Chapter Summaries

Liao Dunqi forced the crowd to return stolen treasures and killed those who resisted, using one execution to drive the remaining thieves into the open. Hao Jinghai then taunted Yang Hengchang over Linghu Xiang’s escape with the Phoenix Feather, while the rival factions turned their attention to finding Inugami.

• Liao Dunqi gave the crowd three counts to return the treasures, but no one surrendered them.
• Liao Dunqi killed a fleeing man from the Five Lakes Sect and recovered its Water-Avoidance Pearl.
• When a man was found with a stolen treasure, Liao Dunqi ordered him killed; the other thieves fled, and Liao Dunqi killed them all.
• Hao Jinghai confronted Liao Dunqi and taunted Yang Hengchang because Linghu Xiang had escaped with the Phoenix Feather.
• Zhong Tianlang and Xiang Guiqing left to search for Inugami, and Hao Jinghai hurried after them, declaring that the God-Burying Hall wanted Inugami.

Yang Hengchang confronted Huang Xiao over his role in Linghu Xiang’s escape, but Feng Xiaofeng intervened after recognizing Zhangsun Youyue and warned his martial uncle that Huang Xiao was the successor of the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord. The chapter left Yang Hengchang facing the revelation of Huang Xiao’s extraordinary identity.

• Yang Hengchang asked Liao Dunqi to let Feng Xiaofeng and the Sword Pavilion members leave, then prepared to depart with them.
• Yang Hengchang spotted Huang Xiao and, blaming him for helping Linghu Xiang escape with the Phoenix Feather, moved to kill him and his companions.
• Zhangsun Youyue calmly challenged Yang Hengchang, and Feng Xiaofeng identified her as a member of Bishui Palace.
• Yang Hengchang offered to spare Zhangsun Youyue but insisted Huang Xiao remain behind, while she refused to abandon him.
• Feng Xiaofeng warned Yang Hengchang not to harm Huang Xiao and revealed that he was the successor of the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord.

After Feng Xiaofeng identified Huang Xiao as the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord's successor, Yang Hengchang demanded to know where Senior Li was and threatened Huang Xiao. Liao Dunqi warned Yang Hengchang against violating the Sword Pavilion's rules, but Yang Hengchang declared that he would target the others instead, alarming Zhangsun Youyue.

• Feng Xiaofeng revealed that Huang Xiao was the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord's successor, shocking those nearby and changing how they regarded him.
• Yang Hengchang demanded to know where Senior Li was, and Huang Xiao refused to tell him.
• Yang Hengchang threatened to cripple Huang Xiao, but Feng Xiaofeng asked to fight him himself and Yang Hengchang rebuked him.
• Liao Dunqi warned Yang Hengchang not to violate the Sword Pavilion's rules or risk Senior Li's retaliation.
• Yang Hengchang said he would leave Huang Xiao and the other junior alone but target the others, prompting Zhangsun Youyue to challenge him.

Yang Hengchang surrounded Huang Xiao, Zhangsun Youyue, and their companions, intending to kill everyone except Huang Xiao and Zhangsun Youyue. He struck Zhangsun Youyue down as Huang Xiao tried to shield the others, leaving Xiao Qing and the rest exposed to his attack.

• Yang Hengchang decided to vent his anger by killing the people with Huang Xiao and Zhangsun Youyue, while Liao Dunqi ordered the Rare Treasures Pavilion’s men to keep searching for the stolen treasures.
• Huang Xiao and Zhangsun Youyue urged Zhu Yang, Liu Yu, and Xiao Qing to flee, but Sword Pavilion men had already surrounded the carriage.
• Huang Xiao challenged Feng Xiaofeng, but Yang Hengchang ordered Feng Xiaofeng to stand down and announced he would arrange a public contest against Huang Xiao later.
• Yang Hengchang refused to wait and moved to attack Huang Xiao’s companions, prompting Huang Xiao and Zhangsun Youyue to charge at him.
• Yang Hengchang struck Zhangsun Youyue and sent her flying toward the carriage, where Xiao Qing caught her as she apologized for being unable to protect her.

