Chapter Summaries

Xie Feng defended the Literary Clan against accusations from the Ghost, Spirit, and Pill Clans, persuading Yun Qingmeng and the assembly to support them. The blue placards won by a landslide, leaving Xie Feng credited with turning the vote around.

• Yi Cang changed his vote to blue after Xie Feng implied he had a close connection to the Star Clan leader, tying the tally at one vote each.
• Yun Qingmeng asked Xie Feng to respond after You Chenfeng and the others accused the Literary Clan of interfering in their battle.
• Xie Feng condemned the three clans for invading Flame Island, attacking its people, colluding, attempting to kill him, and violating the great-clan covenant.
• The assembly turned against the three clans, and many attendees changed their votes to blue.
• Yun Qingmeng chose the blue placard, giving the Literary Clan 175 votes against 20 red votes and five abstentions.

Xie Feng stopped Hai Kuoyun, You Chenfeng, and Kui Xin from ending the meeting and demanded compensation for their attack on Flame Island. He named a staggering payment of fifty trillion Dao Crystals from each clan to each of Xie Feng, Shui Yunjun, and Ge Kuangwo, leaving the hall stunned.

• Haidera kept his red vote and became more interested in Xie Feng, despite Mang Yan warning him about Xie Feng's power and influence.
• Hai Kuoyun tried to adjourn the meeting, but Xie Feng demanded an apology and Shui Yunjun declared the Literary Clan and Dust Clan allies.
• Ge Kuangwo rejected the three clan leaders' apology, and Xie Feng refused to let them leave without addressing Flame Island's losses.
• Xie Feng demanded fifty trillion Dao Crystals from each of the three clans for each of himself, Shui Yunjun, and Ge Kuangwo, stunning everyone in the hall.

Xie Feng demanded that Kui Xin, Hai Kuoyun, and You Chenfeng pay the Literary Clan, provoking a confrontation at the meeting. Shui Yunjun’s overwhelming power forced them to back down, and the chapter ended with the clan chiefs being pressured to write IOUs.

• You Chenfeng objected to Xie Feng’s demand, and Kui Xin and Zhou Jin stood up as tensions escalated.
• Hai Kuoyun and You Chenfeng joined the standoff, but Shui Yunjun unleashed her Dao Ancestor Realm pressure and overwhelmed them.
• Kui Xin urged the others to avoid fighting and offered to discuss the money, but Xie Feng insisted they agree immediately.
• Kui Xin agreed to pay and wrote an IOU for the debt, with Xie Feng setting a six-month deadline.
• Xie Feng warned Hai Kuoyun and You Chenfeng that their debts could rise, and Kui Xin urged them to write their IOUs too.

Xie Feng secured IOUs from three clan leaders after the conference and left Delusion City with Shui Yunjun, who discussed the looming war between the Literary Clan and the Spirit and Ghost Clans. On his way back to Pill Maple Academy, Xie Feng entered an ink bamboo forest with Kong Qiusu and met Pei Jue paying tribute to his missing master.

• Xie Feng collected IOUs from You Chenfeng, Hai Kuoyun, and the third clan leader, promising to visit their homes for the Dao Crystals in six months.
• Shui Yunjun warned Xie Feng that the three clan leaders would not let the matter rest and explained why war between the clans had become inevitable.
• Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun parted ways, with Shui Yunjun giving him a voice transmission talisman before returning to the Literary Clan.
• Kong Qiusu recognized the ink bamboo forest as familiar, so Xie Feng entered it with him.
• Pei Jue paid tribute to his vanished master and told him he planned to claim the Star Ancestor's inheritance and change the Star Clan.
• Pei Jue recognized Xie Feng as his martial uncle and asked where his master was; Xie Feng said he had seen him and reassured Pei Jue that his master had praised him.

Xie Feng agreed to help Pei Jue win over Yi Cang and protect him from an assassination in the Nether Passage Secret Realm. After killing an attacker in the bamboo grove, Xie Feng faced Hai Kuoyun, the Spirit Clan’s leader.

• Pei Jue told Xie Feng about his efforts to reform the Star Clan and the obstacles posed by his uncle Pei Shanhe and the clan’s powerful officials.
• Pei Jue revealed that Grand Elder Feng Lin planned to assassinate him when the Nether Passage Secret Realm opened, and Xie Feng promised to accompany him.
• Pei Jue gave Xie Feng a tracking tag and left the bamboo grove.
• Xie Feng considered entering the secret realm early, but Little Sword criticized him for taking advantage of Pei Jue’s trust.
• Xie Feng killed an attacker who shot a blazing arrow at him, then learned that someone else was approaching.
• Hai Kuoyun emerged from the bamboo grove and taunted Xie Feng.

