Chapter Summaries

Yang Hengchang worried that the Heavenly Evil Sect might exploit the Phoenix and the Evil Blades, while Huang Xiao and the other captives were forced deeper into Mist Mountain. When the captives’ escape plan was exposed, Huang Xiao joined the flight and pulled the burly man toward a different route as Heavenly Evil Sect pursuers closed in.

• Yang Hengchang judged Jiang Liuli more promising than Feng Xiaofeng and feared that the Sword Pavilion’s forces might be insufficient if the Phoenix appeared.
• The next day, the Heavenly Evil Sect escorted Huang Xiao and more than a thousand captives into Mist Mountain, where poisonous miasma weakened them and stragglers were killed.
• Huang Xiao accepted the burly man’s proposal to join a revolt, but the Heavenly Evil Sect discovered their secret communications and attacked.
• The captives scattered and fought back as they fled, and Huang Xiao followed the burly man’s group while hiding his Half-Step Martial Realm strength.
• When two Half-Step Martial Realm pursuers approached the group, the burly man chose to go right, but Huang Xiao grabbed him and led him left.

Huang Xiao led Chen Jiao and his companions away from the main fleeing crowd, then stopped to face the Heavenly Evil Sect pursuers. He killed two of them and left the reason the sect had driven people into Mist Mountain still unknown.

• Huang Xiao redirected Chen Jiao and four others to the left, but three Heavenly Evil Sect pursuers caught up with them.
• Two frightened men abandoned the group, while Chen Jiao, Biaozi, and Huzi pledged to follow Huang Xiao and stand together.
• Huang Xiao questioned the pursuers about why the Heavenly Evil Sect was driving people into Mist Mountain and whether it was connected to the Phoenix.
• The Heavenly Evil Sect men threatened to kill the group, and Huang Xiao revealed his Half-Step Martial Realm strength by beheading two of them in a flash.

Huang Xiao accepted Chen Jiao’s beast immortal grass, which could attract divine beasts, then chose to head deeper into Mist Mountain to seek the Phoenix. After killing the remaining Heavenly Evil Sect pursuer, he sensed more sect experts approaching.

• Chen Jiao gave Huang Xiao beast immortal grass and explained that divine beasts prized it, while his ancestor had once served an unknown divine beast.
• Huang Xiao accepted the gift, and Chen Jiao, Biaozi, and Huzi left for Imperial Province and the coming Ranking Contest.
• A returning Heavenly Evil Sect expert threw two captured Jianghu men toward Huang Xiao and fled after seeing his dead companions.
• Huang Xiao killed the two Jianghu men to protect his secret, then caught and killed the fleeing Heavenly Evil Sect expert.
• Huang Xiao sensed several Heavenly Evil Sect experts heading toward him and realized he had made too much noise.

Huang Xiao fled deeper into Mist Mountain with a Heavenly Evil Sect expert, Zheng Hu, pursuing him. After their fight stirred Huang Xiao’s Demon-Ghost Blood Curse, Huang Xiao posed as a Demon Hall member to make Zheng Hu hesitate, but Zheng Hu called for reinforcements, leaving Huang Xiao in greater danger.

• Huang Xiao escaped into Mist Mountain, but Zheng Hu caught up and challenged him to fight.
• Huang Xiao used a tricky palm strike, then unleashed the Heavenly Demon Skill and fought Zheng Hu with the Heavenly Demon Subduing Tiger Fist.
• Zheng Hu’s Evil Dao aura stirred the suppressed Demon-Ghost Blood Curse inside Huang Xiao, making Huang Xiao fear that continued fighting could kill him.
• Huang Xiao claimed to be from the Demon Hall and implied that its lords knew of the Heavenly Evil Sect’s plans, making Zheng Hu wary.
• Zheng Hu decided to capture Huang Xiao and sent a piercing cry to summon the Heavenly Evil Sect members.

Huang Xiao tried to escape while Zheng Hu summoned the Heavenly Evil Sect, but Jiang Liuli arrived and revealed she recognized him. After Jiang Liuli severed Zheng Hu’s right hand, Huang Xiao drew her away as he fled, leaving Zheng Hu wondering who the mysterious “Huang lad” was.

• Huang Xiao and Zheng Hu howled for allies, then Huang Xiao attacked while Zheng Hu waited for the Heavenly Evil Sect’s experts.
• Jiang Liuli arrived, recognized Huang Xiao despite his disguise, and warned him to stay put.
• Huang Xiao told Zheng Hu that Jiang Liuli had reached the Half-Step Martial Realm, but Zheng Hu still challenged her.
• Jiang Liuli overwhelmed Zheng Hu’s forbidden-art-enhanced Palm Force and severed his right hand with the Lihuo Sword.
• Zheng Hu fled, then realized Jiang Liuli had turned to pursue Huang Xiao and wondered whether the boy was a hidden young expert named Huang.

