Recaps

Li Ping'an traveled into the Mist Forest and joined a merchant caravan after meeting its leader. He learned about the uneasy human-Demon Race coexistence and heard that the Stronghold's Bonfire Festival was underway.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox finished their meal, then set out to continue traveling.
• The chapter described the Mist Forest, where surviving demons had settled and humans guarded against their return.
• The caravan encountered Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Jiaze on the forest road, and its leader agreed to let them travel along.
• Li Ping'an showed the leader a Shushan token and explained that he was traveling to see the sights, not to hunt demons.
• The leader told Li Ping'an about the Mist Forest's demons and invited him to the Stronghold's Bonfire Festival.
• The caravan grew more comfortable with Li Ping'an as he shared stories, and he said he was different from other cultivators.

Li Ping'an and the Horse Gang reached a village in the Mist Forest, where a Demon Slayer appeared to battle a mass of black vapor. Li Ping'an watched from his room and wondered about the Demon Slayers.

• Li Ping'an and the Horse Gang reached a village after traveling through the Mist Forest for more than ten days.
• The villagers held a bonfire celebration, and Li Ping'an drew the young women's attention before retreating to his room.
• The village chief and the Horse Gang's old man discussed Li Ping'an and considered sending girls to his room.
• A mass of black vapor attacked the village and swept up You Da, You Er, and the chief.
• A young man in black rescued the villagers and fought the black vapor with flame-wreathed fists.
• The village chief recognized the young man as a Demon Slayer, while Li Ping'an watched from his room.

Li Ping'an secretly empowered Han Yu during his fight with a demon, allowing the Demon Slayer of Heavenly Dragon Mountain to defeat it. The Stronghold welcomed Han Yu as a returned guardian, while the Horse Gang wondered how he would compare to the cultivator staying with them.

• Han Yu fought a demon, but his dazzling attacks failed to seriously injure it, and the demon gained the upper hand.
• Li Ping'an sent a drop of lamp oil toward Han Yu's flames, greatly increasing their power.
• Han Yu's empowered flames burned away the demon, whose body turned to ashes.
• Han Yu introduced himself to the Stronghold residents as a Demon Slayer of Heavenly Dragon Mountain, and they eagerly welcomed him.
• The Horse Gang watched from a distance and speculated about how Han Yu would compare with the cultivator in their room.

After his first battle, Han Yu met Li Ping'an, a Shushan disciple, and enjoyed the attention of the stronghold during a tour and banquet. Li Ping'an and Han Yu agreed to travel together, with Han Yu eager to hear about the outside world.

• Han Yu reflected on the power he had unleashed in battle and met Li Ping'an, who introduced himself as a disciple of Shushan.
• Li Ping'an praised Han Yu's fight, and the two chatted until the clan chief arrived and took Han Yu to tour the stronghold.
• Li Ping'an stayed behind to wash clothes while Han Yu toured with the clan chief and elders.
• At a banquet honoring Han Yu, the stronghold residents toasted him and young women crowded around him as the Horse Gang's men teased Li Ping'an.
• Li Ping'an asked Han Yu about traveling together, and Han Yu happily agreed.

Han Yu brought Li Ping'an to the Thatched Cottage, where his drunken master greeted the Shushan disciple with suspicion and scorn. Li Ping'an remained calm as he recognized that the old man's hostility was directed at Shushan, not at him personally.

• After leaving the Stronghold, Han Yu told Li Ping'an that he and his master were the last Demon Slayers and that Demon Ghosts had run rampant since the other Demon Slayers died.
• Li Ping'an played the erhu on the journey, and Han Yu was captivated before Li Ping'an let him hold the instrument.
• At the Thatched Cottage, Han Yu found his master asleep beneath an Osmanthus Tree and struggled to rouse him with news that a Shushan disciple had arrived.
• Han Yu went to buy vegetables, and he and Li Ping'an prepared a meal while the old man slept.
• The old man accused Li Ping'an of being a swindler, suggested cooking Old Ox, and disparaged Shushan; Li Ping'an introduced himself and stayed unruffled.

Li Ping'an stayed in the Mist Forest village and learned from Han Yu and Ye Liang that the Demon Slayers feared the Demon Race would awaken and bring disaster. He agreed to seek help from Shushan and promised to return himself if he could not bring reinforcements.

