Chapter Summaries

Xu Taiping opened the Lotus Eye to learn why Zhao Linglong had issued a Sword Inquiry and discovered that a veiled woman had predicted a coming calamity and urged her to expose Lin Qingnu’s divine-human variant bone. A clue suggested the woman might be Buyu, but Xu Taiping’s investigation was interrupted when A Meng challenged Lin Qingnu.

• Xu Taiping opened the Lotus Eye while the crowd watched A Meng, and it warned him that another diviner might mislead its visions.
• The Lotus Eye found that Zhao Linglong’s adviser had no similar divination ability and showed Xu Taiping scenes of her recent conversations with a veiled woman.
• Xu Taiping learned that the veiled woman had warned Zhao Linglong that Azure Profound Sect’s disciples would die unless she forced Lin Qingnu to reveal his divine-human variant bone.
• Xu Taiping noticed a yellow dog resembling the one he had given Buyu and wondered if Buyu was the veiled woman, though he doubted she could interfere with the River of Time.
• A Meng issued a Sword Inquiry to Lin Qingnu, startling Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue realized that the mysterious person had arranged for Zhao Linglong and A Meng to challenge Lin Qingnu in order to strengthen their Dao Hearts. As Lin Qingnu faced A Meng’s Sword Inquiry, he refused by invoking a ceasefire token.

• Xu Taiping, Fairy Lingyue, and Ping'an concluded that the challenges were intended to strengthen Zhao Linglong and A Meng’s Dao Hearts.
• Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue that Junior Sister Buyu had likely guided Zhao Linglong, leaving them puzzled about how Buyu could have done so while in seclusion.
• Xu Taiping predicted that Lin Qingnu would refuse A Meng’s challenge to preserve his strength for the Sword Champion Assembly.
• Bai Yu shared their prediction on the Spirit Mirror under the alias Bai Chen, where readers initially questioned him.
• Lin Qingnu raised the Ceasefire Token and refused A Meng’s Sword Inquiry, prompting an uproar from the stands.

Fairy Lingyue warned Xu Taiping that half-immortals could manipulate cultivators’ karma, and explained that breaking free of their schemes could let someone become a half-immortal. After A Meng and Lin Qingnu advanced, Qian Yi accused Xu Taiping, disguised as Chu Ping'an, of conspiring with the Nine Abysses and came to take him to Cloud-Pacifying Peak, leaving Xu Taiping pleased that the fish had taken the bait.

• Fairy Lingyue said Lin Qingnu’s refusal might be part of a scheme by half-immortals to shape the fates of Zhao Linglong and A Meng.
• Fairy Lingyue revealed she had fled to True Martial Heaven to escape becoming a Dao fruit and explained that half-immortals could choose exceptional cultivators as pawns.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that breaking free of the half-immortals’ board could allow him to become one of them.
• A Meng and Lin Qingnu dominated the resumed Sword Inquiry and advanced to the Sword Seizure trial.
• Qian Yi arrived at Xu Taiping’s side room and accused him, as Chu Ping'an, of colluding with the Nine Abysses and murdering Chu Qiuqiuyai.
• Xu Taiping told Fairy Lingyue that the fish had taken the bait.

Xu Taiping was accused of murdering Chu Qiuyai after the Nine Prefectures relied on a Moonshadow Stone recording that he suspected had been altered. He was sent to prison with his cultivation sealed, where Fairy Lingyue warned that Su Chan might try to assassinate him.

• Liu Chuxuan and Qian Yi confronted Xu Taiping with the Moonshadow Stone images and accused him of killing Chu Qiuyai.
• Xu Taiping questioned whether the images had been replaced and named Zhao Linglong as a witness who could prove he was elsewhere.
• Liu Chuxuan ordered the elders to seal Xu Taiping’s cultivation and send him to the Nine Prefectures Prison while they investigated.
• Qian Yi gave Liu Chuxuan two days to interrogate Xu Taiping before he came to take him himself.
• Xu Taiping used the Spirit Pearl to contact Fairy Lingyue and explained that the interrogation and sealed acupoints matched his Lotus Eye divination.
• Fairy Lingyue warned Xu Taiping that Su Chan might attempt to assassinate him in prison.

