Chapter Summaries

Huang Xiao explained why the Heavenly Demon Hall would not destroy the Mixed Demon Sect over its allegiance to the God-Burying Hall, then promised to seek justice if he became Hall Master. Meanwhile, Li Bai secretly entered Bishui Palace and confronted Pei Lingsha, leaving their reunion tense.

• Huang Xiao told Chao Lingyi that the Mixed Demon Sect would face a penalty but would not be wiped out, and he could not help her with it yet.
• Chao Lingyi asked Huang Xiao to promise to destroy the Mixed Demon Sect in the future, and he agreed if he became Hall Master.
• Huang Xiao told Chao Lingyi to stop using seductive tricks and focus on her duties as a maidservant, then devoted himself to consolidating his Heavenly Demon Demon Saber Techniques.
• Li Bai evaded Bishui Palace's guards and formations and reached the secluded courtyard where Zhangsun Youyue was practicing swordsmanship.
• Pei Lingsha concealed Zhangsun Youyue in a formation, then confronted Li Bai and cut off a lock of his hair when he entered her chamber.
• Li Bai addressed Pei Lingsha as his junior sister and said urgent circumstances had brought him to Bishui Palace to discuss an important matter.

Li Bai visited Pei Lingsha at Bishui Palace to discuss the changes in the mystic domains and reveal that a former Demon Hall Master was still alive. Pei Lingsha feared the coming Thousand-Year Period could bring two Demon Hall Masters and wondered whether the Demon Hall had deliberately spared its enemies in past conflicts.

• Pei Lingsha confronted Li Bai for sneaking into Bishui Palace, then put away Moye and spoke with him privately.
• Li Bai and Pei Lingsha discussed how the Penglai and Bishui Mystic Domains had both changed after the Longevity Death Formation was broken, along with changes to Moye and the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss.
• Li Bai revealed that his patriarch had confirmed the previous Demon Hall Master was alive, and said he had personally seen him in Chaotic Province.
• Pei Lingsha recalled how the Demon Hall's past assault had devastated Bishui Palace and other great powers, while the Sword Pavilion later rose under Leng Guhan.
• Li Bai and Pei Lingsha worried about the coming Thousand-Year Period, especially the possibility that the injured former Demon Hall Master could join the new Hall Master.
• Pei Lingsha urged preparation for the worst and questioned whether the Demon Hall had deliberately left survivors after its nine previous victories.

Li Bai discovered that Huang Xiao’s Seventh Form of Transcendent Immortal Swordsmanship shared the lineage of his own, leading him and Pei Lingsha to acknowledge that they came from the same place. The chapter ended with Li Bai asking Pei Lingsha to explain Huang Xiao’s connection to the Heavenly Demon Hall.

• Li Bai and Pei Lingsha discussed the Demon Hall’s plans, the younger generation, and Li Chaoxun’s unsettled temperament.
• Pei Lingsha told Li Bai that Huang Xiao had taught Zhangsun Youyue the Seventh Form of Transcendent Immortal Swordsmanship, which Li Bai had not taught to anyone.
• Li Bai asked Zhangsun Youyue to demonstrate the Seventh Form and recognized that it shared the lineage of his swordsmanship.
• After Zhangsun Youyue left, Pei Lingsha revealed that she had guessed Li Bai and the Patriarch came from the same place, and Li Bai confirmed it.
• Li Bai recognized Huang Xiao’s name and asked Pei Lingsha to explain the young man’s connection to the Heavenly Demon Hall.

Li Bai told Pei Lingsha that only four outsiders had crossed into the Martial World in over a thousand years, including Huo Lian and the unnamed boy. He explained how Huo Lian became Demon Hall Master and suggested that Huo Lian’s injury and long absence had weakened his influence, leaving Pang Ji dominant within the Demon Hall.

• Li Bai told Pei Lingsha that crossing into the Martial World was extremely difficult and that the boy made four outsiders in over a thousand years.
• Pei Lingsha realized that Huo Lian had been the other outsider who arrived around the same time as Li Bai’s Patriarch.
• Li Bai explained that Huo Lian had replaced the Heavenly Demon Hall’s candidate, Pang Ji, and won the contest for Demon Hall Master.
• Pei Lingsha and Li Bai discussed how Pang Ji’s past defeat and the new age restrictions could help Pang Yi become the next Hall Master.
• Pei Lingsha wondered whether Huo Lian’s survival threatened Pang Ji, and Li Bai said Huo Lian seemed distant from the Demon Hall and had lost influence while injured.

