Recaps

A violent earthquake in Chaoge City led officials to discover that its source lay beneath the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, where the Demon-Suppressing Prison stood. The Divine Emperor ordered the entire city evacuated while the Duke of Lu and Jin Mingcheng kept Yue Qianmen from entering the prison.

• An earthquake woke the Duke of Lu, Lu Ming, and the people of Chaoge City, and the Pure Heaven Bureau and Chayuan Observatory investigated its source.
• Officials determined that the earthquake came from seventeen li below the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Duke He feared the Azure Dragon had awakened.
• Yue Qianmen demanded entry into the Demon-Suppressing Prison, but the Duke of Lu refused, citing the Imperial Court's jurisdiction and preparing to use Slanting Wind and Drizzle to stop him.
• A second, stronger earthquake shook the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Yue Qianmen tried to charge deeper inside while the Duke of Lu moved to block him.
• Jin Mingcheng delivered the Divine Emperor's decree forbidding entry into the prison without written permission and ordered the evacuation of everyone in Chaoge City.
• Zhang Yiai and Duke He organized the evacuation with the Divine Guard Army and cultivators, while Jing Li left with the other residents and worried that the white cat had not appeared.

While the Divine Emperor and Consort Hu waited inside the protected imperial city, Gu Qing continued guiding Jing Yao’s cultivation as tremors shook Chaoge City. In the Demon-Suppressing Prison, Jing Jiu revealed that he had been stalling for time and waiting for the Nether Emperor, making Azure Dragon turn toward the prison’s deepest level.

• Gu Qing concealed his worry about the upheaval in Chaoge City and continued teaching Jing Yao while Consort Hu went to check on the Divine Emperor.
• The Divine Emperor reassured Consort Hu, gave her the Vermilion Bird’s jade egg, and asked her to keep it warm.
• Azure Dragon confronted the badly injured Jing Jiu in the Demon-Suppressing Prison and demanded that he beg for a quick death.
• Jing Jiu told Azure Dragon that he had been seeking time, not a quick death, and hinted that he was waiting for someone.
• Azure Dragon realized Jing Jiu meant the Nether Emperor and looked toward the prison’s deepest level.

Jing Jiu used the Nether Emperor’s gift of pale purple flowers to help him escape the deepest part of the Demon-Suppressing Prison. The Nether Emperor reached the Abyss and faced it through the transparent barrier.

• Jing Jiu told the old man that the mosquitoes had not fed on the Nether Emperor’s soul fire for three years, then flew toward the prison’s second layer to draw Azure Dragon after him or force it to confront the Nether Emperor.
• The Nether Emperor took the silver bell from the dark cloud, dispelled the formation and wind-and-rain art, and killed the mosquitoes with lightning from his body.
• The Nether Emperor crossed the black sea and left the prison’s deepest region, where he found the Other Shore Flower Jing Jiu had left for him.
• The Nether Emperor reunited his divine soul and laughed, then flew through the gang-wind passage toward the Abyss.
• The Nether Emperor reached the transparent barrier and gazed into the Abyss as it gazed back at him.

As earthquakes shook Chaoge City, the Divine Emperor summoned aid from the sects while concealing his reasons for opposing the Zhongzhou Sect. At the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a hole opened above the Demon-Suppressing Prison and something escaped into the sky.

• Yue Qianmen tried to enter the Demon-Suppressing Prison but Jin Mingcheng and the Divine Guard Army blocked him.
• The Divine Emperor ordered the Zhongzhou Sect to help evacuate Chaoge City and had the Duke of Lu summon the sects for aid.
• The Divine Emperor told Consort Hu that the Zhongzhou Sect’s standing came from its former Sect Master Bairen, who had ascended a thousand years earlier.
• The Divine Emperor noticed that Jing Jiu had not emerged from the prison and considered intervening himself.
• A small, smooth-edged hole opened in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, releasing a foul, icy mist.
• Yue Qianmen and the others saw a tiny black object shoot across the sky, vanish, and reappear several li away.

