Chapter Summaries

The group learned that Tianyin Temple had been destroyed after Daoist Priest Shuhui betrayed the temple during a plan to create a child bearing the Qingyun Dao Child’s Fortune. With the Hall of Longevity’s master occupied at Tianyin Temple and the Wordless Jade Disc still under attack, Chu Tianshu prepared to intervene.

• The temple steward told Fang Wuchen, Chu Tianshu, and the Heavenly Wolf Sect elders that Tianyin Temple had been wiped out.
• The steward explained that Tianyin Temple had used the Samsara Disc to divine and simulate the conditions of the Qingyun Dao Child’s birth, hoping to bring the Dao Child’s Fortune into the world early.
• Daoist Priest Shuhui gravely wounded three divine monks as they operated the Samsara Disc, while the Hall of Longevity’s master broke through the mountain gate and attacked the temple.
• Fang Wuchen recognized Shuhui as her martial uncle and reacted with rage, while Chu Tianshu suspected the destruction had been a trap.
• High Person Jade Toad estimated that the Hall of Longevity’s followers would need at least three two-hour periods to sever the Wordless Jade Disc’s connection to Earth Qi.
• Shangguan Yunyan agreed to oppose the Demonic Sect, and Chu Tianshu gave the Black Dragon Sword to Fang Wuchen and ordered the disciples and Rogue Cultivators to remain behind.

Wu Shanjun’s forces devastated Tianyin Temple and seized the Wordless Jade Disc while Shuhui reflected on why he had joined the Demonic Sect. As Wu Shanjun prepared to leave for the Northern Wastes, Chu Tianshu arrived and attacked the sect’s forces.

• Wu Shanjun explained that the Demonic Sect had killed Tianyin Temple’s monks slowly to corrupt the mountain’s earth Qi and make it possible to take the Wordless Jade Disc.
• Shuhui recalled leaving the Qingyun Sect’s righteous ways behind after witnessing a horse-faced Demonic Sect protector’s violence and receiving the Hall of Longevity’s favor.
• Protector Ma gave Wu Shanjun Monk Xue’s bloodstained prayer bead, and Wu Shanjun crushed it to recover his essence blood.
• Wu Shanjun worried that something might be wrong at the Northern Wastes, left Shuhui and Protector Ma to move the jade disc, and prepared to depart.
• Chu Tianshu’s emerald sword attack killed a Demonic Sect disciple, but Wu Shanjun’s bloody palms blocked the Sword Qi and reached to crush him.

Chu Tianshu used Mountain Collapse Combat Calculation to devastate the Demonic Sect forces, then faced Wu Shanjun and exploited Sanqi’s resistance to his blinding Blood Sha technique. The chapter left Wu Shanjun threatened by Yue Gude’s hurled Purple-Gold Medicinal Stone as Chu Tianshu’s sword remained wedged between him and the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron.

• Chu Tianshu shattered Wu Shanjun’s giant Blood Sha palm with his sword and struck a mountainside, using the force through the surrounding peaks to kill Demonic Sect disciples on four mountains.
• Wu Shanjun ordered thousands of disciples to circulate Black Sha and used Blood Sha to launch them safely into the sky and carry them away from Chu Tianshu.
• The Hall of Longevity’s master confronted Chu Tianshu and explained how the Divine Sect used the opposing forces of life and death.
• Wu Shanjun flashed behind Chu Tianshu to overwhelm his senses, but Sanqi remained unaffected and guided Chu Tianshu’s sword between the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron’s legs.
• Wu Shanjun struck Chu Tianshu and sent him crashing into a mountain, but Chu Tianshu left his sword lodged in place as Yue Gude hurled the Purple-Gold Medicinal Stone at Wu Shanjun.

Chu Tianshu and Wu Shanjun fought over the Three-Seven Sword while the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron’s Asura Blood Sha stirred. Wu Shanjun withdrew after the power favored Sanqi, leaving Chu Tianshu with ominous signs of contamination.

• Wu Shanjun slowed the Purple-Gold Medicinal Stone with Black Sha and Blood Sha, while Protector Ma blocked Yue Tianchi and the others from attacking him.
• Chu Tianshu formed a crystal silk sword from Grand Void Radiation and clashed with Wu Shanjun’s vortexing palm as he closed in on Sanqi.
• Chu Tianshu seized Sanqi, withstood Wu Shanjun’s poisoned palm, and faced him as the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron and sword both shone with blood-red light.
• Wu Shanjun retreated with Protector Ma and Shuhui, explaining that the cauldron’s Asura Blood Sha had shown an instinctive affinity for Sanqi.
• Chu Tianshu told Yue Gude and the others that the Blood Sha had nearly contaminated his soul, then revealed a black-and-red vapor rising from his back and a golden vertical pupil amid blood in his right eye.

