Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao met the Masked Old Man, who revealed that he was the founder of the Heavenly Demon Sect and urged Huang Xiao to compete for the Demon Hall Master's Seat. The Masked Old Man took the Minghong Saber for safekeeping and, after sensing Huang Xiao's refined true qi, asked what had happened to it.

• The Masked Old Man confirmed that he had the Supreme Demon Saber and told Yuan Heng he would return it when a new Hall Master took office.
• Huang Xiao offered the Masked Old Man the Longevity Pill Manual jade slip, and the old man told him to hand it over to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
• The Masked Old Man told Huang Xiao to defeat Pang Yi and claim the Hall Master's Seat, then revealed he had founded the Heavenly Demon Sect and had come from the Central Plains.
• The Masked Old Man took Huang Xiao's Minghong Saber for temporary safekeeping and admitted he was still searching for a way back to the Central Plains.
• The Masked Old Man sensed something unusual in Huang Xiao's true qi, briefly mistook it for the Demon Refining Formula, then asked how Huang Xiao's qi had been refined.

Huang Xiao explained his flame-essence method of refining true qi, and the Masked Old Man warned him to keep it secret and never practice the Demon Refining Formula. The Masked Old Man then captured Demon Phoenix, learned how it hatched and discovered its unusual demonic aura, before suggesting the lava’s flame essence could help it recover.

• Huang Xiao told the Masked Old Man how he had refined his true qi with flame essence, and kept his connection to the Longevity Pill Manual secret.
• The Masked Old Man instructed Huang Xiao to continue refining his true qi in secret, memorize but never practice the Demon Refining Formula, and reserve the strand of true qi in his dantian for life-or-death situations.
• The Masked Old Man suddenly left the formation and returned with Demon Phoenix, startling Huang Xiao and the observers outside.
• Demon Phoenix thanked the Masked Old Man for saving it, and Huang Xiao explained how the Minghong Saber had helped it hatch and left it with a mixture of phoenix and demonic qi.
• The Masked Old Man said the flame essence in the lava could help Demon Phoenix recover from its failed Nirvana, and Huang Xiao asked whether the lost fire jade would have helped even more.

Huang Xiao left with the Demon Hall after the Masked Old Man revealed that he had obtained a Jade Slip, while Demon Phoenix stayed behind to absorb Flame Essence from the lava lake. As Demon Phoenix began refining what he had devoured, a crowd gathered for the Evil Blades and the Heavenly Evil Sect arrived, led by an uncanny young man in the Enlightenment Realm.

• The Masked Old Man kept Demon Phoenix with him and sent Huang Xiao back with the Demon Hall, noting that Huang Xiao had obtained a Jade Slip.
• The Masked Old Man took Demon Phoenix, Wang Jiu, and Fan Zhongkun to the lava lake, where Demon Phoenix plunged in to absorb Flame Essence.
• The Masked Old Man killed attackers who pursued Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun for Tiger Wing and Inugami as they traveled to the lake.
• Demon Phoenix emerged from the lava with a swollen belly, belched out flames, and began refining the Flame Essence as onlookers recognized him as a phoenix.
• A crowd surrounded the lake to seize the phoenix or the Evil Blades, and the Heavenly Evil Sect arrived with an uncanny young man whose aura revealed that he was in the Enlightenment Realm.

Jiang Wei confronted the Masked Old Man over the ownership of the Ancient Evil Blades, but the old man claimed they belonged to the Three Great Evil Dao Lineages and hinted that Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun were their descendants. Demon Phoenix then unleashed a vast display of power, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Jiang Wei recognized the Masked Old Man as a senior Demon Hall expert and argued that the Ancient Evil Blades belonged to the Heavenly Evil Sect.
• The Masked Old Man said the blades belonged to the Three Great Evil Dao Lineages, which had once jointly controlled the Heavenly Evil Sect before being nearly wiped out.
• Jiang Wei suspected that Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun were descendants of two lineages, and the Masked Old Man challenged him to disprove it.
• Demon Phoenix warned Jiang Wei against targeting the Evil Blades and himself, then summoned a gigantic magma Phoenix from the lake.

The Demon Phoenix used the magma phoenix to slaughter Jianghu practitioners and kill three Heavenly Evil Sect Martial Realm experts by concentrating flame essence inside it. Fueled by the lake’s abundant flame essence, he then attacked Jiang Wei, while the Masked Old Man told Wang Jiu to watch.

