Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao killed Chen Fa and took the treasures hidden in his robe, then fought off the Jianghu fighters who tried to rob him. He turned back when he spotted someone searching the corpses of the men he had killed.

• Bei Chengkuo killed his opponent, seized the Reserve Demon General Token, and was surrounded by Ke Zhenyi, Yao Fengrong, and other fighters.
• Several fighters abandoned the contest for the token and surrounded Chen Fa, who tried to escape after pretending to surrender his treasures.
• Huang Xiao blocked Chen Fa's escape and killed him, taking three manuals and two jade vials from his robe.
• Thirteen fighters surrounded Huang Xiao and demanded his treasures, but Huang Xiao killed several of them and drove the rest into retreat.
• Huang Xiao spotted someone rummaging through the corpses of the fighters he had killed and darted back toward them.

Huang Xiao confronted Hu Pursuing Wind after Hu took several treasures, then joined the struggle for the Reserve Demon General Token. Bei Chengkuo remained surrounded with the token, and the chapter ended as he charged at Hu Pursuing Wind to kill him and escape.

• Huang Xiao recognized Hu Pursuing Wind, who admitted taking the treasures and challenged Huang Xiao to seek revenge during the fight for the Reserve Demon General Token.
• Huang Xiao reached the remaining fighters and saw Bei Chengkuo trapped with the token while Yao Fengrong and Ke Zhenyi pressed him to surrender it.
• Bei Chengkuo tried to break through the encirclement, but Hu Pursuing Wind blocked him and Huang Xiao arrived behind Hu.
• Huang Xiao suspected Hu Pursuing Wind had concealed enough strength to threaten the other leading experts.
• Bei Chengkuo charged at Hu Pursuing Wind, intent on killing him so he could escape, and Hu showed a trace of panic.

Hu Zhuifeng revealed that he had been pretending to be helpless, killed Bei Chengkuo, and moved to claim the Reserve Demon General Token. Huang Xiao intervened, and their fight left Ke Zhenyi hopeful and Yao Fengrong alarmed as the contest neared its end.

• Bei Chengkuo charged Hu Zhuifeng, while Yao Fengrong persuaded Ke Zhenyi to attack Bei Chengkuo with her.
• Hu Zhuifeng suddenly blocked Bei Chengkuo's attack, wounded him, and killed him within three moves.
• Yao Fengrong ambushed Ke Zhenyi, who accused her of colluding with Hu Zhuifeng.
• Hu Zhuifeng moved to take the Token from Bei Chengkuo's corpse, but Huang Xiao attacked and forced him to fight.
• Huang Xiao and Hu Zhuifeng killed an approaching Upper Ancient Realm Peak expert, then continued battling over the Token as Ke Zhenyi saw a chance and Yao Fengrong grew alarmed.

Huang Xiao prevented Hu Pursuing Wind and Yao Fengrong from claiming the Reserve Demon General Token by kicking Bei Chengkuo’s corpse toward Ke Zhenyi. Ke Zhenyi took the Token and fled as Yao Fengrong pursued him.

• Hu Pursuing Wind offered Huang Xiao treasures for the Token, but Huang Xiao refused and said he wanted revenge for Hu Pursuing Wind’s earlier betrayal.
• Yao Fengrong joined Hu Pursuing Wind in trying to take the Token, while Ke Zhenyi realized he could no longer reach it in time.
• Hu Pursuing Wind blocked Huang Xiao from grabbing Bei Chengkuo’s corpse, but Huang Xiao used his second saber to distract him and kicked the corpse toward Ke Zhenyi.
• Ke Zhenyi caught Bei Chengkuo’s corpse and found the Reserve Demon General Token in his hand, while Yao Fengrong caught the corpse Huang Xiao had thrown.
• Yao Fengrong charged at Ke Zhenyi, who declared she had no chance and fled with the Token.

Ke Zhenyi secured the Reserve Demon General Token, and the survivors left the valley after the contest ended. Huang Xiao accepted that he had missed his chance, hoping Ke Zhenyi would repay the help he had given him as Hu Pursuing Wind and Yao Fengrong continued to regard him with hostility.

• A voice announced Ke Zhenyi as a Reserve Demon General, and Hu Pursuing Wind stopped Yao Fengrong from attacking him after the contest ended.
• The valley's formations disappeared, and the survivors gathered before leaving; Huang Xiao counted just over fifty survivors from more than five hundred entrants.
• Wang Renyu checked Ke Zhenyi's token, congratulated him, and took him away to complete the formalities.
• Huang Xiao reflected that he had failed to claim the token but had gained manuals and pills, and hoped Ke Zhenyi would remember his assistance.
• A Demon God Sect disciple sent Huang Xiao and the others toward their camp, while Hu Pursuing Wind and Yao Fengrong watched Huang Xiao with murderous intent.

