Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping received rewards for reaching the Tenth Layer and reunited with his senior siblings and allies. After leaving the snow domain, Chu Yinan and other Azure Dragon Armor cultivators asked him to remove their restraints so they could climb the tower independently.

• The Tower Spirit offered Xu Taiping three rewards, which he would receive together if he continued to the Eleventh Layer, and he chose to keep ascending.
• Xu Taiping returned to the exit and reunited with Dugu Qingxiao, Zhao Linglong, Jiang Zhi, and his friends.
• Gu Qingcheng watched Xu Taiping greet his allies and understood that his youthful spirit drove him to help Mysterious Wasteland Heaven.
• Chu Yinan thanked Xu Taiping for his help and asked him to release the Azure Dragon Tokens’ restraints, as agreed.
• Other Azure Dragon Armor cultivators joined Chu Yinan in asking to part ways, and Zhai Mo accused them of ingratitude.

Xu Taiping let Chu Yinan and the other cultivators leave the Azure Dragon Armor, and told its remaining members they could leave while keeping their military merit if they could challenge the Tenth Layer. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping asking Mu Yun whether he and his companions intended to stay.

• Chu Yinan asked to leave the Azure Dragon Armor, and Xu Taiping agreed, releasing him and his followers from their armor.
• Xu Taiping told the Azure Dragon Armor members they could leave freely and retain their military merit if they believed they could defeat the Seven Evils and the Blade Slave.
• Gu Qingcheng, Dugu Qingxiao, and Zhao Linglong recognized Xu Taiping's commitment to his original purpose, while Yun Ye and Luo Cheng thanked him for granting their wishes.
• Yun Shiliu and the elderly cultivator discussed Xu Taiping's character and the consequences for Yun Ye and Luo Cheng of choosing to leave him.
• Xu Taiping asked Mu Yun whether he, his sister, and their companion planned to leave the Azure Dragon Armor.

Xu Taiping and the remaining Azure Dragon Armor troops planned how to fight the Seven Evils guarding the Eight-Faced Tower. After assigning allies to the first six floors, Xu Taiping prepared to face the seventh-floor villain alone, while Chu Yinan challenged him to meet on the eighth floor.

• Mu Yun, Ji Ye, and Mu Yuchen chose to stay with Xu Taiping, and he welcomed them into the group crossing the bridge.
• Gu Qingcheng explained that the Seven Evils were each as strong as a Heaven Gazing Realm cultivator and organized the remaining fighters to face them floor by floor.
• Xuanzhi and the Cloud-Hidden Temple monks took responsibility for the first-floor villain, while Zhang Moyan, the five great temples' warrior monks, Dongfang Yuejian's group, Mu Yun's group, and Gu Qingcheng's group were assigned to floors two through six.
• Gu Qingcheng told Xu Taiping he would have to handle the seventh-floor villain himself, and he accepted the plan.
• As Xu Taiping's party entered the Eight-Faced Tower, they encountered Chu Yinan, who said they would meet on the eighth floor, and Xu Taiping agreed.

Xu Taiping entered the Eight-Faced Tower while Xuanzhi and the Scripture Guardians fought Evil Monk Zhichen on the first floor. Xu Taiping reached the sixth floor, where his companions prepared to face its guardian so he could continue to the seventh.

• Xu Taiping entered the tower with Zhao Linglong and Gu Qingcheng as a violent aura surged from within.
• Evil Monk Zhichen attacked Xuanzhi, who dodged his first strike and blocked his next with his vajra body.
• The Scripture Guardians attacked Zhichen, but he engulfed them in flames until Xuanzhi grew to twenty feet tall and slammed Zhichen into the floor.
• Zhichen struggled to rise, but Xuanzhi overpowered him again, and the door to the second floor opened.
• Xu Taiping passed through the first five floors and reached the sixth, where Zhao Linglong said his companions would open the seventh-floor door if they lasted ten exchanges against its guardian.

Xu Taiping urged Dugu Qingxiao, Jiang Zhi, and Zhao Linglong to trust Gu Qingcheng as they faced the Sixth Evil, Greedy Snake. The Azure Profound Sect disciples attacked with surprising power, and Zhao Linglong summoned a Fire-Armored Divine General as the fight continued.

