Chapter Summaries

Ye Qiubai and the Cottage disciples fought off a huge force of the Evil Race after the old man refused to intervene further. Ye Qiubai’s Sword Tomb devastated the enemy ranks, but the humans remained outnumbered and were forced to retreat.

• The old man stopped Xie Nan from directly attacking Ye Qiubai and left the remaining battle to the cultivators.
• Xie Nan ordered the evil generals to kill the Cottage disciples, who were surrounded and cut off from support by the Evil Race.
• Ye Qiubai joked with his companions before the Evil Race attacked, then unleashed his Sword Domain and Sword Tomb.
• Ye Qiubai’s manifested swords slaughtered countless commander-level enemies and forced the evil generals to struggle against his Sword Intent.
• Hong Ying, Xiao Hei, Ning Chenxin, Shi Sheng, and Mu Fusheng attacked the distracted evil generals and Evil Race troops.
• The Cottage disciples’ strength lifted human morale, but the Evil Race’s overwhelming numbers forced the humans to fight while retreating.

The human forces retreated to Dragonrise City, where World-Purifying Great Arrays held back the Extraterrestrial Evil Race until Xie Nan targeted their weak junctions. As the defenses began to fail, powerful factions from the Mid-Latitude Realm descended upon the battlefield, and the old man left the outcome to Ye Qiubai.

• Mu Zhengting ordered the human forces to retreat to Dragonrise City, and the activated World-Purifying Great Arrays stopped the Evil Race's advance.
• Xie Nan found that the arrays were weakest where they connected and ordered the Evil Race to attack those junctions.
• Ye Qiubai and the Cottage members joined Mu Ziqing and Mu Libei to defend the eastern junction against the Evil Race.
• The Evil Race's relentless assault overwhelmed several junctions and weakened the World-Purifying Great Arrays.
• Several powerful presences descended from the sky, prompting the old man to leave and Xie Nan to realize that factions from the Mid-Latitude Realm had arrived.

The seven Mid-Latitude Realm forces forced the Evil Race to retreat, then demanded that the Low-Latitude Realm provide a star map and surrender most of its resources. As Mu Zhengting and the other leaders considered fighting back, Ye Qiubai saw a possible way to exploit the seven forces’ competing interests.

• He Wuwei ordered Xie Nan to withdraw the Evil Race army, and Xie Nan reluctantly pulled his troops back into Boundary Mountain.
• He Wuwei introduced himself as the Heavenly Mandate Sect’s deputy sect master and demanded a star map, claiming the seven forces would divide the territory and keep ninety percent of its resources.
• Mu Zhengting asked for time to prepare the star map, and He Wuwei gave him three days before the seven forces departed.
• Xie Nan retreated to report to the Evil Race’s leaders, while Mu Zhengting summoned the major powers to discuss how to respond.
• Mu Libei and the other leaders proposed fighting rather than becoming slaves, and Ye Qiubai realized the seven forces might have conflicting interests.
• Ye Qiubai stepped forward in the great hall and said he might have a way to handle the crisis.

Ye Qiubai proposed exploiting the rivalry among the seven invading forces by sowing discord instead of fighting them head-on. The gathered leaders accepted the plan, and Ye Qiubai volunteered to handle the negotiations.

• Ye Qiubai offered to share a plan, but Han Qinghe tried to silence him until Jian Wufeng and Mu Libei defended his right to speak.
• Ye Qiubai explained that the seven forces would compete over the Low-Latitude Realm’s spoils, giving their opponents a chance to turn them against one another.
• Mu Libei recognized the plan as a way to magnify the invaders’ greed, while Ye Qiubai called him “Father-in-law” and surprised the gathered leaders.
• Ye Qiubai said the coalition should sow discord to trigger suspicion and internal strife among the seven forces.
• When Mu Zhengting asked how to carry out the plan, Ye Qiubai volunteered to handle the negotiations.

