Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping repeatedly broke Du Ziyin’s sword attacks with increasingly powerful Great Sage Fist techniques. Du Ziyin summoned the Immortal Sword Molten Gold and again demanded that Xu Taiping concede.

• Mu Yun explained that Xu Taiping’s precise control of Qi and Blood Power and his mastery of fist techniques gave his punches their extraordinary might.
• Xu Taiping shattered Du Ziyin’s sword attacks with Baxia and then used the Raging Thunder Form to destroy his five flying swords.
• Mu Yun recognized Xu Taiping’s near-ultimate mastery of the Great Sage Fist, unaware that Xu Taiping had inherited the Ancestral Sage Fist.
• Du Ziyin summoned the Immortal Sword Molten Gold, whose flames rapidly produced many flying swords of sword Qi.
• Du Ziyin pointed Molten Gold at Xu Taiping and demanded once more that he concede before the watching world.

Xu Taiping fought Du Ziyin by striking down his sword attacks with the Golden Essence-tempered fists of the Raging Thunder Form. He advanced to the Purple Gold Realm and sent Molten Gold flying again, leaving a crack in the Immortal Weapon’s blade.

• Xu Taiping faced Du Ziyin’s rain of flaming sword qi and shattered hundreds of sword shadows with a Golden Essence-tempered punch.
• Du Ziyin continued attacking with Molten Gold, and Xu Taiping broke through the remaining sword shadows with another punch.
• Du Ziyin transformed into a flaming tiger that swallowed Xu Taiping, but Xu Taiping burst out and sent Molten Gold flying with Baxia of the Great Sage Fist.
• Du Ziyin launched Molten Gold at Xu Taiping again, and Xu Taiping revealed his Purple Gold Realm fists and struck the sword away.
• Molten Gold flew off with a crack in its blade.

Xu Taiping battered Du Ziyin and shattered the tip of his Immortal Sword Molten Gold, leaving him exposed. After Xu Taiping stopped at Shen Li’s plea, Du Ziyin attacked him by surprise, but was sent tumbling across the platform as Xu Taiping brought his fist down again.

• Du Ziyin repeatedly drove the damaged Immortal Sword Molten Gold at Xu Taiping, who punched it away and cracked it further.
• Xu Taiping pinned the sword with Raging Thunder Form and struck it eight hundred times, breaking off its tip and dispersing its spiritual power.
• Shen Li asked Xu Taiping to spare Du Ziyin, and Xu Taiping withdrew his fist before landing a final blow.
• Du Ziyin sprang up and slashed at Xu Taiping with the broken sword, prompting Zhao Linglong to curse and Dugu Qingxiao to summon his sword.
• Du Ziyin was knocked backward across the Sword-Suppressing Sword Platform, and Xu Taiping appeared above him and brought his fist down.

Xu Taiping defeated Du Ziyin in the Sword Inquiry, forcing him to concede after repeatedly stabbing him with a broken sword. Shen Li then challenged Xu Taiping, who faced him with the blade intent he had honed in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower.

• Xu Taiping used overwhelming speed to stop Du Ziyin, then picked up the broken Immortal Sword Molten Gold and demanded that Du Ziyin concede.
• Du Ziyin refused, so Xu Taiping stabbed him twice and threatened to continue until Du Ziyin finally cried out that he conceded.
• Shen Li accused Xu Taiping of fighting viciously and challenged him to a Sword Inquiry, while Xu Taiping accepted and warned that he could meet Shen Li's challenge to settle life and death.
• Xu Taiping faced Shen Li with one hand on the Water-Cutting Blade, and his surging blade qi and killing intent silenced the crowd at Five Elders Peak.

Xu Taiping battled Shen Li on the Sword-Suppressing Sword Platform, using the Demon-Slaying Blade’s techniques and lightning movement to pressure him. Shen Li’s Boiling Stone and Melting Gold true intent weakened Xu Taiping and scorched his blade, but Xu Taiping’s blade qi transformed into lightning, leaving Mu Yun to suspect he had comprehended a Blade Immortal Realm profound connection.