Chu Tianshu contained the Blood Sha poisoning his soul and discovered that the Wordless Jade Disc’s peaceful Qi eased his symptoms. Yue Gude explained the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s search for true peace and suggested Chu Tianshu might uncover a way to cultivate the beneficent bonds of the heavenly way; Chu Tianshu began considering how that path might relate to his Corpse Dog soul.

• Chu Tianshu severed and burned the strange arm growing from his bloody palm wound, then used silver needles to treat the Blood Sha and residual poison.
• Yue Gude arranged for the survivors to tend Tianyin Temple’s wounded and dead before returning to the Heavenly Wolf Sect, while High Person Jade Toad and the others went to help.
• Chu Tianshu found that standing near the Wordless Jade Disc eased the agitation caused by Blood Sha and reflected on the temptation he had resisted in the cauldron.
• Yue Gude explained how the jade disc’s accumulated associations with peace had purified Tianyin Temple’s earth Qi, then described Qilin True Person’s distinction between human peace and the heavenly way’s enduring beneficent bonds.
• Yue Gude urged Chu Tianshu to study the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s medical manuscripts and seek a way to cultivate heavenly beneficent bonds, citing his restraint and compassion.
• Chu Tianshu wondered whether the heavenly way’s beneficent bonds were connected to the Corpse Dog soul’s role in guarding against evil and seeking fortune.

Wu Shanjun gathered the leaders of Corpse Joy Palace and Hehuan Sect after the Demonic Sect’s defeat and decided to risk changing his cultivation to tame the Asura Blood Sha. He sent the two sect masters to investigate Incense Valley and watch the Heavenly Wolf Sect, determined to unite evildoers under his command.

• Protector Xiong spotted the Master of Corpse Joy Palace and the Master of Hehuan Sect arriving at the Hall of Longevity in a bridal procession.
• The Master of Hehuan Sect revealed that the Demonic Sect had lost at the Heavenly Wolf Sect and that the battle at Tianyin Temple had not fully succeeded.
• Wu Shanjun learned that a Dao Companion Puppet had let the Master of Hehuan Sect share information from both battles.
• Wu Shanjun explained that he planned to cultivate Black Sha alone to attract and tame the Asura Blood Sha, while asking the sect masters to bring other Demonic Sect followers under unified command.
• The Master of Corpse Joy Palace agreed to help Wu Shanjun, while the Master of Hehuan Sect offered to investigate a disturbance at Incense Valley and keep watch on the Heavenly Wolf Sect.
• Wu Shanjun rejected attempts to dissuade him and resolved to become the leader whom evildoers could trust.

While recovering in seclusion, Chu Tianshu studied the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s secret medical canon and received thanks from the surviving monks of Tianyin Temple. After teaching Fang Wuchen a new method to subdue the Black Dragon Sword, he triggered a manifestation of Heavenly Dao’s Good Affinity, leaving Yue Gude astonished.

• Chu Tianshu read the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s medical canon, using medicinal braised meat to resist the Blood Sha’s temptation.
• Yue Tianchi brought injured Tianyin Temple monks to thank Chu Tianshu, who encouraged them to recover and uphold their sect’s resolve.
• High Person Jade Toad gave Chu Tianshu a scripture containing Great Brahma Prajna and the seniors’ discussions of harmony.
• Fang Wuchen apologized for failing to tame the Black Dragon Sword, and Chu Tianshu taught her the Dragon-Subduing Divine Palms instead of the Great Void Fire Seed.
• Chu Tianshu contemplated the bond between the Black Dragon Sword and the Dragon-Subduing Divine Palms, then caused multicolored light, heavenly flowers, and sweet springs to appear.
• Yue Gude recognized the signs as proof that Heavenly Dao’s Good Affinity truly existed.

Yue Tianchi and the others experienced the calming power of Heavenly Dao's Good Affinity as Chu Tianshu broke through to Triple Leakless and entered Returning Light and Rebirth. The chapter ended with an emerald cocoon containing Chu Tianshu suspended in the sky, protected by two enormous hands formed from the force field of heaven and earth.

