Chapter Summaries

Zhou Wuji killed Chen Hao and the Five Dragons Gang experts while Zhiyuan suppressed Chen Dalu with the Golden Light Incantation. Chen Dalu unleashed the Five Dragon Gods Method and began breaking free, leaving the battle at Cloud River Tower escalating.

• Zhou Wuji beheaded Chen Hao, and Zhiyuan stopped Chen Dalu from attacking by enveloping him in the Golden Light Incantation.
• Zhou Wuji recognized that Zhiyuan’s extraordinary spell came from his Five Viscera Temple cultivation and destroyed the Red Dragon Gu that emerged from Chen Hao’s body.
• Zhou Wuji protected himself with the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Incantation, then killed the Five Dragons Gang’s experts with his Night Rain Sword.
• Zhang Shiheng and the Pacification Office watched without intervening, while Chen Dalu realized the Lower Court had turned against him.
• Chen Dalu invoked the Five Dragon Gods Method, doubled his strength, and used Split Mountains and Cleave Earth to rupture Zhiyuan’s golden light and shake Cloud River Tower.

Zhiyuan subdued Chen Dalu with the Golden Light Incantation, while Zhishan reinforced the restraint with a talisman. After Zhiyuan accused the Five Dragons Gang of sacrificing hundreds of people, Zhang Shiheng agreed to take Chen Dalu for an investigation, but Zhou Wuji suddenly thrust his Seven Star Sword into Chen Dalu’s chest.

• Chen Dalu tried to escape through a hole in the floor, but Zhiyuan’s Golden Light Incantation overwhelmed him and sealed his body, Gu, and consciousness.
• Zhishan fastened a Seven Star Demon-Sealing Talisman to Chen Dalu, further suppressing his powers.
• Zhiyuan told Zhang Shiheng that the Five Dragons Gang had sacrificed hundreds of people in blood, and Zhang Shiheng decided to take Chen Dalu away for investigation.
• Zhang Shiheng ordered Zhang Yunfeng to take Chen Dalu back, but Zhou Wuji interrupted and then thrust the Seven Star Sword into Chen Dalu’s chest.

Zhou Wuji exposed and subdued Chen Dalu by destroying his Five Dragons Mother Gu, then helped bring the Five Dragons Gang’s blood sacrifice to light. After completing his statement at the Pacification Office, he returned to the lower monastery under Zhiyuan’s warning to stay out of trouble, while hoping to learn Yuheng Lineage swordsmanship.

• Zhou Wuji pierced Chen Dalu’s Five Dragons Mother Gu, destroyed it with the Seven Star Sword, and gained Origin Mystic Essence without killing Chen Dalu.
• Zhishan projected evidence of the Five Dragons Gang’s blood sacrifice, and Zhang Shiheng took Chen Dalu and his subordinates into custody.
• Zhiyuan warned Zhou Wuji about his brutal methods and took him to the Pacification Office to give a statement; Zhishan said his assessment results would be reported for ordination approval.
• Zhiyuan brought Zhou Wuji back to the lower monastery and ordered him to remain there while the Pacification Office handled the case.
• Zhou Wuji asked Zhiyuan about learning Yuheng Lineage swordsmanship, then returned to Flying Profound Hall, where Shangxing and Yang Tie Ying praised him.

Zhou Wuji learned from Daoist Yiping why Abbot Zhiyuan's specialized Golden Light Divine Incantation was so powerful, then invested his resources to advance the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Incantation. After weeks of training Yang Tie Ying, Zhou Wuji was summoned by Zhiyuan, who told him to prepare for the Nine Sources River sacrifice and meet the important figures attending.

• Zhou Wuji promised Yang Tie Ying sword instruction, then discussed his dangerous exploits and Zhiyuan's Golden Light Divine Incantation with Daoist Yiping.
• Zhou Wuji studied the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment and invested two portions of origin profound spirit to raise the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Incantation to the transcendent realm.
• Zhou Wuji examined Yang Tie Ying's martial arts, taught him the basic moves of the Xiaoxiang Sword, and commissioned a heavy sword for his training.
• Zhou Wuji spent the following weeks teaching Yang Tie Ying and visiting Wuming while life at Flying Profound Hall remained peaceful.
• Zhiyuan summoned Zhou Wuji and told him that Zhang Shiheng, Zhang Banshan, Xinjue, and other prominent figures would attend the Nine Sources River sacrifice the next day, where Zhou Wuji would be introduced to them.

