Chapter Summaries

As Murong Ziyi revealed himself as the Black Tortoise Sorcerer, Chen Qing suspected that Four Saints Sorcerers were not Ancient Demons and that their spells could offer a way to undermine the forces controlling the major families. Kagura confirmed that demons were incompatible with Four Saints Spells and began negotiating with Chen Qing over what she knew.

• Murong Ziyi’s Black Tortoise identity astonished the sorcerers, while Chen Qing wondered why no one had taken a Four Saints Spell into the late game.
• Chen Qing recalled that the previous White Tiger Sorcerer had not contained an Ancient Demon and suspected Murong Ziyi was not one either.
• Chen Qing asked Kagura whether she knew why the Four Saints Sorcerers seemed free of Ancient Demons, and she offered information in exchange for a promise.
• Kagura confirmed Murong Ziyi was not an Ancient Demon and said her group had conducted experiments.
• Kagura explained that major ancient forces were incompatible with Four Saints Spells, leading Chen Qing to realize the ancient spirits chose human inheritors to preserve their bloodlines.

White Plain used the Black Tortoise Mark to fight Murong Ziyi inside the Black Tortoise Palace, while Zhang Xiaoyun, Ziyue, and the old Celestial Master uncovered Divine Martial Guild’s plan to seize the Four Saints’ lingering spirits. The old Celestial Master revealed that he had expected Kagura to notice them and insisted he was not afraid of her.

• White Plain recalled that Kagura had recruited her after she obtained the Black Tortoise Mark, qualifying her to join Divine Martial Guild’s plan.
• White Plain remembered Kagura’s explanation that the Ancient Demons sought the Four Saints’ spirits, and that Divine Martial Guild intended to take the technique they had developed.
• Murong Ziyi activated the Black Tortoise Spell, but White Plain moved through the icy palace with enhanced strength and evaded her.
• Zhang Xiaoyun and Ziyue realized White Plain had used the Black Tortoise’s power, and the old Celestial Master identified the Black Tortoise Mark as its source.
• The old Celestial Master explained that the mark was a soul ring made from Black Tortoise Sorcerers and suggested Divine Martial Guild had targeted Murong Ziyi from the start.
• Ziyue challenged the old Celestial Master for allowing Kagura to enter, and he said he was not afraid of her or the outsiders.

Bai Su struggled to overcome Murong Ziyi’s nearly effortless Black Tortoise Spell defenses as her stamina and spiritual power dwindled. In the Heaven and Earth Hall, Chen Qing suggested that defeating the spell depended on a battle of minds, while Kagura’s calm reaction left her plans unclear.

• Murong Ziyi used the Black Tortoise Formation to maintain an automatic ice barrier while meditating and recovering his spiritual power.
• Bai Su’s attacks, spells, and poison repeatedly failed to penetrate the barrier, while Murong Ziyi’s lightning threatened to immobilize her.
• Bai Su taunted Murong Ziyi and continued attacking, but the Black Tortoise Mark and her constant movement rapidly drained her strength and spiritual power.
• Shen Qi and Chen Baifeng watched the fight as Chen Qing explained that the spell’s weakness depended on its wielder and a battle of minds.
• Chen Qing wondered whether Kagura and the Warlock Dynasty had prepared ways to exploit the Black Tortoise Spell, and Kagura answered his gaze with a calm smile.

White Plain tried to break Murong Ziyi’s Black Tortoise Spell through psychological warfare, but he outbluffed her and trapped her in a lightning net. As others judged the fight decided, Chen Qing wondered whether Kagura still had a hidden plan.

• White Plain abandoned the idea of breaking the Black Tortoise Spell by force and raised her aura to pressure Murong Ziyi.
• Murong Ziyi suspected she might be bluffing, then manifested the spirit tortoise while secretly directing his spiritual power into a lightning net around the battlefield.
• White Plain feinted an attack, making Murong Ziyi appear to activate his defense, then retreated beyond ten zhang and became trapped in the net.
• Murong Ziyi approached White Plain as the venomous snake beneath the spirit tortoise emerged, and Chen Baifeng and Shen Qi realized he had gambled that her first attack was a bluff.
• Zhang Xiaoyun praised White Plain’s opponent, and the old Celestial Master considered the outcome settled, but Chen Qing wondered whether Kagura had another plan.