Huang Xiao fought Yang Hengchang while trying to delay him until Senior Pei returned, but Yang Hengchang’s control over heaven and earth momentum gradually overcame Huang Xiao’s evasive footwork. The chapter left Huang Xiao unable to escape and preparing to reveal another ability.

• Yang Hengchang attacked Huang Xiao after injuring Zhangsun Youyue, and Huang Xiao resolved to stall for Senior Pei’s return.
• Huang Xiao used the Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist but refused Yang Hengchang’s demand to use swordsmanship, drawing puzzled reactions from Liao Dunqi and Zhangsun Youyue.
• Huang Xiao used the Lingbo Ethereal Steps to evade Yang Hengchang’s attacks and surprised the watching experts with his lightness skill.
• Yang Hengchang controlled the surrounding power of heaven and earth, slowing Huang Xiao and stripping his footwork of its advantage.
• Huang Xiao realized he could no longer escape Yang Hengchang and decided to stop holding back, despite the risk of exposing his ability.

Pei Yi intervened when Yang Hengchang attacked Huang Xiao and protected the Bishui Palace group from further harm. Yang Hengchang swallowed the deaths of two subordinates and tried to leave, but Pei Yi stopped him after he insulted her.

• Yang Hengchang charged at Huang Xiao, who began activating the Heavenly Demon Skill, but Pei Yi arrived and drove Yang Hengchang back after three exchanges.
• Pei Yi demanded that Yang Hengchang apologize for injuring Zhangsun Youyue and Xiao Qing, but he refused and threatened Zhu Yang and Liu Yu.
• Pei Yi killed two of Yang Hengchang's men and warned that she would keep killing his people if he attacked the others.
• Yang Hengchang realized he could not risk more of his men's lives and swallowed the loss of his two subordinates.
• Yang Hengchang tried to leave after calling Pei Yi an old hag, but she stopped him and demanded that he repeat the insult.

The Three Pavilion Masters arrived after the failed attempt to capture Linghu Xiang, who had escaped with the Phoenix Feather. They assigned Liao Dunqi responsibility for containing the fallout and required the Sword Pavilion to cover half the loss, then spoke with Pei Yi about Bishui Palace’s decision not to compete for the treasure.

• Liao Dunqi greeted the Three Pavilion Masters and admitted that he had failed to recover the Phoenix Feather from Linghu Xiang.
• The Green Treasure Pavilion Master excused Liao Dunqi’s failure but warned him to resolve the chaos at the Rare Treasures Appreciation Gathering or lose his post.
• Chilian and Huang Shui agreed to let Liao Dunqi handle the fallout as a chance to atone through meritorious service.
• Chilian told Yang Hengchang that the Sword Pavilion had to provide treasures or compensation worth half the Phoenix Feather’s bid, and Yang Hengchang accepted without objection.
• Pei Yi told the Pavilion Masters that Bishui Palace had chosen not to contend for the Phoenix Feather, and Huang Shui responded amiably.

The Three Pavilion Masters learned that Huang Xiao was the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord’s successor and showed interest in him. Huang Xiao challenged the Sword Pavilion’s prodigy in front of them, leaving Yang Hengchang pressured to accept.

• Liao Dunqi prepared guest rooms for the Three Pavilion Masters after the Saint Thief escaped, while Chilian wondered how he had vanished from their encirclement.
• Yang Hengchang threatened Huang Xiao before leaving, and Liao Dunqi revealed that Huang Xiao was the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord’s successor.
• The Three Pavilion Masters approached Huang Xiao, and the master of the Green Treasure Pavilion briefly sensed an aura like the Saint Thief’s before dismissing it.
• The Pavilion Masters praised Huang Xiao’s talent, and Huang Shui asked Yang Hengchang whether the Sword Pavilion’s prodigy was confident.
• Huang Xiao challenged the Sword Pavilion’s prodigy to fight that day, invoking the Three Pavilion Masters as witnesses, and Yang Hengchang struggled to refuse.

