Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping pulled the Black-Eagle Banner from its platform and unleashed its vast heavenly might, driving away Song Tianshu’s Sword Qi. As six Shangqing Realm experts launched their strongest attacks, Xu Taiping raised the banner and saw a vast Human Race army assemble behind him on a battlefield.

• Song Tianshu and five other cultivators attacked Xu Taiping with the Jade Cauldron’s Sword Qi and their strongest strikes, shattering most of the Black-Eagle Banner’s protective rings.
• The Lotus Eye told Xu Taiping to pull up the banner, and he tore the Black-Eagle Banner free from the stone platform.
• The Black-Eagle Banner erupted with heavenly might, swept away the Sword Qi, and shrank to one zhang as battle intent surged into Xu Taiping.
• Song Tianshu warned the others that Xu Taiping could wield the banner, and the six experts unleashed their strongest killing moves against him.
• Xu Taiping raised the Black-Eagle Banner and roared, “Kill,” as the Main Hall transformed into a battlefield and millions of Human Race soldiers gathered behind him.

Xu Taiping used the Black Eagle Flag to destroy the attackers’ bodies and learned from Lotus Eye that Zhao Xuantan had sacrificed his cultivation to stop a calamity resembling the Great Void Calamity. Lotus Eye went back to sleep after warning Xu Taiping to stay alive and telling him to visit his grandfather’s grave, where someone important awaited him.

• Xu Taiping unleashed the Black Eagle Flag’s true martial demon-slaying battle intent, shattering the bodies of Song Tianshu and the other five attackers.
• The six attackers’ primordial spirits escaped, and Lotus Eye explained that the flag had left them too mentally damaged to reveal who ordered the arson.
• Lotus Eye told Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue that Zhao Xuantan had dispersed his cultivation to stop a calamity spreading from the Sumeru Realm, and that Black Tiger had ascended in his place.
• Xu Taiping told Lotus Eye about the Great Void Calamity, and Lotus Eye said it might be the same disaster but that he had never learned its origins.
• Lotus Eye warned Xu Taiping not to die, urged him to use the curse seal power when necessary, and told him to visit his grandfather’s grave before leaving Qingniu Village because someone important would be there.

Xu Taiping found his grandfather Xu Zhian’s grave in Green Ox Village and learned from Fairy Lingyue that the True Martial Great Emperor’s underground formation nodes moved to evade discovery. After making a headstone and telling his grandfather about his years of cultivation, Xu Taiping felt lighter.

• Xu Taiping approached his grandfather’s grave cautiously, concerned that traces of the underground palace might lead others to the Black-Eagle Banner.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that the underground formation nodes moved in cycles and stopped moving during a Heavenly Dog Eats the Sun, allowing Song Tianshu and the Faceless Tower to find the Black-Eagle Banner.
• Xu Taiping confirmed that his grandfather’s grave was undisturbed and dismissed the Lotus Eye’s claim that someone important was waiting there.
• Xu Taiping carved a headstone from a demonic beast’s leg bone and recounted his experiences to his grandfather’s grave.
• Xu Taiping planted the headstone in front of the grave and felt his spirits lift.

Xu Taiping paid his respects at his grandfather Xu Zhian’s grave before a bamboo-hatted boy emerged from a hidden cave and revealed he was descended from Xu Erniu. The boy said his father had disappeared while pursuing one of the men who set a fire, and Xu Taiping used the Lotus Eye Curse Seal to investigate his fate.

• Xu Taiping poured liquor before Xu Zhian’s grave, bowed three times, and promised to see the mountains his grandfather had loved.
• A bamboo-hatted boy emerged from a hidden hole and confirmed Xu Taiping’s identity by asking how much silver he had nearly been sold for.
• The boy revealed that he was Xu Erniu’s descendant and called Xu Taiping his great-granduncle.
• The boy explained that his father had escaped a fire with him, then vanished while pursuing one of the villains who had set it.
• The boy showed Xu Taiping a longevity lock his father had said would signal his death, and Xu Taiping placed his Lotus Eye Curse Seal on the boy’s forehead to learn what had happened.

