Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping ordered Old Smoky Ghost to kill the Biyou Palace cultivators while sparing Liang Chengshan, and Old Smoky Ghost used his smoke and brutal strength to attack them. Liang Chengshan fled back into the street, where Old Smoky Ghost began slaughtering the disciples before Elder Liu and Liang Chengshan.

• Xu Taiping told Old Smoky Ghost that everyone but Liang Chengshan could be killed, and Old Smoky Ghost covered the street in smoke.
• Liang Chengshan retreated with the Biyou Palace disciples while Elder Liu attacked Old Smoky Ghost with poison mist and flying needles.
• Old Smoky Ghost blew away the poison, endured the needles, and struck Elder Liu hard enough to split his head and send him flying.
• Elder Liu retreated when Xu Taiping revealed a Ghost Gods Diagram, while Old Smoky Ghost smoked and waited for the others to approach.
• Liang Chengshan fled back after the smoke confused and turned the Biyou Palace disciples against one another, and Elder Liu blocked him from reaching Xu Taiping with a North Wind Talisman.
• Old Smoky Ghost seized several unprotected disciples with a smoke tentacle, twisted off their heads, and stuffed them into his Tobacco Pipe.

Old Smoky Ghost fought Elder Liu while Xu Taiping assessed Liang Chengshan’s strength and caution. Xu Taiping finally unfurled the Second Ghost God Painting, summoning the Red Lion Ghost King, who prepared to take on Liang Chengshan and the Biyou Palace disciples.

• Old Smoky Ghost smoked tobacco made from human heads to increase his power, and Elder Liu attacked him with Sword Gang from the Jade Gourd.
• Elder Liu’s Sword Gang wounded Old Smoky Ghost’s smoke form, while Old Smoky Ghost kept smoking and striking back.
• Elder Liu told Liang Chengshan to stay behind the North Wind Talisman, and Liang Chengshan revealed strength at least comparable to the Great Perfection of the Looking-to-Heaven Realm.
• Xu Taiping judged Liang Chengshan too dangerous to face easily and unfurled the Second Ghost God Painting.
• The Red Lion Ghost King appeared and turned eagerly toward Liang Chengshan and the Biyou Palace disciples.

The master of Pearl Relic House and Great Elder Lou watched Xu Taiping’s fight and postponed revealing the secret of Golden Court Grotto-Heaven until they learned more about him. Red Lion trapped Liang Chengshan and the Biyou Palace disciples in his Beast Cage, where the slaughter began and Liang Chengshan found himself targeted.

• The master of Pearl Relic House and Great Elder Lou agreed to withhold the secret of Golden Court Grotto-Heaven from Xu Taiping until they understood his identity.
• Elder Liu wounded Old Smoky Ghost with his Jade Gourd and pursued him after he escaped into smoke.
• Red Lion enclosed Liang Chengshan and the Biyou Palace disciples in an enormous cage and commanded them to fight to the death.
• Ghostly apparitions crushed several disciples’ heads, and the survivors began attacking one another in panic.
• As Liang Chengshan tried to stop the fighting, the apparition behind him pressed down on his head and filled him with terror.

Xu Taiping publicly called Liang Chengshan to account for burning Great Liang, while Zhang Wuyou trapped Liang Chengshan in the Beast Cage and broadcast the slaughter. Xu Taiping revealed himself and challenged Liang Chengshan to a fight to the death, ending by demanding that he admit his guilt.

• Xu Taiping had Zhang Wuyou record Liang Chengshan killing the Biyou Palace disciples in the Beast Cage.
• Zhang Wuyou announced that he had come on Xu Taiping’s behalf to call Liang Chengshan to account for burning Great Liang.
• Great Elder Lou explained to the Pearl Relic House master that Liang Chengshan was one of the remaining Arsonists sought by True Martial Heaven.
• Dong Qiushui threatened Zhang Wuyou, Xu Taiping, and the Azure Profound Sect unless they released Liang Chengshan.
• Xu Taiping revealed his true body, entered the Beast Cage, and declared a life-or-death challenge to Liang Chengshan.
• Xu Taiping demanded that Liang Chengshan admit his guilt for slaughtering Great Liang’s people in a great fire.

Xu Taiping challenged Liang Chengshan inside Red Lion’s Beast Cage and sealed Liang’s most powerful treasure. He then unleashed a devastating blade technique that left Liang crippled and bleeding, while the observers recognized it as a new form combining several blade arts.