Ye Qiubai went to Wuxu City to discuss an important matter and proved his strength when two young men blocked his way. After suppressing one man’s Sword Intent and cutting apart his attack, he was invited inside to meet the senior.

• Ye Qiubai and his companions left the hall, and Mu Zhengting urged Mu Libei to reconsider the Mu Clan’s reliance on bloodline power.
• Ye Qiubai chose to approach the weakest factions first and went to Wuxu City’s quarters with Hong Ying.
• Two peak Spirit Division Realm young men blocked Ye Qiubai, and one challenged him to a fight.
• Ye Qiubai’s Sword Domain suppressed the young man’s Sword Intent, and Ye Qiubai split the man’s crescent-shaped sword attack with one slash.
• A voice from inside called the two young men back and invited Ye Qiubai inside to discuss his important matter.

Ye Qiubai met with an old man from Wuxu City and tried to persuade him that the city should oppose the other major factions’ control of the Mid-Latitude Realm’s resources. The old man dismissed his attempt to sow discord until Ye Qiubai claimed he might persuade Heavenly Sword Peak, prompting a sharp reaction.

• Ye Qiubai ignored the two young men he had defeated and entered the room to meet the old man.
• The old man recognized that Ye Qiubai had not come to negotiate and warned him that persuader’s tricks would not work.
• Ye Qiubai shared wine with the old man, discussed the Mid-Latitude Realm, and learned that one faction controlled each realm.
• Ye Qiubai argued that Wuxu City received too small a share of the realm’s limited resources because it was among the weakest of the seven major factions.
• The old man admitted Ye Qiubai had nearly persuaded him but said the other factions’ greater strength made discord useless.
• Ye Qiubai said he might persuade Heavenly Sword Peak, and the old man reacted with sudden interest.

The old man decided he could use Ye Qiubai’s attempt to sow discord among the seven major factions for his own purposes. Back at the Cottage, the little bird revealed her Vermilion Bird bloodline during a powerful breakthrough, and the Willow Tree told Lu Changsheng to help her evolve by giving her a drop of his blood essence.

• The old man told two young men about Ye Qiubai’s proposal and said he intended to turn the scheme to his advantage.
• The little bird’s breakthrough filled the Cottage with Nirvana Fire, which the Willow Tree contained.
• The little bird awakened a divine phoenix phantom, and Liu Ziru recognized it as the Vermilion Bird, the Phoenix Clan’s royal bloodline.
• Lu Changsheng protected Liu Ziru from the phantom’s presence with a casual wave of his hand.
• The Willow Tree said the little bird’s bloodline could still evolve and instructed Lu Changsheng to give her a drop of his blood essence.

Lu Changsheng gave Little Bird a drop of his blood essence, allowing her Vermilion Bird Bloodline to transform into the Divine Phoenix Bloodline. After three days of transformation, Little Bird flew off to seek her clan’s ruins, while Ye Qiubai arrived at Heavenly Sword Peak’s encampment.

• Willow Tree explained that the Vermilion Bird Bloodline was a key to the Divine Phoenix Bloodline and that Little Bird had the potential to attain it.
• Lu Changsheng released a drop of blood essence, whose overwhelming presence shook the Wilderness Realm and forced Liu Ziru to the ground until Willow Tree helped him.
• Willow Tree used green light to guide Lu Changsheng’s blood essence into Little Bird so her body could absorb it safely.
• Little Bird underwent a three-day transformation as her Nirvana Fire gained azure flames and her bloodline advanced to the Divine Phoenix Bloodline.
• Little Bird flew away to search for her clan’s ruins, and Ye Qiubai arrived at Heavenly Sword Peak’s encampment.

Ye Qiubai persuaded Chu Guidao of Heavenly Sword Peak to support his scheme against the seven major factions, though Chu Guidao warned that it might fail. Ye Qiubai returned to the Boundless Dynasty, where the factions prepared for war, and four days later seven pillars of light descended upon the Boundless Imperial City.

