Recaps

Xu Taiping defeated Goshu Miu’s clone, accepted the Red Lion Ghost King’s Beast-Trapping Token, and left Black Wind Valley with Gu Qingcheng and the others. In the Abyssal Pavilion, Ye Chensha concluded they might be heading to the Eighth Layer and asked Fairy Lingyue to reveal Xu Taiping’s identity, while she demanded information about the clans and sects behind him and Gu Qingcheng in return.

• Xu Taiping refused to stand aside and vowed to reach the twelfth floor of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, taking Dugu Ye and the others home with him.
• Goshu Miu’s clone burst apart, and the Red Lion Ghost King congratulated Xu Taiping for defeating him and winning the contest.
• The Red Lion Ghost King gave Xu Taiping a Beast-Trapping Token, saying it would let him use the Ghost King’s beast-trapping power against Goshu Miu’s true body.
• The Red Lion Ghost King carried Xu Taiping, Gu Qingcheng, and the others away from Black Wind Valley despite the Guifang elders’ protests.
• Ye Chensha and Fairy Lingyue discussed the group’s likely route to the Eighth Layer, where Goshu Miu’s weakened territory could be crossed.
• Ye Chensha asked Fairy Lingyue to identify Xu Taiping, and she asked him to disclose the clans and sects behind him and Gu Qingcheng in exchange.

Ye Chensha revealed that he was Xiahou Qingyuan of the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace and explained his clan’s history to Fairy Lingyue. After learning that her disciple was Xu Taiping, the latest Golden Scale Champion, Xiahou Qingyuan understood Rusty Lion’s importance and grew excited.

• Ye Chensha agreed to reveal his identity and hear Rusty Lion’s background directly from Fairy Lingyue.
• Ye Chensha introduced himself as Xiahou Qingyuan of the Xiahou Clan of Jade Balance Mountain and described the clan’s withdrawal from Mysterious Wasteland Heaven.
• Xiahou Qingyuan said he and his siblings Xiahou Yi and Xiahou You were disciples of the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace.
• Fairy Lingyue explained that Rusty Lion had grown up in Green Ox Village before joining the Azure Profound Sect on Cloud Cottage Mountain.
• Xiahou Qingyuan recognized Fairy Lingyue’s disciple as Xu Taiping, the latest Golden Scale Champion, and became excited.

Fairy Lingyue and Xiahou Qingyuan watched the Haotian Mirror reveal the armies of Guifang and Ningyuan Kingdom preparing for battle. Gu Qingcheng told Xu Taiping and the others that they had to help Ningyuan Kingdom win to reach the Ninth Layer, or time would reverse and they would have to start over.

• Fairy Lingyue asked Xiahou Qingyuan why Xu Taiping had entered the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, but the Haotian Mirror interrupted them with an image of the armies preparing to fight.
• Fairy Lingyue and Xiahou Qingyuan saw Goshu Miu face Xuanyuan Qingshuang and Xuanyuan Xueluo across the battlefield.
• Xiahou Qingyuan explained that reaching the Ninth Layer was believed to require crossing the battlefield, while Fairy Lingyue worried Xu Taiping's group would not arrive in time.
• Gu Qingcheng told Xu Taiping, Nanxing, and the others that winning the war—not merely crossing the battlefield—was the key to ascending, and that Xuanyuan Xueluo's inheritance could defeat Goshu Miu.
• Gu Qingcheng warned that if Ningyuan Kingdom lost, time in the tower would reverse and they would have to begin again.

Xu Taiping and his companions entered the Eighth Layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower during a decisive battle between Ningyuan and Guifang. Xu Taiping went to observe the fighting despite Gu Qingcheng’s warning, while the Abyssal Palace watchers judged that Ningyuan’s fate depended on the Xuanyuan Clan sisters defeating Goshu Miu.

• Xu Taiping opened the Bronze Gate, and the group was transported onto the battlefield as Guifang soldiers rushed past them.
• Gu Qingcheng concealed the group with talismans and explained that Great General Geshu was surrounded and that the battle had reached its critical moment.
• Gu Qingcheng warned Xu Taiping that the battle’s outcome was already decided, but he chose to go look and asked Gongshu Nanxing and the others to wait.
• In the Abyssal Palace, Xiahou Qingyuan and Fairy Lingyue discussed Ningyuan’s plan to have the Xuanyuan Clan sisters defeat Goshu Miu and the danger of the army being annihilated if they failed.