• Li Ping'an admired the village’s starry sky as Han Yu said he planned to leave after slaying every monster in the Mist Forest.
• Ye Liang complained that the righteous sects had abandoned the Demon Slayers despite their old agreement to help guard the forest.
• After staying several days, Li Ping'an sensed an anomaly at sunrise, and Han Yu invited him to spar with the Fine Rain Flying Sword.
• Ye Liang questioned Li Ping'an about his cultivation and Shushan ties, then warned that the Demon Race deep in the Mist Forest was close to awakening.
• Li Ping'an agreed to seek reinforcements from Shushan and said he would return to help even if he could bring no one.

Han Yu recalled how Ye Liang had rescued him and trained him, then searched for Li Ping'an after learning he had left. Ye Liang returned with a sword and told Han Yu they would go down the mountain the next day.

• Han Yu remembered meeting Ye Liang after his parents were killed by Demon Ghosts and learning that his drunken master was a renowned Demon Slayer.
• Han Yu searched the village for Li Ping'an after Ye Liang said he had left, but could not find him.
• Ye Liang returned late at night carrying a sword wrapped in rags and secretly washed it in the stream.
• Ye Liang reflected on his past in the Jianghu and his fading hope that Li Ping'an could change the Demon Slayers' plight.
• Ye Liang woke Han Yu and told him they would go down the mountain the next day.

Ye Liang decided the Demon Race in the Mist Forest would soon awaken and the Grand Array would fail, so he sent Han Yu away to survive while he stayed behind. Han Yu crossed the river alone as a storm broke over the Mist Forest.

• Ye Liang told Han Yu that the Demon Race was about to awaken, the Grand Array would not hold, and the two of them should flee.
• Ye Liang and Han Yu left the village before dawn, carrying what they could from the cottage.
• At the river, Ye Liang stayed behind and urged Han Yu to head north and see the Nine Provinces.
• Han Yu boarded the boat and watched Ye Liang return as rain and thunder swept over the Mist Forest.

Li Ping'an sent urgent messages by paper cranes, then rode his sword toward the Mist Forest as relentless rain and spreading mist heralded a monster assault. Strongholds fell in a slaughter, and as a monster attacked Sun Shopkeeper at the Thatched Cottage, an unseen swordsman roared in fury.

• Li Ping'an used his blood and the Knight-Errant Brush to write talismans, which Old Ox turned into paper cranes that carried messages across provinces.
• Li Ping'an left at dawn on the Fine Rain Flying Sword, troubled by a foreboding feeling.
• Heavy rain and thinning mist accompanied monsters as they attacked strongholds near the depths of the Mist Forest, killing the hunter's younger brother and overrunning his home.
• Survivors lit a beacon and armed a stronghold, but the monsters overwhelmed its defenders before a battle could begin.
• A wounded man reached the Thatched Cottage and warned Sun Shopkeeper about monsters, but one appeared behind them and attacked Sun Shopkeeper.
• An enraged voice shouted as a sword rang out against the monster threatening Sun Shopkeeper.

Ye Liang rejected Feilian’s offer to spare the Demon Slayers and unleashed his power as the demon army advanced on Tengchong City. The chapter ended with Ye Liang raising a mountain and striking the demons with Yunwen.

• Ye Liang killed a demon and warned Shopkeeper Sun that the Demon Race had emerged from the Mist Forest.
• Ye Liang met the demon sage Feilian, who proposed that the Demon Slayers preserve themselves by making peace with the Demon Race.
• Feilian argued that the human race had wronged the Demon Slayers, but Ye Liang cursed him and triggered a tremendous upheaval beneath the ground.
• The demon army attacked Tengchong City, overwhelmed its Grand Array, and threatened to enter the city.
• Ye Liang raised a mountain before Tengchong City and struck the demon army with Yunwen, unleashing a vast wave of Sword Qi.

As the demon army approached Tengchong City, the young family head rallied the city’s cultivators to defend it. At dawn, the battle began beneath the mountain wall, where Ye Liang and the defenders fought back while Demon Saint Feilian watched.

• Ye Liang warned General Hu Wan that Tengchong City had to fight the demon army, and Hu Wan hurried to spread the message.
• The leaders of the Six Families and Seven Clans debated whether to fight or flee until the young family head urged them to swear to live and die with the city.
• The family head emerged before hundreds of cultivators and declared that they would live and die with the city.
• At dawn, the demon army crossed bridges built against the mountain wall as Ye Liang watched its advance.
• Yunwen, the city’s cultivators, Mo Family Repeating Crossbows, and other defenders attacked the demon troops while Demon Saint Feilian observed from a distant hill.
• Ye Liang grinned, raised his sword, and challenged the demon army to attack.

