Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao tried to keep Pang Ji absorbed in the stone door relief so he would not discover the Supreme Demonic Qi and the memory images. After Pang Ji claimed the relief for himself, the group left the chamber, where Huo Lian challenged his control over it.

• Huang Xiao used the relief to distract Pang Ji, hoping to keep him from noticing its connection to the Supreme Demonic Qi and from gaining access to the memory images.
• Pang Ji decided to keep others out of the chamber until the Hall Master Contest so he could study the relief alone.
• When time was up, Pang Ji, Huang Xiao, and Shi Hen left the chamber without any visible treasures, and Huang Xiao said they had found only an unusual relief.
• Huo Lian asked whether Pang Ji would let the Demon Hall study the relief, and Pang Ji said he would share it only after he had unraveled its secrets.
• Pang Ji told Huo Lian he could ask Huang Xiao or Shi Hen to describe or copy the relief, prompting the Formation Masters to agree that Pang Ji was qualified to study it first.

Huang Xiao returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall with Huo Lian and Shi Hen after Pang Ji claimed the Stone Gate Relief and made it a forbidden ground of the Demon Hall. In a secret chamber, Huang Xiao revealed that the relief’s carvings were not the true opportunity, but he left its real location unexplained.

• Pang Ji refused to give up the Stone Gate Relief, taunted Huo Lian, and declared the site a forbidden ground of the Demon Hall.
• Huo Lian took Huang Xiao and Shi Hen back to the Heavenly Demon Hall, where Wu Cang and the others were surprised to see Huang Xiao return.
• Huo Lian and Shi Hen asked Huang Xiao about his four years inside the formation and the progress he had made.
• Huang Xiao confirmed that the Stone Gate Relief was an extraordinary treasure but said its carvings were not the true opportunity.

Huang Xiao explained that the relief in the secret chamber was only a lead to a hidden secret unlocked by a large amount of Supreme Demonic Qi. He concealed that the Supreme Demon Wall had revealed it, using the Demonized Divine Beast Core as his explanation, and left Shi Hen focused on keeping Pang Ji from discovering the truth.

• Huang Xiao told Shi Hen and Huo Lian that Pang Ji had mistaken the relief's carvings for the chamber's treasure and that the real opportunity lay elsewhere.
• Huang Xiao claimed the Demonized Divine Beast Core contained the Supreme Demonic Qi that had let him discover the secret, while Huo Lian recognized and silently supported his cover story.
• Shi Hen praised Huang Xiao for fooling Pang Ji, and Huang Xiao credited Huo Lian for helping keep the box's secret safe.
• Huang Xiao explained that the relief was merely a lead and that Pang Ji lacked enough Supreme Demonic Qi to unlock the hidden secret on his own.
• Shi Hen pointed out that Pang Ji could use a treasure or the Supreme Demon Wall to obtain the required Qi, and Huang Xiao said he hoped Pang Ji would remain fixated on the relief.

Huang Xiao explained that Supreme Demonic Qi revealed memories left by the First Hall Master, including scenes from the battle between the Supreme Demon Saber and the Xuanyuan Sword. He concluded that the First Hall Master had survived that ancient battle, leaving Huo Lian to reconsider the Immortal Alchemist’s words.

• Huo Lian reasoned that Pang Ji would waste time studying the relief because he believed it held Kui Yong’s supreme treasure, while Shi Hen noted that Huang Xiao had outmaneuvered Pang Ji.
• Huang Xiao told Huo Lian and Shi Hen that Supreme Demonic Qi activated the relief and revealed the First Hall Master’s memories, including events from Ancient Times.
• Huang Xiao described images of the battle in which the Supreme Demon Saber and the Xuanyuan Sword were both severely damaged, and asked who had lived the longest in the Jianghu.
• Huo Lian identified Xuan Tu as the oldest, but Huang Xiao argued that the First Hall Master had survived the ancient battle and had slept for countless years after being gravely wounded.
• Huo Lian reflected that the First Hall Master’s account explained some of the words the Immortal Alchemist had left behind.

