Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping used the Cloud-Cloaking Umbrella to protect Huang Que from the Blood Spear Gu erupting from Li Muyang, who was in too much pain to be saved. Before Xu Taiping could grant him a quick death, Li Muyang revealed that Senior Sister Linglong planned to meet him in Sunset Glow Valley.

• Li Muyang's chest burst open and blood spears attacked Huang Que, but Xu Taiping blocked them with the Cloud-Cloaking Umbrella.
• More blood spears pierced Li Muyang, and Huang Que explained that the incurable Blood Spear Gu would slowly consume him.
• Xu Taiping agreed to end Li Muyang's suffering, but Li Muyang insisted on speaking first.
• Li Muyang told Xu Taiping that Senior Sister Linglong had hidden him and planned to meet him in Sunset Glow Valley, three hundred li west.
• Xu Taiping interrupted Li Muyang when he tried to continue speaking as the Blood Spear Gu worsened.

As Li Muyang lay dying, he asked Xu Taiping to find his reincarnation and to win the Nine Prefectures Sword Chief title, proving that anyone with a spirit bone could rise to the top. After Li Muyang died, Xu Taiping vowed revenge and learned from the curse’s visions that the one-armed arson cultivator had tortured him to target Dugu Qingxiao and the Azure Profound Sect.

• Xu Taiping promised to seek Li Muyang’s reincarnation and take him as his disciple, spirit bone or not.
• Li Muyang asked Xu Taiping to claim the Nine Prefectures Sword Chief title, and Xu Taiping agreed before Li Muyang died.
• Xu Taiping collected Li Muyang’s remains and vowed to make his killer suffer ten times the pain Li Muyang had endured.
• Xu Taiping’s curse inscription showed the one-armed arson cultivator torturing Li Muyang and blaming the Azure Profound Sect for having Dugu Qingxiao.
• The one-armed arson cultivator said he would kill Zhao Linglong and Xu Taiping after making Dugu Qingxiao watch other disciples die.

Xu Taiping learned that Lü Qianshou and the Faceless Tower had trapped Zhao Linglong and the other Azure Profound Sect disciples in Sunset Glow Valley. He and Huang Que headed there, and Xu Taiping planned to turn the ambush against its perpetrators.

• The Lotus Eye revealed that Lü Qianshou and the Faceless Tower had lured Zhao Linglong, Xu Ziyan, and other Azure Profound Sect disciples into a trap, intending to use them to force Dugu Qingxiao to surrender.
• Xu Taiping realized the Faceless Tower's scheme was connected to his actions in Youyun Heaven and told Fairy Lingyue he would leave the Azure Profound Sect after resolving the crisis.
• Xu Taiping asked Fairy Lingyue how to handle the Qi-Dispersing Gu, and she explained that Blade Qi Thunderclap or Gu-Removing Poison Pills could kill the insects.
• Xu Taiping and Huang Que flew toward Sunset Glow Valley, where Huang Que pointed out the valley entrance.

Xu Taiping and Huang Que reached Sunset Glow Valley, where Zhao Linglong and Jiang Zhi were sheltering from the Arsonists. Jiang Zhi warned that Setting Sun Mountain would be attacked after sunset and gave Xu Taiping an Evil-Repelling Pill, while he privately remained determined to draw his hidden enemies out.

• Xu Taiping and Huang Que identified themselves at the valley entrance and were welcomed by Zhao Linglong.
• Xu Taiping told Zhao Linglong that Li Muyang had died after a Heretical Cultivator planted Blood Spear Gu inside him, and Zhao Linglong blamed the One-Armed Man.
• Jiang Zhi said at least three hundred Arsonists were stalking them and predicted an attack on Setting Sun Mountain after sunset.
• Jiang Zhi urged everyone to prepare to retreat through a hidden exit, while Huang Que said he had sent a Nine Prefectures Message Talisman for reinforcements.
• Xu Taiping privately confirmed to Fairy Lingyue that events matched the Lotus Eye's foresight and that he still intended to draw his enemies out.
• Jiang Zhi gave Xu Taiping an Evil-Repelling Pill for the heavy nighttime miasma, and Zhao Linglong said everyone else had taken one.

