Recaps

Chen Shuangbai learned about the Three Treasures of Returning to Truth and the Profound Firmament Sect’s factional tensions while preparing for the Sword Continuation Dharma Assembly. Du Taixuan and Liu Qinghe visited him at the Crimson Rosy Clouds Garden, and after their conversation turned to the assembly, Du Taixuan left Liu Qinghe alone with Chen Shuangbai.

• Fang Xiao told Chen Shuangbai about the Three Treasures of Returning to Truth and the struggle between the Profound Firmament Sect’s master-disciple and aristocratic clan factions.
• Chen Shuangbai read his swordsmanship notes that night while Gao Yi practiced in the courtyard.
• Du Taixuan visited Chen Shuangbai at the Crimson Rosy Clouds Garden and congratulated him on reaching the middle Golden Core stage.
• Liu Qinghe of the Flower Washing Sword Sect arrived, and Chen Shuangbai welcomed him inside.
• Chen Shuangbai, Du Taixuan, and Liu Qinghe discussed their Sword Daos and overseas travels before turning to the Dharma assembly.
• Liu Qinghe signaled that he wanted to speak privately with Chen Shuangbai, so Du Taixuan took his leave.

Chen Shuangbai learned from Liu Qinghe about the Devil Dao’s growing influence in the Qian Kingdom and reflected on the coming struggle for finite spiritual resources. Two days later, he and Gao Yi set out for the Dharma assembly at the Sword Demonstration Terrace.

• Chen Shuangbai received a mystic talisman from Liu Qinghe, who warned that the Qian Kingdom’s balance of power was threatened by Devil Dao forces supporting White Deer Mountain.
• Liu Qinghe explained that Ji Yuzi had reached the Nascent Soul realm and fought the Flower Washing Sword Sect’s master to a draw, while hiding any outside influence behind White Deer Mountain’s own techniques.
• Chen Shuangbai considered True Lord Qingchen’s view that a great struggle over finite spiritual potential could not be avoided, and resolved that cultivators must contend for the Dao Path.
• After two more days passed, Gao Yi met Chen Shuangbai with a mystic-patterned scabbard, and they left for the Dharma assembly with a Profound Firmament Sect guide.
• Chen Shuangbai traveled toward the Sword Demonstration Terrace as Golden Core True Persons arrived from across Molten Gold Ridge in colorful clouds and lights.

Chen Shuangbai attended the Sword Continuation Dharma Assembly at Molten Gold Ridge, where the Profound Firmament Sect welcomed sword cultivators from across the region. After True Lord Xuanyuan opened the gathering and Zhao Shiyong announced the rules, the lower-level sword contests began, leaving Chen Shuangbai and the other Golden Core cultivators watching the young participants.

• Chen Shuangbai arrived at the arena with Gao Yi and Fang Xiao, greeted the Golden Core cultivators on the raised platforms, and took his seat.
• Zhao Shiyong introduced Fairy Nangu, a sword cultivator from the Sumiao Sword Pavilion, who joined the gathering on Chen Shuangbai's platform.
• True Lord Xuanyuan appeared at the northern platform, and Zhao Shiyong welcomed the attendees and declared that the assembly permitted only sword arts and personal cultivation.
• Sword cultivators below Golden Core began competing, and Chen Shuangbai observed their techniques with interest.
• Chen Shuangbai and the other Golden Core cultivators watched a blue-robed sword cultivator whose graceful swordplay carried considerable power.

Chen Shuangbai watched sword cultivators display their different inheritances at the Dharma gathering, which moved from the lower-realm competition to the opening of the Golden Core matches. The chapter ended with True Person Xuguang and True Person Jinglian exchanging sword arts while Chen Shuangbai studied their techniques.

• Chen Xi of the Flower Washing Sword Sect lost to a rogue sword cultivator after their swordsmanship clashed across more than ten rounds.
• Chen Yuzi of the Liheng Sword Sect won the competition for sword cultivators below the Golden Core Realm and received the promised reward, including a chance to behold the Three Treasures of Returning to Truth.
• True Lord Xuanyuan activated the six mystic pillars to create the Sword Demonstration Dharma Realm, and Zhao Shiyong began the Golden Core competition.
• True Person Xuguang of the Crimson Cloud Sect and True Person Jinglian of the Lotus Temple took the platform and began their match, displaying their distinct sword arts.
• Chen Shuangbai watched their exchange closely and unconsciously practiced their moves as he studied their techniques.