Murong Ziyi nearly defeated White Plain but was killed by her opponent’s decoy and rescued by Ziyue, who later explained that White Plain had held back. Ziyue questioned the old Celestial Master about her missing memories and discovered a blood-red insect inside her heart.

• Murong Ziyi’s gamble appeared to defeat White Plain, but White Plain shed her skin as a decoy and stabbed Murong Ziyi through the heart.
• Ziyue rescued the poisoned Murong Ziyi before White Plain could finish killing her, then declared that White Plain had won the match.
• Back in the Azure Dragon Hall, Ziyue explained that White Plain had restrained herself and had likely spared Murong Ziyi out of compassion.
• Ziyue challenged Zhang Xiaoyun about the matches and asked the old Celestial Master why the plan and her memories were being kept from her.
• After the old Celestial Master said they feared she might warn Chen Qing, Ziyue inspected her body and saw a blood-red insect embedded deep in her heart.

Chen Ying faced Zhang Xiaoyun in the Azure Dragon Hall, where he appeared to encourage her to use the Azure Dragon arrays. She quickly mastered all three, but his warning that it would be a pity for her to die confirmed Chen Qing’s suspicion that her opponents intended to seize the Azure Dragon Spell.

• Chen Baifeng and Chen Qing discussed the final match, and Chen Qing worried that Chen Ying might be in danger.
• Chen Ying entered the Azure Dragon Hall and found Zhang Xiaoyun waiting while the three Azure Dragon arrays surrounded them.
• Zhang Xiaoyun described the arrays, and Chen Ying immediately connected to all three, summoning Spirit trees and a rain of light.
• Zhang Xiaoyun praised Chen Ying’s extraordinary aptitude and said it would be a pity for her to die there.
• Chen Ying recalled Chen Qing’s warning that her opponents wanted to force her to reveal the Azure Dragon Spell and seize it.

Chen Ying fought Zhang Xiaoyun with the Azure Dragon Spell while Chen Qing and Kagura watched from the Heaven and Earth Hall. She unleashed a sustained Azure Lightning technique, and Zhang Xiaoyun admired her control as the battle continued.

• Chen Ying resolved to defend Jiangnan and summoned stored azure wood spiritual energy from shattered fragments of space.
• Zhang Xiaoyun activated the Divine Descent Technique, overwhelming Chen Ying with his terrifying aura.
• Chen Ying identified Zhang Xiaoyun as an Earthly Fiends Spirit test subject, while Chen Qing and Kagura recognized the Celestial Master Mansion's research.
• Chen Ying used Azure Lightning to fill the sky with bolts that spared the azure trees and spread through the forest's spiritual energy.
• Zhang Xiaoyun praised Chen Ying's control and realized she could sustain the lightning almost indefinitely if she was not interrupted.

Zhang Xiaoyun advanced through Chen Ying’s lightning and folded space, revealing that the trials were meant to secure control of the ritual and strip away her Azure Dragon Spell. Chen Ying realized Fei Jun was secretly undergoing a trial and called out to him as Zhang Xiaoyun closed in.

• Zhang Xiaoyun let Chen Ying’s lightning pass through him, and the bolts destroyed the Azure Wood around them.
• Zhang Xiaoyun approached through Chen Ying’s folded space by compressing and deforming it rather than breaking through.
• Zhang Xiaoyun told Chen Ying that her trial mattered because the ritual required her Azure Dragon Spell to be stripped away.
• Chen Ying concluded that Murong Ziyi and the White Tiger Sorcerer had not needed to die, while Fei Jun might have been brought in as the missing Vermilion Bird candidate.
• Zhang Xiaoyun said Chen Ying and Fei Jun were exceptions who needed another trial, and Chen Ying recognized that Fei Jun was already undergoing his trial and called to him.