Xuanyuan Qingshuang sacrificed herself and the Northern Garrison Army to break Goshu Miu’s battle formation and give Xuanyuan Xueluo a chance to escape. As Goshu Miu moved to kill Xueluo, she called on her ancestor to sever her mortal ties and karmic bonds once more.

• Xuanyuan Qingshuang gathered the Northern Garrison Army’s blood qi into a golden spear and pierced Goshu Miu’s battle formation.
• Qingshuang urged Xuanyuan Xueluo to flee with the remaining White Tiger Armor soldiers, but Goshu Miu’s formation struck down Qingshuang and annihilated the Northern Garrison Army.
• Xuanyuan Xueluo ignored her sister’s warning and rushed toward her, only to freeze when Guifang’s cavalry trampled Qingshuang’s body.
• Goshu Miu raised his saber to kill Xuanyuan Xueluo, who asked her ancestor to sever her mortal ties and karmic bonds again.
• A streak of sword light descended onto Xuanyuan Xueluo as Xiahou Qingyuan explained that she had repeatedly failed to sever those bonds.

Xu Taiping and his companions reached the Mysterious Wasteland Tower’s ninth layer after Xuanyuan Xueluo defeated Goshu Miu’s forces and gave him the Snow Domain token. The moment they entered the ninth layer, they were sent back to its entrance, and Xu Taiping realized that one of his Five-Life Pearls had vanished.

• Xuanyuan Xueluo awakened the Northern Garrison Manor’s frost sky battle intent, led the White Tiger Armor in a charge, and helped rout Goshu Miu’s Guifang army.
• Xu Taiping and Gu Qingcheng reached Xuanyuan Xueluo beside Xuanyuan Qingshuang’s corpse, and she confirmed Xu Taiping’s identity before giving him the Snow Domain token.
• Xu Taiping and his companions regrouped at the ninth layer’s entrance, where Gu Qingcheng warned that fewer than one in ten Otherworlders survived it.
• Despite Gongshu Nanxing’s concern, Xu Taiping insisted that they enter the ninth layer and relied on his Five-Life Bracelet as a safeguard.
• The group entered through the bronze gate, felt piercing pain, and found themselves back at the entrance; Xu Taiping saw that one of his Five-Life Pearls was gone.

Xu Taiping revealed that the Five-Life Pearl had reversed time after the group died on the ninth layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, and he prepared everyone to enter again. The chapter leaves them fully armored and Xu Taiping ready to open the Bronze Gate.

• Xu Taiping stopped Zhai Mo from opening the Bronze Gate and gathered the others away from it.
• Xu Taiping explained that everyone had died on the ninth layer and that the Five-Life Pearl had returned them to the moment he activated it, though only he remembered what happened.
• Xu Taiping told the group that one of the five pearls had been used and that four remained.
• Gu Qingcheng suggested activating their defenses, while Elder Zhang proposed using the Azure Dragon Token to strengthen the group.
• Xu Taiping asked Gu Qingcheng to record what they saw with a divine soul mark, and she agreed.
• As time ran short, Gongshu Nanxing and the others activated layers of protective treasures, while Xu Taiping manifested his Dragon Whale Physique and blood-qi defenses.

Xu Taiping and the others entered the Ninth Layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower and were caught in a deadly ghost-powered blizzard. After Snow Woman killed Zhai Mo, the Tower Spirit revealed that killing her was their only chance of survival.

• Xu Taiping opened the bronze doors, and the group was swept into a blizzard of blood-red snow that rapidly broke through their defenses.
• Zhai Mo summoned a giant shield projection while Xu Taiping opened the Cloud-Cloaking Umbrella and began condensing Three-Origin True Fire.
• Gu Qingcheng recognized Snow Woman, one of Guifang's Ten Great Ghost Kings, and told Zhai Mo to keep her away from Xu Taiping.
• Zhai Mo charged Snow Woman, but she shattered his shield and tore him apart in the blizzard.
• Gu Qingcheng calmed the group by reminding them that Xu Taiping's bracelet could revive Zhai Mo once, and the Tower Spirit announced their reward and warned them to kill Snow Woman to have a chance at survival.

Gu Qingcheng, Gongshu Nanxing, and Elder Zhang fought the Ghost King Snow Woman, whose wind and snow made her nearly impossible to kill. Xu Taiping arrived in time to shield them with the 𩙥 Flame and began combining the Thunder Soul Blade’s power with his great sun golden flame to form thunderflame.

