Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua returned the ancestral book to the Zhu, Xun, and Zeng families, then left Zhu Family Manor. After Dragon Vein Xiao Hua sensed the Xuzhou Ding beneath the three counties, Xiao Hua extracted it despite its lost power to suppress the ghost apertures.

• Xiao Hua returned the book containing the Silk Brocade to the three families and kept the bone bead at their insistence.
• Xiao Hua left Zhu Family Manor, and the three families vowed to spread his good name and respond to the new calamity.
• Dragon Vein Xiao Hua sensed the Xuzhou Ding beneath Wuyuan County, Jingyue County, and Fanchang County.
• Xiao Hua and the others reasoned that the Xuzhou Ding no longer suppressed the ghost apertures and discussed rebuilding the Nine Provinces Nine Cauldrons formation.
• Xiao Hua used the Four-Colored Heavenly Heart and nine flying swords to extract the Xuzhou Ding, which shrank to palm size.

Xiao Hua secured the Xuzhou Ding and continued toward the North Sea as the Immortal Emperor summoned the young masters of the Four Great Families to Lingyun Treasure Hall. The emperor questioned them about their time in the Immortal Palace and asked Dongfang Huayun whether he missed Cangxian Continent.

• Xiao Hua absorbed the Xuzhou Ding into his middle dantian, restoring and completing the image within it, then flew toward the North Sea.
• The Immortal Emperor issued a decree summoning the young masters of the Dongfang, Ximen, Nangong, and Beiming families to Lingyun Treasure Hall.
• Ximen Qionghan and Dongfang Huayun presented their decrees before the hall, followed by Nangong Jingyin and Beimeng Zhiqing, and the four entered together.
• The young masters greeted the Immortal Emperor, who asked how long each had served in the Immortal Palace.
• The Immortal Emperor noted that more than three thousand years had passed on Cangxian Continent during Dongfang Huayun's ten years in the palace, then asked whether he missed it.

The Immortal Emperor questioned the heirs of the Four Great Families about their contact with the Cangxian Continent, then discussed the Immortal Palace’s divided factions and its growing calls for war. The chapter ended with him suspecting that Xin Xin had an ulterior reason for sending Sun Gang of Tongming Hall to the lower realm.

• The Immortal Emperor asked Dongfang Huayun, Ximen Qionghan, Nangong Jingyin, and Beimeng Zhiqing when they had last heard from their Lineages, and learned they knew nothing of the Cangxian Continent’s current state.
• After the four heirs withdrew, Great White Golden Star told the Immortal Emperor that the Four Great Families and many Immortal Palace officials secretly exchanged communications with the mortal world.
• Great White Golden Star reported that most submitted memorials called for war, while the Immortal Emperor considered the political divisions among the schools and the Four Great Families.
• Great White Golden Star and Heavenly King Qingyu defended Sun Jian’s conduct, but the Immortal Emperor explained that pressure from his opponents had forced him to demote Sun Jian.
• The Immortal Emperor wondered why Sun Gang of Tongming Hall had gone to the lower realm and questioned whether Xin Xin had other intentions.

The Immortal Emperor and his ministers debated the looming war between Confucian cultivators and the Buddhist Sect before a strange disturbance prompted him to summon Xie Xin of Heaven's Secret Hall. Xie Xin identified the disturbance as the aura of Other Shore, a sacred artifact of the Sacred Light Realm, and began considering what its appearance near Xuzhou meant for the Immortal Emperor.

• The Immortal Emperor, Great White Golden Star, and Heavenly King Qingyu discussed the poor prospects of a war against the Buddhist Sect and concluded that the Confucian side was trapped into fighting.
• The Immortal Emperor asked about strange insects reported along Cangxian Continent's northern edge, then unleashed a sudden burst of power and dismissed the court.
• The Immortal Emperor summoned Xie Xin, while Great White Golden Star and Heavenly King Qingyu wondered whether the disturbance was connected to the insects.
• Xie Xin told the Immortal Emperor that the power he sensed was Other Shore, the sacred artifact of the Sacred Light Realm.
• The Immortal Emperor explained that Other Shore had appeared near Xuzhou and that its user had concealed their traces; Xie Xin said the artifact's appearance could benefit him.