The Azure Dragon emerged from beneath the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, revealing itself as the Demon-Suppressing Prison, and pursued Jing Jiu into the sky. Jing Jiu passed through Chaoge City's formation unhindered while the Azure Dragon crashed into it, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• The ground split apart and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices rose into the air as the Azure Dragon burst from underground.
• The Duke of Lu recognized the Azure Dragon as the Demon-Suppressing Prison and worried about Jing Jiu, while the Divine Emperor confirmed it was the dragon's true body.
• The Azure Dragon explained to Jing Jiu that it had let him escape so it could kill him outside its body, then chased him toward Chaoge City's formation.
• Jing Jiu passed through the formation and sped toward the Void Realm, but the Azure Dragon struck the barrier and sent cracks across the sky.

Azure Dragon pursued Jing Jiu through Chaoge City's shattered array and into the Void Realm, while the Divine Emperor prepared for the looming crisis and Liu A'da waited for the dragon's tail. As powerful figures approached, Jing Jiu stopped before Azure Dragon and let the Gang Wind strip away the ice and char from his body.

• Azure Dragon broke through Chaoge City's great array and attacked Jing Jiu with its freezing Dragon Breath, but Jing Jiu escaped and continued upward.
• The Divine Emperor took the Vermilion Bird Jade Egg from Consort Hu and considered the allies and political choices he would need to confront the crisis.
• Liu A'da watched Azure Dragon's body from the ruins, waiting for its tail to emerge so it could attack the dragon's Gang Gate.
• Jing Jiu and Azure Dragon entered the Void Realm, where Jing Jiu remained unaffected by the lack of air and spiritual energy.
• Jing Jiu sensed Heavenly Access experts approaching Chaoge City, stopped in front of Azure Dragon, and watched as the Gang Wind peeled away his charred crust and ice crystals.

Jing Jiu halted the Azure Dragon’s flight by stretching its body between the sky and the depths of the Demon-Suppressing Prison. The dragon crashed back into Chaoge City, leaving its fate uncertain as its whisker sank beneath the water-filled ruins.

• The Azure Dragon pursued Jing Jiu into the Void Realm, then realized its tail was held fast underground and screamed in pain.
• Yue Qianmen and the others noticed the dragon’s body stretching and thinning, while Liu A'da watched from beneath the ruins.
• The Azure Dragon’s body snapped back underground, sending debris flying and injuring Xiang Wanshu and the other cultivators.
• The Azure Dragon fell from the sky and crashed into Chaoge City, causing widespread destruction and a violent earthquake.
• Yue Qianmen found the former Demon-Suppressing Prison filled with water, where a twitching dragon whisker slowly sank from sight.

The Nether Emperor unleashed countless tiny Soul Fires into Jing Jiu’s wounds in the Azure Dragon’s body, forcing the wounded dragon to negotiate rather than wait for human cultivators to arrive and kill him. Meanwhile, Yue Qianmen and Scholar Xu prepared for the arrival of Sect Master True Person Tan as the flooded pit revealed the Dragon God below.

• The Azure Dragon’s Divine Soul confronted the Nether Emperor, insisting that he could not escape and would die once powerful human cultivators arrived.
• The Nether Emperor revealed countless miniature versions of himself made from Soul Fire and sent them through the Demon-Suppressing Prison.
• The Soul Fires entered the wounds Jing Jiu’s Iron Sword had left in the Azure Dragon and scorched them, causing the old man intense pain.
• The Azure Dragon’s Divine Soul asked the Nether Emperor to talk, unable to bear the burning until the human cultivators arrived.
• Yue Qianmen sensed the Dragon God’s weakened but vigorous vitality, and Scholar Xu told him that the Studio Master would arrive in seventeen breaths.
• True Person Tan appeared in the western sky using the highest level of the Heaven and Earth Escape Method.

The great leaders of the orthodox sects gathered above Chaoge City after the disturbance at the Demon-Suppressing Prison, while the Divine Emperor waited for the city's formation to be lowered. As more leaders arrived, Gu Qing explained the sects' alliances to Imperial Prince Jing Yao, who asked about the remaining members of the Seven Great Sects.