• Ye Qiubai found Chu Guidao meditating in the mountains and deduced that he belonged to Heavenly Sword Peak.
• Chu Guidao agreed to help Ye Qiubai's plan but refused to act directly and warned that the seven major factions might see through it.
• Ye Qiubai returned to the Boundless Dynasty and told the gathered leaders that Wuxu City and Heavenly Sword Peak had agreed to cooperate.
• Ye Qiubai urged everyone to prepare for war, and Mu Zhengting ordered them to get ready to fight to the death if the plan failed.
• Four days later, seven pillars of light descended upon the Boundless Imperial City.

He Wuwei demanded the Boundless Realm submit, but Ye Qiubai’s plan briefly divided the seven factions and delayed their attack. When negotiations failed, Mu Zhengting and the others vowed to resist, and He Wuwei began slaughtering cultivators with overwhelming force.

• He Wuwei arrived with six other experts and demanded the completed star map, while Mu Zhengting asked for more time and Ye Qiubai urged him to wait.
• Chu Guidao and the leaders of Wuxu City, the Xuanyuan Clan, and the Hehuan Sect challenged the territory allocation, disrupting He Wuwei’s plan to seize control.
• He Wuwei agreed to give the three factions more territory, then turned his attention back to Mu Zhengting and unleashed his full presence.
• Mu Zhengting called on everyone to fight rather than become slaves, and Ye Qiubai, Hong Ying, Xiao Hei, and the Cottage’s others prepared to resist.
• He Wuwei struck with a pillar of light that erased thousands of cultivators, leaving Mu Zhengting and the others facing the battle they had feared.

The seven major factions overwhelmed the Boundless Realm’s allied army, while despair and blame spread among its people. As Ye Qiubai prepared to ask Lu Changsheng for help, a terrifying phoenix presence appeared in the sky and suppressed even the Human Immortal experts.

• He Wuwei, the master of Blazing Sun Valley, and the Hehuan Sect woman unleashed attacks that routed the Boundless Realm’s allied army and killed or incapacitated its weaker cultivators.
• Some allied soldiers blamed Ye Qiubai for provoking the seven major factions, while Ye Qiubai stayed calm and urged everyone to focus on surviving.
• Mu Fusheng and the other Cottage disciples agreed they might have to ask their Master to intervene, and Ye Qiubai took out his voice transmission jade pendant.
• A phoenix cried across the Boundless Realm as Nirvana Fire lit the sky and released a presence powerful enough to make the Human Immortal experts struggle to breathe.
• Xie Nan felt his Ghost Race bloodline suppressed by the newcomer’s power, leaving everyone wondering who had arrived.

Little Bird revealed herself as a Divine Phoenix and came to Ye Qiubai’s aid when He Wuwei and the six major forces attacked the Cottage. She killed He Wuwei and the others, then returned to her small form on Ye Qiubai’s shoulder.

• A terrifying presence and flames spread across Boundary Mountain, leaving He Wuwei and the others searching for its source.
• Little Bird appeared in the form of a phoenix, and Ye Qiubai and his companions recognized her while the assembled forces realized she was a legendary divine beast.
• A middle-aged man watching from outside the Boundless Realm abandoned his plan to test Ye Qiubai and left with the old man.
• Little Bird asked Ye Qiubai who had bullied him, and he pointed out He Wuwei and the others.
• Little Bird overwhelmed He Wuwei and the six others with her bloodline presence and divine phoenix fire, destroying their bodies and souls.
• Little Bird shrank back to her small bird form and settled on Ye Qiubai’s shoulder.

A divine phoenix saved Ye Qiubai and the others, then offered to deal with the forces behind their enemies, but they chose to face those threats themselves. As Chu Guidao departed and the Boundless Realm prepared to reward them, Ye Qiubai reminded everyone that the Evil Race still remained at Boundary Mountain.

