Chapter Summaries

In the Holy City of the Slaughter Domain, He Zhe suspected Huang Xiao had a treasure connected to the Spirit Land and demanded that he reveal his possessions. Huang Xiao showed everything he carried, but the chapter left the suspected treasure unaccounted for as He Zhe noticed a Vitality Pill.

• Ren Dongju admitted he could not force He Zhe to let Huang Xiao leave the Holy City.
• He Zhe guessed Huang Xiao had a treasure related to the Spirit Land, such as a Bronze Key, and threatened Ren Dongju over Huang Xiao’s Cold Jade.
• Huang Xiao denied possessing any such treasure, and Ren Dongju told him to show his belongings.
• Huang Xiao displayed his Minghong Saber and jade vials of pills, which He Zhe inspected.
• He Zhe spotted a Vitality Pill among Huang Xiao’s pills.

He Zhe searched Huang Xiao for a treasure connected to the Spirit Land and found a jade pendant Xuanyuan Jade Butterfly had asked him to deliver to the Immortal Alchemist. Though He Zhe could detect nothing unusual about it, he suspected it explained Huang Xiao’s survival and kept the pendant under suspicion.

• He Zhe returned Huang Xiao’s Vitality Pills and, unconvinced that he carried no Spirit Land treasure, decided to search him.
• Huang Xiao agreed to the search, and He Zhe found a green jade pendant hidden inside his robes.
• Huang Xiao explained that Xuanyuan Jade Butterfly had given him the ordinary pendant to deliver to her lover, the Immortal Alchemist.
• He Zhe examined the pendant but found nothing special, then argued that it remained suspicious because Huang Xiao had survived the Spirit Land.
• Ren Dongju grew concerned that He Zhe would keep the pendant, while Huang Xiao realized the others might believe it had saved him.

He Zhe investigated Huang Xiao’s jade pendant and concluded it was likely connected to the Spirit Land, prompting the Slaughter Evil Lord to summon Huang Xiao. Ren Dongju feared the Slaughter Domain would gain access to the Spirit Land and its treasures, leaving the Wood Demon Sect with a major loss.

• Ren Dongju questioned Huang Xiao about the injured Void Realm friend who had given him the jade pendant, while He Zhe argued that the pendant could be valuable despite its origin.
• He Zhe told Ren Dongju and Huang Xiao to remain in the Holy City while he had the pendant examined, and Ren Dongju feared the Slaughter Domain would seize their two hundred pieces of Spirit Land Cold Jade.
• After half a day, He Zhe returned and told Huang Xiao to come with him because the Ancestor had summoned him.
• He Zhe revealed that the Four Fiends could not confirm the pendant’s mystery, so they had alerted the Slaughter Evil Lord, who had summoned Huang Xiao.
• He Zhe promised Ren Dongju he could leave with the Spirit Land Cold Jade if Huang Xiao satisfied the Ancestor, but Ren Dongju realized the Slaughter Domain was pursuing a far greater prize.

Huang Xiao went to meet the Slaughter Evil Lord, while He Zhe tried to recruit him into the Slaughter Domain. The Ancestor summoned Huang Xiao alone and immediately recognized that he came from the Martial World.

• Ren Dongju let He Zhe take Huang Xiao to meet the Slaughter Evil Lord and resolved to report the Spirit Land matter to his master and the Demon God Sect.
• He Zhe praised Huang Xiao’s contribution and urged him to join the Slaughter Domain, but Huang Xiao refused to betray the Wood Demon Sect.
• He Zhe brought Huang Xiao to the mansion, where the other members of the Four Fiends said the Ancestor wanted a private audience.
• Huang Xiao entered the damaged mansion alone, passed through its formidable formations, and reached the main hall.
• The Slaughter Evil Lord, standing with his back to Huang Xiao, asked if he was someone from the Martial World, leaving Huang Xiao afraid that his secret had been exposed.

Huang Xiao met the Slaughter Evil Lord and discovered that he was Zuo Qiu Yi, the Immortal Alchemist. Zuo Qiu Yi explained that Huang Xiao’s Jade Pendant had disturbed his heart, and his Ruthlessness Dao had not reached full mastery.

