Chapter Summaries

Lü Bufan accompanied Sword Slave, who revealed that they had been sent to kill seventh-realm martial warrior Qian Menghu of the Golden Flower Sect. Sword Slave entered the manor openly, and Qian learned that a sword cultivator had slain many of his hidden sentries, leaving the confrontation imminent.

• Sword Slave took Lü Bufan to Baiyuan Commandery and explained that the Taihua Sect had ordered Qian Menghu's death.
• Sword Slave and Lü Bufan approached the Golden Flower Sect's manor, where Sword Slave killed hidden sentries with sword qi.
• Sword Slave told Lü Bufan that Qian had secretly supported the Southern Borderlands rebellion and that the Taihua Sect intended to kill him openly.
• Sword Slave introduced himself at the gate as Tianxiu of Mozi Mountain and entered the manor with Lü Bufan.
• Qian Menghu learned that twenty-four of his thirty-five hidden sentries had been killed by sword qi and realized a hostile sword cultivator had arrived.

Qian Menghu used his birthday banquet and retirement ceremony to secure the Second Prince’s public support, but the arrival of Sword Slave unsettled the prince’s envoy, Zou Qing. As Qian Menghu washed his hands in the golden basin, the guests realized a confrontation was imminent and turned their attention to Sword Slave and Lü Bufan.

• Qian Menghu asked Zou Qing to protect his family and disciples, and Zou Qing promised to intervene on the Second Prince’s behalf.
• Lü Bufan and Sword Slave attended Qian Menghu’s banquet, where Lü Bufan demonstrated his ability to sense the strength of the martial guests.
• Zou Qing revealed that he had come from the capital on the Second Prince’s orders and presented Qian Menghu with a calligraphy scroll praising his service to the Imperial Court.
• Zou Qing recognized Sword Slave as Tianxiu of the Taihua Sect and retreated, while Qian Menghu realized his powerful ally would not help him.
• Qian Menghu washed his hands in the golden basin as Sword Slave and Lü Bufan watched, and the guests grew wary when Qian Menghu stared toward them.

Sword Slave confronted Qian Menghu and the Golden Flower Sect, sentencing the sect leader to death and threatening everyone in the courtyard. After most guests fled, Qian Menghu and his remaining allies chose to fight, while Lü Bufan faced the sect’s disciples; Sword Slave’s battle was still escalating as he prepared to draw his Immortal Sword.

• Qian Menghu knelt before Sword Slave, blamed the Second Prince for the Golden Flower Sect’s actions, and begged for mercy.
• Sword Slave killed Lu'er, declared Qian Menghu sentenced to death, and gave everyone in the courtyard ten breaths to escape.
• Most guests and officials fled, but Qian Menghu’s daughter, disciples, and several old friends stayed; Sima Xiu’s man escaped on a silver flying treasure.
• Qian Menghu and five other Martial Warriors attacked Sword Slave, while Lü Bufan drew Heavy Sword Wuming and fought the Golden Flower Sect’s disciples.
• Sword Slave cut down two of Qian Menghu’s allies and endured their attacks; when he recognized the white-haired Martial Warrior as a half-step seventh-realm fighter, he said the fight was finally worth drawing his sword for.

Sword Slave and Lü Bufan destroyed Qian Menghu’s forces at the Golden Flower Sect, then watched the sect collapse into looting and violence. After misleading the Taihua Sect elders about their destination, Sword Slave revealed that he wanted to linger and observe the mortal world, while a corpse-like old man in the Sect Hall Secret Realm asked where he could go.

• Sword Slave killed Qian Menghu, the burly Martial Warrior, and the remaining defenders, absorbing their blood-and-qi essence while Lü Bufan survived under the Sword-Nurturing Platform’s protection.
• Sword Slave announced that the Immortal Sect had executed the chief culprit and slain his followers, then departed with Lü Bufan as two Taihua Sect elders watched from nearby peaks.
• After Sword Slave and Lü Bufan left, survivors found the Third Young Lady and other disciples as looters and attackers set the Golden Flower Sect’s stronghold ablaze.
• Sword Slave and Lü Bufan secretly returned to observe the chaos, and Sword Slave told Lü Bufan he wanted to watch more of the mortal world’s theater.
• In the Sect Hall Secret Realm on Mozi Mountain, a corpse-like old man rasped, “and where could you go?”

Lü Bufan accompanied Sword Slave away from the Golden Flower Sect and traveled by river toward Dongxiang Commandery, where Sword Slave had once cultivated with his first master. On the way, they found an abandoned temple that Sword Slave suspected had become a brothel for Immortal Masters.

