Chapter Summaries

Chu Zhiyuan used his Transformation Realm Flying Dagger to kill more than a thousand Demonic Humans in Tianjing City, strengthening his Bright Moon Blade Soul. The next morning, he left Sifang Pavilion with the three women and heard that the Guo Family had found a deadly ancient cave mansion in the west.

• Chu Zhiyuan explored the Transformation Realm’s ability to let his Flying Dagger sense and act independently, and considered how its Blade Soul might eventually become another version of himself.
• At night, Chu Zhiyuan sent the Flying Dagger through Tianjing City, killing two Demonic Humans and then cleansing the city of more than a thousand heretical-sect Demonic Humans; the killings strengthened his Bright Moon Blade Soul by about a month’s progress.
• The next morning, Chu Zhiyuan left Sifang Pavilion with Shen Hanyue, Xu Yingying, and the third woman, and Shen Hanyue noticed that their City Guard and Imperial Guard escorts were gone.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that he had killed most of the heretical-sect experts in the city, and he and the women discussed whether clearing them out would make the three-dynasty agreement harder to secure.
• At Tianxiang Tower, the group heard that a Guo Family herbalist had discovered an ancient cave mansion in the west, where more than ten people had died and even the Guo Family’s detoxification skills had failed.

Chu Zhiyuan spoke with Zhao Rongfei after Zhao challenged two Prayer Spirit Sect disciples to a duel and returned victorious. Zhao asked for help countering the Demonic Humans’ concealment technique, and Chu suggested investigating the Prayer Spirit Sect’s Evil-Slaying Divine Palm.

• Zhao Rongfei confronted Song Wuyang and Tao Dongtian over stolen ownerless property, then agreed to fight them outside the city.
• Zhao Rongfei returned after winning the duel and asked Chu Zhiyuan how to break the Demonic Humans’ concealment technique.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that the Demonic Humans likely drew on the power of Demonic Beings from Beyond the Heavens, which made the Golden Saber Sect’s Evil-Dispelling Divine Blade ineffective.
• Zhao Rongfei recalled that the Prayer Spirit Sect possessed an Evil-Slaying Divine Palm, and Chu Zhiyuan said it might be worth testing.
• Zhao Rongfei left to ask Wan Bicheng to investigate the Evil-Slaying Divine Palm.

Chu Zhiyuan met Great Zhen’s Prince Su Cheng Yihai and found him supportive of a three-dynasty campaign against the evil sects, though Great Meng remained the key obstacle. He then gave the Prayer Spirit Sect and Golden Saber Sect a method for concealing aura to study, hoping they could devise a way to counter it.

• Shen Hanyue, Xu Yingying, Xiao Ruoling, and Chu Zhiyuan discussed the Prayer Spirit Sect’s refusal to reveal the Evil-Slaying Divine Palm and Great Meng’s deliberate slight toward Great Jing.
• The group encountered Prince Su Cheng Yihai, and Chu Zhiyuan learned that Cheng Yihai had found the Grandmaster Gate and was close to entering the Grandmaster realm.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Cheng Yihai discussed joining the three dynasties to eradicate the evil sects, and Cheng Yihai said he supported the effort and could persuade Great Zhen’s emperor if Great Meng agreed.
• After Cheng Yihai departed, Chu Zhiyuan and the women judged that his hatred of the evil sects was genuine but that his position might not reflect Great Zhen’s policy.
• Wan Bicheng told Chu Zhiyuan that the Prayer Spirit Sect could not share the Evil-Slaying Divine Palm, so Chu Zhiyuan gave him a method for concealing aura to investigate.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave the same aura-concealment method to Zhao Rongfei and asked the Golden Saber Sect to search for a way to break it.

Chu Zhiyuan discussed the difficulty of persuading the sects to join a pact against the evil sects, then taught Zhao Rongfei a saber move to prepare him for a likely duel with Meng Gengbai. Zhao Rongfei stood motionless as he received the technique, and Wan Bicheng said Meng would stop pursuing the matter after their duel.