• Zuo Qiu Yi spared Huang Xiao because he recognized the Jade Pendant and asked whether Huang Xiao had obtained the cultivation methods he left behind.
• Huang Xiao said he had found the Longevity Chapter in the Dragon Mountain Forbidden Ground, and Zuo Qiu Yi noted traces of the Imperishability Chapter and asked about Kui Yong.
• Zuo Qiu Yi explained that he had recognized Leng Guhan as someone from the Martial World but had never asked him about what happened there.
• Huang Xiao wondered why Zuo Qiu Yi had not killed Leng Guhan, and Zuo Qiu Yi said he had treated Leng Guhan’s arrival as a test of his Ruthlessness Dao.
• Zuo Qiu Yi said he had once believed his Ruthlessness Dao was fully mastered, but the Jade Pendant proved that his heart could still be disturbed.

Huang Xiao returned the Jade Pendant to Zuo Qiu Yi and told him that Xuanyuan Jade Butterfly was gravely wounded, then asked about the Martial World and the Soaring Immortal Fruit. Zuo Qiu Yi explained the fruit’s origins and revealed that the Creation Sect’s Sect Master was still alive, leaving Huang Xiao considering how to use that information.

• Huang Xiao told Zuo Qiu Yi that Xuanyuan Jade Butterfly was gravely wounded, and Zuo Qiu Yi asked about Kui Yong.
• Zuo Qiu Yi explained that he had left the Imperishability Chapter for Kui Yong as a means to keep him in check, and described why the Longevity Chapter had been hidden in the Dragon Mountain Forbidden Ground.
• Huang Xiao recounted how he obtained the Longevity Chapter, then asked Zuo Qiu Yi about the Soaring Immortal Fruit’s connection to the Ancient World.
• Zuo Qiu Yi said the Soaring Immortal Fruit was planted in the Martial World to help nurture a Heavenly Immortal Fruit, whose unknown recipient might have been the Longevity Daoist, the Demon God, or the Creation Sect’s Sect Master.
• Zuo Qiu Yi revealed that the Creation Sect’s Sect Master was still alive, and Huang Xiao considered using the news to seek more chances for his group to enter Xuan Yuanxiang’s formation.

Huang Xiao asked Zuo Qiu Yi how to awaken the Minghong Saber’s dormant soul and learned that Origin Flame and vitality might help. He revealed the Cold Jade Key and recounted how he obtained it, then Zuo Qiu Yi vanished behind a formation and confronted someone arriving at the hall.

• Huang Xiao asked Zuo Qiu Yi how to revive the Minghong Saber’s soul, and Zuo Qiu Yi suggested using Origin Flame and vitality, possibly with the Longevity Chapter.
• Zuo Qiu Yi questioned Huang Xiao about his time in the Spirit Land, and Huang Xiao admitted he had obtained a Cold Jade Key.
• Huang Xiao explained that Senior Ji had given him the key after he was trapped in the Extreme Cold Mountains, and he described the key’s mysterious connection to the Spirit Land.
• Huang Xiao told Zuo Qiu Yi that he believed the key would someday return to him, while concealing that he had left it with Eldest Senior Brother.
• Zuo Qiu Yi disappeared behind a formation, then addressed someone at the hall entrance and said he would not count the Cold Jade gathered from his Slaughter Domain Spirit Land.

Zuo Qiu Yi negotiated with the old man over Spirit Land Cold Jade and help treating his injuries, while Huo Lian’s incomplete cultivation of the Longevity Chapter raised the possibility of future guidance. The old man returned Zuo Qiu Yi’s token, and Zuo Qiu Yi named the Daoist Canon as the price for using the Longevity Chapter to heal him.

• The old man entered with Huo Lian and five sacks of Spirit Land Cold Jade, and Zuo Qiu Yi agreed to refine pills after checking the payment.
• The old man revealed that Huo Lian had cultivated an incomplete Longevity Chapter and asked Zuo Qiu Yi to consider guiding him.
• Zuo Qiu Yi and the old man agreed to discuss Huo Lian’s cultivation in the future, while the old man admitted Huo Lian’s true qi had only slightly helped his injuries.
• Zuo Qiu Yi demanded his token back, and the old man returned it after suggesting he contact the Four Fiends to pass along messages.
• The old man asked Zuo Qiu Yi to use the Longevity Chapter to heal his injuries, and Zuo Qiu Yi said he wanted the Daoist Canon in exchange.

