Chapter Summaries

After the Dark Hound Demon God revived with the power of Death and Resurrection, Xu Taiping and the others faced two strengthened Demon Gods. The Pearl Relic House Master unfurled the Ten Thousand Miles of Landscape Painting as Cloud Crane True Lord and Great Elder Lou fought Ya Xuan, while Xu Taiping stayed behind to recover.

• The Dark Hound Demon God failed to fully revive, but his death came separately from the Dark Raven Demon Seed, allowing both Demon Gods to return with stronger bodies and auras.
• Xu Taiping regretted using the Life-and-Death Seal before learning the Demon Seeds' powers, but Great Elder Lou, Cloud Crane True Lord, and the Pearl Relic House Master reassured him.
• The Pearl Relic House Master decided to use the Ten Thousand Miles of Landscape Painting before the Demon Gods advanced further and unfurled it, releasing a torrent of Vast Righteous Qi.
• Great Elder Lou charged Ya Xuan, but struggled against the Demon God's increased strength, so Cloud Crane True Lord joined the fight while Xu Taiping stayed back to recover.

Xu Taiping watched the Dark Hound and Dark Raven seal Cloud Crane True Lord and Great Elder Lou, but the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord arrived with the Po Jun Sword and killed both demons. When the Dark Hound resurrected and attacked again, the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord prepared to kill them once more.

• The Dark Hound Demon God leaped from the Demon Grotto and joined the Dark Raven Demon God in attacking the Cloud Tower, where Cloud Crane True Lord and Great Elder Lou fought them.
• The two demons combined their Blade Force and Sword Intent to seal Cloud Crane True Lord and Great Elder Lou, then struck at the Cloud Tower.
• The Pearl Relic House Master stopped Xu Taiping from using his talisman and prepared to activate the Ten Thousand Miles of Landscape Painting, but the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord appeared with the Po Jun Sword.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord unleashed a sword strike that killed Dark Raven and Black Hound, while the Pearl Relic House Master warned that the Dark Hound could resurrect.
• The Dark Hound revived and attacked the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord, who cut him down again and declared that he would simply kill the demons one more time.

Dark Raven and Black Hound emerged from the Demon Grottos in their third stages, displaying power on par with Heaven Shocking Realm cultivators. Cloud Crane True Lord, Pearl Relic House Master, and Great Elder Lou fought them while Xu Taiping watched with the Immortal-Inviting Talisman ready, and the battle left the Cloud Tower badly damaged.

• Cloud Crane True Lord recognized the Demonic Spring on Dark Raven and Black Hound as a sign that the Primordial Lord had begun awakening, while the two demons' power surged to Heaven Shocking Realm level.
• Xu Taiping stepped back to observe as Cloud Crane True Lord, Pearl Relic House Master, and Great Elder Lou prepared to fight, keeping the Immortal-Inviting Talisman and his hand near the Water-Cutting Blade.
• Dark Hound leaped thirty li and attacked the Cloud Tower with a roar, but Pearl Relic House Master stabilized Cloud Crane True Lord's bright moon with a Confucian true word, allowing it to strike Dark Hound away.
• Dark Raven pierced and shattered Cloud Crane True Lord's bright moon, seized its enormous sword, and slashed the Cloud Tower, breaking at least six floors.
• Dark Hound followed with a blade strike at the damaged Cloud Tower, while Great Elder Lou thrust his spear into its chest and Dark Hound let the blow land so it could complete its attack.

The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord revealed his Sword Domain, the Sword-Burial Capital, and trapped Dark Raven and Dark Hound inside it. After the demons broke through its first layer, the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord showed the domain’s greater power and launched tens of thousands of Flying Swords, but Dark Hound’s howl stopped them in midair.

• Dark Raven and Dark Hound attacked the group, and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord stopped the Pearl Relic House Master from using the Ten Thousand Miles of Landscape Painting.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord created the Sword-Burial Capital and bound the two Demon Gods with Sword Qi chains.
• Dark Raven and Dark Hound broke the first Sword Domain, revealing the vast city of the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s ninth-layer domain.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord gathered broken weapons from across the domain and sent tens of thousands of Flying Swords toward the two Demon Gods.
• Dark Hound howled, freezing the Flying Swords in midair.