Chen Shuangbai faced Qin Shu in the sword demonstration, overwhelming him with elusive sword forms. As Qin Shu began to summon the radiance of a Divine Ability, the contest shifted toward a more serious exchange.

• True Person Xuguang conceded to True Person Jinglian after their sword exchange, and the gathering continued with more Golden Core duels.
• Gao Yi handed Chen Shuangbai [Foot-Long Silk] before Chen Shuangbai descended to face Qin Shu of the Profound Firmament Sect.
• Qin Shu opened with his treasured sword, but Chen Shuangbai vanished and struck from unexpected angles, forcing Qin Shu to defend.
• True Lord Xuanyuan explained that Chen Shuangbai's elusive sword forms accorded with his own Dao Path.
• Qin Shu, exhausted from defending against Chen Shuangbai's attacks, drew in his flames and began revealing the radiance of a Divine Ability.

Chen Shuangbai defeated Qin Shu with his precisely controlled sword technique, Flowing Light on Snow, impressing the Golden Core cultivators and True Lord Xuanyuan. The matches continued, while Gong Yue watched Chen Shuangbai with growing interest.

• Qin Shu admitted Chen Shuangbai was superior in swordsmanship but asked for one final strike to decide the winner.
• Chen Shuangbai used Flowing Light on Snow to cut Qin Shu's robe without injuring him, and Qin Shu conceded wholeheartedly.
• Nangu Yaohua and Liu Qinghe praised Chen Shuangbai's swordsmanship, while Gao Yi watched in awe and Fang Xiao felt relieved he had heeded Chen Shuangbai's warning.
• True Lord Xuanyuan praised Chen Shuangbai, and the subsequent Golden Core matches continued without matching the brilliance of his strike.
• Gong Yue recalled Chen Shuangbai's strike and watched with growing interest.

Golden Core cultivators tested their sword skills, and Nangu Yaohua defeated Du Taixuan with her flower-like swordplay. On another platform, Gong Yue and Xizhao nearly clashed over an insult before True Lord Xuanyuan intervened.

• Nangu Yaohua overcame Du Taixuan in their sword-only match, trapping him in a sea of Sword Qi flowers and bringing her blade to his throat.
• Du Taixuan conceded gracefully, and Liu Qinghe and Chen Shuangbai praised Nangu Yaohua’s swordplay and the Sumiao Sword Pavilion’s heritage.
• On the northern platform, Xizhao mocked Gong Yue over a Nascent Soul True Lord’s loss of sixty years of cultivation, provoking Gong Yue’s anger.
• True Lord Xuanyuan warned Gong Yue and Xizhao not to make trouble in the Profound Firmament Sect, and they withdrew their Divine Abilities.
• Liu Qinghe explained Gong Yue’s and Xizhao’s backgrounds to Du Taixuan and joked that they were like dogs biting dogs.

The first round of the Golden Core competition ended with five cultivators advancing, and lots paired Chen Shuangbai with Jinglian while Gong Yue faced Nangu Yaohua. Gong Yue defeated Nangu Yaohua, and Chen Shuangbai prepared to begin his duel with Jinglian, who drew the Buddhist sword Pure Heart.

• Liu Qinghe explained that Master Beiku founded the Compassionate Chan Way after an external demon disrupted his breakthrough and changed his beliefs.
• Five Golden Core cultivators advanced: Chen Shuangbai, Gong Yue, Nangu Yaohua, Jinglian, and Jingliuzi, whom Zhao Shiyong announced as True Person Xuhong, Jixuan, Nangu, Jinglian, and Lingxing.
• The competitors drew lots, pairing Chen Shuangbai with Jinglian and Gong Yue with Nangu Yaohua, while one contestant received a bye.
• Gong Yue defeated Nangu Yaohua with precise, murderous swordplay, and Nangu Yaohua conceded around the twenty-third move.
• Chen Shuangbai met Jinglian in the sword demonstration realm, and Jinglian explained that the Great Buddha Temple’s conflict with the Lotus Temple was not his to pursue.
• Jinglian drew his Buddhist sword Pure Heart and invited Chen Shuangbai to begin their duel.