After the contest for cultivation manuals, Huang Xiao returned to camp and agreed to leave with Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong after the next day’s Demon General contest. He and Huo Lian examined his prizes and recognized that the Origin Demon Heart Method could help them better harness origin demonic qi.

• Huang Xiao returned to camp and found Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong waiting with their surviving disciples.
• Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong agreed to leave with Huang Xiao after the next day’s contest for the Demon General positions.
• Huang Xiao showed Huo Lian the ten cultivation manuals and pills he had obtained, and Huo Lian identified three manuals that could benefit them.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian concluded that the Origin Demon Heart Method could help them draw and use origin demonic qi alongside the Supreme Demonic Art.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian studied the Origin Demon Heart Method, the Hundred Refinements Force, and Demon Shadow, considering how their Longevity True Qi could help them master the demanding techniques. Huang Xiao planned to try combining formations with Demon Shadow, and the two settled on the three methods best suited to them.

• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian examined the Origin Demon Heart Method and recognized that the Demon God Sect's cultivation methods surpassed those of other sects.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian discussed the Hundred Refinements Force's five levels, its difficult requirements, and how Longevity True Qi could help them endure its repeated refinement.
• Huo Lian explained that Demon Shadow reached its full potential when powered by origin demonic qi, which Huang Xiao and Huo Lian could cultivate.
• Huang Xiao proposed incorporating formations into Demon Shadow, and Huo Lian agreed that he could try.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian chose the Origin Demon Heart Method, the Hundred Refinements Force, and Demon Shadow from the manuals they had obtained.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian prepared for the Soul-Reaping Sect’s next move while studying the Origin Demon Heart Method and other techniques. At the arena, Wang Renyu announced that the final contest had unexpectedly changed: eight candidates would compete for a chance to challenge one of five already chosen Demon Generals.

• Huo Lian warned Huang Xiao that they would have to withdraw if Zhuo Mengshen became a Demon General, and urged Huang Xiao to improve his strength with the Origin Demon Heart Method.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian agreed to study the Origin Demon Heart Method and the other two techniques through the night.
• Huang Xiao, Du Jiliang, Lu Qingzhong, and Huo Lian arrived at the arena and noticed that many spectators had left and Ma Tie'an was absent.
• Wang Renyu arrived with twenty apparent candidates and an unfamiliar middle-aged expert, then announced that only eight people would enter the final contest.
• Wang Renyu revealed that the eight contestants would compete for one winning place, whose victor could challenge one of the five newly appointed Demon Generals and take his position.

Wang Renyu named five Demon Generals and gave eight other candidates a chance to compete for one challenge, leaving Zhuo Mengshen with little hope. Ren Dongju showed his interest in a boy Wang Renyu had mentioned, then left the platform, easing the tension among the elders.

• Wang Renyu appointed five of the twenty candidates as Demon Generals and named eight others for a contest, eliminating the remaining seven.
• Huang Xiao, Huo Lian, Du Jiliang, and Lu Qingzhong discussed Zhuo Mengshen’s slim chances of challenging one of the five.
• Wang Renyu said the eight candidates would draw lots and fight in pairs until one remained, then asked Ren Dongju whether the arrangement was suitable.
• Ren Dongju asked about the boy Wang Renyu had mentioned, and Wang Renyu promised to send someone to contact him.
• Ren Dongju left the platform, and Wang Renyu and Zhuang Chen admitted they had been nervous around him.

Huang Xiao was summoned by Ren Dongju of the Wood Demon Sect, who questioned him about his connection to Kui Yong and Ma Tie'an. Ren Dongju began to reveal that Kui Yong and Ma Tie'an had once been close, leaving Huang Xiao uneasy about what had happened between them.

• Wang Renyu announced that Zhuo Mengshen would face Mu Fucheng, and Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong worried that Zhuo Mengshen might take his frustration out on them.
• A Demon God Sect disciple summoned Huang Xiao, and Huo Lian, Du Jiliang, and Lu Qingzhong believed the summons was likely good news.
• The disciple led Huang Xiao away from the arena to meet Ren Dongju of the Wood Demon Sect.
• Ren Dongju recognized similarities between Huang Xiao's cultivation aura and Kui Yong's methods, and Huang Xiao admitted he knew little about the method's name in the Immortal Spirit Domain.
• Ren Dongju asked whether Kui Yong had warned Huang Xiao about anyone, then told him that Kui Yong and Ma Tie'an had once been as close as brothers.

Ren Dongju told Huang Xiao that Ma Tie'an and Kui Yong had once been friends, but Kui Yong betrayed Ma during their contest for a Demon General position. Huang Xiao learned that Ma might arrange for other forces to target him, leaving him to survive the coming trials largely on his own.