• Xu Taiping warned his companions not to intervene in the sixth match, while Gu Qingcheng explained Greedy Snake’s strength and his Ten Fingers Linked to the Heart True Intent.
• Gu Qingcheng was astonished by the strength of Dugu Qingxiao, Jiang Zhi, and Zhao Linglong and wondered whether the Azure Profound Sect had gained a powerful opportunity.
• Greedy Snake threatened the group, but Dugu Qingxiao immediately struck him and opened a severe wound.
• Greedy Snake shattered Dugu Qingxiao’s Sword Intent with a punch, but Jiang Zhi followed with a powerful sword strike that stripped flesh from his body.
• Zhao Linglong summoned a thirty-foot-tall Fire-Armored Divine General, astonishing Gu Qingcheng.

Zhao Linglong fell under Greedy Snake’s Ten Fingers Linked to the Heart true intent after pursuing him for merit, and Gu Qingcheng explained how it worked. Determined not to hold Xu Taiping back, Zhao Linglong severed all five fingers of one hand and collapsed in agony.

• Zhao Linglong’s Fire-Armored Divine General split Greedy Snake’s chest and head, but Gu Qingcheng shielded Zhao Linglong with a talisman as the divine general vanished.
• Greedy Snake rose again behind a seven-colored mist, and his defense stopped Dugu Qingxiao’s sword strike.
• Gu Qingcheng revealed that Greedy Snake’s true intent protected him while his ten fingers remained unbroken and affected those who coveted merit; Greedy Snake broke one finger and caused Zhao Linglong to suffer a wound to her heart.
• Gu Qingcheng explained that the true intent could be undone only by either Greedy Snake or his target severing all ten fingers, warning that each cut would cause unbearable pain.
• Zhao Linglong rejected Xu Taiping’s plea to retreat and cut off all five fingers on one hand before collapsing after screaming and vomiting blood.

Gu Qingcheng suppressed Greedy Snake and urged Xu Taiping to continue to the Seventh Floor, while Zhao Linglong endured the pain of severing her fingers. There, Xu Taiping encountered the Infant Ghost, but Duan Xiaoyu, disguised as a green-clad girl, attacked it first and tore into its body with a powerful saber strike.

• Dugu Qingxiao and Jiang Zhi kept attacking Greedy Snake until the door to the Seventh Layer opened, while Zhao Linglong severed her fingers to resist his control.
• Gu Qingcheng used a mountain character talisman to pin Greedy Snake down and told Xu Taiping to go upstairs.
• Xu Taiping saw Zhao Linglong suffering from the pain, and she challenged him not to look down on her, so he continued upstairs.
• On the Seventh Floor, Xu Taiping recognized the childlike Infant Ghost as the next enemy and approached it.
• Duan Xiaoyu, disguised as a green-clad girl, rushed past Xu Taiping and struck the Infant Ghost with her saber, leaving its body badly mangled.

Duan Xiaoyu held off the Infant Ghost so Xu Taiping could enter the Eight-Faced Tower’s Eighth Layer. There, Xu Taiping watched the Blade Slave defeat Yun Ye with ordinary saber moves and recognized a resemblance to the Blade Ghost before the Blade Slave ordered him inside.

• Duan Xiaoyu fought the Infant Ghost and confirmed her identity to Xu Taiping, explaining that she had been studying saber techniques under Martial God Jiang Cuicui.
• Duan Xiaoyu urged Xu Taiping to proceed upstairs while she kept fighting the Infant Ghost, and he trusted her and entered the Eighth Layer.
• Xu Taiping found Yun Ye battling the blind Blade Slave while Third Prince Chu Yinan and Luo Cheng watched.
• The Blade Slave broke through Yun Ye’s defenses with ordinary saber moves and cut him in half.
• Xu Taiping recognized that the Blade Slave’s slash resembled the Blade Ghost’s, and the Blade Slave called for him to enter.

Xu Taiping entered the Eight-Faced Tower and watched Blade Slave defeat Luo Cheng after Luo Cheng used the Scenery Cloud Bell and six crown caresses to amplify his strength. Blade Slave then called on Third Prince Chu Yinan to fight.