• Gu Qingcheng, Gongshu Nanxing, and Elder Zhang attacked the Snow Woman, but she re-formed after Gongshu Nanxing cut her apart and unleashed a massive snowstorm.
• Xu Taiping arrived with Yuzhu and used the 𩙥 Flame to stop the Snow Woman’s blizzard from reaching Gu Qingcheng and the others.
• Gu Qingcheng warned Xu Taiping that the Snow Woman could not die while the wind and snow persisted.
• Xu Taiping drew on the Thunder Soul Blade and began merging its thunder with his great sun golden flame to condense thunderflame.

Xu Taiping used his Mysterious Origin Avatar and 𩙥 Flame to shield his companions while condensing Thunderflame to fight the Ghost King Snow Woman. As the Snow Woman battered through his defenses, Gu Qingcheng stepped in to protect the others but was struck down and badly wounded.

• Gu Qingcheng realized Xu Taiping was controlling 𩙥 Flame while condensing Thunderflame, and recognized that he had cultivated the Taiqing Profound Origin Clone Technique.
• Xu Taiping’s Mysterious Origin Avatar shaped 𩙥 Flame into an Eight-Armed Duedu Asura manifestation that repelled the Snow Woman’s blizzard and shielded the group.
• The Ghost King Snow Woman merged with the blizzard and repeatedly struck the manifestation until its flames weakened and a breach opened.
• Gu Qingcheng drew a Mountain Character talisman to protect Nanxing and the others, but the Snow Woman shattered it and slammed Gu Qingcheng into the ground, leaving her wounded and bleeding.

Xu Taiping completed his Thunderflame fusion and killed the Snow Woman with two powerful blade strikes, saving Gu Qingcheng and Yuzhu. As they celebrated, a towering Ghost Horde appeared before them, apparently summoned by Goshu Miu.

• Gongshu Nanxing and Elder Zhang sacrificed themselves to block the Snow Woman’s palm strikes while Xu Taiping continued fusing the Thunderflame.
• Xu Taiping unleashed his Thunderflame Blade, cutting through the Snow Woman’s palms and burning away the wind and snow.
• The Snow Woman summoned a blizzard and thousands of arms, but Xu Taiping swept them away with a barrage of Thunderflame blade shadows and killed her.
• Yuzhu celebrated the Snow Woman’s death, but Gu Qingcheng and Yuzhu then spotted a row of enormous evil ghosts standing ahead, which they recognized as Goshu Miu’s Ghost Horde.

Xu Taiping and his companions faced a Ghost Horde that seemed impossible to defeat, but the Tower Spirit revealed that slaying Snow Woman had given them a slim chance of crossing the Snow Domain. As the group was overwhelmed by a Dragon Ghost, Gu Qingcheng preserved a record of Xu Taiping’s apparent death and noticed his attack had wounded the Ghost King.

• Yuzhu and Gu Qingcheng despaired at the sight of nearly a thousand Evil Ghosts, while Xu Taiping said they could not bypass the horde and continue climbing.
• The Tower Spirit explained that killing Snow Woman before the Ghost Horde found them was the only way to gain a chance of crossing the Snow Domain.
• Xu Taiping said they needed to find allies and instructed Gu Qingcheng to record what happened and send it to the Azure Dragon Token if he fell.
• A Dragon Ghost attacked, and Xu Taiping used Dragon-Slaying Form against it.
• The Dragon Ghost’s breath shattered Xu Taiping’s defenses and body, while Gu Qingcheng sent his record to the Azure Dragon Token and saw his saber strike sever one of the Ghost King’s horns.

Xu Taiping learned that the Ghost Horde threatened the Mysterious Wasteland and decided to seek reinforcements rather than give up. After leaving the tower, he contacted Huang Que to ask how he could address the Five Heavens of the Shangqing Realm as the Golden Scale Champion.

• Xu Taiping showed the others Gu Qingcheng's Divine Soul Mark, revealing that the Ghost Horde had overwhelmed them in the ninth layer's Snow Domain.
• Elder Zhang and the others despaired at the danger facing Mysterious Wasteland, but Xu Taiping insisted he would find a way to bring reinforcements.
• Xu Taiping left the tower and told Fairy Lingyue he might have to reveal his identity early; she viewed the Divine Soul Mark and asked whether he had thought it through.
• Xu Taiping contacted Huang Que and asked whether he could send a message to the Five Heavens of the Shangqing Realm.
• Xu Taiping told Huang Que he wanted to address the Five Heavens as the Golden Scale Champion.