Huang Xiao challenged Feng Xiaofeng to a warm-up match before facing Sword God Yi, declaring that he would use only seventy percent of his power. The Three Pavilion Masters agreed to witness the bout, and they arranged for the Rare Treasures Pavilion's Martial Arts Arena to be cleared for the fight.

• Yang Hengchang recognized that Huang Xiao was stronger than Feng Xiaofeng and tried to avoid the match, but Feng Xiaofeng insisted on fighting.
• Huang Xiao proposed using seventy percent of his power against Feng Xiaofeng, and Yang Hengchang accepted the challenge.
• The Three Pavilion Masters agreed to witness the match and warned both fighters not to cause serious injury or take a life.
• Zhangsun Youyue and Pei Yi decided to stay and watch, while Pei Yi warned Huang Xiao not to be careless.
• Huang Xiao asked for a suitable venue, and Liao Dunqi sent a subordinate to clear the Rare Treasures Pavilion's Martial Arts Arena.

Liao Dunqi arranged a screened audience for Huang Xiao and Feng Xiaofeng’s duel at the Rare Treasures Pavilion. Huang Xiao entered the arena without a sword and declared that his bare fists would suffice, leaving the match poised to begin.

• Liao Dunqi had the Rare Treasures Pavilion screen spectators so the duel could draw attention away from the Saint Thief affair.
• Huang Xiao, Pei Yi, and Zhangsun Youyue followed Liao Dunqi to the Martial Arts Arena, while Zhangsun Youyue sent her coachman back to the Water Pavilion.
• Liao Dunqi arranged seats for the Three Pavilion Masters and the two sides as qualified spectators gathered around the arena.
• Feng Xiaofeng asked Huang Xiao where his sword was, and Liao Dunqi offered to lend him one.
• Huang Xiao refused the offer and said that bare fists would suffice against Feng Xiaofeng.

Huang Xiao fought Feng Xiaofeng barehanded, promising to use only seventy percent of his power and no swordsmanship. He quickly overwhelmed Feng Xiaofeng, sent him flying with a curving palm force, and caught Pursuing Wind, leaving the match unresolved.

• Yang Hengchang grew angry at Huang Xiao's challenge, then calmed down when he realized Feng Xiaofeng could humiliate him and the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord's successor.
• Liao Dunqi confirmed the match could begin after Huang Xiao reaffirmed his conditions.
• Feng Xiaofeng began drawing Pursuing Wind and boasted that it would defeat Huang Xiao.
• Huang Xiao rushed Feng Xiaofeng before he could draw his sword and used his movement skills and palm force to keep him from escaping.
• Huang Xiao forced Pursuing Wind back into its sheath, knocked it into the air, and struck Feng Xiaofeng from behind with a curving palm force.
• Feng Xiaofeng spat blood and was hurled forward as Huang Xiao caught Pursuing Wind in midair.

Huang Xiao defeated Feng Xiaofeng almost instantly by taking his treasured sword before Feng could properly begin his attack. Yang Hengchang accepted the loss and left with the Sword Pavilion, while the Three Pavilion Masters noted that another contest might happen later.

• Huang Xiao seized Feng Xiaofeng's treasured sword with his opening attack and declared that its wielder was disappointing.
• The crowd marveled at Feng Xiaofeng's quick defeat, while Huang Xiao realized Feng's reliance on swordsmanship had left him vulnerable without his weapon.
• Zhangsun Youyue asked the Three Pavilion Masters to confirm Huang Xiao's victory, and they agreed that the result was clear.
• Zhangsun Youyue suggested returning Feng Xiaofeng's sword for a rematch, but Yang Hengchang refused to risk further humiliation.
• Yang Hengchang left with the Sword Pavilion, and the Green Treasure Pavilion Master remarked that there could be another chance to test Shen Yi.

Huang Xiao defeated Feng Xiaofeng without using his full strength, and the Rare Treasures Pavilion decided to reward him. After the contest, Liao Dunqi learned that every Rare Mineral and Strange Stone had lost its spiritual essence.