The Immortal Emperor and Great Sun Tathagata reconsidered war as the Other Shore appeared on the Cangxian Continent, while Xiao Hua’s actions unknowingly eased the crisis. The chapter ended with a judge in the underworld vowing revenge on Duanmu Liangsheng and the Duanmu Family for destroying his avatar.

• The Immortal Emperor appointed Xie Xin to arrange a gathering with Great Sun Tathagata and the Golden-Winged Great Peng Sage, combining it with the Empress’s birthday celebration.
• Great Sun Tathagata told Rāgaratna Tathagata that Manjushri had not found Ananda’s reincarnation and that he could not locate Ananda or Maitreya Buddha.
• Great Sun Tathagata sensed the Other Shore on the Cangxian Continent and suspected that someone from the Sacred Light Realm was using it to conceal their plans.
• Great Sun Tathagata and Rāgaratna Tathagata concluded that the Sacred Light Realm’s scheme mattered more than the looming war between Immortals and Buddhas.
• Xiao Hua’s action in Wuyuan County unknowingly reversed the crisis around Changsheng Town and preserved tens of millions of lives.
• A judge whose avatar Duanmu Liangsheng had destroyed vowed to use the soul mark to torment Duanmu Liangsheng and target the Duanmu Family.

Xiao Hua reunited with the injured You Zhongquan and learned that his reckless efforts to punish evildoers had brought disaster upon the You family and nearly cost Chang Yuan her life. After Chang Yuan recounted what Xiao Hua had done to save them, You Zhongquan began to understand the depth of Xiao Hua’s help.

• The Underworld Judge vented its fury by devouring wandering souls and smashing a mountain before returning to the palace.
• Xiao Hua collected the Xuzhou Ding, then released You Zhongquan and Chang Yuan onto his flying carriage as You Zhongquan suffered from battling nether energy.
• Chang Yuan tended to You Zhongquan, who protested her closeness, while Xiao Hua and Fu Zhiwen teased them about their devotion.
• Xiao Hua told You Zhongquan that Zhu Xiang had died in the ghost cave, then warned him that his actions had brought trouble upon the You family.
• At Xiao Hua’s request, Chang Yuan described how he had saved her and the You family, and You Zhongquan’s disdain toward her began to change.

Xiao Hua freed You Zhongquan from the Underworld yin energy, then drew him into becoming a disciple by giving him a powerful flying sword and correcting his cultivation. After showing You Zhongquan the story of his past with Chang Yuan, Xiao Hua left him remorseful and grateful for the chance to make amends.

• Xiao Hua purged the Underworld yin energy from You Zhongquan and offered him the chance to leave, but Chang Yuan reminded Xiao Hua of his promise to give You Zhongquan a flying sword.
• Xiao Hua gave You Zhongquan a Mandarin Duck Sword, and Liu Yi persuaded him to accept Xiao Hua as his master so he could learn sword arts.
• Xiao Hua sealed a deer-shaped sword intent into You Zhongquan’s new sword, destroyed his flawed old sword, and gave him techniques to correct his cultivation.
• Xiao Hua showed You Zhongquan memories of Tianmen Mountain, Little Cabbage, and their past, leaving You Zhongquan in tears.
• You Zhongquan told Xiao Hua he understood that he owed Chang Yuan a great deal and thanked his master for his intentions.

Xiao Hua set You Zhongquan’s past-life memories aside and continued toward the Divine Demon Blood Swamp, where he planned to make alliances against the Immortal Palace. After giving Fu Zhiwen a spark to study, Xiao Hua met two Daoist cultivators who explained the Chu family’s search for the God Demon Chess and heard his questions about their motives.

• Xiao Hua erased You Zhongquan’s memories of his past life, and You Zhongquan accepted his place as the youngest disciple.
• Xiao Hua entered Gun Province, sent Liu Yi back to the Kunlun Immortal Realm, and summoned Fu Zhiwen to discuss making alliances against the Immortal Palace.
• Xiao Hua gave Fu Zhiwen a tricolored spark to study, saying that understanding it could let him control the sealed Heavenly Book.
• Xu Chuanping and Chen Zhuo arrived and praised Xiao Hua for defeating True Lord Qingyuan, then said they were headed to the Divine Demon Blood Swamp to seek opportunities.
• Xu Chuanping and Chen Zhuo explained that the Chu family had invited heroes to search for the God Demon Chess, and Xiao Hua asked why the family was pursuing it so openly in Gun Province.