• Xu Taiping greeted Blade Slave and learned from Yun Ye that defeated cultivators could not leave the tower until everyone who entered together had been defeated.
• Blade Slave summoned Luo Cheng to fight, and Luo Cheng used the Scenery Cloud Bell’s sound waves to press against Blade Slave’s protective blade gang.
• Luo Cheng performed Immortal Caressing the Crown six times, boosting his aura and using golden fist shadows to suppress Blade Slave’s blade force.
• Blade Slave unleashed a powerful slash that split Luo Cheng and the Scenery Cloud Bell, defeating him.
• Blade Slave sheathed his saber and beckoned Third Prince Chu Yinan to take his turn.

Chu Yinan challenged the Blade Slave on the Eight-Faced Tower’s eighth floor and unleashed the Heavenly Shadow Sword. As Chu Yinan’s next attack converged on the Blade Slave, Xu Taiping sensed an unusual transformation in the Blade Slave’s blade intent and blade force.

• In the imperial palace, Chu Zhaoyuan, Zhu Huai, and High Immortal Qionghua discussed Chu Yinan’s chances and the rumored conditions for passing the challenge.
• Chu Yinan entered the eighth-floor hall, greeted the Blade Slave, and prepared to fight.
• Chu Yinan unleashed the Heavenly Shadow Sword, plunging the tower into darkness.
• The Blade Slave drew his saber and clashed with Chu Yinan’s first sword strike, shattering both attacks in a powerful blast.
• Chu Yinan sent streaks of silver sword light converging on the Blade Slave, while Xu Taiping sensed a sudden change in the Blade Slave’s blade intent and blade force.

The Blade Slave overwhelmed Chu Yinan with blade qi and killed him, leaving the observers shocked by the strength of his blade intent. When Xu Taiping faced the Blade Slave next, the guardian asked his name and let him advance directly to the eleventh layer without a fight, puzzling everyone watching.

• The Blade Slave used manifested blade qi to break Chu Yinan’s Heavenly Shadow Sword attacks and killed him with a single saber strike.
• King Chu Zhaoyuan, Zhu Huai, and Sword Immortal Qionghua discussed the Blade Slave’s strength and planned to prepare for another challenge.
• The Blade Slave pointed his saber at Xu Taiping, asked his name, and identified him as a disciple of the Azure Profound Sect.
• The Blade Slave told Xu Taiping he could proceed to the eleventh layer without fighting, astonishing the palace observers and cultivators watching through Spirit Mirrors.
• Xu Taiping asked the Blade Slave why he did not have to fight.

Blade Slave recognized that Xu Taiping had sensed changes in his blade intent and offered him passage to the eleventh layer, while expelling Chu Yinan for challenging his decision. Xu Taiping declined the direct ascent and chose to cross blades with Blade Slave, a choice Fairy Lingyue believed would prepare him for the eleventh layer's guardian.

• Blade Slave told Xu Taiping that sensing changes in his blade intent qualified him to ascend to the eleventh layer, then expelled Chu Yinan for protesting.
• The King of Chu, Zhu Huai, and Qionghua debated whether Xu Taiping had truly sensed Blade Slave's intent or had secured a secret deal.
• Blade Slave opened a door for Xu Taiping and allowed the other Azure Dragon Armor wearers to join him, though they could only assist him.
• Xu Taiping thanked Blade Slave but refused the offered passage, asking to cross blades with him and saying he would withdraw if he lost.
• Fairy Lingyue approved of Xu Taiping's choice, believing the duel was essential preparation for facing the eleventh layer's guardian.

Xu Taiping gave up his chance to ascend the tower directly so he could test blades with Blade Slave and sharpen his skills before the eleventh floor. Their first exchange sent Blade Slave crashing into a wall, prompting him to open his golden double pupils and unleash a far greater aura.

