Chapter Summaries

Su Mo saw through Great Peng’s attempt to manipulate him and learned that Great Peng still intended to kill him despite claiming otherwise. The chapter ended with Su Mo suspecting that Shi Jiuxuan had told Great Peng not to kill him.

• Great Peng told the Demon Realm that he wanted to devour the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, while Su Mo recognized the speech as a trap designed to lower his guard.
• Su Mo explained that his cultivation came from the trust and sacrifices of others, not from accepting the Emperors’ methods, and said Great Peng would have killed him if he had agreed.
• Phoenix Woman realized she had missed the danger in Great Peng’s words and reflected on how little she understood Su Mo.
• Su Mo explained that Great Peng’s lie would be exposed after his death, and Great Peng admitted he could not catch Su Mo but could still block his way to the Phoenix Nest.
• Great Peng said he did not want to kill Su Mo but would do so if given the chance; Su Mo guessed that Shi Jiuxuan had ordered Great Peng not to kill him.

Su Mo confronted Great Peng with his theory that Great Peng had been left behind by Calamity and had helped bring Shi Jiuxuan’s avatars into the Nine Heavens. Great Peng dismissed his claims, then revealed that he had sent Inquiry Realm cultivators with Sacred Artifacts to attack Su Mo’s master and disciple in the Eighth Realm, provoking Su Mo and Phoenix Woman.

• Su Mo told Great Peng that he believed Great Peng came from outside the Nine Heavens and had worked with Calamity to prepare the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths for destruction.
• Su Mo explained that Shi Jiuxuan’s three thousand avatars had returned and that Calamity might soon descend, while Great Peng watched him with concealed killing intent.
• Great Peng denied Su Mo’s accusations and questioned why he had said so much if he could not enter the Phoenix Nest.
• Great Peng revealed that he had sent several Inquiry Realm cultivators carrying Sacred Artifacts toward the Eighth Realm to target Su Mo’s master and disciple.
• Su Mo’s aura erupted and his eyes turned blood-red as Phoenix Woman threatened Great Peng from hiding.

Great Peng cornered Su Mo by threatening Du Pingsheng, Little Qing Yi, and the Eighth Realm, forcing Su Mo to confront him. Su Mo unleashed Human One but was overwhelmed and swallowed by Great Peng, while the Flower of the Other Shore stopped Phoenix Woman from rushing to help.

• Great Peng told Su Mo that he would pursue him and attack the Eighth Realm if Su Mo fled, leaving Su Mo with the choice to run or fight.
• Phoenix Woman decided to sacrifice herself to end Great Peng's pressure on Su Mo, but the Flower of the Other Shore wrapped around her skirt and restrained her.
• Su Mo summoned the Book of Life and Death and used the Human Scroll's Power of Man to transform into the immense Human One.
• Great Peng transformed into a gigantic black Great Peng and devoured tens of thousands of Demon Realm people with his winds.
• Su Mo's Human One form failed to withstand Great Peng's power, and Great Peng swallowed him after his body burst into blood mist.
• Phoenix Woman cried out for Su Mo and tried to rise, but the Flower of the Other Shore transformed into a white-robed man and caught her hand.

Su Mo’s apparent death had been a trap: his flower of the other shore clones poisoned Great Peng’s divine soul. With Great Peng incapacitated and the real Su Mo revealed, the Demon Realm’s ruler learned how carefully Su Mo had planned the deception.

• The White-Clad One reassured Phoenix Woman, then Great Peng returned to the Heaven-Tilting Giant Gate after devouring tens of thousands of Demon Realm residents.
• Great Peng’s life-bound soul was forced out of his body as blue-ink poison began corroding his divine soul and suppressing his cultivation.
• Phoenix Woman saw another white-robed figure appear on the horizon, while the White-Clad One beside her transformed into a flower of the other shore.
• Su Mo revealed himself and told Great Peng that only a clone had died and that his clones carried the lovesickness poison of the flower of the other shore.
• Su Mo explained that he had spent two months preparing the clone and had baited Great Peng into attacking, using the Book of Life and Death to conceal his deception.