• Shen Li summoned the Falling Cloud Sword and sent a storm of sword strikes at Xu Taiping, who countered with the Chaotic Cicada Stance.
• Shen Li’s Life-Bound Flying Sword shattered Xu Taiping’s blade shadows and pressed an attack toward his throat, but Xu Taiping used the Shentu Bow’s Power of Lightning Flash to close the distance.
• Xu Taiping unleashed the Crane-Listening Stance and drove Shen Li backward with a rapid barrage of strikes.
• Shen Li invoked Boiling Stone and Melting Gold, turning his sword-qi clouds into fiery rain that burned away Xu Taiping’s blade qi and scorched the Water-Cutting Blade.
• Xu Taiping’s aura surged, and his blade qi and Water-Cutting Blade transformed into flickering lightning, prompting Mu Yun to wonder if he had comprehended the Blade Immortal Realm profound connection.

Xu Taiping cut through Shen Li’s Fire Rain with Blade Qi Thunderclap, but his coughing and blood loss revealed the strain of his fight. Shen Li unleashed his Torrential Rain technique, and Xu Taiping endured the sword-like downpour while continuing to test whether he could fight through the Eight Soul Seals’ agony without relying on pills or Immortal Spirit Marrow.

• Xu Taiping appeared before Shen Li and knocked away his Life-Bound Flying Sword with a slash, breaking through the Fire Rain with Blade Qi Thunderclap.
• Mu Yun, Ji Ye, and Mu Yuchen praised Xu Taiping’s blade control, then worried that he had used a forbidden method when he began coughing blood again.
• Shen Li unleashed Torrential Rain, summoning flaming sword-qi raindrops that tore apart Xu Taiping’s gathered blade qi and wounded him and the Water-Cutting Blade.
• Xu Taiping steadied himself beneath the downpour and resolved to defeat Shen Li using only his own qi and blood and true essence, so he could test whether he could fight through the Eight Soul Seals’ pain.

Xu Taiping endured the backlash of his soul seals and Shen Li’s relentless attacks until his blade force overwhelmed Shen Li’s sword intent. He severed Shen Li’s Life-Bound Flying Sword and held the Water-Cutting Blade to his neck, forcing Shen Li to concede.

• Xu Taiping severed one of Shen Li’s fire dragons but was struck by the other and badly wounded.
• Xu Taiping slashed the remaining fire dragon and dispersed Shen Li’s fiery rain, while both fighters vomited blood from their injuries.
• Shen Li recklessly attacked again, but Xu Taiping continued fighting despite the escalating backlash from the Book of Life and Death’s soul seals.
• Xu Taiping’s battle intent grew as Shen Li became frightened, and Xu Taiping’s blade force began suppressing Shen Li’s sword intent.
• After five successive slashes, Xu Taiping severed Shen Li’s Life-Bound Flying Sword and held his blade against Shen Li’s neck.
• Xu Taiping asked whether Shen Li conceded, and Shen Li nodded and conceded.

Xu Taiping defeated Shen Li, but Mu Yun and the others feared that his choice to become a pure Martial Artist had cut him off from the Path to Immortality. Mu Zhixing warned them not to associate with him, yet Mu Yun realized his father had been signaling them to pass along a secret danger while evading Demon Emperor Zhanyang’s surveillance.

• Mu Yun, Mu Yuchen, and Ji Ye discussed Xu Taiping’s victory and worried that his injuries and unstable path would limit his future strength.
• Mu Zhixing appeared in the Spirit Mirror and warned the three that Xu Taiping’s pure Martial Artist path could attract the Nine Abysses, whose Demon Cultivators hunted such people as nourishment for powerful Demon Seeds.
• Mu Zhixing told them not to reveal the danger to anyone, especially Xu Taiping, then vanished from the Spirit Mirror.
• Mu Yun inferred that his father secretly wanted him to warn Xu Taiping and began writing a message on a Jade Slip.
• Mu Yun explained that Demon Emperor Zhanyang’s Thousand Mountains Map could monitor the sect leaders across Peerless Nether Heaven, leaving the others afraid their conversation was being watched.

Huang Que learned that thirteen cultivators had devastated the Great Liang Kingdom and joined the Nine Prefectures’ effort to aid the dead and demand justice. He realized Xu Taiping’s hometown lay in Great Liang and decided to tell him in person.

