Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua, Li Zongbao, and Xiao Mao gathered the survivors of the battle at Flowing Ice Valley and regrouped them with nearly ten thousand disciples. Li Zongbao revealed that they had slain Qin Jian, lifting the survivors’ morale as they prepared to await further orders.

• Xiao Hua gathered the fallen Dao Sect cultivators’ remains while leaving the sword cultivators’ corpses untouched, then flew south with Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao.
• The three reunited with more than a thousand survivors Xiao Hua had rescued, and Li Zongbao organized the search for the remaining disciples.
• Ye Bei explained that the survivors had been ordered to wait nearby for further deployment and reported that only a little over ten thousand of the original thirty thousand attackers remained.
• Xiao Mao said Qin Jian would never pursue them, and Li Zongbao revealed that he, Xiao Hua, and Xiao Mao had killed Qin Jian.
• Li Zongbao displayed half of Qin Jian’s head and rallied the survivors, who shouted that the Dao Sect would triumph before regrouping by sect.

After returning from Flowing Ice Valley, Xiao Hua traveled toward Xuntian City with Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao, then separated to carry out a message-delivery mission. He examined Qin Jian’s Formless Sword and entered Qi Heaven, where Little White sensed the soul sword that had attacked him and asked whether more moons were available.

• Li Zongbao entrusted the ten thousand disciples at Flowing Ice Valley to Ye Bei and the other elders before returning toward Xuntian City with Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao.
• On the journey, the group encountered large Daoist cultivator forces gathering for a final assault on Huan Kingdom, while Xiao Hua noticed there were no longer any Huan Kingdom swordsmen along their route.
• Near Xuntian City, Li Zongbao sent Xiao Hua north to deliver news of the battles at Flowing Ice Valley and Seven Absolute Ridge, and Xiao Hua agreed to the assignment.
• After Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao returned to Xuntian City, Xiao Hua stopped in a secluded depression and examined Qin Jian’s Formless Golden Thread Sword, then erased Qin Jian’s Primordial Spirit from it.
• Xiao Hua entered Qi Heaven and found Little White’s soul had grown stronger; Little White sensed the soul sword that had stabbed in and asked whether there were more things like the moon.

Xiao Hua received Qin Jian’s sword arts from Little White and began studying the Nascent Soul Sword Riding Technique as the war gathered around Xuntian City. After collecting pills from Bai Fengliang and departing, Xiao Hua remained unaware that Zhang Qingxiao would later kill Bai Fengliang to protect his family.

• Little White gave Xiao Hua Qin Jian’s memories, including the Nascent Soul Sword Riding Technique, after the Morning Evening Moon shard illuminated Qi Heaven.
• Xiao Hua saw cultivators streaming out of Xuntian City and worried that Sword Transformation Swordsmen and Nascent Soul cultivators would target him.
• Bai Fengliang delivered nearly four hundred Qianli Pills and several dozen Huayuan Pills to Xiao Hua, who told him to stop gathering more and leave the city.
• Bai Fengliang warned Xiao Hua that the Sacred Sect might be preparing a major move, then wished him well as Xiao Hua departed northwest to study the sword technique.
• The narration revealed that Zhang Qingxiao would later kill Bai Fengliang to eliminate a possible threat to Xiao Hua.

Hengming and the other cultivators debated their campaign against the Sword Cultivators, arranged a secret formation ambush at the Sword Tomb, and learned of a huge Sword Cultivator settlement called Ice City. They committed forces to attack Ice City, while Qingfeng Valley still awaited news from Flowing Ice Valley.

• Hengming and Wang Ye argued over their sects’ past efforts against Qin Jian before Dexun restored order in the Council Hall.
• The cultivators reviewed their deployment and concluded that the Sword Cultivators were concentrating forces around spirit stone mines in Xi Kingdom.
• Hengming learned that Xiong Huasong was secretly arranging the Lesser Ten Directions Annihilation Great Formation near the Sword Tomb with support from ten sects.
• Yuan Zhongyu reported that Sword Cultivators had built Ice City near Moqing Cave, which was estimated to hold at least a hundred thousand swordsmen.
• Hengming and the other cultivators assigned the Kunlun Sect and several supporting sects to attack Ice City.
• Zhu Junwei told Hengming that Qingfeng Valley had received no definite news from its disciples in Flowing Ice Valley.