Chen Ying confronted Zhang Xiaoyun and deduced that he was Fei Jun, the Vermilion Bird Sorcerer whose identity and memories had been concealed for decades. Zhang Xiaoyun revealed his true form and unleashed his fused flames, leaving Chen Ying in grave danger.

• Chen Ying accused Zhang Xiaoyun of using his public identity as the Celestial Master Mansion's grandson to hide that he was Fei Jun, the Vermilion Bird Sorcerer.
• Chen Ying explained that Fei Jun's rebirth into infancy and visits to Cloud Capital had allowed him to conceal his identity and avoid suspicion during the Four Saints trial.
• Zhang Xiaoyun laughed, confirmed Chen Ying's deduction by unleashing his flames, and said she might have joined the Four Saints if she had chosen another hall.
• Zhang Xiaoyun grew into Fei Jun's handsome adult form, while Chen Qing and the sorcerers realized the eldest princess's son had long been parasitized and his memories manipulated.
• Zhang Xiaoyun destroyed the ancient trees in the Azure Dragon Hall with his fused Golden Crow Flame and Vermilion Bird li fire, and Chen Qing judged Chen Ying's odds of winning to be almost zero.

Chen Ying faced Fei Jun, whose Golden Crow power and hidden Ancient Demon made him nearly impossible to defeat, but she used a risky spatial collapse to bring him within reach. She launched the Three Rainbow Phoenix Forms with a sword, and Fei Jun recognized the technique as his mother’s.

• Ziyue questioned whether Chen Ying still had a chance, while the Old Celestial Master explained that the Ancient Demon inside Fei Jun needed him to win and kill her.
• The previous day, Chen Qing warned Chen Ying that she could not beat Zhang Xiaoyun head-on and taught her three forms as her only chance to win.
• Fei Jun unleashed Golden Crow Flame and burned the Azure Dragon Hall, leaving Chen Ying apparently unable to withstand his attack.
• Chen Ying shattered the folded space, pulling both herself and Fei Jun into its center.
• Chen Ying drew a short sword and used the Three Rainbow Phoenix Forms, prompting Fei Jun to recognize the technique as his mother’s.

Xiao Mingyue prepared Fei Jun to face the trap in Cloud Capital, while inside the Azure Dragon Hall he chose to resist the Ancient Demon even at the cost of his life. As Chen Ying struck at the Ancient Demon Worm within him, Ziyue stopped the old Celestial Master from intervening, and scarlet eyes fixed on him.

• Xiao Mingyue told Fei Jun that their enemies were luring him to Cloud Capital and urged him to face them without fear.
• In the Azure Dragon Hall, Fei Jun praised Chen Ying’s sword and admitted he had realized she was holding back because she knew he was not truly the Ancient Demon.
• The Ancient Demon offered to share control and promised Fei Jun could bring Xiao Mingyue back to life, but Fei Jun refused to surrender his body.
• Fei Jun asked Chen Ying to act, and she drove her lightning-charged sword toward the Ancient Demon Worm inside his heart.
• The old Celestial Master moved to intervene, but Ziyue stopped him and insisted that the trial’s outcome must stand, even if the prince died.
• When the old Celestial Master challenged her decision, Ziyue’s scarlet-eyed followers stared him down.

Ziyue took control of the Ancient Demon clan’s plans as Chen Ying destroyed the Ancient Demon inside Fei Jun. The Four Saints ritual began, revealing the immense Azure Dragon that Chen Ying had inherited and bringing the Ancient Demon clan’s Warlock Dynasty plan to fruition.

• Ziyue argued that the clan should let the prince die rather than sacrifice its preparations, and the elders’ reactions showed they supported her.
• Chen Ying pierced Fei Jun’s heart meridian and, overcoming her instinctive fear, ground the Ancient Demon inside him to pieces.
• Fei Jun lost consciousness, then vanished as the hall shook and Chen Ying was lifted into a vision of the Azure Dragon swimming through a galaxy.
• Four beams of light erupted around Cloud Capital as crimson eyes filled the sky above the imperial palace.
• Chen Qing realized the Ancient Demon clan’s Warlock Dynasty plan had reached the time to reap its rewards.

