Recaps

Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix fought Chen Mu, who was surprised by Huang Xiao’s unusual true qi. Huang Xiao drew on the formation eye’s Heavenly Demon Imperishable True Qi and prepared to stake everything on several powerful moves.

• Chen Mu dismissed Huang Xiao’s ability to return from the dead and challenged him as a candidate for the Demon Hall Master’s seat.
• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix attacked Chen Mu together, but Chen Mu drove Huang Xiao back and struck at Demon Phoenix.
• Demon Phoenix scattered Chen Mu’s Sword Qi and scorched his palm with a flame attack, though Chen Mu claimed the injury was minor.
• Chen Mu sensed that Huang Xiao’s true qi was unusually powerful and suspected Huo Lian had taught him a secret art.
• Huang Xiao drew in Heavenly Demon Imperishable True Qi from the formation eye and used his heart fire to refine and store it.
• Huang Xiao released only the refined Heavenly Demon Imperishable True Qi, deciding to risk using enough for several moves against Chen Mu.

Huang Xiao unleashed Huo Lian's overwhelming true qi to fight Chen Mu, briefly gaining the upper hand while his meridians were badly damaged. Demon Phoenix was gravely wounded trying to help, and Huang Xiao realized Chen Mu had used a Forbidden Art to increase his power.

• Huang Xiao forced the heavenly demon imperishable true qi through his meridians and attacked Chen Mu with a powerful saber strike.
• Huang Xiao briefly suppressed Chen Mu and cut his face, but Chen Mu forced Demon Phoenix back and wounded it.
• Huang Xiao noticed that much of the true qi in his Dantian had vanished and felt his meridians beginning to crack.
• Demon Phoenix charged Chen Mu to create an opening for Huang Xiao, but Chen Mu scattered its flames with sword strikes and left it severely injured.
• Huang Xiao saw Chen Mu's gaze and realized he had used a Forbidden Art to boost his power.

Huang Xiao battled Chen Mu, who had used a forbidden art, and discovered that borrowing heavenly demon imperishable true qi consumed his own reserves. As Chen Mu pressed his attack, Huang Xiao’s saber broke and he was wounded, but he used his footwork to surround Chen Mu with convincing phantoms.

• Chen Mu used a forbidden art and charged Huang Xiao, who chose to meet him head-on rather than risk prolonging the fight.
• Chen Mu split his sword qi into three streams, merged two into a powerful strike, and broke Huang Xiao’s damaged longsaber.
• Chen Mu thrust through the broken blade and pierced Huang Xiao’s chest, but Huang Xiao shifted aside and retreated before the sword could reach his heart.
• Huang Xiao realized that using heavenly demon imperishable true qi had consumed much of his own true qi and might eventually drain his essence blood or lifespan.
• Chen Mu attacked again, and Huang Xiao evaded his sword qi with footwork that created countless realistic phantoms, leaving Chen Mu unable to tell them apart.

Chen Mu and Huang Xiao resumed their fight after Huang Xiao used formation-assisted illusions to disarm Chen Mu and make him wary of the technique. Huang Xiao then drew on Chen Mu’s invading true qi to sustain his own, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Chen Mu attacked Huang Xiao’s illusions with Sword Qi, found the apparent true body, and cut through another phantom before Huang Xiao struck his wrist and sent his sword flying.
• Huang Xiao revealed that formations made his phantoms lifelike, then dismissed them after achieving his goal of leaving Chen Mu without his sword.
• Chen Mu and Huang Xiao exchanged blows, and Chen Mu forced Huang Xiao down with a palm strike powered by his Forbidden Art.
• As his own true qi dwindled, Huang Xiao used Northern Darkness Absorption to draw Chen Mu’s true qi into his meridians and discovered it could offset his expenditure.

Huang Xiao exploited the formation’s illusory rock to trick Chen Mu into lowering his guard and kill him. Chen Mu died after Huang Xiao crushed his heart, while Demon Phoenix remained too badly injured to intervene.

