Recaps

Old Lu and seven Heavenly Sword Sect members caught Huang Xiao, Chen Xiangrong, Chu Wu, and their allies as they tried to escape. Chu Wu revealed his Ten Thousand Demons Skill, while Huang Xiao exposed his Heavenly Demon Skill and fought off the sect’s swordsmen; the battle continued with Huang Xiao facing two opponents whose combined sword technique could not overcome him.

• Old Lu and seven Heavenly Sword Sect members intercepted Huang Xiao, Chen Xiangrong, Chu Wu, and three half-step martial realm experts after pursuing them several dozen li.
• Chu Wu revealed his Ten Thousand Demons Skill and engaged Old Lu, while Huang Xiao fought the seven other Heavenly Sword Sect members.
• Huang Xiao used his Heavenly Demon Skill to defeat one of three attackers with a single punch, leaving the man gravely injured.
• One of Chen Xiangrong’s allies was killed after two Heavenly Sword Sect members ambushed him, while Chen Xiangrong watched Huang Xiao instead of the wider battle.
• Huang Xiao attacked the two remaining swordsmen and exploited openings in their combined-strike technique, leaving them struggling to withstand him.

Huang Xiao and Chu Wu defeated the Heavenly Sword Sect’s ambush, allowing Chen Xiangrong to escape while Old Lu fled alone. Old Lu then found Chen Xiangrong waiting for him and realized that the shopkeeper’s hidden strength—and his connection to the Ten Thousand Demons Hall—was far beyond what he had expected.

• Huang Xiao intercepted two attackers who tried to reach Chen Xiangrong, killed one, and drove the other back toward the ongoing fight.
• Huang Xiao joined his allies, and they killed the remaining Heavenly Sword Sect fighters while Chu Wu revealed his Void Martial Realm strength.
• Old Lu tried to escape, but Huang Xiao, Chu Wu, and two allies surrounded him; Old Lu wounded one of them and fled.
• Huang Xiao parted ways with Chu Wu, who went after Chen Xiangrong, while the Jianghu people later found the Heavenly Sword Sect corpses.
• Old Lu encountered Chen Xiangrong alone and tried to kill him, but Chen Xiangrong appeared in front of him again after he fled.
• Old Lu recognized that Chen Xiangrong had concealed immense strength and identified him as belonging to the Ten Thousand Demons Hall.

Chen Xiangrong revealed how the Ten Thousand Demons Hall had infiltrated the Four Directions Trading Company and killed Old Lu, then discussed Huang Xiao’s mysterious ties to the Heavenly Demon Hall and the Ten Thousand Demons Hall with Chu Wu. The chapter ended with Chen Xiangrong speculating that Huang Xiao was connected to a plan involving the Thousand-Year Period and questioning the Hall Master’s ambitions.

• Chen Xiangrong told Old Lu that the Ten Thousand Demons Hall had spent thirty years infiltrating the Four Directions Trading Company by killing and impersonating its real chief shopkeeper.
• Chen Xiangrong revealed that Imperial Remnant Manor stood behind the Rare Treasures Pavilion and had interests in trading companies, while Old Lu’s Heavenly Sword Sect had been doomed to fail.
• Chen Xiangrong killed Old Lu after explaining that the Heavenly Sword Sect’s plan might only have benefited the Sword Pavilion.
• Chu Wu reported that Huang Xiao had left and was reportedly headed for Imperial Province, then asked whether Huang Xiao and Li Chaoxun could both be successors of the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord.
• Chen Xiangrong said Huang Xiao was probably an impostor with ties to the Heavenly Demon Hall, but also possessed the Ten Thousand Demons Skill and might be connected to the Ten Thousand Demons Hall.
• Chen Xiangrong warned Chu Wu not to attack Huang Xiao and speculated that Huang Xiao was part of a plan tied to the Thousand-Year Period, criticizing the Hall Master’s ambition to rule the entire hall.

Chen Xiangrong and Chu Wu discussed the struggle among the Three Great Halls and their plans around the coming new Hall Master, while Huang Xiao escaped into the wilderness with the reborn Phoenix. Huang Xiao named the Phoenix Little Phoenix and discovered that it absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy as it slept.