Zuo Qiu Yi and the old man discussed the three treatises of the Daoist Canon, and the old man offered to teach Huo Lian a portion of the Treatise on Attaining the Dao. After the visitors left, Huang Xiao learned that Huo Lian was safe and had gained a powerful opportunity.

• Zuo Qiu Yi asked the old man to trade the Treatise on Enlightenment for the missing Treatise on Attaining the Dao, but the old man refused to give up his treasured canon.
• The old man offered to teach Huo Lian a portion of the Treatise on Attaining the Dao if Huo Lian pleased him.
• The old man and Zuo Qiu Yi agreed that Zuo Qiu Yi would provide the pills in three months.
• The old man advised Zuo Qiu Yi that incomplete statements could be misleading before he and Huo Lian departed.
• Zuo Qiu Yi showed Huang Xiao an image of Huo Lian and the old man, and Huang Xiao confirmed his connection to Huo Lian.
• Zuo Qiu Yi reassured Huang Xiao that Huo Lian was safe and would gain tremendous benefits from staying with the old man.

Zuo Qiu Yi warned Huang Xiao that overreliance on the Imperishability Chapter had caused dangerous backlash, which only the special chill of Spirit Land Cold Jade could ease. He explained the Cold Jade Key’s importance, and the chapter ended with him giving Huang Xiao Longevity Pills and Huang Xiao asking how they compared to a Vitality Pill.

• Zuo Qiu Yi told Huang Xiao that the Imperishability Chapter’s backlash worsened as it advanced and that his Longevity Chapter had stagnated, leaving the cultivation method impossible to stop.
• Zuo Qiu Yi explained that Spirit Land Cold Jade’s special chill eased the backlash and inferred that the Cold Jade Key contained an even more potent version of that chill.
• Huang Xiao promised to return the Cold Jade Key to Zuo Qiu Yi when it came back into his hands, and considered giving it to him the best choice.
• Zuo Qiu Yi gave Huang Xiao a large jade bottle of Longevity Pills and explained that, despite inferior ingredients, his improved refining skills made them nearly as effective as the Martial World’s Longevity Pills.
• Huang Xiao asked Zuo Qiu Yi whether a Vitality Pill was inferior to the Longevity Pills.

Zuo Qiu Yi gave Huang Xiao Longevity Pills and warned him to focus on the Longevity Chapter because the Imperishability Chapter was dangerous. After explaining his theory that the chapters were separate cultivation methods, he returned Huang Xiao’s token and promised further benefits when the Cold Jade Key was returned.

• Zuo Qiu Yi gave Huang Xiao a bottle of Longevity Pills and advised him to prioritize the Longevity Chapter.
• Huang Xiao questioned whether the Imperishability Chapter’s backlash was truly dangerous, and Zuo Qiu Yi explained that other domains knew of his condition but would not dare act against him lightly.
• Huang Xiao warned Zuo Qiu Yi that outsiders might connect his safe return from the Spirit Land to the Jade Pendant, prompting Zuo Qiu Yi to consider the danger.
• Zuo Qiu Yi said he believed the Longevity Chapter and Imperishability Chapter had different creators and were separate cultivation methods, with the latter damaging the body to increase strength.
• Zuo Qiu Yi promised Huang Xiao further benefits when his Cold Jade Key was returned, then tossed him his token.

Huang Xiao confronted Zuo Qiu Yi about his feelings for Xuanyuan Jade Butterfly, then left the Holy City with Ren Dongju and the others. Their journey was interrupted when two figures blocked the road and asked to take someone away.

• Zuo Qiu Yi gave Huang Xiao a Token that could contact him and protect its bearer in the Slaughter Domain, then advised him to return to the Demon Domain.
• Huang Xiao asked Zuo Qiu Yi whether he still cared for Xuanyuan Jade Butterfly, and Zuo Qiu Yi sent him outside without answering.
• He Zhe told Ren Dongju that he and Huang Xiao were free to leave, and the group departed the Holy City.
• Huang Xiao told Ren Dongju about his meeting with the Slaughter Evil Lord, while Ren Dongju suspected the Jade Pendant held a secret the Slaughter Domain had uncovered.
• A disciple reported that someone was blocking the road, and Huang Xiao recognized the two figures as one of them asked to take someone away.