As Tengchong City came under a relentless Demon Race assault, Han Yu turned back after reaching safety to fight alongside its defenders. By midnight, several gates had fallen, and the family head was directing the desperate defense as a dark figure appeared behind him.

• Han Yu watched people flee Tengchong City and, remembering his master's lesson, told his driver he would return to the city.
• A young gentleman named Zhe'er turned back to fight, and Han Yu followed his example by rushing back across the drawbridge.
• The Demon Race attacked Tengchong City from dawn through the night, overwhelming its exhausted defenders and blocking their escape with Heavenly Beasts.
• By Zi Hour, two of Tengchong City's seven gates had fallen, and urgent calls for reinforcements came from several fronts.
• The family head directed the defense with command tallies and moved flags on the sand table, unaware that a dark figure had appeared behind him.

Han Yu fought to defend Liuhe Bridge after the young master sent him there, but the Ma Family and the bridge fell by dawn. As the greater demons closed in, Gu Xizhou and a vast coalition of reinforcements arrived, led by Li Ping'an, who had come as promised.

• A cunning demon pierced the young master while he studied the battle map, but Han Yu killed the intruders and stopped the bleeding as the young master continued issuing orders.
• After hearing reports of losses across Tengchong City, the young master sent Han Yu to help defend Liuhe Bridge against more than ten sixth-realm greater demons.
• Han Yu fought alongside the Ma Family at Liuhe Bridge, killing one greater demon and gravely wounding two, but the Ma Family died and the bridge fell.
• As several greater demons surrounded the wounded Han Yu, Gu Xizhou arrived and incapacitated them, while powerful fighters from Shushan, the Buddhist Sect, Huailu Academy, and other factions attacked the demon army.
• Ye Liang realized reinforcements had gathered after Li Ping'an arrived with Jiaze and declared that he had come as promised.

As reinforcements arrived at Tengchong City, the Great Sui forces drove back the demon army at several gates while Liu Yun took command of the city’s defenses. The demon army remained outside the city, and Liu Yun ordered her forces not to pursue as Great Xia cavalry entered the pass.

• Liu Yong led Great Sui cavalry in a counterattack against the demons at the northern Meridian Gate.
• Ling'er, Wang Yi, and the Military School’s armored strongmen fought the demon army at Desheng Gate, while Shushan disciples reinforced Changding Gate and Qingfeng defeated two greater demons.
• Great Sui strategists took over Tengchong City’s command system, treated the wounded young master, and reorganized the defenses under Liu Yun.
• Liu Yun received reports that reinforcements were defending the city’s gates and that the demon army remained beyond the mountain wall.
• After hearing that Gu Xizhou had charged into the demon army and Great Xia cavalry were entering the pass, Liu Yun ordered her forces not to pursue and asked whether Li Ping'an had invited Great Xia.

Gu Xizhou and Li Ping'an fought through the demon army at Tengchong City, while allies held the city’s defenses. Li Ping'an reunited with the defenders and called them to the council hall as the demon army continued its assault.

• Gu Xizhou fought his way out of the city, routing demon troops as Demon Saint Feilian intensified the attack outside.
• Li Ping'an arrived with friends, joined Gu Xizhou in battle, and helped them slay greater demons and disrupt the enemy formations.
• Ye Liang realized that Gu Xizhou had broken through the Eighth Realm and become the first Ninth Realm Martial Warrior in the Nine Provinces.
• At Anji Gate, Jing Yu, Zhao Ling'er, Aliya, Lin Xiao, True Person Wushan, and their allies held the line against the demons.
• Li Ping'an arrived riding an ox, thanked the defenders, and invited everyone to the council hall to discuss matters.

Reinforcements from across the Nine Provinces gathered in Tengchong City, where Han Yu learned that Li Ping'an had summoned them. As Liu Yun waited for Li Ping'an, he entered and invited everyone to discuss matters over a meal.

• Han Yu woke to find Tengchong City had held and returned, wounded, to join the gathering of the allied powers.
• Ye Liang told Han Yu that Li Ping'an had summoned the reinforcements and warned him to address Li as Mr. Li.
• Gu Xizhou and Qingfeng traded familiar insults while old friends and allies reunited and talked among themselves.
• Liu Yun waited for Li Ping'an as the gathered leaders exchanged remarks and settled into the conference hall.
• Li Ping'an entered and invited everyone to talk over a meal.

