Chapter Summaries

Song Yan arranged with Sheng Nian to kill Cheng Yu and then delivered forged intelligence about Lü Qin to the elders at Lianheng Tower. After claiming merit for killing a Devil Cultivator, Song Yan left while Shen Huai grew curious about his reputation.

• Song Yan gave Sheng Nian the notes and a human head, and Sheng Nian asked whether he could kill Cheng Yu’s companions as well as Cheng Yu.
• Song Yan warned Sheng Nian to act quickly, then returned to Changping Commandery City and prepared to make the elders believe he had fought a Devil Cultivator.
• Song Yan presented the forged notes at Lianheng Tower, claiming they revealed Lü Qin’s planned meeting with Yellow Springs Way cultivators in Cheng Family Village.
• The elders judged the intelligence credible and told Song Yan to register merit for the kill and await a separate reward for the information.
• Shen Huai passed Song Yan and later heard disciples discuss his many Devil Cultivator kills, though she had sensed no murderous savagery from him.

Lü Qin discovered that Sheng Nian was secretly connected to the Asura Path and learned that Jin Tianya would be moved in three days. Believing he could exploit the conflict between the Asura Path and the Yellow Springs Way, Lü Qin planned to seize Jin Tianya for himself, while Sheng Nian and the Old Devil discussed Lü Qin’s impending death.

• Lü Qin followed Sheng Nian to the Mass Burial Grounds and found an Asura Path symbol hidden near an underground stairway.
• Lü Qin bypassed the formation in a secret chamber and read a Jade Slip stating that the Yellow Springs Way would move Jin Tianya in three days and the Asura Path would seize him.
• Lü Qin copied the Jade Slip’s contents, then hid as a black-robed figure entered and quickly left the chamber.
• Lü Qin concluded that Sheng Nian was conspiring with the Asura Path and planned to capture Jin Tianya amid the coming clash between the two Devil Cultivator branches.
• Sheng Nian told the Old Devil that it was too early to discuss Lü Qin’s death, while the Old Devil said Lü Qin’s conceit made him easy to manipulate.

Song Yan waited as the Six Great Sects set a trap for the Devil Cultivators, while Lü Qin was caught and killed by Cong Yuzhen. Meanwhile, Sheng Nian appeared in Cao Yuan Township and stabbed Cheng Yu, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Song Yan checked that Cheng Yu remained assigned to Cao Yuan Township, then waited near Cheng Family Village.
• Lü Qin approached Cheng Family Village during a shift change, expecting the Asura Path and Yellow Springs Way to meet.
• Cong Yuzhen trapped Lü Qin with Guest-Detaining Rain, but he escaped through a weak point before her Sword Qi killed him.
• In Cao Yuan Township, Cheng Yu complained about Song Yan and plotted to torment Sheng Yun after establishing his Dao Foundation.
• Sheng Nian suddenly appeared beside Cheng Yu and stabbed him through the throat with the Horizontal Saber.

Sheng Nian killed Cheng Yu in a surprise attack and escaped, prompting the Six Sects to investigate the murder and search for Jin Tianya. Shen Yu suspected Song Yan might be connected to Cheng Yu’s death, but told Shen Huai to watch him and bring any leads about Jin Tianya to him first.

• Sheng Nian killed Cheng Yu with a saber and fled before reinforcements arrived.
• Cong Yuzhen reported that a jade slip found on Lü Qin mentioned Jin Tianya, who might be the reason devil cultivators had gathered in Changping.
• Elder Chen assigned the Six Sects to investigate Jin Tianya and put Cong Yuzhen in charge of investigating Cheng Yu’s murder.
• Song Yan received thirty merit points for his intelligence, bringing his total to one hundred and twenty-five.
• Shen Yu asked Shen Huai whether Song Yan had a grudge against Cheng Yu and told her to keep an eye on Song Yan and privately report any leads about Jin Tianya.