The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord used Po Jun’s Remove Armor Divine Ability to break the Demon Gods’ black crystal defenses and slay them. Xu Taiping then saw a vision suggesting the Primordial Lord would awaken and that Po Jun would fail to kill it.

• The Dark Hound Demon God froze the flying swords while the Dark Raven Demon God attacked the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord, but the Evil Lord made the weapons return to their sheaths and sent the swords high above the Demon Seed barrier.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord plunged the flying swords through the barrier, but Dark Raven and Black Hound joined their weapons to form a thick black crystal shell and declared that the Primordial Lord would soon awaken.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord called Po Jun to his hand and used its Remove Armor Divine Ability to shatter the black crystal, allowing the descending swords to kill Dark Raven and Black Hound.
• Xu Taiping saw a vision of the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord among the corpses of Cloud Crane House’s companions, warning him to find a sword sharper than Po Jun to kill the Primordial Lord.
• A giant hand reached from the mist in Xu Taiping’s vision and asked whether he was the one spying from the shadows.

Xu Taiping learned that the Primordial Lord had entered the Lotus Eye’s divination and nearly dragged him into a dream, but Fairy Lingyue awakened him and explained how foresight was contested. The Lotus Eye then revealed a hidden vision of the group activating a grand formation, leaving Xu Taiping unsure what secret it contained.

• The Primordial Lord’s hand and voice appeared in Xu Taiping’s vision and began pulling his mind into a dream.
• Fairy Lingyue used her divine soul, which appeared as a bright moon, to awaken Xu Taiping and warned that the Primordial Lord might know what the Lotus Eye had divined.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that diviners on both sides could foresee plans, but hidden combat strength and trump cards still mattered.
• The Lotus Eye’s previous vision burned away and was replaced by an image of Xu Taiping, Cloud Crane True Lord, the Pearl Relic House Master, Great Elder Lou, the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord, and Elder Qu Shuang activating a grand formation.
• Golden text declared, “There is endless joy in battling demons” and instructed that the vision must remain unknown to the Primordial Lord.
• Xu Taiping suspected the image showed the group reactivating the First Level grand formation, but could not determine what was unusual about it.

After the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord defeated Dark Raven and Black Hound with his Sword Domain, Xu Taiping continued investigating the Lotus Eye’s cryptic vision. He realized that the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord shown in the vision was not the same person standing before him.

• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s Sword Domain vanished after his Flying Swords, including Immortal Sword Po Jun, returned to their sheaths, leaving Dark Raven and Black Hound dead.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord replenished Xu Taiping’s True Essence and Divine Essence with a pat on his shoulder, and they discussed how he had mastered Sword Qi Profound Connection.
• Xu Taiping noticed wounds on the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s arm and questioned him about them, suspecting they came from taming Immortal Sword Po Jun.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord asked whether Xu Taiping had noticed something unusual, but Xu Taiping denied it.
• Xu Taiping compared the figure in the Lotus Eye’s vision with the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord before him and concluded they were not the same person.

Xu Taiping realized the figures in the Lotus Eye’s vision were mirror-reversed versions of the people around him, suggesting they had been replaced by disguised demonic beasts. After Elder Qu Shuang recovered, Xu Taiping noticed that he matched the vision exactly and concluded that the Qu Shuang before him was an impostor.

• Xu Taiping compared the people around him with the Lotus Eye’s vision and noticed their features were reversed, like reflections in a mirror.
• Xu Taiping tested the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord’s loyalty, and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord vowed to trust Zhu Songyu’s judgment and give his life if needed.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord explained that Zhu Songyu had used her Soul-Seizing Eyes to see scenes in the River of Time, including one involving Xu Taiping.
• Elder Qu Shuang awakened after Cloud Crane True Lord helped restore his cultivation, then lamented his earlier mistake and Elder Zhuo’s death.
• Xu Taiping noticed that Elder Qu Shuang looked exactly like his counterpart in the Lotus Eye’s vision and realized the person before him was not the original Qu Shuang.

