Recaps

Xu Taiping used a powerful bow to wound a Demon Flood Dragon and distract the white-haired Demon Venerable while the Golden Qilin Formation struck another attacker. The Demon Venerable then decided to summon the Immortal-Slaying Demon Blade and slaughter everyone as the Demon Lotus neared ripening.

• Xu Taiping tested the bow Zhou Ao gave him and found he could draw it by using his full strength.
• Xu Taiping shot a Demon Flood Dragon in the head, then knocked the young demon cultivator from his attack with another arrow.
• Xu Taiping drew the white-haired Demon Venerable's attention while the young demon cultivator's Demon Flood Dragon attacked the dining hall formation node.
• The Golden Qilin Formation manifested a golden qilin that seized the Demon Flood Dragon and its flames, severely injuring them.
• Xu Taiping shot the distracted Demon Venerable and delayed him from helping the young demon cultivator.
• Xu Taiping heard the Demon Venerable decide to summon the Immortal-Slaying Demon Blade and slaughter everyone.

At Yunmeng Marsh, Cloudview Palace’s Jing Yun offered to break the ruins’ barrier in exchange for a place in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven. Before Huang Que could seek approval, two flying swords broke through the barrier and defeated the Nine Prefectures’ six Guest Elders, identifying themselves as Longyuan and Chengying.

• Huang Que struggled to answer the gathered cultivators’ demands for a way into the Yunmeng ruins before the ancient Teleportation Array opened.
• Jing Yun presented Cloudview Palace’s Cloud-Crossing Boat and asked the Nine Prefectures to grant one of his disciples a place in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven in return for its use.
• As Huang Que prepared to seek approval, Longyuan and Chengying’s flying swords pierced the clouds and broke through the barrier above the ruins.
• Huang Que summoned the Nine Prefectures’ hidden Guest Elders, but the swords’ combined Sword Qi sent all six flying.
• Liu Bai respectfully asked the swords for their names, and they identified themselves as Longyuan and Chengying.

Longyuan and Chengying arrived at Yunmeng Marsh under Lü Daoxuan’s orders, cleaved open the ruins’ barrier, and flew inside to bring home the Qingxuan disciples and destroy the Nine Nether Demon Army. Inside the ruins, Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu realized the white-haired Demon Venerable was using his assault on the Golden Qilin Formation to buy time to summon the Immortal-Slaying Blade, and Lin Buyu proposed knocking Xu Ziyan unconscious to warn her.

• Longyuan and Chengying announced Lü Daoxuan’s orders to retrieve the Qingxuan disciples and slaughter the Nine Nether Demon Army in the ruins.
• Longyuan and Chengying cleaved open the cloud-and-mist barrier, then flew into the ruins as a few dozen cultivators followed.
• Huang Que told Jing Yun that the Nine Prefectures had withdrawn their agreement after hearing that Lü Daoxuan had acted, and Jing Yun decided to enter the ruins himself.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable shattered the Golden Qilin Formation’s golden qilin with a massive blade shadow while Xu Ziyan reassured the others that the formation could absorb attacks.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu secretly realized the Demon Venerable was buying time to summon the Immortal-Slaying Blade, and Lin Buyu suggested knocking Xu Ziyan unconscious so Lin Buyan could bewilder her soul.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu learned that the Demon Venerable planned to use the Immortal-Slaying Blade to break the Golden Qilin Formation, so they arranged to retreat to the restricted cellar. Xu Ziyan led the disciples in a surprise attack, but the Demon Venerable summoned Immortal-Slaying as the formation’s power began to run out.

• Lin Buyu persuaded Xu Ziyan to prepare to retreat into the cellar, while Xu Taiping recognized that the Immortal-Slaying Blade was a Second-Rank Demon King Weapon.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu heard the Demon Cultivators say that the Immortal-Slaying Blade was about to emerge after a sacrifice, and learned that they intended to kill and claim the disciples.
• Xu Ziyan combined the Golden Qilin Formation with the Cloud-Piercing Sword Formation and instructed the disciples to strike before fleeing to the cellar.
• Xu Ziyan unleashed the Golden Qilin Formation against the Demon Cultivators, injuring two Demon Flood Dragons and killing a Demon Cultivator.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable blocked the golden qilin’s attack, then raised his arm and called for Immortal-Slaying.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu escaped the Demon King Weapon Immortal-Slaying when Longyuan and Chengying appeared and defeated it. After the swords opened an exit for the Azure Profound Sect disciples, Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu chose to stay and help slaughter the Nine Abysses Demon Army.