Chen Qing realized the Ancient Demons intended to tempt the gathered leaders with the chance to inhabit the Four Saints Guards’ perfect Dao bodies in exchange for symbiosis. He warned Chen Baifeng of the price as the Ancient Demons’ plan to negotiate openly and undermine the factions became clear.

• Chen Qing recognized that the people in the hall were potential hosts for the Ancient Demons and suspected the Four Saints Guards were artificial bodies with flaws.
• Chen Qing told Chen Baifeng that the Ancient Demons would likely offer the gathered leaders longevity and stronger bodies, and asked him to assess which South Sea families might accept.
• Chen Qing explained that the Four Saints Guards’ Dao bodies could potentially give the leaders youthful, powerful bodies, making the offer deeply tempting to Chen Baifeng.
• Chen Baifeng inferred that the price would be symbiosis, and Chen Qing confirmed it.
• Chen Qing concluded that the Celestial Master Mansion’s trial had gathered faction leaders both to undermine their foundations and to let the Ancient Demons pursue symbiosis and face the world openly.

The Four Saints chose Chen Ying, White Plain, Fei Jun, and Shen Yuan as their hosts, while Shen Yuan reluctantly considered the power he had gained. The Celestial Master brought everyone into the realm beyond the heavens and began revealing that humans were the masters of their world, leaving Chen Qing stunned by what he seemed to know.

• Chen Ying and White Plain were chosen by the Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise, while the Vermilion Bird chose the defeated Fei Jun and the White Tiger chose Shen Yuan.
• Kagura explained that Shen Yuan's victory over a stronger opponent and exceptional combat control had impressed the White Tiger.
• Shen Yuan reflected that he had long ago given up on becoming a sorcerer and only wanted to return to Jiangnan and live an ordinary life.
• Celestial Master Zhang transported the participants to the star-filled realm beyond the heavens and asked what they thought of the trial's results.
• Celestial Master Zhang explained that immense Spirits inhabited the universe and declared that humans were the dominant spirits and masters of their world, shocking Chen Qing.

Celestial Master Zhang revealed that humanity’s repeated rise and decline fueled the world’s spiritual energy, making humans a resource harvested by powerful demons from beyond the heavens. He claimed the Ancient Demons could help humanity escape this cycle through coexistence, then showed the warlocks a Four Saints Guard with a perfect body and said the demons needed compatible souls.

• Celestial Master Zhang explained that human population growth and deaths produced spiritual energy, while humanity’s decline eventually forced powerful demons to leave and wait for people to return.
• Celestial Master Zhang said the Dragon Palace had protected humanity as a safeguard against extinction, not out of benevolence.
• The emperor questioned why demons from beyond the heavens came to the human world, and Celestial Master Zhang explained that its pure spiritual energy could be absorbed to strengthen them.
• Chen Qing realized that Celestial Master Zhang’s explanation resembled unfinished worldbuilding drafts for the game’s fourth chapter.
• Celestial Master Zhang offered the Ancient Demons as a way for humanity to escape being harvested, then presented a Four Saints Guard whose body reminded Chen Qing of Ao Zhen.
• Celestial Master Zhang said the Ancient Demons no longer needed hosts and instead lacked souls with which to live in symbiosis.

Celestial Master Zhang offered humans symbiosis with Ancient Demons in perfect Dao bodies, claiming the partnership could help both species grow. The elders began to consider the offer, but the emperor rejected it with contempt.

• Celestial Master Zhang claimed human souls had the greatest potential and that Ancient Demons could help them realize it through symbiosis.
• Celestial Master Zhang revealed that the Four Saints Guard’s Dao bodies had been prepared as vessels for human souls and explained that both partners would benefit from their growth.
• Chen Baifeng questioned the Ancient Demons’ motives and warned that the humans might become cultivated hosts, but Celestial Master Zhang argued that the Dao bodies could support growth for more than a hundred thousand years.
• Celestial Master Zhang tempted the elders with the chance to reach the Dragon King's level or higher, and many of them, including Chen Baifeng, began to waver.
• Celestial Master Zhang offered the emperor and King Xiang even better Dao bodies and a place among the Ancient Demons, but the emperor mocked the idea that they were worthy to join him.