• Chen Xiangrong told Chu Wu that Pang Yi was far ahead of Lou Feishang and Chao Jue, then ordered him to report on the Four Directions Trading Company and investigate the young man and his connection to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
• Chen Xiangrong planned to unite the trading companies before Imperial Legacy Mountain Manor could respond, then left the corpse of a Void Martial Realm expert behind.
• Huang Xiao raced away from Chu Wu's group and Old Lu, eventually stopping in a cave to roast a hare.
• Little Phoenix perched on the Minghong Saber, and their resonance produced crimson mist that restored its black tail feathers while reducing the saber's rust.
• After the resonance ended, Huang Xiao named the Phoenix Little Phoenix, but it rejected his offer of roast meat and went to sleep beside the saber.
• Huang Xiao sensed that Little Phoenix was drawing in the increasingly dense spiritual energy surrounding the cave.

Huang Xiao spent ten days hiding in a cave, keeping Little Phoenix’s energy gathering from attracting attention while trying to devise a concealing formation. Little Phoenix then instinctively formed a tiny Spirit-Gathering Formation that solved the problem and gave Huang Xiao a way to improve his cultivation before the Imperial Province Ranking Contest; he prepared to travel in disguise.

• Huang Xiao realized Little Phoenix absorbed the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, and worried that its powerful energy gathering would reveal its identity around other people.
• Huang Xiao stayed in the cave for ten days to avoid Old Lu and develop a formation that could hide Little Phoenix’s energy gathering, but his efforts stalled at reducing the disturbance by a little over seventy percent.
• On the tenth morning, Huang Xiao discovered that Little Phoenix had formed a tiny formation around itself, nearly eliminating the disturbance while concentrating abundant Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth within inches of its body.
• Huang Xiao recognized the formation as a Spirit-Gathering Formation and expected Little Phoenix’s energy to help his cultivation before the Imperial Province Ranking Contest.
• Huang Xiao decided to disguise his face and change the Minghong Saber’s scabbard to conceal his identity and avoid further trouble with the Heavenly Sword Sect and Heavenly Evil Sect.

Huang Xiao disguised the Minghong Saber and settled down to eat, where Little Phoenix's taste for wine drew attention. When a group of young martial artists tried to seize the bird and harass Wang Lin, she defeated them, but their Martial Uncle remained a potential threat.

• Huang Xiao commissioned a deliberately oversized scabbard, wrapped the Minghong Saber's hilt in cloth, and destroyed its original scabbard.
• At a restaurant, Huang Xiao discovered Little Phoenix drinking wine and allowed Wang Lin to sit nearby and watch him.
• A young man demanded to buy Little Phoenix and threatened Wang Lin, so Huang Xiao told him to leave.
• When the young man tried to grab Little Phoenix, Wang Lin pinned his hand to the table with a chopstick and knocked his two junior brothers into a table.
• Wang Lin slapped the young man and stopped only after Huang Xiao urged her to let the matter go, while the group threatened that their Martial Uncle would return.

Huang Xiao reunited with Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin, only for them to be confronted by Min Yi, a Half-Step Martial Realm expert seeking Cheng Duanjin’s Broken Saber. Wang Lin stood her ground after learning Min Yi belonged to the Divine Saber Sect, and the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Huang Xiao accompanied Wang Lin outside the Wine Shop and realized she was Wang Jiu’s daughter when Cheng Duanjin arrived.
• Cheng Duanjin hurried to leave town with Wang Lin, but Min Yi appeared and blocked their way with his Half-Step Martial Realm pressure.
• Min Yi demanded Cheng Duanjin’s Broken Saber and threatened to cripple him, while Wang Lin recognized the saber as one her father had forged.
• Cheng Duanjin offered to surrender the saber if Min Yi let Wang Lin go, but Wang Lin warned that Min Yi intended to kill them both.
• Wang Lin urged the bystanders to unite against Min Yi, and Min Yi ordered them away before revealing that he was from the Divine Saber Sect.
• Wang Lin recognized the Divine Saber Sect as the sect founded by Wan Liukong, the Blade Emperor, and Min Yi reacted with suspicion.

Min Yi hesitated to attack Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin after learning Wang Lin knew the Divine Saber Sect’s patriarch, but he turned his attention to Huang Xiao and prepared to kill him. Wang Lin stopped him with a Half-Step Limit Pill, and Min Yi slowly advanced despite her warning.

• Min Yi realized Wang Lin’s knowledge of Wan Liukong’s name suggested she had a powerful background, while Huang Xiao remained concealed nearby.
• Min Yi dismissed Huang Xiao as a Peerless Upper Grade cultivator and prepared to attack him as Wang Lin urged Huang Xiao to leave.
• Three Divine Saber Sect disciples arrived and accused Wang Lin of ambushing them, but Min Yi ignored their complaint and threatened Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin over the Broken Saber.
• Wang Lin revealed a Half-Step Limit Pill, and Min Yi recognized its power and hesitated to provoke her.
• Min Yi’s martial nephews greedily urged him to seize the pill, and he began advancing toward Wang Lin despite her warning.