• The Demon Phoenix sent the magma phoenix into the crowd, killing many Void Martial Realm practitioners and then burning two Martial Realm experts to death.
• The Demon Phoenix directed the magma phoenix toward the Heavenly Evil Sect, and Jiang Wei sent three of his Martial Realm subordinates to fight it.
• The Demon Phoenix drew flame essence into the magma phoenix’s interior, killing the three Heavenly Evil Sect experts before Jiang Wei destroyed its rocky shell.
• The Demon Phoenix attacked Jiang Wei with a flame-formed phoenix, and the Masked Old Man told Wang Jiu to watch rather than intervene.

Demon Phoenix fought Jiang Wei and destroyed the Heavenly Evil Sect forces accompanying him, but the Masked Old Man stopped the battle before it could continue. The Masked Old Man then suggested that Fan Zhongkun and Wang Jiu descended from the Three Great Evil Dao Lineages, leaving them surprised by their connection to the past.

• Demon Phoenix used its flame essence to battle Jiang Wei, then detonated its gathered flames, injuring him and killing the remaining Heavenly Evil Sect experts.
• Demon Phoenix tried to attack Jiang Wei again, but the Masked Old Man confined it and ordered Jiang Wei to leave, warning the Heavenly Evil Sect against pursuing Inugami and Tiger Wing.
• After Jiang Wei and the watching experts withdrew, Demon Phoenix returned to the lava lake to absorb more flame essence.
• The Masked Old Man told Fan Zhongkun that Inugami's influence suggested he carried the bloodline of one of the Three Great Evil Dao Lineages.
• The Masked Old Man said Wang Jiu was likely descended from the Wang Family and explained that giving the two men the Evil Blades had been a lucky fluke.

The Masked Old Man told Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun about the Three Great Families’ lost heritage and clues to a hidden secret site. He revealed that the site could only be found once all three Ancient Evil Blades were gathered, and proposed investigating Fan Zhongkun’s ancestral home for further clues.

• The Masked Old Man explained that the Three Great Families had prepared secret sites before their defeat, and he believed their most important site remained undiscovered.
• Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun knelt and kowtowed to the Masked Old Man, who said he would reveal the site’s location after all three Ancient Evil Blades were gathered.
• The Masked Old Man confirmed that the Zhu Family still had a descendant and that Dragon Fang could not yet be obtained.
• The Masked Old Man explained that the Three Great Families fell to the Demon Hall’s first Hall Master, with the Wang and Zhu heads killed and the wounded Fan head escaping with Tiger Wing and Inugami.
• Fan Zhongkun realized that the treasure map leading to Inugami may have been left by his ancestor, and the Masked Old Man suggested his ancestral home might hold more clues.

Fan Zhongkun agreed to postpone returning to his ancestral home until the three family descendants gathered and obtained Dragon Fang. The Masked Old Man awakened the Minghong Saber, which absorbed the magma lake’s Flame Essence, then led Wang Jiu and Fan Zhongkun away to find the Zhu Family’s descendant while keeping the Demon Phoenix with him.

• Fan Zhongkun and Wang Jiu discussed the dangers of returning to Fan Zhongkun’s ancestral home, and the Masked Old Man told them to wait until the three family descendants gathered and obtained Dragon Fang.
• The Demon Phoenix finished recovering in the magma lake and asked to absorb more Flame Essence, but the Masked Old Man told him to focus on incorporating what he had already absorbed.
• The Masked Old Man channeled his demonic art into the Minghong Saber, awakening it and causing it to absorb the lake’s Flame Essence until the magma solidified into rock.
• The Demon Phoenix asked to use the Minghong Saber, and the Masked Old Man agreed to let him draw on its Flame Essence and promised to guide his cultivation.
• The Demon Phoenix asked whether the Minghong Saber was the Supreme Demon Saber, and the Masked Old Man gave an ambiguous answer.
• The Masked Old Man told Wang Jiu to guide Fan Zhongkun and the other descendants, then set out with them to find a safe place and locate the Zhu Family’s descendant; he kept the Demon Phoenix with him.

The Masked Old Man disguised himself as Mute Uncle and traveled with the Minghong Saber to Qinyang City, while rumors about the Dragon Rankings Contest and its treasures spread. When he returned to his room, a second saber identical to the Minghong Saber reacted to the one he carried, leaving Demon Phoenix stunned.

