Chapter Summaries

Zuo Qiu Shu and Old Fan discussed their recovery and the dangers awaiting them, while Du Fuzhou left convinced the Demon Spirit Sect’s fortunes were rising. Meanwhile, Huang Xiao returned toward the Heavenly Demon Hall and was met by its disciples outside Liangzhou.

• Old Fan reminded Zuo Qiu Shu that Du Fuzhou’s Longevity Pill had helped them awaken, and Zuo Qiu Shu postponed rewarding Du Fuzhou until she had recovered.
• Du Fuzhou left the forbidden area, ordered guards to keep people away, and resolved to prepare for his Ancestor’s emergence.
• Old Fan said he wanted to meet Huo Lian, reclaim the Three Evil Blades, and see the remaining descendants of the Three Great Families; Zuo Qiu Shu urged him to recover longer before leaving.
• Huang Xiao headed back to the Heavenly Demon Hall to learn whether the Hall Master had returned and whether reinforcements had arrived.
• Wu Cang, Yin Huju, Liu Jiong, and a large group of Heavenly Demon Hall disciples waited for Huang Xiao ten li outside the hall.

Huang Xiao returned safely to the Heavenly Demon Hall and learned that Shi Hen was considering who should lead it. Shi Hen named Huang Xiao as the best choice for Hall Master, leaving him surprised but facing the role as part of his preparation to manage the Demon Hall.

• Huang Xiao returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall, where Wu Cang explained that Shi Hen had been there and that Fan Liya was being held.
• Huang Xiao told Wu Cang, Yin Huju, and Liu Jiong that Fan Liya deserved to die, though they agreed Shi Hen would decide his fate.
• Huang Xiao entered the main hall alone and found Shi Hen seated beside the Hall Master's throne.
• Shi Hen said he wanted someone suitable to occupy the Hall Master's seat because Zhu Xing E lacked the strength to protect Huang Xiao.
• Shi Hen pointed to Huang Xiao as the best choice for Hall Master and explained that serving as a hall master would prepare Hall Master Candidates to command the entire Demon Hall.

Shi Hen explained that Huang Xiao would manage a hall to prepare for becoming Demon Hall Master and reassured him that the Supreme Ghost Stele was unlikely to draw attacks from most powers. He decided to stay at the Heavenly Demon Hall to protect Huang Xiao, who remained focused on securing his own strength and preparing for the contest for Hall Master.

• Shi Hen explained that managing a hall would help Huang Xiao learn to command subordinates and adapt to his future role as Demon Hall Master.
• Huang Xiao told Shi Hen that the Hall Master had suggested he go to the Main Hall for safety because the Heavenly Demon Hall lacked experts and he possessed the Supreme Ghost Stele.
• Shi Hen said most powers would avoid targeting the Supreme Ghost Stele because it offered them little benefit and would provoke the Demon Hall, the Hall Master, and Feng He.
• Huang Xiao decided to remain at the Heavenly Demon Hall, intending to use the Supreme Ghost Stele to reach Ghost Capital and awaken Ghost Spirit Sect experts.
• Shi Hen chose to stay at the Heavenly Demon Hall and have the Hidden Demon Guard report there, while warning Huang Xiao not to underestimate the old fellows joining forces.
• Huang Xiao recognized that the Pang Family would obstruct him if he became Demon Hall Master, just as its influence had caused trouble during the Patriarch's tenure.

Huang Xiao discussed the Blood Exhaustion Method’s weakness with Shi Hen and considered how to use Pang Yi’s possible misjudgment to his advantage in the contest for Hall Master. He also learned Shi Hen planned to exploit Fan Liya’s captivity, then recounted the struggle for the Longevity Pill on Mist Mountain.