Xiao Hua realized the Chu family’s invitation might connect to a larger plot involving the Four Great Families, then traveled with Fu Zhiwen, Chen Zhuo, and Xu Chuanping to the Divine Demon Blood Swamp. They found the swamp’s blood mist had expanded and grown dangerous, and Chu family guards challenged them as they approached.

• Fu Zhiwen reminded Xiao Hua that the Chu family’s actions in Yanzhou might conceal a political motive, and Xiao Hua suspected the Four Great Families were involved.
• Chen Zhuo described an earlier Chu family invitation and recognized the token Xiao Hua had received, prompting Xiao Hua to agree to introduce Chen Zhuo and Xu Chuanping to the Chu family.
• Xiao Hua revealed that he taught Fu Zhiwen Confucian cultivation techniques, then advised Chen Zhuo and Xu Chuanping on their cultivation as they traveled for several days.
• Fu Zhiwen, Chen Zhuo, and Xu Chuanping reported that the Divine Demon Blood Swamp’s blood mist had spread and that its baleful aura now threatened those approaching it.
• Xiao Hua sensed a familiar summons or warning and the scent of the Netherworld Blood Sea within the swamp, while his soul sense could not penetrate its strange mist.
• Chu family guards intercepted the group, and their red-faced leader dismissed Chen Zhuo and Xu Chuanping as opportunists seeking benefits.

Xiao Hua arrived at the Divine Demon Blood Swamp and made the Chu Family’s patrol disciples recognize and welcome him after demonstrating his strength. He learned that the swamp had expanded during the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, killing hundreds of thousands, and was received by Chu Yang after Chu Jianzheng declined to come in person.

• Xiao Hua slapped Chu Jing, who recognized him as the famous Xiao Hua of Black Wind Ridge and led the Chu Family scholars in greeting him.
• Xiao Hua warned Chu Jing not to plot against him, and Chu Jing sent Chu Feng to summon Chu Jianzheng.
• Xiao Hua asked about the gathering and the swamp, and Chu Jing explained that it had expanded from ten thousand li to over thirteen thousand li and its bloody mist had killed hundreds of thousands of people.
• Chu Jing said the mutation began during the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade and that Chu Family disciples had also been swallowed by the swamp.
• Chu Yang arrived in place of Chu Jianzheng, introduced himself as the Chu Family’s Great Steward, and received Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua arrived at the Divine Demon Blood Swamp and learned the Chu Family had arranged different accommodations for invited guests and those without tokens. The Murong family arrived in force, and Murong Congyun asked to stay at the swamp despite her granduncle’s warnings, hinting that an old acquaintance was there.

• Chu Yang explained that the Chu Family had separate accommodations for invited guests and cultivators without tokens, prompting Xiao Hua to consider leaving.
• The Murong family’s great boat arrived, and Chu Jianzheng, Chu Hong, and Chu Pingjing respectfully greeted its young leader.
• The young Murong leader questioned Chu Jianzheng about the Chu Family’s plans for God Demon Chess, then decided not to remain at the swamp.
• Murong Congyun pleaded to stay and watch the excitement, but her granduncle refused because the swamp’s yin and baleful energies could harm her cultivation.
• Murong Congyun continued pleading, asking whether two Martial Uncles could accompany her and mentioning that an old acquaintance was present.

Xiao Hua met Murong Jiang and Murong Congyun’s Murong family, and proved his strength when Murong Jiang tested him with a powerful punch. Murong Jiang invited Xiao Hua to accompany Murong Congyun to the Murong family in Ouwen, leaving him to protect her in the Divine Demon Blood Swamp as the chapter ended with Murong Junpeng arriving.

• Murong Jiang recognized Xiao Hua as Murong Congyun’s old acquaintance and tried to pull his heavenly horse toward him, but Xiao Hua’s sword light broke the restraint.
• Murong Jiang tested Xiao Hua with a punch that sent him crashing into the ground, but Xiao Hua emerged unharmed and revealed his Confucian sword Qi.
• Xiao Hua explained his conflict with the Immortal Palace, and Murong Jiang praised him and invited him to follow Murong Congyun to the Murong family in Ouwen.
• Murong Jiang and the others boarded their great boat, while Murong Congyun remained behind, apparently leaving Xiao Hua responsible for protecting her in the Divine Demon Blood Swamp.
• Murong Junpeng came down from the great boat, introduced himself as Murong Congyun’s clan uncle, and praised Xiao Hua for killing the Immortal Palace’s immortal soldiers.