Xu Taiping accepted Zhang Yu and Zhuo Buming’s belongings and carved their names, along with life-recording soul marks from the other cultivators, onto the Treading the Sea Army stone stele. As the group prepared to leave the Second-Level Barrier and reactivate the First-Level Barrier, Xu Taiping watched “Qu Shuang” for signs that he was a person in the mirror.

• Cloud Crane True Lord entrusted Xu Taiping with Zhang Yu and Zhuo Buming’s bloodstained belongings to deliver to their descendants if he escaped.
• Cloud Crane True Lord asked Xu Taiping to carve Zhang Yu and Zhuo Buming’s names onto the Treading the Sea Army stele, and Xu Taiping promised to record the names and lives of everyone who fell.
• Cloud Crane True Lord, Great Elder Lou, the Pearl Relic House Master, and “Qu Shuang” left their soul marks on the stele, while the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord remained silent.
• Cloud Crane True Lord said the group had to reach the First Level Barrier Ruins and reactivate the barrier before fighting the Primordial Lord, and told Xu Taiping to stay with Elder Qu.
• Xu Taiping agreed while secretly planning to look for flaws in Qu Shuang as the group set out for the Borderlands, where the spirit spring could restore them.

As the group flew toward the First-Level Barrier, Elder Qu Shuang asked Xu Taiping about his romantic prospects and proposed that he marry Qu Ningshuang if they survived the grotto-heaven. Xu Taiping heard Qu Shuang’s reasons but remained wary, believing the man from the mirror’s words might conceal a deeper meaning.

• Cloud Crane True Lord, Pearl Relic House Master, and Great Elder Lou headed toward the Borderlands, while Qu Shuang carried Xu Taiping and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord raced ahead.
• Qu Shuang asked whether Xu Taiping was married or had someone in his heart, and Xu Taiping repeatedly thought of Lin Buyu despite denying it.
• Qu Shuang asked Xu Taiping to look after his granddaughter Qu Ningshuang and form a marriage bond with her if he survived the grotto-heaven.
• Qu Shuang explained that Qu Ningshuang faced a tribulation of love and needed a Dao companion before turning sixty.
• Xu Taiping remained suspicious because Qu Shuang was a transformed man from the mirror and might have a deeper purpose.

Xu Taiping tried to escape Qu Shuang’s matchmaking request without revealing that he knew Qu Shuang was a person in the mirror, but his gamble with Lin Buyu’s name unexpectedly convinced Qu Shuang they were destined for each other. When Xu Taiping reunited with Cloud Crane True Lord and the Pearl Relic House Master, he realized the figures by the spring were impostors.

• Qu Shuang asked Xu Taiping to visit his granddaughter Ning Shuang at the Four Symbols Sect, and Xu Taiping hesitated while the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord mocked Qu Shuang through voice transmission.
• Xu Taiping claimed he already loved someone, and Qu Shuang pressed him to give her name so he could divine whether they were a true match.
• Xu Taiping named Lin Buyu, and Qu Shuang’s divination convinced him that Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu were destined for each other.
• Cloud Crane True Lord and the Pearl Relic House Master called to Xu Taiping from beside the Spirit Spring, where Great Elder Lou was meditating.
• As Qu Shuang brought the Vermilion Bird phantom closer, Xu Taiping recognized that the figures by the spring were not Cloud Crane True Lord and the Pearl Relic House Master.

Xu Taiping realized that the Azure Nether Spring’s reflections had trapped the true bodies of Qu Shuang, Cloud Crane True Lord, and the Pearl Relic House Master, replacing them with Mirror Persons. With Cloud Crane True Lord urging him to enter the spring, Xu Taiping asked Azure-Eyed Evil Lord for help, and Azure-Eyed Evil Lord began draining the spring with his sleeves.

• Xu Taiping used a Jade Slip to confirm that Cloud Crane True Lord and the Pearl Relic House Master were Mirror Persons, then deduced that the Azure Nether Spring’s reflections had switched them with their true bodies.
• Xu Taiping saw Great Elder Lou rise while his reflection remained seated, confirming his suspicion about how the Mirror Persons operated.
• Cloud Crane True Lord urged Xu Taiping and Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to enter the spring before its spiritual power vanished, but Xu Taiping asked Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to help him avoid going in.
• Azure-Eyed Evil Lord told Xu Taiping to stay where he was, then used his sleeves to draw all the water out of the Azure Nether Spring.