Qian Mo and Peng Die reported that Li Chengxu had died at Prison Dragon Ridge, where evidence suggested he and the missing Kun Shuai had ambushed sword cultivators before being killed. The Council Hall then realized the Thunder Control Sect disciples sent to Seven Absolute Ridge had also failed to report back.

• Qian Mo and Peng Die told Hengming they found Li Chengxu’s remains at Prison Dragon Ridge but could not determine who killed him.
• Qian Mo described traces of a spell formation, dense water- and fire-attributed spiritual energy, and a Nascent Soul talisman’s aura at the site.
• Qian Mo revealed that Kun Shuai had vanished around the same time as Li Chengxu and that his Life Spirit Tablet had shattered.
• Qian Mo and Hengming speculated that Li Chengxu and Kun Shuai had joined forces to ambush Qin Jian or other sword cultivators, but had been killed.
• Qian Mo realized that the Thunder Control Sect disciples sent to Seven Absolute Ridge had not returned, and Hengming was surprised he had not checked on them.

At Xuntian City’s Council Hall, news of a victory at Seven Absolute Ridge revealed that an unknown late Golden Core Thunder Control Sect cultivator called Nameless had fought alongside the sects. The leaders then discussed rumors of another mysterious Thunder Control Sect disciple, the Terrifying Phoenix, and Qian Mo ordered his sect’s disciples to identify him.

• Qian Mo and Heng Ming discussed the lack of news from Seven Absolute Ridge and the Daoist sects’ unreliable communications.
• A Xuntian City guard brought in jade slips recovered from sword cultivators, and Heng Ming found a report of a great victory at Seven Absolute Ridge.
• Heng Ming announced that Thunder Control Sect, Huanhua Sect, Yongyi Gate, and Mosang Mountain had driven out the sword cultivators, while Nameless had helped kill two Illusion Sword Second Rank swordsmen and an artifact cultivator suspected of Illusion Sword Rank Three.
• Qian Mo said Nameless was not a Thunder Control Sect disciple known to him, and the gathered leaders questioned how the late Golden Core cultivator had come to fight in the sect’s robes.
• Xiong Huasong and Yuan Zhongjue described the feared Terrifying Phoenix, a Thunder Control Sect Foundation Establishment disciple rumored to have killed many sword cultivators.
• Qian Mo summoned the Thunder Control Sect disciple on duty and ordered him to find out who the Terrifying Phoenix was.

At the Council Hall, Qian Mo denied knowing the mysterious late Golden Core cultivator called Nameless, while Wang Ye accused the Thunder Control Sect of concealing him and questioned his role at Seven Absolute Ridge. Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Dui Jiankong arrived, and Dui Jiankong reported that the Thunder Control Sect had heard rumors about the Terrifying Phoenix more than a year earlier but had not investigated them.

• Qian Mo and Dexun speculated about which bloodline family might have produced the unusually powerful Thunder Control Sect disciple.
• Liu Xinwu and Gao Wei questioned whether the Thunder Control Sect could have a late Golden Core cultivator capable of Imperial Thunder Shock, and Qian Mo admitted he did not recognize Nameless.
• Wang Ye suggested Nameless might have been involved in Li Chengxu's death, but Qian Mo rejected the accusation and Heng Ming stopped Wang Ye from making unsupported claims.
• Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao entered the Council Hall with Dui Jiankong, who explained Xiao Hua had been sent to deliver messages and that he had returned from Flowing Ice Valley.
• Dui Jiankong told Qian Mo that Thunder Control Sect leaders had heard rumors about the Terrifying Phoenix more than a year earlier but had found no leads and never reported them.

Li Zongbao reported the battle at Flowing Ice Valley, including the deaths of Zhuo Hui, Xu Bo, and Li Feiyu and the rescue of poisoned cultivators by Xiao Hua, Xiao Mao, and himself. As Wang Ye challenged the report and questioned how they recovered the remains, Li Zongbao prepared to answer.

• Liang Mingfu suggested Xiao Hua might be the mysterious Terrifying Phoenix, and the senior masters debated whether he could be.
• Xiao Mao swore that he had never seen Xiao Hua reveal a Phoenix Dharma Body, while Li Zongbao ended the argument and began his battle report.
• Li Zongbao revealed that Zhuo Hui, Xu Bo, and Li Feiyu had died at Flowing Ice Valley, shocking Heng Ming and prompting Li Zongbao to wonder whether Xiao Hua had also killed Li Chengxu.
• Li Zongbao described the battle while concealing the extent of Xiao Hua's role, then handed Heng Ming storage bags containing the fallen cultivators' remains.
• Xiong Huasong, Gao Wei, and Qian Mo praised the trio's achievements, but Wang Ye disputed the unverified report and questioned how Li Zongbao had retrieved the remains from Qin Jian.