• The Zhongzhou Sect Master and Bu Qiuxiao stayed outside Chaoge City's closed formation while they watched the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and waited for news from the Azure Dragon.
• The Duke of Lu asked the Divine Emperor whether Jing Jiu had entered the Demon-Suppressing Prison to rescue someone, but the Divine Emperor said nothing and ordered him to wait.
• The Zen Child arrived from Moqiu, and Chaoge City's great formation was deactivated; Bu Qiuxiao landed among the ruins and noted the city's response.
• True Person Liu arrived from the south, and the Divine Emperor relaxed at the sight of the Green Mountain Sect Master.
• Consort Hu returned with the Vermilion Bird Jade Egg and found Imperial Prince Jing Yao watching the sky as Gu Qing explained the alliances among the great sects.

Gu Qing advised Prince Jing Yao on the sects and the political role of the future Divine Emperor, while Consort Hu agreed to send her abusive Matron home. In the Demon-Suppressing Prison, the Nether Emperor negotiated for better conditions and followed the Azure Dragon’s Divine Soul toward the Jade Pool, where the old man suddenly shrank the surrounding space.

• Gu Qing explained the major sects to Prince Jing Yao and warned that the Divine Emperor’s duties would displease powerful sects.
• Gu Qing urged Consort Hu to send the Matron back to her hometown, and Consort Hu agreed.
• The Nether Emperor demanded a green valley and a companion in exchange for not sending his Soul Fire back into the Azure Dragon.
• The Nether Emperor and the Azure Dragon’s Divine Soul moved to the Jade Pool so human cultivators could negotiate with the Nether Emperor through Divine Sense.
• The Azure Dragon’s Divine Soul collapsed the cliffs and compressed the space around the Nether Emperor.

The Azure Dragon trapped the Nether Emperor inside World in a Pot, hoping to eat him and gain enough power to become unmatched. The Nether Emperor turned the struggle around by using Soul Fire Control to prevent the Azure Dragon from escaping, leaving the Azure Dragon facing the fate he had inflicted on others.

• The Azure Dragon compressed the Demon-Suppressing Prison into a sealed stone flask filled with corrosive jade-green pool water, trapping the Nether Emperor inside.
• The Azure Dragon explained that he wanted to eat the Nether Emperor and recover the three hundred years of cultivation spent using World in a Pot.
• The Nether Emperor seized the Azure Dragon's wrists, and both of their hands began sinking into each other's flesh.
• The Azure Dragon tried to vanish from the Demon-Suppressing Prison but discovered that he could not escape the Nether Emperor's control.
• The Nether Emperor revealed that he was the strongest at controlling Divine Souls, and the Azure Dragon realized he would be eaten.

The old man believed he had destroyed the Nether Emperor’s illusion and killed him in the Heaven and Earth Pot, but the Nether Emperor had fused with his Divine Soul and body. The chapter ended with the Nether Emperor revealing that he had deliberately let the old man consume him so he could kill them both.

• The old man recognized the Nether Emperor’s influence over his Divine Soul and dismissed their struggle in the pot as an illusion.
• The old man dissolved the world inside the Heaven and Earth Pot, eroding the Nether Emperor until nothing remained, then emerged believing he had killed him.
• The old man left the ruined Demon-Suppressing Prison and felt a powerful new aura that he mistook for the moment of ascension.
• The Nether Emperor spoke through the old man’s mouth, and the old man realized his body and Divine Soul had been taken over.
• The Nether Emperor revealed that he was killing the old man and had let him consume him because he intended to die as well.

The Azure Dragon writhed in agony above Chaoge City as the prisoners in the Demon-Suppressing Prison urged its death, while Liu A'da spotted the wounded black snake and Jing Jiu carried him underground. The great powers debated whether to kill the Azure Dragon to prevent the Nether Emperor from escaping, but White True Person’s warning and the Divine Emperor’s arrival left them deadlocked.

