia Form, then used another Mysterious Origin Avatar to withstand the resulting backlash.
• Xu Taiping explained that Old Smoky Ghost used invisible smoke and his tobacco pipe to imitate attacks rather than drawing on the tower’s Heavenly Dao laws.
• Xu Taiping unleashed Nothing Can Stand Against Evil with the Bull Demon phantom and pulverized Old Smoky Ghost’s broken body.
• Old Smoky Ghost remained composed and challenged Xu Taiping to endure the copied force of his next all-out strike.

Xu Taiping defeated Old Smoky Ghost by steadily improving his fist technique, then found the ghost sealed inside its tobacco pipe. He threatened to destroy the pipe unless Old Smoky Ghost returned the Primordial Spirits he had swallowed, surprising onlookers who wondered why Xu Taiping wanted to save the Eight Views Dao Palace disciples.

• Xu Taiping's phantom Bull Demon grew stronger during its exchange with Old Smoky Ghost's phantom and shattered it with a punch.
• Xu Taiping struck Old Smoky Ghost's body to dust, leaving only the tobacco pipe that served as his true body and sealing artifact.
• The Azure Profound Sect leaders praised Xu Taiping's improved fist techniques and realized he had used the battle to establish his authority.
• Xiahou Qingyuan and Xiahou You watched Xu Taiping roast the tobacco pipe with thunderflame as Old Smoky Ghost threatened to fight back.
• Xu Taiping demanded that Old Smoky Ghost release the Primordial Spirits of the Eight Views Dao Palace disciples he had swallowed, leaving Yun Shiliu questioning his reason.

Xu Taiping used the Azure Dragon Token to expel Xia Qi, Huang Jinpeng, and the Eight Views Dao Palace disciples who had disobeyed his orders, warning the other tower climbers against defying him. He called the remaining climbers to gather before the Bronze Gate so they could cross the Snow Domain together, while Yun Shiliu sought information about him and waited to see what he would do next.

• Old Smoky Ghost released the primordial spirits of Xia Qi, Huang Jinpeng, and the other cultivators after they could no longer endure his thunderflame.
• Xia Qi and Huang Jinpeng threatened Xu Taiping and tried to leave the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, but Xu Taiping used the Azure Dragon Token to stop them.
• Xu Taiping expelled the Eight Views Dao Palace disciples, including Huang Jinpeng and Xia Qi, for disobeying orders and entering the ninth layer without authorization.
• Xiahou Qingyuan praised Xu Taiping for using the expulsions to warn the other prodigies against defying the Azure Dragon Armor's orders.
• Xu Taiping asked the cultivators who had reached the eighth layer to gather at the Bronze Gate, and Yun Shiliu ordered Elder Fang to find information about him.

Xu Taiping received powerful rewards from the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, then faced the Ghost Armor Army emerging from the Snow Domain. He prepared to hold off the massive formation before it could reach the three hundred Azure Dragon Armor.

• The Tower Spirit rewarded Rusty Lion with a boost to his cultivation, a Dragon Blood Pill, Immortal Spirit Marrow, and an Immortal-Inviting Talisman that could not be used inside the tower.
• Xu Taiping used the Wind-Suppressing Pearl to break apart a fireball launched by ghost kings approaching through the snow.
• Xu Taiping realized the ghost horde had emerged early and summoned a Vermilion Bird fireball, then merged it with the Wind-Suppressing Pearl's wind essence.
• Xu Taiping sent two Mysterious Origin Avatars to smash incoming fireballs and block the ghost army's barrage.
• Xu Taiping saw the full Ghost Armor Army Formation assembled within one or two li and remembered the terrifying ghost king guarding its last rank.

Xu Taiping used 𩙥 Flame and Immortal Marrow Liquid to build a vast city of fire that could shelter the three hundred Azure Dragon Armor troops from the Ghost Horde. He faced the powerful White-Robed Ghost King at the city gate, and Gu Qingcheng arrived to find them surrounded.