Li Zongbao revealed that he, Xiao Hua, and Xiao Mao had killed Qin Jian, and the Council Hall verified the claim by inspecting Qin Jian’s remains and sword plaque. As the Golden Core cultivators began recognizing the trio’s extraordinary merit, Qian Mo wondered whether Xiao Hua might be the Terrifying Phoenix and possess Nameless Senior Brother’s cultivation.

• Gao Wei argued that Qin Jian had likely fled to heal, but Li Zongbao declared that he, Xiao Hua, and Xiao Mao had killed him.
• Li Zongbao presented Qin Jian’s remains and sword plaque, and Heng Ming and the other Golden Core cultivators confirmed his identity.
• Heng Ming praised Li Zongbao’s achievement and explained that the Council Hall’s long-standing bounty on Qin Jian carried enormous merit.
• Xiao Mao credited Li Zongbao’s leadership, while Heng Ming and Gao Wei recognized Xiao Mao’s contribution.
• Qian Mo recalled Xiao Hua’s many previous military merits and began suspecting that he might be the Terrifying Phoenix with Nameless Senior Brother’s cultivation.

Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao presented their account of how they and Xiao Hua killed Qin Jian to the Council Hall, while concealing Xiao Hua’s central role. The Golden Core cultivators accepted the account and continued questioning them, leaving Xiao Mao to reflect on how differently Xiao Hua had been treated in an earlier hearing.

• Qianmo briefly suspected that Xiao Hua and Nameless Senior Brother were the same person, then dismissed the idea while inspecting Qin Jian’s corpse.
• Hengming acknowledged the contributions of Zhuohui, Li Feiyu, and Xu Bo, and the Council Hall debated how to assign credit for Qin Jian’s death.
• Wang Ye questioned how three Foundation Establishment cultivators could have killed Qin Jian without being injured, prompting Li Zongbao to explain their prepared version of events.
• Li Zongbao and Xiao Mao described Qin Jian’s four flying swords, Xiao Hua’s shield, the Immortal-Piercing Whip, and the technique they claimed had trapped Qin Jian.
• The Golden Core cultivators questioned Li Zongbao in detail and accepted that he, Xiao Mao, and Xiao Hua had killed Qin Jian.
• Xiao Mao compared the Council Hall’s accommodating questions to the harsh questioning Xiao Hua had faced after returning from Yin Yang Spring Mountain.

At the Council Hall, Li Zongbao and the others were credited with killing Qin Jian, and True Person Heping offered Li a reward. Li asked for a Special Pardon Order, leaving the assembled cultivators stunned and wondering why he might need it.

• Wang Ye questioned why Qin Jian's disciples had not protected him, and Li Zongbao explained that they had been pursuing Dao Sect disciples and did not know Qin Jian was injured.
• The Council Hall accepted that Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Xiao Hua had slain Qin Jian and agreed to issue their rewards without waiting for the Flowing Ice Valley battle report.
• Heng Ming contacted True Person Heping and reported the battle situation and Qin Jian's death.
• True Person Heping praised Li Zongbao and offered to grant him a reward for the kill.
• Li Zongbao declined ordinary cultivation rewards and requested a Special Pardon Order, explaining that it could give him a chance to recover if he ever committed a grave offense.

The sect leaders of the Joyful Sect, Xunyan Sect, and Thunder Control Sect learned of their disciples’ victory over Qin Jian and discussed rewards, including pardon decrees. Ganlei Zi deferred Xiao Hua’s reward until he returned, but Li Zongbao pressed him to decide immediately.

• True Person Heping approved a pardon decree after Heng Ming reported Li Zongbao’s request.
• Fairy Yingzhuo praised Xiao Mao for helping kill Qin Jian and agreed to issue a matching pardon decree, though she showed little interest in the report.
• Ganlei Zi ordered Qian Mo to find Kan Sheng and investigate Wuming, whose Lightning Evasion Technique had astonished him.
• Qian Mo reported Xiao Hua’s role in killing Qin Jian, and Ganlei Zi promised him a heavy reward after his return.
• When Ganlei Zi postponed deciding on Xiao Hua’s reward, Li Zongbao urged him to settle the matter at once.