Li Ping'an reunited with his allies in Tengchong City, where Liu Yun explained that their forces could only delay the Demon Race without reinforcements. As snow fell, everyone departed to defend the city, exchanging promises to return safely.

• Li Ping'an welcomed his reunited friends over a meal, and Liu Yun warned that their forces alone could not withstand the Demon Race indefinitely.
• Liu Yun revealed that she had brought Great Sui cavalry and Imperial Astronomy Bureau disciples despite opposition, while Lin Xiao, Run Tu, and Master Zhong pledged reinforcements from Great Xia, Shushan, and Huailu Academy.
• Qingfeng urged the group to summon Qi Province's sect leaders, and Jing Yu asked how many demons were sealed beneath the Wushan Grand Array.
• After sharing a crude poem in the falling snow, the allies exchanged farewells and left to defend their assigned gates.
• Liu Yun asked Li Ping'an to return safely, and he returned the wish.

The Demon Race launched a renewed assault on Tengchong City, using war banners to strengthen its troops while the defenders fought to hold the walls. Li Ping'an was lured into an ambush by several powerful demons, but faced them without fear.

• Demon Saint Feilian and the other commanders argued over their next assault, then issued new orders while Feilian stayed back from the fighting.
• The demon army attacked Tengchong City, and Jing Yu, Changqing, Aliya, Zhao Ling'er, Ye Liang, and the city’s gunners fought to repel it.
• Demon banners empowered the attacking demons as they battered the city gates and walls.
• Li Ping'an and Qingfeng responded to reports of great demons, killing them to ease the pressure on the defenders.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox arrived at a reported demon attack and found a dying cultivator, then discovered a great demon Sword Cultivator, a Flood Dragon, a Giant Spirit God, and a Two-Headed Man waiting to ambush them.
• The Two-Headed Man warned Li Ping'an that no one would come to help, but Li Ping'an declared that killing them would be easy.

Li Ping'an fought off an ambush of great demons in Tengchong City, revealing an array of powerful techniques and defeating the attackers with Old Ox's help. Demon Saint Feilian learned that Li Ping'an was likely a Heaven's Punishment One, while Demon Saint Jimeng prepared to join the next attack.

• The two-headed man lured a powerful cultivator into an ambush, but Li Ping'an arrived instead of Qingfeng.
• Li Ping'an used the White Jade Capital Pagoda, boxing, Confucian formation techniques, and the Fusang Saber to fight the great demons, while Old Ox charged the Giant Spirit God.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox defeated the ambush, leaving the Flood Dragon pinned, the Giant Spirit God headless, and the two-headed man near death.
• Li Ping'an sent a warning that great demons were laying ambushes, while Old Ox searched the battlefield for treasure.
• Demon Saint Feilian learned that Tengchong City had gained an Eighth Realm-level cultivator who might be a Heaven's Punishment One.
• Demon Saint Jimeng declared that he would join the next attack.

On the fifth day of the siege, Demon Sage Jumeng flooded Tengchong City and overwhelmed the defenders at Nanchong Gate. Yan Shisan broke through at the brink of death, but Jumeng defeated him before Qingfeng, Gu Xizhou, and Li Ping'an arrived to confront the Demon Sage.

• As the fog covered Tengchong City, the Octopus Swordsman sensed the sea approaching Nanchong Gate.
• Jumeng flooded the gate with seawater, sweeping away human defenders and demon troops alike.
• Jumeng appeared and struck down the Octopus Swordsman, Wen Tao, and Yan Shisan, while Liu Kan attacked him and was badly injured.
• Yan Shisan broke through during the fight and shielded Liu Kan, but Jumeng defeated him and prepared to swallow him.
• Qingfeng struck Jumeng, Gu Xizhou rescued Yan Shisan, and Li Ping'an arrived as they surrounded the Demon Sage.

Demon Saint Jumeng trapped Li Ping'an, Gu Xizhou, and Qingfeng in separate realms while Feilian unleashed a sword array against Tengchong City. As the array overwhelmed the defenders, several cultivators died or were wounded trying to break it, and a pair of renowned sword-wielding Dao companions entered the fray.