Xu Taiping told Huang Que that he was Rusty Lion and sought to address the Five Heavens as the Golden Scale Champion. Meanwhile, Xiahou You awakened in her own body and began telling Xiahou Qingyuan about an unexpected encounter in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower.

• Xu Taiping asked Huang Que to help him address the Five Heavens, and Huang Que explained that the costly communication required a compelling reason.
• Xu Taiping asked Huang Que about Rusty Lion, confirmed that he was Rusty Lion, and shocked Huang Que.
• Xiahou You woke in her own body, and Xiahou Qingyuan checked that her divine soul had not been rejected.
• Xiahou You thanked Xiahou Qingyuan for inviting Rusty Lion to save her from being trapped in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower.
• Xiahou You told Xiahou Qingyuan that an unexpected event had prevented them from reaching the tower's ninth layer, then prepared to show him what happened.

Xiahou Qingyuan and Xiahou You learned that Xu Taiping planned to gather cultivators to fight the ghost horde in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, despite the seemingly hopeless odds. A message from True Martial Heaven announced that Xu Taiping would address the Five Heavens and stake all the fortune he received from the Golden Scale Ranking.

• Xiahou You showed Xiahou Qingyuan visions of Xu Taiping fighting the Snow Woman and facing the ghost horde, and they agreed the Nine Abysses had blocked the way to the tenth layer.
• Xiahou You told Xiahou Qingyuan that Xu Taiping had promised to gather people to fight the ghosts, but Xiahou Qingyuan doubted anyone could overcome the barrier.
• Xiahou Qingyuan revealed that Rusty Lion Young Master was Xu Taiping, a disciple of the Azure Profound Sect and the Golden Scale Champion.
• A Spirit Mirror displayed a message from True Martial Heaven announcing that Xu Taiping would speak to cultivators across the Five Heavens in three days and stake all his Golden Scale Ranking fortune.

Xiahou You realized that Rusty Lion was Xu Taiping and planned to rally the Five Heavens against the Ghost Horde by revealing his identity. Three days later, cultivators debated footage of Rusty Lion’s battles and awaited Xu Taiping’s address to the Five Heavens.

• Xiahou You told Xiahou Qingyuan that Xu Taiping would reveal himself as Rusty Lion to rally the Five Heavens, despite provoking the Nine Abysses.
• Xiahou You asked Xiahou Qingyuan to spread footage of Rusty Lion’s battles while concealing details of his cultivation techniques.
• Three days later, Mu Yuchen, Mu Yun, and Ji Ye watched the footage and discussed whether Rusty Lion was really Xu Taiping.
• Mu Yun said the cultivators could question Xu Taiping during his address, and Ji Ye expected the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace and Eight Views Dao Palace to ask him questions.

Xu Taiping revealed to the Spirit Mirror audience that he had entered the Mysterious Wasteland Tower as Rusty Lion and proved it by demonstrating his Purple Essence Realm Blood Qi Tempering Technique. Gongshu Nanxing recognized him as the Rusty Lion Young Master, leaving her hopeful that he could help turn around Mysterious Wasteland Heaven’s desperate situation.

• Xu Taiping announced to the Spirit Mirror audience that he had entered the Mysterious Wasteland Tower under the alias Rusty Lion and displayed his Azure Dragon Token and Mysterious Wasteland Ring.
• Mu Yuchen recognized the items, while Ji Ye and Mu Yun realized Xu Taiping’s request would be significant.
• Xiaohu brought Gongshu Nanxing the Spirit Mirror, and she learned that Xu Taiping was the Golden Scale Champion.
• Gongshu Nanxing and Guangyuanzi doubted that the Azure Dragon Token alone proved Xu Taiping was Rusty Lion.
• Xu Taiping displayed the purple-gold Qi and Blood of the Purple Essence Realm Blood Qi Tempering Technique, and Gongshu Nanxing recognized him as their Rusty Lion Young Master.

Xu Taiping used the Spirit Mirror to invite cultivators from across the Five Heavens to join him in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, demonstrating his rapidly growing power to persuade them. His challenge stirred Chu Yinan, who resolved to face Xu Taiping, though Sword Immortal Qionghua urged him to wait.