• Ren Dongju explained that Kui Yong had played Ma Tie'an false while competing for a Demon General position, creating a lasting enmity between them.
• Huang Xiao realized Ma Tie'an might target him as Kui Yong's successor, but Ren Dongju said Ma would not act personally or send his own disciples.
• Ren Dongju warned that Ma Tie'an could use unaffiliated forces to trouble Huang Xiao and said the Demon God Sect and its associated sects were unlikely to admit him.
• Ren Dongju said his master, the Wood Demon Sect's Sect Master, had been Kui Yong's friend and would place some limits on Ma Tie'an, but would not intervene unless the threat became excessive.
• Ren Dongju urged Huang Xiao to survive the coming dangers, then left using his lightness skill.
• Huang Xiao reflected that he now faced the Soul-Reaping Sect, Ma Tie'an's agents, and possibly Yao Fengrong and Hu Pursuing Wind.

Huang Xiao learned that Ma Tie'an posed a serious threat, so he and Huo Lian prepared to face the danger while sending Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong away. Meanwhile, the furious Zhuo Mengshen was approached by a powerful old man offering him a task from an unnamed important figure, and he accepted without asking what it was.

• Huang Xiao told Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong that he had angered an important figure and warned them that returning with him could put them in danger.
• Du Jiliang and Lu Qingzhong agreed to join forces with Huang Xiao, but followed his plan to return separately and bring their disciples to the Fierce Mountain Gang later.
• Huang Xiao told Huo Lian about Ma Tie'an, and they reasoned that Ma Tie'an would likely send watchers first and reserve stronger fighters for an attack.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian sent their disciples along another route after leaving Demon God Sect territory, then noticed that people were secretly tracking them.
• Zhuo Mengshen fumed over his defeat, then respectfully agreed to carry out a task from an unnamed important figure when a powerful old man approached him.

Zhuo Mengshen accepted an order from a powerful old man to kill Huang Xiao in exchange for an ancient-realm cultivation method. He agreed to finish within a month, though he secretly intended to question Huang Xiao about Kui Yong’s methods first.

• The old man offered Zhuo Mengshen an ancient-realm cultivation method as compensation for failing to become a Demon General.
• Zhuo Mengshen eagerly accepted the task after learning the reward would help him advance his strength.
• The old man ordered Zhuo Mengshen to kill Huang Xiao, the Chief of the Fierce Mountain Gang and successor of Kui Yong.
• Zhuo Mengshen suggested capturing Huang Xiao, but the old man warned him not to jeopardize a larger undertaking by coveting Huang Xiao’s cultivation methods.
• The old man gave Zhuo Mengshen one month to deliver Huang Xiao’s head, threatening to kill him if he failed.

Zhuo Mengshen set out with Tong Juyu to kill Huang Xiao, while Yang Chengmu and the others returned to the Soul-Reaping Sect and planned their own attack. After five days of evading watchers and secretly setting formations, Huang Xiao and Huo Lian waited for their pursuers and recognized Zhuo Mengshen among the two approaching figures.

• The old man gave Zhuo Mengshen Huang Xiao’s location and one month to deal with him, so Zhuo Mengshen left with Tong Juyu.
• Yang Chengmu, Deng Ting, and Dong He discussed asking the Soul-Reaping Sect’s remaining Grand Elders to kill Huang Xiao, then hurried back to the sect.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian said Ma Tie'an’s watchers were still following them but had repeatedly escaped their attempts to catch them.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian circled the area while secretly setting formations, then stopped beneath a tree to wait for their pursuers.
• Two figures approached two hours later, and Huang Xiao and Huo Lian recognized Zhuo Mengshen as the likely attacker.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian confronted Zhuo Mengshen and Tong Juyu, who had come seeking Huang Xiao’s cultivation methods and possibly to kill him. Huo Lian activated a hidden formation as the fights began, but Zhuo Mengshen still had the advantage over Huang Xiao.

• Zhuo Mengshen ordered Tong Juyu to fight Huo Lian while he confronted Huang Xiao, and Huang Xiao asked whether Zhuo Mengshen wanted his cultivation methods or had been hired to kill him.
• Huang Xiao charged Zhuo Mengshen as Huo Lian began fighting Tong Juyu, and the two sides gauged each other's strength.
• Huo Lian activated a formation that trapped Ma Tie'an's men and slightly suppressed Zhuo Mengshen, who realized Huang Xiao and Huo Lian had set it up earlier.
• Huang Xiao fought Zhuo Mengshen with his saber, and Zhuo Mengshen discovered that Huang Xiao's technique could pressure him despite their difference in strength.
• Zhuo Mengshen blocked Huang Xiao's attack and sent him staggering back, but Huang Xiao appeared to have suffered only minor injuries.