Xie Feng faced Hai Kuoyun in the ink bamboo forest and used the Dao-Burying Sword Art to empower Little Sword against the Nether Tribulation Emperor Sword. Little Sword grew into a towering sword as the two blades prepared to clash.

• Xie Feng and Hai Kuoyun exchanged taunts before Hai Kuoyun attacked with the Nine Heavens Profound Palm.
• Xie Feng used the northern nether illusory emperor flame to destroy Hai Kuoyun's palm attack.
• Hai Kuoyun summoned the Nether Tribulation Emperor Sword, and Xie Feng revealed that three Emperor Swords had been destroyed during the Spirit Clan's attack on Flame Island.
• Little Sword appeared as the Cherished Wine Cup Dao Sword, and the Nether Tribulation Emperor Sword trembled in fear.
• Xie Feng activated the Dao-Burying Sword Art, and Little Sword absorbed the power of heaven and earth until he towered above the forest.

Xie Feng defeated Hai Kuoyun after Little Sword devoured the Nether Tribulation Emperor Sword and pierced the Dao Emperor. He spared Hai Kuoyun temporarily in exchange for ten trillion in cash, sending the Spirit Clan leader back to fetch it.

• Little Sword swallowed the Nether Tribulation Emperor Sword, and Xie Feng advanced four tiers to the tenth tier of the Dao Master Realm.
• Hai Kuoyun attacked Xie Feng, but Little Sword pierced and immobilized him before Xie Feng destroyed his body.
• Hai Kuoyun recognized Little Sword as the Extreme Dao Sword, and Xie Feng called it the Cherished Wine Cup Dao Sword.
• Hai Kuoyun threatened war and then pleaded for his life, offering money in exchange for his freedom.
• Xie Feng demanded ten trillion in cash and told Hai Kuoyun to return to the Spirit Clan to get it.

Xie Feng forced Hai Kuoyun to take him to the Spirit Clan’s secret treasury and demanded ten trillion in payment. When Hai Kuoyun could not provide enough, Xie Feng questioned him about the Spirit Clan’s conflict with Flame Island, and Hai Kuoyun sprang a trap.

• Little Sword threatened Hai Kuoyun until he agreed to lead Xie Feng to the Spirit Clan’s secret chamber.
• Hai Kuoyun opened the royal treasury, where Xie Feng collected Dao Crystals, treasures, cultivation techniques, and weapons.
• When Xie Feng found the payment short, Hai Kuoyun offered his ten sons, but Xie Feng refused and insisted on the full amount.
• Xie Feng asked why the Spirit Clan and Ghost Clan had openly attacked Flame Island, and Hai Kuoyun said he would not trust Xie Feng to spare his life.
• Hai Kuoyun triggered the secret chamber’s alarm and formation, trapping Little Sword as powerful Spirit Clan forces rushed toward them.

Xie Feng escaped the Spirit Clan after killing Hai Kuoyun and destroying the clan’s underground city, leaving Han Haotian and the elders to believe their leader was dead. He returned to Pill Maple Academy, where Sushang welcomed him with a wreath and Han Yu began reciting verses for an unexpected occasion.

• Xie Feng realized Hai Kuoyun had triggered an alarm, but Little Sword broke free and killed him before the Spirit Clan’s experts arrived.
• Xie Feng destroyed the underground city and its formation, then left the Spirit Clan with Little Sword.
• Han Haotian found Hai Kuoyun’s token among the ruins and concluded that the clan leader might have been killed by Xie Feng.
• Han Haotian ordered Elder A to attack Pill Maple Academy, but Elder A evaded the assignment and urged the clan to choose a successor first.
• Xie Feng returned to the dark academy, where Sushang hugged him and placed a maple-leaf wreath on his head.
• Han Yu and the others lit up the academy and gathered around Xie Feng as Han Yu recited verses, leaving Xie Feng confused about the occasion.

Xie Feng celebrated his unexpected birthday with the people at Pill Maple Academy, then discovered his second senior brother, Ge Ya, had arranged the surprise. Their reunion became even more lively when Kong Qiusu appeared, and the two senior brothers immediately began trading insults.

• Changying and Zhou Jin brought Xie Feng birthday noodles and prepared a feast, while Sushang kept the celebration secret.
• Xie Feng celebrated with everyone at Pill Maple Academy and declined Sushang’s suggestion to tell others so they could collect presents.
• Sushang led Xie Feng to a side courtyard, where he found Ge Ya waiting beneath a maple tree with wine.
• Ge Ya toasted Xie Feng and lamented that their master and eldest senior brother were not there to celebrate with them.
• Kong Qiusu emerged from Xie Feng’s dantian, and he and Ge Ya greeted each other with hostile jokes.

Xie Feng celebrated his birthday with Kong Qiusu and Ge Ya, who traded insults but reaffirmed their bond as fellow disciples. Mu Bingxing watched them from afar with a silver-dressed woman, saying the time was not yet ripe to reunite with them.