After Zheng Hu lost his hand, the Heavenly Evil Sect forced the surviving Jianghu fighters to a secluded valley, where Linghu Xiang ordered them into a deadly Evil Array. Elder Han watched as the gray mist thickened, confident the captives would break the array, though earlier Heavenly Evil Sect experts had all died inside.

• Jiang Liuli severed Zheng Hu’s right hand, and he left vowing to seek revenge through the Heavenly Evil Sect.
• Elder Qin and the other Void Martial Realm experts ordered the remaining captives onward, then delivered them to Linghu Xiang and Elder Han.
• Linghu Xiang forced the Jianghu fighters into the mist-covered valley, warning that anyone who stayed behind would be killed.
• Elder Han said the captives’ entry would begin the attempt to break the Evil Array, whose mist grew denser around them.

Elder Han ordered the Heavenly Evil Sect to use Jianghu people and then its own disciples as sacrifices to weaken the evil qi in the mist, but the effort barely changed it. As rival factions arrived and Han Chengsang left to confront them, Huang Xiao watched from hiding and realized the evil qi was being replenished.

• Elder Han had Jianghu people driven into the mist, where they lost their minds and killed one another; their deaths failed to disperse the evil qi.
• After learning that experts from the God-Burying Hall, the Sword Pavilion, and other factions had arrived, Han Chengsang left to stop them and ordered Linghu Xiang to obtain the Evil Blade within a quarter of an hour.
• Linghu Xiang sent Heavenly Evil Sect disciples into the mist as sacrifices, first dozens of Peerless Realm disciples and then more than a hundred others, followed by the Half-Step Martial Realm disciples.
• Huang Xiao, having fled from Jiang Liuli, hid on a rock above the valley and observed the Heavenly Evil Sect's sacrifice.
• Huang Xiao realized the mist was likely made of evil qi rather than a formation and that the Heavenly Evil Sect's sacrifices had barely weakened it.
• After the remaining Half-Step Martial Realm experts fell, Huang Xiao concluded that something was replenishing the evil qi, though he could not tell what.

Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli discovered that the Heavenly Evil Sect was searching the valley for the Evil Blade Tiger Wing, and they agreed to a temporary truce to investigate. Their uneasy alliance ended when Fan Zhongkun suddenly attacked them, declaring that he would kill them both.

• Huang Xiao warned Jiang Liuli that Heavenly Evil Sect experts were gathered in the valley below, and she agreed to postpone their duel.
• Jiang Liuli revealed that the Sword Pavilion sought both the Phoenix and Tiger Wing, while the Heavenly Evil Sect had come to Chaotic Province seeking Tiger Wing and Inugami.
• Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli watched as the Heavenly Evil Sect's disciples died in the gray mist, leaving its elders facing the dangerous task of advancing.
• Fan Zhongkun attacked Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli from behind, and they joined forces to block his saber.
• Fan Zhongkun said his injuries had healed and threatened to kill them both.

Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli fell into the secluded valley with Fan Zhongkun, where evil qi prevented them from escaping. Linghu Xiang sent Heavenly Evil Sect elders into the mist to seize Inugami and search for Tiger Wing, while Fan Zhongkun attacked Huang Xiao for the Imitation Saber.

• Fan Zhongkun overwhelmed Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli, sending them over the cliff before following them into the valley.
• The evil qi stopped Fan Zhongkun from controlling the momentum of heaven and earth, and he landed among Linghu Xiang and the Heavenly Evil Sect experts.
• Linghu Xiang ordered the elders to charge into the mist and seize Inugami, hoping to recover Tiger Wing as well.
• Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli found themselves trapped by the valley and struggled against the invading evil qi.
• Fan Zhongkun charged at Huang Xiao to take the Imitation Saber, and Huang Xiao fled deeper into the valley with Jiang Liuli following.

Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli were cornered by Fan Zhongkun at the end of the secluded valley, where Huang Xiao’s Minghong Saber pushed back the evil qi. When Fan Zhongkun attacked, Inugami suddenly dragged him toward a pile of rocks, and an oppressive force knocked all three fighters down.

• Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli reached a cliff at the end of the valley with Fan Zhongkun close behind them.
• Fan Zhongkun attacked, but the Minghong Saber released an aura that cleared the evil qi around Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli, letting them force Fan Zhongkun back.
• Fan Zhongkun recognized the saber’s aura and learned that Huang Xiao was the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord’s successor, then attacked him again with Inugami.
• Inugami abruptly changed direction and pulled Fan Zhongkun into a pile of rocks, shattering them with his slash.
• An oppressive force descended, forcing Jiang Liuli to one knee and knocking Huang Xiao and Fan Zhongkun facedown, unable to rise.