Huang Xiao protected Wang Lin from Min Yi and confronted Min Yi and Lin Kuien over their threats and demands for Cheng Duanjin’s broken saber. He severed one arm from each man and left them alive as a warning to their sects.

• Min Yi rushed to seize Wang Lin’s Half-Step Limit Pill, but Huang Xiao appeared and knocked him back before he could reach her.
• Huang Xiao told Min Yi he intended to kill him, then paused when Lin Kuien arrived and offered to join forces with Min Yi.
• Lin Kuien identified himself as a member of the Heavenly Sword Sect and demanded Cheng Duanjin’s broken saber, while Huang Xiao refused and taunted him about his sword.
• Huang Xiao swiftly cut off Lin Kuien’s right arm, then disarmed Min Yi and severed one of his arms as he tried to flee.
• Huang Xiao told the wounded men he would spare their lives but leave their arms behind as a lesson and a warning to their sects.

Huang Xiao spared Min Yi and Lin Kuien after severing their weapon arms, then traveled toward Imperial Province with Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin. After Little Phoenix drank wine and fell into a deep sleep, Huang Xiao woke the next morning and reacted with alarm when he found the bird still asleep.

• Huang Xiao spared Min Yi and Lin Kuien to avoid provoking their sects, but severed each man's weapon arm before leaving with Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin.
• Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin told Huang Xiao about their search for a blacksmith who could repair Cheng Duanjin's Broken Saber and discussed their plans for the rankings in Imperial Province.
• Wang Lin asked Huang Xiao about her missing father, Wang Jiu, and Huang Xiao concealed that he knew Wang Jiu was safe.
• Little Phoenix appeared listless after drinking wine, so Huang Xiao tucked the bird into his robes and continued traveling with Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin.
• After reaching an inn, Huang Xiao found Little Phoenix asleep and left it on the table; the next morning, he noticed the bird was still asleep and his expression changed drastically.

Huang Xiao rushed to find help when Little Phoenix fell gravely ill, and Wang Lin directed him to the city’s best doctor. Physician Chen examined the bird, and Little Phoenix suddenly stood up while he was still considering its condition.

• Huang Xiao revived Little Phoenix briefly by gathering spiritual energy, but it remained weak and could no longer absorb the energy.
• Huang Xiao decided to seek help at the Rare Treasures Pavilion in a larger city, but Wang Lin urged him to take Little Phoenix to a doctor.
• Wang Lin learned that Physician Chen practiced two li away, and Huang Xiao hurried to the Chen Family Pharmacy ahead of her and Cheng Duanjin.
• Huang Xiao discovered that the doctor at the pharmacy was Doctor Zhou, then forced his way into the rear courtyard to find Physician Chen.
• Physician Chen examined Little Phoenix while his servants gathered around, and Wang Lin noticed the bird stand up.

Little Phoenix recovered and devoured Physician Chen’s rare medicinal herbs, leaving Huang Xiao to apologize for the loss. Physician Chen then dismissed the servants and privately told Huang Xiao that the bird was unusually intelligent and might become a Spirit Beast.

• Little Phoenix regained its strength, flew into Physician Chen’s room, and ate his collection of precious medicinal herbs.
• Physician Chen fainted at the sight of his herbs being devoured, then revived and mourned his losses as Huang Xiao apologized and offered compensation.
• Physician Chen abruptly changed his attitude, sent the servants away, and asked to speak privately with Huang Xiao while Wang Lin stayed behind.
• In Physician Chen’s study, Huang Xiao offered to make up for the herbs, but Physician Chen said compensation was unimportant and praised Little Phoenix’s intelligence.
• Physician Chen said Little Phoenix might become a Spirit Beast, easing Huang Xiao’s fear that he had recognized the bird’s true identity.

Huang Xiao refused Doctor Chen’s offer to take Little Phoenix, learned that the divine beast needed rare medicinal herbs, and accepted a cultivated stalk of beast immortal grass for it. When Huang Xiao mentioned that his friend was Chen Jiao, Doctor Chen’s pupils contracted, though he concealed his reaction.