• Huang Xiao used his divine sense to distract Chen Mu and drained more of his true qi before his forbidden art ran out.
• Chen Mu sent Huang Xiao flying and kicked him onto a longsword-like rock that appeared to pierce his chest.
• Believing Huang Xiao was gravely wounded, Chen Mu approached to kill him and checked that he was real.
• Huang Xiao revealed that the rock was an illusion manifested by the formation and that he had used it to deceive Chen Mu.
• Huang Xiao crushed Chen Mu’s heart, and Chen Mu died.

After defeating Chen Mu, Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix recovered from their severe injuries and discussed how they had survived the battle. Huang Xiao acknowledged that he remained weaker than Chen Mu, while Demon Phoenix sensed that he was nearing Entering Dao Realm strength.

• Huang Xiao survived Chen Mu's final attack by deceiving him with an illusion, but suffered severe injuries, and Demon Phoenix was wounded as well.
• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix healed for ten hours, stabilizing their injuries without fully recovering.
• Huang Xiao explained that Chen Mu had been an unusually powerful Enlightenment Realm expert supported by the Pang Family and the God-Burying Hall.
• Demon Phoenix said he was close to reaching Entering Dao Realm strength, while Huang Xiao reflected that his opponents had shifted from peers to much older experts.
• Huang Xiao said he remained weaker than Hu Wei and could not match Chen Mu without Demon Phoenix's help and the Heavenly Demon Imperishable True Qi.

Huang Xiao told Demon Phoenix that fully using Heavenly Demon Imperishable True Qi had consumed much of his own true qi, prompting them to compare his method with the Patriarch’s Heavenly Demon Indestructible. He privately concluded that his Longevity Chapter might let him recover from the costs of indestructibility, while the Patriarch’s method relied on external sources.

• Demon Phoenix reassured Huang Xiao that his strength placed him among the peak experts of the Enlightenment Realm.
• Huang Xiao explained that using Heavenly Demon Imperishable True Qi at full power had drained nearly thirty percent and then forty percent of the true qi in his Dantian.
• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix considered whether the Patriarch’s Heavenly Demon Indestructible required true qi, essence blood, or lifespan as a price for reaching its full power.
• Demon Phoenix argued that the Patriarch likely relied on external sources because his realm made self-sustained indestructibility impossible.
• Huang Xiao privately connected the difference between the methods to his Longevity Chapter and decided not to reveal that insight to Demon Phoenix.

Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix finished their trial and met Huo Lian, who praised Huang Xiao’s survival and promised rewards. Huo Lian led them away from the formation, but their route grew increasingly strange and dangerous, and he revealed he was not taking them out of Mist Mountain.

• During the final three days, Huang Xiao studied the heavenly demon imperishable true qi while he and Demon Phoenix recovered from their injuries.
• Huo Lian appeared after Demon Phoenix complained about waiting and said Huang Xiao had done well to survive the trial of thirty Enlightenment Realm opponents.
• Huo Lian promised Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix rewards, then told them to leave with him immediately.
• After three days of traveling, Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix noticed they were surrounded by dangerous formations, poisonous qi, and powerful spirit beasts.
• Huo Lian told them he had never said he was taking them out of Mist Mountain.

Huo Lian led Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix deeper into Mist Mountain, explaining that their route would bring benefits and revealing that Chao Hun had reached the Dao Realm after receiving his guidance. He suggested Demon Phoenix ask his parents about a way to grow stronger without harming his future foundations, leaving Huang Xiao wondering about Huo Lian’s purpose.

• Demon Phoenix realized they had ventured deep into Mist Mountain, and Huo Lian explained that few of its divine beasts met his requirements.
• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao that the map fragment from the Mixed Demon Sect had led them to this route and that Chao Hun was still alive.
• Huo Lian revealed that he had given Chao Hun guidance and that Chao Hun had advanced from the Enlightenment Realm to the Dao Realm.
• Demon Phoenix asked how he could increase his strength safely, and Huo Lian advised him to ask his parents for help.
• Huang Xiao sensed that Huo Lian had a purpose behind his advice but could not determine what it was.