• Chu Zhiyuan, Wan Bicheng, and Zhao Rongfei discussed whether the sects and Li Hongzhao could unite against the evil sects, despite their fear of retaliation and private calculations.
• Wan Bicheng warned Zhao Rongfei that Meng Gengbai would likely challenge him over Song Wuyang and Tao Dongtian, while Zhao insisted he would face Meng despite being weaker.
• Shen Hanyue and Xu Yingying urged Chu Zhiyuan to help Zhao Rongfei, and Chu agreed to teach him one saber move after Zhao promised to keep it secret.
• Chu Zhiyuan tapped Zhao Rongfei between the brows, and Zhao closed his eyes as he received the saber technique.
• Wan Bicheng told Chu Zhiyuan that Meng Gengbai would stop pursuing Zhao after their duel, whether he won or lost.

Chu Zhiyuan taught Zhao Rongfei a saber move before attending Li Hongzhao’s banquet in Great Meng, where they agreed to cooperate against the evil sects. The chapter ended with Li Hongzhao offering more Venerable Statues so Chu Zhiyuan could locate the sects’ main altars.

• Chu Zhiyuan taught Zhao Rongfei a saber move, giving him hope of defeating Senior Brother Meng.
• Chu Zhiyuan explained that he helped Zhao Rongfei because friendship mattered despite the risks of offending the Prayer Spirit Sect.
• At a palace banquet, Li Hongzhao asked Chu Zhiyuan about the evil sects’ attempted retaliation and his method for finding their main altars.
• Li Hongzhao proposed that Great Meng and Great Zhen cooperate directly with Chu Zhiyuan and establish an Evil Extermination Department.
• Chu Zhiyuan agreed to sign an agreement with Li Hongzhao to destroy the evil sects.
• Li Hongzhao offered to have the Four Great Sects and other sects hand over their Venerable Statues to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao agreed to send a thousand Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry to help destroy the Evil Sect's headquarters, while leaving prisoner exchanges for further negotiation. Afterward, they discussed their advancing cultivation and Li Hongzhao revealed that she planned to spend ten years consolidating her rule before ascending.

• Chu Zhiyuan urged Li Hongzhao to use the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry to attack the Evil Sect's headquarters, and she agreed to provide at least a thousand riders.
• Li Hongzhao agreed to discuss exchanging prisoners but rejected border markets and exchanging access to secret realms.
• Li Hongzhao left Chengtian Hall, and Chu Zhiyuan followed Wen Chengen to a side hall to speak with her privately.
• Chu Zhiyuan congratulated Li Hongzhao on her cultivation, and she deduced that killing Evil Sect Demonic Humans helped him advance.
• Chu Zhiyuan inferred that Li Hongzhao planned to ascend after consolidating her authority, and she said she would spend ten years ruling first.

Li Hongzhao discussed Chu Zhiyuan’s likely succession and her own plans to ascend, then learned he could help others reach the Grandmaster realm. As they agreed to act the next day, a group of black-clad attackers prepared to raid Ziyang Villa while Chu Zhiyuan was away.

• Li Hongzhao predicted Chu Zhiyuan would eventually ascend, but said she intended to ascend first and did not plan to marry.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao discussed possible heirs to the Emperor’s Sword, including the Seventh Heir, Li Biyang.
• Li Hongzhao learned that Chu Zhiyuan could guide others toward the Grandmaster realm and recognized how much of a threat that posed to Great Meng.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Li Hongzhao agreed to begin their plans the next day.
• More than twenty black-clad men gathered near Ziyang Villa, confirmed Chu Zhiyuan was attending the imperial banquet, and set out to attack the villa.

Chu Zhiyuan’s Flying Dagger killed twenty-four Demonic Humans who tried to raid Ziyang Villa, and he reflected on using multiple Blade Souls to hunt more evil sect members. Meanwhile, Zhao Rongfei was led outside Tianjing to meet Meng Gengbai and found experts from the Four Sects gathered to watch.

• Twenty-four black-clad Demonic Humans approached Ziyang Villa, but Chu Zhiyuan’s Flying Dagger killed them all, including two Great Grandmasters.
• Ziyang Villa’s guards identified the dead as Demonic Humans and discussed adding their bones to a Bone Tower.
• Chu Zhiyuan considered how his Flying Dagger absorbed the souls of evil sect experts and weighed the benefits of nurturing multiple Blade Souls.
• Tao Dongtian and Song Wuyang summoned Zhao Rongfei to meet Meng Gengbai, and Zhao followed them outside the East City Gate.
• Zhao Rongfei reached a pavilion where nine True Disciples and other experts from the Four Sects had gathered to watch him.