• Shi Hen warned Huang Xiao that Pang Ji might discover the Blood Exhaustion Method’s flaw and that Pang Yi could exploit it in a prolonged fight.
• Huang Xiao explained that Feng He had hinted at a weakness in front of Pang Ji but had not revealed its specifics.
• Huang Xiao privately decided to keep the method’s flaw secret and potentially mislead Pang Yi, while concealing the Longevity Chapter.
• Shi Hen said he would keep Fan Liya imprisoned to extract benefits and suggested Huang Xiao study his Ghost Dao aura for insight into the Blood Exhaustion Method’s aftereffects.
• Huang Xiao told Shi Hen about the struggle for the Longevity Pill on Mist Mountain, and Shi Hen remarked that Huang Xiao had been lucky to touch it.

Shi Hen announced Huang Xiao as the new Heavenly Demon Hall Master after dismissing Zhu Xing E. Huang Xiao accepted the position, then entered seclusion to study the Longevity Pill's aura and the heart fire method.

• Huang Xiao told Shi Hen that the Longevity Pill's aura had helped him survive his encounter with Chao Hun.
• Shi Hen summoned the Heavenly Demon Hall and announced that Zhu Xing E had been relieved of his position as Hall Master.
• Shi Hen appointed Huang Xiao as the new Heavenly Demon Hall Master, and Wu Cang, Yin Huju, Liu Jiong, and the other disciples paid their respects.
• Huang Xiao took the Hall Master's throne and left the inauguration arrangements to Wu Cang and the others.
• Huang Xiao entered seclusion to study the Longevity Pill's aura, the body's acupoints, and the heart fire method in the Longevity Chapter.

Huang Xiao repeatedly tried to temper his acupoints with Heart Fire, but each attempt shattered his acupoints and ruptured his meridians, forcing him to spend much of the Longevity Pill’s aura on recovery. After five days in seclusion, he emerged and agreed to hold his Enthronement Ceremony the next day, then asked who had arrived from the Main Hall and the Ten Thousand Demons Hall.

• Huang Xiao used Heart Fire to temper his acupoints, but his acupoints shattered and his meridians ruptured before the Longevity Pill’s aura repaired them.
• Huang Xiao repeated the dangerous experiment over a hundred times, consuming more than half the Longevity Pill’s aura without mastering the technique.
• Huang Xiao recognized that his impatience was worsening his state of mind and left the secret chamber to calm himself.
• Wu Cang told Huang Xiao that he had been in seclusion for five days and that preparations for the Enthronement Ceremony were complete.
• Huang Xiao agreed to hold the ceremony the next day, and Wu Cang reported that guests from the Main Hall and the Ten Thousand Demons Hall were waiting with Lord Shi.

After becoming Heavenly Demon Hall Master, Huang Xiao met with senior leaders who discussed his growing strength and the coming contest with Pang Yi for the Demon Hall Master’s Seat. Chu Fanyin decided to resign as Ten Thousand Demons Hall Master and join the Hidden Demon Guard, while Huang Xiao confirmed his accession ceremony would take place the next day.

• Huang Xiao visited Shi Hen and greeted Shi Hen, Liu Tengfan, and Chu Fanyin, who treated him as a fellow hall master but accepted seniority over status.
• Shi Hen and Liu Tengfan urged Huang Xiao to consolidate his strength and warned that Pang Yi and Pang Ji remained serious opponents in the contest for Hall Master.
• Chu Fanyin said he would resign as Ten Thousand Demons Hall Master and asked Shi Hen to let him join the Hidden Demon Guard, and Shi Hen welcomed him.
• Huang Xiao told Liu Tengfan that his accession ceremony had been set for the next day, and Liu Tengfan said he hoped to witness Huang Xiao become Demon Hall Master in the future.
• After Liu Tengfan and Chu Fanyin left, Shi Hen asked Huang Xiao whether he had questions about his cultivation method.

Huang Xiao asked Shi Hen about weakening an opponent’s true qi with sound arts, and learned that Shi Hen had created Sound Art Qi Transformation. Shi Hen agreed to teach it despite its dangers, then demonstrated how it weakened Huang Xiao’s punch by at least eighty percent.