• Sword Slave left the Golden Flower Sect with Lü Bufan, using a Mirage Pearl and the Sword-Nurturing Platform to evade the Sect Hall while seeking the place where he had cultivated in his youth.
• Sword Slave told Lü Bufan that his first master had died of poverty forty years earlier, and the two bought a fisherman's boat to travel to Dongxiang Commandery.
• The Sect Leader reassured the elders that Sword Slave could leave to clear his mind, and declined Elder Zhou Mo's offer to bring the two disciples back.
• After sailing more than four hundred li, Lü Bufan and Sword Slave reached a deserted temple on a river island.
• Sword Slave identified the temple as a likely brothel serving Immortal Masters, and teased Lü Bufan about having worked as a brothel attendant.

Sword Slave brought Lü Bufan to Wind and Moon Pavilion, a mountain retreat where Cultivators paid to meet women, and explained its customs and clientele. Lü Bufan recognized a black-clad Martial Warrior among the women, and Sword Slave used his Sword Qi to secure her for him before inviting the hostess to keep him company.

• Sword Slave and Lü Bufan entered Wind and Moon Pavilion, where a hostess explained that the guests could choose women using Paper Cranes.
• Sword Slave described the prices and different kinds of women at the pavilion as Lü Bufan watched Cultivators and women display their talents in the garden.
• A female Sword Cultivator flew past, and Sword Slave told Lü Bufan that women came to the pavilion for various reasons, including debt, danger, or a desire for a wealthy patron.
• Lü Bufan recognized a sorrowful black-clad Martial Warrior from a sect he had encountered before, and Sword Slave's Paper Crane beat a rival's to choose her.
• Sword Slave invited the hostess to drink with him, while Lü Bufan followed a maid to meet the Martial Warrior.

Lü Bufan reunited with Rong'er at Immortal Breeze and Dao Moon and learned how the Green Mountain Sect had been betrayed and destroyed. After he promised to seek news of her family, Granny Mei intervened and revealed that she recognized Sword Slave and his killing intent, leaving Sword Slave to answer her.

• Lü Bufan recognized Rong'er, who had once saved him, and she told him the Grand Elder's scheme had led to the Green Mountain Sect's destruction.
• Rong'er explained that she and the other surviving young women had been sent to Immortal Breeze and Dao Moon, while her father and family remained in danger.
• Rong'er asked Lü Bufan to find out whether her father, grandmother, and younger brother were alive, and Lü Bufan promised to ask his senior brother for help.
• Granny Mei emerged and immobilized Rong'er, then told Lü Bufan that her master’s mirror had revealed Sword Slave’s killing intent.
• Sword Slave arrived, and Granny Mei recognized the Five-Colored Rainbow Light Sword Qi and asked whether he was Lord Sword Slave of the Taihua Sect.

Sword Slave attacked Wind and Moon Heaven to kill those who had tormented a woman he once encountered, then unleashed the Taihua Sect’s Immortal Sword against its people and defenders. As he fought a powerful sword cultivator, Sword Slave let the man strike between his brows, apparently to protect Lü Bufan.

• Sword Slave told Granny Mei to bring him Zhao Tong, Li Jiulong, the two instructing matrons, and Song Wenguan so he could kill them for their role in tormenting the daughter of a minor sect master.
• Sword Slave struck down Zhao Tong, the two matrons, and another attendant with the Immortal Sword, destroying the courtyard as Lü Bufan pulled Rong'er clear.
• Sword Slave unleashed the Immortal Sword across the valley, annihilating Wind and Moon Heaven’s guards and attendants, then absorbed Granny Mei after she tried to flee as black smoke.
• A gaunt middle-aged sword cultivator attacked Sword Slave while his Life-Bound Flying Sword targeted Lü Bufan, and Sword Slave repeatedly intercepted it.
• The middle-aged cultivator thrust a finger toward Sword Slave’s brow, and Sword Slave allowed the strike to land while laughing that he knew the man would not let Lü Bufan die.

Sword Slave used Immortal Sword Tianxiu to kill Youyun and devastate Immortal Breeze and Dao Moon, then revealed to Lü Bufan the sword’s cost and the danger the Taihua Sect posed to him. At his master’s grave, Sword Slave died after warning Lü Bufan to flee the sect and abandon the Sword-Nurturing Platform.