Huang Xiao demonstrated his powerful Heavenly Demon Skill cultivation to Huo Lian and Shi Hen, then explained how he had simplified and refined his moves during four years of observation. The chapter ended with Shi Hen preparing to test Huang Xiao’s techniques in a brief exchange.

• Huo Lian and Shi Hen discussed the Immortal Alchemist’s disappearance, the ancient war, and the possibility of a future upheaval before turning to the Hall Master’s Seat contest.
• Huang Xiao released his aura and showed that he had mastered the Twelfth Stage of the Heavenly Demon Skill, with true qi stronger than expected.
• Huo Lian and Shi Hen attributed Huang Xiao’s enhanced strength to the supreme demonic qi from the Demonized Divine Beast Core and the Supreme Demon Wall.
• Huang Xiao said he had not learned new moves but had removed unnecessary complexity and refined his techniques after observing the memory images.
• Shi Hen eagerly offered to exchange a few moves with Huang Xiao so they could judge his improvements.

Huang Xiao sparred with Shi Hen and demonstrated how much his moves had improved, even forcing Shi Hen to use his feet. He offered to draw the many Memory Images of Kui Yong that he remembered, potentially allowing Huo Lian and Shi Hen to study them and strengthen themselves against Pang Ji.

• Huang Xiao attacked Shi Hen with his refined moves, which concealed the mysteries of formations and pressured Shi Hen into using both hands.
• Shi Hen stopped the spar after Huang Xiao forced him to kick, and he praised Huang Xiao's progress while reminding him that Pang Yi remained his main goal.
• Huo Lian and Shi Hen discussed how Kui Yong's Memory Images could reveal a vast range of moves and might greatly improve Pang Ji if he discovered their secrets.
• Huang Xiao offered to turn the Memory Images in his mind into pictures for Huo Lian and Shi Hen to examine.
• Huang Xiao said his experience with painting meant he could likely draw the images with about ninety-percent resemblance.

Huang Xiao told Huo Lian and Shi Hen about his improvements over the past four years, including mastering the fourth stage of Heavenly Demon Disintegration and making progress with Shi Hen’s sound arts. Huo Lian judged Huang Xiao’s strength likely sufficient to face Pang Yi, though the contest for the Demon Hall Master’s Seat still lay ahead.

• Huo Lian said Huang Xiao’s understanding of Kui Yong’s Memory Images might be enough to reveal useful insights, and Huang Xiao admitted his reconstruction could be less than seventy percent accurate.
• Huang Xiao said he had mastered the fourth stage of Heavenly Demon Disintegration and could withstand its damage because his Indestructible Cultivation Method had become better at healing injuries.
• Huo Lian explained that Huang Xiao’s healing ability resembled the Longevity Chapter, then praised him for exceeding expectations by mastering the fourth stage.
• Huang Xiao said he had reached his limit, and Huo Lian estimated that the stage’s twenty-sevenfold increase in internal power should be enough against Pang Yi.
• Shi Hen and Huo Lian discussed Pang Yi’s possible forbidden arts and agreed that the Ten-Thousand Interception Method alone might not overcome Huang Xiao’s strength.
• Huang Xiao said he had also made progress in Shi Hen’s Sound Art Qi Control and Sound Art Qi Transformation, pleasing Shi Hen.

Huang Xiao learned that his strength could match an expert newly advanced to the Shattering-Void Realm, while Huo Lian and Shi Hen urged him to stay humble and keep progressing. He asked about Pang Yi, whose strength remained unknown, and was encouraged to defeat him and claim the Hall Master's Seat.

• Huo Lian estimated that Huang Xiao could exchange blows with someone who had just entered the Shattering-Void Realm, and Huang Xiao accepted the assessment.
• Shi Hen and Huo Lian compared Huang Xiao’s talent with their own younger selves and cautioned him that future achievements mattered more than early strength.
• Huo Lian and Shi Hen discussed Pang Ji’s rise after losing to Huo Lian and reflected on how the Demon Hall and Jianghu had changed over time.
• Huang Xiao asked about Pang Yi, and Shi Hen said Pang Yi had remained with Pang Ji for over four years, leaving no one else able to observe his strength.
• Huo Lian said Pang Yi was likely still in the Dao Realm, and Shi Hen encouraged Huang Xiao to defeat him and win the Hall Master’s Seat.