Locked in Cloud-Pacifying Peak’s prison, Xu Taiping learned that Su Chan had leaked his imprisonment to inflame conflict between rogue cultivators and sect cultivators before arranging his assassination. As someone approached the cell, Xu Taiping prepared to follow the Lotus Eye’s projections and face the attack.

• Xu Taiping confirmed that his cell had one passage, while Fairy Lingyue said Bai Yu was watching the entrance for anyone approaching.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that Nine Prefectures elders had searched for her and Ping'an, nearly tracking them with the True Intent of Wind-Catching and Shadow-Grasping.
• Fairy Lingyue reported that news of Xu Taiping’s imprisonment had spread through Liuxian Town, provoking arguments and violence between rogue cultivators and sect cultivators.
• Xu Taiping realized Su Chan planned to frame and kill him to fuel two waves of hostility and throw the Sword Champion Assembly and True Martial Heaven into chaos.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that his name remained listed for the final Sword Inquiry, and Xu Taiping believed Sect Master Zhao Qian had arranged his place.
• When mechanisms and chains sounded outside the cell, Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue prepared for an approaching attacker and the coming fight.

Xu Taiping faced Qian Xiaofu and Bai Di when they entered his cell, where they beat and interrogated him. He refused Bai Di’s offer to trade his manuals for the removal of his Soul Needles and warned that his visitors were running out of time.

• Xu Taiping hid Red Lion and Old Smoky Ghost inside their paintings as Qian Xiaofu and Bai Di approached his cell.
• Qian Xiaofu kicked Xu Taiping and said her grandfather would take him away the next day, while Xu Taiping kept Old Smoky Ghost from revealing himself.
• Bai Di struck Xu Taiping and offered to remove his Soul Needles in exchange for his Body-Tempering Method and Fist Manual.
• Qian Xiaofu said it was past eleven, and Xu Taiping sat up and told Bai Di that they were the ones running out of time.

Xu Taiping warned Bai Di and Qian Xiaofu that danger was coming, but they ignored him and were trapped in the stone cell when a powerful crystal monster broke in. Bai Di tried to escape with Qian Xiaofu using his Sword Domain, but a young girl sent them back into the cell just as the monster attacked.

• Xu Taiping warned Bai Di and Qian Xiaofu to leave the stone cell before it was too late, but they refused.
• An attacker killed Elder Liu outside the cell and used a true intent that slowed Bai Di and Qian Xiaofu.
• A nearly twenty-foot crystal monster smashed through the stone door and entered the cell.
• Bai Di activated his Sword Domain and used Ten-Step Kill to carry Qian Xiaofu toward the passage.
• A young girl struck their sword light with her purple-glowing palm, sending Bai Di and Qian Xiaofu back into the cell.
• The crystal monster demanded to know who had let them run and hurled a fist at them.

Bai Di and Qian Xiaofu were overwhelmed by a stone demon’s Origin Demon Seed Power, which turned their attacks and treasures to dust. Xu Taiping recognized the arriving female Demon Cultivator as Su Xue, sent by Su Chan, but she and the stone demon revealed they had come to kill him too.

• Bai Di’s Sword Domain and Golden Light Talisman were destroyed by the stone demon’s Return to Dust power.
• Bai Di realized the stone demon was a Demon Cultivator from the Nine Abysses, while Qian Xiaofu’s jade disc also turned to dust.
• Xu Taiping recognized the young female Demon Cultivator as Su Xue and concluded that Su Chan had sent the intruders.
• Bai Di stabbed Xu Taiping’s shoulder and threatened to kill him if the intruders came closer.
• The stone demon and Su Xue mocked Bai Di and revealed that they had come to kill Xu Taiping as well.