• The divine phoenix explained that she had come to retrieve something left behind by the Phoenix Clan, and Mu Zhengting and the others thanked her for saving them.
• Jian Wufeng teased Mu Libei about Ye Qiubai and Mu Ziqing, and Mu Libei accepted Ye Qiubai as his son-in-law without objecting.
• The divine phoenix offered to destroy the forces behind the enemy, but Ye Qiubai, Hong Ying, Ning Chenxin, and the others declined her help.
• The divine phoenix agreed to wait a few days for Ye Qiubai, while Chu Guidao departed for the Mid-Latitude Realm.
• Mu Zhengting offered to reward Ye Qiubai and his companions, but Ye Qiubai reminded everyone that the Evil Race at Boundary Mountain was still an enemy.

After the Boundless Realm defeated the Extraterrestrial Evil Race, Xie Nan fled and searched the Low-Latitude Realm for something valuable. Ye Qiubai and the others returned to the Cottage, where Lu Changsheng immediately put them to work cooking, before they explained that they had come to check on their factions.

• Little Bird’s bloodline pressure immobilized the Extraterrestrial Evil Race’s leaders, allowing the allied forces to slaughter them as Xie Nan escaped alone.
• Xie Nan sent the Evil Race a report about the Divine Phoenix, then searched the Low-Latitude Realm for an undiscovered treasure land.
• Mu Zhengting held an awards ceremony in the Boundless Imperial City, but Ye Qiubai and the Cottage group had already left.
• Ye Qiubai and the others returned to the Cottage, where Liu Ziru warned them to stay quiet while Lu Changsheng slept.
• Lu Changsheng greeted the returning disciples by ordering them to prepare food, and the group learned Xiao Hei was forbidden from entering the kitchen.
• Ye Qiubai told Lu Changsheng that he and Ning Chenxin had returned to check on the Azure Cloud Sword Sect and the Study.

Ye Qiubai and the Cottage disciples returned to the Wilderness Realm, where Qin Tiannan asked them to lecture at the Hidden Dao Academy. Their return drew eager crowds and brought old acquaintances rushing to see them as the lectures began.

• Qin Tiannan welcomed Ye Qiubai and the others at the Cottage, then asked them to lecture at the Hidden Dao Academy; they agreed while Lu Changsheng refused to teach.
• News of the disciples’ return spread, and cultivators across the Wilderness Realm headed for the Southern Region to see how strong they had become.
• Liang Feng left the Hidden Sword Sect to visit Ye Qiubai, while Jian Chaomian hurried away from the Azure Cloud Sword Sect after Yun Jing offered to handle his work.
• Xin Hongyi learned that Ye Qiubai had returned and flew off to see him, while a woman at a northern nunnery quietly welcomed the news.
• Crowds packed the Hidden Dao Academy and its surroundings to attend the Cottage disciples’ lectures, which officially began.

Ye Qiubai and the Cottage disciples arrived at the Hidden Dao Academy to share their insights through sparring, and Ye Qiubai’s swordsmanship and guidance astonished the crowd. After the disciples finished preaching the Dao, Liang Feng and Jian Chaomian came to challenge the Cottage’s sect master.

• Ye Qiubai and the other Cottage disciples appeared above the packed square, where Xin Hongyi, Liang Feng, Jian Chaomian, Qin Tiannan, and the Main Academy's head watched them arrive.
• Ye Qiubai invited anyone who wished to challenge the Cottage disciples to come forward, and Zhang Yi rose to face him.
• Ye Qiubai demonstrated sword intent with a finger, then dispelled Zhang Yi's flashy attack and taught him to focus his sword intent into a single strike.
• Zhang Yi followed Ye Qiubai's advice, broke through to the Sword Ancestor realm, and asked Ye Qiubai to accept him as a disciple, but Ye Qiubai declined.
• Ye Qiubai guided several more sword cultivators, and the gathered students and sect masters benefited from the demonstrations.
• After the Cottage disciples finished preaching the Dao, Liang Feng and Jian Chaomian approached the Cottage and asked its sect master to spar.