Song Yan continued patrolling Shigu Flatland while sensing that someone had been watching him, but he found nothing. Meanwhile, Liu Ciming kept Jin Tianya hidden in a cellar and learned that the Hell Transformation Painting was connected to Spirit Transformation cultivator Wu Daoxuan and might reveal the location of his former home.

• Song Yan sold most of the Five Demons of Cold Mountain's belongings and gained more than four hundred and sixty spirit stones, though patrol duties left him little time to cultivate.
• Song Yan and Li Qingfeng began patrolling Shigu Flatland, where Song Yan suspected someone had been observing him.
• An old farmer bumped into Song Yan and begged for his life, then returned home and revealed himself to be Liu Ciming in disguise.
• Liu Ciming met Jin Tianya in a hidden cellar and said they could return to the Demon Ruins in three to five days.
• Jin Tianya explained that the Hell Transformation Painting was copied by Wu Daoxuan, a great Spirit Transformation cultivator, and reportedly held clues to his former home.

Liu Ciming tried to kill Jin Tianya to seize Wu Daoxuan’s Spirit Transformation painting, but Jin Tianya revived through the artwork and unleashed its power on Shigu Flatland. The chapter ended with Jin Tianya atop a mountain of bones, inviting the souls of Changping to join him in endless torment.

• Liu Ciming examined Jin Tianya’s scroll and saw its grotesque painting of ghosts, blood, and a figure standing on a mountain of bones.
• Liu Ciming stabbed Jin Tianya with a black dagger and drained his Essence Blood, believing he had killed him.
• Jin Tianya’s skeletal hand caught Liu Ciming, and the painting’s ink restored his body as he revealed he had refined his soul into the artwork.
• Jin Tianya unleashed the painting’s demonic Qi and ghostly figures, which consumed the mortals of Shigu Flatland and left no survivors.
• Jin Tianya climbed a mound of bones and declared that the departed souls of four hundred and fifty thousand cultivators would join him in torment.

Jin Tianya used the Hell Transformation Painting to turn Shigu Flatland into Avīci Hell, where mortals became ghosts and cultivators’ realms fell. As the Six Great Sects gathered outside, Song Yan was dragged into the ink-black ground but resisted its illusions with help from his Dao heart and Xiao He.

• Liu Ciming’s cultivation rapidly fell inside Avīci Hell, forcing him to retreat beyond its boundary.
• Jin Tianya revealed that he had merged with the painting and explained that the hell’s reflections could trap cultivators by exposing their sins.
• The Six Great Sects’ elders gathered outside the spreading domain, while Cong Yuzhen worried about the mortals within and Master Sanjue led his disciples in prayer.
• Xu Ziqing recognized the Hell Transformation Painting and learned that Song Yan and Li Qingfeng were inside Shigu Flatland.
• Song Yan fought off vicious ghosts, but ink-black hands seized his ankles; Xiao He confirmed that the ghosts were real, while Song Yan’s Dao heart dispelled the illusions.

Song Yan and Li Qingfeng struggled to escape Avīci Hell as its Vengeful Ghosts and grasping shadows overwhelmed the cultivators inside. Outside, the Six Great Sects, the Yellow Springs Way, and Corpse-Bone Abyss faced off, while Shen Yu entered the hell reflection to pursue the figure he believed was the Spirit of the Painting.

• Song Yan rescued Li Qingfeng from being dragged beneath the Hell Reflection, and the two fought their way toward the edge of Shigu Flatland.
• Shen Huai abandoned Ji Chuanqiao when Vengeful Ghosts dragged him into the Hell Reflection, where he died and became a skeleton.
• Liu Ciming told Zheng Daming and Fu Ming that the Hell Transformation Painting had been made by a Spirit Transformation cultivator and had gone out of control.
• Elder Fu Xiao and the Six Great Sects confronted the Yellow Springs Way, then faced the arrival of Hu Rifei and the Demon Cultivators from Corpse-Bone Abyss.
• Shen Yu suspected the figure atop the bone mountain was the Spirit of the Painting and plunged into the reflection with a Spirit-Refining Secret Treasure.