Huang Xiao fought Zhuo Mengshen for half an hour, relying on his vitality and recovery to stay alive while Zhuo Mengshen tested the cultivation methods he had inherited from Kui Yong. Zhuo Mengshen then revealed his full power and demanded the methods, leaving Huang Xiao badly injured and refusing to surrender.

• Huang Xiao used his body movement to evade Zhuo Mengshen and judged that he had to rely on himself while Huo Lian struggled against Tong Juyu.
• Zhuo Mengshen fought Huang Xiao for half an hour, trying to assess the limits of his cultivation methods as Huang Xiao's injuries accumulated and his vitality dwindled.
• Zhuo Mengshen admitted that he had held back and declared that he wanted both Huang Xiao's cultivation methods and his life.
• Zhuo Mengshen unleashed greater power, overwhelmed Huang Xiao, and knocked him down despite Huang Xiao's attempts to defend himself and recover.
• Huang Xiao refused to hand over Kui Yong's cultivation methods, and Zhuo Mengshen produced a bronze-colored key and threatened to torture him.

Zhuo Mengshen used a blue-green key to restrain Huang Xiao and torment his divine sense while demanding Kui Yong's cultivation method. Huang Xiao endured the pain and discovered that his heart fire could fight the strange aura, though it could not dispel it quickly.

• Zhuo Mengshen activated the key, trapping Huang Xiao in a powerful blue-green halo and knocking the Minghong Saber from his hand.
• Zhuo Mengshen used Huang Xiao's blood to activate the key's divine-sense attack, leaving Huang Xiao convulsing in agony.
• Huo Lian tried to reach Huang Xiao, but Tong Juyu blocked him.
• Huang Xiao summoned his heart fire and found that it could burn the strange aura, but not quickly enough to remove it.

Huang Xiao broke through to the Upper Ancient Realm while enduring the Bronze Key’s strange aura, then fought Zhuo Mengshen despite his sea of consciousness nearing collapse. The Minghong Saber struck Zhuo Mengshen down on its own, but its saber soul fell silent again.

• Huang Xiao’s heart fire aura entangled with the Bronze Key’s strange aura until his sea of consciousness nearly burst, but he seized the key and sealed it with his true qi.
• Huang Xiao broke through to the Upper Ancient Realm, weakening the key’s suppression enough to move again.
• Huang Xiao charged Zhuo Mengshen and exchanged blows with him, but remained outmatched and could not activate the eleventh layer of Heavenly Demon Disintegration.
• After nearly a quarter of an hour, Huang Xiao clutched his head in agony, and Zhuo Mengshen took back the Bronze Key, believing Huang Xiao helpless.
• Huang Xiao struck Zhuo Mengshen with a divine sense attack, and the Minghong Saber pierced Zhuo Mengshen’s chest on its own.
• Zhuo Mengshen died, and Huang Xiao realized the Minghong Saber’s fleeting saber soul fluctuations had gone silent again.

Huang Xiao killed Zhuo Mengshen by using a Divine Sense attack that carried the Bronze Key’s aura, then joined Huo Lian in killing Tong Juyu. After returning to the Fierce Mountain Gang, they went to the secret chamber to focus on the Bronze Key.

• Huang Xiao used a Divine Sense attack to draw the Bronze Key’s aura into Zhuo Mengshen’s Sea of Consciousness, giving the Minghong Saber an opening to kill him.
• Huo Lian broke through as Huang Xiao approached, and he killed Tong Juyu when Tong Juyu tried to flee the formation.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian chose to leave the other watchers alone, then searched Zhuo Mengshen’s and Tong Juyu’s bodies and found only pills.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian returned to the Fierce Mountain Gang, notified the Wild Ox Sect, and entered the secret chamber to focus on the Bronze Key.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian studied the Bronze Key and discussed the Minghong Saber Soul, their plans, and the danger of Ma Tie'an. When someone attacked the Fierce Mountain Gang, they learned the attackers were Yang Chengmu and his people.

• Huo Lian examined the Bronze Key and Huang Xiao explained its ability to strike divine sense and its need for the target's blood.
• Huang Xiao said the Minghong Saber Soul had awakened briefly, likely because of the God-Slaying Flame, and he hoped to find other supreme treasures' different flames.
• Huo Lian asked Huang Xiao to use his new fine saber and be cautious with the Minghong Saber and their auras in the Demon Domain.
• Huo Lian and Huang Xiao discussed whether to hide from Ma Tie'an's attacks before a disciple reported that the Fierce Mountain Gang was under attack.
• Huo Lian and Huang Xiao learned that Yang Chengmu and his people were attacking, and Huang Xiao dismissed them as courting death.