Ye Qiubai sparred with Jian Chaomian and Liang Feng, then realized he had forgotten the Azure Cloud Sword Sect's first disciple recruitment. As the recruitment began, Ning Chenxin was absent, investigating a crooked-hearted person whose cultivation deviation and Demonization had caused massacres in the Central Region.

• Jian Chaomian and Liang Feng challenged Ye Qiubai, but he defeated them with an ordinary wooden sword while suppressing his cultivation and using no Sword Intent.
• Liang Feng reminded Ye Qiubai that he had set the sect's recruitment for every three years, and Ye Qiubai admitted he had forgotten the date.
• Ye Qiubai, Hong Ying, Lu Changsheng, and the others arrived for the Azure Cloud Sword Sect's first recruitment, drawing crowds of sword cultivators and curious visitors.
• Ning Chenxin stayed away from the recruitment because he had gone to the Central Region to deal with a person's cultivation deviation and Demonization, which had caused several massacres.

Ye Qiubai oversaw the Azure Cloud Sword Sect’s recruitment trials, where Xin Hongyi and the exceptionally talented Hao Tian passed the first test. Hao Tian declared that he wanted Ye Qiubai as his master, while Ning Chenxin arrived at the Study to investigate the cause of panic among its Confucian cultivators.

• Ye Qiubai, Liang Feng, and Jian Chaomian began the sect’s recruitment, which tested candidates’ talent, perseverance, and character.
• Most applicants failed the sword-stone test, but Xin Hongyi carved a mark on the fourth tier and passed.
• Hao Tian carved a mark on the sixth tier, surpassing Liang Feng and Jian Chaomian’s results and impressing Ye Qiubai.
• After passing the first trial, Hao Tian said he wanted Ye Qiubai as his master, though the elders told him the sect master did not take disciples.
• Ning Chenxin arrived at the Study, calmed the panicked Confucian cultivators with white light, and asked them to explain what had happened.

Ning Chenxin investigated the crimes of Zuo Xuan, Niu Heng, and Zhong Kuo, three Study disciples who had murdered people to advance their Confucian cultivation. His inquiry pointed toward the Buddhist Sect, but he found a massacre blamed on Study cultivators, leaving him facing public anger and uncertain evidence.

• The Study's grand elder told Ning Chenxin that Zuo Xuan, Niu Heng, and Zhong Kuo had forced people to cultivate Confucianism and extracted their souls, then disappeared after the elders tried to capture them.
• Ning Chenxin learned the three had last appeared at the Buddhist Sect and decided to investigate, warning the grand elder to maintain order at the Study.
• Ning Chenxin questioned the Buddhist Son, who denied knowing about the three; Ning Chenxin detected that the Buddhist Son was hiding something but could not confirm his involvement.
• Ning Chenxin found a bloodied manor near Buddha Mountain, where the victims' killers had been identified as Study Confucian cultivators.
• Onlookers criticized Ning Chenxin and the Study, arguing that the Buddhist Sect was better despite the Study's disciples' crimes.

Ning Chenxin uncovered evidence that the Buddhist Sect had manipulated the killings to discredit the Confucian Dao, then confronted the Sect at Buddha Mountain. As its Grand Array shielded the mountain, his Cottage companions trusted him to handle the matter alone.

• Ning Chenxin examined the slaughtered estate and found clues confirming that the Buddhist Sect had stirred up the crimes to ruin the Study and the Confucian Dao.
• Ning Chenxin flew back to the Buddhist Sect, furious and resolved to demand an explanation or destroy the Sect if necessary.
• The Buddhist Sect activated its strengthened Grand Array as Ning Chenxin arrived, and onlookers speculated about his motives and condemned him.
• At the Cottage, Hong Ying, Xiao Hei, and Shi Sheng reassured Mu Fusheng that Ning Chenxin could handle the Buddhist Sect on his own.
• At the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, Liang Feng told Ye Qiubai about Ning Chenxin, but Ye Qiubai said his junior brother needed no help.