Shen Yu and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators began refining Jin Tianya’s Avīci Hell, creating a safer route through it. As Song Yan and Li Qingfeng struggled to escape, Li Qingfeng used his Kitchen Lord Secret Art to cook a ghost pill, while Jin Tianya made the hell shift to thwart the cultivators’ efforts.

• Shen Yu and several other cultivators used their Spiritual Power to refine Avīci Hell, and they discovered that their path suppressed the vicious ghosts.
• Song Yan and Li Qingfeng neared the limits of their strength as ghostly figures and hallucinations overwhelmed them.
• Li Qingfeng cooked two vicious ghosts into a pill with his Black Pot and ate it, explaining that his Kitchen Lord Secret Art could refine all things under heaven.
• After the ghost pill reduced the danger around them, Li Qingfeng and Song Yan prepared another pill before Xu Ziqing told the disciples to flee northeast along the refined path.
• Song Yan and Li Qingfeng followed Xu Ziqing’s route toward safety, while Jin Tianya shook Avīci Hell and shifted its ink-black expanse to obstruct them.

Song Yan used a damaged Talisman Treasure to push through Avīci Hell toward White Bone Mountain, hoping to reach the Spirit of the Painting. Shen Yu ordered Shen Huai to stop him, and her hairpin disabled the Talisman Treasure just as Song Yan approached the mountain.

• Avīci Hell shifted, separating Song Yan from Li Qingfeng and the safe passage while Jin Tianya’s control caused the Ghost Domain to grow more dangerous.
• Song Yan realized the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ efforts to refine the painting were hastening the deaths of those stranded inside, and he decided to head for White Bone Mountain.
• Song Yan activated his damaged Talisman Treasure, which shielded him from the ghosts and demonic mist as he advanced toward the mountain.
• Shen Yu, alarmed by Song Yan’s progress, ordered Shen Huai to kill him.
• Shen Huai fired her hairpin at Song Yan; he dodged the attack, but the hairpin struck his Talisman Treasure and extinguished its azure light.

Shen Huai destroyed Song Yan’s Talisman Treasure, and the ghosts dragged him into the Hell Reflection while Shen Yu dismissed the killing as Song Yan’s own fault. Trapped and stripped of his cultivation, Song Yan faced the tortures of the Eighteen Hells, and his fate remained uncertain as his consciousness faded.

• Shen Huai tore away the shattered Talisman after destroying Song Yan’s protection, leaving him exposed to the ghosts of Avīci Hell.
• The ghosts dragged Song Yan into the Hell Reflection, and Shen Yu claimed Song Yan had tried to seize the evil treasure for himself.
• Xu Ziqing demanded that Shen Yu answer for Shen Huai’s attack, while Li Qingfeng raged and the other sects avoided taking sides.
• Shen Yu continued refining the treasure as Jin Tianya mocked the righteous cultivators for acting like Devil Cultivators.
• Inside the Hell Reflection, Song Yan lost access to his Spiritual Power and Sword Qi and endured the tortures of the Eighteen Hells.
• Song Yan’s Dao Heart briefly kept him lucid, but despair and the fading of his senses left his survival uncertain.

Song Yan awakened Sword Intent and survived the Hell Reflection, emerging with a flying sword and rescuing Xiao He. He then killed Shen Huai before the astonished cultivators, leaving Shen Yu to face the aftermath.

• Song Yan realized he had relied on others instead of trusting his Sword Dao, and his Seed of the Sword Dao awakened as he comprehended Sword Intent.
• Song Yan's Sword Intent shattered the Hell Reflection around him, and a half-formed flying sword emerged from his Sword Mansion.
• Xiao He appeared outside Avīci Hell, and Dongzi tried to seize her until Song Yan's flying sword severed the ape demon's arm.
• Song Yan emerged from the darkness alive, stunning the cultivators from the Six Sects, Corpse-Bone Abyss, and Yellow Springs Way.
• Song Yan attacked Shen Huai with Sword Qi, pierced her chest, and beheaded her despite Shen Yu's warning.