Huang Xiao learned that the Hall Master's contest could begin within three months, as Huo Lian warned him about the Pang Family's ambitions and the likely return of Kui Yong. After Shi Hen left, Huo Lian began explaining the purpose and cost of the Hall Masters' prolonged slumber, leaving Huang Xiao to consider why they sacrificed most of their lives to it.

• Huo Lian estimated that the contest for the Hall Master's Seat would take place within three months after meeting Mo Pozheng of the Tomb Clan.
• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao and Shi Hen that the Pang Family might seek to rule independently, while Shi Hen worried that opposing them could ruin the Demon Hall.
• Huo Lian said they should not move against the Pang Family because Kui Yong might emerge, and he wanted their strength available against him.
• Huo Lian asked Shi Hen to leave so he could speak to Huang Xiao alone about the approaching contest.
• Huo Lian questioned why Hall Masters entered slumber, arguing that they spent most of their supposed long lives asleep, and Huang Xiao fell silent.

Huo Lian explained to Huang Xiao how Kui Yong controlled Demon Hall Masters through the Demon Refining Formula and used their essence blood to prolong his life and grow stronger. He warned that Kui Yong intended to kill the next Hall Master after using him to slaughter Jianghu experts.

• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao that Kui Yong controlled those who practiced the Demon Refining Formula by making their true qi and essence blood turn against them.
• Huo Lian explained that he alone had escaped Kui Yong’s control, after taking precautions and spending nearly a thousand years undoing the formula.
• Huo Lian said Kui Yong had planned to emerge a thousand years earlier and might kill the next Hall Master instead of sending him into slumber.
• Huo Lian revealed that previous Hall Masters surrendered most of their essence blood to Kui Yong and then recovered some of it during slumber.
• Huo Lian explained that Kui Yong needed the new Hall Master to slaughter Jianghu experts so their killing intent would strengthen his essence blood before Kui Yong devoured it.

Huo Lian explained how Huang Xiao could use the Demon Refining Formula to fool Kui Yong, then use the Blood Exhaustion Method to escape his control after gaining strength as Demon Hall Master. Huang Xiao agreed to defeat Pang Yi and showed Huo Lian the Supreme Demon Core.

• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao that Kui Yong had harvested Jianghu experts in thousand-year cycles for ten thousand years, and that becoming Demon Hall Master could give Huang Xiao a chance to disrupt the scheme.
• Huang Xiao questioned why Huo Lian wanted him to compete for the Hall Master's Seat despite the danger, and Huo Lian said he hoped to weaken Kui Yong by repeating his own resistance.
• Huo Lian explained that Huang Xiao should use the complete Demon Refining Formula to convince Kui Yong he was controllable, then use the Blood Exhaustion Method to dissolve the essence blood and break free.
• Huang Xiao said he understood and promised to spare no cost to defeat Pang Yi.
• Huang Xiao opened his box briefly to show Huo Lian the Supreme Demon Core, and Huo Lian approved of what he saw.

Huang Xiao learned that the other powers would not lend their supreme treasures, but Huo Lian believed the strengthened different flames and the Supreme Demon Core would be enough to reforge the Supreme Demon Saber. Huo Lian let Huang Xiao keep the Supreme Ghost Stele and prepared him for the approaching contest for the Demon Hall's Hall Master's Seat.

• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao that the other powers had refused to lend their supreme treasures, though he had found the Supreme Evil Crystal and Supreme Demon Pearl.
• Huang Xiao offered to fetch the Supreme Ghost Stele, but Huo Lian told him to keep it because it would support his Blood Exhaustion Method and remain hidden from others.
• Huo Lian explained that Demon Phoenix had strengthened the different flames in the Supreme Evil Crystal and Supreme Demon Pearl more than threefold, bringing his power to above-average Shattering-Void Realm strength.
• Huo Lian said the Supreme Demon Core would provide enough different flames to reforge the Supreme Demon Saber, while Demon Phoenix's limited energy made the Supreme Ghost Stele less useful for that purpose.
• Huang Xiao asked about stronger pills, and Huo Lian admitted that his claim about pills better than Blood Overflow Pills had only been meant to provoke Pang Ji.
• Huang Xiao handed Huo Lian the Supreme Demon Core, and Huo Lian said the Demonized Divine Beast Core's secret might soon be exposed but would matter less if Huang Xiao won the Hall Master's Seat.