• Huang Xiao asked Shi Hen whether Sound Art Qi Control could weaken an opponent’s true qi, and Shi Hen said it was possible but much harder than strengthening one’s own.
• Shi Hen revealed that he had recently created Sound Art Qi Transformation, and Huang Xiao knelt and asked to learn it.
• Shi Hen warned Huang Xiao that the art was extremely difficult and dangerous, but agreed to teach him because the aura of the Longevity Pill could help keep him alive.
• Shi Hen took Huang Xiao to a secret chamber and asked him to attack, then used Sound Art Qi Transformation to weaken Huang Xiao’s true qi.
• Huang Xiao’s punch lost at least eighty percent of its force before Shi Hen blocked it, and Huang Xiao marveled at the art’s power.

Shi Hen taught Huang Xiao about Sound Art Qi Transformation and its relationship to Sound Art Qi Control, then gave him the technique’s mental formulas. Huang Xiao’s first attempt injured him, but the Longevity Pill’s aura quickly restored him, and he decided to keep practicing despite the risk.

• Shi Hen explained that Sound Art Qi Control could counter Sound Art Qi Transformation and let Huang Xiao experience the weakening technique in combat.
• Huang Xiao used Sound Art Qi Control against Shi Hen’s Sound Art Qi Transformation and gradually overcame its effects.
• Shi Hen taught Huang Xiao the mental formulas for Sound Art Qi Transformation after Huang Xiao shared his insights.
• Huang Xiao tried circulating the technique, spat blood, and suffered uncontrolled true qi that battered his meridians.
• The Longevity Pill’s aura rapidly stabilized Huang Xiao, and Shi Hen warned that he might need to give up once its restorative power ran out.
• Huang Xiao resolved to keep practicing, believing the effort would deepen his understanding of Sound Art Qi Control and help him face Dao Realm experts.

Huang Xiao completed his grand Enthronement Ceremony as Hall Master of the Heavenly Demon Hall, while Pang Yi was enthroned in the God-Burying Hall on the same day. Shi Hen revealed that Pang Yi had used the Ten-Thousand Interception Method to suppress his strength to the Half-Step Martial Realm, leaving the others to wonder how powerful he would become if he unleashed it.

• Shi Hen warned Huang Xiao to conserve the Longevity Pill’s aura, and Huang Xiao said he would postpone cultivating Sound Art Qi Transformation until after the ceremony.
• Huang Xiao completed his Enthronement Ceremony with Shi Hen, Liu Tengfan, and Chu Fanyin in attendance.
• Wu Cang reported that Pang Yi had also been enthroned as Hall Master of the God-Burying Hall that day.
• Chu Fanyin discussed how the Ten Thousand Demons Hall’s Hall Master Candidate compared poorly with Huang Xiao and Pang Yi.
• Shi Hen said Pang Yi’s strength was very weak because he had cultivated the Ten-Thousand Interception Method, which suppressed him to the Half-Step Martial Realm.
• Liu Tengfan and Chu Fanyin concluded that Pang Yi could rise to at least the Dao Realm if he unleashed his strength.

Shi Hen explained that Pang Yi’s Ten-Thousand Interception Method might let him reach Shattering-Void Realm strength, so Huang Xiao made that his goal for their coming contest. As Shi Hen reflected on his long life, he revealed that Sound Art was the reason he had lived so long.

• Huang Xiao asked whether Pang Yi could use the Ten-Thousand Interception Method to reach Shattering-Void Realm strength, and Shi Hen said they had to prepare for that possibility.
• Shi Hen urged Huang Xiao to aim for Shattering-Void Realm strength, and Huang Xiao firmly accepted the challenge.
• Liu Tengfan reflected that his generation was nearing the end of its time in the Jianghu, while Shi Hen said he hoped to live long enough to see the Thousand-Year Period.
• Liu Tengfan asked how Shi Hen had lived for over a thousand years, and Shi Hen revealed that his longevity was connected to Sound Art.

Shi Hen explained that Sound Art Qi Control had strengthened his body and prolonged his life through a thousand years of steady practice. He urged Huang Xiao to survive and use the method to build strength, then Huang Xiao tried it in his secret chamber and felt its effect on his first attempt.