Song Yan advanced through the Hell Transformation Painting’s Ghost Domain and confronted Jin Tianya, the Spirit of the Painting. He pierced Jin Tianya’s skull with Sword Essence, leaving the painting’s fate unresolved.

• Song Yan freed Xiao He and continued toward White Bone Mountain while Hu Rifei wondered whether her protective light resembled Lady Bai of Shangtong Mountain.
• Shen Yu ordered Song Yan to stop, but Song Yan ignored him and walked through the Ghost Domain toward Jin Tianya.
• Song Yan’s Spiritual Power veered away from Jin Tianya, so he climbed White Bone Mountain instead of stopping.
• Jin Tianya sent Vengeful Ghosts and a gigantic demonic manifestation against Song Yan, but Song Yan’s sword phantoms and the Unmoored Boat destroyed them.
• Song Yan reached Jin Tianya and pierced his skull with a strand of Sword Essence.

Song Yan killed Jin Tianya, causing the Hell Transformation Painting to shatter and reveal a jade ring that he concealed. As Shen Yu threatened Song Yan, Xu Ziqing and Fu Xiao defended him, but the Yellow Springs Way Devil Cultivators began escaping, alarming Hu Rifei.

• Song Yan killed Jin Tianya, and the Hell Transformation Painting collapsed into an enormous painting that cracked and shattered.
• A fragment of the painting flew into Song Yan's palm and became a notched jade ring, while Shigu Flatland returned to its ruined, empty state.
• Shen Yu threatened Song Yan, but Fu Xiao blamed the Xuanyuan Sect for attacking first and defended Song Yan's actions.
• Xu Ziqing cited the Xuanyuan Sect's ambush and Shen Yu's threat as grounds to condemn them, while Shen Yu backed down rather than risk a fight.
• Liu Ciming crushed a Treasure Talisman to teleport the Yellow Springs Way Devil Cultivators away, and Hu Rifei sensed that something was wrong.

After the Yellow Springs Way cultivators escaped, the Six Sects settled Changping, while Song Yan’s reputation for killing spread among the cultivators. In private, he examined his newly completed Life-Bound Flying Sword and began studying the next sword techniques available to him.

• The Yellow Springs Way cultivators used a high-grade Teleportation Treasure Talisman to escape after Fu Xiao ordered the Six Sects to attack them.
• Shen Yu and the Xuanyuan Sect left Changping early, while Xu Ziqing, Cong Yuzhen, and the other sects handled the aftermath and distributed battle merits.
• Rumors spread that Song Yan had killed Shen Huai and ruined a chance at Spirit Transformation, though some cultivators defended him; many Qi Refining cultivators decided it was best not to provoke him.
• Song Yan sensed his completed Life-Bound Flying Sword, saw that his Sword Dao Seed had begun to sprout, and recognized that he had become an Ancient Sword Cultivator.
• Song Yan reviewed the Sword-Planting Technique and Essentials of Swordsmanship, setting aside techniques that required Foundation Establishment and reading about Void-Observing Sword Eyes.

Song Yan examined Shen Huai’s Heaven and Earth Bag, acquired several useful items, and compared her Spirit Observation and Qi Gazing technique with the Void-Viewing Sword Eye. He set aside the tracking technique and began cultivating the sword eye, carefully guiding Sword Qi toward his eyes after nearly hurting himself.

• Song Yan recalled learning about eye techniques and decided the Void-Viewing Sword Eye was suitable to cultivate in Changping.
• Song Yan opened Shen Huai’s Heaven and Earth Bag, found more than six hundred low-grade spirit stones and a green middle-grade spirit stone, and transferred useful items into his own bag.
• Song Yan examined Shen Huai’s broken copper-coin law artifact, refined her jade pendant into a healing law artifact, and kept her needle-type hairpin to sell later.
• Song Yan studied Shen Huai’s Spirit Observation and Qi Gazing technique, judged it too demanding to cultivate soon, and chose to focus on the sword Dao.
• Song Yan began cultivating the Void-Viewing Sword Eye, felt sharp pain after directing Sword Qi too quickly, then steadied himself and continued more cautiously.