Su Mo poisoned Great Peng with the Flower of the Other Shore to keep him occupied, but Great Peng exposed that Su Mo absorbed the souls of the dead to increase his cultivation. Great Peng escaped after threatening to reveal the secret, leaving Su Mo expecting the world to turn against him.

• Su Mo explained that the Flower of the Other Shore poison was meant to delay Great Peng, giving Phoenix Woman time to recover and protecting the Eighth Realm.
• Phoenix Woman appeared beside Su Mo and condemned Great Peng for using Demon Realm lives in his schemes and devouring tens of thousands of people.
• Great Peng used a truth-revealing power to show the shadows of divine souls merging into Su Mo and accused him of raising his cultivation by consuming the souls of the dead.
• Great Peng fled, warning Su Mo that he could either slaughter the Demon Realm to hide the truth or face the world learning about his demonic arts.
• Phoenix Woman looked at Su Mo in bewilderment, while Su Mo realized that the revelation would leave him with nowhere to call home.

Su Mo freed thousands of vengeful spirits trapped in the Phoenix Nest’s seal by drawing their resentment and suffering into himself. As the spirits dissipated in peace, he took Phoenix Woman by the hand and continued toward the gate.

• Su Mo promised Phoenix Woman he would take her into the Phoenix Nest and approached its sealed stone gate with her.
• Su Mo released thousands of vengeful spirits from the gate and told them he could not save them, only free them.
• Su Mo used the divine rune on his forehead to draw the spirits’ resentment into himself, enduring their pain as they regained clarity.
• The spirits thanked Su Mo and dissipated peacefully, while Phoenix Woman held his hand and felt guilty for not stopping Great Peng sooner.
• Su Mo led Phoenix Woman toward the Phoenix Nest gate as the Demon Realm watched in silence.

Su Mo and Phoenix Woman entered the Phoenix Nest after Su Mo formed a brief karmic bond with it, and Phoenix Woman brought him to the ancient tree within. As they traveled through the Nest, Su Mo admitted that the deaths of his Flower of the Other Shore avatars had made him realize how much pain the little girl upstream must have endured, while Phoenix Woman offered him refuge in the Demon Realm if the world turned against him.

• Su Mo entered the Phoenix Nest with Phoenix Woman after using the power of rules to bypass its restriction to Phoenix Race members.
• Phoenix Woman said she would have the Demon Realm suppress the news about Su Mo, but Su Mo told her the news could not be hidden.
• They passed through the gate into a white void containing a vast ancient tree, which Phoenix Woman identified as the Phoenix Nest.
• As they flew along a branch toward the tree's interior, Phoenix Woman urged Su Mo to set down his burdens.
• Su Mo told Phoenix Woman that losing his Flower of the Other Shore avatars had caused him real pain, making him think of the little girl whose many avatars had been destroyed.
• Phoenix Woman offered Su Mo shelter in the Demon Realm if he had nowhere else to go, and he showed little concern about the world learning his secret.

Su Mo and Phoenix Woman entered the Phoenix Nest, where she explained the Phoenix Feather’s meaning and the loss of her own feather after it shielded him. As she prepared to restore her cultivation, she questioned whether they could remain close, then shared her mother’s belief that some things lie beyond Karma.

• Su Mo and Phoenix Woman reached the Phoenix Nest and found a single Phoenix Feather resting before a golden phoenix statue.
• Phoenix Woman explained that Phoenix Feathers hold the blessings of deceased Phoenixes and that only one can exist at a time.
• She told Su Mo that her own Phoenix Feather had been destroyed after shielding him, so it would not remain after her death.
• Phoenix Woman and Su Mo knelt before the Phoenix Feather and paid their respects.
• Phoenix Woman asked whether they could remain as they were after her cultivation returned, and Su Mo admitted he did not know.
• Phoenix Woman recalled her mother’s answer that some things could not be measured by Karma alone, because there was also the human heart.