• Liang Chengshan dismissed Xu Taiping’s accusation and challenged him to a life-or-death blade duel.
• Xu Taiping entered Red Lion’s Beast Cage and asked it to seal Liang Chengshan’s most lethal treasure, the Decree the Spirit Token.
• Liang Chengshan’s Dharma Robe boosted his cultivation, and he attacked Xu Taiping with a powerful blade strike.
• Xu Taiping drew his blade and used a hundred-zhang blade domain to shatter Liang’s attack and tear through his protections and body.
• Great Elder Lou and the master of the Pearl Relic House identified Xu Taiping’s technique as a new form combining the Demon-Slaying Blade Finishing Form, Blade Qi Profound Connection, and his blade domain.

Xu Taiping executed Liang Chengshan for invading True Martial Heaven and slaughtering its mortals, despite threats from Dong Qiushui. As Dong Qiushui attacked, the disguised Mysterious Origin Avatar called on the Senior Ghost Lord for help.

• The master of the Pearl Relic House and Great Elder Lou praised Xu Taiping’s blade talent and condemned the Faceless Tower for shattering his spirit bone.
• Xu Taiping demanded that Liang Chengshan confess to invading True Martial Heaven and slaughtering its mortals, but Liang called for his younger uncle instead.
• Dong Qiushui threatened to exterminate the Azure Profound Sect if Xu Taiping killed Liang, and sect master Zhao Qian rallied the sect’s disciples to raise their swords in support of Xu.
• Xu Taiping declared Liang guilty and cut off his head as Dong Qiushui arrived and struck at him with a giant hand.
• The Mysterious Origin Avatar disguised as Zhang Wuyou opened a painting scroll and called on the Senior Ghost Lord for help.

Xu Taiping and the Ghost Lord faced Dong Qiushui’s Dragon Spine Clone after Old Smoky Ghost was driven back. As Dong Qiushui demanded Xu Taiping’s surrender, the Pearl Relic House’s master and Great Elder Lou prepared to intervene if the Ghost Lord could not defeat the clone.

• Old Smoky Ghost revealed his Ghost King form and used sparks from his pipe to destroy Elder Liu’s Sword Qi and badly wound him.
• Old Smoky Ghost retreated to Xu Taiping and admitted that fighting Biyou Palace’s disciples had weakened him.
• Dong Qiushui’s clone landed before Xu Taiping and demanded that he be handed over, revealing the golden glow and meridians of his Dragon Spine Clone.
• The Pearl Relic House’s master identified the clone and judged its strength comparable to a Heaven Questioning Realm Sword Cultivator.
• Great Elder Lou asked the Pearl Relic House’s master to help if the Ghost Lord could not defeat the clone, and the master agreed.
• Dong Qiushui repeated his threat, while Xu Taiping and "Zhang Wuyou" remained calm.

The Ghost Lord destroyed Dong Qiushui’s Dragon Spine Clone with Confucian sage techniques and took its Dragon Spine Bone. Xu Taiping agreed to face the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s wrath, and the Ghost Lord summoned Dong Qiushui’s true body to Old Dragon City.

• Dong Qiushui attacked Xu Taiping and his companions with the Dragon Spine Clone, but the Ghost Lord blocked its dragon-flame fist with a wall of vast righteous qi.
• The Ghost Lord recited the Confucian Sect Ancestor-Sage True Words and destroyed the Dragon Spine Clone with “Collapse Without Attack,” leaving its Dragon Spine Bone behind.
• The Ghost Lord asked whether to kill Dong Qiushui’s true body, and Xu Taiping agreed to bear the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s wrath.
• The Ghost Lord traded the Dragon Spine Bone to Xu Taiping for Hidden Immortal Wine, then declared that Dong Qiushui could not escape.
• A golden light struck Old Dragon City, and Great Elder Lou recognized Dong Qiushui within it.

Dong Qiushui used his dragon bloodline and the divine weapon Lei Hou to break free of the Ghost Lord’s Word-Follows-Law and unleash devastating thunder. The Ghost Lord summoned a Dragon-Slaying Platform that overwhelmed Dong Qiushui’s attack, leaving him terrified.