• Yue Tianchi touched a petal of Heavenly Dao's Good Affinity and felt a profound harmony with the world, while Fang Wuchen, High Person Jade Toad, and the others shared the feeling.
• Yue Gude and Yue Chunfeng tried to intercept arriving cultivators, but the heavenly fragrant flower rain drew everyone down to the mountainside.
• An ascetic monk's hidden Demonic Sect cultivation dissipated in the flower rain, and he died after dispersing his power; the other cultivators sat down to meditate.
• Chu Tianshu attained Triple Leakless and entered Returning Light and Rebirth, retracing his memories to the beginning of his life and resolving to let everything he had learned be reborn with him.
• A beam of multicolored light transformed the sky, and two enormous hands lifted Chu Tianshu's emerald cocoon above the valley to protect him.

As Chu Tianshu continued his breakthrough beneath a vast heavenly phenomenon, Shangguan Yunyan persuaded Incense Valley to seek his help, and Shangguan Ding sent a True Fire Divine Eagle to observe him. The eagle collided with the invisible protection around Chu Tianshu, then saw him emerge, leaving Shangguan Ding shaken and unable to summon hostility toward him.

• Shangguan Yunyan secretly spoke to an incense burner, while Yue Chunfeng and Yue Gude watched and discussed the danger of a Demonic Sect attack.
• The Elder of Technique Transmission argued that Incense Valley should seek Chu Tianshu’s help with the Mysterious Fire Mirror, and Shangguan Ding sent the True Fire Divine Eagle to the Heavenly Wolf Sect.
• The True Fire Divine Eagle flew into the giant hand protecting the valley, lost many feathers, and eventually saw the heavenly phenomenon and Chu Tianshu emerging from his cocoon.
• Shangguan Ding felt overwhelmed by Chu Tianshu’s gaze and realized he could not bring himself to hate or oppose him.

Chu Tianshu invited the gathered cultivators to a banquet and appraisal, where Yue Chunfeng proposed using the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s Qi-replenishing pills as a common measure of value. Shangguan Yunyan then explained Incense Valley’s Mysterious Fire Mirror and revealed that the sect had located a hidden grotto abode linked to Qingyun Sect but could not pull it into the world.

• Chu Tianshu invited the cultivators into the valley to celebrate his breakthrough and sample the gifts they had brought.
• Yue Chunfeng offered to return the gifts meant for the Heavenly Wolf Sect and explained that its disciples had valued them in Qi-replenishing pills.
• Chu Tianshu considered how standard pill values could support trade among cultivators.
• Shangguan Yunyan, encouraged by the divine eagle, told Chu Tianshu that Incense Valley wanted to share an opportunity.
• Shangguan Yunyan described how Incense Valley used the Mysterious Fire Mirror to find and draw hidden spaces into reality.
• Shangguan Yunyan revealed that Incense Valley had found the grotto abode expected near Qingyun Sect but had been unable to pull it fully into the world.

Chu Tianshu agreed to help Incense Valley retrieve a grotto dwelling, negotiated how its treasures would be shared, and arranged for allies to gather at the Heavenly Wolf Sect. He prepared to head to Incense Valley using blood extracted from the True Fire Divine Eagle’s eyes as a tracking guide.

• Chu Tianshu agreed to help Incense Valley and proposed shared access to any cultivation techniques, half shares of spiritual medicines, and permission to borrow a magical artifact.
• After the True Fire Divine Eagle approved the arrangement, Shangguan Yunyan agreed that Chu Tianshu could borrow the artifact three times and that Wuchen, the Heavenly Wolf Sect, and Yuchan could study any techniques.
• Chu Tianshu made blood-qi needles for his allies, sent them to stay at the Heavenly Wolf Sect, and explained that he would travel to Incense Valley while the Hall of Longevity searched for him.
• Chu Tianshu pressed the True Fire Divine Eagle’s eyes and extracted the blood from its Empathic Blood Curse to guide his tracking spell toward Incense Valley.

Chu Tianshu visited Incense Valley, where Shangguan Ding welcomed him and showed him the Mysterious Fire Mirror’s connection to a hidden cave abode. Shangguan Ding explained the valley’s limited understanding of void techniques, and Chu Tianshu prepared to retrieve the treasures.

• Shangguan Ding told the Flame Transmission Elder and Arts Transmission Elder to greet Chu Tianshu respectfully when he arrived.
• Chu Tianshu landed at Incense Valley, and the elders felt the peaceful Qi surrounding him as he identified it as Heavenly Dao’s Good Affinity.
• Shangguan Ding led Chu Tianshu to the central altar and showed him how the Mysterious Fire Mirror revealed a cave abode in an alternate space.
• Chu Tianshu observed that the altar gathered and refined power from Incense Valley’s members to sustain the mirror and hold the cave abode.
• Shangguan Ding recounted how True Person Bai Yin had used the mirror to trap and destroy the Beast God in an alternate space, then admitted that later generations could not replicate his mastery.
• Chu Tianshu agreed to retrieve the treasures first and said he would experience how the Mysterious Fire Mirror absorbed his power.