Zhao Rongfei unveiled the White Rainbow Style, a single saber move that defeated Meng Gengbai and two other disciples from the Four Great Sects. He left without revealing where he had learned it, while the others speculated about its origin.

• Zhou Mingming offered Zhao Rongfei and Meng Gengbai armor and Spiritual Medicine before their duel, but Zhao Rongfei refused the armor.
• Zhao Rongfei struck Meng Gengbai with his unsharpened saber, sending him flying and astonishing the watching disciples.
• After taking a pill and trying again, Meng Gengbai was struck by the White Rainbow Style and spat out blood as he flew.
• A handsome disciple from the Formless Sect and Sun Jingzhou challenged Zhao Rongfei in turn, and he defeated them both with the same move.
• Zhao Rongfei called his technique the White Rainbow Style, refused to reveal its origin, and left as the disciples speculated about how he had learned it.

Chu Zhiyuan organized Great Meng forces to attack the Jade Cauldron Sect’s main altar, assigning the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry and Imperial Guards to approach in secret. Zhao Rongfei later returned after a complete victory with the White Rainbow Style, confirming his standing as the strongest True Disciple of his generation.

• Li Biyang and Qin Guanghe arrived under imperial decree, and Chu Zhiyuan assigned the Imperial Guards and Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry to his command.
• Chu Zhiyuan named the Jade Cauldron Sect’s main altar as their first target and ordered both forces to approach it secretly.
• Qin Guanghe estimated that the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry would need about five days to reach its staging point, and Chu Zhiyuan set the forces’ meeting for the morning of the sixth day.
• Zhao Rongfei visited Chu Zhiyuan and reported that he had won completely with the White Rainbow Style, defeating Meng Gengbai.

Chu Zhiyuan helped Zhao Rongfei reconsider why he cultivated, then used Venerable Statues to locate a likely site for Tianxin Sect's headquarters. Xu Haode set out to investigate the intersection of the Wanzhu Mountain Range and the Jinwu River.

• Chu Zhiyuan warned Zhao Rongfei that he needed a clear purpose in cultivation to reach the Grandmaster realm, and Zhao Rongfei admitted he had forgotten his original reason.
• Chu Zhiyuan told Zhao Rongfei that he cultivated to change his fate and control his own destiny, and Zhao Rongfei thanked him before leaving.
• Disciples from the Four Great Sects discussed Zhao Rongfei's saber move and learned that Chu Zhiyuan had taught it to him.
• Xu Haode told Chu Zhiyuan that he had located the Demonic Heart Sect's headquarters but not Tianxin Sect's.
• Chu Zhiyuan examined the red threads attached to Tianxin Sect's Venerable Statues and identified a likely direction for its headquarters.
• Xu Haode matched the direction to the intersection of the Wanzhu Mountain Range and the Jinwu River, then set out to investigate.

Chu Zhiyuan confirmed that the Imperial Court’s thousand Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry would join the Evil-Breaking Sect’s campaign, then met Miao Xiuyue, who asked about his White Rainbow Style. An urgent message arrived for Xiao Ruoling, and she, Shen Hanyue, and Xu Yingying prepared to return to their sect while Chu Zhiyuan promised to send Xiao Ruoling the Moon Phase readings.

• Chu Zhiyuan told Xu Haode that the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry would work with the Evil-Breaking Sect, and Xu Haode left to continue hunting Demonic Humans.
• At Feixue Tower, Shen Hanyue complained about the slow negotiations, while Xu Yingying teased her and Xiao Ruoling about staying with Chu Zhiyuan.
• Miao Xiuyue of the Phoenix Sword Sect asked Chu Zhiyuan about Zhao Rongfei’s White Rainbow Style, and he confirmed he had taught it and described its nine variations.
• A white messenger bird delivered an urgent note to Xiao Ruoling, prompting Chu Zhiyuan to tell the three women to return to their sect.
• Chu Zhiyuan gave Xiao Ruoling a Flying Dagger to send her Moon Phase readings and set out to see the women off.

Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling traveled to Moon Invitation Palace after learning that the Profound Yin Palace had changed, and Xiao Ruoling explained its legend of ascending into Beyond the Heavens. Chu Zhiyuan hoped to verify the legend and bring his companions with him when he ascended, and Xiao Ruoling gave him the Saintess Jade Talisman of Feng Heng to examine.