• Shi Hen revealed that he had created a new Sound Art cultivation method and planned to combine it with Sound Art Qi Control.
• Shi Hen explained that Sound Art Qi Control resonated with his body, healed hidden injuries, and gradually increased his lifespan and strength.
• Shi Hen told Huang Xiao that survival and time could overcome talent, and advised him to practice Sound Art Qi Control whenever possible.
• Shi Hen agreed to guide Huang Xiao while staying at the Heavenly Demon Hall, whose allies hoped Huang Xiao would compete for the Hall Master's Seat.
• Huang Xiao tried Sound Art Qi Control in his secret chamber and detected the body-strengthening sensation on his first attempt.

Huang Xiao struggled to cultivate Sound Art Qi Control and reflected on the limited time he had to prepare for his life-or-death Hall Master Contest against Pang Yi. After days of comparing the technique with Sound Art Qi Transformation, he crossed the latter’s threshold but knew it was not yet strong enough for combat.

• Huang Xiao maintained Sound Art Qi Control for three shichen before fatigue forced him to stop, and he realized how demanding it was on his divine sense.
• Huang Xiao considered Senior Shi’s formidable divine sense and the potential power of combining divine sense attacks with Sound Art.
• Huang Xiao worried that he had too little time to master his cultivation methods before the Hall Master Contest, while Pang Yi continued building strength with the Pang Family’s support.
• Huang Xiao began studying Sound Art Qi Transformation and conserved his Longevity Pill’s aura by relying on Imperishable True Qi to recover from his injuries.
• After several days of comparing Sound Art Qi Control with Sound Art Qi Transformation, Huang Xiao crossed the latter’s threshold and decided to find someone to practice with.

Huang Xiao sought a strong sparring partner to test Sound Art Qi Transformation, and Shi Hen agreed to prepare Fan Liya for the role. After setting up a formation that kept Fan Liya from attacking anyone outside it, Shi Hen brought Huang Xiao to confront him.

• Huang Xiao found that the disciples he used for practice were too weak and badly injured, so he chose the imprisoned Fan Liya as a sparring partner.
• Wu Cang, Yin Huju, and Liu Jiong warned Huang Xiao about the risks, and Huang Xiao decided to consult Shi Hen.
• Shi Hen approved the plan and took Huang Xiao to Fan Liya's secluded courtyard, explaining how to pass through its existing formations.
• Shi Hen spent two hours setting up a formation that prevented Fan Liya from attacking anyone outside it, allowing Huang Xiao to practice from a safe distance.
• Shi Hen entered Fan Liya's room and offered him a chance to stretch his limbs, enraging Fan Liya, whose acupoints remained sealed.

Shi Hen brought Fan Liya to a formation and restored his ability to move so Huang Xiao could practice his sound art on him. Fan Liya realized Huang Xiao’s technique weakened true qi and began plotting to exploit him if Shi Hen left.

• Fan Liya refused to serve as Huang Xiao’s sparring partner, but Shi Hen moved him into a formation prepared for Huang Xiao.
• Shi Hen unsealed Fan Liya’s acupoints, restoring his strength, and told Huang Xiao to begin practicing.
• Huang Xiao used Sound Art Qi Transformation from outside the formation, and Fan Liya felt his true qi being affected.
• Fan Liya recognized that Huang Xiao’s sound art could weaken true qi and hoped to use Huang Xiao against Shi Hen if he got the chance.

Shi Hen trapped Fan Liya in a formation so Huang Xiao could practice Sound Art Qi Transformation without being attacked. Huang Xiao repeatedly trained and recovered from the backlash, steadily increasing his endurance while Fan Liya's taunts faded.