• Sword Slave overpowered and killed Youyun, then slashed the riverbank and a stone peak before challenging the Ninth Realm owner of Immortal Breeze and Dao Moon, who withdrew.
• Lü Bufan nearly died when Immortal Sword Tianxiu drained the Sword-Nurturing Platform, and Sword Slave explained that the sword devoured each bearer’s soul and blood essence; he was its seventy-first bearer.
• Sword Slave warned Lü Bufan that the Taihua Sect might force him to become the next Sword Slave, and Lü Bufan wondered whether Bai Ye and Luo Wuya had brought him to the sect for that purpose.
• Sword Slave led Lü Bufan to his abandoned home and his master’s grave, where he recalled his childhood and offered wine in farewell.
• As Sword Slave’s body and spirit faded, he urged Lü Bufan to leave the Taihua Sect and get rid of the Sword-Nurturing Platform, then died beside his master’s grave.

Lü Bufan buried Sword Slave Lu Zhiyu and discovered that the Taihua Sect Leader, True Person Xuance, might be a false body seeking the Sword-Nurturing Platform. Meanwhile, Bai Ye ordered an assault on the Thirty-Six Caves, and the corpse-like old man revealed his plan to revive Immortal Sword Tianxiu.

• The Taihua Sect Leader told Lü Bufan that merging with Immortal Sword Tianxiu could offer a path to the Ninth Realm, then left him to bury Sword Slave Lu Zhiyu.
• Lü Bufan buried Lu Zhiyu beside his master’s grave and returned to his cave abode after Sect Hall Disciples summoned him.
• Bai Ye directed Qingyu to withdraw forces from Two-World Mountain and marshal three armies to attack the Thirty-Six Caves, placing Meng Qi in command.
• Lü Bufan read Lu Zhiyu’s secret note, which claimed True Person Xuance was a false body and might seek to devour the Sword-Nurturing Platform.
• The corpse-like old man absorbed vital essence from Xuance’s puppet body and resolved to use its Golden Body arm to gain leverage and revive Immortal Sword Tianxiu.

Hu Luo'er delivered invitations and gifts from Reversed Water Island, setting off competition among Taihua Sect disciples for three places at the Mirror-Viewing Platform. As Yun Yue sought an audience with her, Longcheng Peak disciples arrived with a sword and were mocked by Jingbo Peak disciples.

• The Taihua Sect Leader accepted Hu Luo'er's Water-Moon Talismans and Mojiang Pills and arranged for three disciples to attend the Mirror-Viewing Platform.
• The sect's young disciples competed for the three places, which could help Middle Third Realm cultivators overcome barriers to advancement.
• Yun Yue, newly advanced to the Fifth Realm, bribed a Sect Hall cultivator to announce him to Hu Luo'er, and she invited him in.
• Jingbo Peak disciples mocked Jinshui and his Longcheng Peak companion when they arrived carrying a Sword Case to deliver the Sect Leader's gift.

Yun Yue’s attempt to block Longcheng Peak’s delivery was stopped by Tianyu, who delivered the sword to Hu Luo’er and revealed that the sect competition would determine who could visit the Northern Immortal Sect’s Mirror-Viewing Platform. Elder Mo then told Lü Bufan that the Sect Leader had permitted him to enter the competition as Longcheng Peak’s representative.

• Yun Yue’s Jingbo Peak disciples seized Jinshui and his companion and tried to take the sword case, but Tianyu wounded one with his Sword Qi and ordered them to stop.
• Yun Yue tried to expel Tianyu’s Sword Qi, then secretly attempted to harm his junior brother, but Tianyu redirected the Sword Qi and exposed Yun Yue’s ruthlessness.
• Tianyu accepted the sword from Jinshui and presented the Sect Leader’s gift to Hu Luo’er, while Yun Yue and his followers left.
• Hu Luo’er asked Tianyu about the Mirror-Viewing Platform, and he explained that the sect grand competition would select the disciples eligible to visit it.
• Elder Mo told Lü Bufan that the Sect Leader had granted him special permission to compete as Longcheng Peak’s representative.

Lü Bufan returned to Longcheng Peak after breaking into the Fourth Realm, and Immortal Master Qingming secured him a place in the Sect Grand Competition after he defeated Jinhua. The Sect Leader offered him access to the Heaven Character Treasury after he comprehended the Mirror-Viewing Platform, giving Lü Bufan hope of finding a treasure to save Master Peach.