Huang Xiao, Jiang Liuli, and Fan Zhongkun discovered Tiger Wing while searching for the Phoenix, whose immense aura had pinned them down. The Phoenix finally appeared beside the saber as a palm-sized fiery-red bird.

• Huang Xiao realized Fan Zhongkun had broken a concealment formation and awakened the nearby Phoenix.
• Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli recognized the saber embedded in the rocks as Tiger Wing, one of the Three Ancient Evil Blades.
• Linghu Xiang watched the Heavenly Evil Sect elders struggle through the evil energy and considered waiting to seize Tiger Wing from Fan Zhongkun.
• A palm-sized fiery-red bird hopped out from behind a rock beside Tiger Wing.

Huang Xiao and the others discovered that the tiny bird was a wounded Young Phoenix, which began devouring Tiger Wing’s spiritual sentience to recover. As evil qi overcame the Heavenly Evil Sect elders, Fan Zhongkun moved to attack Huang Xiao, who threatened him by pointing his saber at the Phoenix.

• Huang Xiao recognized the bird perched on Tiger Wing as a Young Phoenix and saw it absorb evil qi.
• The Phoenix suppressed Tiger Wing’s eruption and began devouring its spiritual sentience, which Fan Zhongkun and Jiang Liuli identified as a way to heal its injuries.
• Fan Zhongkun restrained Inugami to avoid provoking the Phoenix, while an elder succumbed to evil and the other elders approached.
• Fan Zhongkun stood and prepared to attack Huang Xiao, but Huang Xiao warned him not to move and threatened to drag him to his death by endangering the Phoenix.

Huang Xiao refused to surrender the Minghong Saber, which was suppressing the evil qi, and tried to use Phoenix’s threat to escape Fan Zhongkun. The Heavenly Evil Sect elders intervened, but one attacked Huang Xiao to seize the saber as he fled with Jiang Liuli.

• Fan Zhongkun demanded Huang Xiao’s saber, but Huang Xiao refused, explaining that it was keeping the evil qi at bay.
• Fan Zhongkun attacked, and Huang Xiao threatened to enrage Phoenix before charging toward it.
• Linghu Xiang ordered the Heavenly Evil Sect elders to stop Huang Xiao and kill Fan Zhongkun, while two elders intercepted Huang Xiao and persuaded him to leave.
• Huang Xiao called for Jiang Liuli to escape with him, but one elder struck at him with Palm Force as he ran.
• The elder revealed that he believed Huang Xiao’s saber could suppress the evil qi and make it easier for them to resist.

Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli tried to survive the Heavenly Evil Sect elders’ attacks by using the Minghong Saber’s protection from evil qi, but Fan Zhongkun blocked their escape. As the battle turned against the elders, Fan Zhongkun killed one of them with Inugami.

• Huang Xiao returned to Jiang Liuli’s side, drove back the evil qi, and persuaded her to join him against the two Heavenly Evil Sect elders.
• Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli evaded the elders’ attacks and waited for the evil qi to weaken them, while Linghu Xiang worried that Fan Zhongkun was overpowering the other elders.
• The two elders abandoned their fight with Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli to help surround Fan Zhongkun, and Huang Xiao tried to lead Jiang Liuli toward the exit.
• Fan Zhongkun blocked their path and warned Huang Xiao that he would settle accounts with him after killing the elders.
• Fan Zhongkun drove Inugami through a Heavenly Evil Sect elder’s chest, shattered his internal organs with its evil qi, and killed him.

Linghu Xiang learned that Fan Zhongkun was defeating the Heavenly Evil Sect elders, while the Phoenix guarded Tiger Wing. He swallowed the rare Evil-Transforming Pill and entered the mist to confront Fan Zhongkun, finding that it weakened the evil qi’s influence and seemed to increase his strength.

• Fan Zhongkun killed one of the Heavenly Evil Sect elders and continued driving the others back as Linghu Xiang realized they could not retreat.
• A Half-Step Martial Realm disciple told Linghu Xiang that Han Chengsang wanted to know whether Tiger Wing had been secured.
• Linghu Xiang told the disciple that he would pursue Inugami and deal with Fan Zhongkun, since the Phoenix guarded Tiger Wing.
• Linghu Xiang swallowed the Evil-Transforming Pill Han Chengsang had given him and charged into the mist with his sword.
• Linghu Xiang found that the pill greatly reduced the evil qi’s influence and that circulating his cultivation method seemed to let him draw strength from it.

Fan Zhongkun slaughtered the Evil Qi-weakened Heavenly Evil Sect elders in Secluded Valley until Linghu Xiang entered and challenged him. Linghu Xiang’s first sword strike drove Fan Zhongkun back, and both men prepared to end the fight quickly.