• The prisoners in the Demon-Suppressing Prison shouted for the Azure Dragon to be killed, while a Nether Department figure hoped the Nether Emperor would survive.
• Liu A'da spotted a wounded black snake in the ruins, but Jing Jiu caught him and took him underground without triggering the formations.
• The black snake transformed back into the Azure Dragon, whose agonized struggles damaged Chaoge City before it began turning north.
• Liu Ci called on the great figures to act, arguing that they had to kill the Azure Dragon to prevent the Nether Emperor from escaping.
• White True Person questioned who had escaped underground, and the Divine Emperor appeared and warned that the bewitched Azure Dragon could endanger all living beings.
• White True Person did not answer the Divine Emperor, and the gathered great figures remained divided as the Azure Dragon turned back.

The Nether Emperor emerged from the Azure Dragon as four great powers restrained him, while the Azure Dragon’s Divine Soul remained trapped in its body. He rejected the Zen Child’s offer of sanctuary, insisting that any imprisonment would leave him a tool for shackling the Lower Realm.

• Bu Qiuxiao used the Dragon-Tail Inkstone to pin the Azure Dragon above Chaoge City.
• True Person Tan demanded that the Nether Emperor come out, and the Nether Emperor emerged from the Azure Dragon as four powerful auras locked onto him.
• Liu Ci asked whether the Nether Emperor would honor their old agreement, and the Nether Emperor blamed the Azure Dragon for trying to devour him.
• The Zen Child offered to let the Nether Emperor cultivate peacefully in the Fruitful Accomplishment Temple’s Pagoda Forest if the Azure Dragon was at fault.
• The Nether Emperor rejected the offer, saying imprisonment there would still make him a chain used to shackle the people of the Lower Realm.

The Nether Emperor refused to leave Chaoge City, condemned the Azure Dragon’s greed, and died after playing the Nether River Lullaby as the dragon fell. More than ten days later, sect representatives gathered to investigate the Demon-Suppressing Prison upheaval, and Yue Qianmen challenged the Duke of Lu over being stopped from entering.

• Yuan Qijing and Zen Child confronted White True Person as the Nether Emperor questioned whether the Human Race would let him return to the Nether Department.
• The Nether Emperor told the Azure Dragon that its greed had become its burden and warned that humans could perish for the same reason.
• The Azure Dragon gave the Nether Emperor a jade bone, and he played the Nether River Lullaby before his divine soul scattered and the dragon fell.
• More than ten days later, representatives from thirty-seven sects met at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to investigate the Demon-Suppressing Prison upheaval.
• Yue Qianmen asked the Duke of Lu why he had stopped him from entering the Demon-Suppressing Prison during the disturbance.

The Duke of Lu and Yue Qianmen disputed how to investigate the Azure Dragon’s death and the escape from the Demon-Suppressing Prison. An anomalous prisoner file implicated Grand Tutor Liang, prompting the Duke of Lu to hurry to the palace to report to the emperor.

• Yue Qianmen demanded an investigation into the escaped prisoner, while the Duke of Lu argued that the Nether Emperor had killed the Azure Dragon after it tried to devour him.
• The monk Du Hai ordered the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to compare its prison records with Pure Heaven Bureau files.
• Investigators found irregularities in the file for Song Xin, a prisoner whose cell door had been opened.
• The Duke of Lu and the monk Du Hai questioned Zhang Yiai about Song Xin, and Zhang said Grand Tutor Liang had sent the prisoner to the Pure Heaven Bureau.
• The monk Du Hai asked Zhang Yiai to remain at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Duke of Lu left to seek an audience with the emperor.

After Zhang Yiai implicated Yue Qianmen in sending a Never-Old Forest prisoner into the Demon-Suppressing Prison, the Divine Guard Army surrounded Prince Jing Xin's Residence. Du Hai rejected Yue Qianmen's explanation and insisted the investigation continue, leaving the Zhongzhou Sect under imperial scrutiny.

• Zhang Yiai confronted Yue Qianmen, accusing him of making him help send someone into the Demon-Suppressing Prison and warning that the person's connection to the Dragon God's death could have grave consequences.
• The Pure Heaven Bureau's investigation led the Divine Guard Army to surround Prince Jing Xin's Residence overnight.
• Yue Qianmen told Du Hai that the prisoner had been sent into the Demon-Suppressing Prison to extract information, but Du Hai demanded evidence and refused to stop the investigation.
• The Duke of Lu announced that the Divine Emperor demanded the truth and asked Yue Qianmen what the Zhongzhou Sect intended to do.