Xiao Hua joined Murong Congyun, Fu Zhiwen, and the Chu Family at the edge of the Divine Demon Blood Swamp while Chen Zhuo and Xu Chuanping chose to stay behind. He entered the Chu Family’s hidden encampment and saw the family prepare a Kui Hall for Murong Junpeng, as the reason for their gathering remained unrevealed.

• Murong Congyun invited Xiao Hua to descend with her, and they exchanged jokes before she questioned his habit of helping others.
• Xiao Hua called Fu Zhiwen, Chen Zhuo, and Xu Chuanping over, then warned the two Daoist cultivators that the swamp was dangerous.
• Chen Zhuo and Xu Chuanping declined to leave, saying they hoped to find opportunities in the Divine Demon Blood Swamp.
• Xiao Hua and Murong Congyun passed through the Chu Family’s concealed gateway and saw its array-protected camp and the vast barrier surrounding the swamp.
• Chu Jianzheng’s disciples summoned a Mohist Kui Hall, and Chu Jianzheng gave its paperweight control to Murong Junpeng before leaving to handle other affairs.

Xiao Hua weighed the risks of Murong Congyun’s family seeking his alliance, then investigated the Divine Demon Blood Swamp and encountered the strange Chu Yang. Chu Yang’s questions about the blood waves and the purpose of life left Xiao Hua reflecting on memories as he prepared to explain why he lived.

• Xiao Hua declined to stay in Murong Junpeng’s hall, while Fu Zhiwen warned him that the Murong family might misunderstand his intentions and expose the Creation Sect.
• Xiao Hua decided to investigate the Divine Demon Blood Swamp, sent Fu Zhiwen back to the Kunlun Mirror to cultivate, and flew toward the swamp.
• Xiao Hua observed the blood waves and black currents but found no flaw in the swamp’s barrier.
• Xiao Hua found Chu Yang staring at the Blood Swamp, and Chu Yang wondered whether the blood waves lived happily and what the black currents sought.
• Chu Yang asked what people lived for, prompting Xiao Hua to recall strange images and say that he knew clearly why he lived.

Xiao Hua learned that the Murong family had secretly tasked him with investigating the Chu family's search of the Divine Demon Blood Swamp, while Murong Junpeng planned to investigate in person. The chapter ended with Murong Junpeng warning Murong Congyun that Xiao Hua might interfere with her trial, and Congyun defending her decision to involve him.

• Xiao Hua and Chu Yang discussed the meaning of living, and Chu Yang invited Xiao Hua to return in three days to hear some secrets.
• Xiao Hua learned from Murong Junpeng that the Chu family's search for God Demon Chess seemed suspicious and that Murong Junpeng wanted the truth uncovered.
• Murong Congyun explained that Murong Junpeng could not enter the swamp without alerting the Chu family, so Xiao Hua had been recruited to investigate under the guise of protecting her.
• Xiao Hua, Murong Congyun, and Murong Junpeng reviewed the Chu family's plans for three days before Murong Junpeng decided to investigate the swamp alone.
• After Xiao Hua left, Murong Junpeng warned Murong Congyun that involving him might affect her trial, but she said she needed outside help.

Chu Yang revealed the family injustices and lethal cultivation secret that had driven him to despair, then tried to enter the Divine Demon Blood Swamp to die. Xiao Hua stopped him, but a Buddhist light hidden within Chu Yang’s chest turned Xiao Hua’s intervention against him and began pulling him in.

• Chu Yang told Xiao Hua that his parents had survived a false accusation by blaming Chu Nan’s parents, who were executed, and that Chu Nan later died in a suspicious accident.
• Chu Yang said he had spent his life seeking vengeance against Chu Jianzheng and discovered that the Life and Death Talisman would eventually make his sword qi consume him.
• Chu Yang rejected Xiao Hua’s offer to help perfect the cultivation method, named Chu Jianzheng as his enemy, and flew toward the Divine Demon Blood Swamp to end his life.
• Xiao Hua sealed the space around Chu Yang to stop him, but a Buddhist light and Golden Kun script emerged from Chu Yang’s chest and shattered the seal.
• The Buddhist light sucked in Xiao Hua’s true essence and lightning as he struggled, and Xiao Hua struck at it with Mountain Power.