• Xu Ziyan used the Golden Qilin Formation to strike Immortal-Slaying, creating an opening for Xu Taiping and the others to escape.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable transformed Immortal-Slaying into a Giant Whale and tried to swallow Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu.
• Longyuan and Chengying arrived and severed the Giant Whale's head with their combined sword light.
• The white-haired Demon Venerable attacked Xu Taiping and the others, but Longyuan and Chengying shattered the blade wave and forced him to flee with the remaining Demon Cultivators.
• Chengying opened an exit for the Azure Profound Sect disciples, then asked Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu whether they would leave or stay to fight.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu chose to stay and help slaughter the Nine Abysses Demon Army.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu reached Taixuan Hall as Nie Shu consumed the black lotus and became a Devil Master. When Nie Shu attacked them with the Immortal-Slaying Blade, an unseen force disrupted his weapon and terrified him into fleeing.

• Xu Ziyan told Lü Su and Zhou Ao that Longyuan and Chengying were the swords Junior Martial Uncle had used against the Devil Master of the Nine Nether.
• Guided by Longyuan and Chengying, Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu cut down the demon cultivators in the immortal mansion ruins and arrived at Taixuan Hall.
• Nie Shu announced that the Nine Nether had reclaimed the black lotus, then absorbed its power and declared himself a Devil Master.
• Longyuan and Chengying shielded Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu from the demonic qi and the Immortal-Slaying Blade's barrage of attacks.
• Nie Shu's strike broke through the swords' defenses, but an unseen force made the scene distort and shattered the Immortal-Slaying Blade.
• Terrified, Nie Shu abandoned his attack and fled Taixuan Hall's mountain as black fog.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu entered Taixuan Hall to seek the Taixuan Sect’s hidden treasures after Nie Shu was devoured by a mysterious presence. Xu Taiping obtained three treasures and Lin Buyu obtained five before the hall’s colored mist dispersed.

• A mysterious force emerged from Taixuan Hall, seized Nie Shu, and dragged him inside, while Longyuan and Chengying explained that it devoured powerful beings who appeared in the secret realm.
• Longyuan and Chengying brought Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu to Taixuan Hall, where they entered before the multicolored mist could disperse.
• Xu Taiping caught a jade slip containing the Taixuan Sect’s Heaven Rank movement technique, Endless Horizon.
• Two more lights struck Xu Taiping and gave him a Grass Return Pill recipe and an Azure Ox Great Sage Fist manual.
• After the mist dispersed, Xu Taiping told Longyuan and Chengying that he had obtained three treasures, and Lin Buyu said she had obtained five.

After returning from Taixuan Hall, Xu Taiping recovered from his injuries and prepared for the Blade Ghost’s monthly retaliation. As night fell, he strengthened himself with pills and waited for the Ghost-Sealing Talisman to drag him into the blade domain.

• Longyuan and Chengying warned Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu not to reveal what they had found in Taixuan Hall, then carried them out of the ruins.
• Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu spotted two flying jiangshi dining at Listening Wind Tower as they passed overhead.
• Four days after returning to the Azure Profound Sect, Xu Taiping recovered, handed over some of the ruins’ treasures for merit points, and considered his gains.
• Xu Taiping saw that the Ghost-Sealing Talisman had developed bloody gashes and decided to face the Blade Ghost’s retaliation by crossing blades with him.
• At night, Xu Taiping took pills, sat with the Spring Tiger Saber, and heard the Blade Ghost roar, “Wretch, come in and meet your death!”

Xu Taiping confronted the Red-Haired Blade Ghost in the blade domain, using clones and improved Green Ox Fist techniques but failing to overcome the ghost’s overwhelming power. The Blade Ghost tortured him and demanded that he undo the Ghost-Sealing Talisman, while Xu Taiping refused and braced himself for a year of suffering inside the domain.