Huang Xiao learned that the contest for the Hall Master's Seat had been moved up to half a month away, likely because Pang Ji feared Huang Xiao would grow stronger with more guidance. Huo Lian and Shi Hen wondered whether Pang Ji had discovered the secret of the Stone Gate Relief.

• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao to seek Shi Hen's guidance while he tried to return the Supreme Demon Core to Demon Phoenix.
• Shi Hen reported that the Main Hall had scheduled the contest for the Hall Master's Seat in half a month.
• Huo Lian and Shi Hen suspected Pang Ji had moved the contest forward to deny Huang Xiao time to improve.
• Huo Lian said Pang Ji was losing his nerve and contrasted him with Wu Xuancang, whom he regarded as his true rival.
• Shi Hen wondered whether Pang Ji had discovered the secret of the Stone Gate Relief, startling Huo Lian.

Huo Lian and Shi Hen discussed whether Pang Ji had uncovered Kui Yong’s Memory Images and decided to investigate the Main Hall and Pang Family for efforts to obtain Supreme Demonic Qi. With the Hall Master Contest only half a month away, Huo Lian planned to return to refine a Blood Overflow Pill, but agreed to review Huang Xiao’s drawings before leaving.

• Huang Xiao argued that Pang Ji could not have unlocked the Memory Images without knowing about his Demonized Divine Beast Core and obtaining Supreme Demonic Qi.
• Huo Lian proposed investigating whether Pang Ji’s people had recently collected treasures containing Supreme Demonic Qi, and Shi Hen agreed to use the Hidden Demon Guard to look into it.
• Huo Lian said he had to return to refine a Blood Overflow Pill and explained that broad guidance would disrupt Huang Xiao’s training with only half a month left.
• Shi Hen suggested that Huo Lian and he could guide Huang Xiao by studying drawings of the Memory Images, and Huo Lian agreed to stay another day or two to review them.
• Huang Xiao took out painting supplies and began drawing the Memory Images, saying he could finish in half a day.

Huang Xiao spent half a day drawing Kui Yong’s Memory Images for Huo Lian and Shi Hen, focusing on the battles after Kui Yong reached the Shattering-Void Realm and on the Imperishability Chapter. After finishing, Huang Xiao realized that drawing with complete concentration had deepened his understanding of the moves.

• Shi Hen left to investigate whether anyone in the Demon Hall had recently used treasures connected to Supreme Demonic Qi, then returned an hour later to find Huang Xiao had drawn several hundred scenes.
• Huo Lian and Shi Hen examined Huang Xiao’s drawings as he continued, noting that he had devoted most of his effort to Kui Yong’s later battles and the Imperishability Chapter.
• Huang Xiao drew more than a thousand images over half a day, taking longer as the difficult scenes became harder to capture.
• Huo Lian told Shi Hen he would stay another two days so Huang Xiao could finish without being rushed.
• Huang Xiao completed the final drawing, exhausted his mental strength, and meditated to recover.
• Huang Xiao realized that concentrating fully on the drawings had helped him understand previously unnoticed subtleties in the Memory Images.

Huang Xiao showed Huo Lian and Shi Hen paintings of the scenes he remembered, gaining fresh insights from painting them. The three discussed Kui Yong’s mysterious Forbidden Art and whether the ancient Demon God, Righteous Path Leader, and Immortal Alchemist might still be alive, but they had no answers.

• Huang Xiao woke from meditation and said painting the scenes had helped him understand more of the moves in his mind.
• Huo Lian and Shi Hen praised Huang Xiao’s paintings and said they had gained a great deal from them.
• Huo Lian asked about Kui Yong’s black-painted eyes, and Huang Xiao explained that they had glowed red after Kui Yong used what seemed to be a powerful Forbidden Art.
• Huo Lian said the Demon Hall held few records of those ancient events, while Shi Hen and Huang Xiao identified the figures they believed were the Demon God and the Righteous Path Leader.
• Huo Lian, Shi Hen, and Huang Xiao speculated that the ancient experts and the Immortal Alchemist might still be alive, but admitted they had no way to know.