Xu Taiping followed Jiang Zhi toward a concealed exit while secretly using the Lotus Eye to test Zhao Linglong and learning that the Lotus Eye’s curse-mark abilities carried a costly backlash. The Lotus Eye warned him that the group’s objective was a dangerous “thing,” then vanished, leaving Xu Taiping shaken as he entered the cavern with Zhao Linglong and Huang Que.

• Xu Taiping swallowed a Misfortune-Repelling Pill and secretly sent blade qi thunderclap into his meridians while Jiang Zhi explained why they needed to wait until night to leave Sunset Glow Valley.
• Xu Taiping used the Lotus Eye to confirm Zhao Linglong was genuine, then paid Gold Essence Coins to dispel the backlash from the ability.
• The Lotus Eye warned Xu Taiping that someone coveted a certain thing and left him a Divine Soul Mark with instructions for when he encountered it.
• Jiang Zhi stopped at the concealed cavern entrance and stayed behind, claiming she could use an Earth-Escaping Talisman to reach the others if necessary.
• Zhao Linglong led Xu Taiping and Huang Que into the cavern while Xu Taiping left a concealed Mysterious Origin Avatar outside.

Xu Taiping and his companions reached the cavern where Xu Ziyan and the Azure Profound Sect disciples were sheltering, but a sudden rockslide buried Sunset Glow Valley and trapped them inside. Zhao Linglong rushed to save Jiang Zhi, who had been left outside, as Xu Ziyan stopped her.

• Xu Ziyan told Xu Taiping and Huang Que that the disciples were waiting for Dugu Qingxiao and reinforcements, and might have to use a secret passage if help did not arrive by nightfall.
• Xu Taiping noticed a Message-Transmitting Formation in the cavern, and Xu Ziyan explained that Jiang Zhi had set it up to contact Dugu Qingxiao and the Nine Prefectures.
• Boulders began crashing down around Sunset Glow Valley, and the guards fled into the cavern on Jiang Zhi's orders.
• A disciple told Zhao Linglong that Jiang Zhi had been trapped outside while covering their retreat, and Huang Que confirmed that rocks had buried the valley and blocked the cavern entrance.
• Zhao Linglong charged toward the entrance to rescue Jiang Zhi, but Xu Ziyan stopped her with a wall of sword qi.

Xu Taiping and the Azure Profound Sect disciples were trapped in the Karst Cave after a Gurong Tribe warrior attacked them. A woman posing as Jiang Zhi revealed herself as Liu Baizhi of the Faceless Tower and identified Xu Taiping as the Golden Scale Champion they had been hunting.

• Xu Ziyan stopped Zhao Linglong from trying to rescue Jiang Zhi and led the disciples toward the Karst Cave's hidden exit, with Xu Taiping and Huang Que guarding the rear.
• The disciples were thrown back into the cave, followed by Zhao Linglong and Xu Ziyan, as a giant Gurong Tribe warrior charged in with a bone hammer.
• Zhao Linglong summoned a Golden Armor Warrior to shield them, and Xu Ziyan led the disciples in forming the Shangqing Cloud-Piercing Sword Formation against the warrior.
• A woman emerged from the ground disguised as Jiang Zhi, then revealed that she was Liu Baizhi, a Faceless One of the Faceless Tower.
• Liu Baizhi recognized Xu Taiping as the Golden Scale Champion, and Xu Taiping challenged her to try to harm the disciples.

Liu Baizhi revealed that she had weakened the Azure Profound Sect disciples with poison gu and helped the Gurong Tribe strongman destroy their sword formation. Xu Taiping struck back but was also brought down by the gu, while Fairy Lingyue warned him to remove the insects before they multiplied further.

• Xu Taiping stalled Liu Baizhi while his clone watched for Dugu Qingxiao and the other Azure Profound Sect reinforcements to arrive.
• Liu Baizhi snapped her fingers, weakening the disciples and shrinking their Shangqing Cloud-Piercing Sword Formation, which the Gurong Tribe strongman shattered with his hammer.
• Huang Que realized that the white pills Liu Baizhi had given them contained poison gu, but she struck him into the cave wall before he could act.
• Xu Taiping attacked Liu Baizhi with a Baxia Form, broke her protective gang qi and arm, then was struck into the cave wall when the gu disrupted his power.
• Liu Baizhi advanced on Xu Taiping as Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong were held back by the Gurong strongman, and Fairy Lingyue urged him to clear the multiplying gu from his body.