• Xu Taiping entered the blade domain and used a clone to distract the Red-Haired Blade Ghost before striking him with Ox Horn Crashes the Mountain.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost shattered Xu Taiping’s attacks with a roar of blade qi, leaving Xu Taiping severely wounded.
• Xu Taiping told the Blade Ghost that he would not undo the Ghost-Sealing Talisman, and the Blade Ghost repeatedly cut him apart while keeping him alive.
• The Blade Ghost warned that he could torture Xu Taiping for a year in the blade domain, and Xu Taiping answered that he could endure it.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost repeatedly mutilated and tortured Xu Taiping, then began the torment again.

Xu Taiping endured repeated deaths in the Red-Haired Blade Ghost’s domain and used each exchange to study the ghost’s movements. After landing a small but genuine wound, he proved his progress with a deeper cut, and the Blade Ghost shifted from tormenting him to testing him with the saber.

• Xu Taiping recovered after many deaths and told the Red-Haired Blade Ghost that he would catch up to his speed.
• Xu Taiping studied the Blade Ghost’s attack and landed a thin scratch, enraging the ghost, who cut him apart.
• After recovering, Xu Taiping challenged the Blade Ghost again and dodged far enough to leave a visible wound on his chest.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost examined the wound, restored Xu Taiping instead of tormenting him, and resumed his saber-drawing stance.

Xu Taiping survived the Blade Ghost’s Domain until the Ghost-Sealing Talisman bound the spirit at dawn. Back in Fan Tower, he resolved to study the Demon-Slaying Blade before the next full moon so he could wound the Blade Ghost again and keep him from focusing on destroying his Divine Soul.

• Xu Taiping drew the Blade Ghost into another exchange, but the Ghost struck him down before his blade landed and then found a cut on his shoulder.
• The Blade Ghost revived Xu Taiping and demanded another duel, but Xu Taiping refused and endured his torment as the Ghost-Sealing Talisman grew stronger.
• Xu Taiping announced that dawn was coming, and the Ghost-Sealing Talisman bound the enraged Blade Ghost as his Blade Domain collapsed.
• Xu Taiping awoke in Fan Tower, recovered his Blood Qi with medicine and Dragon Gall Wine, and recognized the Blade Ghost’s aim and obsession with perfect victory.
• Xu Taiping decided to spend the coming month studying the Demon-Slaying Blade so he could wound the Blade Ghost again at the next full moon.

Xu Taiping spent a month refining his cultivation and learning the first form of the Demon-Slaying Blade, then demonstrated its power against Bai Yu. He was still far from mastering Hundred Cicadas Crying in Unison, and Bai Yu asked whether he would face the Blade Ghost again that night.

• Xu Taiping meditated with the Rosy Dawn Formula after taking a Grass Return Pill, seeking to improve his cultivation and resist the Ghost-Sealing Talisman's drain on his blood qi.
• A month later, Xu Taiping and Bai Yu sparred in the clearing before Fan Tower, trading rapid strikes with their blades and wings.
• Xu Taiping used the Demon-Slaying Blade's first form, Cicada Cry, to pin Bai Yu in place and stopped the massive blade shadow just before it struck him.
• Xu Taiping explained that he had spent over a month learning Cicada Cry and that Hundred Cicadas Crying in Unison meant striking once as though striking a hundred times.
• Bai Yu decided he needed to cultivate Heavenly Eagle Claw and asked Xu Taiping whether he would meet the Blade Ghost again that night.

Xu Taiping spent a month preparing to face the Blade Ghost again, strengthening his cultivation and practicing the Demon-Slaying Blade. As the full moon arrived, he entered the Blade Domain more composed than before, carrying both Spring Tiger and the undrawable Water-Cutting Blade.

• Xu Taiping reassured Bai Yu that he had prepared for the rematch, and Bai Yu promised to keep watch while he practiced the Danxia Art.
• Xu Taiping used his merit coins to buy medicinal ingredients, and Grass Return Pills helped his true essence grow as his Qi Mansion doubled in size.
• Xu Taiping continued practicing swordsmanship, studying cultivation techniques, and developing the Red Crow Golden Flame Formula and the Demon-Slaying Blade's Cicada Cry.
• Xu Taiping prepared for the full moon by circulating the Danxia Art and filling his Qi Mansion with true qi.
• Water-Cutting flew from the Iron Gourd and struck Xu Taiping, who brought it along despite being unable to draw it.
• Xu Taiping entered the Blade Domain and faced the Red-Haired Blade Ghost again with greater composure.