The investigation into the Demon-Suppressing Prison upheaval ended with Prince Jing Xin confined and the Zhongzhou Sect avoiding further punishment, while the escaped prisoner’s identity remained hidden. After the sect representatives left, Jing Jiu openly entered the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, startling the Duke of Lu.

• Yue Qianmen suspected the Zhongzhou Sect had sent someone into the Demon-Suppressing Prison to help the Azure Dragon, but the sect could not reveal Prince Jing Xin’s past dealings with a Never-Old Forest assassin.
• The Divine Emperor confined Prince Jing Xin to his residence for three years, left the Azure Dragon’s remains beneath the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and allowed Zhang Yiai to keep his post.
• The monk Du Hai ordered the officials and sect representatives not to discuss the affair, while Yue Qianmen insisted that they identify the person who had escaped.
• Duke He reported that the Curtain Rollers had verified the whereabouts of all known Spirit Transformation experts, leaving the escaped prisoner’s identity unresolved.
• After the representatives departed, the Duke of Lu reflected that the investigation had concealed Jing Jiu, then watched Jing Jiu walk openly into the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Jing Jiu returned to Chaoge City after the Demon-Suppressing Prison upheaval, reflected on the Nether Emperor’s death, and visited the rebuilt Jing Residence. Bai Zao arrived and, instead of asking about the prison, remarked that Jing Jiu seemed even better-looking.

• Jing Jiu retrieved a bell from the wildflowers and tied it around Liu A'da’s neck, then explained that surviving the Azure Dragon meant Liu A'da had won their struggle.
• Yin San told the Profound Yin Ancestor that the prison’s destruction and the Zhongzhou Sect’s setback had gone as he hoped, then played the bone flute in the Pagoda Forest.
• Jing Jiu returned to the Jing Residence, where Jing Li recognized him and welcomed him inside.
• Jing Jiu noticed the rebuilt residence and realized Jing Li had begun cultivating, while Liu A'da slipped away into the garden.
• Bai Zao arrived among falling begonia blossoms and told Jing Jiu that he seemed even better-looking.

Jing Jiu reunited with Bai Zao in Chaoge City and discussed the struggle over the next Divine Emperor and the tensions between their sects. Bai Zao revealed that Tong Yan believed Guo Dong was not truly a junior sister, prompting Jing Jiu to realize she was an old acquaintance and ask where she was.

• Jing Jiu met Bai Zao at the Jing Residence and said he had recently emerged from years of cultivation in the Imperial Palace.
• Jing Jiu declared that Jing Xin would not become the Divine Emperor and that Jing Yao was the only choice, while Bai Zao warned that the cultivation world and relations between their sects were growing unstable.
• Jing Jiu congratulated Bai Zao on her cultivation and suggested she seek guidance at the Water-Moon Convent.
• Jing Jiu and Bai Zao spoke about transcending sect and bloodline divisions, and Jing Jiu wished her success.
• Bai Zao told Jing Jiu that Tong Yan had said Guo Dong was not a junior sister; Jing Jiu recognized the implication and asked where Guo Dong was.

Jing Jiu reunited with Gu Qing in Chaoge City after escaping the Demon-Suppressing Prison and told him what had happened there. As Jing Jiu prepared to leave, he told Gu Qing to return to Green Mountain and resume his cultivation.

• Bai Zao visited Jing Jiu, learned he planned to leave Chaoge City, and reminded him about the Cloud Dream Assembly.
• Jing Jiu reassured Jing Li after the boy interrupted him and Bai Zao, then spent the evening reflecting on the Demon-Suppressing Prison and old friends.
• Gu Qing returned to the Jing Residence, heard that Jing Jiu was back, and hurried to see his master.
• Jing Jiu told Gu Qing that he had spent three years in the Demon-Suppressing Prison, resolved the Sword Ghost problem, escaped, and released the Nether Emperor.
• Gu Qing warned Jing Jiu to be more careful, and Jing Jiu told him to return to Green Mountain to cultivate.