• Doctor Chen explained that Little Phoenix had been starving because spiritually aware beasts needed rare medicinal herbs, and offered to trade for it; Huang Xiao refused.
• Doctor Chen warned that Little Phoenix would need herbs at least five hundred years old and said he had other ways to care for it, but kept those methods secret.
• Huang Xiao promised to replace the herbs Little Phoenix had eaten, and Doctor Chen revealed a hidden compartment and offered him a stalk of beast immortal grass.
• Little Phoenix tried to rush toward the plant, but Huang Xiao restrained it and questioned whether the grass was genuine; Doctor Chen explained that it was real, cultivated beast immortal grass.
• Doctor Chen asked about Huang Xiao’s friend who had taught him about divine beasts, and Huang Xiao named Chen Jiao; Doctor Chen’s pupils contracted before he acted as though the name meant nothing.

Huang Xiao learned that the silver fuzz on wild Beast Immortal Grass gave it its special effects, and Physician Chen gave him a cultivated plant while warning him about powers that sought unusual beasts. After Huang Xiao left, Physician Chen burned his report on Little Phoenix, but a newcomer entered and demanded information about unusual beasts and the Beast Immortal Grass harvest.

• Physician Chen explained that the silver fuzz made wild Beast Immortal Grass far more effective than cultivated plants, then admitted he knew how to grow it.
• Physician Chen gave Huang Xiao one plant and revealed that a long-standing power with a Divine Beast had close ties to imperial courts and had survived the Demon Hall’s Thousand-Year Periods.
• Physician Chen warned Huang Xiao to conceal Little Phoenix’s intelligence, and Huang Xiao accepted the Beast Immortal Grass and left.
• Physician Chen recorded details about Little Phoenix, then burned the report after deciding not to expose Chen Jiao’s connection to him.
• A newcomer entered Physician Chen’s study without knocking and demanded his unusual-beast information and Beast Immortal Grass harvest figures.

Physician Chen reported his completed exotic-beast research and a shortfall in Beast Immortal Grass to Xuan Ju, then concealed the value of Huang Xiao’s black bird. After leaving the medicine shop, Xuan Ju considered pursuing the bird for credit and asked his men what to do next.

• Physician Chen gave Xuan Ju fifteen exotic-beast reports, including ten confirmed findings, and explained that a Mist Mountain cultivation site had been plundered, leaving the Beast Immortal Grass quota short by one fifth.
• Physician Chen assured Xuan Ju that the other cultivation sites had met their quotas and that their workers had remained undiscovered; Xuan Ju praised the results and anticipated rewards and promotion.
• Xuan Ju noticed that Huang Xiao had left with a spiritually intelligent black bird, but Physician Chen claimed it was ordinary and unsuitable for taming.
• Physician Chen worried that Xuan Ju might discover the truth about Little Huang, but chose not to send anyone after him.
• Outside the medicine shop, Xuan Ju decided that capturing the black bird might earn him credit regardless of its future potential, and one of his men asked what to do next.

Xuan Ju sent two subordinates to investigate reports and carry information back to the manor, then visited the Beast Immortal Grass compound to collect his share and inspect its rarest harvest. He secured three top-grade stalks for himself, while his men arrived to escort the five chests to the manor.

• Xuan Ju gave one subordinate five unconfirmed reports to verify and tasked him with taking the information back to the manor.
• Xuan Ju directed his other men to Physician Chen's compound, then went there himself to collect Beast Immortal Grass before pursuing Huang Xiao's little black bird.
• Xuan Ju used his copper-red token to enter the compound, where Yang Fatty confirmed that five hundred stalks were ready for delivery.
• Xuan Ju arranged for thirty ordinary stalks to be packed for himself and learned that the compound had produced three down-covered, top-grade stalks.
• Yang Fatty gave Xuan Ju the three top-grade stalks, and Xuan Ju sensed that his men had arrived to escort the five chests back to the manor.

Xuan Ju left Yang Fatty with the crates and pursued Huang Xiao, who sent Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin ahead before confronting him. After Huang Xiao easily defeated him, Xuan Ju tried to save himself by invoking his identity, but Huang Xiao asked whether he belonged to the Heavenly Sword Sect or the Divine Saber Sect.