Xu Taiping challenged the Nine Abysses Demon Cultivators while Old Smoky Ghost fought Stone Demon, and Su Xue tried to lure the Ghost Creature away. Xu Taiping forced out the soul needles and revealed a sudden surge of power, leaving Su Xue to wonder whether the Demon Cultivators had been ambushed.

• Bai Di submitted to the Nine Abysses, used Mind-Confusing Art to control Qian Xiaofu, and offered her as a captive.
• Stone Demon beat Bai Di nearly to death, but Bai Di continued begging to join the Nine Abysses.
• Xu Taiping challenged Su Xue and Stone Demon, and Old Smoky Ghost intercepted Stone Demon with his tobacco pipe.
• Su Xue feinted at Xu Taiping to draw Old Smoky Ghost away, but the Ghost Creature ignored her attack.
• Xu Taiping ate the Immortal Sword and forced the soul needles from his body, causing his power to surge as Su Xue realized they might be the ones ambushed.

Xu Taiping broke free of Witch Su Xue’s attacks and used thunder-infused blade qi to wound the Stone Demon, giving Old Smoky Ghost a chance to sever the demon’s arm. Su Xue restored the Stone Demon and sheltered them both inside her spiked Bronze Ring as Xu Taiping approached in a transformed, dragon-scaled form.

• Witch Su Xue attacked Xu Taiping with snowflakes carrying Cutting Through Iron Like Mud and tried to seize him with Steal Heaven and Swap Sun.
• Xu Taiping broke free and slashed at Su Xue, forcing her to use Instantaneous Movement to escape the strike.
• Xu Taiping’s thunder-infused blade qi struck the Stone Demon, and Old Smoky Ghost used the opening to cut off the demon’s arm.
• Witch Su Xue transformed her Bronze Ring into a spiked enclosure and healed the Stone Demon with a bloody heart.
• Xu Taiping walked toward the enclosure, covered in purple-gold dragon scales and carrying a saber that made Su Xue shudder.

Xu Taiping overwhelmed Witch Su Xue and Stone Demon in the stone prison, cutting through their Demon God Weapon and forcing them to flee. The Red-Haired Ghost King trapped them at the exit, leaving the two Devil Masters with no way out.

• Xu Taiping rejected Old Smoky Ghost's tobacco and destroyed Stone Demon's return to dust attack with a blade strike.
• Xu Taiping split the Demon God Weapon Hedgehog with the Water-Cutting Blade and injured Stone Demon with a torrent of blade qi.
• Witch Su Xue used Steal Heaven and Swap Sun to teleport herself and Stone Demon to the prison entrance, where Old Smoky Ghost struck them with his pipe.
• Xu Taiping summoned the Red-Haired Ghost King, whose beast-trapping cage blocked Witch Su Xue and Stone Demon's next escape attempt.
• Bai Di watched in disbelief as Xu Taiping cornered the two Devil Masters.

Xu Taiping faced Witch Su Xue and the Stone Demon inside Red Lion’s unbreakable cage as their plans were exposed. Witch Su Xue deduced that the cage’s rules could be challenged, but Red Lion revealed that the requirement to fight was inherent to his beast-trapping power.

• The Stone Demon failed to break Red Lion’s blood-red cage, and Witch Su Xue concluded that brute force could not overcome it.
• Witch Su Xue recognized Xu Taiping as someone connected to Su Chan, and the Stone Demon realized their plot had been exposed.
• The Stone Demon transformed into Vermilion Armor to gain strength, while Witch Su Xue prepared to fight Red Lion.
• Witch Su Xue deduced that she could establish a rule inside the cage, but Red Lion revealed that its demand for combat was inherent to his beast-trapping power.

Xu Taiping and Witch Su Xue set rules for a Beast Cage battle, then Witch Su Xue and Stone Demon attacked Xu Taiping and Old Smoky Ghost. After Stone Demon appeared to blast them apart, Xu Taiping revealed he had survived and aimed a Fire Origin arrow at Stone Demon while Old Smoky Ghost struck Witch Su Xue.