Xiao Hua watched Chu Yang sacrifice himself to form the Life and Death Talisman, which broke the Divine Demon Blood Swamp barrier and unleashed a dangerous surge of blood tides. As the Chu and Murong families prepared to respond, Chu Jianzheng sent out a signal, leaving Xiao Hua suspicious of the hidden motives surrounding the crisis.

• Xiao Hua escaped Chu Yang’s Buddhist light and saw a talisman split Chu Yang’s body, turning his blood and flesh into the Life and Death Talisman.
• Xiao Hua’s crystalline threads failed to stop the talisman, and Chu Jianzheng’s sword strike only enlarged it as it reached the barrier.
• The Life and Death Talisman shattered the Divine Demon Blood Swamp barrier, and Chu Jianzheng accused Xiao Hua of causing the breach.
• Murong Junpeng defended Xiao Hua and urged Chu Jianzheng to act as violent blood tides and an ominous aura stirred inside the barrier.
• Murong Congyun offered to bear responsibility for advancing the Chu family’s plan, and Chu Jianzheng sent a small sword signal across the barrier.

After Chu Yang’s transformation triggered an abnormal change in the Divine Demon Blood Swamp, Xiao Hua and the others joined the Chu Family’s early deployment of its Nine Sword Diagrams. The formation began sealing the swamp, and Xiao Hua and Murong Congyun entered a sword grid to help activate it.

• Murong Congyun urged Chu Jianzheng to put the Chu Family’s plan into action, while Xiao Hua warned that the Buddhist sect might be behind the trap.
• A violent wind shattered the barrier above the Divine Demon Blood Swamp, and blood mist began rising into the sky as the cultivators assembled around it.
• The Chu Family activated its nine sword diagrams ahead of schedule, and Murong Junpeng joined the cultivators overseeing one of them.
• The sword diagrams advanced into the blood mist, while Murong Congyun and the other waiting cultivators used small swords to enter the formation.
• Xiao Hua and Murong Congyun arrived in the same sword grid, where Xiao Hua formed a giant sword from his sword radiance and Vast Righteous Qi.

Xiao Hua and Murong Congyun helped the Chu family’s sword diagram suppress the Divine Demon Blood Swamp, but a strange, frigid aura threatened the cultivators. The chapter ended as eight women arrived and revealed eight naked female statues, stunning Xiao Hua.

• Xiao Hua, Murong Congyun, and the other cultivators joined the sword diagram, which split the blood dragon and sealed off the swamp’s blood mist.
• The Chu family’s sword pillars descended into the swamp and began annihilating the blood mist, while Xiao Hua sensed a dangerous aura invading through them.
• Murong Congyun explained that the swamp’s mixed blood filth contained unknown forces that even powerful Confucian cultivators could not safely resist.
• A freezing aura weakened Murong Congyun, so she summoned a giant lily that shielded her and Xiao Hua.
• Several dozen musicians and eight flower-adorned women arrived, and the eight women produced naked female statues that left Xiao Hua staring in shock.

Xiao Hua watched the Chu family use the Eight Beauties Statues to suppress the Divine Demon Blood Swamp, but a strange force then began breaking the sword diagram. He confronted Murong Congyun about what she was hiding as the swamp’s danger returned.

• Murong Congyun explained that eight Literary Stars had created the Eight Beauties Statues, which could unleash power at the realm of a Literary Saint by consuming the life essence of the young women who cultivated them.
• The eight women sacrificed their essence blood to activate the statues, and five of them withered into bones before the statues regained their beauty.
• The Eight Beauties Statues sang and sent Righteous Qi and crystal threads into the sword diagram, forcing it to seal the Divine Demon Blood Swamp.
• After Chu Jianzheng called for the cultivators to rest, bubbles rose from the trapped swamp and shattered the sword pillars they touched.
• Xiao Hua sensed a familiar but altered fluctuation, noticed Murong Congyun’s unease, and asked whether she was concealing anything; Murong Congyun replied that the swamp held many unknown abnormalities.