Wu Shanjun emerged from seclusion after transforming his cultivation body and swallowed the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron and Samsara Disc. He led the Demonic Sect to attack Incense Valley just as Chu Tianshu and the valley’s experts pulled a hidden grotto dwelling into the real world.

• Wu Shanjun told the Demonic Sect’s masters that he had succeeded in transforming his cultivation body, while the Master of Hehuan Sect warned that Chu Tianshu was helping Incense Valley with a mysterious undertaking.
• Wu Shanjun swallowed the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron and the Samsara Disc, then ordered the Demonic Sect to attack Incense Valley.
• Chu Tianshu, Shangguan Ding, Chuanhuo, and Chuangong fed firepower into the Mysterious Fire Mirror to draw the grotto dwelling closer.
• Chu Tianshu summoned the grotto dwelling’s stone entrance into Incense Valley’s central headquarters and noticed its resemblance to Wuchen’s Taiji seal and the presence of an Evil Spirit within.

Chu Tianshu warned Incense Valley of the approaching Demonic Sect army, prompting the valley to seal a cave entrance and activate its thousand-year defensive formation. As the Demonic Sect bombarded the barrier, Chu Tianshu challenged Wu Shanjun, then appeared above him and stomped down.

• Shangguan Ding opened the cave residence entrance with the Mysterious Fire Mirror, but Chu Tianshu sensed danger outside and ordered it closed while Incense Valley raised its defenses.
• The Elder of Passing Flame and the valley’s disciples activated Incense Valley’s vast formation, allowing Shangguan Ding to detect the disguised Demonic Sect army approaching from more than a hundred li away.
• Wu Shanjun led the army toward Incense Valley, revealed its true appearance, and backed its members as they bombarded the valley’s scarlet barrier with spells.
• Chu Tianshu explained that Wu Shanjun’s power had grown with the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron and said allies from the Heavenly Wolf Sect were coming to attack from behind.
• Shangguan Ding fired the Mysterious Fire Mirror at Wu Shanjun, who used the Samsara Disc to deflect the beam; Chu Tianshu followed the attack and appeared above Wu Shanjun, stomping down.

Chu Tianshu fought Wu Shanjun in the air while the Demonic Sect attacked Incense Valley, and Wu Shanjun used the Blood Sha Dharma Aspect and Six-Character Mantra to suppress him. Chu Tianshu broke free with his sword and severed Wu Shanjun’s Seven Souls, leaving him split into eight people.

• Chu Tianshu kicked Wu Shanjun away from the Demonic Sect army, dodged the Master of Corpse Joy Palace’s Extreme Yin Grasping Technique, and struck Wu Shanjun’s Blood Sha cloud.
• Wu Shanjun formed the Blood Sha Dharma Aspect and used the Six-Character Mantra to disrupt Chu Tianshu’s energy, while the Dharma Aspect sent a blood river toward Incense Valley.
• The Demonic Sect disciples rode the blood river into Incense Valley’s formation, and Shangguan Ding and Elder Chuangong led the defense.
• Chu Tianshu drew his sword, shattered the Blood Sha Dharma Aspect, and confronted Wu Shanjun among its fragments.
• Chu Tianshu revealed that his repeated blows had weakened Wu Shanjun’s Seven Souls, then used a sword strike to sever them and split Wu Shanjun into eight people.

Chu Tianshu exploited the blood river’s poisonous Sha to grow a living dam that trapped Wu Shanjun, then pierced his head and survived the explosion of his blood light. He destroyed Wu Shanjun’s final remnant and explained that his benevolence had revealed the plants’ bonds with the poison.

• Wu Shanjun’s Seven Souls dispersed, leaving him without their danger-sensing ability as Chu Tianshu attacked through his blood-red sword.
• Wu Shanjun escaped into the blood river, using its poisonous Sha and water as protection while Chu Tianshu pursued him along the bank.
• Chu Tianshu sliced down a mountainside, sending trees into the river, where their poison-resistant growth formed a dam that blocked Wu Shanjun.
• Chu Tianshu passed through the dam and pierced Wu Shanjun’s head before he could fully form a blood sword; Wu Shanjun’s body then erupted in blood light.
• After enduring the blast, Chu Tianshu found the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron and Samsara Disc, then pierced and shattered Wu Shanjun’s lingering obsession.
• Chu Tianshu said his benevolence let him see the plants’ bonds with the poison and use his Great Void Divine Art to help them grow.