• Huang Que received Liu Chuxuan’s report that thirteen cultivators from three heavens had slaughtered nearly the entire population of Great Liang.
• Liu Chuxuan showed Huang Que evidence of the devastation and said the Nine Prefectures had identified ten perpetrators, while the other three might belong to Wang You Valley.
• Liu Chuxuan asked Huang Que to coordinate with the Azure Profound Sect to help the wronged souls pass on before pursuing the thirteen cultivators.
• Huang Que vowed that the Nine Prefectures would demand justice for Great Liang’s dead.
• Huang Que remembered that Xu Taiping’s hometown, Green Ox Village, was in Great Liang and chose to tell him face-to-face.

Xu Taiping prepared to slay the Evil God haunting his shadow while discussing the limits of his medicines and plans to travel to the Withered Stone Sea. As the Evil God began to emerge, Blade Ghost offered to pull them both into his Blade Domain if Xu Taiping gave him a Soulfire Stone.

• Fairy Lingyue warned Xu Taiping that his medicines could briefly let him unleash seventy percent of his cultivation, but he must not take them more than three times a day.
• Xu Taiping noted that his Dragon Gall Stone was nearly spent, and Fairy Lingyue said they needed to seek more materials in the Secret Realms of Outer Heaven and the Withered Stone Sea.
• Xu Taiping asked about Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland's warning that restraining the Soul Seal meant contending with Heaven, and Fairy Lingyue said she did not understand because many of her memories were missing.
• Black smoke poured from Xu Taiping's shadow, and Fairy Lingyue warned that the Evil God was preparing to attack early.
• Blade Ghost asked Xu Taiping for a Soulfire Stone so he could pull Xu Taiping and the Evil God into his Blade Domain.

Xu Taiping accepted Blade Ghost’s offer to fight the evil god inside the Infernal Blade Prison in exchange for a Soulfire Stone, while Blade Ghost promised to retrieve Hidden Immortal Wine. In the prison, Xu Taiping unleashed his full power and split the evil god’s figure with a single strike.

• Fairy Lingyue demanded that Blade Ghost explain why he wanted Xu Taiping to spend a Soulfire Stone, and Blade Ghost said he hoped to regain memories by watching Xu Taiping fight the evil god.
• Blade Ghost offered to retrieve a remaining half-flask of Hidden Immortal Wine from the ninth layer of his Infernal Blade Prison if Xu Taiping agreed.
• Xu Taiping gave Blade Ghost a Soulfire Stone, and Blade Ghost pulled Xu Taiping, Fairy Lingyue, and the evil god into the fourth layer of the Infernal Blade Prison.
• Blade Ghost warned that the evil god could devour his blade domain and that they would be consumed if Xu Taiping failed to slay it.
• Xu Taiping drew his saber, activated the Heavenly Wrath Four Symbols Art, and cleaved the evil god’s black figure in two.
• Blade Ghost marveled at Xu Taiping’s power, and Fairy Lingyue said the soul seal kept him from being the strongest in the Spirit Refining Realm of the Shangqing Realm.

Xu Taiping fought the Evil God, who had taken Shang Jiu’s form and borrowed his Blade Immortal Sabre Arts, then trapped him with the mountain spirit blade domain and attacked with Blade Opens the Netherworld. Blade Ghost recognized the technique but could not remember when or where he had seen it.

• The Evil God took Shang Jiu’s form and met Xu Taiping’s attack with Shang Jiu’s Blade Immortal Sabre Arts.
• Xu Taiping broke through Shang Jiu’s blade attack and struck him down, but the Evil God blocked a follow-up slash with a Black Ice Crystal.
• Xu Taiping used a Mysterious Origin Avatar to draw out the Black Ice Crystal, then wounded the Evil God with the Thunder Soul Blade.
• Xu Taiping activated the mountain spirit blade domain and pinned the Evil God to the ground.
• Xu Taiping sent a Mysterious Origin Avatar to use Blade Opens the Netherworld against the trapped Evil God.
• Blade Ghost recognized Blade Opens the Netherworld but clutched his cheeks and said he could not remember where he had seen it.