At the Dragon Lord’s sacrifice, Zhou Wuji observed Yunyang Prefecture’s influential figures and learned of the Five-Colored Dragon God’s connection to the Five Dragons Gang. The ceremony was interrupted when Yuan'an challenged Zhou Wuji to a martial exchange.

• Zhang Yunming and the others watched the ceremony and admired Zhou Wuji’s bearing, while Zhou Wuji overheard their conversation through the Mind Mirror.
• Wuming told Zhou Wuji that the Five Dragons Gang claimed to have inherited power from the Five-Colored Dragon God of the Nine Sources River.
• Peng Yue led the gathered officials and guests in prayers and offerings to the Dragon Lord.
• Zhou Wuji noticed the prefecture’s leaders were gathered together and worried that someone might exploit the city’s poor defenses.
• Yuan'an stepped forward, addressed Peng Yue and Zhang Shiheng, and asked to test his skills against Zhou Wuji.

Yuan'an challenged Zhou Wuji on behalf of the Golden Leaf Temple, but fireworks from Yunyang Prefecture interrupted the confrontation and signaled trouble at the Pacification Office. Chen Dalu had escaped after an accomplice broke into the prison, and Zhou Wuji urged Zhang Shiheng to search Old Dragon Island as the chapter ended.

• Yuan'an publicly challenged Zhou Wuji, prompting Zhiyuan to refuse a martial contest and preserve the lower court's standing.
• Zhang Shiheng recognized the fireworks as a Pacification Office warning and hurried back to Yunyang Prefecture, while Peng Yue and the others followed.
• Zhiyuan, Yizhen, and Zhou Wuji went to the Pacification Office, where Li Fei confirmed that Chen Dalu had escaped.
• Zhang Shiheng and Xinjue found dead guards and a wrecked prison gate, and Xinjue judged that a Fifth Rank expert had broken Chen Dalu out.
• Zhou Wuji suggested Chen Dalu had likely returned to Old Dragon Island, but Zhang Yunfeng dismissed the idea as foolish.

Zhou Wuji warned that Chen Dalu would return to Old Dragon Island, but Zhang Shiheng dismissed his advice and left the island under guard. When a yin dragon rose there at midnight, the leaders rushed to confront it, leaving Zhou Wuji behind in Yunyang with a chance to pursue his own grudge.

• Zhou Wuji argued that Chen Dalu would return to Old Dragon Island, but Zhang Shiheng ordered Zhiyuan to protect Prefect Peng Yue instead.
• Zhiyuan brought Zhou Wuji to the prefectural office, where he instructed Zhou Wuji to stay close to Peng Yue and avoid interfering.
• At midnight, Zhou Wuji and Zhiyuan saw dark red Earth Sha rising over Old Dragon Island and recognized a powerful yin dragon within it.
• Zhiyuan admitted he had been wrong to doubt Zhou Wuji and prepared to ride to Old Dragon Island with Zhang Shiheng and Monk Xinjue.
• Zhiyuan ordered Zhou Wuji to remain behind and guard Peng Yue as Zhang Shiheng led hundreds of cavalry toward the island.
• After the experts left Yunyang, Zhou Wuji considered using their absence to kill Zhang Yunfeng, who had repeatedly tried to harm him.

After the disaster on Old Dragon Island, Zhou Wuji joined Daoist Yizhen’s party to help deal with the mutated zombies and learned how the Yin Dragon had grown stronger. Zhiyuan warned Zhou Wuji that Zhang Shiheng blamed him for the catastrophe and urged him to stay cautious as the island’s dangers were confronted.

• Zhou Wuji abandoned his chance to seek revenge while Peng Yue and Li Yuanqing organized patrols and kept Yunyang Prefecture under control.
• A Pacification Office agent reported that the gu insect altar on Old Dragon Island had been destroyed, thousands had suffered devastating casualties, and Chen Dalu was missing.
• Daoist Yizhen led Zhou Wuji, Wuming, and several dozen others by boat to Old Dragon Island, where they used Body-Cleansing Divine Talismans against the Qi of Earth Sha.
• Zhiyuan ordered the group to prepare a protected camp before hunting the zombies and warned that some contained fragments of the Yin Dragon’s soul.
• Zhiyuan explained that Zhang Shiheng blamed Zhou Wuji for his failure to investigate the island, then advised Zhou Wuji to protect himself and avoid acting impulsively.