• Huang Shui praised Huang Xiao's strength, and Zhangsun Youyue asked the Three Pavilion Masters to reward him for winning.
• The Green Treasure Pavilion Master agreed that the Rare Treasures Pavilion should give Huang Xiao a prize, then departed with Chilian and Huang Shui to report on the Saint Thief's escape.
• Huang Xiao returned Pursuing Wind to Feng Xiaofeng, who left vowing to kill him next time.
• A Rare Treasures Pavilion expert told Liao Dunqi to select a suitable reward for Huang Xiao.
• The expert reported that all the Rare Minerals and Strange Stones had lost their spiritual essence, drawing Liao Dunqi's attention.

Liao Dunqi set aside the Rare Treasures Pavilion's drained ores to focus on repairing the damage from the Saint Thief incident, while Huang Xiao returned to the Water Pavilion and met Daoxuanzi. Daoxuanzi thanked Huang Xiao for helping him and questioned how Huang Xiao had learned Shangqing Temple's Upper Clarity Heart Scripture.

• Liao Dunqi examined an ore whose spiritual essence had vanished, suspected a treasure had devoured it, and told his subordinate to prioritize compensating the sects affected by the Saint Thief incident.
• Huang Xiao met Pei Yi, Zhangsun Youyue, and the others after his match, and Zhangsun Youyue explained that the Rare Treasures Pavilion would send them reward treasures.
• Huang Xiao returned to the Water Pavilion, arranged for Zhu Yang to help Liu Yu, and went back to his courtyard.
• Daoxuanzi appeared in Huang Xiao's room, thanked him for helping the Saint Thief, and asked why he had helped despite knowing his identity.
• Daoxuanzi recognized that Huang Xiao knew cultivation methods beyond those of Senior Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord and asked how he had learned Shangqing Temple's Upper Clarity Heart Scripture.

Huang Xiao convinced Daoxuanzi that the Upper Clarity Heart Scripture came from a young Daoist, whom Daoxuanzi mistook for his long-missing junior brother from Shangqing Temple. Daoxuanzi explained the two approaches to cultivating the scripture, while Huang Xiao recognized that Qingfeng had excelled at cultivating the heart and disposition.

• Daoxuanzi recognized that Huang Xiao practiced a mental cultivation method related to Shangqing Temple and urged him to value it despite his use of demonic arts.
• Huang Xiao gave a partly truthful account of learning the Upper Clarity Scripture from a young Daoist who had left to wander the world.
• Daoxuanzi believed the teacher was his junior brother, who had left Shangqing Temple twenty years earlier, and asked Huang Xiao to tell him to return if they met again.
• Huang Xiao asked why he and Daoxuanzi sensed an affinity, and Daoxuanzi explained that they both cultivated the heart and disposition rather than focusing on divine sense.
• Daoxuanzi said neither approach was better, and Huang Xiao thought Qingfeng was naturally suited to cultivating the heart and disposition.

Huang Xiao explained how he recognized Daoxuanzi and helped him escape detection while hiding beneath the carriage, and the two discussed cultivating the heart. Daoxuanzi praised Huang Xiao but warned him about future opponents before examining his meridians.

• Daoxuanzi explained that his Saint Thief identity helped him enter the world and cultivate his heart, while Huang Xiao argued that worldly entanglements might be his own path.
• Daoxuanzi admitted Huang Xiao had saved him from the Three Pavilion Masters, and Huang Xiao explained how he recognized Daoxuanzi’s familiar presence and inferred he was hiding beneath the carriage.
• Huang Xiao recalled challenging Feng Xiaofeng to draw attention away from the carriage, allowing Daoxuanzi to escape when the driver left.
• Daoxuanzi praised Huang Xiao for taking Feng Xiaofeng’s treasured sword but warned him that Sword God Yi was the Sword Pavilion’s true formidable genius.
• Daoxuanzi began advising Huang Xiao not to underestimate opponents, then caught Huang Xiao’s wrist and sent internal power through his meridians.