Chen Shuangbai and True Person Jinglian exchanged sword techniques in the dharma realm, then escalated to their strongest moves. Chen Shuangbai shattered the realm with Supreme Yin sword essence and defeated Jinglian, who conceded.

• Chen Shuangbai and Jinglian began their sword demonstration, with Supreme Yin sword arts and Buddhist wisdom sword techniques meeting evenly.
• The two traded dozens of moves as cultivators and Golden Core True Persons watched, and Liu Qinghe praised Chen Shuangbai’s distinctive sword art.
• Jinglian used [Delivering Truth], an invisible sword strike that cut Chen Shuangbai’s shoulder cloth and left a clean gash in the dharma realm.
• Chen Shuangbai unleashed brilliant Supreme Yin light, struck Jinglian’s sword, and tore open several rifts in the dharma realm.
• Chen Shuangbai appeared behind Jinglian with his sword at Jinglian’s heart, and Jinglian sheathed his sword and admitted defeat.

After Chen Shuangbai impressed the Golden Core cultivators with his Supreme Yin Sword Technique, Gong Yue proposed that their disciples spar before the two of them faced off. Chen Shuangbai asked Gao Yi whether he would take the challenge, and Gao Yi agreed.

• Liu Qinghe praised Chen Shuangbai and urged him to join the Flower Washing Sword Sect, but Chen Shuangbai refused.
• Nangu Yaohua invited Chen Shuangbai to visit the Sumiao Sword Pavilion and guide its disciples.
• The new drawing of lots matched Chen Shuangbai against Gong Yue, while True Person Lingxing received a bye.
• Gong Yue asked Zhao Shiyong to let their disciples spar first, and True Lord Xuanyuan approved the change.
• Chen Shuangbai asked Gao Yi what he thought, and Gao Yi agreed to test himself.

Chen Shuangbai agreed to wager a Spirit Embryo against Gong Yue’s Qinwater Sword Pill on a duel between their Qi Refining disciples. Gao Yi and Xue Zheng began their sword match, which remained evenly matched as they exchanged dozens of moves.

• Gong Yue proposed that Gao Yi duel his disciple, offering a Qinwater Sword Pill against Chen Shuangbai’s Spirit Embryo.
• Chen Shuangbai accepted the wager and gave Gao Yi a colorful longsword before sending him into the Sword Demonstration Dharma Realm.
• Xue Zheng introduced himself and immediately attacked Gao Yi with a fierce strike.
• Gao Yi dodged and deflected Xue Zheng’s attack, and the two disciples traded dozens of solid sword moves.

Gao Yi drew on his diligent practice of the Dragon Creek Sword Instruction to turn the tide against Xue Zheng in their sword duel. He defeated Xue Zheng and held his sword to his opponent’s neck.

• Gao Yi’s flowing swordplay gradually overcame Xue Zheng’s fierce attacks as their exchange continued.
• Xue Zheng used Sword Light Differentiation to summon six purple sword shadows and attack Gao Yi from every direction.
• Gao Yi’s sword light slipped through the six shadows and reached Xue Zheng, who met his strike with a fierce counterattack.
• Gao Yi used Passing Shadow, Flowing River to disrupt Xue Zheng’s swordplay, slipped through his defense, and placed his sword at Xue Zheng’s neck.
• Gao Yi calmly told Xue Zheng that he had lost.

After Gao Yi defeated Xue Zheng, Gong Yue handed Chen Shuangbai the wagered Qinwater Sword Pill. Chen Shuangbai then faced Gong Yue in the main duel and found himself trapped in a sword formation, where he detected and expelled hidden sword needles.

• Xue Zheng knelt before Gong Yue, who ordered him to withdraw and reflect on his defeat.
• Gong Yue gave Chen Shuangbai the Qinwater Sword Pill after losing the wager, and Chen Shuangbai passed it to Gao Yi.
• Chen Shuangbai and Gong Yue entered the Sword Demonstration Dharma Realm and began their duel.
• Gong Yue used a purple law sword to form a thirty-two-sword formation around Chen Shuangbai.
• Chen Shuangbai defended himself with Foot-Long Silk and its frost osmanthus sword essence, then found three sword needles embedded in his palm and forced them out.