Xu Taiping fought the evil god’s newly manifested divine-human variant bone, pushing forward despite being torn apart by its Heavenly Dao power. Just as he hit the bone’s ten-zhang barrier, four divine manifestations rose from the netherworld qi and empowered him with Four Symbols Divine-Human Back-Pushing.

• Fairy Lingyue jolted Blade Ghost out of his mental turmoil as the evil god’s golden rune skeleton reshaped its body into a giant divine-human variant bone.
• The evil god used Heavenly Dao power to repel Xu Taiping’s Crossing the Gods Style, but Xu Taiping pressed forward and suffered deep wounds.
• Xu Taiping kept pushing the Yellow Springs Skiff despite losing both legs, until an invisible barrier stopped him ten zhang from the evil god.
• Fairy Lingyue and Blade Ghost prepared to rescue Xu Taiping, but four divine manifestations rose from the netherworld qi and pushed power into his back.
• Fairy Lingyue recognized Xu Taiping’s empowerment as Four Symbols Divine-Human Back-Pushing.

Xu Taiping split the Evil God's Divine-Human Variant Bone and watched the Evil God's remnant soul enter the Netherworld Gate, but the Lotus Eye seized control of his body and swallowed the soul. The Lotus Eye warned Xu Taiping that their fates were bound together, then began revealing its overwhelming power as his vision dimmed.

• Xu Taiping used the Power of Teaching the Dao to cleave the Divine-Human Variant Bone in two, and Netherworld Water swept the battlefield.
• A chained, antlered youth appeared aboard the Yellow Springs Skiff and asked Xu Taiping how he would ferry him across now that the Netherworld was gone.
• As the skiff entered the Netherworld Gate, Xu Taiping's left eye grew hot, and a fissure opened in the Fourth Layer of the Infernal Blade Prison.
• The Lotus Eye appeared in the fissure, controlled Xu Taiping, and declared that his body would ferry those the Heavenly Dao would not.
• The Lotus Eye drew the skiff and the Evil God's remnant soul into Xu Taiping's left eye, explaining that sealing the soul would cost Gold Essence Coins but not burden him otherwise.
• After Xu Taiping threatened to gouge out his eye, the Lotus Eye said the Heavenly Dao regarded them as one and warned that their bond made harming it dangerous; Xu Taiping's vision then dimmed.

Xu Taiping woke after the Lotus Eye struck a bargain with him, promising divination powers in exchange for a long sleep and taking his Gate-Sealing Stones. He learned he had been unconscious for nearly five days and examined the small amount of Hidden Immortal Wine Blade Ghost had brought him.

• The Lotus Eye offered Xu Taiping a curse mark that would grant him divination abilities if he fed Gold Essence Coins into his left eye, and Xu Taiping accepted the bargain.
• The Lotus Eye took Xu Taiping's three Gate-Sealing Stones, promising to help him defeat enemies below Spirit-Shocking when it awoke.
• Xu Taiping woke in Fan Tower, found the jade box empty, and told Fairy Lingyue what the Lotus Eye had done.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that the Lotus Eye shared Xu Taiping's fortune and said she could restrain it only after he reached the Transformation Realm and she gained a usable body.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping he had been unconscious for nearly five days and gave him the Hidden Immortal Wine Blade Ghost had brought; Xu Taiping found less than half a gourd remained.

Xu Taiping confirmed that the gourd contained Hidden Immortal Wine and learned how its power could replenish the energy consumed by the Eight Soul Seals. After agreeing to meet Huang Que, he heard that thirteen cultivators from other heavens had slaughtered the Great Liang Kingdom.

• Xu Taiping drank Hidden Immortal Wine and found that it replenished his qi and blood, true essence, and divine essence.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that Shang Jiu and the little girl were sealed in Dark Crystal, and Xu Taiping decided to leave them sealed until after his journey to Peerless Nether Heaven.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that Huang Que had repeatedly come looking for him, and Xu Taiping agreed to meet him.
• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that thirteen cultivators from Peerless Nether Heaven, Youyun Heaven, and Chenglong Heaven had slaughtered the Great Liang Kingdom under Cloud Lodge Immortal Mountain's jurisdiction.