• The master of Pearl Relic House explained to Great Elder Lou how Confucianism’s Word-Follows-Law had weakened over the ages.
• Dong Qiushui transformed into a dragon-headed warrior by drawing on the bloodline power of the true dragon relics he had found.
• Dong Qiushui summoned the dragon divine weapon Lei Hou and attacked the Ghost Lord with a torrent of destructive thunder.
• The Ghost Lord recited a verse and summoned a Dragon-Slaying Platform, whose sword gang extinguished Dong Qiushui’s thunder and cut through three layers of his defenses.
• The Ghost Lord rebuked Dong Qiushui, and Dong Qiushui’s arrogance gave way to terror.

The Ghost Lord captured Dong Qiushui, and Xu Taiping ordered his execution despite the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s threat to destroy him and his sect. Dong Qiushui was beheaded, and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord vowed revenge against Xu Taiping and the sects behind him.

• Dong Qiushui failed to escape the Ghost Lord, then offered his dragon divine weapon Lei Hou in exchange for his life.
• Xu Taiping chose to kill Dong Qiushui after sensing his murderous intent toward the Azure Profound Sect and True Martial Heaven.
• The Ghost Lord trapped Dong Qiushui on the Dragon-Slaying Platform and readied the Dragon-Slaying Sword to execute him.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord threatened to wipe out Xu Taiping’s clan if Dong Qiushui was killed, but Xu Taiping ordered the execution to proceed.
• The Ghost Lord commanded the execution, and the Dragon-Slaying Sword beheaded Dong Qiushui.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord swore that Xu Taiping and the sects behind him would have no survivors.

Li Yezhu sought the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s help in killing Zhang Wuyou, but a warning from Haitang and her husband forced the Evil Lord to reconsider. The chapter ended with the Evil Lord demanding a Heavenly Calamity Demon Seed and a voice from Li Yezhu’s demon seed ordering him to agree.

• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord struck Li Yezhu with gang wind for trespassing on his wife’s resting place, then let him explain his request to kill Zhang Wuyou.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord refused to honor their agreement and tossed Li Yezhu a jade slip warning him not to target Xu Taiping or Zhang Wuyou.
• Li Yezhu recognized the warning’s signature as Haitang and her husband of the Third Watch Observatory, and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord described their formidable cultivation and fighting strength.
• Li Yezhu asked the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to name his price, and the Evil Lord demanded one Heavenly Calamity Demon Seed.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord reminded Li Yezhu that Zhang Wuyou had powerful Confucian allies, and a voice from Li Yezhu’s demon seed ordered him to accept the terms.

The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord accepted Nine Abysses’ offer of a Heavenly Calamity Demon Seed to capture Zhang Wuyou and Xu Taiping. As Xu Taiping prepared to seek a breakthrough in the Withered Stone Sea, Ninth Uncle urged him not to turn to the demonic path, but the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord soon arrived in Old Dragon City and called him and Zhang Wuyou out to die.

• Li Yezhu offered the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord a Heavenly Calamity Demon Seed in exchange for capturing Zhang Wuyou and Xu Taiping, and the Evil Lord agreed to leave Fire Tree Valley that day.
• Xu Taiping told Zhao Qian he planned to go into hiding with Zhang Wuyou and pursue a breakthrough in the Withered Stone Sea, and Zhao Qian relayed Ninth Uncle’s warning against turning to the demonic path.
• Xu Taiping promised Ninth Uncle he would remember his teachings and vowed to show the world Ninth Uncle’s sword at the True Martial Sword Champion Assembly.
• Bai Yu warned Xu Taiping that a white-haired man had entered Old Dragon City and gravely injured nearby cultivators.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s pressure engulfed the inn, and he shouted for Zhang Wuyou and Xu Taiping to come out and die.
• Xu Taiping took out Zhu Songyu’s Jade Slip and left the outcome in her hands.

Xu Taiping came downstairs to face the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord and Li Yezhu, who had surrounded Cloudrise Tower after his killings the previous night. He agreed with Fairy Lingyue that they might have to spend an Immortal Peach to keep Zhu Songyu’s Jade Slip from revealing the Tenth Demon Abyss, then stepped outside as the shopkeeper finished counting.

• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord and Li Yezhu confronted Cloudrise Tower and gave the head shopkeeper ten breaths to bring out Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping thanked Cloudrise Tower’s staff for sheltering him, while they praised him for killing Liang Chengshan and Dong Qiushui and apologized that they could not protect him.
• Xu Taiping recognized Li Yezhu as one of the Nine Abysses’ Ten Demonic Generals and worried that he could not safely hand over Zhu Songyu’s Jade Slip.
• Fairy Lingyue offered to use one of their remaining Immortal Peaches to kill Li Yezhu if necessary, and Xu Taiping agreed.
• When the head shopkeeper reached ten, Xu Taiping stepped to the entrance and announced that he had arrived.

Xu Taiping watched Cloud Crane True Lord and the House Master of Pearl Relic House intervene against the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord, disrupting his plan to deliver Zhu Songyu's Jade Slip. After Li Yezhu was banished three thousand li, Xu Taiping saw an opening to give the Jade Slip to the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord.

• Cloudrise Tower activated its Golden Cloud Grand Formation as the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord attacked, and Xu Taiping recognized that the House Master of Pearl Relic House had brought Cloud Crane True Lord to help him.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord tore through the formation's clouds, prompting Xu Taiping to prepare to borrow Fairy Lingyue's power once the defense fell.
• Cloud Crane True Lord struck the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord with the Golden Cloud Formation's power, shattering all thirty-six layers of his Protective Sword Gang and driving him backward.
• The House Master of Pearl Relic House trapped Li Yezhu with a rune technique and banished him three thousand li.
• Xu Taiping realized Li Yezhu's removal gave him a chance to deliver Zhu Songyu's Jade Slip to the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord.

Xu Taiping accidentally disrupted Cloudrise Tower’s formation while trying to get outside, weakening True Person Cloud Crane’s defense against the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord. The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord revealed his Ghost Water Sacred Body and overwhelmed Cloud Crane, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Xu Taiping struck Cloudrise Tower’s barrier to attract True Person Cloud Crane’s attention, but the impact disrupted the Golden Cloud Grand Formation and staggered Cloud Crane.
• Cloud Crane used Cloudrise Sea-Connecting Tower to block the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s sword strike, and Liu Yuan recognized that Cloud Crane had reached great perfection in the Heaven Questioning Realm.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s eyes turned blue as he unleashed his Ghost Water Sacred Body, and Fairy Lingyue and Liu Yuan warned Xu Taiping not to look at him.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord shattered Cloudrise Sea-Connecting Tower and forced Cloud Crane to stop his sword with his palms, while the ghost-water flames consumed Cloud Crane’s power and blood essence.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord questioned Cloud Crane’s cultivation after three hundred years of seclusion, asking whether he had mastered only Cloud-Born Sea-Connecting Tower.

Cloud Crane True Lord and the master of Pearl Relic House wounded the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord, but his Gui Water True Intent let him recover, and he overwhelmed them with the Juexian Sword Formation. Xu Taiping intervened by calling him Li Daoyan, shattering the phantom Juexian Sword and provoking the Evil Lord to demand who had revealed his name.

• The master of Pearl Relic House used “Return What Belongs to Its Original Owner” to restore Cloud Crane True Lord and Cloudrise Tower, giving Cloud Crane True Lord an opening to pierce the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord with “Flying Mirror Beneath the Moon.”
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord re-formed from Ghost Water Azure Flame, and Liu Yuan explained that his Gui Water True Intent let him recover unless countered by Li Fire True Intent.
• Cloud Crane True Lord told Xu Taiping that allies would arrive soon, but the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord resumed his attack before Xu Taiping could finish warning him.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord summoned hundreds of Immortal Flying Swords, formed the Juexian Sword Formation, and shattered Cloud Crane True Lord’s cloud tower and the Golden Cloud Grand Formation with one slash.
• Xu Taiping rushed out of Cloudrise Tower and shouted “Li Daoyan,” causing the phantom Juexian Sword to shatter as the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord demanded to know who had told him that name.

Xu Taiping stopped Azure-Eyed Evil Lord from attacking by revealing that Zhu Songyu had sent him, then told Li Daoyan that his master and fellow disciples were dead. The revelation left Li Daoyan desperate to know whether his junior sister Songyu was still alive and where she was.