• Leng Guhan led the Sword Pavilion party away from Dragon Mountain, and Lu Tingyou backed down from confronting Jiang Wei after Leng Guhan ignored him.
• The Masked Old Man disguised himself as an old, frail mute and took the wrapped Minghong Saber toward the Imperial City, with Demon Phoenix posing as an ordinary black bird.
• Travelers at a tea shop argued over the Dragon Rankings Contest and spread rumors about the treasure, including claims that Liu Chongming had obtained a divine weapon.
• Mute Uncle returned to Qinyang City with the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency and went back to his room carrying the Minghong Saber.
• Mute Uncle drew the Minghong Saber, causing an identical saber in his drawer to tremble and fly into his other hand.

The Masked Old Man revealed that he had killed the real Mute Uncle decades earlier and ordered Liu Jinyi to use his network of Escort Agencies to search for Craftsman God Ou Jin. He then took the two Minghong Sabers and jumped into a dry well, with Demon Phoenix following.

• The Masked Old Man questioned Liu Jinyi and Liu Yu about Liu Yu's visit to his room and disclosed that he had killed the real Mute Uncle decades ago.
• When Liu Yu shouted at the Masked Old Man, the old man injured him with his aura, and Liu Jinyi begged for mercy.
• The Masked Old Man gave Liu Jinyi a Token that could command more than ninety percent of the world's Escort Agencies and ordered him to search for Craftsman God Ou Jin.
• Liu Jinyi carried Liu Yu away and privately wondered whether the Masked Old Man's presence was connected to information his father had left behind about Senior Li.
• The Masked Old Man explained to Demon Phoenix that he had secretly united Escort Agencies for their discreet information channels and was seeking Ou Jin to forge the two Minghong Sabers.
• The Masked Old Man reached a dry well in the courtyard and jumped inside, while Demon Phoenix looked down and followed.

The Masked Old Man brought the Demon Phoenix to an ancient formation and tested it with both Minghong Sabers, but neither fully activated it. He revealed that the formation might take him home and help him survive the coming catastrophe, then named himself Huo Lian and vowed to fight rather than submit.

• The Masked Old Man opened a hidden doorway in the dry well and led the Demon Phoenix into a vast chamber containing an ancient formation.
• The Masked Old Man inserted his own Minghong Saber into the formation, but its black-and-red light spread through only a third of the grooves before he withdrew it.
• The Masked Old Man tested Huang Xiao's Minghong Saber; its light reached nearly two-thirds of the formation before stopping, and he said he needed Ou Jin's help.
• The Demon Phoenix asked about the formation, and the Masked Old Man said it might take him home and help him endure the coming catastrophe.
• The Masked Old Man told the Demon Phoenix that powerful enemies would not let him live, then identified himself as Huo Lian and declared he would fight.

Huo Lian placed Demon Phoenix in a powerful Spirit-Gathering Formation to cultivate, then revealed that he had helped capture the elders of Demon Phoenix's Phoenix lineage. Demon Phoenix's fury was easily suppressed, and Huo Lian compared the captured Divine Beasts to livestock slaughtered by the strong.

• Huo Lian led Demon Phoenix out of the underground chamber and offered him a secluded place to recover and assimilate the Flame Essence.
• Demon Phoenix entered Huo Lian's hidden high-grade Spirit-Gathering Formation, where Huo Lian told him to cultivate for half a month before teaching him a Phoenix method of circulating power.
• Demon Phoenix asked about the elders of his Phoenix lineage, and Huo Lian said they had probably died after being captured nearly a thousand years earlier.
• Demon Phoenix vowed to rescue or avenge the elders, then realized Huo Lian had been one of their captors and accused him of being an accomplice.
• Huo Lian restrained Demon Phoenix when he tried to escape the formation and argued that the strong devoured the weak, comparing the captured Divine Beasts to livestock.

The Demon Phoenix accepted Huo Lian’s offer to help it grow stronger and spent ten days cultivating, while Huo Lian met Li Bai at the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency. Li Bai and Huo Lian discussed the conflict between the Demon Hall and the Three Immortal Mountains before Huo Lian asked about a route back through the dry well.