• Xu Taiping destroyed the heavily armored Ghost Kings with 𩙥 Flame and swallowed the Immortal Marrow Liquid to strengthen his fire.
• He expanded the 𩙥 Flame into a city to keep the Ghost Armor troops from taking the ground where the Azure Dragon Armor troops needed to form up.
• The White-Robed Ghost King struck the fire wall with a Ghost Divine Weapon spear and called for Xu Taiping to come out and die.
• Gu Qingcheng appeared inside the city, rushed to Xu Taiping, and turned pale when she saw the Ghost King army outside.

Xu Taiping and Gu Qingcheng held back the Snow Domain Ghost Kings while preparing more than three hundred Azure Dragon Armor warriors to fight. As the cultivators gathered, Xu Taiping earned their acknowledgment and prepared to use his will to command their battle intent.

• The Ghost Kings used a black iron pillar to batter Xu Taiping’s 𩙥 Flame wall, and he warned that the barrier might not withstand many more blows.
• Gu Qingcheng summoned Nanxing, Elder Zhang, Zhai Mo, Yuzhu, and the other cultivators, then explained that she would coordinate their formations while Xu Taiping faced the enemy commander.
• Xu Taiping considered using his divine soul and will to make the Azure Dragon Armor warriors submit and resonate with him through the Azure Dragon Token.
• More than three hundred cultivators arrived, and Xu Taiping shattered the gang wind they unleashed with a strike of his sheathed Thunder Soul Blade.
• The gathered cultivators saluted Xu Taiping, and Gu Qingcheng told them that he had held the Ghost Kings back with his 𩙥 Flame.

As the ghost horde attacked the city, Xu Taiping coordinated with the cultivators and learned which allies had reached the tower. Luo Cheng and Yun Ye challenged his ability to command Azure Dragon battle intent, and Xu Taiping tossed them the Azure Dragon Token to prove themselves.

• Gu Qingcheng urged the cultivators to finish arranging their battle formation as the ghost horde struck the city with iron pillars.
• Xu Taiping greeted Zhao Linglong, Jiang Zhi, and Dugu Qingxiao, who told him to focus on his duties as Azure Dragon Armor Commander.
• Xu Taiping learned Dongfang Yuejian could use her One Stroke Opens Heaven Art inside the tower and realized it could help against the powerful ghost creatures.
• Luo Cheng and Yun Ye demanded that Xu Taiping demonstrate his ability to mobilize Azure Dragon battle intent, saying they should take command if he could not.
• Xu Taiping challenged Luo Cheng and Yun Ye to prove their confidence and tossed Luo Cheng the Azure Dragon Token.

Xu Taiping let Luo Cheng and Yun Ye test whether they could summon stronger battle intent with the Azure Dragon Token, believing that reaching the tower mattered more than who commanded the Azure Dragon Armor. Luo Cheng formed an Azure Dragon Phantom that terrified the ghost creatures, and Yun Ye began his own attempt.

• Gu Qingcheng warned Xu Taiping against yielding the Azure Dragon Token, but he explained that their goal was to cross the Snow Domain and climb the tower, not to claim the token for himself.
• Luo Cheng summoned battle intent from the Azure Dragon Armor, forming a vast Azure Dragon Phantom above the army formation.
• The dragon's roar shook Xu Taiping and frightened the ghost creatures attacking the wall, while Gu Qingcheng worried that Luo Cheng might outperform him.
• Luo Cheng passed the Azure Dragon Token to Yun Ye, who summoned a flying sword and swept sword intent across the army formation.

Xu Taiping took the Azure Dragon Token and summoned an immense, lifelike azure dragon battle intent, surpassing Yun Ye’s display and bringing its pupils to life. The dragon roared and soared into the air, leaving Yun Ye, Luo Cheng, and Gu Qingcheng stunned.

• Yun Ye summoned a powerful azure dragon battle intent but failed to form its pupils, then acknowledged Luo Cheng’s defeat.
• Yun Ye offered to keep the Azure Dragon Token until they left the Snow Domain, but Xu Taiping said he wanted to try commanding the soldiers first.
• Xu Taiping drew on his blade intent and summoned battle-intent pillars from more than three hundred Azure Dragon Armor soldiers almost instantly.
• Xu Taiping commanded the azure dragon, whose pupils lit up before it roared and soared into the air.