Xu Taiping discovered that his great-grandnephew Xu Chengling possessed a likely supreme-grade Heavenly Spirit Bone and learned that Xu Chengling’s father had gone to confront arsonists. Xu Chengling delivered his father’s stone to Xu Taiping, who recognized it as a Moonshadow Stone’s Mother Stone.

• Xu Taiping saw through the Lotus Eye Curse Seal that Xu Chengling had learned the Fire Flicking Spell in one night and wanted to help his father.
• Fairy Lingyue examined Xu Chengling and identified his Spirit Bone as a likely supreme-grade Heavenly Spirit Bone.
• Xu Taiping learned from the vision that Xu Chengling’s father, Xu Taichong, had left to confront arsonists and expected Xu Taiping to come to the area.
• Xu Chengling introduced himself to Xu Taiping and handed him the stone his father had entrusted to him.
• Xu Taiping recognized the stone as a Moonshadow Stone’s Mother Stone.

Xu Taiping and Xu Chengling viewed the Moonshadow Stone recording of Xu Taichong’s final moments and learned that a white-robed cultivator had killed him while pursuing the Great Liang princess. After Xu Chengling was overcome by the sight, Xu Taiping carried him and set out with Fairy Lingyue for the Imperial City's ruins.

• Fairy Lingyue realized Xu Taichong had left clues in the Moonshadow Stone, and Xu Taiping explained its purpose to Xu Chengling.
• Xu Chengling insisted on seeing the recording, so Xu Taiping activated the Moonshadow Stone.
• Xu Taichong confronted a white-robed cultivator in the ruined mountain forest and wounded one layer of his protective gang qi.
• Another cultivator struck Xu Taichong with a fireball, and Xu Taichong died lamenting that he could not return to his son.
• The white-robed cultivator cut off Xu Taichong’s head, revealed plans to kill the Great Liang princess, and took Xu Taichong’s face to infiltrate the Imperial City's ruins.
• Xu Chengling screamed at the recording, so Xu Taiping knocked him unconscious and left with him and Fairy Lingyue for the Imperial City's ruins.

Huang Que verified Great Liang survivors while discussing the arsonists with Dugu Qingxiao, then discovered that the martial artist Xu Taichong was a renowned chivalrous man and likely a relative of Xu Taiping. Xu Taichong offered a lead on the Imperial Clan arsonists, but said it could only be revealed if an Imperial Clan descendant had survived.

• Huang Que and Dugu Qingxiao discussed the known arsonists and the difficulty of identifying the three from Wang You Valley through the little princess.
• Huang Que used a spiritual brush to verify the refugees’ identities, confirming Zhu Jiu and the other survivors before checking Xu Taichong.
• The scroll revealed Xu Taichong’s origins in Green Ox Village and his life as a revered chivalrous man, prompting Huang Que to wonder if he was related to Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taichong asked whether any Imperial Clan descendants had survived and offered Huang Que a Moonshadow Stone containing a lead on the arsonists, conditional on a survivor being found.

Xu Taichong, who was secretly an impostor from Wang You Valley, accompanied Huang Que and Dugu Qingxiao to meet the Great Liang Kingdom’s Little Princess. After revealing that he knew their plan and admitting his involvement in the arson, he was interrupted by a report that Senior Brother Taiping requested an audience.

• Xu Taichong refused to hand over the Moonshadow Stone Mother Stone until he saw a descendant of the Great Liang Kingdom’s Imperial Clan, and Dugu Qingxiao vouched for him.
• Dugu Qingxiao told Huang Que that Xu Taichong was likely an impostor and might be one of the Wang You Valley suspects, so they decided to let him approach the Little Princess and catch him if he attacked her.
• Xu Taichong entered the tent and approached the Little Princess, who was counting pebbles, while Huang Que and Dugu Qingxiao prepared to intervene.
• Xu Taichong stopped before reaching the Little Princess, revealed that he knew their plan, and admitted he was a Wang You Valley disciple who had committed the suspected deed.
• An Azure Profound Sect disciple announced that Senior Brother Taiping requested an audience.

Xu Taiping confronted Lü Qiu, a Wang You Valley disciple accused of arson and murder, and prepared to prove his guilt before the Five Heavens. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping claiming that the evidence was recorded on the Moonshadow Stone.