Xu Taiping used Duan Tianya’s blade technique to wound the Red-Haired Blade Ghost, who challenged him to strike again and promised to restore his body if he could make him use E Lai. The Red-Haired Blade Ghost healed Xu Taiping, and Xu Taiping launched another Cicada Cry slash.

• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost noticed Water-Cutting and learned that Duan Tianya had left Xu Taiping the blade and its manual, but declared Xu Taiping unworthy.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost attacked Xu Taiping, who dodged the first strike at the cost of an arm and countered with Spring Tiger.
• Xu Taiping’s Cicada Cry slash forced the Red-Haired Blade Ghost to block with his Life-Bound Weapon, E Lai, and left a shallow wound on him.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost asked whether Xu Taiping had learned Duan Tianya’s blade technique in one month and challenged him to make him use E Lai again.
• The Red-Haired Blade Ghost healed Xu Taiping and returned to an ordinary saber, while Xu Taiping rushed forward with another Cicada Cry slash.

Xu Taiping endured another brutal session in the blade domain and secretly revealed that he had mastered Hundred Cicadas Crying in Unison. After wondering when Fairy Lingyue would awaken, he heard her call from Moon Perching Pavilion and rushed to see her.

• Xu Taiping left the blade domain after surviving another night of torture from the Blade Ghost, who was still eager to learn more of Duan Tianya's Demon-Slaying Blade.
• Xu Taiping revealed to the Ghost-Sealing Talisman that he had mastered Hundred Cicadas Crying in Unison and used the move to provoke the Blade Ghost.
• Xu Taiping took medicine and Dragon Gall Wine to recover, then reflected on his blade training and the danger of facing the Blade Ghost again.
• Xu Taiping hoped Fairy Lingyue would awaken soon so he could ask her about sealing the Blade Ghost and the Taixuan Sect ruins.
• Fairy Lingyue called to Xu Taiping from Moon Perching Pavilion's central courtyard, and he hurried to meet her.

Xu Taiping met Fairy Lingyue and asked her about the Sumeru Realm and the Nine Nether demon cultivators. She revealed that she came from the Sumeru Realm, warned him not to investigate it before reaching the Transformation Realm, and explained the Nine Abysses; Xu Taiping then asked whether True Martial Heaven had any former Nine Abyss sites.

• Xu Taiping found Fairy Lingyue in the Bamboo Grove, where she appeared as a little girl because her body was not fully formed.
• Fairy Lingyue wanted to confront Blade Ghost over Xu Taiping's injuries, but he asked to discuss him later and told her about his battles with Nine Nether demon cultivators.
• After Xu Taiping described the Taixuan Sect ruins, Fairy Lingyue revealed that she came from the Sumeru Realm and warned that powerful beings used the One-Leaf Book to seek Sumeru cultivators.
• Fairy Lingyue said the Sumeru Realm had been devastated by two world-destroying beings and urged Xu Taiping not to investigate it before reaching the Transformation Realm.
• Fairy Lingyue said the Taixuan Sect could be discussed safely but advised caution about the Great Void Calamity, which she had never heard of.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that Nine Nether demon cultivators likely descended from the Nine Abysses, and Xu Taiping asked whether True Martial Heaven had any former Nine Abyss sites.

Fairy Lingyue explained the Profound Grotto’s history and warned Xu Taiping that his Grand Martial Uncle might be behind the scheme at Yunmeng Marsh. Xu Taiping refused to believe Junior Martial Uncle would harm him, and Fairy Lingyue ended the discussion by inviting him to settle the score with Blade Ghost.

• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that the Profound Grotto’s destruction had depleted True Martial Heaven, and that escaped demon cultivators likely founded Nine Nether while searching for the ruins.
• Fairy Lingyue urged Xu Taiping to break through to the Mystic Understanding Realm and then travel with her to Youyun Heaven, explaining how cultivation realms and combat skills affected a cultivator’s strength.
• Fairy Lingyue warned Xu Taiping that the demon cultivators at the Yunmeng Marsh Immortal Abode Ruins might have been manipulated to feed a monster in Taixuan Hall and draw out a Devil Master for the Taixuan Sect’s hidden cache.
• Fairy Lingyue said Xu Taiping’s Grand Martial Uncle was the most suspicious figure, but Xu Taiping insisted Junior Martial Uncle would never harm him.
• Fairy Lingyue wondered whether the Grand Martial Uncle wanted to take Xu Taiping as his disciple, then invited him to settle the score with Blade Ghost.