Zhou Wuji investigated Old Dragon Island, where he used Daoist techniques to destroy hundreds of zombies and learned that the growing Qi of Earth Sha would make them more dangerous over time. After proposing a safer plan to clear the island, he asked Abbot Zhiyuan about earning the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword and was offered a treasured sword for sale if he dealt with Chen Dalu.

• Zhou Wuji and Daoist Yiping settled into camp, and Daoist Yiping explained how Buddhist monks cultivated through the Three Incantations and Seven Chakras.
• Daoist Yizhen organized the lower monastery into groups, while Zhou Wuji received permission to investigate Old Dragon Island alone.
• Zhou Wuji used the Golden Light Incantation to destroy zombies and found that ordinary ones yielded little Origin Profound Qi.
• Zhou Wuji killed more than two hundred zombies overnight and reported that Earth Sha strengthened them, proposing that livestock bait and cooperation with the Pacification Office would help clear them safely.
• Abbot Zhiyuan approved Zhou Wuji's plan and directed Daoist Yizhen to coordinate with Li Fei.
• Zhou Wuji asked Abbot Zhiyuan about earning the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword, and Zhiyuan offered to sell him a treasured sword if he dealt with Chen Dalu.

Zhou Wuji’s plan to lure the island’s zombies into a trap succeeded until a powerful mutated zombie appeared and fled into the woods. He tracked it to a cave filled with twelve zombies possessed by the Yin Dragon’s remnant souls, where he faced a dangerous group that might yield great rewards.

• Soldiers cleared Old Dragon Island’s populated areas, while the monks cleansed them of Earth Sha Qi and corpse poison.
• Zhou Wuji proposed luring the hill zombies with the blood of pigs and sheep, and the soldiers killed many of them at the prepared pit.
• A mutated zombie leapt over the pit, killed a soldier, resisted the soldiers’ spears and Daoist Yizhen’s attacks, then escaped into the woods.
• Zhou Wuji pursued the mutated zombie and followed its trail to a cave after protecting himself against the dense Earth Sha Qi.
• Zhou Wuji found twelve powerful zombies gathered around a deep hole, recognized them as possessed by Yin Dragon remnant souls, and prepared to face them.

Zhou Wuji killed the twelve mutated zombies in the cave, destroying the Yin Dragon soul remnants within them, but Chen Dalu arrived with Chen Chaofeng and demanded revenge. Chen Chaofeng agreed to refine Zhou Wuji into an iron corpse, and Chen Dalu launched an attack.

• Zhou Wuji used the Golden Light Incantation and his sword to kill the female zombie, then evaded the others while preparing Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder.
• Zhou Wuji blasted the zombies with Yin Thunder and followed with nine sword thrusts, destroying their heads; he then bound and killed the last zombie with golden light and his sword.
• Zhou Wuji checked the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment and found that twelve zombies had added Origin Profound Qi to it.
• Chen Dalu entered the cave, saw the destroyed zombies, and blamed Zhou Wuji for ruining the Yin Dragon remnants he had been nurturing.
• Chen Dalu asked Chen Chaofeng to refine Zhou Wuji into an iron corpse, and Chen Dalu struck at Zhou Wuji with his iron staff.

Zhou Wuji fought off Chen Dalu with a Golden Light Divine Incantation talisman until Zhiyuan and the third-rank True Person Zhihua arrived. After Zhihua easily incapacitated Chen Chaofeng, Zhou Wuji volunteered to kill Chen Dalu himself, and Zhihua agreed to see what he could do.

• Chen Dalu attacked Zhou Wuji with his iron staff, but Zhou Wuji activated Zhiyuan's Golden Light Divine Incantation talisman and endured the assault while evading him.
• Chen Dalu and Chen Chaofeng hesitated when Zhou Wuji warned them he was bait, but Chen Dalu chose to keep attacking rather than flee.
• Zhiyuan arrived with True Person Zhihua, who revealed herself as the Upper Court's hall master and a third-rank cultivator.
• Zhihua struck Chen Chaofeng with seven points of starlight, knocking him unconscious despite his powerful defenses.
• Zhou Wuji volunteered to kill Chen Dalu, and Zhihua agreed to watch him prove his ability.

Zhou Wuji fought Chen Dalu in the cave and used his Law Techniques and swordsmanship to overcome the stronger martial artist. He killed Chen Dalu and destroyed the mother gu, earning True Person Zhihua’s praise.