• Chu Zhiyuan brought Xu Yingying and Shen Hanyue on the Heavenly Dragon Divine Horses and warned Zou Fang and Guo Chi to guard the Venerable Statues and watch for Demonic Humans.
• On the journey, Xiao Ruoling told Chu Zhiyuan that the Profound Yin Palace was said to be a projection from Beyond the Heavens that could merge with its true counterpart once every ten thousand years.
• Chu Zhiyuan said he planned to ascend with the Emperor's Sword and wondered whether Xiao Ruoling could reach Beyond the Heavens through the Profound Yin Palace, but they agreed to verify the news first.
• Xiao Ruoling revealed that the Saintess Feng Heng's jade talisman had never gone dark since she entered the Profound Yin Palace ten thousand years earlier, and agreed to let Chu Zhiyuan examine it in secret.
• Chu Zhiyuan arrived at Moon Invitation Palace and went to his courtyard, where Xiao Ruoling gave him Feng Heng's jade pendant.

Chu Zhiyuan confirmed that the Saintess from ten thousand years ago was still alive and arranged to assess the danger of entering the Profound Yin Palace. Though he sensed no danger, Xiao Ruoling decided to enter before the Palace closed, leaving Chu Zhiyuan to wait and ascend after her.

• Chu Zhiyuan used the life-binding jade talisman to sense that the Saintess from ten thousand years ago was still alive, strengthening his resolve to ascend.
• Xiao Ruoling persuaded the Palace Master to let her, Chu Zhiyuan, and Shen Hanyue approach the Profound Yin Palace.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed no danger outside the Palace but discovered that an invisible force prevented him from entering.
• Xiao Ruoling chose to enter the Profound Yin Palace despite her guilt about leaving her father and younger brother, and Chu Zhiyuan promised to ascend within at most ten years.
• As Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue prepared to enter, the jade doors of the Profound Yin Palace began to flicker.

Chu Zhiyuan said goodbye to Xiao Ruoling as she entered the Profound Yin Palace and ascended with Shen Hanyue, her mother, and the other Saintesses. After the palace vanished, he confirmed Xiao Ruoling was safe through her Life Jade Talisman, then returned to hunting Demonic Humans to restore the bright moon in his mind.

• Shen Hanyue brought her mother and four Saintesses to the Profound Yin Palace before its gates closed.
• Chu Zhiyuan imbued Xiao Ruoling’s Flying Dagger with a moon from his mind, and Xiao Ruoling gave him her Life Jade Talisman.
• Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling embraced and said goodbye before she entered the palace with Shen Hanyue and the others.
• Chu Zhiyuan tried to enter the Profound Yin Palace but was repelled, and the palace vanished as the surrounding terrain transformed into mountains.
• Chu Zhiyuan sensed Xiao Ruoling through her jade pendant and confirmed she had arrived safely.
• Chu Zhiyuan returned to Ziyang Villa, Jade Capital, and Tianjing, killing Demonic Humans until the bright moon in his mind shone again.

Chu Zhiyuan used the Venerable Statues to track demonic sects and prepared to mobilize Imperial Court intelligence networks as their experts gathered in Tianjing. Xu Yingying sent word that she was ascending, and Meng Gengbai visited to seek Chu Zhiyuan’s insight into a sword manual.

• Chu Zhiyuan received Xu Yingying’s farewell letter, which said she would enter the Nine Li Divine Mountain and ascend to Beyond the Heavens.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Zou Fang to have Ma Tianhe investigate Meng Canglan’s whereabouts, then continued tracking the demonic sects through the Venerable Statues.
• Chu Zhiyuan asked Su Qiuyan to mobilize Tingfeng Terrace and Tingyu Terrace to confirm the demonic sects’ locations, and learned their experts would converge on Tianjing in about three days.
• Meng Gengbai visited Chu Zhiyuan and presented a sword manual he had found in a cave mansion.
• Chu Zhiyuan read the manual and identified its sword art as the Flowing Wind Sword Art, explaining that it drew on the essence of flowing water and gentle wind.

Chu Zhiyuan helped Meng Gengbai grasp the essence of the Flowing Wind Sword Art, then met two officials sent to help locate the evil sects’ headquarters. The search began with urgency, as the Tianxin Sect and Jade Cauldron Sect were expected to be destroyed within ten days.