• Jumeng trapped Li Ping'an, Gu Xizhou, and Qingfeng in a small world, dividing them among the mortal realm, heaven, and the underworld.
• With the three leading fighters gone, the demon army attacked Tengchong City while two Great Confucians strained to maintain its defensive array.
• Feilian deployed a sword array that reversed the flow of energy around Tengchong City and threatened to destroy its defenses.
• A Sword Cultivator and a cultivator with a Dharma Body Golden Form died trying to break the sword array, while only three of more than ten Zhengyang Gate Daoists escaped alive.
• A renowned pair of Dao companions wielding the Nobleman's Sword and the Jade Maiden Sword entered the array and fought its attacks together.

Ye Liang and the cultivators entered Feilian’s Sword Formation to fight the demons while Li Ping'an, Gu Xizhou, and Qingfeng remained trapped in Jumeng’s Minor World. Li Ping'an opened a brief escape route for Gu Xizhou and Qingfeng, then called Old Ox to take his place as Jumeng confronted him.

• Ye Liang rescued the cultivation partners from Feilian’s Sword Formation, then Changqing, Jing Yu, and other cultivators entered the formation to fight.
• Pang Jun stayed outside the formation, ashamed that his cultivation was too weak to join the others.
• Li Ping'an proposed breaking Jumeng’s Minor World so Gu Xizhou and Qingfeng could return to the battlefield, and he used White Jade Capital Suppression to create a fleeting breach.
• Gu Xizhou and Qingfeng escaped the Minor World and hurried toward Tengchong City, while Old Ox seized the opening and entered.
• Jumeng reunited his three incarnations and faced Li Ping'an, who called out for Old Ox to take his place.

Human Cultivators sacrificed themselves to break through the sword array and clear a path for Ye Liang. As Feilian’s array pressed in, Ye Liang fought toward its core, declaring that the Demon Slayers still lived through his disciple.

• Changqing held open a passage with the array diagram while Jing Yu led Cultivators deeper into the sword array.
• Qin Shi prepared to sacrifice himself, but Zhao Luhu of Zhengyang Gate struck first, destroying his treasures and detonating his Golden Core to clear the way.
• Cultivators from different sects gave their lives to open the path, while Feilian disturbed Ye Liang’s thoughts through the lake of his mind.
• Several Cultivators shielded Ye Liang from Sword Qi, giving him time to summon the Demon Slayers’ Flying Swords and challenge the array’s central sword.
• Ye Liang told Feilian that the Demon Slayers were not extinct because he still had a disciple, then broke through toward the array’s core as Feilian retreated.
• Ye Liang looked back at the young Cultivators who had died for him and laughed, his spirit soaring as he pressed on.

Ye Liang sacrificed himself to cripple Feilian’s sword array, and Han Yu mourned his master as the human Cultivators attacked. With the array shattered and Feilian poised to kill the survivors, Qin Shi blocked his strike, and Qingfeng and Gu Xizhou returned to the battlefield.

• Ye Liang destroyed nearly half of Feilian’s Grand Array by detonating more than ten Demon-Slaying Swords, dying with his Dao extinguished.
• Han Yu knelt and bid farewell to Demon Slayer Ye Liang while Cultivators attacked the weakened array.
• Jing Yu fought his way to Feilian and struck at him, but Feilian knocked away his sword.
• Qin Shi struck Feilian from behind, and Cultivators including two female fighters joined the assault.
• At daybreak, the Grand Array shattered and Feilian appeared in his true form; Qin Shi used his last-resort Art to block Feilian’s attack.
• Qingfeng and Gu Xizhou returned after Li Ping'an held off Demon Sage Jumeng, then attacked Feilian.

Li Ping'an endured Jumeng’s attacks in the Minor World while he and Old Ox tried to stall the Demon Sage. Jumeng failed to break either of them and turned back to Li Ping'an, leaving the fight ongoing.

• Li Ping'an fought Jumeng with his fists, relying on his endurance rather than his weapons and treasures.
• Li Ping'an escaped Jumeng’s sudden attack and fled into a Bamboo Forest, where Old Ox’s formation delayed Jumeng briefly.
• Jumeng chased Old Ox to force Li Ping'an to intervene, but Li Ping'an calmly replenished his strength instead.
• Old Ox survived Jumeng’s attacks by burrowing out from beneath two mountains, then endured repeated falls and water strikes while cursing Jumeng.
• Jumeng abandoned his pursuit of Old Ox and returned to attack Li Ping'an.