Xu Taiping used his physical strength to overpower Liu Baizhi, then drew the Gurong Tribe Strongman away from the wounded Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong. After the Strongman badly injured him, Xu Taiping saw through his clone that Dugu Qingxiao had drawn out Lü Qianshou and the hidden Faceless Tower assassins.

• Liu Baizhi attacked Xu Taiping with her Qi-Dispersing Gu, but Xu Taiping countered with powerful punches using only the qi and blood in his tendons, bones, and muscles.
• Xu Taiping broke Liu Baizhi's arm and sent her flying, forcing her to call on Zeba to kill him.
• Xu Taiping blocked Zeba's Bone Hammer and deliberately drew the Gurong Tribe Strongman away from the wounded Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong.
• The Gurong Tribe Strongman smashed through Xu Taiping's punch, fractured his wrist, and struck him into the cave ceiling.
• Xu Taiping saw through his clone that Dugu Qingxiao had drawn out Lü Qianshou and the Faceless Tower assassins hiding nearby.

Xu Taiping used Mountain-Splitting Force and Charging Ox Breaks the Formation to injure the Gurong Tribe strongman, then pretended to be exhausted. After the strongman resumed attacking him, Xu Taiping endured the blows to keep Liu Baizhi and the strongman focused on him instead of Zhao Linglong and the others.

• Xu Taiping dodged the Gurong Tribe strongman's attacks and struck his head with Ox Horn Crashes the Mountain, using Mountain-Splitting Force to disrupt his qi and blood.
• Xu Taiping unleashed all one hundred and eight punches of Herd of Oxen Charges the Formation, cracking the strongman's arm bones and driving him into the rock wall.
• Xu Taiping fell to the ground and let Liu Baizhi believe he had exhausted his qi and blood, but rolled aside when the strongman tried to stomp on him.
• The Gurong Tribe strongman struck and repeatedly stomped Xu Taiping while Xu Taiping curled up and endured the blows to protect Zhao Linglong and the others from attack.

Xu Taiping endured Zeba’s attacks while waiting for Liu Baizhi to use the Spirit Mirror to show Dugu Qingxiao that the Azure Profound Sect disciples were trapped. After Xu Taiping revealed his strength and called for his Second Senior Brother to strike, Dugu Qingxiao unleashed his sword against the Faceless Tower assassins in Sunset Glow Valley.

• Xu Taiping endured Zeba’s blows while waiting for Liu Baizhi to contact Dugu Qingxiao through the Spirit Mirror.
• Liu Baizhi showed Lü Qianshou the imprisoned disciples, and Lü Qianshou threatened to kill them unless Dugu Qingxiao surrendered.
• Lü Qianshou’s countdown made Dugu Qingxiao attack him, while Liu Baizhi ordered Zeba to kill Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping caught Zeba’s fist, broke free, and knocked the Gurong Tribe Strongman to the ground.
• Xu Taiping called to Dugu Qingxiao to fight, and Dugu Qingxiao answered by unleashing red-lotus sword energy across Sunset Glow Valley.

Liu Baizhi tried to use Zeba to hold Xu Taiping while she seized Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong, but Xu Taiping's clones and Mysterious Origin Avatar delayed her attack. Xu Taiping broke free from Zeba by unleashing his qi and blood, then strengthened his arms to counter Zeba's renewed assault.

• Liu Baizhi ordered Zeba to restrain Xu Taiping and lunged toward Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong to take them hostage.
• Xu Taiping's clone hurled the Water-Cutting Blade at Liu Baizhi, and his Mysterious Origin Avatar followed with a powerful strike that forced her to defend herself.
• Zeba crushed Xu Taiping in his embrace after Liu Baizhi promised to release his two children, and his blood mist made his grip even stronger.
• Xu Taiping circulated his qi and blood, forced Zeba's arms apart, and showed that his reserves matched those of a Gurong Tribe Strongman.
• Xu Taiping turned his arms bronze and fractured Zeba's wrists as Zeba tried to trap him again.
• Zeba swung his elbow at Xu Taiping, who countered with Ox Horn Crashes the Mountain.

Xu Taiping killed Liu Baizhi and learned that Lü Qianshou had escaped to the Green Bamboo City Ruins, where the Faceless Tower planned to regroup. Lü Qianshou arrived at the ruins and assured the waiting Faceless Ones that he had not been followed.

