Chapter Summaries

Octopus Swordsman and Yan Shisan went to Five-Crest Marketplace after Five-Flower Meat asked for help with Shushan, but a dispute with Run Tu’s disciples quickly turned into a fight. As the battle threatened the marketplace, Octopus Swordsman and Run Tu took it toward the distant woods, while Li Ping'an wondered how they had ended up fighting.

• Five-Flower Meat told Yan Shisan and Octopus Swordsman that Shushan had come seeking an explanation after Octopus Swordsman beat two of its disciples.
• Yan Shisan and Octopus Swordsman went to Five-Crest Marketplace, where Octopus Swordsman insulted Run Tu and the two sides began fighting.
• Octopus Swordsman knocked back several Shushan disciples before Run Tu stepped in and traded blows with him.
• Run Tu and Octopus Swordsman unleashed powerful attacks that shook the marketplace, while Five-Flower Meat hid and Yan Shisan tried to stop them.
• Run Tu and Octopus Swordsman agreed to continue fighting away from the marketplace and flew toward the distant woods.
• In Qi Province, Li Ping'an wondered how the two had ended up fighting.

Run Tu and the Octopus Swordsman fought fiercely in the forest, trading sword attacks, poison, and a Formation. Far away, Li Ping'an sensed that Run Tu was likely safe but could not reach the two demons in time to stop them.

• Run Tu and the Octopus Swordsman battled through the forest, with the Octopus Swordsman using swift swordsmanship to wound Run Tu.
• Run Tu poisoned the Octopus Swordsman with a mist that entered through his five senses, then activated a Formation that spread across the forest.
• The Octopus Swordsman drew another sword and used the breathing techniques Li Ping'an had taught him as the two demons clashed again.
• Li Ping'an told Old Ox that Run Tu should be all right, but said they were too far away for him to intervene.

Li Ping'an used the Knight-Errant Brush and a yellow-paper talisman to send the Drizzle Flying Sword toward Central Province while a battle between the Octopus Swordsman and Run Tu reached its breaking point. Run Tu was badly wounded, and the Octopus Swordsman appeared to have won but was also close to collapse.

• Li Ping'an used the Knight-Errant Brush to inscribe fifty characters onto the Drizzle Flying Sword, then sent it flying toward Central Province.
• A short man eating across from Li Ping'an heard the sword's cry, saw the strange display, and fled in fright.
• Run Tu's demon-body dharma form was defeated, leaving him badly wounded and reduced to a tiny figure.
• The Octopus Swordsman fought alongside Yan Shisan and the Shushan disciples, but his own dharma form was badly damaged and he struggled against poison and ice in his body.
• Run Tu feared he would die after losing the fight.

Run Tu, the Octopus Swordsman, and Yan Shisan stopped fighting after Li Ping'an's sword revealed they were allies, then made peace. A year later, Li Ping'an invited Lin Xiao and his imperial father to celebrate the New Year at his home.

• Li Ping'an's Fine Rain Flying Sword arrived and told Run Tu and the Octopus Swordsman that they were all family, then dropped Healing Pills for them.
• Yan Shisan helped the injured Octopus Swordsman and Run Tu back to Five-Crest Marketplace, where the two demons agreed to share a drink.
• Li Ping'an checked that Run Tu, the Octopus Swordsman, and Yan Shisan had survived, while the Drizzle Sword made its slow return to him.
• Lin Xiao invited Li Ping'an to celebrate the New Year at the palace, but Li Ping'an invited Lin Xiao's imperial father to his home on the second day instead.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Jiaze prepared the New Year's Eve meal and celebrated as snow and firecrackers filled the night.

Li Ping'an recruited Zhao Lao'er to cultivate and watch his loft, then left before the Great Xia Emperor and Lin Xiao arrived to invite him to become the Great Xia Kingdom Imperial Preceptor. The emperor found the prepared meal and laughed at Li Ping'an's disappearance, leaving Lin Xiao convinced his father had gone mad.

• Li Ping'an visited Zhao Lao'er, calmed him, and offered to teach him cultivation in exchange for looking after the loft.
• The Great Xia Emperor decided to invite Li Ping'an to become the Great Xia Kingdom Imperial Preceptor and brought Lin Xiao to the loft.
• Zhao Lao'er told the emperor and Lin Xiao that Li Ping'an had left without saying where he was going.
• The Great Xia Emperor and Lin Xiao found a steaming twelve-dish meal waiting upstairs.
• The Great Xia Emperor laughed after realizing Li Ping'an was gone, and Lin Xiao thought his father had gone mad.

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.