Gong Yue used the Arrayed Mystery Sect’s Transforming Sword into Talisman technique to immobilize Chen Shuangbai and attack him, but [Foot-Long Silk] broke free and destroyed his talismans. Chen Shuangbai overwhelmed Gong Yue with Flowing Light on Snow until True Lord Xuanyuan stopped the duel just before the finishing strike.

• Gong Yue formed three sword essence talismans bearing the characters “Suppress,” “Kill,” and “Bind,” immobilizing Chen Shuangbai.
• Gong Yue repeatedly slashed apart the Frost Osmanthus sword essence surrounding Chen Shuangbai, but [Foot-Long Silk] released Supreme Yin radiance that freed him and destroyed the three talismans.
• Chen Shuangbai advanced with [Foot-Long Silk] and unleashed Flowing Light on Snow, forcing back Gong Yue’s crimson-purple divine ability.
• Gong Yue’s divine ability darkened the spell domain, but Chen Shuangbai’s sword strike cut through it and came within inches of Gong Yue’s face.
• True Lord Xuanyuan intervened, and Chen Shuangbai withdrew his sword while Gong Yue stood disheveled.

Chen Shuangbai defeated Gong Yue at the Sword Continuation Dharma Assembly, and True Person Lingxing conceded the final match, securing Chen Shuangbai the Golden Core champion’s title. That night, Chen Shuangbai met True Lord Xuanyuan, Zhao Shiyong, Lingxing, and an unfamiliar female Golden Core cultivator at a spiritual peak.

• Chen Shuangbai defeated Gong Yue in their swordsmanship exchange, and Gong Yue conceded before returning to his platform.
• True Person Lingxing withdrew from his match against Chen Shuangbai, drawing attention to his rivalry with Gong Yue and the Arrayed Mystery Sect.
• Zhao Shiyong declared Chen Shuangbai the champion of the Golden Core competition, bringing the assembly to a close.
• That night, Chen Shuangbai followed a Profound Firmament Sect disciple to a spiritual peak, where True Lord Xuanyuan, Zhao Shiyong, Lingxing, and an unfamiliar female Golden Core cultivator awaited him.
• Lingxing greeted Chen Shuangbai and asked whether he did not wish to see him.

Chen Shuangbai joined True Lord Xuanyuan and the other cultivators as three sword talismans opened a gateway to the sword stele’s secret realm. He studied the stele’s sword marks and entered a vision of a blue-robed sword immortal, where a surge of sword light swept through him.

• Chen Shuangbai learned that True Person Lingxing and True Person Yinghua of the Mystic Radiance Sect held the other two sword talismans.
• True Lord Xuanyuan brought Chen Shuangbai and Chen Y uzi into the palace and explained that they could behold a summoned treasure for one stick of incense.
• True Lord Xuanyuan, True Person Lingxing, and True Person Yinghua joined their talismans to form a platinum gateway, and Chen Shuangbai sent his Divine Sense inside.
• Chen Shuangbai reached a blue-gold sword stele bearing three sword marks and focused on the elusive final mark.
• Chen Shuangbai saw a blue-robed sword immortal beneath peach blossoms, heard a Daoist song, and watched platinum sword light sweep toward him.

After gaining insights from the sword talisman, Chen Shuangbai sought a Flowing Light Flame Bird at the Profound Firmament Sect and learned its owner, Han Zhao, was worried about his newborn son's illness. Chen Shuangbai reached Han Zhao's Crimson Flame Peak and offered to help, leaving their meeting about to begin.

• Chen Shuangbai awoke from viewing the sword talisman, thanked the gathered cultivators, and exchanged contact information with True Person Lingxing.
• Chen Shuangbai asked Zhao Shiyong about finding a Flowing Light Flame Bird and learned that its owner, Han Zhao, was a rival of Zhao Shiyong within the Profound Firmament Sect.
• Zhao Shiyong told Chen Shuangbai that Han Zhao's newborn son had suffered damage to his vitality and suggested that Jade Spring Sect's healing arts might help.
• Chen Shuangbai gave Zhao Shiyong a bottle of Mystic Light Illuminating Life Pills and traveled to Crimson Flame Peak with Zhao Shiyong's letter.
• Chen Shuangbai offered to examine Han Zhao's son's illness, and Han Zhao emerged from his cave abode to meet him.