Su Mo and Phoenix Woman discussed the human heart and the risks of restoring her cultivation, then shared exaggerated accounts of their pasts. Their banter turned awkward over the question of what a child of their two races would be, and Phoenix Woman returned to ask Su Mo for cooking utensils.

• Phoenix Woman questioned why Su Mo used karma to predict how the world would react to his exposed Dao Arts, and Su Mo reflected that people feared what they could not understand.
• Phoenix Woman said she needed a few days to prepare before restoring her cultivation, and she and Su Mo stood together beneath the ancient tree.
• Su Mo and Phoenix Woman agreed to exchange stories about their pasts, then recounted their lives in grand, exaggerated tones.
• Phoenix Woman explained that children of Phoenix and other races were always Phoenix girls, while Su Mo noted that Divine Race offspring were likewise always Divine.
• Su Mo asked what a child of the Divine Race and Phoenix Race would be, irritating Phoenix Woman, who later returned and asked to use his cooking utensils.

Su Mo urged Phoenix Woman to restore her cultivation, and she used the Phoenix Feather to begin awakening as the Demon Venerable while he waited alone for the outcome of a three-year deadline. Elsewhere, Gu Yu and his companions searched the Ends of the Earth for Heavenly Dao Fragments but found nothing.

• Su Mo asked Phoenix Woman to restore her cultivation, and she agreed after finishing the meal she had cooked for him.
• Su Mo tasted Phoenix Woman’s dishes, praised one of them, and watched her take up the Phoenix Feather and begin recovering her cultivation.
• Phoenix Woman’s phoenix silhouette returned to her, and she closed her eyes as her transcendent aura awakened while Su Mo continued eating.
• Su Mo left the palace and waited beneath the stars, thinking about the outcome after the three-year deadline.
• At the Ends of the Earth, Gu Yu and the other six searched for Heavenly Dao Fragments, argued over Fourth Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Brother’s map, and found none.

Luo Yin led the Academy group beneath the floating stones, where they found the Confucian Sage’s remnant soul guarding the Ends of the Earth. He explained that he could not stop the Calamity of the Nine Heavens itself, only its portents, and Luo Yin asked whether he could still hold them off.

• Luo Yin urged the Academy group to search beneath the floating stones, and they remembered to wake Eldest Senior Brother before continuing downward.
• The group reached a vast grassy plain and found a white-haired old man playing a game alone beneath a peach tree.
• Gu Yu recognized the old man as another remnant of the Confucian Sage, and Luo Yin sat down to play a round with him despite not knowing the game.
• The Confucian Sage explained the difference between a remnant thought and a remnant soul, then said he stayed at the Ends of the Earth to hold back the Calamity of the Nine Heavens’ portents.
• The Confucian Sage admitted he did not know what caused the calamity, and Luo Yin asked whether he could still hold off its portents.

Luo Yin learned that the Confucian Sage Remnant Soul remembered the Calamity of the Nine Heavens as the Heavenly Cataclysm, then received a melody from him before leaving to find Su Mo. The remnant soul remained behind, weakened and unable to finish his game.

• Luo Yin asked about the Calamity's harbinger, and the Confucian Sage Remnant Soul recalled calling it the Heavenly Cataclysm.
• Su Mo waited in the Phoenix Nest for the three-year deadline and considered unanswered questions about the Calamity and the Confucian Sage's actions.
• The Confucian Sage Remnant Soul told the Academy group that the Heavenly Dao Fragments might be above them, not below.
• The Confucian Sage Remnant Soul played a melody for Luo Yin that held her entranced for three months, then advised her to deliver her message and leave quickly.
• Luo Yin thanked the Confucian Sage Remnant Soul and left with the Academy group after he offered a cryptic warning about her connection to Su Mo.
• Alone beneath the peach tree, the Confucian Sage Remnant Soul admitted he could not hold on much longer and placed another piece on their unfinished board game.