• Azure-Eyed Evil Lord's Ghost Water Azure Flame invaded Xu Taiping, who drove it back with Blade Qi Transformation into Thunder and Hidden Immortal Wine.
• Azure-Eyed Evil Lord demanded to know how Xu Taiping knew a name, while Pearl Relic House Master and Cloud Crane True Lord shielded Xu Taiping from another attack.
• Xu Taiping called Azure-Eyed Evil Lord Li Daoyan and asked whether he remembered Qi Songyang and Zhu Songyu, causing Li Daoyan to calm down and ask if they had sent Xu Taiping.
• Xu Taiping told Li Daoyan that Fairy Songyu had asked him to find him.
• Xu Taiping revealed that Qi Songyang and the other disciples had died more than ten thousand years earlier while fleeing the Nine Abysses.
• Li Daoyan grieved for his lost master and fellow disciples, then urgently asked Xu Taiping where Songyu was and whether she was still alive.

Xu Taiping told the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord that Zhu Songyu had died, and played the Jade Slip containing her final messages to Li Daoyan. After hearing Zhu Songyu and his master condemn his past actions, Li Daoyan declared that he deserved to die.

• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord demanded that Xu Taiping take him to save Zhu Songyu, while Xu Taiping hesitated because Li Daoyan's Divine Soul seemed close to collapse.
• Xu Taiping told Li Daoyan that Zhu Songyu had died after years of pursuit and a final Sword Inquiry against the demons.
• Li Daoyan accused Xu Taiping of lying, but recognized the Jade Slip Zhu Songyu had given him.
• Cloud Crane True Lord sealed the Cloud Tower so no one outside could hear, and Xu Taiping activated the Jade Slip.
• Zhu Songyu questioned Li Daoyan about abandoning the 307 disciples who died protecting him, then relayed their master's dying question about why Li Daoyan had not boarded the ship.
• Li Daoyan roared in anguish, struck his chest, and said that he deserved to die.

Xu Taiping revealed Zhu Songyu’s final request: the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord had to slay a powerful demonic beast to stop the Tenth Demon Abyss from reopening a passage to the Shangqing Realm. The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord accepted the deadly commission, then learned that the beast was tied to the sacrifice of his master and fellow disciples.

• Zhu Songyu called the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord her Eldest Senior Brother and asked to borrow his life, and he agreed without hesitation.
• Xu Taiping told the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to slay a Demon Emperor-level beast whose strength rivaled a cultivator at the great perfection of the Heaven Shocking Realm.
• Xu Taiping explained that Zhu Songyu and the Thousand Crafts Workshop had discovered the Tenth Demon Abyss was trying to reopen a passage to the Shangqing Realm.
• Xu Taiping recounted how the Workshop’s disciples fought the Tenth Demon Abyss for ten thousand years, leaving Zhu Songyu as the sole survivor.
• Xu Taiping revealed that killing the beast opening the passage was the way to prevent the Tenth Demon Abyss from entering the Shangqing Realm again.

Xu Taiping told Azure-Eyed Evil Lord that the demon was in the hidden Inner Grotto-Heaven of Golden Court Grotto-Heaven, and the group learned that Li Yezhu might expose their secret to the Heartless Demon Emperor. They killed Li Yezhu’s apparent body, but his life-substitution clone remained as nine dragon silhouettes covered Old Dragon City.

• Azure-Eyed Evil Lord agreed to face the demon as redemption for failing to join his fellow disciples and learned that the demon was in Golden Court Grotto-Heaven.
• The master of the Pearl Relic House explained that the Inner Grotto-Heaven remained hidden beneath a white bodhi tree, and Cloud Crane True Lord invited Xu Taiping and Azure-Eyed Evil Lord inside.
• Azure-Eyed Evil Lord warned that Li Yezhu could reveal their conversation to the Heartless Demon Emperor, then asked the master of the Pearl Relic House and Cloud Crane True Lord to attack him.
• Li Yezhu attacked Xu Taiping, but Azure-Eyed Evil Lord used Heavenly Rotation and Earthly Shift to swap their positions, causing Li Yezhu’s blades and the others’ counterattack to strike their intended targets in reverse.
• The master of the Pearl Relic House and Cloud Crane True Lord reduced Li Yezhu’s body to dust, but the group sensed his life-substitution clone remained in Old Dragon City.
• A sandstorm dragon breath swept over Old Dragon City, and nine dragon silhouettes appeared above it as the master of the Pearl Relic House recognized Nine Dragons Covering the Sun.