Li Bai explained to Pei Lingsha that Huang Xiao had reached the Martial World through an ancient Grand Formation whose formation eye was his broken saber, which might be connected to the Demon Hall's Supreme Demon Saber. They concluded Huang Xiao was now inside the Heavenly Demon Hall, where the contest for Hall Master could decide whether he emerged at all.

• Pei Lingsha and Li Bai discussed how the Demon Hall trusted outsiders like Huo Lian, unlike other sects.
• Li Bai said Huang Xiao must have entered the Martial World through a route other than reaching the Martial Realm and likely learned the Heavenly Demon Demon Saber Techniques from the Heavenly Demon Hall.
• Li Bai revealed that Huang Xiao's rust-covered broken saber had been the formation eye of an ancient Grand Formation that brought him to the Martial World.
• Pei Lingsha wondered whether Huang Xiao's saber was the missing Supreme Demon Saber, but Li Bai said Huo Lian could not have returned to their former world and the formation was far older than Huo Lian's time there.
• Li Bai suggested Huang Xiao's saber might be more than an imitation and could be connected to the genuine Supreme Demon Saber.
• Pei Lingsha proposed having Huang Xiao captured, but Li Bai warned that he was inside the Heavenly Demon Hall and might not emerge until the contest for Hall Master ended.

Li Bai and Pei Lingsha discussed how to draw Huang Xiao and the Demon Hall’s other candidates into another contest, and Li Bai planned to persuade Leng Guhan to arrange a younger-generation competition for the Jade Slips. They also considered Huo Lian’s danger as the Thousand-Year Period approached, then turned to Chao Xun, Huang Xiao, and Youyue’s uncertain relationship.

• Pei Lingsha urged Li Bai to find a way to lure Huang Xiao out, and Li Bai proposed watching the Demon Hall’s next move and tracking Liu Chongming, who possessed a Jade Slip.
• Li Bai planned to visit the Sword Pavilion and persuade Leng Guhan to arrange a contest for the Longevity Pill Manual’s Jade Slips, giving the Demon Hall a reason to send its candidates out.
• Li Bai explained that Huo Lian was seeking a route home, and he and Pei Lingsha reasoned that Pang Ji’s new Hall Master might view the former Hall Master as a threat.
• Pei Lingsha speculated that Huang Xiao might upset Pang Yi’s succession just as Huo Lian had once displaced Pang Ji, but Li Bai doubted the comparison.
• Li Bai said he would meet Chao Xun, who had been training hard after encountering other young experts, while Pei Lingsha worried that Huang Xiao might complicate Chao Xun and Youyue’s relationship.

Li Bai agreed to deal with Huang Xiao, then visited Bishui Palace publicly and was welcomed by its Palace Master. Zhangsun Youyue was summoned from confinement to meet him, where Li Chaoxun and the palace disciples had also gathered.

• Pei Lingsha argued that Huang Xiao, as a member of the Demon Hall, should be captured and killed, and Li Bai agreed to handle him himself.
• Li Bai decided to visit the Sword Pavilion the next day, then embraced Pei Lingsha and carried her into her bedroom.
• Five days later, Zhangsun Youyue waited under confinement at her residence, hoping Senior Li's arrival would help her regain her freedom.
• Xiao Qing told Zhangsun Youyue that Li Bai had publicly visited Bishui Palace, and Pei Yi soon arrived to escort Zhangsun Youyue to meet him.
• Zhangsun Youyue and Pei Yi entered the main hall, where Li Bai sat with the Palace Master and Li Chaoxun listened to his instructions.

Bishui Palace prepared to trade its Jade Slip of the Longevity Pill Manual to the Sword Pavilion and seek Liu Chongming’s Jade Slip in a contest restricted to younger disciples. The Palace Master appointed newly advanced Li Chaoxun to lead Bishui Palace’s team, while Li Bai and Pei Lingsha’s separate plan to obtain Huang Xiao’s broken saber remained unknown to the others.

• The Palace Master introduced Li Bai as the Three Immortal Mountains’ representative for coordinating against the Demon Hall’s approaching thousand-year period.
• The Palace Master announced that Bishui Palace would hand its Jade Slip to the Sword Pavilion in exchange for an agreement allowing younger disciples to compete, and ordered the palace to pursue Liu Chongming’s Jade Slip.
• Li Bai and Pei Lingsha planned to exchange the Jade Slip arrangement for Huang Xiao’s broken saber, unaware that Huo Lian had already taken Huang Xiao’s Minghong Saber.
• The Palace Master named Li Chaoxun to lead Bishui Palace’s disciples in the contest and revealed that he had advanced to the Void Martial Realm.
• Li Chaoxun asked whether the contest would exclude experts above the Void Martial Realm, and the Palace Master confirmed that mostly half-step Martial Realm and Void Martial Realm disciples would compete after the factions finalized the rules in about a month.