Li Zongbao secured an amnesty decree and rewards for Xiao Hua, while Xuntian City withdrew its bounty for Qin Jian’s death. Flying across the snowfield, Xiao Hua sensed familiar cultivators and found Zhong Haoran and Gu Yu confronting Yun Zichong, whose disciples attacked them after he accused them of being spies.

• Li Zongbao persuaded Ganlei Zi to grant Xiao Hua an amnesty decree and promise him another reward.
• Heng Ming announced that the Council Hall had withdrawn its bounty and Xuntian City had rewarded Li Zongbao, Xiao Mao, and Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua sensed a familiar presence while crossing the snowfield and flew toward a group of cultivators.
• Xiao Hua found Yun Zichong, Zhong Haoran, and Gu Yu facing off over a small creature called a Zhi Ma.
• Yun Zichong accused Zhong Haoran and Gu Yu of being Huan Kingdom spies, then ordered his disciples to attack them.

Three mid Foundation Establishment cultivators overwhelmed Zhong Haoran and the Qi Refining disciples with magical treasures, while Gu Yu attacked Yun Zichong and wounded him. Yun Zichong revealed his Flame Dragon Dharma Body, which suppressed Gu Yu’s invisible sword and forced her to launch another attack.

• The three attackers used an azure staff, a fire pearl, and a silk ribbon to crush the disciples’ defenses, shatter or damage their flying swords, and confine Zhong Haoran and the others.
• Zhong Haoran’s sword pierced part of the azure staff’s shadow before the staff struck back and cracked his sword.
• Gu Yu rejected Yun Zichong’s demand to surrender and attacked him with her awl-shaped flying sword, but Yun Zichong’s Dragon Driving Ring swallowed the sword light.
• Gu Yu vanished and wounded Yun Zichong with her invisible sword, but his Dragon Driving Ring forced her to retreat and cut flesh from his arm.
• Yun Zichong revealed his Flame Dragon Dharma Body, healed his wound, and used the Dragon Driving Ring to overpower Gu Yu’s invisible sword.
• Gu Yu launched another attack, sending out a flying sword amid a cascade of pure white snowflakes.

Xiao Hua arrived in time to save Gu Yu, Zhong Haoran, and the others from Yun Zichong and the Huanhua Sect disciples. After the attackers fled, Xiao Hua heard Zhong Haoran’s account and questioned him about the Zhi Ma.

• Yun Zichong used his Flame Dragon Dharma Body and Dragon Driving Ring to trap Gu Yu in crimson flames while the Huanhua Sect disciples prepared to attack Zhong Haoran and his companions.
• Xiao Hua’s divine sense and two azure-crimson sword lights interrupted the attack, damaging the fire pearl and injuring Yun Zichong’s Flame Dragon Dharma Body.
• Yun Zichong and the Huanhua Sect disciples fled, while one of Xiao Hua’s swords protected Zhong Haoran’s group and the other briefly pursued the attackers.
• Xiao Hua arrived in Mihuan, retrieved his flying swords, and heard Zhong Haoran explain how the Huanhua Sect disciples had tried to kill him over the Zhi Ma.
• Xiao Hua explained that the Zhi Ma was a rare, valuable Lingzhi, and Zhong Haoran said he would never keep something that did not rightfully belong to him.

Xiao Hua saved Gu Yu and learned that she had renounced wanton killing after a cultivator returned her arm and invisible sword. Gu Yu planned to visit the Sword Tomb before returning to her sect, and Xiao Hua learned it lay far to the north.

• Zhong Haoran offered Xiao Hua the wounded Zhi Ma, and Xiao Hua took it after confirming it had been injured by a Huanhua Sect treasure.
• Xiao Hua questioned Gu Yu about helping Zhongling Mountain Villa’s disciples, and she explained that a cultivator had spared her, restored her arm, and returned her invisible sword.
• Gu Yu said the encounter changed her view of the war, and she vowed to kill only cultivators who threatened her life.
• Xiao Hua told Gu Yu that Zhang Yutong had returned to Huan Country, but Gu Yu had heard nothing about it and speculated that the Mingjian Sect might still be waiting for news of Zhang Yuhe.
• Gu Yu said she would visit the Sword Tomb and then return to the Void Sky Sword Sect; Xiao Hua asked where it was, and she directed him north.

Xiao Hua rewarded Gu Yu with rare pills after she helped Zhong Haoran and his companions, then arranged for her to meet Zhong Haoran again through the Void Sky Sword Sect. After Gu Yu left, Xiao Hua revealed his identity to Zhong Haoran, whose companions reacted with ecstatic reverence.