• Zhiyuan sealed the earth aperture with the Golden Light Incantation while Zhou Wuji prepared himself and strengthened his True Qi.
• Chen Dalu attacked Zhou Wuji with his enhanced strength, but Zhou Wuji deflected his iron staff and countered with the Heavenly Pivot Hand.
• Chen Dalu pressed Zhou Wuji with rapid staff attacks and Metal Sha Qi, while Zhou Wuji evaded and defended with his sword and star robe.
• Zhou Wuji trapped Chen Dalu in the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Incantation, disrupting his senses and connection to the mother gu.
• Chen Dalu seized Zhou Wuji’s sword and tried to overpower him, but Zhou Wuji summoned the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword, severed Chen Dalu’s hand, pierced his throat, and smashed his head.
• Zhou Wuji shredded the escaping mother gu, and True Person Zhihua praised his Law Techniques and swordsmanship.

After Zhou Wuji killed Chen Dalu, True Person Zhihua praised his skill and taught him the Tianji Sword despite his refusal to join the Yuheng Lineage. Zhiyuan revealed that he would leave his post as abbot, while Zhou Wuji worried about the change and tried to get his precious sword as a parting gift.

• Zhihua burned Chen Dalu's corpse with deep-blue star flame and explained that the technique came from the Tianji Sword.
• Zhihua invited Zhou Wuji to join the Yuheng Lineage, but he declined to protect his allegiance and reputation.
• Zhihua gave Zhou Wuji the Tianji Sword art as a meeting gift and warned him not to reveal it carelessly.
• Zhihua left with the unconscious Chen Chaofeng, and Zhou Wuji asked Zhiyuan about her sword-based flight.
• Zhiyuan said he would return to the Upper Court after the Yunyang City disaster and explained that the Myriad Devils Sect had backed the Five Dragons Gang.
• Zhiyuan reassured Zhou Wuji that he would protect him after retiring, but refused to give him his precious sword and insisted on selling it.

After the battle on Old Dragon Island, Zhou Wuji studied the Tianji Sword and strengthened his Five Yin Pouch while deciding to save his best origin profound spirit for future cultivation. He bought Zhiyuan’s White Rainbow Sword for forty thousand taels and an IOU, then learned Chen Dalu’s hidden base might hold a fortune.

• Zhiyuan declared Old Dragon Island a forbidden zone and left Daoist Yizhen to manage the aftermath while he returned to the Cloud Dragon Lower Court with Yiping.
• Zhou Wuji studied the Tianji Sword but chose to save Chen Dalu’s fate weight rather than spend it improving the technique.
• Zhou Wuji poured low-grade origin profound Qi into the Five Yin Spirits, raising the Five Yin Pouch to the transformation realm and expanding its space.
• Zhiyuan offered Zhou Wuji the White Rainbow Sword for fifty thousand taels, and Zhou Wuji bought it with forty thousand taels and an IOU for the rest.
• Zhiyuan told Zhou Wuji to search Chen Dalu’s base, hinting that it might contain an unexpected fortune.

Zhou Wuji cleared zombies on Old Dragon Island while practicing with his new White Rainbow Sword and growing closer to Wuming. As the remaining zombies were divided between the lower monastery and Golden Leaf Temple, Zhou Wuji wagered that he and Yuan'an would fight, with the losing side staying behind to clear the island.

• Zhou Wuji tested the White Rainbow Sword by killing nearly two hundred zombies, then showed it to Wuming and asked her to keep its purchase from the abbot secret.
• Zhou Wuji and Wuming fought zombies together at night, and he searched for Chen Dalu's hidden riches while cultivating the Tianji Sword and comparing it with his other sword arts.
• By the seventh day, the island's zombies were almost all gone, and Li Fei proposed withdrawing the exhausted garrison while the lower monastery and Golden Leaf Temple handled the remaining threats.
• Daoist Yizhen proposed dividing the island with Xinjue, but Xinjue suggested leaving the mountain peaks—and most of the remaining zombies—to the lower monastery.
• Zhou Wuji challenged Yuan'an to a spar, wagering that the losing side would remain on the island to clear the zombies; Xinjue accepted a barehanded match inside a circle, and the gathered camps watched as the fighters prepared to begin.

Zhou Wuji defeated Yuan'an in a three-strike palm contest, winning the wager for Cloud Dragon Lower Court. After the group returned to the lower court, Zhou Wuji learned that Zhiyuan was leaving and the new abbot had arrived.