The emperor confronted the old Celestial Master and Kagura, who had joined forces against him, while he insisted his army was coming and promised Chen Qing he would not kill him. Elsewhere, Ancient Demons watched for Xu Hu as Tian Heng’s West Sea Army approached Tong Pass with an inside contact helping them enter.

• The old Celestial Master claimed the emperor’s ghost army had been destroyed, while Kagura revealed the Northern Lands had allied with the Ancient Demons against him.
• The emperor asked Chen Qing to choose sides, and Chen Qing said he would follow the emperor’s lead; the emperor promised he would not kill him that day.
• Ancient Demons outside Liuzhou discussed whether Xu Hu would intervene and relied on Tian Heng’s five deputy generals to keep him under control.
• Tian Heng’s army reached Tong Pass, where an inside contact had activated the grand formation as part of a plan to cooperate with the forces outside.
• A deputy general rode to the gate and announced that the West Sea Army had come to provide support.

Tian Heng’s West Sea Army entered the pass under the pretense of reinforcing it, while its leaders planned to betray the Fighter Army and seize control. The gate suddenly slammed shut with most of the West Sea Army still outside, and Lao Bai called for the defenders to make their move.

• Tian Heng, Tian Yunhu, and Zhou Tengbin persuaded Lao Bai that the West Sea Army had come to reinforce the pass and that Xu Hu had gone to the North Sea.
• Tian Heng took command of the pass’s defenses, convincing Lao Bai to open the gate.
• Tian Yunhu and Zhou Tengbin prepared their troops to assassinate the Fighter Army’s senior officers once the West Sea Army was inside.
• Tian Yunhu revealed his contempt for commoners and his intention to purge egalitarian attitudes from his own army after defeating the Fighter Army.
• After only part of the West Sea Army entered the pass, the stone gate crashed shut, and Lao Bai shouted for the defenders to make their move.

Tian Heng’s betrayal was exposed as the Fighter Army ambushed the West Sea Army at Tong Pass, and he was nearly overwhelmed by Tian Yunhu and the deputy generals. Xu Hu arrived unexpectedly, killed Tian Yunhu and Zhou Tengbin, and turned the fight in Tian Heng’s favor.

• The Fighter Army attacked Tian Yunhu’s forces at Tong Pass, and Tian Yunhu urged Tian Heng to order the West Sea Army to storm the city.
• Tian Heng attacked Tian Yunhu, revealing that he had betrayed the West Sea Army and shared the enemy’s plans.
• Tian Yunhu’s deputy generals and Zhou Tengbin joined forces against Tian Heng, who was badly wounded and lost his left shoulder.
• Tian Yunhu recovered enough to rejoin the attack, but Xu Hu appeared in his place and killed him.
• Xu Hu struck Zhou Tengbin through the chest and split him apart while Tian Heng remained under attack from the other deputy generals.

Xu Hu used the Ghost Child's horse to travel through the Underworld and reach Tong Pass, where he killed Tian Heng's three deputy generals and revealed how he had arrived. Tian Heng's reason for turning against them remained unanswered as the chapter ended.

• Xu Hu recalled how Meng Sheng had secretly carried Tian Heng's warning that the West Sea Army planned to destroy the Fighter Army while feigning an attack on Liuzhou City.
• Xu Hu explained that Shen San had found a way to get him to Tong Pass through the Underworld.
• Xu Hu attacked the three deputy generals and cut them in half at the waist.
• Xu Hu revealed that Ghost Child's horse had carried him through the Underworld, and Tian Heng laughed at the overlooked escape route.
• A deputy general asked Tian Heng why he had betrayed them, and Tian Heng began to consider his reasons.