• Chu Zhiyuan demonstrated the Flowing Wind Sword Art, allowing Meng Gengbai to understand how to blend its softness with weight and depth.
• Meng Gengbai told Chu Zhiyuan that the Prayer Spirit Sect had found no way to break the Demonic Humans’ aura concealment, which relied on strange Outer Heavenly Power.
• Su Qiuyan introduced Yang Tianluo, a True Disciple of the Formless Sect and deputy director of Tingyu Terrace, and Lei Zhengyang, deputy director of Tingfeng Terrace.
• Chu Zhiyuan showed Yang Tianluo and Lei Zhengyang a map of evil sect headquarters and asked them to pinpoint each location within a radius of one li.
• Yang Tianluo and Lei Zhengyang agreed to begin searching that day, while Chu Zhiyuan warned that the Tianxin Sect and Jade Cauldron Sect would likely be destroyed within ten days.

Chu Zhiyuan and Xu Haode located the Tianxin Sect’s headquarters, then joined the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry and Imperial Guards to prepare an assault on the Jade Cauldron Sect’s headquarters. As the Imperial Guards cleared bamboo to make a cavalry charge possible, Chu Zhiyuan silently killed wave after wave of Demonic Humans, and the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry gathered by the river ready to advance.

• Yang Tianluo and Lei Zhengyang discussed Great Meng’s young martial artists with Chu Zhiyuan, who praised their pure focus on cultivation and urged them to find and destroy the evil sect headquarters.
• Xu Haode returned with the location of the Tianxin Sect’s headquarters, and Chu Zhiyuan arranged to leave the next morning with him.
• Chu Zhiyuan, Xu Haode, and Zou Fang joined Qin Guanghe and Li Biyang near the Jade Cauldron Sect’s suspected headquarters, where scouts had found a mountain entrance by the river.
• Chu Zhiyuan ordered the Imperial Guards to cut bamboo around the valley so the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry could charge, while he guarded the workers.
• Chu Zhiyuan used an invisible Flying Dagger art to kill six waves of attacking evil sect experts as the Imperial Guards cleared a broad stretch of bamboo.
• The Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry assembled beside the river after the bamboo was cleared, preparing to assault the Jade Cauldron Sect.

Chu Zhiyuan directed the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry and Imperial Guards in wearing down the Jade Cauldron Sect’s protective array through repeated attacks. When the barrier vanished near dawn, the sect’s defenders were cut down, but Xu Haode was thrown back by the giant Jade Cauldron as it began to glow, and Chu Zhiyuan ordered everyone out of the valley.

• Chu Zhiyuan explained the array’s rebounding force to Qin Guanghe and instructed the Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry to strike it in waves while he guarded them.
• Qin Guanghe led the cavalry’s repeated charges against the light curtain, revealing the valley and the Jade Cauldrons that gathered Outer Heavenly Power to sustain it.
• Chu Zhiyuan let Li Biyang send the Imperial Guards to join the attack while the cavalry rested, and the forces continued wearing down the barrier through the night.
• After the final cavalry charge, the light curtain disappeared, and Xu Haode entered the valley as the Jade Cauldron Sect’s experts rushed to fight.
• Xu Haode was hurled backward when he approached the giant Jade Cauldron, which began to glow after the disciples beneath it died, and Chu Zhiyuan ordered everyone to withdraw.

Chu Zhiyuan weakened the power flooding the Jade Cauldron, but it exploded and destroyed the Jade Cauldron Sect’s main headquarters. After the group searched the rubble for surviving treasures, Chu Zhiyuan studied the empty cauldron site and grew solemn.

• Chu Zhiyuan struck the Jade Cauldron with his Fearless Realm power while Zou Fang escorted the injured Xu Haode out of the valley.
• The Jade Cauldrons on the cliffs exploded, leveling the valley and throwing the group away from the blast.
• Chu Zhiyuan sent the Imperial Guards and Cloud-Treading Iron Cavalry to search the ruins, though most valuables had been destroyed.
• Chu Zhiyuan found a Night Pearl and an ancient short sword in the rubble, prompting the others to search more carefully.
• Chu Zhiyuan examined the depression where the enormous cauldron had stood and looked from the void to the stone wall with a grave expression.