• Xuan Ju collected the wooden box from Yang Fatty, left with his men, and pursued the middle-aged man he had been tracking.
• Huang Xiao left the city with Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin, while Little Phoenix tried to get at the Beast Immortal Grass hidden beneath his clothes.
• Huang Xiao sensed someone approaching and sent Wang Lin and Cheng Duanjin ahead before waiting beneath a tree for his pursuer.
• Xuan Ju charged Huang Xiao, then realized Huang Xiao was a stronger Half-Step Martial Realm expert and had badly misjudged him.
• Huang Xiao struck Xuan Ju down and raised his foot to kill him, but stopped when Xuan Ju shouted that he could not be killed.
• Huang Xiao asked whether Xuan Ju was relying on the Heavenly Sword Sect or the Divine Saber Sect, and Xuan Ju laughed, assuming Huang Xiao feared those sects.

Huang Xiao confronted Xuan Ju, who claimed the Imperial Remnant Manor could protect him from powerful enemies in exchange for Little Phoenix. Xuan Ju then recognized Little Phoenix as a supreme exotic beast and erupted in anger at Old Man Chen for deceiving him.

• Xuan Ju offered to settle Huang Xiao’s conflicts with the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Divine Saber Sect in exchange for a deal, while eyeing Little Phoenix.
• Xuan Ju revealed that he belonged to the Imperial Remnant Manor and claimed it secretly controlled Imperial Courts and could handle even Huang Xiao’s troubles.
• Huang Xiao disclosed that he had killed several half-step Martial Realm experts and offended a Void Martial Realm expert, but Xuan Ju still promised he could resolve everything.
• Xuan Ju demanded that Huang Xiao hand over Little Phoenix, and Huang Xiao refused.
• Xuan Ju recognized Little Phoenix as a supreme exotic beast and shouted that Old Man Chen had deceived him by calling it an ordinary exotic beast.

Huang Xiao killed Xuan Ju to keep Little Phoenix’s identity secret, then discovered that Xuan Ju was a lower steward of the Imperial Remnant Manor. He found a large supply of beast immortal grass, but Little Phoenix devoured the three especially valuable stalks before he could stop it.

• Xuan Ju offered Huang Xiao anything in exchange for Little Phoenix, and Huang Xiao said he wanted Xuan Ju’s life.
• Huang Xiao defeated Xuan Ju and revealed that Little Phoenix was a Phoenix before killing him to protect its secret.
• Huang Xiao searched Xuan Ju’s belongings and found a token identifying him as an Imperial Remnant Manor lower steward.
• Huang Xiao decided to keep the token despite the danger of being linked to Xuan Ju’s death.
• Huang Xiao found thirty stalks of beast immortal grass in Xuan Ju’s bundle, while Little Phoenix ate the three stalks with downy fuzz from the wooden box.

Huang Xiao fled after burying Xuan Ju, but Little Phoenix’s sudden growth and recovery of its memories changed their relationship. Little Phoenix revealed that the Masked Old Man had saved it after its failed nirvana and vowed revenge on the enemies who had nearly killed it.

• Little Phoenix swallowed three supreme-grade stalks of Beast Immortal Grass, and Huang Xiao buried Xuan Ju’s body before leaving the area.
• Little Phoenix absorbed spiritual energy for several hours, grew to twice its size, and regained the ability to transmit its voice to Huang Xiao.
• Little Phoenix recovered its memories, rebuked Huang Xiao, and assured him it would not repay his kindness with enmity.
• Little Phoenix told Huang Xiao that the Masked Old Man had protected its consciousness and helped it be reborn in an egg after its nirvana failed.
• Little Phoenix said the Masked Old Man was more powerful than any expert it had encountered and vowed to take revenge on the people and sects that had ambushed it.

Huang Xiao learned that Little Phoenix’s true name was Red Phoenix and discussed whether his Minghong Saber was the Demon Hall’s missing Supreme Demon Saber. Red Phoenix remained with Huang Xiao partly because of the saber and partly because the masked old man backed him.

• Red Phoenix told Huang Xiao to call it by its true name and examined the Minghong Saber, which it suspected was the Supreme Demon Saber.
• Red Phoenix explained the saber’s legendary connection to the Demon Hall, while Huang Xiao argued that its disappearance date ruled out his saber being the same weapon.
• Red Phoenix revealed that divine beasts inherited memories from their parents, then admitted it had never met them and believed they would never return.
• Huang Xiao said the Minghong Saber could suppress the Ancient Evil Blades Tiger Wing and Inugami, and Red Phoenix praised its power while doubting it was the genuine Minghong Saber.
• Red Phoenix said it had stayed because of the saber, then admitted that the masked old man backing Huang Xiao was another reason.