Chen Shuangbai examined Han Zhao’s infant son and refined pills to cure the child’s fire poison. In return, Han Zhao gave Chen Shuangbai a Flowing Light Flame Bird, and the two forged a friendship despite their different alliances.

• Chen Shuangbai examined Han Zhao’s son and found that damaged vital Qi had turned the infant’s innate Fire Qi into fire poison.
• Chen Shuangbai gathered spirit medicines and spent seven days refining Water Abode Infant Restoration Pills.
• Han Zhao gave his son a pill, saw his condition improve, and learned how to complete the treatment with the remaining pills.
• Han Zhao presented Chen Shuangbai with a Flowing Light Flame Bird in gratitude for saving his son.
• Chen Shuangbai and Han Zhao agreed to keep visiting and discussing the Dao despite their ties to opposing factions.

Chen Shuangbai left the Profound Firmament Sect with Gao Yi and Fang Xiao, carrying gifts from Zhao Shiyong and reflecting on the sword insights he had gained. A nuo-masked stranger lured him to a guarded valley with a scrap of Chen Yazhen’s vestment and asked him to bring the Jade Spring Sect’s Azure Yi Mystic Cauldron.

• Zhao Shiyong gave Chen Shuangbai four jade boxes as gifts for his inner disciples, and Chen Shuangbai departed in the flood dragon carriage with Gao Yi and Fang Xiao.
• Chen Shuangbai continued deducing sword techniques from the sword stele and reflected that the sword immortal’s philosophy might help him comprehend Sword Intent.
• A disguised nuo-masked stranger blocked the carriage, showed Chen Shuangbai a scrap of Chen Yazhen’s vestment, and invited him to talk in a nearby valley.
• Chen Shuangbai followed the stranger into a valley protected by a third-tier grand formation and questioned their purpose.
• The stranger asked Chen Shuangbai to bring the Jade Spring Sect’s Azure Yi Mystic Cauldron, claiming its precious liquid increased the chance of Core Formation by twenty percent.

Chen Shuangbai confronted a Nuo-masked man who claimed to hold his second disciple Yazhen and demanded the Azure Yi Mystic Cauldron. Chen Shuangbai trapped the visitor in a Supreme Yin illusion and, after the man destroyed his own clone with peach-scarlet fire, kept part of the mask and the remaining flame.

• The Nuo-masked man named the Azure Yi Mystic Cauldron and demanded it in exchange for Yazhen’s safe return.
• Chen Shuangbai realized someone in the Jade Spring Sect had leaked information and suspected the man had only a scrap of Yazhen’s robe, not Yazhen herself.
• Chen Shuangbai revealed that the valley was an illusion and confronted the Nuo-masked man inside his Supreme Yin domain.
• The Nuo-masked man unleashed a blade array, but his attacks passed through Chen Shuangbai’s illusory form.
• The Nuo-masked man admitted defeat, warned that a more formidable opponent would come, and burned himself up with peach-scarlet fire.
• Chen Shuangbai preserved half of the Nuo mask and sealed the last wisp of flame in ice-crystal amber, realizing the visitor had been a clone.

After returning to the Jade Spring Sect, Chen Shuangbai reported the ambush and learned that the masked attackers might be connected to the long-destroyed Datura Tower. True Lord Qingchen gave him a method to purge the demonic light within him, and Chen Shuangbai visited Tang Yu to support his coming Foundation Establishment.

• Chen Shuangbai learned from Profound Firmament Sect disciples that several Dharma assembly attendees had been ambushed by attackers wearing nuo masks, and he asked them to pass news to the Jade Spring Sect.
• Chen Shuangbai reported his journey and the ambush to True Lord Qingchen, who identified the mask as resembling those used by the Datura Tower, an organization eradicated a thousand years earlier.
• Chen Shuangbai suggested someone might be using the Datura Tower's name, and True Lord Qingchen arranged an investigation, promised to strengthen Jade Screen Peak's defenses, and told him to avoid leaving the sect.
• True Lord Qingchen gave Chen Shuangbai a Jade Slip containing a method to eradicate the demonic light within him.
• Chen Shuangbai visited Deer Deep Waters Peak, where he gave Tang Yu cultivation supplies, Foundation Establishment notes, and a ritual implement to support his approaching breakthrough.

Chen Shuangbai used the Flowing Light Flame Bird to remove the demonic light from his Golden Core and then considered how to help Feiguang attempt Golden Core. The chapter ended with a messenger reporting that Yan Nanlai had betrayed the Jade Spring Sect and caused casualties.