Xu Taiping entered the Ghost-Sealing Talisman with Fairy Lingyue and watched her confront the Blade Ghost. Fairy Lingyue overwhelmed him in his Blade Domain, but the Blade Ghost recovered and attacked her with two enormous grinding discs.

• Fairy Lingyue explained that she had created the Ghost-Sealing Talisman and revealed the Blade Ghost imprisoned inside it.
• Fairy Lingyue awakened the Blade Ghost, who demanded that Xu Taiping show him Hundred Cicadas Crying in Unison before recognizing her and asking why she was still alive.
• Fairy Lingyue refused to release the Ghost-Sealing Talisman, expanded the prison, and entered the Blade Domain with Xu Taiping.
• Fairy Lingyue ignored the Blade Domain's distance-warping power and punched the Blade Ghost, then summoned a Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva Statue to destroy his attacks and pound him to pulp.
• The Blade Ghost restored his body and declared himself the ruler of his Blade Domain before sending two enormous grinding discs toward Fairy Lingyue.

Fairy Lingyue seized control of the Blade Ghost’s blade domain and shattered it, then confronted his increasingly powerful attacks inside the Stone Prison. She ended the chapter by invoking “Without abiding, without thought, without form,” bursting his mountain-like blade force.

• Fairy Lingyue used a towering dharma aspect to hold apart the Blade Ghost’s grinding discs, then trapped him in them and took control of his blade domain.
• The Blade Ghost transformed everything in the domain into blades, fused them into his weapon, and shattered Fairy Lingyue’s dharma aspect and thousand-armed Bodhisattva with a slash.
• Fairy Lingyue struck with her Heavenly Principle Finger, breaking the blade domain and shattering the Blade Ghost, who reappeared weakened in a corner of the Stone Prison of the Ghost-Sealing Talisman.
• The Blade Ghost attacked again with a mountain-like blade force, and Fairy Lingyue stopped his strike with one finger before being forced several steps back.
• Fairy Lingyue chanted “Without abiding, without thought, without form,” and the Blade Ghost’s mountain-like blade force burst apart.

Fairy Lingyue nearly destroyed the Blade Ghost with Red Crow Golden Flame Fire, but he revealed a dormant Demon Lotus growing inside Xu Taiping’s Ghost-Sealing Talisman. The Blade Ghost proposed a deal, leaving Xu Taiping and Fairy Lingyue to face the danger posed by the lotus.

• Fairy Lingyue shattered the Blade Ghost’s manifested form and used Red Crow Golden Flame Fire to hunt him and the demonic shadows in the Stone Prison.
• The Red Crow broke through the Blade Ghost’s defenses, and he revealed a black lotus that Xu Taiping recognized as a Demon Lotus.
• Fairy Lingyue sealed the lotus’s aura inside nine layers of Stone Prison and questioned the Blade Ghost about its origin.
• The Blade Ghost said the lotus had grown from lingering demonic qi drawn in by the Ghost-Sealing Talisman, and Fairy Lingyue concluded no one had deliberately planted it.
• The Blade Ghost held up the dormant Demon Lotus and proposed a deal.

Xu Taiping agreed to test blades with the Blade Ghost once every three months after the Blade Ghost knelt and pleaded for help finding a blade technique. The Blade Ghost swallowed the Demon Lotus to keep it sealed for now, while Fairy Lingyue began to explain how they could remove it; Zhao Linglong then arrived with news that Xu Taiping had secured a place in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven.

• The Blade Ghost offered to use his blade domain to seal the Demon Lotus in exchange for testing blades with Xu Taiping, explaining that Duan Tianya's techniques might help him find the blade technique that would set him free.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping she could suppress the Demon Lotus without the Blade Ghost, but the Blade Ghost knelt and swore he would never betray Xu Taiping as he begged for more blade tests.
• Xu Taiping agreed to test blades with the Blade Ghost once every three months, and the Blade Ghost swallowed the Demon Lotus and promised to keep it from harming Xu Taiping.
• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping they still needed to prepare the items required to uproot the Demon Lotus.
• Zhao Linglong arrived at the Moon Perching Pavilion and announced that Xu Taiping had secured a place in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven.

