Chapter Summaries

Li Ju shot down six peregrine falcons, while the new emperor’s legion hurried back with the dragon bone and Zhang Xuezhou made another trip aboard the Heaven-Riding Shuttle. On the way, Zhang Xuezhou encountered Demon King Feiyu, who invited him to refine pills for the Nine Spirits Primal Sage.

• Li Ju recovered from his dizziness and shot down all six peregrine falcons, impressing the new emperor with his archery.
• The new emperor handed the dragon bone to Zhang Xuezhou and urged him to travel quickly as the legion continued its return march.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew off with the dragon bone, and Wei Qing and the new emperor discussed his unusual abilities and whether he had gained anything in the underground palace.
• Zhang Xuezhou slowed his flight to recover his strength and encountered Demon King Feiyu in the sky.
• Demon King Feiyu explained that the Nine Spirits Primal Sage had only beaten Zhang Xuezhou half to death and invited him to refine pills.

Feiyu encountered Zhang Xuezhou while patrolling for those who breached the Dragon City Ancestral Land and tried to recruit him to refine pills. Zhang Xuezhou refused, then warned Feiyu that the Immortal Court might target Zhu Jiuyin, leaving Feiyu alarmed and intent on reporting the threat.

• Feiyu found Zhang Xuezhou aboard the Heaven-Riding Shuttle while searching the skies for the army that breached the Dragon City Ancestral Land.
• Zhang Xuezhou rejected Feiyu's appeal to refine pills, arguing that Zou Bugui's imprisonment and his own past treatment by the Sacred Land had shown they were not friends.
• Feiyu argued that Dao Lord must have held back because Zhang Xuezhou survived the flying blade, but Zhang Xuezhou dismissed the claim.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Feiyu that a bite of Zhu Jiuyin's flesh could grant eternal life and said Heavenly King Li had told him the secret.
• Zhang Xuezhou showed Feiyu the Three-Zhang Azure and suggested Zhu Jiuyin verify the warning with Heavenly King Li on Mount Tai.
• Feiyu promised not to betray Zhang Xuezhou and abandoned his attempt to recruit him, shaken by the threat against Zhu Jiuyin.

Wei Qing’s exhausted legion struggled across the grasslands toward Yanmen Pass, prompting him to search the Dragon City treasures for supplies. Zhang Xuezhou identified Brahma Udumbara Lotus that could sustain the soldiers, giving the march a chance to continue.

• Zhang Xuezhou rejoined Wei Qing’s legion, and the weary soldiers disguised themselves with weeds as they continued toward Great Han territory.
• Wei Qing asked the new emperor and his companions whether the Dragon City treasures contained food or drink to restore the soldiers’ strength.
• Dong Zhongshu reminded Wei Qing that most soldiers were ordinary people, and Wei Qing described the supplies and specialists a long-distance expedition needed.
• Zhang Xuezhou found a chest of Brahma Udumbara Lotus and explained to the new emperor and Wei Qing that it could feed the soldiers and replenish their strength.
• The new emperor realized why Yudan had wanted to kill Nidulu, then urged Wei Qing to make use of the Xiong State’s provisions as the legion continued toward Yanmen Pass.

Wei Qing’s legion reached the Great Han border after a grueling campaign, while Zhang Xuezhou urged the new emperor to reward ordinary soldiers from the Dragon City spoils. The new emperor hesitated over the cost and value of the treasures but began reconsidering after hearing the crowd celebrate the victory.

• Wei Qing led his exhausted legion toward Yanmen Pass after failing to locate the Xiong State Legion, while the Nine Spirits Primal Sage also failed to find them.
• Zhang Xuezhou discouraged the new emperor from trying to lure the Nine Spirits Primal Sage into a fight and asked how the Dragon City spoils would be distributed.
• The new emperor promised Zhang Xuezhou a share but argued that cultivation resources should go to capable people rather than ordinary soldiers.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged the new emperor to reward the soldiers, warning that favored retainers might not remain willing to risk their lives over time.
• The new emperor weighed the cost of distributing the valuable treasures, then heard the distant crowd cheering for the Great Han Dynasty’s victory and began to reconsider.

After Wei Qing announced the rewards for the victory at the Dragon City Ancestral Land, Zhang Xuezhou helped the new emperor set aside his worries over the cost and focus on building the Great Han Dynasty’s resources. The new emperor then prepared for Dao Lord’s likely retaliation, hoping the capital’s defenses could turn it into a chance to kill him.

• Wei Qing announced the rewards for the eight hundred soldiers who captured a vital location in Xiong State, drawing cheers from the troops at Yanmen Pass.
• The new emperor worried that the court had promised rewards before determining the value of the spoils, while Zhang Xuezhou teased him about his concern over resources.
• The new emperor discussed finding new sources of wealth and resolved to strengthen the court’s finances so it could reward soldiers in future campaigns.
• The new emperor asked whether Dao Lord would retaliate with an Incantation Technique or come to Chang'an City in person.
• The new emperor learned that 244 Confucian scholars had mastered Southern Brightness Fire and that twelve grand historians were patrolling near the chancellor’s residence.
• The new emperor decided to use arrows against Dao Lord’s true body and Southern Brightness Fire against his Yang Corporeal Soul Body, and he looked forward to returning to Chang'an City.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor hid among Tian Fen’s retainers in Chang’an City, preparing for the Dao Lord’s possible attack. As Tian Fen returned to Peaceful Abode, his headaches from the Flying Dagger Technique flared up again, and Liu Ying cried for help.