Zhangsun Youyue was given one month to reach Li Chaoxun’s former strength, and Li Bai agreed to train her. Meanwhile, Huang Xiao showed major progress with the heavy saber, but Yue Cheng disarmed him during their sparring match.

• Zhangsun Youyue interrupted the Palace Master and vowed to break through, prompting the Palace Master to set a one-month strength test and threaten five years of solitary confinement if she failed.
• Li Chaoxun and others appealed for Zhangsun Youyue, and Li Bai offered to guide her and other young Bishui Palace disciples for a month.
• Zhangsun Youyue thanked Li Chaoxun for his support and resolved to use Li Bai’s Transcendent Immortal Swordsmanship to find a breakthrough.
• Huang Xiao fought Yue Cheng with the Ten-Thousand-Catty Iron Heavy Saber, demonstrating how much he had improved in half a month.
• Huang Xiao evaded Yue Cheng’s fifth-form strike and counterattacked, but Yue Cheng caught the heavy saber with his left hand and sent it flying into the arena floor.

Huang Xiao completed consolidating the first five forms after half a month of training, impressing Yue Cheng and Yin Huju with his perseverance and saber insight. He began preparing to learn the Sixth Form, aiming to master it within ten days, while Chao Lingyi continued helping him recover.

• Huang Xiao finished consolidating the first five forms with six Vitality Recovery Pills left, and Yue Cheng acknowledged his progress before leaving after their sparring match.
• Yin Huju asked about Huang Xiao's final saber strike, and Huang Xiao explained that he had spotted a small mistake in Yue Cheng's technique while Yue Cheng suppressed his strength.
• Huang Xiao told Yin Huju that he expected to master the Sixth Form within half a month at most, and Yin Huju predicted he could do it in ten days.
• Huang Xiao continued practicing with the heavy saber after Yin Huju left, then accepted a massage from Chao Lingyi.
• Huang Xiao thanked Chao Lingyi for her help over the past half month and offered her a towel as she finished the massage.

Huang Xiao learned that Lou Feishang had used the Void Transformation Pill to temporarily reach the Void Martial Realm, risking his foundation for a chance at a true breakthrough. At the Heavenly Demon Hall, Wei Yidao told Huang Xiao that the Main Hall had issued an order and revealed that Pang Yi had become the Hall Master of the Yi Demon Hall.

• Chao Lingyi asked Huang Xiao whether he could begin practicing the Sixth Form, and he said he would continue strengthening his earlier forms.
• Yin Huju summoned Huang Xiao to meet Wei Yidao and told him that Lou Feishang had temporarily reached the Void Martial Realm using the forbidden Void Transformation Pill.
• Yin Huju explained that the pill could either let Lou Feishang stabilize a true breakthrough or leave him with weakened internal power and a ruined future.
• Huang Xiao and Yin Huju arrived at the Main Hall, where Wei Yidao praised Huang Xiao’s improved strength and said the Main Hall had sent an order concerning him.
• Wei Yidao told Huang Xiao that Pang Yi had become the Hall Master of the Yi Demon Hall, leaving Huang Xiao confused about what that hall was.

Wei Yidao established three new halls beneath the Three Great Halls and named Huang Xiao the master of Free and Easy Hall. He then ordered Huang Xiao to compete for Liu Chongming’s Jade Slip under an agreement that barred experts above the Void Martial Realm, while Yin Huju objected to Huang Xiao leaving so soon.

• Wei Yidao told Huang Xiao that Pang Yi and Lou Feishang had become masters of newly established halls and offered Huang Xiao the same role.
• Huang Xiao rejected the name Xiao Demon Hall and chose Free and Easy Hall, which Wei Yidao approved.
• Wei Yidao assigned Yin Huju and Yue Cheng to establish Free and Easy Hall, with its membership still undecided.
• Wei Yidao ordered Huang Xiao to compete for the Jade Slip held by Liu Chongming and explained that experts above the Void Martial Realm would be barred from interfering.
• Wei Yidao said Huang Xiao would set out within days, and Yin Huju protested that sending him away so soon could limit his growth.