Jing Jiu took the Little Imperial Prince’s future out of Consort Hu’s hands, then hurried north with Gu Qing to investigate Guo Dong. He learned that Guo Dong had appeared around the time Lian Sanyue supposedly entered secluded meditation, but he rejected the report’s account of her cultivation.

• Jing Jiu told Consort Hu that the Little Imperial Prince’s identity as a Green Mountain disciple did not determine his future, which depended on his father’s wishes.
• Jing Jiu flew northwest from Chaoge City with Gu Qing and White Cat on the Iron Sword, which had become one with him.
• Jing Jiu and Gu Qing reached White City, where Jing Jiu watched the little temple where Lian Sanyue had once waited for him.
• Jing Jiu went to a Curtain Roller medical clinic in Juye City to ask for information about Guo Dong.
• The doctor said Guo Dong’s origins were unknown and linked her appearance to the time Lian Sanyue began secluded meditation, but Jing Jiu said Lian Sanyue had already reached Heavenly Access years earlier.

Jing Jiu gathered intelligence about Guo Dong, Tong Yan, and events in the Southwest before listening to rumors about the Demon-Suppressing Prison in Juye City. The chapter ended with news that the Profound Yin Sect would become a faith in three days, alarming the city’s residents because of the old Blood Demon Sect.

• Jing Jiu learned from the doctor that Guo Dong had claimed to be Lian Sanyue’s final disciple and that clues suggested Tong Yan had stayed at the Precious Thoroughfare Zen Monastery.
• The doctor reported that Su Ziye had survived an assassination attempt and become a guest elder of the Western Sea Sword Sect.
• Jing Jiu and Gu Qing ate no food as they listened for useful information in a Juye City restaurant.
• Diners argued over rumors about the Azure Dragon, the Nether Emperor, and the destruction of the Demon-Suppressing Prison, then brawled.
• A man announced that the Profound Yin Sect would change from a sect into a faith in three days, leaving the restaurant silent.

Jing Jiu realized Guo Dong might be plotting to kill Jian Xilai, then traveled with Gu Qing toward the Western Sea by way of Cold Mountain. Near the Profound Yin Sect, he sensed someone watching him with murderous intent.

• In a Juye City restaurant, people discussed the Profound Yin Sect renaming itself the Profound Yin Cult and speculated about Su Ziye and its new leader.
• Jing Jiu inferred that Guo Dong wanted to kill Jian Xilai, but concluded that Jian Xilai could not be killed even with Pei Baifa's help.
• Jing Jiu told Gu Qing they were heading to the Western Sea, and the Iron Sword carried them out of Juye City.
• The Wind Saber Sect intercepted them, but Gu Qing identified them as Green Mountain disciples and they continued into Cold Mountain.
• Gu Qing saw powerful flames destroy distant black smoke, and Jing Jiu identified the weapon as the Blazing Sun Banner at the Profound Yin Sect.
• Jing Jiu sensed that someone at the Profound Yin Sect's mountain gate was watching him and wanted to kill him.

Wang Xiaoming took control of the Profound Yin Sect and prepared to become its cult leader, while Jing Jiu decided to find and kill him. As Jing Jiu and Gu Qing reached the northern coast, they encountered the enormous waves of a distant battle between two powerful sword cultivators.

• Wang Xiaoming used the Blazing Sun Banner to kill a rogue cultivator spying on the Profound Yin Sect's mountain gate.
• Wang Xiaoming confronted Su Qige and Gao Ya, exposed their schemes, and demanded Gao Ya obey him and beg forgiveness.
• Jing Jiu spotted Wang Xiaoming through the Blazing Sun Banner and later told Gu Qing to identify him and kill him when possible.
• Jing Jiu and Gu Qing reached a desolate coast north of Haizhou City, where waves from a distant sword fight battered the shore.
• Gu Qing sensed the swordsmen fighting far out at sea and wondered who they were.