• Lü Qiu revealed his identity as a Wang You Valley disciple and threatened to summon his sect after the Nine Prefectures and Azure Profound Sect accused him of setting fires.
• Xu Taiping confirmed that the Nine Prefectures could send a message through their newly completed Communication Array and said Lü Qiu should be punished publicly.
• When Lü Qiu insulted him, Xu Taiping struck him, subdued him with the Water-Cutting Blade, and tore away his false face.
• Xu Taiping gave Dugu Qingxiao a Moonshadow Stone and asked Huang Que to help him address the Five Heavens before executing Lü Qiu.
• Xu Taiping said the Moonshadow Stone held evidence of Lü Qiu's arson and murder, leaving Lü Qiu insisting that such evidence could not exist.

Xu Taiping refused to release Lü Qiu and invoked the Nine Prefectures’ procedure for addressing the Five Heavens, claiming he had evidence of Lü Qiu’s crimes. As cultivators across the Five Heavens watched, Xu Taiping accused Lü Qiu of helping twelve arsonists slaughter Great Liang’s people and declared that he would be executed.

• Liu Chuxuan ordered Huang Que to release Lü Qiu, but Xu Taiping interrupted and said he had evidence against him.
• Xu Taiping asked Liu Chuxuan to begin the address to the Five Heavens, and Huang Que activated the Message-Transmitting Formation.
• Xiahou Qingyuan and Xiahou You watched the broadcast and learned that thirteen cultivators had burned Great Liang Kingdom.
• Xu Taiping addressed the Five Heavens, accused Lü Qiu of colluding with twelve arsonists, and declared that Lü Qiu would be executed.

Xu Taiping exposed Lü Qiu’s crimes through the Moonshadow Stone and killed him after he tried to escape. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping asking Xu Chengling whether he wanted to avenge his father, and the boy agreeing.

• Xiahou You and Xiahou Qingyuan watched as Zhou Wannian defended his disciple Lü Qiu and threatened the Nine Prefectures and Azure Profound Sect.
• Xu Taiping had Dugu Qingxiao activate the Moonshadow Stone, which revealed Lü Qiu killing Xu Taichong and admitting his role in the arson plot.
• Zhou Wannian fell silent after the evidence appeared, and Lü Qiu denied the crimes before attacking the little princess to escape.
• Xu Taiping severed Lü Qiu’s arms and swiftly cut away the skin and flesh from his body, leaving him kneeling.
• Xu Taiping asked Xu Chengling whether he wanted to avenge his father, and Xu Chengling firmly said yes.

Xu Chengling struggled to avenge his father, Xu Taichong, by striking Lü Qiu with his father's saber, while Xu Taiping defended the child’s right to revenge before Wang You Valley. After admitting that the saber blows were for his father, Xu Chengling summoned true fire to avenge the people of Green Ox Village, astonishing the observers.

• Xu Taiping gave Xu Chengling Xu Taichong’s Goose-Feather Saber and let him approach Lü Qiu despite Zhou Wannian’s threatening pressure.
• Lü Qiu’s aura repeatedly knocked Xu Chengling down, but the child kept rising and eventually cut Lü Qiu’s forehead with the saber, badly injuring his own arms.
• Xu Taiping told Zhou Wannian that Xu Chengling was avenging his murdered father, silencing those who accused him of humiliating Wang You Valley.
• Lü Qiu formed protective gang qi and sent Xu Chengling flying when the boy attacked again, but Xu Chengling recovered and bowed before the saber, saying the strikes had been for his father.
• Xu Chengling formed a hand seal and summoned a ball of true fire for the people of Green Ox Village, leaving Xiahou Qingyuan stunned.

Xu Chengling revealed a heavenly fire variant bone and avenged his family by burning Lü Qiu to ashes, while Xu Taiping learned through Lotus Eye that Xu Chengling’s journey to the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace would lead to disaster. Before leaving the ruins, Xu Taiping discovered that the little princess had witnessed the torture and deaths of 318 members of the Imperial Clan, and promised to avenge them.