Sect Master Zhou Tong announced that Ye Xuan would represent the Azure Profound Sect in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven, prompting Zhao Qian and Meng Qingqiu to demand an explanation. A Nine Prefectures Walker then revealed that the Immortal Law Bureau had separately invited Xu Taiping to enter on its behalf, leaving Zhou Tong stunned and angry.

• Zhou Tong announced that Ye Xuan had been chosen to represent the Azure Profound Sect in the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven.
• Meng Qingqiu and Zhao Qian questioned why Lin Buyu and Xu Taiping had been passed over, but Zhou Tong asserted his authority to award the place to Ye Xuan.
• Xu Shengbo arrived with an urgent message from the Nine Prefectures Immortal Law Bureau.
• Xu Shengbo announced that the bureau wanted Xu Taiping to enter the grotto-heaven and seize the cauldron on its behalf.
• Zhao Linglong told the others at Moon Perching Pavilion that Zhou Tong had nearly turned green with anger.

Xu Taiping learned about the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven and why he had been selected to represent the Immortal Law Bureau in its contest. He left with a clearer understanding of the secret realm’s dangers, its rewards, and Lay Buddhist Yuqing’s limited role as its gatekeeper.

• Zhao Linglong explained that the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven was a vast secret realm opened to outstanding young cultivators every twelve years, with a contest to reach Jade Gourd Peak first.
• Qingxiao revealed that Huang Que had recommended Xu Taiping, though Xu’s deeds in the Yunmeng Marsh Immortal Abode Ruins had already drawn the Prefect’s attention.
• Zhao Linglong explained that the realm was relatively safe and that each entrant received three Teleportation Scrolls, which could also end their exploration if used up.
• Qingxiao said the secret realm was so vast that even Lay Buddhist Yuqing had explored only a small part, and Xu Taiping concluded that Yuqing was essentially its gatekeeper.

Xu Taiping received a map and a list of treasures for the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven, and learned that reaching Jade Gourd Peak could offer insight into Su Chan’s Sword Intent. Meanwhile, Jin Hezhi gave Ye Xuan Su Chan’s sword and Sword Canon, urging him to climb Jade Gourd Peak and claim the Immortal Gourd.

• Qingxiao advised Xu Taiping to try climbing Jade Gourd Peak, where Su Chan had once attained Sword Enlightenment.
• Qingxiao gave Xu Taiping a map and a booklet of known treasures, which Fairy Lingyue recognized as a fragment of the ancient Immortal-Demon Battlefield.
• Jin Hezhi showed Ye Xuan Su Chan’s sword and explained that the Sword Case also held Su Chan’s Sword Canon.
• Jin Hezhi explained that only Sword Intent of the same origin as Su Chan’s could unlock the Sword Case, then handed it to Ye Xuan.
• Ye Xuan vowed to represent First Peak, climb Jade Gourd Peak, and claim the crown of the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven.

Fairy Lingyue explained the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven’s ancient origins and warned Xu Taiping to prepare for its dangers and seek the materials needed to remove his Demon Lotus. Three years later, after Xu Taiping completed his daily sword practice, Recluse Sansan appeared before him for the first time.

• Fairy Lingyue told Xu Taiping that the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven was one of nine battlefield fragments and described the ancient war that created them.
• Fairy Lingyue revealed that the grotto-heaven had a lower level with a Blood Pool, warned Xu Taiping to avoid it, and urged him to retrieve Jade Bone and Spirit Marrow Liquid to remove his Demon Lotus.
• Fairy Lingyue noted that the grotto-heaven might contain herbs for the Quenching Fire Pill and Grass Return Pill, warned of sleeping Demonic Beasts, and advised Xu Taiping to prepare for the trip in three years.
• Xu Taiping spent the next three years training in seclusion and practicing his techniques while continuing his daily sword practice with the longsword at Moon-Fishing Pool.
• Xu Taiping found Recluse Sansan’s wooden board blank, carved six thousand characters into the cliff with one sword stroke, and prepared to leave for the Immortal Gourd Grotto-Heaven.
• Recluse Sansan descended onto a rock in the pool and spoke to Xu Taiping, appearing before him for the first time.