• Xu Taiping asked Blade Slave to test blades with him, hoping to gauge the strength ahead and gain insight into blade qi profound connection.
• Blade Slave agreed, destroyed the door behind him, and warned Xu Taiping that failure would get him expelled from the Mysterious Wasteland Tower for ten years.
• In the Southern Chu imperial palace, Zhu Huai and Sword Immortal Qionghua recognized that Xu Taiping intended to use Blade Slave as a whetstone for the eleventh floor.
• Blade Slave began the duel by spreading flames of blade qi throughout the Main Hall, and Xu Taiping countered with his Mountain Spirit blade domain.
• Xu Taiping blocked Blade Slave's slash and struck him hard enough to send him crashing into a wall.
• Blade Slave opened his golden double pupils, causing his aura to surge and his blade flames to sweep toward Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping blocked Blade Slave’s forceful attack on the eighth layer of the Eight-Faced Tower, but Blade Slave then revealed control of blade qi so precise that his crimson blade flames became countless tiny blades. The observers realized Blade Slave had reached an ultimate level of mastery as his blade tide rushed toward Xu Taiping.

• Blade Slave opened his double pupils and unleashed a powerful strike, which Xu Taiping blocked with Chaotic Cicada Stance.
• Xu Taiping’s Mysterious Origin Avatar struck Blade Slave with Mountain Spirit Power and smashed him into the tower floor.
• Sword Immortal Qionghua, Zhu Huai, and the King of Chu discussed Xu Taiping’s talent and regretted that Nine Nether’s Bone-Shattering Curse might limit his future.
• Blade Slave spread crimson blade flames across the eighth layer and warned Xu Taiping against relying too heavily on his blade domain.
• Sword Immortal Qionghua enlarged the Spirit Mirror image and saw that the apparent bloody mist was made of countless tiny blade shadows.
• Blade Slave flicked his blade and sent the tiny blade shadows surging toward Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping faced the Blade Slave’s overwhelming Blade Qi and tried to achieve Blade Qi Profound Connection by fusing the Shentu Bow’s Power of Thunder with his blade Gang. As his Protective Gang Qi broke layer by layer, he recalled the Blade Slave’s changing Blade Intent and Blade Force, searching for the missing key to the technique.

• The Blade Slave’s mistlike Blade Qi broke through Xu Taiping’s Blade Domain and shattered two layers of his Protective Gang Qi.
• Sword Immortal Qionghua found no way to counter the Blade Qi, and Zhu Huai said Xu Taiping needed to master Blade Qi Profound Connection.
• Xu Taiping decided to attempt Blade Qi Profound Connection rather than rely on his Blade Domain to cut through the mist.
• The Blade Slave’s attack shattered two more layers of Xu Taiping’s Protective Gang Qi as Xu Taiping drew the Shentu Bow’s Power of Thunder into his Qi Mansion.
• Xu Taiping’s blade Gang destabilized when the Power of Thunder entered his Qi Mansion, so he recalled the Blade Slave’s emotional changes in Blade Intent and Blade Force for a clue.

Xu Taiping tried to bring his blade qi to Profound Connection by merging the power of thunder into his Qi Mansion, using his blade intent and blade force to control it. As the Blade Slave’s attack overwhelmed his defenses, Xu Taiping found a new approach and began another attempt, drawing the Blade Slave’s attention.

• Xu Taiping sensed the Blade Slave’s blade intent and blade force, then used an image of a sandstorm to give his own blade force and blade intent emotion.
• Xu Taiping drew the power of thunder into his Qi Mansion, briefly calming the blade qi before it exploded again and left him spitting blood.
• Xu Taiping realized he might need to use an emotion suited to thunder, such as a spring thunderstorm or summer lightning, to merge the power of thunder with his blade qi.
• The Blade Slave’s blade mist shattered Xu Taiping’s final layer of protective gang qi, but his Profound Ice Armor encased him and blocked the attack.
• Xu Taiping drew all the power of thunder in his Primordial Spirit into his Qi Mansion and imagined lightning striking Green Ox Village, causing his blade intent and blade force to surge like a thunderstorm.
• The Blade Slave sensed the change in Xu Taiping’s aura, opened his eyes, and watched him intently.

Xu Taiping endured the Blade Slave’s blade qi while seemingly testing his blade, as observers doubted he could survive the trial. When the blade mist finally engulfed him, azure lightning tore through it, revealing that he had not yet been defeated.