• Huo Lian told the Demon Phoenix that divine beasts were being raised and slaughtered, then offered to teach it and lend it the Minghong Saber so it could seek revenge.
• The Demon Phoenix suspected Huo Lian was using both it and Huang Xiao, but decided to cultivate and increase its strength.
• After ten days in the Spirit-Gathering Formation, the Demon Phoenix had assimilated most of the Flame Essence it had swallowed.
• The Demon Phoenix saw Li Bai arrive in the courtyard, but Huo Lian blocked its view and sound before meeting him.
• Li Bai recognized Huo Lian, greeted him, and discussed the Demon Hall’s long-running conflict with the Three Immortal Mountains.
• Huo Lian asked Li Bai about the way back through the dry well, revealing that he had discovered the location Li Bai had found.

Li Bai discussed the return formation with Huo Lian, who warned him about the coming conflict surrounding the Demon Hall’s thousand-year period. Half a month after the Ranking Contest, Huang Xiao arrived in Youzhou battered and humiliated by God-Burying Hall’s men.

• Li Bai explained that the formation beneath the dry well likely required Huo Lian’s Supreme Demon Saber to activate, but Huo Lian said the saber was still inadequate.
• Huo Lian ordered Li Bai to warn his ancestor to search seriously for a way back, and Li Bai agreed to deliver the message.
• Huo Lian revealed that Imperial Remnant Manor might soon join forces with the Three Immortal Mountains, and Li Bai realized the thousand-year period could involve a greater threat than he had expected.
• Li Bai mentioned the Transcendent Immortal Escort Agency’s connection to the dry well before Huo Lian sent him away.
• Huang Xiao reached Youzhou with the Demon Hall after enduring repeated beatings, deprivation, and humiliation from Pang Ruhuo’s subordinates over his jade slip.

Huang Xiao arrived at the Demon Hall headquarters with Yuan Heng, Pang Ruhuo, Pang Yi, and Lou Feishang, where the Grand Elder and the three Hall Masters were expected to receive them. Grand Elder Ma questioned the group about their Jade Slips and Chao Jue’s death, then turned to Huang Xiao and asked whether he was Huang Xiao.

• Huang Xiao resolved to challenge Pang Yi for the chance to contend for the Hall Master's Seat, while Lou Feishang despaired of keeping up with them.
• At the Demon Hall gates, Yuan Heng and Pang Ruhuo learned that Grand Elder Ma and the three Hall Masters would receive them in Side Hall Two.
• Yuan Heng brought Huang Xiao, Pang Yi, and Lou Feishang into the headquarters, where Huang Xiao observed the Demon Hall's powerful experts and Pang Yi's familiarity with the place.
• Grand Elder Ma entered Side Hall Two, and Yuan Heng and Pang Ruhuo respectfully took their seats while the three younger men stood.
• Grand Elder Ma asked Pang Ruhuo about the two Jade Slips and Chao Jue's death, then asked Huang Xiao if he was Huang Xiao.

The Grand Elder examined the Jade Slips of the Longevity Pill Manual and questioned Yuan Heng and Pang Ruhuo about Huang Xiao’s cultivation method and Leng Guhan’s actions at Dragon Mountain. The Three Great Halls’ leaders arrived and clashed over their seating, leaving Huang Xiao to recognize the factional tensions he would face in the Demon Hall.

• The Grand Elder took the two Jade Slips, judged them too incomplete to study, and returned them to Huang Xiao and Pang Yi to keep until their Hall Masters decided what to do.
• Pang Ruhuo reported leads on the remaining Jade Slips, and the Grand Elder questioned Yuan Heng and Pang Ruhuo about why they had not encountered Leng Guhan at Dragon Mountain.
• Yuan Heng suggested that Leng Guhan’s absence might be connected to Huang Xiao’s cultivation method, and the Grand Elder postponed further questions until the Three Hall Masters arrived.
• Pang Ruyuan claimed a central chair before Wei Yidao stopped him, and Wei Yidao kicked apart Pang Ruyuan’s chair when they argued over the seating.
• Wei Yidao taunted Pang Ruyuan about their past fights, while Chu Fanyin supported Wei Yidao and Grand Elder Ma Jing called for a replacement chair.
• Huang Xiao learned that Pang Ruyuan led the God-Burying Hall, Wei Yidao led the Heavenly Demon Hall, and Chu Fanyin led the Ten Thousand Demons Hall, and he anticipated trouble in his bid to become Demon Hall Master.