Xu Taiping learned that Green Ox Village and the Great Liang Kingdom had been burned by cultivators searching for a treasure, and he saw the destruction recorded in Huang Que’s Spirit Mirror. Huang Que asked him to investigate the three unidentified arsonists believed to be connected to Wang You Valley, giving him a Moonshadow Stone showing their attack on Great Liang’s imperial palace.

• Huang Que showed Xu Taiping a recording of Green Ox Village being consumed by True Fire, and Xu Taiping recognized the green ox statue at the bottom of the village pond.
• Xu Taiping asked whether the arsonists had been identified, and Huang Que said ten of the thirteen cultivators were known while three were only tentatively linked to Wang You Valley.
• Huang Que explained that the cultivators had likely been searching for treasure, though the Nine Prefectures still lacked confirmation and planned to consult divination experts.
• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that the known culprits were being pursued across several prefectures and asked him to investigate the three unidentified cultivators.
• Huang Que gave Xu Taiping a Moonshadow Stone showing the three killing Great Liang’s ruler, torturing princesses, and burning tens of thousands of people in the imperial palace.

Xu Taiping learned that Great Liang's little princess was the only survivor of the palace fire and decided to visit her for clues. Before they could leave, Zhao Linglong reported finding three arsonist cultivators in Tianshui City, then was attacked as the villains revealed their fire was a smokescreen for a larger plan.

• Huang Que told Xu Taiping that Great Liang's little princess had survived with an Immortal Treasure but had lost her mind and refused to leave the palace ruins.
• Xu Taiping insisted on visiting the princess, and Huang Que explained that Zhao Linglong and Jiang Zhi were hunting an arsonist cultivator wounded by Senior A Meng.
• Zhao Linglong contacted Huang Que through the Spirit Mirror and reported finding three arsonists in Great Liang Tianshui City, adding that far more people were involved than the Nine Prefectures knew.
• A one-armed arsonist struck Zhao Linglong through the Spirit Mirror and threatened that no one from the Azure Profound Sect would leave Great Liang's ruins alive.
• Xu Taiping ordered Huang Que to take him to Tianshui City immediately, and Huang Que agreed.

Xu Taiping searched the ruins of Tianshui City for Zhao Linglong and learned the massacre may have been tied to a carefully planned scheme involving demon or heretical cultivators. He and Huang Que rescued an injured Azure Profound Sect disciple from beneath rubble, but the disciple was not Zhao Linglong, leaving her whereabouts unknown.

• Fairy Lingyue and Huang Que told Xu Taiping that the arsonists had used vicious Heaven Rank Thousand-Wound True Fire, which suggested a possible connection to demon or heretical cultivators.
• Huang Que explained that the Nine Prefectures had sent the Azure Profound Sect disciples to deal with the gathering wronged souls, while Xu Taiping warned that the massacre had been meticulously planned.
• Huang Que spotted the place where Zhao Linglong had been attacked, and Fairy Lingyue sensed an injured disciple beneath the rubble.
• Xu Taiping smashed apart the rubble, and Huang Que rescued the injured person before the stones fell.
• Xu Taiping saw that the injured person was an Azure Profound Sect disciple from Second Peak, but not Zhao Linglong.

Xu Taiping and Huang Que rescued the injured Azure Profound Sect disciple Li Muyang, who revealed that Xu Taiping’s example had inspired him to cultivate. When Xu Taiping touched Huang Que, the Lotus Eye showed him a vision of Li Muyang suddenly attacking Huang Que, leaving Xu Taiping to face the danger as the vision began to unfold.

• Xu Taiping prepared to give the unconscious Li Muyang a White Bone Pill, but Huang Que stopped him and stabilized Li Muyang’s qi and blood with silver needles.
• Li Muyang regained consciousness, thanked Huang Que, and recognized Xu Taiping as Eldest Senior Brother Taiping.
• Li Muyang told Xu Taiping that his example had encouraged him to resume cultivation and earn second place in the Seven Peaks Selection.
• Huang Que asked Xu Taiping for a White Bone Pill, and their hands touched as Xu handed it over.
• The Lotus Eye showed Xu Taiping a vision of Li Muyang recovering after taking the pill, then bursting blood spikes through Huang Que’s defenses and chest.
• Huang Que gave Li Muyang the White Bone Pill, and Li Muyang began recovering just as Xu Taiping had seen.