• Lü Bufan told Elder Mo that he had secretly entered the Fourth Realm, then returned to Longcheng Peak as a Sect Hall attendant.
• Immortal Master Qingming announced that Lü Bufan would compete for Longcheng Peak, and Lü Bufan defeated Jinhua by trapping his golden seal with sword intent.
• Immortal Master Qingming selected Jinhua and Jin Guang for the other competition places and promised Jin Guang a pill and help to break through to the Fourth Realm.
• Lü Bufan moved into Jinshan and Jinshui's courtyard, where Jin Guang congratulated him and warned that the sect would not let him leave easily.
• A female cultivator delivered the Sect Leader's jade-talisman message, offering Lü Bufan one item from the Heaven Character Treasury after he comprehended the Dao at the Mirror-Viewing Platform.
• Lü Bufan realized the Heaven Character Treasury might hold a treasure to save Master Peach and asked Big Black to help him when the time came.

Lü Bufan challenged Daoyuan at the sect tournament and revealed a rare blend of martial and sword cultivation, defeating him with Sword Break. The fight drew the attention of Tianyu and the Sect Hall elders, while Hu Luo'er observed from afar and prepared to return to the Northern Immortal Sect.

• Daoyuan crippled Jinhua in the first round, while Jin Guang and Lü Bufan both advanced after winning their bouts.
• When the tournament shifted to challenges between peaks, Lü Bufan challenged Daoyuan, who had earlier threatened to cripple a Longcheng Peak disciple.
• Lü Bufan fought Daoyuan with Heavy Sword Wuming, switching between martial and cultivator techniques and enduring Daoyuan's Sword Qi with his Immovable Golden Body.
• Lü Bufan used Sword Break to shatter Daoyuan's bones and defeat him, then nearly struck Daoyuan's fallen Tianzhou Sword before Tianyu intervened.
• Tianyu warned Lü Bufan that the tournament rules forbade lethal attacks and damage to flying swords, and he noticed strange icy energy on his own Zhiluojian.
• Hu Luo'er watched Lü Bufan from a pavilion and told a fellow Northern Immortal Sect cultivator they would return in two days.

After Lü Bufan’s defeat of Daoyuan, Elder Mo announced that Lü Bufan would take eighth place on the Cloud Ranking and compete for access to the Mirror-Viewing Platform, while forbidding him from using the Sword-Nurturing Platform in the matches. In the first bout, Lü Bufan was trapped in the Silver-Gauze Heart Prison, and Immortal Master Qingming hinted that he had a plan as the formation began tearing apart Lü Bufan’s armor.

• Elder Mo ordered the Cloud Ranking expanded to twelve places, assigned Lü Bufan eighth place, and announced two rounds of sparring for three Mirror-Viewing Platform opportunities.
• The peak masters questioned Lü Bufan’s participation, and Elder Mo warned that using the Sword-Nurturing Platform in a match would result in Lü Bufan being killed without mercy.
• At the Cloud Terraces, Lü Bufan faced the Star Lodge Peak Cultivator who wielded a silver ribbon and opened with a powerful heavy-sword strike.
• The female Cultivator trapped Lü Bufan in her Silver-Gauze Heart Prison, while Immortal Master Qingming tried to warn him and was silenced by a beautiful woman.
• Lü Bufan spotted an apparent opening and threw his heavy sword through it, but the female Cultivator reshaped the formation into a spinning bowl and unleashed a storm of cutting wind blades.
• As Lü Bufan’s armor shattered under the attack, Immortal Master Qingming insisted that Lü Bufan was no inexperienced fighter.

Lü Bufan defeated Feng'er in the Cloud Ranking match by combining armor, movement, and a surprise attack, prompting Elder Mo to use the contest as a lesson about the Taihua Sect’s poor battle readiness. The Sect Leader opened the Three-Year Sect Competition to more disciples, and Lü Bufan learned that Yun Yue intended to cripple him in their match in three days.

• Lü Bufan broke through Feng’er’s Silver-Gauze Formation and won by striking from behind, then demonstrated how his sword qi and Heavy Sword Wuming could break her defenses.
• Lü Bufan explained that he had used a surprise attack because he feared hurting Feng’er, while the peak masters and elders argued over his tactics and strength.
• Elder Mo said the Taihua Sect’s casualties in the Southern Borderlands rebellion showed its disciples lacked battlefield experience, then announced that eligible attendants and outer sect disciples could enter the Three-Year Sect Competition.
• Elder Mo announced that the Cloud Terrace competition would begin in three days and that its winners would earn the right to comprehend the Dao at the Mirror-Viewing Platform.
• Yun Yue threatened to cripple Lü Bufan in their coming match and warned him not to use the Sword-Nurturing Platform, but Lü Bufan asked if Yun Yue feared being smashed by it.