Su Mo concluded that Ning Baixue was Shi Jiuxuan from the Outer Domain after the Reincarnation Mirror failed to find her, and he drank himself into a stupor. After waking to find Phoenix Woman restored as the Phoenix Venerable, he tried to leave, but she ordered him to return with her to the Phoenix Palace.

• Su Mo learned that the Reincarnation Mirror could find no trace of Ning Baixue or Shi Jiuxuan in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and concluded that Ning Baixue was Shi Jiuxuan from the Outer Domain.
• Su Mo drank several flasks of wine and fell asleep against the ancient tree as Phoenix Woman emerged from the palace within it and watched over him.
• Su Mo awoke to Phoenix Woman's restored, overwhelming cultivation and addressed her as the Phoenix Venerable before saying he would leave.
• Phoenix Woman accused Su Mo of taking liberties while protecting her during cultivation, and Su Mo replied that those actions had been measures of expediency.
• Phoenix Woman ordered Su Mo to return with her to the Phoenix Palace because matters in the Demon Realm remained unsettled, then sealed Heaven and Earth's Laws to prevent his escape.

Phoenix Woman emerged from the Phoenix Nest, reclaimed authority over the Demon Realm, and ordered Great Peng and his followers punished. She brought Su Mo to her palace and confined him in her Sleeping Hall while she dealt with the realm’s affairs.

• Phoenix Woman appeared over the Demon Realm with Su Mo and commanded its people to return, declaring that Great Peng and his rebels must be put to death.
• Several Inquiry Realm greater demons pledged obedience as Phoenix Woman led Su Mo toward the Phoenix Palace.
• Phoenix Woman told Su Mo that the Phoenix Palace was a Sacred Artifact that outsiders could not control, then ordered him to stay in her Sleeping Hall until she settled accounts with him.
• Phoenix Woman instructed her maidservants to attend to Su Mo and forbade him from leaving the hall without her permission.

Phoenix Woman brought Su Mo to Phoenix Palace and confined him in her sleeping quarters, telling herself it was because he knew too much. Su Mo stayed behind while she dealt with affairs in the Demon Realm, unsure what she intended.

• Phoenix Woman recalled the Demon Realm’s slaughter of Human Race prodigies and realized she could not accept Su Mo leaving as though their time together had been only a transaction.
• Phoenix Woman decided to keep Su Mo confined, reasoning that he knew too much, and left the Sleeping Hall to handle matters in the Demon Realm.
• The maids struggled to find Su Mo a place to stay and ultimately led him into Phoenix Woman’s sleeping quarters.
• Su Mo learned that the luxurious hall and its belongings were Phoenix Woman’s, then agreed to bathe after the maids insisted.
• Su Mo refused the maids’ offer to help him bathe or arrange his hair, and they left him alone in the Sleeping Hall.
• Su Mo accepted that he could not leave and decided to ask Phoenix Woman about her intentions when she returned.

After Nirvana, Phoenix Woman summoned the Demon Realm’s Inquiry Realm great demons and began punishing those who had aided Great Peng’s atrocities. She killed Xiongchai when he refused to take his own life, and several others confessed and offered their life souls in hopes of mercy.

• Phoenix Woman’s guards purged demons who had committed atrocities during her Nirvana, while those forced into submission received warnings.
• Phoenix Woman summoned dozens of Inquiry Realm great demons to Phoenix Palace and declared she would rule the Demon Realm with iron and blood.
• Phoenix Woman accused Xiongchai of abducting Demon Race members for Great Peng and ordered him to take his own life in exchange for sparing his family.
• Xiongchai refused and tried to persuade the other great demons to defend him, but Phoenix Woman killed him with divine light.
• Phoenix Woman asked whether she needed to list the remaining demons’ crimes, prompting a snake demon and others to confess and offer their life souls.