• Fan Liya secretly attacked Huang Xiao, but Shi Hen's formation blocked the strike and revealed that Shi Hen had anticipated the attempt.
• Shi Hen explained that the formation was designed to protect Huang Xiao, then left Fan Liya as Huang Xiao's sparring partner and warned him not to try escaping.
• Huang Xiao began practicing Sound Art Qi Transformation while Fan Liya threatened and mocked him.
• Huang Xiao endured the technique's backlash by recovering with Imperishable True Qi and repeatedly resuming his practice.
• Fan Liya noticed Huang Xiao's sessions lengthening from two hours to four and his breaks shrinking, so he gradually stopped taunting him.

Fan Liya secretly studied Shi Hen’s formation and, after Shi Hen went into seclusion, offered to cooperate with Huang Xiao’s cultivation in exchange for seeing the Supreme Ghost Stele. Huang Xiao agreed to bring it the next day, while Fan Liya planned to seize him and use him to force Shi Hen to release him.

• Fan Liya probed Shi Hen’s formation but failed to break through, and Shi Hen discovered traces of his attempt when he came to check it two days later.
• Shi Hen praised Huang Xiao’s progress, confirmed the formation was effective, and went into seclusion to study Sound Art Qi Transformation.
• After Shi Hen had been gone for three days, Fan Liya decided to use his ability to send force through the formation to take Huang Xiao hostage.
• Fan Liya offered to cooperate with Huang Xiao’s cultivation if Huang Xiao let him see the Supreme Ghost Stele.
• Huang Xiao agreed to bring the stele the next day, and Fan Liya resumed studying the formation while planning to seize the stele and force Shi Hen to free him.

Huang Xiao brought the Supreme Ghost Stele to Fan Liya, hoping to learn about its power while guarding against Fan Liya’s schemes. Fan Liya suddenly attacked through the formation and pierced Huang Xiao’s chest, leaving Huang Xiao gravely wounded.

• Huang Xiao retrieved the Supreme Ghost Stele and Feng He's cultivation manuals and pills, intending to use them to tempt Fan Liya.
• Huang Xiao considered whether the Supreme Ghost Stele could let him control Fan Liya and other Ghost Spirit Sect practitioners, but worried Fan Liya might use it against him.
• The next day, Huang Xiao showed Fan Liya the Supreme Ghost Stele, and Fan Liya openly admitted that he wanted it.
• Fan Liya suddenly sent a blast of force through the formation, pierced Huang Xiao's chest, and declared that he had put up with him long enough.

Huang Xiao tried to resist Fan Liya’s control while the Longevity Pill’s aura healed his injuries, but Fan Liya demanded that he summon Shi Hen to remove the formation. After Huang Xiao launched a divine sense attack, Fan Liya struck back and overwhelmed his sea of consciousness.

• Huang Xiao tried to escape, but Fan Liya’s force pinned him against the formation.
• Fan Liya demanded that Huang Xiao call Shi Hen and have him remove the formation, while Huang Xiao continued struggling with his techniques.
• Fan Liya discovered Huang Xiao’s meridians were severed and battered his flesh, but the Longevity Pill’s aura rapidly repaired the damage.
• Huang Xiao attacked Fan Liya with his divine sense, briefly making him dizzy, but Fan Liya crushed the assault and counterattacked.
• Huang Xiao roused his heart fire to defend his sea of consciousness, but Fan Liya’s divine sense attack remained too powerful.

Huang Xiao escaped the destruction of his divine sense by hiding most of it inside the Supreme Ghost Stele, but Fan Liya pursued him into the Ghost Spirit Sect’s treasure. The chapter ended as Huang Xiao stopped resisting and a mysterious aura surrounded Fan Liya’s divine sense.

• Fan Liya attacked Huang Xiao’s divine sense, intending to cripple him and anger Shi Hen.
• Huang Xiao sent most of his divine sense into the Supreme Ghost Stele, though the portion left behind was annihilated.
• Fan Liya recognized the Supreme Ghost Stele and pursued Huang Xiao’s hidden divine sense inside it.
• Fan Liya confronted Huang Xiao in the stele and claimed it was his territory.
• Huang Xiao abandoned his resistance and scattered his divine sense, then told Fan Liya he would show him whose territory it was.
• A mysterious aura appeared around Fan Liya’s divine sense.