Huo Lian brought Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix to a pool filled with the mixed supreme demonic qi of successive Hall Masters and offered to teach Huang Xiao the Demon-Controlling Art. Huang Xiao learned that the art was created to help him harness the qi, though it had never been tested on anyone else.

• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix learned that Huo Lian was taking them to the place shown on the fragmentary map.
• Huo Lian led them to a bubbling black pool whose surface released dense supreme demonic qi.
• Huang Xiao sensed that the pool’s qi matched the aura Chao Hun had used and recognized it as the qi of successive Hall Masters.
• Huo Lian explained that he could not teach Huang Xiao the Supreme Demonic Art because doing so would cost him eligibility for the Hall Master's Seat and lead to his death.
• Huo Lian offered to teach Huang Xiao his own Demon-Controlling Art, designed to help Huang Xiao harness supreme demonic qi.
• Huang Xiao asked whether Pang Ji also lacked a cultivation method like the Demon-Controlling Art.

Huo Lian taught Huang Xiao the Demon-Controlling Art, which could let him control up to thirty percent of his Supreme Demonic Qi, and brought him to a place where he could cultivate. Demon Phoenix learned that it could also benefit from the Supreme Demonic Qi, though its progress was uncertain, and Huo Lian said they had at most three months there.

• Huo Lian explained that his Demon-Controlling Art could let Huang Xiao control thirty percent of his Supreme Demonic Qi, while Pang Ji's method could let Pang Yi control at most ten percent.
• Huo Lian warned Huang Xiao that the Supreme Demonic Qi in the pool was chaotic and could cause qi deviation if he rushed his cultivation.
• Huo Lian recited the Demon-Controlling Art, and Huang Xiao memorized its mental formula.
• Demon Phoenix asked for its own benefit, and Huo Lian explained that it could use the Supreme Demonic Qi to temper its body and might gain insight from the art.
• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix that they could cultivate there for at most three months, and possibly less.

Huo Lian told Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix that he had obtained Dragon Fang and would soon break the Evil Water Region’s Grand Formation, urging them to grow stronger for the coming battles. As Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix began cultivating near a pool of Supreme Demonic Qi, the pool’s power controlled Demon Phoenix and nearly pulled Huang Xiao’s essence blood from him.

• Huo Lian revealed that he had obtained Dragon Fang and said he would soon break the Evil Water Region’s Grand Formation, warning Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix to prepare for dangerous fights.
• After Huo Lian left, Huang Xiao chose to study the Demon-Controlling Art while Demon Phoenix initially considered resting, then asked Huang Xiao to teach the mental formulas again.
• Huang Xiao approached the pool of Supreme Demonic Qi, but Demon Phoenix suddenly fell into it and called for help.
• Huang Xiao pulled Demon Phoenix from the pool, and the force left his right hand numb and trembling while Demon Phoenix became weak and disoriented.
• Demon Phoenix said the pool had controlled it, and Huang Xiao recalled that an inexplicable force had tugged at him and made his essence blood tremble.

Huang Xiao learned that a strange pool filled with Supreme Demonic Qi was connected to the place where the former Demon Hall Masters slept, after it drained Demon Phoenix’s essence blood. Demon Phoenix revealed that claiming the Hall Master's Seat could bind Huang Xiao to the fate of past Hall Masters, who survived with divine-beast essence blood under the Tomb Clan’s guard.

• Demon Phoenix told Huang Xiao that the strange place had drained much of his essence blood, though he could recover, and wondered whether the place targeted divine beasts.
• Demon Phoenix recognized the place from secrets his parents had shared and warned Huang Xiao that becoming Demon Hall Master could seal his fate.
• Demon Phoenix revealed that the previous Demon Hall Masters were still alive, preserved through methods requiring divine-beast essence blood.
• Huang Xiao inferred that the pool might lead to the Hall Masters’ sleeping place, and Demon Phoenix confirmed it was connected to that place.
• Demon Phoenix warned Huang Xiao that the powerful Tomb Clan guarded the sleeping Hall Masters and could use formations to strengthen itself.