An unnamed old expert persuaded Ren Dongju to let Huang Xiao leave with him, saying he wanted to ask about the Spirit Land. After hearing Huang Xiao’s account, the old man agreed not to interfere with his promise to give the Cold Jade Key to the Slaughter Evil Lord and asked Huang Xiao to notify him afterward.

• The old man dismissed Ren Dongju’s objections and explained that he wanted to question Huang Xiao about the Spirit Land, so Ren Dongju let Huang Xiao go with him and Huo Lian.
• Ren Dongju took the Spirit Land Cold Jade back to the Wood Demon Sect and ordered Chen De and Liu Zhi Da to lead the others home.
• Huang Xiao traveled with the old man and Huo Lian to an unremarkable mountain, where they stopped for the night.
• The old man asked Huang Xiao to repeat what he had told the Slaughter Evil Lord, and Huang Xiao recounted what happened in the Spirit Land.
• Huang Xiao said he would give the Cold Jade Key to the Slaughter Evil Lord if it returned to him, and the old man asked him to send word so they could speak.
• Huang Xiao insisted the Jade Pendant had no connection to the Spirit Land and kept its connection to Senior Immortal Alchemist secret.

Huang Xiao’s conversation with the old man revealed that the Slaughter Evil Lord had prepared Longevity Pills for him, and the old man recognized them as the pills he had been waiting for. The old man then noticed something unusual about Huang Xiao’s Vitality Pill, and Huang Xiao confirmed that he had sensed it changing.

• The old man said he knew a woman surnamed Ji but could not confirm her connection to Senior Ji, and Huang Xiao suspected they were linked to the Longevity Daoist.
• The old man pressed Huang Xiao to reveal what the Slaughter Evil Lord had given him, and Huang Xiao disclosed that he had Longevity Pills.
• The old man took the bottle from Huang Xiao to examine the pills and learned that the Slaughter Evil Lord had intended them for him but had given them to Huang Xiao first.
• Huang Xiao wondered whether the old man had gathered the Spirit Land Cold Jade that the Immortal Alchemist needed.
• The old man examined Huang Xiao’s other pills, noticed something strange about the Vitality Pill, and heard Huang Xiao say he had sensed that it was no longer the same pill.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian discussed the unusual vitality sealed inside Huang Xiao’s Vitality Pill with an old man who recognized its rarity and offered to pay any price to learn how it was made. Their negotiation turned to the Treatise on Enlightenment and the Treatise on Seeking the Dao, and the old man asked whether they knew the Dao’s ultimate.

• The old man explained that the Vitality Pill’s vitality was extraordinarily rare and that the Slaughter Evil Lord had missed it because the bottle sealed away its aura.
• Huang Xiao admitted he had noticed only a small change, while the old man said the Vitality Pill surpassed Huang Xiao’s Longevity Pills and asked how he had made it.
• Huo Lian demanded the Treatise on Enlightenment in exchange for the method of producing more Vitality Pills, and the old man agreed the method could be more valuable than help healing his injuries.
• Huang Xiao asked about the Treatise on Enlightenment, and Huo Lian revealed that he and Huang Xiao already possessed the Treatise on Seeking the Dao.
• The old man accepted that they had obtained the Treatise on Seeking the Dao through fortune and asked whether they knew about the ultimate of the Dao.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian discussed the Daoist Canon’s treatises and the uncertain history of ancient scriptures with the old man. Huang Xiao traded the Vitality Pill for guidance but refused to reveal the method behind its mutation unless the old man exchanged it for the Treatise on Enlightenment, then hinted that the method was connected to the final Spirit Land.

• Huo Lian explained that the Daoist Canon had three treatises, and the old man possessed the Treatise on Enlightenment while the Treatise on Attaining the Dao remained undiscovered.
• Huo Lian and the old man discussed the origins of ancient scriptures and whether they had come from somewhere beyond their known world.
• The old man offered Huang Xiao guidance in exchange for his Vitality Pill, and Huang Xiao agreed to the trade.
• The old man began asking Huang Xiao about the method that had mutated the Vitality Pill, but Huang Xiao refused to give it up without receiving the Treatise on Enlightenment in exchange.
• Huang Xiao told the old man that the method was connected to the final Spirit Land.