• Xiao Hua asked Gu Yu about her interest in the Zhi Ma and gave her a pill instead of its juice after learning how sword cultivators used it.
• Gu Yu accepted Xiao Hua's pill and a Youth-Preserving Pill, then asked his name, but Xiao Hua declined to reveal it.
• Xiao Hua introduced Gu Yu to Zhong Haoran and suggested they exchange flying-sword insights in the future; Gu Yu invited Zhong Haoran to visit the Void Sky Sword Sect.
• After Gu Yu departed, Zhong Haoran thanked Xiao Hua and asked why he had used a flying sword.
• Xiao Hua removed Mihuan and revealed himself, prompting Zhong Haoran to recognize Uncle-Master Xiao and the four disciples to kneel and proclaim him True Person Xiao.

Xiao Hua learned that the Qi Refining disciples revered him because his famine-relief seeds had saved their families and helped them advance in cultivation. When he tried to deny their worship, they insisted that their experiences proved his power and pledged to keep honoring him.

• Zhong Haoran explained that people across the Meng Kingdom had benefited from Xiao Hua's famine relief, though he did not know why the disciples worshipped him.
• Fei Yunshu said his family survived by eating Xiao Hua's rice and that consuming the immortal seeds helped him advance from the third to the tenth Qi Cultivation layer.
• Zhong Pei and Qin Ji described how the seeds aided their injuries or cultivation and led them to worship Xiao Hua; Zhong Zhan said the seeds also improved his cultivation.
• Xiao Hua insisted that he had only acted to save lives and that the disciples' opportunities were Heaven's intent, not his own power.
• Fei Yunshu, Qin Ji, and Zhong Haoran argued that Xiao Hua's timely rescue confirmed his divine abilities, then pledged to continue worshipping him.

Xiao Hua accepted Zhong Haoran and the others’ worship, gave them Sky Mending Pills, and learned that his immortal seeds had spread widely and changed the cultivation prospects of the infants who ate them. He also discovered that Zhong Haoran had been expelled from Zhongling Mountain Villa, and Zhong Haoran began explaining how the Zhong Family had taken control of territory from the Qin and Fei Families.

• Zhong Haoran, Qin Ji, Fei Yunshu, and the others praised Xiao Hua and asked to worship him, and Xiao Hua accepted their devotion and gave each of them a Sky Mending Pill.
• Xiao Hua learned that infants who ate rice grown from his immortal seeds seemed unusually lively, and he concluded that ordinary methods could no longer detect their aptitude for cultivation.
• Zhong Haoran told Xiao Hua that immortal seeds had replaced much of the rice around Yuncheng City, Zhicheng City, and Fancheng City, while wealthy people and other forces sought them from the Zhong Family.
• Xiao Hua noticed Zhong Haoran’s embarrassment and learned that he was no longer a disciple of Zhongling Mountain Villa, despite having reached early Foundation Establishment.
• Zhong Haoran explained that Zhong Tianyao had attacked the Qin Family after Xiao Hua killed Fei Siqing and drove away Qin Kai, and that the Qin Family had surrendered territory while the Fei Family later reached an agreement with the Zhong Family.

Xiao Hua learned how Zhong Haoran established his foundation and how Zhong Jingke’s schemes drove Haoran and four companions to break from the Zhong Family. The chapter ended with Fei Yunshu and the others affirming that they had chosen to follow Haoran and might not have survived the war otherwise.

• Zhong Haoran cultivated the Qin Family’s Flying Sword Technique, established his foundation, and regained his ability to speak.
• Zhong Tianyao sent Zhong Family disciples, including Zhong Haoran, Zhong Zhan, Zhong Pei, Qin Ji, and Fei Yunshu, to fight in Huan Country.
• Zhong Jingke, jealous of Zhong Haoran’s connection to Zhong Peihan, isolated Haoran and his companions, sent them on dangerous missions, and took their credit.
• Zhong Haoran refused Zhong Jingke’s order to face thirteen Womb Sword Swordsmen, and Zhong Jingke later accused him of misconduct and sought his expulsion.
• Xiao Hua explained Zhong Jingke’s motives to Zhong Haoran, who regretted that Zhong Zhan and the others had been implicated.
• Fei Yunshu and the others told Zhong Haoran they had chosen to follow him and believed his leadership had helped them survive the war.