Huang Xiao agreed to leave the Heavenly Demon Hall and pursue the upcoming contest, while Wei Yidao arranged protection and discussed the Mixed Demon Sect’s betrayal with him. Wei Yidao gave Huang Xiao the Heavenly Demon Order to collect supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor as he prepared to depart.

• Yin Huju argued that Huang Xiao should stay in the Heavenly Demon Hall, but Huang Xiao accepted Wei Yidao’s decision to send him away and explained that he wanted to avoid relying too heavily on resources.
• Wei Yidao said Huang Xiao would leave for part of the next five years, ordered Qin Lu to protect him secretly, and assigned Yin Huju and Yue Cheng to guard him openly.
• Wei Yidao urged Huang Xiao to contend with Pang Yi, Sword God Yi, and Li Chaoxun for recognition as the leading young expert, and Huang Xiao agreed to challenge them.
• After Yin Huju left, Huang Xiao told Wei Yidao what Chao Lingyi had revealed about the Mixed Demon Sect, and Wei Yidao confirmed that he already knew of its betrayal.
• Wei Yidao told Huang Xiao to keep Chao Lingyi’s allegiance secret and gave him the Heavenly Demon Order to collect a piece of supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor.

Huang Xiao learned that the Hall Master had granted him top-grade Demon Spirit Armor and went with Yin Huju to collect it from the Thousand Treasures Pavilion. There, Yin Huju challenged Liu Chen and Lu Yi over Lu Yi’s visit and the bundle he was carrying.

• Yin Huju explained that top-grade Demon Spirit Armor was a rare treasure, usually reserved for Enlightenment Realm experts, and that Liu Chen only had temporary use of one piece.
• Qin Lu learned that Huang Xiao had been granted top-grade Demon Spirit Armor and reacted with surprise before advising him to keep working hard.
• Huang Xiao and Yin Huju reached the Thousand Treasures Pavilion, where they encountered Liu Chen and Lu Yi, a Regent Elder from the God-Burying Hall.
• Yin Huju demanded that Lu Yi show written authorization to visit the pavilion and prove that the bundle he carried could be removed under its rules.

Yin Huju challenged Lu Yi over his visit to the Heavenly Demon Hall, but Lu Yi showed his God-Burying Order and left after arguing that he had followed the proper procedure. Huang Xiao then used his Heavenly Demon Order to claim a supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor, leaving Liu Chen visibly shaken as he led them into the Nine-Story Pavilion.

• Yin Huju blocked Lu Yi and questioned his authority to take a treasure from the Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
• Lu Yi showed his God-Burying Order and said he had registered his visit; Liu Chen confirmed he had allowed Lu Yi inside.
• Lu Yi taunted Huang Xiao about Chao Jue before leaving, while Liu Chen offered to escort Yin Huju and Huang Xiao to select treasures.
• Yin Huju revealed that the Hall Master had ordered Enlightenment Realm treasures for Huang Xiao, and Huang Xiao showed his Heavenly Demon Order as proof.
• Liu Chen escorted Huang Xiao and Yin Huju into the Nine-Story Pavilion, where Huang Xiao requested supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor.
• Liu Chen's expression changed sharply at the request, and he struggled to respond.

Liu Chen admitted that Lu Yi had taken the Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s only supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor, leaving Huang Xiao without one. Qin Lu then revealed that Liu Chen’s own armor had only been lent to him and accused him of deliberately helping Pang Yi and the God-Burying Hall out of jealousy toward Huang Xiao; the chapter ended before Liu Chen could answer.

• Liu Chen told Yin Huju and Huang Xiao that the Pavilion had only one suit of supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor and that Lu Yi had taken it.
• Huang Xiao recognized that Lu Yi had left with the armor, while Liu Chen defended the exchange as a permitted transaction between the halls.
• Qin Lu arrived and ordered Liu Chen to surrender the armor he was wearing, saying the Hall Master had only lent it to him.
• Liu Chen protested that the armor was his and argued that Lu Yi had followed the rules for obtaining it.
• Qin Lu accused Liu Chen of betraying the Heavenly Demon Hall’s interests by giving armor to Lu Yi for Pang Yi because he resented Huang Xiao’s rise.

Qin Lu reclaimed Liu Chen’s supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor and appointed Yin Huju to oversee the Thousand Treasures Pavilion, giving Huang Xiao the armor. Yin Huju began inspecting the Pavilion’s holdings while Huang Xiao considered the coming rivals who would also obtain supreme-grade armor.