Song Yan successfully cultivated the Void-Viewing Sword Eye and used it to see Spiritual Qi and Sword Qi. After the Six Sects finished their work in Changping, he left with the Dongyuan Sect, reflecting on how hardship had strengthened his Dao Heart and Sword Intent.

• Song Yan stabilized the Sword Qi in his eyes, activated the Void-Viewing Sword Eye, and saw Spiritual Qi and the Unmoored Boat’s Sword Qi clearly.
• Song Yan told Xiao He they could return to the Dongyuan Sect in two days, and she eagerly welcomed the news.
• Master Sanjue and the Transformation Crossing Temple purified the resentful Qi at Shigu Flatland, while the authorities marked the ruins forbidden and nearby residents prepared to relocate.
• Song Yan gave Brother Tao a Heaven and Earth Bag for Sheng Yun, then departed Changping with Xu Ziqing and the Dongyuan Sect disciples.
• As Changping disappeared below, Song Yan reflected on his dangerous journey, his completed Dao Heart, and his formed Sword Intent, and looked ahead to condensing his Life-Bound Flying Sword.

After returning to Dongyuan Sect from Changping, Song Yan settled back into his cave abode and examined the ink-black jade pendant that had formed from the shattered Spirit Transformation Ink Treasure. He recognized it as a Friend-Inviting Jade Pendant, a token representing profound trust, but its purpose remained unexplained.

• Xu Ziqing brought the returning cultivators to Dongyuan Sect and told them the elders would handle their mission records and contributions.
• Song Yan, Li Qingfeng, and Cen Qinghe parted ways, and Song Yan shared his cave abode's location with them.
• Song Yan returned to Sword-Wiping Peak, where Xiao He explored her belongings while he cleaned the cave abode.
• Song Yan relaxed in the warm pool and studied the ink-black jade pendant formed when the Ghost Domain dispersed.
• Song Yan recalled seeing a similar pendant with Che Ning and identified it as a Friend-Inviting Jade Pendant, a token of absolute trust in its holder.

Song Yan pondered the black jade pendant and learned that it was linked to Wu Daoxuan’s former residence, where visitors might find his paintings. With the residence’s location and opening time still unknown, Song Yan returned to his cave abode, noting that he had one of the eighty-seven pendants.

• Song Yan failed to uncover the jade pendant’s secrets and went to sleep after bathing in the pool.
• News of the Changping events spread, and cultivators learned that eighty-six black jade pendants had scattered across the region.
• The Wu Clan clarified that the pendants were connected to one of Wu Daoxuan’s former residences, where entry might depend on skill in painting and cultivation could be sealed.
• Song Yan practiced calligraphy at the Ink Way Academy while disciples discussed the residence and its thousand-year-old clues.
• Song Yan decided he might visit the former residence to observe the painters, and counted his pendant among the eighty-seven that existed.

Wu Xingzhi left the Xuanyuan Sect after revealing information about the Ink Jue and the Daoist Heir's Former Residence. Lou Zhengze and Shen Yu considered how to secure the opportunity, with Shen Yu narrowing the former residence's possible location to Longquan or Junping.

• Wu Xingzhi departed the Xuanyuan Sect on an ink-black mystic crane after Lou Zhengze saw him off and asked him to convey his regards to Wu Xunzhi.
• Lou Zhengze told a Golden Core elder that he trusted Wu Xingzhi's account and learned that only two Xuanyuan Sect members had obtained an Ink Jue.
• Shen Yu and the elders discussed whether Song Yan might possess an Ink Jue, and Shen Yu warned that Song Yan must not be underestimated.
• Shen Yu examined a map and concluded that the Daoist Heir's Former Residence might be near Longquan in the Chu Kingdom or Junping in the Central Region.