• Gongshu Nanxing recognized Xu Taiping as the Golden Scale Champion and wondered whether he would gather experts to enter the tower.
• Xu Taiping invited cultivators below the Transformation Realm to help clear the Ninth Layer, but Huang Jinpeng challenged his assumption that they would risk their lives for him.
• Xu Taiping demonstrated his Wind and Metal essence techniques, then unleashed a blade whose pressure made even Heaven Gazing Realm cultivators feel fear.
• Martial God Zhu Huai praised Xu Taiping's blade, while Chu Yinan struggled to control his emotions as he watched Xu Taiping's strength grow.
• Xu Taiping called himself a cripple afflicted with the Nine Nether Bone-Shattering Curse and provoked the younger cultivators to prove they could withstand his blade.
• Chu Yinan told Sword Immortal Qionghua that he could not refuse Xu Taiping's challenge, but she urged him to hear Xu Taiping out first.

Xu Taiping challenged cultivators across the Five Heavens to a Sword Inquiry, but Guangyuanzi of the Eight Views Dao Palace warned that the challenge could endanger the Shangqing Realm. Xu Taiping answered that no one would truly die in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower and promised to bring everyone back after reaching its twelfth floor.

• Chu Yinan accepted Xu Taiping's Sword Inquiry, and Zhu Huai recognized it as a challenge to the younger generation across the Five Heavens.
• Ji Ye and Mu Yun said they would answer Xu Taiping's challenge despite Mu Yuchen warning them not to be provoked.
• Guangyuanzi questioned whether Xu Taiping's address would cost the Five Heavens too many talents to resist the Nine Abysses.
• Mu Zhixing warned Mu Yun that Guangyuanzi was a highly respected elder of the Eight Views Dao Palace, and Mu Yun realized the sect might oppose Xu Taiping's proposal.
• Guangyuanzi argued that risking the Shangqing Realm for the failing Mysterious Wasteland Heaven would be unbearable, leaving Gongshu Nanxing and its cultivators discouraged.
• Xu Taiping promised that no one would truly die in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower and that he would bring everyone back after reaching its twelfth floor.

Xu Taiping tried to convince Guangyuanzi and the other cultivators that the Nine Abysses had sabotaged the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, and showed evidence of his dangerous climb to the eighth layer. His appeal reignited interest in entering the tower, but Guangyuanzi revealed that the ninth layer held a Ghost Horde uprising that even Transformation Realm experts might not withstand.

• Guangyuanzi challenged Xu Taiping to explain how he could guarantee anyone would reach the Mysterious Wasteland Tower's twelfth layer.
• Xu Taiping showed a Moonshadow Stone recording of his discussion with Gu Qingcheng about the Nine Abysses' plot to reverse time in the tower.
• After Huang Jinpeng demanded proof, Xu Taiping showed a complete record of his encounters with Goshu Miu and the group's ascent to the eighth layer.
• Xu Taiping urged the cultivators to climb the tower, and his evidence renewed their enthusiasm despite Guangyuanzi's objections.
• Guangyuanzi warned that the ninth layer held a Ghost Horde uprising that even Transformation Realm experts might not be able to handle.

Mu Yun and the others watched the Spirit Mirror reveal the Ghost Kings on the Ninth Layer of the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, while Huang Jinpeng accused Xu Taiping of exploiting everyone. Xu Taiping insisted he could lead the cultivators to drive back the Ghost Horde and proposed proving it by killing a Ghost King himself.

• The Spirit Mirror showed a Snowfield filled with towering evil ghosts, and Mu Yun and the others realized the beings were Ghost Kings far beyond their ability to face.
• Mu Yuchen warned Mu Yun and Ji Ye to stay home, while they wondered how Xu Taiping would respond to the danger.
• Huang Jinpeng accused Xu Taiping of luring cultivators into the tower so he could claim its rewards for himself.
• Mu Yuchen and Mu Yun defended Xu Taiping, believing he was not selfish enough to endanger others for the rewards.
• Xu Taiping declared that he could lead the cultivators in driving back the Ghosts and reaching the Tenth Layer, drawing an angry rebuke from Guangyuanzi.
• Xu Taiping asked whether the Eight Scenery Palace could show the tower’s scenes publicly, then said he would prove his confidence by ascending to the Ninth Layer and slaying a Ghost King with his own hands.

Xu Taiping agreed to prove himself by slaying two Ghost Kings in the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, securing promises of aid from the Eight Views Dao Palace and the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace. Back at the Azure Profound Sect, he showed Sect Master Zhao Qian an image revealing that the Ninth Layer held far more ghosts than expected.