• Witch Su Xue banned both sides from using Qi and Blood Power, and Xu Taiping ruled that the battle would end only when one side died or could no longer fight.
• Witch Su Xue, convinced Xu Taiping was using them to reach Lord Su Chan, attacked him and Old Smoky Ghost with a storm of snow-like blade strikes.
• Old Smoky Ghost's smoke and starlike radiance countered the attack, but Stone Demon used his Return to Dust power to infiltrate the cloud and explode as an Armor Pellet.
• Stone Demon thought he had blasted Xu Taiping and Old Smoky Ghost apart, but Witch Su Xue spotted Xu Taiping behind him with his bow drawn.
• Old Smoky Ghost struck Witch Su Xue with his Tobacco Pipe as Xu Taiping fired a Fire Origin arrow toward Stone Demon.

Xu Taiping used the Shentu Bow and the Azure Luan Ring to counter Su Xue and the Stone Demon, eventually trapping the Stone Demon in its vulnerable infant form. As Su Xue prepared to fight to the death, Xu Taiping began fusing thunder with 𩙥 Flame, and she realized he was condensing thunderflame.

• Xu Taiping revealed that he had ambushed the Stone Demon and destroyed its re-forming body with a Fire Virtue Arrow.
• Su Xue tried to kill Xu Taiping with a Black Spear, but discovered she had struck a clone; she then used Steal Heaven and Swap Sun to attack Old Smoky Ghost and redirect the demons and attacks.
• Xu Taiping fired a Thunder Master Arrow, while Su Xue switched places with the Stone Demon and redirected the thunder strike onto it.
• The Stone Demon attacked Xu Taiping and Old Smoky Ghost with its return-to-dust power, but Xu Taiping tore through the starlight with blade qi.
• Xu Taiping used the Stone Demon's explosion to condense 𩙥 Flame, protecting himself and Old Smoky Ghost while the Stone Demon reverted to its vulnerable infant form.
• Su Xue threatened Xu Taiping and gathered her powers, while Xu Taiping began fusing thunder with 𩙥 Flame, prompting her to cry out that he was condensing thunderflame.

Xu Taiping used thunderflame to overwhelm Witch Su Xue and burn through the Stone Demon's defenses, then asked Witch Su Xue about Su Chan's plans. She knew nothing about his exact plans but offered to reveal something else about Emperor Su as the fight continued.

• Xu Taiping fused true fire and thunder origin power to unleash thunderflame, forcing Witch Su Xue to defend herself with both demon seed powers.
• Xu Taiping decapitated the Stone Demon and burned his body to ashes, while Old Smoky Ghost asked him to save some remains for tobacco.
• Xu Taiping asked Witch Su Xue to tell him Su Chan's plans, but she said they were all Su Chan's pieces and knew only their own assignments.
• The Stone Demon regenerated in Vermilion Armor and attacked Xu Taiping, who used his Blade Domain and mountain spirit power to pin him down and sever both arms.
• Xu Taiping's thunderflame burned the Stone Demon's armor and origin demon seed power, prompting Witch Su Xue to ask him to stop and offer information about Emperor Su.

Xu Taiping forced Witch Su Xue to reveal that Su Chan was hiding in Liuhe Pagoda in Liuxian Town, then brought Fairy Lingyue to confront him. The chapter ended with Witch Su Xue realizing Fairy Lingyue could kill Su Chan.

• Xu Taiping burned away Stone Demon's body, threatened his demon seed, and made Witch Su Xue reveal Su Chan's location in Liuhe Pagoda.
• Xu Taiping left Witch Su Xue and Stone Demon's demon seed sealed in Old Smoky Ghost's pouch and departed the Stone Prison.
• Liu Chuxuan and Qian Yi returned to find Qian Xiaofu unconscious and Bai Di seemingly mad; a recovered scene showed Qian Xiaofu insulting Chu Ping'an, enraging Qian Yi.
• Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue reached Liuhe Pagoda's fifth floor, where Xu Taiping confirmed the location with Witch Su Xue.
• Fairy Lingyue released her suppressed aura, and Witch Su Xue realized she had brought Su Chan someone capable of killing him.