Xu Taiping discovered that battle intent came not only from a commander’s divine soul but also from the conviction that united the soldiers. As the 𩙥 Flame Wall collapsed, he rallied the Azure Dragon formation to charge the ghost horde.

• Xu Taiping realized his battle intent needed to draw on the soldiers’ shared conviction, not just his own divine soul.
• Xu Taiping channelled memories of the Jade Bone Grass and Red Armor Cavalry, strengthening the soldiers’ resolve and making the azure dragon grow horns.
• Xu Taiping’s military might compelled Gu Qingcheng, Yun Ye, and Luo Cheng to rejoin the formation.
• Xu Taiping drew the Thunder Soul Blade, commanded the generals, and rallied the Azure Dragon Armor soldiers as the 𩙥 Flame Wall weakened.
• The 𩙥 Flame Wall collapsed, and Xu Taiping ordered the formation to follow him and slay the ghosts; the azure dragon roared at the horde.

Xu Taiping and the Azure Dragon Armor formation fought the White-Robed Ghost King and his Ghost Armor Army, breaking through the first enemy ranks before the ghost army counterattacked. As the White-Robed Ghost King targeted a separated group of Azure Dragon warriors, Xu Taiping ordered them to defend, and Azure Dragon battle intent dramatically strengthened their protection.

• Xu Taiping’s Azure Dragon battle intent devoured the White-Robed Ghost King’s snow-wolf attack, but the king used Bubble Phantom to escape his slash.
• Xu Taiping ordered the Azure Dragon Armor formation to charge, and Gu Qingcheng led three hundred warriors in scattering the Ghost King’s first formation.
• The White-Robed Ghost King rallied hundreds of Ghost Kings and launched a stronger counterattack that disrupted the Azure Dragon formation and isolated more than a dozen warriors.
• The White-Robed Ghost King appeared above the isolated warriors and attacked them with spear shadows, aiming to divide and defeat the Azure Dragon forces in smaller groups.
• Xu Taiping ordered the isolated warriors to raise their defenses, and Azure Dragon battle intent surged around them, strengthening their gang qi, treasures, and bodies many times over.

Xu Taiping led the Azure Dragon Armor warriors against the White-Robed Ghost King, protecting his allies and repeatedly breaking through the ghost army. With Luo Cheng's Bronze Bell trapping the ghost king, Xu Taiping launched another charge to finish the fight.

• Xu Taiping used battle intent to shield the Azure Dragon Armor warriors cut off by the White-Robed Ghost King, then slashed apart the ghost kings blocking them.
• Luo Cheng and Yun Ye joined forces to block the White-Robed Ghost King's attack, giving Xu Taiping time to strike and cleave off half the ghost king's body.
• Xu Taiping led three hundred Azure Dragon Armor warriors in a charge that scattered the White-Robed Ghost King's Ghost Armor warriors.
• Luo Cheng trapped the White-Robed Ghost King and more than eight hundred ghost kings beneath his Bronze Bell, then urged Xu Taiping to kill the ghost king.
• Xu Taiping led the Azure Dragon Armor warriors in another charge, collapsing the ghost army formation.

The Azure Dragon Armor soldiers overwhelmed the Ghost Horde, but the White-Robed Ghost King repeatedly escaped their attacks with his Foam Shadow power. Xu Taiping rushed to protect Gu Qingcheng and continued trying to kill the Ghost King, whose fate remained unresolved as a dragon’s roar and a crane’s cry rang out.