• Xiahou You recognized that Xu Chengling had a heavenly fire variant bone, and she and Xiahou Qingyuan discussed how the great sects would compete to protect or claim him.
• Fairy Lingyue explained the bone’s power to Xu Taiping, who worried that his misfortune had affected the Azure Profound Sect and those around him.
• Xu Chengling burned Lü Qiu to ashes, then wept over the loss of his parents as Xu Taiping comforted him.
• Lotus Eye showed Xu Taiping that Xu Chengling would be taken by the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace, but an assassination would lead his party, including Zhao Linglong, into the Withered Stone Sea, where none would emerge.
• Dugu Qingxiao said the Nine Prefectures wanted Xu Chengling taken to Qingxuan, matching Lotus Eye’s prediction, and Xu Taiping agreed to leave with him.
• Xu Taiping learned that the little princess had counted 318 Imperial Clan members tortured to death by Wang You Valley disciples, accepted her candy as a request for vengeance, and vowed to kill Liang Chengshan and Lu Sibai.

Half a year later, Xu Taiping waited at Heavenly Hero Ferry for Xu Chengling’s party from the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace, hoping to prevent the dangers foreseen by the Lotus Eye. As he searched for a four-fingered assassin and the Immortal-Locking Formation’s nodes, a wealthy woman tried to buy Little Monkey Ping'an, and Xu Taiping refused.

• A teahouse storyteller recounted Rusty Lion’s ascent of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, and Xu Taiping suspected Great Emperor Mysterious Wasteland was using the tale to divert attention from him.
• Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue discussed Xu Chengling’s imminent arrival and the Lotus Eye’s visions of danger at Heavenly Hero Ferry, including injuries to Jiang Zhi and Xiahou You.
• Fairy Lingyue said they needed to locate the Immortal-Locking Formation’s nodes and the four-fingered assassin before the attackers struck.
• Little Monkey Ping'an offered Xu Taiping shelled melon seeds, then jumped onto his shoulder when a youth demanded that his mother buy him.
• After coughing blood from the backlash of his soul seal, Xu Taiping refused to sell Ping'an, but the woman tossed thirty thousand Gold Essence Coins onto his table.

Xu Taiping refused to sell his treasure to Tang Yueru and learned that she and her domineering son, Liu Cheng, planned to have the Liu Clan intercept him outside the teahouse. As the storyteller finished his tale, the storyteller’s granddaughter came to Xu Taiping’s table to ask for a tip.

• Xu Taiping refused Tang Yueru’s offer, and Liu Cheng threatened to kill him when she returned without the treasure.
• Ping'an used Mind-Heart Communication to learn that Tang Yueru had alerted her gang’s people to intercept Xu Taiping after he left the teahouse.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that Heavenly Hero Ferry was controlled by the Cloudsand Gang, Gathering Wind Tower, and Liu Clan, and Xu Taiping deduced Tang Yueru was not from the teahouse’s owners.
• Ping'an identified Tang Yueru as a powerful Liu Clan concubine and Liu Cheng as her thirteen-year-old son, whose Heavenly Spirit Bone and family backing let him seize treasures from outsiders.
• The storyteller ended his tale and asked for tea money, and his raggedly dressed granddaughter came to Xu Taiping’s table seeking a tip.

Xu Taiping left the Gathering Wind Tower after Fang Lian'er warned him that the Liu Clan might ambush him, but the Liu Clan retaliated by attacking her grandfather. As Xu Taiping went to help the wounded storyteller, Tang Yueru threatened him over Ping'an, and he contacted Brother Mu Yun for aid.

• Ping'an spoke aloud in the teahouse, and Xu Taiping tipped Fang Lian'er and her grandfather fourteen Gold Essence Coins.
• Fang Lian'er warned Xu Taiping to go to Crouching Dragon Alley, where the Liu Clan could not reach him, and he thanked her before leaving.
• Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue discussed reaching Crouching Dragon Alley and finding Four-Finger to help Xu Chengling overcome his tribulation.
• The storyteller was found lying in a pool of blood, and Fang Lian'er rushed to his side as Xu Taiping suspected the Liu Clan mother and son had retaliated.
• Tang Yueru threatened Xu Taiping from the Gathering Wind Tower, and he approached Fang Lian'er and her grandfather with a Bone-Regenerating Pill before contacting Brother Mu Yun through a Jade Slip.