• Xu Taiping used the Baxia Form and the Cicada Cry Form to defeat Zeba and kill Liu Baizhi as she threatened him.
• Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong watched in shock as Dugu Qingxiao’s crimson lotus sword strike cut down the fleeing Faceless Ones in Sunset Glow Valley.
• Xu Taiping let Lü Qianshou escape because Liu Baizhi’s curse mark had revealed his planned meeting with another Thousand Heads at the Green Bamboo City Ruins.
• Xu Taiping told Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong to remove their gu insects, then went to check on Dugu Qingxiao.
• Lü Qianshou reached a secret chamber beneath the Green Bamboo City Ruins and told the elderly Faceless One that Tower Master Song’s Azure Luan Talisman had kept him from being followed.

Xu Taiping and the Nine Prefectures captured Lü Shaohai, Lu Chengman, and their Faceless Tower accomplices beneath Green Bamboo City. After discovering Lü Shaohai had planted a Blood Spear Gu in Li Muyang, Xu Taiping seized him despite warnings to leave his punishment to the Nine Prefectures.

• Dugu Qingxiao and Xu Taiping's forces surrounded Green Bamboo City, forcing Lü Shaohai, Lu Chengman, and the other Faceless Ones to surrender.
• Huang Que identified Lü Shaohai and Lu Chengman as Thousand Heads of the Faceless Tower's Fourth Floor and said they had revealed little about their activities.
• Xu Taiping searched Lu Chengman and found crimson pills containing Blood Spear Gu, then asked Lü Shaohai whether he knew Li Muyang.
• Lü Shaohai admitted he had planted a Blood Spear Gu in Li Muyang, and Xu Taiping grabbed him by the neck as the Lotus Eye revealed a divine soul mark.
• Huang Que urged Xu Taiping to let the Nine Prefectures handle Lü Shaohai, but Dugu Qingxiao stopped Huang Que from intervening as Lü Shaohai taunted Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping tortured Lü Qianshou with ten Blood Spear Gu and killed him despite Huang Que’s warning that he might know how to break the Bone-Shattering Curse. Before Lü Qianshou died, Xu Taiping revealed that he knew Tower Master Song was seeking the True Martial Great Emperor’s treasure and vowed to stop him in Great Liang.

• Dugu Qingxiao offered to take responsibility if Xu Taiping killed Lü Qianshou, but Xu Taiping said he would bear the consequences himself.
• Xu Taiping fed Lü Qianshou ten Blood Spear Gu, ignoring Huang Que’s plea to keep him alive for information about the Wang You Valley arsonists.
• Lü Qianshou offered to reveal a way to break the Bone-Shattering Curse, but Xu Taiping said he did not need it and used his True Essence to trigger the Gu.
• As blood spears burst through Lü Qianshou’s body, he warned that cultivators from the Azure Profound Sect and Nine Prefectures would die in Great Liang.
• Xu Taiping whispered that Tower Master Song was seeking the True Martial Great Emperor’s treasure and vowed to kill him and keep him from leaving Great Liang, terrifying Lü Qianshou.

Xu Taiping and Dugu Qingxiao destroyed Lü Qianshou and his primordial spirit, then Xu Taiping set out alone for Green Ox Village. He revealed to Fairy Lingyue that Tower Master Song and the other masterminds were there searching for the True Martial Black-Eagle Banner.

• Lü Qianshou died when the Blood Spear Gu burst from his body, and Xu Taiping cut down the blood spears before Dugu Qingxiao used a Spirit Mirror to burn Lü Qianshou’s primordial spirit.
• Xu Taiping threatened Lu Thousand Heads with Blood Spear Gu, but Huang Que stopped him from killing more Faceless Tower members.
• Xu Taiping told Dugu Qingxiao and Huang Que he wanted to travel alone to Green Ox Village, and they agreed to wait for him at the Great Liang Imperial Palace ruins.
• As Xu Taiping rode toward Green Ox Village, he told Fairy Lingyue that Tower Master Song and the other masterminds behind the fires were there.
• Xu Taiping revealed that the treasure they sought was the True Martial Black-Eagle Banner, shocking Fairy Lingyue.

Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue that the True Martial Black-Eagle Banner was a node in the True Martial Barrier and that he planned to face the treasure seekers using the Lotus Eye’s method, “Bow Upon Seeing the Banner.” Beneath Green Ox Village, six black-clad figures opened a hidden palace, claimed its mural techniques for Wang You Valley, and found the banner; Song Tianshu of the Faceless Tower stepped into its golden ripples to test its power.

• Xu Taiping explained to Fairy Lingyue that the Black-Eagle Banner was a formation node and that the Arsonists were searching for treasures buried by the True Martial Great Emperor.
• Xu Taiping assured Fairy Lingyue that the Lotus Eye had taught him a method to deal with the powerful treasure seekers: “Bow Upon Seeing the Banner.”
• Six black-clad figures opened a hidden passage beneath Green Ox Village and copied the cultivation techniques on its murals into Wang You Valley’s scrolls.
• The six broke through the stone doors and discovered a palace full of treasures, with the True Martial Black-Eagle Banner at its center.
• One figure lost a finger after touching the banner’s golden ripples, and the group agreed that the Faceless Tower would hold the banner for sixty years.
• Song Tianshu of the Faceless Tower entered the golden ripples and declared that he would test the True Martial Great Emperor’s Heavenly Might.

Song Tianshu and five other experts entered the hall to seek the True Martial Great Emperor’s treasures, but the Black-Eagle Banner unleashed waves and lightning of heavenly might against them. Song Tianshu used his Jade-Green Bracelets to summon a Jade Cauldron that blocked the lightning, though he warned the others to keep resisting as the banner’s power waned.

• Song Tianshu entered the hall and used his Fish-Scale Armor to withstand the Black-Eagle Banner’s golden ripples, prompting the other five experts to follow and search for treasures.
• The eagle embroidered on the banner cried out, causing its heavenly might to surge into golden waves that battered the six experts and cracked Song Tianshu’s armor.
• The Wang You Valley expert noticed lightning forming within the waves, and a bolt tore open Song Tianshu’s armor.
• Song Tianshu broke his two Jade-Green Bracelets and formed a Jade Cauldron that absorbed the golden flood and blocked another lightning strike.
• The Wang You Valley expert sensed the banner’s heavenly might weakening, and Song Tianshu urged everyone to remain on guard.

Xu Taiping entered the Main Hall despite the Black-Eagle Banner’s deadly Heavenly Might, while six cultivators watched and expected him to die. When he bowed to the True Martial Great Emperor, the golden waves parted and let him approach the banner, leaving the six men stunned.

• The six cultivators waited for the Black-Eagle Banner’s Heavenly Might to weaken until someone began pushing open the Main Hall doors.
• Song Tianshu and the others suspected the newcomer might threaten their attempt to seize the banner, then tried to trick him into entering the hall.
• Xu Taiping saw through their act, stepped inside, and declared that he would take all the treasures.
• The Black-Eagle Banner’s Heavenly Might surged toward Xu Taiping, but he bowed and called himself a disciple of the True Martial Great Emperor.
• The golden billows parted before Xu Taiping, and the six cultivators gaped as the banner let him approach.

Xu Taiping approached the True Martial Black-Eagle Banner after the Lotus Eye explained that it had once been awakened by Zhao Xuantan, one of the Four Divine Generals. As Song Tianshu and his allies attacked, the banner shielded Xu Taiping, leaving him to seize it before its remaining Heavenly Might ran out.

• The Lotus Eye told Fairy Lingyue that Zhao Xuantan, whom it called Little Stutterer, had awakened it and wielded the Black-Eagle Banner.
• Song Tianshu used his jade Sword Cauldron to push through the banner's Heavenly Might, while Fairy Lingyue urged Xu Taiping to pull out the banner.
• Xu Taiping advanced toward the banner after Fairy Lingyue assured him that the Lotus Eye would not deceive him about matters of life and death.
• Song Tianshu's allies urged him to join forces against Xu Taiping, and Song Tianshu had them channel their treasures into the Sword Cauldron.
• The Sword Cauldron sent a storm of Sword Qi toward Xu Taiping, but the Black-Eagle Banner's Heavenly Might rose to shield him.
• Fairy Lingyue warned Xu Taiping to hurry because the banner's remaining Heavenly Might could not hold out for long.