• Guangyuanzi demanded that Xu Taiping slay two chosen Ghost Kings, a Dragon Ghost and a headless evil ghost, to prove his strength.
• Xu Taiping agreed and asked whether the Eight Views Dao Palace would send its elite disciples if he succeeded.
• Guangyuanzi promised that the Eight Views Dao Palace would send all its elite disciples below the Transformation Realm if Xu Taiping killed the Ghost Kings within a month.
• Yun Shiliu of the Three Sovereigns Dao Palace pledged her palace's support as well, and Xu Taiping arranged to meet the two palaces in a month.
• Xu Taiping told Zhao Qian that the ghosts blocking the Ninth Layer were stronger than he expected and showed him an image revealing their overwhelming numbers.

Xu Taiping secured Sect Master Zhao Qian’s support and planned to spend the remaining month training before entering the Mysterious Wasteland Tower again. Meanwhile, Zhang Honghu pushed his failing body toward another dangerous treatment so he could help Xu Taiping later in the tower.

• Xu Taiping explained that thousands of evil ghosts threatened the ninth layer and that he wanted cultivators from the Five Heavens to join him there; Zhao Qian understood that the Eight Views Dao Palace was testing Xu Taiping’s trustworthiness.
• Xu Taiping asked Zhao Qian and the peak masters to protect him from the Nine Abysses, and Zhao Qian agreed while warning him to retreat if the Ghost Kings proved too strong.
• Zhao Qian proposed broadcasting Xu Taiping’s ghost-hunting battle across the Five Heavens to raise money for the Azure Profound Sect, and Xu Taiping agreed.
• Blade Ghost urged Xu Taiping to refine his gains and master the second stage of the Blade Domain, while Fairy Lingyue advised him to develop his own Great Sage Fist; Xu Taiping began a month of seclusion with Ping'an and Bai Yu guarding him.
• In Giant Deer City, Zhang Honghu ignored his servant’s warning and demanded another Life-Prolonging Needle so he could survive long enough to lay the Spirit-Shocking Formation for Xu Taiping in the tower’s twelfth layer.

Xu Taiping entered the second level of the Infernal Blade Prison and tested his Great Sage Fist against a sandstorm and Sand King Worms. He revealed a powerful new technique that destroyed hundreds of the worms, leaving Fairy Lingyue wondering if he had grasped the fist art’s true intent.

• Fairy Lingyue questioned Blade Ghost about the risks of Xu Taiping using his divine soul power to enter the second level, and Blade Ghost assured her he could endure it.
• Xu Taiping pierced the sandstorm with Baxia Form, then used Raging Thunder Form to break it apart.
• Blade Ghost summoned a Sand King Worm, and Xu Taiping killed it with a thunderflame-infused Great Sage Fist.
• Blade Ghost unleashed hundreds of Sand King Worms, and Xu Taiping used Mountain-Bearing Form to withstand their assault.
• As the worms drilled through his defense, Xu Taiping revealed a Thousand-Armed Guanyin-like technique and blasted them all to ashes, prompting Fairy Lingyue to wonder whether it was the true intent of the Great Sage Fist.

Fairy Lingyue and Blade Ghost watched Xu Taiping train, assessing his Great Sage Fist and the limits imposed by its enormous cost in strength. Blade Ghost explained that comprehending the second level of the blade domain could raise Xu Taiping’s chances of hunting the two Ghost Kings to over seventy percent, but Xu had not yet reached it.

• Fairy Lingyue told Blade Ghost that Gu Qingcheng had said fusing the two Great Sage Fist manuals might reveal the Demon Ancestor’s true intent, and Blade Ghost reacted with pain and a vague sense of recognition.
• Xu Taiping’s protective gang qi burst apart after he unleashed a powerful fist, and Blade Ghost and Fairy Lingyue noted that the technique rapidly drained his strength.
• Fairy Lingyue observed that Xu Taiping had corrected nearly all the shortcomings they had identified during his two weeks of secluded cultivation.
• Fairy Lingyue reminded Blade Ghost that reaching the second level of the blade domain required talent, diligence, experience, and opportunity.
• Blade Ghost explained that the hundred-foot blade domain could greatly strengthen Xu Taiping’s existing abilities and raise his odds of defeating the two Ghost Kings by more than thirty percentage points.