Mu Yun agreed to help Xu Taiping after learning that the Liu Clan was hunting his friend at Heavenly Hero Ferry, and Xu Taiping revealed that he was the friend. After saving Fang Lian’er’s grandfather, Xu Taiping confronted the Liu Clan mother and son and challenged them at their residence.

• Mu Yun watched Xu Taiping’s Sword Inquiry with Shen Li and received a message from Xu Taiping asking for help.
• Xu Taiping told Mu Yun that he was in Peerless Nether Heaven under a concealed identity and needed the Liu Clan warned; Mu Yun asked Uncle Lou to punish the clan with a sword strike.
• At Heavenly Hero Ferry, Xu Taiping used a Bone-Regenerating Pill to revive Fang Lian’er’s grandfather while explaining to Fairy Lingyue why he trusted Mu Yun.
• The Liu Clan mother and son arrived and demanded Xu Taiping’s Spirit Monkey, while Tang Yueru denied responsibility for the old man’s fall.
• Xu Taiping refused to go to Crouching Dragon Alley and said he would visit the Liu Clan residence to see whether they could take his Spirit Monkey.

Xu Taiping followed Tang Yueru and Liu Cheng to the Liu residence, where Mu Yun sent a devastating sword strike crashing down from the sky. The estate lay in ruins, and Mu Yun asked Xu Taiping how Guangling Pavilion's sword compared with Azure Profound Sect's.

• Xu Taiping ignored Fang Lian'er and her grandfather's warnings and followed the Liu mother and son to their residence.
• Tang Yueru offered to let Xu Taiping go if he handed over his spirit monkey, then ordered the Mansion Guards to attack him.
• Mu Yun contacted Xu Taiping through the Voice Transmission Jade Slip and told him to look up at the sky.
• As a Mansion Guard swung at Xu Taiping, a pillar of sword light descended through the clouds and destroyed the Liu residence's main hall and surrounding buildings.
• Tang Yueru accused Xu Taiping of causing the destruction, but he admired the sword strike and received Mu Yun's question about how Guangling Pavilion's sword compared with Azure Profound Sect's.

Xu Taiping used Guangling Pavilion’s Lou Shiyi to frighten the Liu Clan into stopping its bullying, then remained in Heavenly Hero Ferry to avoid alerting the hidden assassins. When Fang Lian’er brought him tea, the Lotus Eye showed him a vision of a four-fingered monster hunting her, leading him to suspect the ambushers targeting the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace were demons.

• Lou Shiyi’s sword strike overwhelmed the Liu Clan ancestor, then withdrew after he told the clan to investigate whom it had bullied; Xu Taiping challenged Tang Yueru to invite him into the estate, and she collapsed in despair.
• At Gathering Wind Tower, Xu Taiping found that Fairy Lingyue had detected no suspicious figures and ignored Mu Yun’s invitation to Guangling Pavilion.
• Fang Lian’er brought Xu Taiping tea from the Withered Stone Sea on her grandfather’s behalf, but he tried to refuse it.
• When Xu Taiping’s Lotus Eye mark touched Fang Lian’er’s hand, he saw a vision of a four-fingered monster finding her beneath a table.
• Xu Taiping recognized the monster’s four fingers as a possible sign that the people ambushing the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace disciples were demons.

Xu Taiping learned that the Nine Abysses Demon Seed behind the hide-and-seek power was called Yellow Hound, and Mu Yun warned him of its deadly Hunting Power. The chapter ended with Xu Taiping asking how to survive if Yellow Hound had already unleashed it.

• Xu Taiping sent Fairy Lingyue the Lotus Eye Curse Seal's vision, and she said the Nine Abysses would oppose the emergence of the Heavenly Fire Variant Bone.
• Fairy Lingyue advised Xu Taiping to ask Mu Yun whether a similar Demon Seed had appeared in Peerless Nether Heaven.
• Mu Yun urgently told Xu Taiping to inscribe talismans and flee Heavenly Hero Ferry, then relaxed after Xu Taiping said he had not encountered the beast.
• Mu Yun identified the Demon Seed as Yellow Hound, hosted by a Demonic Beast named Si Zhi, and explained that its Hunting Power could trap and erase those who tried to leave its area.
• Xu Taiping asked Mu Yun how to respond if Yellow Hound had already activated its Hunting Power.