• Kong Qiusu and Ge Ya bickered over their habits, wealth, and Ge Ya’s lost star mine while sharing wine with Xie Feng.
• Xie Feng raised a toast to their lifelong bond, and Kong Qiusu and Ge Ya agreed that they would always remain martial brothers.
• Ge Ya said he was searching the dimensions for their master, and Xie Feng asked him to look for Kong Qiusu’s physical body too.
• Mu Bingxing watched the three disciples drinking together from a cliff on Dark Ink Mountain, and a silver-dressed woman said one of them was still missing.
• Mu Bingxing said the time was not ripe, and the woman remarked that Kong Qiusu’s missing body meant their reunion would take longer.

On Xie Feng’s birthday, a mysterious woman in a silver dress came looking for him, while Ge Ya and Kong Qiusu gave Sushang extraordinary gifts. Sushang affirmed that Xie Feng was still the best in her heart, and Xie Feng prepared to meet the visitor.

• Mu Bingxing refused to visit Shui Yunjun or attend his disciple’s birthday, and watched Pill Maple Academy from the cliff.
• Sushang told Xie Feng that a beautiful, cold woman in a silver dress was waiting outside, prompting him to head to the gate.
• Ge Ya and Kong Qiusu recognized the visitor and warned Xie Feng that she was powerful and had a difficult temperament.
• Ge Ya gave Sushang a Dao Grade cultivation technique and told her to open it only when she was alone.
• Kong Qiusu gave Sushang a Black Diamond Dragon Insignia containing five hundred trillion.
• When Ge Ya asked whether he or Xie Feng was better, Sushang said Xie Feng was the best, then reassured Ge Ya that he was great too.

Xie Feng learned that Long Cangxue had come to reclaim the Extreme Dao Sword and Guixu, whose vessels were Little Sword and Changying. Long Cangxue offered to take Sushang as her disciple, but Sushang chose to remain with Xie Feng.

• Sushang brought Xie Feng to meet the silver-skirted woman, who introduced herself as Long Cangxue.
• Little Sword revealed that Long Cangxue was its true master and that Changying was Guixu’s vessel.
• Long Cangxue said she had come to take the Extreme Dao Sword and Guixu away so they could grow stronger.
• Changying gave Xie Feng her White Jade Immortal Gourd and Sushang her moon-white sachet, then reassured them they would meet again.
• Long Cangxue offered to take Sushang as her disciple, but Sushang refused, saying she valued companionship and wanted to stay with Xie Feng.

Long Cangxue transformed Sushang’s physique into the Great Cosmos Devil-Devouring Physique, raising her cultivation to the peak of the Dao Realm and her Alchemical Dao to high-level Emperor Grade. She explained how the acquired physique was made safe and hinted at her connection to Xie Feng’s master, leaving Xie Feng to annoy her with a blunt remark about her age.

• Long Cangxue bestowed the Great Cosmos Devil-Devouring Physique on Sushang, transforming her body and rapidly raising her cultivation and Alchemical Dao abilities.
• Xie Feng recognized the physique as the one possessed by his second senior brother, Ge Ya, and worried that Sushang might suffer from its dangers.
• Long Cangxue explained that Sushang’s acquired physique was safer than an innate one and that she had included a Great Cosmos Devil-Resolving Pill.
• Xie Feng learned that Long Cangxue had given Ge Ya the pill that let him control his physique, then asked about her background and relationship with his master.
• Long Cangxue called herself and Xie Feng’s master friends across the generations, and Xie Feng bluntly remarked that she looked over a thousand years old.
• Little Sword hit Xie Feng for insulting Long Cangxue and whispered that she was trying to save him from a deadly palm strike.

Long Cangxue told Xie Feng that he needed to match or surpass Ge Ya's strength before he could see his master, then gave him a black leaf to take to Primordial Bamboo for his master's birthday gift. After Long Cangxue departed with Changying and the others, Shui Yunjun arrived at the academy.

• Long Cangxue warned Little Sword not to embellish her words and told Xie Feng he could see his master once he matched or surpassed Ge Ya's strength.
• Long Cangxue gave Xie Feng a black leaf from his master and told him to bring it to Primordial Bamboo, which was in the Upper Realm.
• Long Cangxue departed on her Extreme Dao Phoenix, Little Silver, with Changying, Mian'er, and the old man in the straw rain cape.
• Sushang grew sad at Changying's departure, and Xie Feng comforted her while Little Sword wept until its tears flooded Dark Ink Mountain.
• Han Yu told Xie Feng that Shui Yunjun had arrived, and Xie Feng returned to the academy's main courtyard with Sushang and Little Sword.