Demon Phoenix explained the Demon Hall’s Thousand-Year Period, the Tomb Clan, and the slumbering former Hall Masters to Huang Xiao. Huang Xiao realized that becoming Hall Master might subject him to the same fate and leave him caught in the Patriarch’s plans, but he ended the conversation by accepting that he had already known the Patriarch was plotting something.

• Demon Phoenix told Huang Xiao that the Tomb Clan could emerge only briefly during the Thousand-Year Period and that the Demon Hall’s greatest force came from its slumbering former Hall Masters.
• Demon Phoenix recounted how Huo Lian fought the former Hall Masters and Tomb Clan experts, then escaped the Land of Slumber after both sides negotiated peace.
• Huang Xiao learned that becoming Hall Master would likely mean entering the Land of Slumber unless he could follow Huo Lian’s example.
• Demon Phoenix suggested that the Patriarch might be grooming Huang Xiao to become Hall Master so he could accomplish something during his period of unrivaled strength.
• Huang Xiao questioned who could control him if he became invincible, then concluded that the new revelations changed little because he already suspected the Patriarch was scheming.

Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix accepted that they would have to resist the Patriarch and the Demon Hall, then Huang Xiao studied the auras in the Supreme Demonic Qi before attempting the Demon Harnessing Art. His heart fire suddenly left his body, drawn out by an unknown force.

• Huang Xiao told Demon Phoenix that he would send Pang Yi to his death to gain strength and avoid dying, and Demon Phoenix agreed they were fellow sufferers who would fight for freedom together.
• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix promised to trust each other as brothers and prepared to cultivate near the pool.
• Huang Xiao sensed eight distinct auras in the Supreme Demonic Qi, including the Patriarch's, but could not find a ninth.
• Demon Phoenix suggested that one former Hall Master had died, and Huang Xiao accepted the explanation and began trying the Demon Harnessing Art.
• Huang Xiao drew in a strand of Supreme Demonic Qi and activated his heart fire, but the fire broke free and surged out of his body without harming him.

Huang Xiao discovered that his Heart Fire was drawn to a hidden ninth strand of Supreme Demonic Qi and tried to absorb it, but the contact knocked him unconscious. Demon Phoenix pulled him to safety, and Huang Xiao woke in severe pain, relieved to still be alive.

• Huang Xiao sensed a ninth strand of Supreme Demonic Qi concealed within the other eight strands, and realized it resonated with his Heart Fire.
• Huang Xiao tried to draw the gentle, responsive strand of Supreme Demonic Qi into himself, but collapsed unconscious when it touched his body.
• Demon Phoenix used Commanding Heaven and Earth Momentum to pull Huang Xiao away from the pool, exhausting itself in the process.
• After half an hour, Huang Xiao woke, unable to rise because his body was in pain and weak, and said he had thought he was done for.

Huang Xiao told Demon Phoenix that a deadly ninth aura of Supreme Demonic Qi had nearly killed him, and explained how his heart fire had restrained it. He then revealed his connection to the Longevity and Imperishability Scripture and the Longevity Chapter he found at Dragon Mountain, leaving Demon Phoenix excited but resolved to keep the secret.

• Demon Phoenix asked what had happened, and Huang Xiao explained that the ninth aura of Supreme Demonic Qi had overwhelmed his Imperishable True Qi until his heart fire stabilized it.
• Huang Xiao described heart fire as a flame produced with essence blood and said it could refine Supreme Demonic Qi.
• Huang Xiao connected his heart fire to the Demon Hall first Hall Master's imperishability cultivation method and revealed that he had discovered the Longevity Chapter at Dragon Mountain.
• Huang Xiao told Demon Phoenix that the real treasure in Dragon Mountain's Grand Formation might have been the Longevity and Imperishability Scripture, and recounted how he found the chapter.
• Demon Phoenix promised to keep Huang Xiao's discovery secret, celebrated their trust as brothers, and asked to test Huang Xiao's heart fire, but Huang Xiao said he was too weak to unleash it.