• Fan Zhongkun killed three elders and gravely wounded another, who succumbed to the Evil Qi.
• Fan Zhongkun continued his rampage as the remaining Heavenly Evil Sect elders weakened and neared madness.
• Linghu Xiang charged into Secluded Valley, and Fan Zhongkun decided to deal with him before killing the young man and taking the saber.
• Linghu Xiang attacked Fan Zhongkun with a Sword Glint, forcing him to block and stagger backward.
• Linghu Xiang pressed forward, and Fan Zhongkun realized his opponent’s strength had barely been affected by the Evil Qi.

Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli tried to escape while Linghu Xiang fought Fan Zhongkun for Inugami, but the Heavenly Evil Sect's pursuers and rival factions entered the Secluded Valley and blocked their way. Han Chengsang recognized Jiang Liuli and Huang Xiao, and saw the Sword Pavilion girl as a target while the factions converged on Tiger Wing, the Phoenix, and the evil blades.

• Linghu Xiang attacked Fan Zhongkun and demanded Inugami, while the Heavenly Evil Sect elders sat down to resist the evil qi.
• Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli fled as Linghu Xiang kept Fan Zhongkun occupied, and Jiang Liuli promised not to challenge Huang Xiao for a day once they escaped.
• Han Chengsang and the Heavenly Evil Sect retreated into the Secluded Valley as rival factions broke through the entrance and pursued them.
• Jiang Liuli recognized the Sword Pavilion elder Geng Jin among the newcomers, while Huang Xiao realized the factions had blocked their escape.
• A Heavenly Evil Sect expert identified Huang Xiao as the Transcendent Immortal Sword Lord's successor and Jiang Liuli as a Sword Pavilion disciple, and Han Chengsang turned his attention to her.

Han Chengsang entered the Phoenix’s domain to seize Inugami, but Fan Zhongkun struck toward the Phoenix and provoked it. The Phoenix turned on the Martial Realm experts, and Jiang Liuli reunited with her Granduncle Geng as the confrontation escalated.

• Han Chengsang pushed past the elders and pursued Fan Zhongkun while Huang Xiao and Jiang Liuli stayed within the Evil Qi for protection.
• Fan Zhongkun fled Linghu Xiang, then slashed Inugami toward Tiger Wing and the Phoenix to provoke it rather than surrender the blade.
• The Phoenix’s pressure intensified, forcing Huang Xiao, Jiang Liuli, and Fan Zhongkun to their knees as more experts broke through the Heavenly Evil Sect’s blockade.
• The Phoenix rose from Tiger Wing and charged Han Chengsang instead of killing Fan Zhongkun when two more Martial Realm experts entered.
• One of the newcomers recognized Jiang Liuli as his grandniece, and she addressed him as Granduncle Geng.

Phoenix fought Han Chengsang, Wu Rusong, and Geng Jin as its rising aura weakened the evil qi and let more Void Martial Realm experts enter the valley. With those experts closing in and Jiang Liuli offering him protection, Huang Xiao refused her help and charged toward Tiger Wing, leaving his intentions uncertain.

• Geng Jin, Wu Rusong, and Han Chengsang agreed to join forces against Phoenix and tried to capture it before more experts arrived.
• Phoenix attacked Han Chengsang, pierced his fist with its claw, and sent scorching force rampaging through his arm as Wu Rusong and Geng Jin joined the fight.
• Linghu Xiang tried to seize Tiger Wing, but Fan Zhongkun blocked him and refused to yield.
• Phoenix's aura weakened the evil qi, allowing Elder Qin and other Void Martial Realm experts to charge back into the valley.
• Jiang Liuli offered Huang Xiao the Sword Pavilion's protection, but Huang Xiao refused her help and rushed toward Fan Zhongkun, Linghu Xiang, and Tiger Wing.

Huang Xiao seized Tiger Wing and endured its Evil Qi to boost his strength while Linghu Xiang was held back by Fan Zhongkun. When Hao Jinghai attacked him, Huang Xiao regained control enough to deflect the strike with Tiger Wing, leaving Hao Jinghai wary and putting on gauntlets.

• Linghu Xiang kept Fan Zhongkun under pressure as Huang Xiao tricked Linghu Xiang, circled around him, and rushed toward Tiger Wing.
• Huang Xiao gripped Tiger Wing and pulled it from the boulders, allowing its Evil Qi into his Meridians while using the Upper Clarity Scripture to preserve his clarity.
• Huang Xiao's power rose as he endured Tiger Wing's assault, while Hao Jinghai charged at him to settle their scores and claim the blade.
• Huang Xiao opened his eyes and swept Tiger Wing at Hao Jinghai, forcing him to withdraw his claw before it touched the blade.
• Hao Jinghai admitted he had been overconfident and began putting on a pair of gauntlets.