Chu Tianshu defeated Wu Shanjun and killed the first Demonic Sect fighters who reached him, while the remaining enemies fled. Yue Gude and Shangguan Ding joined forces with the other defenders to pursue the fleeing leaders and attack the Demonic Sect forces.

• Shuhui rushed to the crater, where Chu Tianshu killed him with three swift sword notes.
• Protector Xiong and Protector Ma charged Chu Tianshu to avenge the Hall Master, but he shattered Xiong's broadsword and killed him, then destroyed Ma's sword and struck him down.
• The Master of Hehuan Sect moved to seize the treasures in the crater, but the Master of Corpse Joy Palace stopped her and urged them to flee.
• Chu Tianshu watched as Yue Gude's treasures struck the escaping pair, while Heavenly Wolf Sect elders attacked the Demonic Sect disciples near Incense Valley.
• Chu Tianshu told Yue Gude and Shangguan Ding to handle the two fleeing leaders and urged everyone to attack the Demonic Sect together.

After defeating the two Demonic Sect leaders, Chu Tianshu sealed the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron and joined the allied forces as they crushed the invaders at Incense Valley. With the battle won, the group prepared to open the cave abode, where a newly active evil presence threatened their exploration.

• Shangguan Ding and the allied cultivators killed the Master of Corpse Joy Palace and the Master of Hehuan Sect, while Chu Tianshu sealed the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron with silkworm silk.
• Shangguan Ding and Yue Gude recognized that the battle had brought the righteous sects together, and they followed Chu Tianshu toward Incense Valley.
• The Incense Valley formation and Heavenly Wolf Sect elites trapped and wiped out the remaining Demonic Sect invaders.
• Chu Tianshu refreshed Elder Chuanhuo, who offered Fang Wuchen access to cave-abode cultivation methods but warned that a fierce presence had stirred inside.
• Chu Tianshu asked Shangguan Ding to open the stone door with the Mysterious Fire Mirror, and the assembled leaders prepared to enter the cave abode.

Chu Tianshu drew the Zhu Xian Ancient Sword from the stone cauldron, defeated the Evil Spirit within it, and discovered that the sword held profound secrets of the Dao of the void. He realized it was the fifth and deepest volume of the Heavenly Book, then told Shangguan Ding that the sword in his hands held its true essence.

• Shangguan Ding passed through the memory mirrors, overcoming their temptations, and caught up with Chu Tianshu at the hidden Gobi space.
• Chu Tianshu flew to the stone platform and pulled the ancient sword from the cauldron, resisting its seven-colored light and cleansing the Evil Spirit from its blade.
• Chu Tianshu read the Youdu Token's entry identifying the Fallen Void Profound Spirit and studied the sword's void distortions with his Heavenly Eye.
• Chu Tianshu concluded that the Zhu Xian Ancient Sword was a textbook on the Dao of the void and the fifth volume of the Heavenly Book, beyond the first four volumes.
• Shangguan Ding examined the apparently ordinary sword, while Chu Tianshu explained that the deepest essence of the five Heavenly Book volumes was in his hands.

After Incense Valley’s victory, its allies prepared to pursue the Demonic Sect while the surviving leaders gathered to study the Zhu Xian Stone Sword and share cultivation knowledge. Chu Tianshu organized their research, but his nearly full Fortune Bar meant he had only a few days left in the world.

• Incense Valley and Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples cleaned the battlefield, treated the wounded, and prepared to burn the poisonous remains with medicinal powders.
• Elder Chuangong put Elder Bai in charge of the victory banquet while Yue Chunfeng and Yue Tianchi planned to gather Heavenly Wolf Sect forces and attack the Demonic Sect’s lair in the Great Marsh.
• Shangguan Ding, Yue Gude, Fang Wuchen, High Person Jade Toad, and the other experts failed to discern the Zhu Xian Stone Sword’s inner trajectories, but agreed that the era’s cooperation offered a chance to transform the immortal sects.
• The gathered experts toasted Chu Tianshu for fostering their alliances and helping defeat the Demonic Sect, while he remained absorbed in examining the sword.
• Chu Tianshu asked Shangguan Ding, Yue Gude, and Fang Wuchen to study the secret scroll on the stone door and asked High Person Jade Toad to analyze his drawings of the sword’s mysteries.
• Chu Tianshu saw that his Fortune Bar was nearly full and regretted that he would not have time to uncover all the Zhu Xian Stone Sword’s secrets.