Huang Xiao failed to control eight strands of Supreme Demonic Qi with the Demon-Controlling Art, then theorized that the dangerous ninth strand belonged to the First Hall Master and contained the true Imperishable True Qi. Demon Phoenix agreed that Huang Xiao’s Longevity Chapter might let him resonate with and eventually control it, leaving the two focused on the chance to perfect his cultivation.

• Huang Xiao explained that the ninth strand of Supreme Demonic Qi had injured his meridians and Divine Sense, though its resonance with his heart fire made him think it might be controllable.
• Huang Xiao and Demon Phoenix spent five days studying the Demon-Controlling Art, with Huang Xiao testing the eight strands while Demon Phoenix used a trace of Qi to temper his body.
• Huang Xiao reported that he could borrow the eight strands but could not control them, and he doubted he could master the art within three months.
• Huang Xiao suggested that the ninth strand was the First Hall Master’s Supreme Demonic Qi, explaining that it had overwhelmed his Imperishable True Qi.
• Demon Phoenix agreed that Huang Xiao’s Longevity Chapter might resonate with the First Hall Master’s Imperishable True Qi and urged him to seize the chance to master it.

Huang Xiao used his heart fire to safely draw the first Hall Master's indestructible supreme demonic qi into his dantian, but could not refine it into his own true qi. He concluded that the Imperishability Chapter was preventing the refinement.

• Huang Xiao discussed the first Hall Master's aura with Demon Phoenix and prepared to try harnessing it again.
• Huang Xiao used his heart fire to stabilize the indestructible supreme demonic qi and guide a tiny strand into his dantian.
• Huang Xiao repeatedly tempered the strand with heart fire but could not extract any essence blood from it.
• Huang Xiao refined ordinary supreme demonic qi and collected three drops of essence blood from it.
• Huang Xiao used the essence blood to summon stronger heart fire, but the first Hall Master's true qi kept reverting to its original aura whenever it began to change toward his own.
• Huang Xiao concluded that the Imperishability Chapter was preventing him from refining the true qi.

Huang Xiao refined a wisp of the First Hall Master's indestructible supreme demonic qi with heart fire fueled by essence blood, but found he still could not command it through the Demon-Controlling Art. When his own heart fire merged with the refined qi, he sensed a faint new feeling of control.

• Huang Xiao burned the indestructible supreme demonic qi with heart fire kindled by successive drops of former Hall Masters' essence blood, refining it after using twenty-seven drops.
• Huang Xiao dispersed his heart fire and confirmed the refined qi remained quietly in his dantian, then channeled it into a powerful palm strike that startled Demon Phoenix.
• Huang Xiao told Demon Phoenix that refining the First Hall Master's qi had taken nine times as much heart fire as refining other supreme demonic qi.
• Huang Xiao refined another wisp and tried the Demon-Controlling Art, but discovered he could borrow its power without truly commanding it.
• Huang Xiao introduced his own heart fire to the refined qi, and the two merged, giving him a faint sense of control.

Huang Xiao used heart fire to harness the indestructible supreme demonic qi, then discovered he could also use it to harness another kind of supreme demonic qi. After testing the second strand, he found he could release about fifteen percent of its power, leaving him with a way to conceal his heart fire from Old Demon.

• Huang Xiao spent nine drops of essence blood to merge heart fire into the indestructible supreme demonic qi and gained control of the strand.
• Huang Xiao circulated the qi through his meridians and punched the pool, unleashing about one-tenth of its power without injuring himself.
• Huang Xiao told Demon Phoenix he had succeeded, and Demon Phoenix warned him that Old Demon might notice the heart fire behind his ability.
• Huang Xiao refined another kind of supreme demonic qi and merged heart fire into it, using three drops of essence blood.
• Huang Xiao tested the second strand and found he could harness around fifteen percent of its power.