Shui Yunjun gave Little Sword an Emperor Grade sheath, then discussed the growing alliance against the Literary Clan with Xie Feng and his senior brothers. The chapter ended with Haidera weighing whether the Dark Sea Clan should join the alliance, while Mang Yan objected to abandoning the clan’s secluded reputation.

• Shui Yunjun gifted Little Sword the Sheath Without a Sword, and Little Sword eagerly accepted it.
• Ge Ya and Kong Qiusu arrived for Xie Feng’s birthday and greeted Shui Yunjun as their master’s wife.
• Shui Yunjun warned Xie Feng that the Ghost Clan, Pill Clan, and possibly Dark Sea Clan were joining forces, and Xie Feng admitted he had killed Hai Kuoyun.
• Shui Yunjun asked after the Marquis of Mo Yang, then stayed overnight at the academy while Xie Feng said he had personal matters to handle the next day.
• Haidera consulted the Dark Sea Clan’s chancellors about joining the alliance against the Literary Clan, while Mang Yan objected because he wanted the clan to preserve its secluded image.

Chu Kuang appeared before Haidera and the Dark Sea Clan leaders as they planned to expand their power, then angrily slapped them for reasons tied to his junior brother Xie Feng. The chapter ended with Chu Kuang identifying Xie Feng as his fellow disciple and making clear that the beating was not over because he was still furious.

• Haidera told Mang Yan, Wen Cheng, and Wu Cheng that the Dark Sea Clan needed more territory and should unite the Dao Realm under its rule.
• A masked man in blue arrived, endured Wu Cheng's attack without flinching, and revealed himself as Demon Emperor Chu Kuang.
• Chu Kuang ordered Wu Cheng, Wen Cheng, Mang Yan, and Haidera to line up, then slapped each of them, striking Haidera three times.
• Chu Kuang explained that he was angry because Xie Feng was his junior brother from the same sect.

Ge Ya warned the Dark Sea Clan not to target Xie Feng or the Literary Clan, then Haidera broke his alliance with the Ghost Clan and beat You Chenfeng. As You Chenfeng suspected the Demon Emperor was involved, mysterious figures appeared at the Ghost Clan and Cloud Clan, while the Marquis of Mo Yang came to see Shui Yunjun.

• Ge Ya revealed that Xie Feng and the Literary Clan were under his protection, and the Dark Sea Clan leaders promised not to attack them.
• After Ge Ya left, Haidera went to the Ghost Clan and slapped You Chenfeng, ending the Dark Sea Clan's alliance with the Ghost Clan.
• You Chenfeng deduced that the Demon Emperor may have beaten Haidera because Xie Feng was his junior brother.
• A golden figure entered the Ghost Clan as a bell silenced every sound, while a crimson-robed figure arrived at the Cloud Palace.
• At Dark Ink Mountain, Shui Yunjun opened her window and found the Marquis of Mo Yang waiting outside.

Xie Feng disguised himself as the Marquis of Mo Yang to surprise Shui Yunjun, but she recognized him through the bond she remembered with her lover. The next morning, Pei Jue entered the Star Clan’s Nether Passage Secret Realm to seek the Star Ancestor’s power, while Pei Shanhe privately resolved to stop him from changing the clan.

• Xie Feng visited Shui Yunjun disguised as the Marquis of Mo Yang and promised to stay by her side.
• Shui Yunjun saw through Xie Feng’s disguise, thanked him for arranging the surprise, and told him she had sent Xuan Zhuying, Wen Chu, and Yu Qianfeng to prepare against the Ghost Clan and others.
• Xie Feng returned to his room and used the Immortal-Slaying Furnace through the night.
• Pei Shanhe used the ancestral star seal to open the blood-red entrance to the Nether Passage Secret Realm, and Pei Jue entered to seek the Star Ancestor’s power.
• Pei Shanhe told Feng Lin that Pei Jue wanted power to reshape the Star Clan and that he would not allow it.

Xie Feng entered the Nether Passage Secret Realm and battled a three-faced statue believed to be the Star Ancestor, collecting the treasures it dropped. He escaped with fifty billion-year-old Star Cores and three hundred Star Sea Crystals, which Kong Qiusu identified as materials for strengthening Xie Feng and forging two Star Shields.

• Kong Qiusu secretly sent Xie Feng into the Nether Passage Secret Realm and guided him toward a source of gravitational pull.
• Xie Feng found a huge, three-faced statue covered in Star Lichen and suspected it was the Star Clan's forefather, the Star Ancestor.
• The statue attacked Xie Feng with Sword Qi, and Little Sword blocked its strikes while black objects and silver stones fell from it.
• Xie Feng gathered the drops and fled with Little Sword after it complained that blocking the statue's attacks consumed too much power.
• Kong Qiusu identified fifty black objects as billion-year-old Star Cores that Xie Feng could refine to improve his strength.
• Kong Qiusu identified three hundred silver stones as Star Sea Crystals that could help forge two Star Shields.