Phoenix Woman quelled the Demon Realm’s unrest by killing Jackal Demon and taking the life souls of disloyal greater demons, then learned the Human Realm had turned against Su Mo. She decided not to let him leave the Demon Realm, and refused when he asked to go.

• Phoenix Woman revealed that she had killed Jackal Demon to force disloyal greater demons to surrender their life souls, while sparing those loyal to her.
• Phoenix Woman learned that the outside world branded Su Mo an evil cultivator, blamed him for calamities, and planned to demand that the Demon Realm surrender him and the Sacred Artifact Frost.
• Phoenix Woman resolved to keep Su Mo in the Demon Realm and told herself the Cold Sect of the Seventh Realm could come and try.
• Phoenix Woman visited Su Mo in the Sleeping Hall, where he correctly guessed how she had dealt with the greater demons.
• Su Mo asked to leave now that the Demon Realm’s affairs were settled, but Phoenix Woman refused.

Su Mo and Phoenix Woman argued over whether her restored cultivation had changed their bond, while she kept him confined in the Phoenix Palace. Phoenix Woman learned that the Cold Sect was approaching to seize Su Mo’s Dao Arts, and the chapter ended with Su Mo apologizing through a maidservant while Phoenix Woman ordered him to remain in the Sleeping Hall.

• Phoenix Woman challenged Su Mo’s assumption that her recovered disposition had severed their bond, then left the Sleeping Hall.
• Su Mo waited under guard in the Sleeping Hall while Phoenix Woman stayed in the front hall and sent word that he could die in the palace.
• A newcomer told Phoenix Woman that the Cold Sect of the Seventh Realm was heading toward the Demon Realm with people from several Sects, while the Cloud, Thunder, and Rain Sects remained quiet.
• Phoenix Woman concluded that the Cold Sect wanted Su Mo’s Dao Arts and Sacred Artifact under the pretense of rooting out evil.
• Su Mo realized he had misunderstood Phoenix Woman and sent her an apology through the Green-Robed Attendant.
• Phoenix Woman told Su Mo to stay in the Sleeping Hall and said she would settle the earlier score with him later.

Su Mo stayed in the Phoenix Palace, planting Flowers of the Other Shore and exchanging messages with the Phoenix Woman through the Green-Robed Attendant while winter settled over the Demon Realm. The chapter ended with the Cold Sect of the Seven Realms arriving in the Demon Realm.

• Su Mo asked the Phoenix Woman whether he could plant Flowers of the Other Shore in the Phoenix Palace, and she agreed through the Green-Robed Attendant.
• Su Mo planted flowers and continued sending the Phoenix Woman questions and requests through the attendant, who relayed their increasingly domestic exchanges.
• The Phoenix Woman agreed to find spirit soil and spirit water for Su Mo, but refused to let him leave the Sleeping Hall.
• Snow began falling through the Phoenix Palace as winter reached the Demon Realm.
• The Cold Sect of the Seven Realms arrived in the Demon Realm.

Phoenix Woman confronted the Cold Sect and Blood Sect, whose leaders had entered the Demon Realm to demand an explanation for the deaths of human prodigies in the Forbidden Lands. Su Mo remained unaware that they had come because of the threat surrounding him, as the chapter ended with the accusation against the Demon Realm.

• Su Mo saw the Seventh Realm's Cold Sect arrive outside Phoenix Palace, but the maids kept him from learning why they had come.
• Phoenix Woman flew out to meet the Cold Sect and Blood Sect, recognizing that both groups had come with hostile intent.
• The Cold Sect's leader, Han Chen, asked Phoenix Woman to account for the Demon Realm's actions in the Forbidden Lands.
• Han Chen accused the Demon Realm of slaughtering nearly all the Human Race's younger generation during the trial.