Huo Lian offered Huang Xiao guidance on Kui Yong’s moves before leaving, while the Demon Hall announced the approaching Hall Master Contest and its thousand-year purge. Huo Lian returned to Mist Mountain with the Supreme Demon Core and presented Wei Yidao with another opportunity before sending him away.

• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao he would teach him about Kui Yong’s moves before departing the next day, and Shi Hen left them to study.
• The Demon Hall announced the date of the Hall Master Contest, and news of the coming thousand-year period spread throughout the Jianghu.
• Sects and martial artists across the Jianghu called truces and waited for the new Hall Master, fearing the purge but hoping to benefit from the upheaval.
• Huo Lian returned to Mist Mountain with the Supreme Demon Core, and Wei Yidao greeted him.
• Huo Lian praised Wei Yidao’s progress, told him to prepare to leave, and produced a box as he offered him another opportunity.

Huo Lian offered Wei Yidao a chance to temporarily reach the Pseudo-Void Realm using the supreme demonic qi crystal. Wei Yidao accepted despite the pain and risk, preparing to gain strength for the Demon Hall Thousand-Year Period.

• Demon Phoenix and Wei Yidao recognized the supreme demonic qi emanating from the crystal in Huo Lian's box.
• Huo Lian told Wei Yidao the crystal could raise him to the Pseudo-Void Realm without lasting damage, though the strength would last only about a year and the process carried pain and risk.
• Wei Yidao accepted the opportunity, believing it could help him face powerful opponents during the Demon Hall Thousand-Year Period and aid his eventual breakthrough.
• Wei Yidao considered the relative strength of Void Realm experts and concluded that Li Bai could still grow stronger, while Zuo Qiu Yi and Kui Yong had surpassed the Void Realm.
• Huo Lian agreed to grant Wei Yidao the opportunity.

Huo Lian forced compressed Supreme Demonic Qi mixed with his Heavenly Demon Indestructible true qi into Wei Yidao to increase his internal power, warning that the method was risky but would not threaten Wei Yidao’s life. Huo Lian left to refine Blood Overflow Pills for Huang Xiao, whose contest for the Hall Master’s Seat was only ten days away, while Wei Yidao endured the process.

• Huo Lian gathered and compressed Supreme Demonic Qi, then mixed it with his Heavenly Demon Indestructible true qi to trigger an eruption.
• Huo Lian ordered Wei Yidao to focus and pressed the raging mixture into the crown of his head.
• Huo Lian told the Demon Phoenix that failure could weaken Wei Yidao or reduce his internal power but would not damage his foundations or endanger his life.
• Huo Lian said Wei Yidao’s process would take about two hours, then left to refine Blood Overflow Pills for Huang Xiao.
• Huo Lian revealed Huang Xiao had emerged from seclusion and had only ten days before the contest for the Hall Master’s Seat.

Huo Lian returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall with three Blood Overflow Pills and prepared Huang Xiao for the Hall Master Contest, teaching him the Ghost-Riding Technique to use with the Supreme Ghost Stele. Meanwhile, Wei Yidao remained in a dangerous, unexplained state as Demon Phoenix and the others waited nearby.

• Wang Jiu, Zhu Yang, and Fan Tianhui found Wei Yidao trembling, and Wang Jiu urged them to keep their distance while Demon Phoenix watched over him.
• Huo Lian returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall and gave Huang Xiao three Blood Overflow Pills before they prepared to leave for the contest.
• Huo Lian told Huang Xiao to carry the Supreme Ghost Stele and taught him Feng He's Ghost-Riding Technique, a divine sense attack method that relied on the stele.
• Shi Hen questioned whether using the stele's ghost qi would alert Pang Ji, and Huo Lian explained that Pang Ji expected Huang Xiao to possess it and had prepared for its aura.
• Huo Lian revealed that Yan Youwang was watching Feng He to prevent him from warning Pang Ji, though Fan Liya might still try to deliver the news in person.