• The Azure Dragon Armor Army Formation crushed the Ghost Horde after Luo Cheng used the Bronze Bell to keep the enemies from scattering, and Gu Qingcheng realized the value of battle formations and battle intent against powerful foes.
• The White-Robed Ghost King evaded the army formation’s attacks with Foam Shadow, while Gu Qingcheng worried that Xu Taiping’s standing among the soldiers would suffer if he failed to kill him.
• The White-Robed Ghost King ambushed Gu Qingcheng, but Xu Taiping intercepted the strike and wounded him before he escaped again.
• The White-Robed Ghost King gathered more than a hundred Ghost Kings and led an attack that destroyed a unit of over thirty Azure Dragon Armor soldiers.
• After Luo Cheng warned that he might have to drive the White-Robed Ghost King out of the formation, Xu Taiping struck him and sent him toward its edge, but the Ghost King escaped once more as a blade cry, dragon’s roar, and crane’s cry erupted.

Xu Taiping fused his first-tier Blade Domain with the Demon-Slaying Blade Crane-Listening Stance and killed the White-Robed Ghost King. He withdrew his Blade Domain afterward, reflecting that the technique was devastating but dangerous to use casually.

• Xu Taiping activated his Unceasing Blade Domain and severed one of the White-Robed Ghost King's arms, but the Ghost King escaped with his Foam Shadow Ghost Power.
• The White-Robed Ghost King taunted Xu Taiping while waiting for the Second-Tier Ghost Armor Army Formation to arrive.
• Xu Taiping vanished amid crane cries and used his blade to cut through the Ghost King's protective bubble and body before the Ghost King could escape.
• Yun Ye and Gu Qingcheng recognized that Xu Taiping had created a unique blade technique by fusing his Blade Domain with his blade arts.
• Xu Taiping withdrew his Blade Domain and noted that the Crane-Listening Stance decided life and death in one strike but could not distinguish friend from foe.

Xu Taiping and the Azure Dragon Armor soldiers faced a second Ghost Armor army whose overwhelming battle intent sealed their formation. As the enemy’s giant black palm crushed their Azure Dragon Phantom, Xu Taiping prepared to direct the battle intent with his Mysterious Origin Avatar and ordered everyone to charge.

• Xu Taiping returned to the Azure Dragon formation as a second wave of Ghost Armor troops, led by a towering commander, approached.
• Gu Qingcheng formed ranks, and the three hundred Azure Dragon Armor soldiers raised an Azure Dragon Phantom from their battle intent.
• A giant black palm formed from the Ghost Armor army’s battle intent clashed with the Azure Dragon Phantom and shattered its scales, preventing the soldiers from charging.
• Gu Qingcheng, Yun Ye, and Luo Cheng urged Xu Taiping to retreat or let Luo Cheng’s group hold off the enemy, but Xu Taiping refused and told them to prepare to charge.
• Xu Taiping raised the Azure Dragon Token with his Mysterious Origin Avatar, and Gu Qingcheng realized he intended to direct the Azure Dragon Battle Intent with both himself and his Avatar.

Xu Taiping and his Mysterious Origin Avatar joined forces to break the second layer of restraints on the Azure Dragon Armor soldiers’ battle intent, allowing their formation to shatter the black palm and clash with the Ghost Armor Army. As the battle intent stalemated and Xu Taiping struggled against the giant Qingmian Ghost, he revealed his Ultimate Realm Dragon Whale Physique.

• Xu Taiping and his Mysterious Origin Avatar worked together to break the second layer of heaven-and-earth restraints on the Azure Dragon Armor soldiers’ battle intent.
• Luo Cheng used the Scenery Cloud Bell’s Immortal Caressing the Crown Origin Law to restore Xu Taiping’s strength, and the Azure Dragon Armor soldiers’ battle intent broke free and knocked back the black palm.
• Xu Taiping rallied the three hundred soldiers, and their solidified azure dragon battle intent tore apart the black palm before charging toward the Ghost Armor Army.
• The Azure Dragon Armor and Ghost Armor formations’ battle intent met in a stalemate, so Xu Taiping challenged the giant Qingmian Ghost directly.
• The Qingmian Ghost blocked Xu Taiping’s blade and battered him with rapid punches, breaking his blade force repeatedly.
• Xu Taiping suddenly grew to over ten zhang tall, revealing his Ultimate Realm Dragon Whale Physique and astonishing Luo Cheng and the others.