Daoxuanzi examined the curse afflicting Huang Xiao and recognized that the internal power suppressing it came from an extraordinarily powerful master. He revealed that the Rare Treasures Pavilion was only a public front for hidden powers and concluded that the Masked Old Man ranked among the Jianghu’s greatest experts, though he could not identify him.

• Daoxuanzi regretted not knowing earlier that Huang Xiao had been cursed and said he would have tried to obtain Phoenix Blood for him.
• Daoxuanzi recognized the Masked Old Man’s internal power in Huang Xiao and judged its owner’s cultivation to be beyond his own.
• Daoxuanzi explained that the Rare Treasures Pavilion was merely the public face of powers able to rival Shangqing Temple and the Sword Pavilion.
• Daoxuanzi identified the Masked Old Man as an old master whose strength matched the Hall Masters of the Demon Hall’s Three Great Halls, but could not determine his identity.
• Daoxuanzi wondered why the Masked Old Man had only suppressed Huang Xiao’s curse instead of dispelling it outright.

Daoxuanzi warned Huang Xiao to be wary of the powerful old man who taught him the Three-Form Demon Saber Technique and confirmed that Phoenix Blood could dispel his curse. He revealed that the Sword Pavilion held the Phoenix Blood and proposed taking it to punish Yang Hengchang for disrupting his plans.

• Daoxuanzi told Huang Xiao that resisting the old man was futile at his current strength and urged him to stay cautious.
• Daoxuanzi promised to keep Huang Xiao's Demon-Ghost Blood Curse secret and said Phoenix Blood could dispel it.
• Daoxuanzi revealed that the Sword Pavilion had obtained the Phoenix Blood, and Huang Xiao gave up hope of getting it from them willingly.
• Daoxuanzi said they would seize the Phoenix Blood to make Yang Hengchang pay for delaying Huang Xiao's group and nearly ruining his plans.

Daoxuanzi explained that he had stolen the Phoenix Feather to prevent the Sword Pavilion from gaining the Phoenix’s power and to thwart the Rare Treasures Pavilion’s scheme. He planned to take the Phoenix Blood from Yang Hengchang, while Huang Xiao learned that the gathering’s hidden purpose was to provoke conflict among the Jianghu factions.

• Daoxuanzi said Yang Hengchang had caused his near exposure and that he intended to settle accounts with him and the Sword Pavilion by taking the Phoenix Blood.
• Daoxuanzi told Huang Xiao that Yang Hengchang and the Sword Pavilion would remain in Chaotic Province because they wanted Inugami.
• Huang Xiao asked why Daoxuanzi had exposed the Phoenix Feather’s aura and thrown it among the crowd instead of destroying it.
• Daoxuanzi said he feared the Rare Treasures Pavilion might possess another Phoenix Feather and explained that the Sword Pavilion must not capture the Phoenix.
• Daoxuanzi revealed that the Rare Treasures Pavilion had engineered events to draw rival Jianghu factions into a clash with the Sword Pavilion.
• Daoxuanzi said the Pavilion’s hidden backers hoped the Saint Thief would steal the Phoenix Feather, though they did not know his identity or his ties to Shangqing Temple.

Daoxuanzi explained why the sects opposed the Sword Pavilion and why the approaching Demon Hall Thousand-Year Period could bring upheaval. He then suggested that Huang Xiao’s Demonic Art and Demonic Saber Technique might make him a candidate to become the Demon Hall’s next Hall Master.

• Daoxuanzi told Huang Xiao that he had revealed the Phoenix Feather’s aura to hinder the Sword Pavilion and hoped another faction would obtain the Divine Beast Phoenix.
• Daoxuanzi said the Demon Hall’s Thousand-Year Period was approaching and predicted that the Demon Hall would threaten the Sword Pavilion’s ambitions.
• Daoxuanzi explained that the Demon Hall’s Hall Master gained overwhelming strength through a secret the Jianghu’s sects could not uncover.
• Huang Xiao considered his connection to the Demon Hall through his cultivation method and the Masked Old Man who taught him the Demonic Saber Technique.
• Daoxuanzi remarked that Huang Xiao might be a member of the Demon Hall and imagined him becoming its Hall Master.