After the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord drained the spirit spring, Xu Taiping and the others set out for the First-Level Barrier ruins. Xu Taiping realized the Primordial Lord might be using the mirror people and a reversed grand formation to awaken, just as Fairy Lingyue woke from her slumber.

• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord drank all the spirit spring water, then gave Xu Taiping a bottle of Spirit Marrow Liquid and claimed he could kill the Primordial Lord alone.
• Xu Taiping agreed to let the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord taste the wine in his gourd if they killed the Primordial Lord.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord carried Xu Taiping, Cloud Crane True Lord, the Pearl Relic House Master, and Qu Shuang by sword toward the barrier ruins.
• Xu Taiping suspected the Primordial Lord wanted to awaken more than he wanted to stop them from repairing the barrier.
• Xu Taiping noticed that the grand formation's runes and spiritual energy circulation were reversed, and Fairy Lingyue awoke and asked what had happened.

Xu Taiping learned that the mirrored figures carried Returning to the Ruins Power, which could reverse the grand formation and awaken the Primordial Lord. As the formation activated, he asked the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to kill everyone present except them, while Fairy Lingyue vanished after saying she had found a way to kill the Primordial Lord.

• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that the mirrored figures wielded Returning to the Ruins Power, which could reverse the grand formation and wake the Primordial Lord.
• Fairy Lingyue advised Xu Taiping to wait until the figures used their power, when their demonic qi would briefly flow backward and leave them vulnerable.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord and Cloud Crane True Lord arrived at the formation ruins, and Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping she had found a way to kill the Primordial Lord before vanishing from his perception.
• Xu Taiping secretly warned the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord that he might need his help, then joined the others at a formation node.
• When Cloud Crane True Lord ordered everyone to activate the formation, Xu Taiping told the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to kill everyone there except them, leaving the Evil Lord stunned.

Xu Taiping and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord attacked the Mirror Persons impersonating the Pearl Relic House Master and his companions while they channeled Returning to the Ruins Power. After the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord killed three of them, Elder Qu Shuang transformed into chaotic mist and revealed that he could wield Returning to the Ruins Power.

• Xu Taiping called on the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to strike, and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord engulfed the four Mirror Persons in Sword Qi that became crushing currents of water.
• The Pearl Relic House Master tried to help Xu Taiping escape, but Xu Taiping stepped back as the water pressure crushed Cloud Crane True Lord and the Pearl Relic House Master.
• Great Elder Lou transformed into flames and evaporated some of the Sword Qi water, but the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord compressed the flames until Great Elder Lou burst apart.
• The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord attacked Elder Qu Shuang while Xu Taiping prepared to explain that the four companions were Mirror Persons.
• Elder Qu Shuang transformed into chaotic mist around a black vortex that devoured the Sword Qi and the Pearl Relic House Master's remains, prompting the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord to recognize Returning to the Ruins Power.

Qu Shuang took control of his Returning to the Ruins clone and warned Xu Taiping and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord that the Primordial Lord had set a trap to reverse the grand formation and steal Li Daoyan’s swordsmanship. He explained how his Withering and Flourishing Art True Intent, “Steal Heaven and Swap Sun,” let him escape the Azure Nether Spring and learn the Primordial Lord’s plan.

• The Mirror Person, appearing as Elder Qu Shuang, poured Returning to the Ruins power into the Ancient Bronze Cauldron and began affecting the grand formation.
• Xu Taiping warned Li Daoyan that the formation could be turned from sealing the Primordial Lord to resurrecting him, and Li Daoyan prepared a powerful sword strike.
• Qu Shuang suddenly regained control, halted the Returning to the Ruins power, and warned that attacking would let the Primordial Lord steal Li Daoyan’s swordsmanship and Immortal Sword Po Jun.
• Qu Shuang explained that his Withering and Flourishing Art True Intent, “Steal Heaven and Swap Sun,” let him take over the clone and learn the Primordial Lord’s intentions.

Qu Shuang explained how to destroy his possessed clone and asked Xu Taiping to preserve his final words for Qu Ningshuang. The Azure-Eyed Evil Lord killed Qu Shuang after he used the Withering and Flourishing Scripture to feign death, and the Lotus Eye’s third Golden Lotus lit up.