Huang Xiao explained that the Vitality Pill’s transformation required an immense infusion of vitality, and the old man agreed to consider teaching him the Treatise on Enlightenment in exchange for the method. After swallowing the pill and quietly absorbing its power, the old man opened his eyes with delighted surprise.

• The old man questioned whether Huang Xiao could still offer a useful method once he reached the last Spirit Land, and Huang Xiao insisted that only he could help.
• The old man offered to consider teaching Huang Xiao the Treatise on Enlightenment if Huang Xiao truly knew the method, surprising Huo Lian.
• The old man explained that Huang Xiao and Huo Lian posed less danger than the Slaughter Evil Lord and said they would face consequences if they leaked the Treatise on Enlightenment.
• The old man swallowed the Vitality Pill, releasing an astonishing aura of vitality before drawing all of it back into himself.
• Huo Lian set up a few simple formations while Huang Xiao watched the old man meditate for an hour.
• The old man opened his eyes with delighted surprise, and Huang Xiao asked how he felt.

After the Vitality Pill stabilized the old man's injuries, he agreed to let Huang Xiao accompany him and guide his cultivation while they waited for the Cold Jade Key to return. The pill also let the old man advance his plan early, and he set out with Huang Xiao and Huo Lian to reclaim a treasure from the Radiant Sun Sect.

• The old man said the Vitality Pill had stabilized his severe injuries and agreed to consider Huang Xiao's method before teaching the Treatise on Enlightenment.
• Huang Xiao offered Longevity Pills, but the old man said he still needed the Slaughter Evil Lord's pills and ordinary Vitality Pills for his recovery.
• Huang Xiao said he would explain his method when the Cold Jade Key returned, and the old man confirmed that the key would not affect it.
• The old man told Huang Xiao to follow him for a while, and Huang Xiao agreed.
• After hearing that the Vitality Pill let the old man advance his plan, Huo Lian asked where they would go, and the old man led them toward the Radiant Sun Sect to reclaim his treasure.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian learned that Senior Xuanyuan was the former Creation Sect master and planned to reclaim the Xuanyuan Sword from the Radiant Sun Sect. A month later, they waited outside the sect while he went alone to retrieve it.

• Senior Xuanyuan revealed that the Radiant Sun Sect held his Xuanyuan Sword and had helped injure him during the events surrounding the divine weapons.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian realized Senior Xuanyuan was the former Creation Sect master, though he said he was not ready to reveal his identity.
• Senior Xuanyuan dismissed their concerns about the Demon God and the Radiant Sun Sect, and said he would reclaim the sword before returning to the Holy City for the Longevity Pill.
• Senior Xuanyuan, Huang Xiao, and Huo Lian left the next day and reached the Radiant Sun Sect's territory a month later.
• Huang Xiao and Huo Lian waited at an inn while Senior Xuanyuan entered the sect alone on the day its subordinate sects presented their tributes.

Huang Xiao and Huo Lian discussed their experiences and worried about Dugu Sheng after learning the Xuanyuan Sword was in the Radiant Sun Sect. Senior Xuanyuan infiltrated the sect to find the sword, but after searching the Divine Weapon Pavilion, he was forced to draw attention and planned to follow the sect members to its location.

• Huo Lian and Huang Xiao agreed that they should avoid pursuing secrets in the Spirit Land now that powerful figures had become involved.
• Huang Xiao worried that Dugu Sheng might have been captured or killed when the Radiant Sun Sect obtained the Xuanyuan Sword, and Huo Lian tried to reassure him.
• Senior Xuanyuan entered the Radiant Sun Sect disguised as an elder from a subordinate sect and made his way to the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
• Senior Xuanyuan discovered that the Xuanyuan Sword was not in the pavilion and broke through its formation, drawing the attention of a Radiant Sun Sect expert.
• Senior Xuanyuan killed the expert and destroyed the Divine Weapon Pavilion before hearing sect members say they would strengthen security around the Xuanyuan Sword; he decided to follow them there.