• Qin Lu ordered Liu Chen to surrender his supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor and leave the Thousand Treasures Pavilion to receive punishment.
• Qin Lu appointed Yin Huju as the new overseer of the Thousand Treasures Pavilion and gave Huang Xiao the reclaimed armor.
• Huang Xiao examined the armor and learned that Lou Feishang and Pang Yi would also have access to supreme-grade Demon Spirit Armor.
• Huang Xiao put on the armor and sensed that its Demonic Qi strengthened the circulation of his Heavenly Demon True Qi.
• Two Regent Elders congratulated Yin Huju on his appointment, then left him and Huang Xiao to talk.
• Yin Huju opened the Pavilion’s register and told Huang Xiao that many of its treasures had been made by the Heavenly Demon Hall.

Huang Xiao visited the Thousand Treasures Pavilion with Yin Huju and explored its collection of flutes and zithers, hoping to find instruments suited to his Sound Arts. As he tested them, he thought about his wives and his search for a way home, and Yin Huju discussed the Heavenly Demon Hall’s Sound Art methods with him.

• Yin Huju told Huang Xiao that the God-Burying Hall had made the five Imitation Sabers and that Pang Ruyuan was seeking the Craftsman God, Ou Jin, to forge a new Supreme Demon Saber.
• Yin Huju explained that the Heavenly Demon Hall made many kinds of treasures, then offered Huang Xiao permission to take a flute or other suitable item from the Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
• Huang Xiao asked to see the zithers as well as the flutes, and Yin Huju had a guard bring ten flutes and eight zithers for him to inspect.
• Looking at the instruments reminded Huang Xiao of his four wives and his lack of any lead to return home, strengthening his desire to learn the Demon Hall’s secrets by becoming Hall Master.
• Huang Xiao tried the flutes and zithers, chose three flutes and four zithers for further appraisal, and Yin Huju told him the Heavenly Demon Hall had powerful Sound Art methods he could ask the Hall Master about.

Huang Xiao learned that the Heavenly Demon Hall’s Heavenly Demon Soul-Destroying Sound had evolved from the same Heavenly Demon Dragon Roar he already knew, and he decided to seek the art from the Hall Master. He then asked the Hall’s instrument makers about a flute suited to the sound art, but they revealed that the original Heavenly Demon Soul-Destroying Flute remained with its creator.

• Yin Huju explained that the Heavenly Demon Hall’s Heavenly Demon Soul-Destroying Sound had evolved from Heavenly Demon Dragon Roar, which the previous Hall Master had created.
• Huang Xiao learned that the previous Hall Master had also left behind Netherworld Demon Eight Tones and an incomplete Heavenly Demon Soul-Severing Sound.
• Huang Xiao told Yin Huju he would petition the Hall Master for Heavenly Demon Soul-Destroying Sound but would not practice it before the Jade Slips contest.
• Yin Huju told Huang Xiao that the Heavenly Demon Hall had instrument makers who could craft zithers and long flutes, and Huang Xiao agreed to meet them.
• Hu Chu told Huang Xiao that the previous Hall Master had made a Heavenly Demon Soul-Destroying Flute for performing the sound art, and Yin Huju asked whether later Hall Masters had made more.

Huang Xiao agreed to have Hu Chu make a new flute and asked Liu Mu to prepare for a zither, while Yin Huju arranged for the materials to be tempered in Demon Refining Valley. Liu Mu then revealed that rare instrument-making materials might have been tempering there for over seven hundred years, prompting Yin Huju and Huang Xiao to seek the Hall Master's help.

• Hu Chu explained that a replica Heavenly Demon Soul-Destroying Flute could be made in about a year, and Huang Xiao agreed to wait while Yin Huju ordered extra materials to keep tempering.
• Hu Chu selected the Purple Soul Flute for Huang Xiao, who declined to choose a zither but asked Liu Mu to consider making one suited to the Heavenly Demon Soul-Severing Sound.
• Liu Mu revealed that materials for both instruments had been placed in Demon Refining Valley by an earlier Hall Master, and some might still be there after more than seven hundred years.
• Hu Chu and Liu Mu identified the possible materials as ten-thousand-year soul-enticing bamboo, ten-thousand-year soul-seizing parasol wood, and thousand-year demonic silkworm silk.
• Yin Huju ordered Hu Chu and Liu Mu to keep the discovery secret, then hurried with Huang Xiao to seek an audience with the Hall Master.