• On the sixth floor of the Eight-Faced Tower, Gu Qingcheng and Dugu Qingxiao wondered why Xu Taiping had not countered the Blade Slave’s blade qi, and Gu Qingcheng suspected he was testing his blade.
• In the Southern Chu imperial palace, Zhu Huai predicted Xu Taiping might become a Blade Immortal after fighting the Blade Slave more times, but Sword Immortal Qionghua doubted he could advance because his Spirit Bone had shattered.
• The King of Chu and Sword Immortal Qionghua saw profound ice crack around Xu Taiping and assumed his defeat would end the tower attempt.
• Xu Taiping remained with his eyes shut and his saber raised as lightning flickered around him and the blade mist shattered the ice.
• When the blood-red blade mist engulfed Xu Taiping, streaks of azure lightning tore through it, astonishing Sword Immortal Qionghua.

Xu Taiping manifested blade qi profound connection by transforming his blade qi into lightning, allowing him to counter Blade Slave’s blood-colored blade mist. Blade Slave escalated to golden blade flames and offered to use only the Life-Taking Blade’s defensive forms for three moves, leaving Xu Taiping to face a legendary art said to kill Yin Gods.

• Xu Taiping’s blade qi transformed into lightning and scattered the blood-colored blade mist, impressing the observers watching through the Spirit Mirror.
• Gu Qingcheng identified Xu Taiping’s technique as the rare lightning transformation of blade qi profound connection.
• Blade Slave turned his blade qi into golden flames, but Xu Taiping revealed his Ultimate Realm Python Flood Dragon Physique and drove the flames back with his lightning blade qi.
• Blade Slave announced he would use only the Life-Taking Blade’s defensive forms for three moves before resorting to its killing moves.
• Gu Qingcheng explained that the Life-Taking Blade, also called the God-Slaying Blade, was created to kill Yin Gods and drive them back into the Wilderness.

Blade Slave used the Life-Taking Blade’s Returning Blade to Sheath Form, which built layers of protective blade qi as he sheathed his weapon. Xu Taiping gathered his blade lightning into his Thunder Soul Blade and began preparing his unceasing blade domain’s strongest forms, while Blade Slave’s defense continued to grow.

• Gu Qingcheng warned that Blade Slave’s Wind Earl Aspect and Life-Taking Blade would be difficult for Xu Taiping to break, though Dugu Qingxiao and Gu Qingcheng thought his Crane-Listening Stance and Startling Cicada Form might help.
• Blade Slave manifested the Wind Earl Aspect, a divine beast Feilian, then assumed a defensive stance and named his move Returning Blade to Sheath Form.
• Gu Qingcheng explained that every fraction of the blade entering its sheath formed another layer of protective blade qi, which would merge into an almost impossible-to-break defense once fully sheathed.
• Xu Taiping drew the suspended blade lightning into his Thunder Soul Blade and transformed his mountain spirit blade domain into his unceasing blade domain.
• Blade Slave began sheathing his blade, and as it entered by half, his Wind Earl Aspect generated at least fifty layers of protective blade qi around him.

Xu Taiping failed twice to break Blade Slave’s Returning Blade to Sheath Form, even after strengthening his physique and blood qi cultivation. As he prepared another strike, his blood qi body tempering unexpectedly reached the Immaculate Realm.

• Xu Taiping’s Startling Cicada Form failed to pierce Blade Slave’s golden sphere, and the recoil blasted his sword arm into bloody mist.
• Gu Qingcheng, Zhao Linglong, and Dugu Qingxiao discussed Blade Slave’s strength while the Old Palace Master explained how quickly he could sheath his blade.
• Xu Taiping raised his physique to the Dragon Whale Physique and his blood qi body tempering to the Purple Gold Realm, then attacked with Crane Shadow Form.
• Blade Slave sheathed his blade in only three breaths and repelled Xu Taiping’s strike again, leading the Old Palace Master and Yun Shiliu to assume the match was decided.
• As Xu Taiping gathered his blade force for another strike, his Dragon Whale scales turned moon white, and Yun Shiliu recognized that his blood qi body tempering had reached the Immaculate Realm.