Wei Yidao defended Huang Xiao as a Heavenly Demon Hall disciple and learned that the Demon Hall Master had taught him his cultivation methods. The Three Great Halls’ leaders agreed to seek an audience with the Supreme Elder to decide Huang Xiao’s status and role in the contest for the Hall Master’s Seat.

• Wei Yidao challenged Pang Ruhuo over Huang Xiao’s mistreatment, but Ma Jing and Pang Ruyuan blocked him from pursuing the accusation further.
• Yuan Heng testified that Huang Xiao belonged to the Heavenly Demon Hall, and Huang Xiao and Pang Yi handed over their Jade Slips of the Longevity Pill Manual.
• After Huang Xiao and the others left the Side Hall, Yuan Heng and Pang Ruhuo revealed that the Hall Master had taught Huang Xiao his cultivation methods.
• Wei Yidao and Chu Fanyin insisted the Hall Master’s commands remained binding, while Pang Ruyuan argued that the Supreme Elder should decide Huang Xiao’s case.
• Pang Ruyuan requested an audience with the Supreme Elder, and Chu Fanyin persuaded Wei Yidao to agree.

Huang Xiao joined the Heavenly Demon Hall and was approved to compete for the next Hall Master's Seat, with a visit to Demon Refining Valley arranged to strengthen him. Wei Yidao warned him that the valley’s Demonic Qi infusion carried a thirty-percent risk of cultivation deviation, then asked whether he knew the Demon Refining Formula.

• Ma Jing announced that Huang Xiao had joined the Heavenly Demon Hall and could contend for the next Hall Master's Seat, prompting concern from Pang Ruyuan and Pang Yi.
• Ma Jing agreed that Huang Xiao would enter Demon Refining Valley in three days for a Demonic Qi infusion after Wei Yidao argued that he deserved the same benefits as other candidates.
• Chu Fanyin told Wei Yidao that Huang Xiao’s new access to Demon Hall resources could help him catch up to Pang Yi.
• Wei Yidao explained that Demon Refining Valley could improve Huang Xiao’s future cultivation but carried a thirty-percent risk of cultivation deviation, and Huang Xiao accepted the danger.
• Wei Yidao asked Huang Xiao whether he knew the Demon Refining Formula, and Huang Xiao said he did not.

Huang Xiao learned that he had to reach minor attainment in the Demon Refining Formula before entering the Demon Refining Valley, but he refused to practice it because the Masked Old Man had warned him against it. After three days of preparation, he entered the valley and began enduring the demonic qi infusion, where the force quickly overwhelmed the Heavenly Demon True Qi in his meridians.

• Wei Yidao told Huang Xiao to learn the Demon Refining Formula within three days and explained that it would help him endure the infusion in the Demon Refining Valley.
• Huang Xiao studied the formula but chose not to practice it, instead using the Upper Clarity Scripture and the Xiantian Wuji Skill to prepare himself.
• A Martial Realm expert escorted Huang Xiao through the guarded checkpoints to the Demon Refining Valley and told him he could stay for up to one day.
• Huang Xiao entered the valley and sensed powerful demonic qi from a stone wall that seemed to suppress the Heavenly Demon True Qi inside him.
• At fifteen feet from the wall, Huang Xiao stopped as demonic qi flooded his body, scattered his true qi, and caused intense pain in his meridians.

Huang Xiao faced death as demonic qi overwhelmed his meridians and dantian, but an uncontrollable circulation of the Demon Refining Formula awakened heart fire that let him refine the qi. He discovered the heart fire was linked to the Longevity Chapter, and the refined demonic qi began flowing through him and out of his body in a balanced cycle.

• Huang Xiao struggled to contain the surging demonic qi and considered practicing the Demon Refining Formula to save himself.
• The Demon Refining Formula began circulating involuntarily, causing Huang Xiao’s essence blood aura to gather in his heart and erupt as heart fire.
• Huang Xiao sent the heart fire into his dantian and ignited the demonic qi throughout his body, refining both the incoming qi and his Heavenly Demon True Qi.
• Huang Xiao realized the Longevity Chapter had likely caused his heartbeat to gather the essence blood aura that became heart fire.
• The refined demonic qi widened and strengthened Huang Xiao’s meridians, then flowed out through his major acupoints as more demonic qi poured in.