• Qu Shuang said the Primordial Lord’s consciousness influenced his clone, but the Withering and Flourishing Scripture could make him feign death so the returning to the ruins power would vanish when the body was destroyed.
• Qu Shuang asked Xu Taiping to record his final words and death in a divine soul mark for Qu Ningshuang, and Xu Taiping promised to deliver it if he survived the grotto-heaven.
• Qu Shuang told Qu Ningshuang he had grown timid after finding her again, but now wanted to fight for the world and be a hero once more.
• Qu Shuang used the Withering and Flourishing Art to extinguish his aura, and the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord saluted him before killing him with Immortal Sword Po Jun.
• The Lotus Eye’s third Golden Lotus lit up in Xu Taiping’s sea of consciousness after Qu Shuang’s death.

Xu Taiping honored Elder Qu Shuang and rallied the survivors by arguing that the Primordial Lord had weakened itself by using the Sun-Moon Guardians and Returning to the Ruins Power. He agreed to stay and fight, while keeping the source of his own foresight secret.

• Xu Taiping carved Elder Qu Shuang's name and a brief account of his life onto the Treading the Sea Army's Stone Stele, then added a Divine Soul Mark.
• Cloud Crane True Lord, the Pearl Relic House Master, and Great Elder Lou thanked Xu Taiping and the Pearl Relic House Master for rescuing them from their seals.
• Xu Taiping reasoned that the Primordial Lord's unusual attacks showed their group could threaten it, and that its recent use of power had left it weaker than it had been in hundreds of thousands of years.
• The Pearl Relic House Master asked whether Xu Taiping would remain to face the Primordial Lord, and Xu Taiping agreed because the Shangqing Realm's survival was at stake.
• Cloud Crane True Lord questioned Xu Taiping about his apparent divination abilities, and Xu Taiping declined to reveal their source while indirectly admitting he possessed powerful deduction skills.

Xu Taiping and the others found that two deaths had left them short of the seven people needed to reactivate the first Grand Formation sealing the Primordial Lord. Xu Taiping offered his Immortal-Inviting Talisman, and Cloud Crane True Lord realized it might be a Supreme-Grade Divine Talisman capable of summoning someone who could fill the gap.

• Xu Taiping gained Cloud Crane True Lord, the Pearl Relic House Master, and Great Elder Lou's trust so he could rely on them to carry out the Lotus Eye's guidance.
• The Pearl Relic House Master and Cloud Crane True Lord explained that they needed to activate the Grand Formation to put the Primordial Lord into a deep sleep before approaching him.
• Cloud Crane True Lord revealed that the formation required seven living people or sacred objects, but Elder Zhuo and Qu Shuang's deaths had left them one person short even with the Pearl Relic House Master's Sage Relic.
• Xu Taiping offered his Immortal-Inviting Talisman, and Cloud Crane True Lord explained that a divine talisman could summon a Heaven Shocking Realm cultivator from Outer Heaven.
• Xu Taiping opened the brocade box and said his talisman should qualify as a Supreme-Grade Divine Talisman.

Xu Taiping used the divine-grade Immortal-Inviting Talisman to summon a Heaven Shocking Realm cultivator, hoping to turn the crisis around. The talisman instead dragged out Old Daoist Huang, leaving Xu Taiping baffled because he was only in the Heaven Questioning Realm.

• Cloud Crane True Lord identified Xu Taiping's talisman as a divine-grade Immortal-Inviting Talisman, which had acknowledged Xu Taiping as its master.
• Cloud Crane True Lord explained that the talisman could imprison a Heaven Shocking Realm cultivator, while Azure-Eyed Evil Lord warned Xu Taiping that using it might earn him a powerful enemy.
• Xu Taiping decided to use the talisman, and Cloud Crane True Lord, Pearl Relic House Master, Great Elder Lou, and Azure-Eyed Evil Lord guarded him as he poured most of his true essence into it.
• The talisman opened a spatial rift and pulled a furious cultivator through it in purple-gold chains.
• Xu Taiping recognized the captive as Old Daoist Huang, who recognized Xu Taiping in turn, and Xu Taiping wondered why the talisman had summoned someone in the Heaven Questioning Realm.