Huang Xiao let Demon Phoenix test his Heart Fire, and it gradually refined and strengthened the phoenix’s flames. The chapter left Demon Phoenix eager for more as it demonstrated the newly improved fire from its wing.

• Demon Phoenix asked Huang Xiao to let it experience his Heart Fire, and Huang Xiao released a strand for it to swallow.
• Huang Xiao calmed the Heart Fire as it resisted, allowing Demon Phoenix to merge it into its flames.
• Demon Phoenix discovered that the Heart Fire’s remnants were refining its flames, making them more condensed and powerful.
• Demon Phoenix urged Huang Xiao to produce more Heart Fire and swallowed several strands.
• After refining the additional Heart Fire, Demon Phoenix extended its right wing and produced a cluster of flames.

Huang Xiao used his heart fire to refine Demon Phoenix’s flames, making them more powerful despite their weaker aura. While Huang Xiao recovered, Demon Phoenix discovered that the refined flames let him use Supreme Demonic Qi to temper his body more easily, and wondered how his parents were doing.

• Demon Phoenix showed Huang Xiao that his heart-fire-refined flame had a weaker aura but greater power than his original flame.
• Demon Phoenix urged Huang Xiao to prioritize mastering the Demon-Controlling Art, but Huang Xiao insisted on refining all of Demon Phoenix’s flames once.
• Huang Xiao used much of his essence blood to kindle heart fire, and Demon Phoenix refined his flames while Huang Xiao began recovering with Imperishable True Qi.
• Demon Phoenix studied the Demon-Controlling Art and found that his refined flames let him draw in Supreme Demonic Qi and temper his body with much less effort.
• Demon Phoenix continued tempering his body and flames, then wondered whether his parents had accomplished what they set out to do.

Demon Phoenix’s parents searched Mist Mountain for the Divine Beast Holy Land, hoping to find a way to save their child, but a formation pulled them unconscious. Elsewhere, strange beasts gathered beneath a platform and questioned a dragon-horned Third Elder about why they had been summoned.

• Female Phoenix and Male Phoenix discussed their dwindling strength, their doubts about the Holy Land, and the possibility that Huo Lian was secretly following them.
• Male Phoenix sensed Divine Beast auras ahead, and he and Female Phoenix advanced toward them, hoping to find clues about the Holy Land.
• A formation drew both Phoenixes in and knocked them unconscious after Male Phoenix realized the faint auras had leaked through it.
• Strange beasts gathered in a hidden place in Mist Mountain, where a dragon-horned Third Elder appeared on a platform.
• The gathered beasts asked the Third Elder when the four clan chiefs would arrive and whether recent fluctuations in the Grand Formation signaled a major upheaval.

The Third Elder gathered the strange beasts while four clan leaders examined Hong Yi, whose body was surging with powerful Dragon Qi. Eldest Brother revealed that the Dragon Vein had returned, and the group speculated that the First Demon Hall Master might still be alive after taking the Soaring Immortal Grass.

• The Third Elder silenced the strange beasts and told them the Four Clan Chiefs would arrive shortly to make an important announcement.
• Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, and Fourth Younger Sister examined Hong Yi on a Dragon Jade Bed and discussed how it was suppressing the aura inside him.
• Eldest Brother announced that he could feel the Dragon Vein had returned, though the sealed Soaring Immortal Land prevented them from investigating.
• Second Brother suggested that someone from the Demon Hall had undone the seal, and Eldest Brother said the First Demon Hall Master might have survived by using the Soaring Immortal Grass he had seized.
• Junior Sister wondered why Senior Immortal Alchemist had used the Soaring Immortal Fruit to make Longevity Pills instead of consuming the grass and fruit himself.