Huang Xiao and Red Phoenix agreed to travel together while it recovered, and Red Phoenix took the name Demon Phoenix and disguised its feathers. Demon Phoenix explained that it could use the Heavenly Fire hidden within the Minghong Saber to heal and remove the blade’s rust, so Huang Xiao helped it settle beneath a tree for a month of recovery.

• Red Phoenix chose the name Demon Phoenix and changed its feathers to a black-and-yellow disguise, though it warned the disguise would fail if it fought at full strength.
• Demon Phoenix pointed out that Huang Xiao’s conspicuous scabbard could attract trouble, and Huang Xiao said he would shave it down to alter its appearance.
• Demon Phoenix explained that it had used dangerous Evil Qi to heal before, but would now rely on the Heavenly Fire deep within the Minghong Saber without harming its spirituality.
• Demon Phoenix said the Heavenly Fire could help restore its strength and dissolve the Minghong Saber’s rust, giving Huang Xiao a possible alternative to feeding the blade rare minerals.
• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix built a small thatched hut beneath a tree, where Demon Phoenix planned to recover for about a month while digesting the Beast Immortal Grass.

Huang Xiao trained for the Imperial Province Ranking Contest and sought to improve his mental cultivation after finding that he could not yet use the fifth form of the Heavenly Demon Demon Saber. His meditation strengthened his ability to draw on heaven and earth momentum, while Demon Phoenix recovered using the Minghong Saber’s Heavenly Fire flames.

• Huang Xiao considered the strength of Li Chaoxun and other young experts, and resolved to use the Ranking Contest to seek an opportunity to obtain the final three stages of the Heavenly Demon Skill.
• Huang Xiao failed to circulate his Heavenly Demon True Qi through the fifth form of the Heavenly Demon Demon Saber, so he stopped practicing and calmed his mind with the Xiantian Wuji Skill.
• Huang Xiao entered a state of deep tranquility, felt united with nature, and found that he could draw on heaven and earth momentum with power approaching that of a Void Martial Realm expert, though he did not break through.
• Demon Phoenix awakened the Heavenly Fire flames within the Minghong Saber to recover, and Huang Xiao set up a formation to contain the heat before Demon Phoenix stopped the flames from spreading.

Huang Xiao discussed Demon Phoenix’s recovery and the danger surrounding the Imperial Province Ranking Contest, then revealed that attending it was a task from Masked Old Man. Demon Phoenix questioned Huang Xiao’s mysterious background, guessed he might come from the Three Immortal Mountains, and Huang Xiao hesitated over whether to explain the task.

• Demon Phoenix explained that heavenly fire flame could restore his strength, though absorbing it would take much longer than a month.
• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix discussed the risks of the Imperial Province Ranking Contest and the enemies who might pursue Huang Xiao afterward.
• Demon Phoenix teased Huang Xiao about Jiang Liuli and learned that Huang Xiao had four wives he feared he might never see again.
• Huang Xiao said he had to attend the contest because Masked Old Man had assigned him a task, alarming Demon Phoenix.
• Demon Phoenix questioned Huang Xiao about his unusual techniques and powerful connections, then guessed he came from the Three Immortal Mountains.
• Huang Xiao said the contest was only something he would do along the way and hesitated before telling Demon Phoenix more about the task.

Huang Xiao told Demon Phoenix about his mastery of the Heavenly Demon Skill and his other secret techniques, then asked how the Imperial Province Ranking Contest could help him obtain the skill’s final three stages. Demon Phoenix proposed that defeating Chao Jue could persuade the Heavenly Demon Hall to accept Huang Xiao as a stronger contender against Pang Yi, leaving Huang Xiao to consider the unlikely opportunity.

• Huang Xiao revealed that he had mastered the ninth stage of the Heavenly Demon Skill and knew the complete Heavenly Demon Demon Saber Techniques, shocking Demon Phoenix.
• Huang Xiao explained that he had obtained the Heavenly Demon Skill and Transcendent Immortal Swordsmanship through fortunate encounters, but kept his origins secret.
• Huang Xiao asked Demon Phoenix how the Imperial Province Ranking Contest might lead to the final three stages of the Heavenly Demon Skill, and Demon Phoenix rejected the idea that the skill would be a contest prize.
• Demon Phoenix pointed out that Chao Jue and other young experts from the Three Great Halls would compete, and Huang Xiao agreed they would likely attend.
• Demon Phoenix suggested that if Huang Xiao defeated Chao Jue and demonstrated his strength, the Heavenly Demon Hall might accept him as a better choice to challenge Pang Yi.