• Yuan'an fortified himself with the Vajra and Divine Foot incantations before challenging Zhou Wuji to fight within the circle.
• Zhou Wuji met Yuan'an's first two Vajra Palm strikes head-on, driving him back and badly injuring him.
• Yuan'an restored himself with the Sweet Dew Incantation and tried again, but Zhou Wuji's third palm strike sent him back to the edge of the circle and left him gravely injured.
• Xinjue conceded the match, and Yuan'an fainted as the Golden Leaf Temple monks rushed to help him.
• Yuanjing accused Zhou Wuji of striking too viciously, but Xinjue called him back; Wuming and the Cloud Dragon Lower Court group celebrated Zhou Wuji's victory.
• After the group returned to the lower court, Zhou Wuji heard that Zhiyuan was leaving and the new abbot had arrived.

Zhou Wuji learned how to navigate the lower court’s new leadership as Zhihe replaced Zhiyuan, who departed after advising him to focus on the Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder. Zhihe then assigned Zhou Wuji and Daoist Yiping to guard the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grotto, a posting Zhou Wuji welcomed as a chance to gather Origin Profound Qi and train his disciples.

• Zhiyuan told Zhou Wuji that he would retire to Flying Profound Hall, explained that Zhihe would replace him, and promised to help Zhou Wuji enter Heavenly Authority Hall next year.
• Zhiyuan briefed Zhou Wuji on Yunyang’s factions and important figures, while Zhou Wuji and Daoist Yizhen agreed they could only respond to Zhihe as circumstances dictated.
• Zhiyuan handed the Northern Pole Token to Zhihe, whose Yuheng Lineage support gave him immediate influence over the lower court.
• Daoist Yiping advised Zhou Wuji to keep out of Zhihe’s way, and Zhou Wuji chose to stay at Flying Profound Hall and focus on books, pills, and teaching.
• As he departed, Zhiyuan advised Zhou Wuji to cultivate the Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder if he had talent for it.
• Zhihe summoned Daoist Yiping and assigned him and Zhou Wuji to guard the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grotto, and Zhou Wuji welcomed the chance to clear its spirits and train Shangbing and Shangxing.

Zhou Wuji settled into guarding the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grotto, refined Golden Yang Pills to protect his companions from Yin Sha Qi, and took Yang Tie Ying into the grotto to practice. Yang Tie Ying reached Qi Consumption there, while Zhou Wuji gained a new understanding of star power and resolved to improve the Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder.

• Zhou Wuji moved into the stone house with Yiping, Yang Tie Ying, and Shangxing, then encouraged the two youths to endure their difficult new assignment.
• After the group received no Golden Yang Pills, Zhou Wuji bought ingredients and refined a batch of one-refinement pills, which protected Shangxing and Yang Tie Ying from the Yin Sha Qi.
• Zhou Wuji took Yang Tie Ying into the first level of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grotto, where Yang Tie Ying cut down several ghosts and opened his Divine Aperture after killing a Sha Ghost.
• Watching Yang Tie Ying connect with star power, Zhou Wuji realized that star power permeated heaven and earth rather than projecting straight down from the stars.
• Yang Tie Ying emerged from Qi Consumption, and Zhou Wuji decided to spend five taels and six mace of fate allotment to improve the Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder.

Zhou Wuji learned that Daoist Yizhen and Wuming were leaving Cloud Dragon Lower Court for Cloud Marsh, then perfected Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder and strengthened his cultivation. He saw them off with a bamboo flute for Wuming, leaving their future reunion uncertain.

• Yang Tie Ying committed himself to cultivation, and Zhou Wuji decided to arrange his initiation and talisman bestowal quickly.
• Zhou Wuji learned that Daoist Yizhen had resigned and was taking Wuming and their group to Cloud Marsh Lower Court, while Wuming told him how to contact Jin Ying for help.
• Daoist Yizhen explained that he was going to Cloud Marsh to temper his cultivation, and Zhou Wuji admired his resolve.
• Zhou Wuji used five taels and six mace of Origin Profound Spirit to perfect Northern Dipper Heavenly Pivot Yin Thunder and strengthen his nine apertures.
• Zhou Wuji visited the departing convoy, gave Wuming a bamboo flute, and played as Daoist Yizhen, Wuming, and Li Ruyi left for Cloud Marsh.