Lü Bufan prepared for his Cloud Rankings match against Yun Yue as Immortal Master Qingming secretly left him a powerful Sword Pellet. The tournament began, and after the other matches concluded, Lü Bufan’s battle with Yun Yue remained underway.

• Longcheng Peak disciples brought Lü Bufan protective treasures and armor, while Immortal Master Qingming warned him that Yun Yue was his opponent and that he could not use the Sword-Nurturing Platform.
• Immortal Master Qingming left Lü Bufan a Bright Moon Night Sword Pellet, which Jinshan explained could conceal itself in the user’s mouth and unleash Sword Qi.
• The tournament began with Tianyu defeating Ruyue and Jin Qi defeating Huangya, securing two places at the Northern Immortal Sect’s Mirror-Viewing Platform.
• Lü Bufan rose to fight Yun Yue, while Immortal Master Qingming criticized the sect’s disciples for relying on pills to force breakthroughs.

Lü Bufan endured Yun Yue’s attacks, then used the Sword Pellet’s Sword Qi to launch a final punch that defeated him. Elder Mo declared Lü Bufan, Tianyu, and Jin Qi the tournament’s three victors and awarded them the chance to seek enlightenment at the Northern Immortal Sect.

• Lü Bufan used broken armor as projectiles to close in on Yun Yue, but Yun Yue’s Cloud Wave Slash left him kneeling and badly wounded.
• Yun Yue prepared to cripple Lü Bufan as the Jingbo Peak elder tried to intervene, and Lü Bufan revealed Qingming’s Sword Pellet.
• Lü Bufan restrained the Sword Pellet’s Sword Qi, channeled it through his arm, and struck Yun Yue with a final punch that sent him unconscious.
• Elder Mo stopped the Sect Hall cultivator from attacking Lü Bufan and named Lü Bufan, Tianyu, and Jin Qi the tournament’s three victors.
• Elder Mo announced doubled tournament rewards and ordered the victors and Cloud Ranking contestants to prepare for the sect’s journey to the Northern Immortal Sect in one month.

After defeating Yun Yue, Lü Bufan recovered from severe injuries while elders and fellow attendants praised his achievement and warned him about the danger of combining martial and Dao cultivation. Hu Luo'er offered him medicine and urged him to join Taihua Sect as a disciple; the chapter then shifted to Haoyang City, where an army marched against the Savage Tribe as a boy Guardian wondered what was hidden in a distant tower.

• Hu Luo'er returned to her lodgings after telling her junior sister she wanted to stay and observe Taihua Sect.
• The Jingbo Peak elder carried away the badly injured Yun Yue, while Qingming praised Lü Bufan and obtained a healing pill from Long'er for him.
• Chao Heyuan reset Lü Bufan's broken arm, and Qingming explained that Chao had once hoped to cultivate the Dao but had spent his life as an attendant.
• Elder Painting Peak warned Lü Bufan that retaining his martial cultivation could make future breakthroughs perilous, while Lü asked about Yun Yue and learned the sect's Northern Immortal Sect trip had been delayed for a month.
• Hu Luo'er visited Lü Bufan, gave him healing pills, and suggested he become a Taihua Sect disciple, but he declined for the time being.
• In Haoyang City, the Guardian ordered an army to attack the Savage Tribe and hold the three commandery governors responsible for supplies, then wondered what was happening inside a distant tower.

Lü Bufan traveled by Void Boat toward the Northern Immortal Sect, where he spoke with Hu Luo'er and Elder Zhou Mo. Zhou Mo examined Lü Bufan’s Sword-Nurturing Platform and learned of Lu Zhiyu’s death, then warned Lü Bufan to avoid trouble at their destination.

• Lü Bufan admired the scenery from the Void Boat and spoke with Hu Luo'er about his heavy sword and her Sword Case.
• Zhou Mo asked Lü Bufan to reveal his Sword-Nurturing Platform, whose Sword Spirit Qi attracted Zhou Mo’s flying sword before the platform covered it in frost.
• Zhou Mo questioned Lü Bufan about his master, Luo Wuya, and his reasons for seeking the Mirror-Viewing Platform, and Lü Bufan explained that he hoped to find his lost sweetheart and master.
• Lü Bufan told Zhou Mo that Lu Zhiyu had killed old enemies, destroyed the Immortal Breeze and Dao Moon temple, and been buried beside his old master.
• Zhou Mo explained the cost of wielding the Immortal Sword and warned Lü Bufan not to cause trouble at the Northern Immortal Sect, then thanked him for telling him about Lu Zhiyu.