• Chen Shuangbai released the Flowing Light Flame Bird, which swallowed the demonic light covering his Golden Core and cured his lingering affliction.
• Chen Shuangbai welcomed the peak's spirit beasts to celebrate, while Feiguang eyed the Flowing Light Flame Bird jealously until Chen Shuangbai told him it had helped.
• Feiguang asked Chen Shuangbai for permission to attempt Golden Core, and Chen Shuangbai advised him to wait while he sought safer methods from True Lord Qingchen.
• A messenger arrived from the sect and reported that someone had defected and caused casualties.
• The messenger identified the traitor as Yan Nanlai, and Chen Shuangbai reacted with disbelief.

Chen Shuangbai learned that Yan Nanlai had defected from the Jade Spring Sect after harming and controlling fellow disciples, and the sect investigated the damage he had caused. True Lord Qingchen revealed that Yan Nanlai had escaped his attempt to capture him, leading Chen Shuangbai to suspect that Yan Nanlai was secretly in the Nascent Soul Realm.

• Wu Ping confirmed that Yan Nanlai had tortured Deputy Hall Master Dong Lüqi, stolen pill formulas and pills, and damaged her foundation beyond repair.
• Chen Shuangbai learned that Yan Nanlai had controlled several senior Foundation Establishment cultivators, while True Lord Qingchen had suppressed them and confined them for treatment.
• Wu Ping reported that six inner disciples on Heavenly Spring Peak had been found dead with their souls devoured, and True Lord Qingchen said Yan Heng had been imprisoned for questioning.
• Chen Shuangbai urged the sect to investigate before deciding Yan Heng's guilt and demanded that Yan Nanlai's crimes be punished severely.
• True Lord Qingchen told Chen Shuangbai that Yan Nanlai had escaped his attempt to capture him, prompting Chen Shuangbai to suspect Yan Nanlai had concealed a Nascent Soul cultivation.

After Yan Nanlai escaped with the Azure Yi Mystic Cauldron and a sealed demonic scripture, True Lord Qingchen and Chen Shuangbai discovered how dangerous the scripture was and tightened security throughout the Jade Spring Sect. Chen Shuangbai later told Yan Heng what he had learned, and she was left consumed by the revelation that Yan Nanlai had deceived her all her life.

• Yan Nanlai escaped with the Azure Yi Mystic Cauldron, pills, pill formulas, and the Golden Book of Desire Realm Celestial Person Transformation.
• Chen Shuangbai spoke the demonic scripture's full name and briefly lost control of his soul before True Lord Qingchen warned him not to say it aloud.
• True Lord Qingchen overhauled the sect's formations and patrols as the Jade Spring Sect purged suspected infiltrators and investigated Yan Nanlai's fabricated identity.
• Chen Shuangbai visited Yan Heng in the Three Yin Cave and told her that Yan Nanlai had escaped and deceived the sect.
• Yan Heng cried out that Yan Nanlai had lied to her throughout her life.

Chen Shuangbai learned that Yan Nanlai had betrayed Jade Spring Sect, while Yi Chongyue and Shi Yubai emerged from seclusion after successfully forming Golden Cores. The Holy Origin Alliance then invaded Ning Country and destroyed its four sects, leaving survivors in exile and Xu Zhi surrendering.

• Chen Shuangbai arranged for the guards to treat Yan Heng leniently in Three Yin Cave, though he could do little else about her suffering or Yan Nanlai's escape.
• Yi Chongyue formed a fourth-grade Golden Core and Shi Yubai formed a third-grade core; both thanked Chen Shuangbai for his support and condemned Yan Nanlai's betrayal.
• True Lord Qingchen appointed Shi Yubai hall master of Jade Guarding Hall and Yi Chongyue hall master of Jade Dew Hall, while Chen Shuangbai returned to Jade Screen Peak to cultivate.
• The Parting Hate Gate, Celebrated Origin Sect, and Transformation Sect formed the Holy Origin Alliance and launched an invasion of Ning Country.
• The Alliance destroyed Blazing Sun Mountain and killed True Person Wang; the Spirit Taming Sect's survivors fled overseas, while Xu Zhi of the Floating Light Sect surrendered.