Xu Taiping used his karmic power to locate Su Chan in Heavenly Character Number Five, and Fairy Lingyue confronted him by unleashing her true domain. Su Chan began breaking free of the freezing snowfield, confirming Xu Taiping's suspicion that the attendant was no ordinary demon cultivator.

• Xu Taiping identified Heavenly Character Number Five as Su Chan's room by following the karmic thread connected to Witch Su Xue.
• Xu Taiping prepared his Water-Cutting Blade and awakened the flame inside the Azure Luan Ring while Fairy Lingyue told him to stay behind her.
• An attendant confronted Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue, then reached for a jade slip when Fairy Lingyue claimed she was staying in Heavenly Character Number Five.
• Fairy Lingyue stamped the floor and transported them into her snowfield true domain.
• The attendant revealed his power was rising as he broke through the ice, and Xu Taiping realized he was Su Chan.

Fairy Lingyue and Su Chan clashed inside her True Domain as Su Chan countered her power with his Sword Domain and Taotie. Fairy Lingyue summoned Guanghan Palace and unleashed its Tide divine power against him.

• Fairy Lingyue recognized that Su Chan had mastered fourth-tier origin demon seed power despite only recently reaching the Demon Emperor Realm.
• Su Chan expanded his Sword Domain, manifested Taotie's Branch-Folding black tree, and began using Taotie to devour Fairy Lingyue's True Domain Power.
• Xu Taiping warned Fairy Lingyue that Taotie could devour the Spiritual Power of the surrounding region.
• Su Chan told Fairy Lingyue he could gravely injure her if he staked his life, and she challenged his claim.
• Fairy Lingyue manifested Guanghan Palace within her True Domain and used its Tide divine power to flip the sea in Su Chan's Sword Domain.

Fairy Lingyue and Xu Taiping battled Su Chan inside her true domain, where Su Chan retrieved an ancient wolf head and transformed into the Heavenly Wolf Demon God. As Su Chan’s power threatened to break through the domain, Fairy Lingyue called Xu Taiping to sit with her in Guanghan Palace.

• Fairy Lingyue froze the sea Su Chan had overturned and sent it crashing down on him.
• Su Chan split the frozen sea, then cut a fissure into Fairy Lingyue’s true domain and reached through it.
• Su Chan pulled out an ancient wolf head and transformed into the hundred-zhang Heavenly Wolf Demon God.
• Fairy Lingyue identified the wolf head as an object from the ancient Demon God Heavenly Wolf and explained that it granted Su Chan a portion of its combat strength.
• Su Chan unleashed the Sea Incineration heat and fired a huge fireball that began vaporizing Fairy Lingyue’s true domain.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping to sit with her in Guanghan Palace as the fireball bore down on them.

Fairy Lingyue trapped Su Chan’s Heavenly Wolf Demon God in her True Domain, A Drop in the Ocean, and demonstrated how it could shrink enemies and enlarge attacks. She spent much of her true power to cut Su Chan’s body in two, leaving Xu Taiping wondering whether Su Chan had truly died.

• Fairy Lingyue revealed that her True Domain could shrink the Heavenly Wolf Demon God and its surroundings to the size of a grain of rice.
• Su Chan repeatedly enlarged the Heavenly Wolf Demon God and tried to reach Guanghan Palace, but Fairy Lingyue kept shrinking him.
• Fairy Lingyue enlarged Xu Taiping’s Gold Essence Coin and struck Su Chan, but Su Chan smashed the coin apart with the Heavenly Wolf Demon God’s body.
• Fairy Lingyue decided Su Chan had to die and warned that her next attack would take years of true power to recover.
• Fairy Lingyue sent an enlarged Moon Soul sword through the Spirit Mirror and sliced the Heavenly Wolf Demon God in two, leaving Xu Taiping unsure whether Su Chan had died.