• The new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou discussed whether the Dao Lord would exploit Li Guang’s injuries to come to Chang’an City.
• They entered the chancellor’s residence under the retainer names Dong Shuxin and Li Xingyun and took lodgings near Tian Fen’s home.
• The new emperor explained that Peaceful Abode had no formations or traps, so the ambush depended on its people catching the Dao Lord off guard.
• Tian Fen returned home in a goat cart, and Liu Ying came out to welcome him.
• A scream and crashing sounds erupted inside Peaceful Abode as Tian Fen’s Flying Dagger Technique headaches returned, and Liu Ying called for help.

The new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou waited for the Dao Lord to appear while Tian Fen suffered under an Incantation Technique. When Venerable White Bone summoned Tian Fen’s Yang Corporeal Soul westward, they joined the pursuit, only to find the riders ahead had vanished into the darkness.

• The new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou watched Tian Fen’s torment and waited for the Dao Lord, while the new emperor joked that anyone who wanted to be chancellor could take the job.
• After Tian Fen’s screams weakened late at night, Venerable White Bone used a Soul-Summoning Technique, and Tian Fen’s Yang Corporeal Soul was reportedly drawn west.
• The new emperor ordered Sima Tan and Luoxia Hong to track Tian Fen’s soul, and the people waiting at the residence rushed out after it.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor mounted horses and followed the chaotic pursuit, keeping pace with the others rather than revealing their full abilities.
• The new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou reached the front of the pursuit and found the lane ahead empty, with no riders or hoofbeats in sight.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor discovered they had been trapped in the Five Ghost Yin Wind Formation and broke through its deception. After the new emperor killed its master, Venerable Black Mountain, Zhang Xuezhou took the formation flag and made the formation his own.

• Zhang Xuezhou realized he and the new emperor had entered a formation, and they tested each other to rule out an illusion.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Acupoint-Fixing Technique to disrupt the formation, revealing Venerable Black Mountain and the bodies of their pursuers.
• The new emperor attacked Venerable Black Mountain with a swift sword strike and fatally wounded him.
• Venerable Black Mountain recognized Zhang Xuezhou and said he had wanted Zhang on their side before dying.
• Zhang Xuezhou took Venerable Black Mountain’s broken black flag and restarted the Five Ghost Yin Wind Formation under his control.

Zhang Xuezhou took control of Venerable Black Mountain’s formation and used it to ambush the cultivators searching for the Great Han chancellor. He and the New Emperor killed Venerable Yinghua and trapped Venerable White Bone, whom Zhang began turning to sand.

• Zhang Xuezhou synchronized the formation flag with the others and let searchers pass through while he and the New Emperor waited in ambush.
• Venerable Yinghua arrived with reinforcements, attacked Venerable Black Mountain’s corpse, and was killed by a heart wound and the formation’s yin wind.
• Venerable White Bone sensed that someone else controlled the formation and fled, but Zhang Xuezhou blocked his path as the New Emperor struck him from behind.
• Venerable White Bone’s bone claw broke the New Emperor’s sword, but Zhang Xuezhou seized him and revealed that he could use Venerable Yellow Sand’s Sand Transformation Technique.
• Venerable White Bone began crumbling into sand and feared that his body would be destroyed beyond recovery.

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor killed Venerable White Bone and Venerable Hongying after Venerable Yellow Sand escaped their formation. As a group of Confucian scholars approached the dangerous alley, Gongsun Hong recognized Zhang Xuezhou and chose to follow, hoping to prove his worth.

• The new emperor asked Zhang Xuezhou about his injuries and agreed to replace the protective talismans he had used.
• Zhang Xuezhou directed the new emperor to Venerable Hongying, whom the emperor killed with his short sword.
• Zhang Xuezhou sealed the formation’s main flag and dismantled the Five Ghost Yin Wind Formation.
• The new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou waited in the shadows as they heard screams nearby and debated approaching.
• Lü Bushu led a group of Confucian scholars through the alley, while Gongsun Hong recognized Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor.
• Gongsun Hong gathered a Technique Method and followed the group, hoping to demonstrate his ability and earn advancement.

The search for the culprit led Lü Bushu and a group of scholars to the Marquis of Bozhi's residence, where Dao Lord confronted the hidden figure he believed had killed four Venerables. Dao Lord used the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book to test several names, but the talismans revealed nothing, and he ended by challenging the mysterious figure to answer his call.

• The Grand Astrologers located the culprit at the Marquis of Bozhi's residence, and Lü Bushu led the group through a breach in its wall.
• Lü Bushu and the scholars used fire, weapons, and spells to deal with the venomous snakes inside the residence.
• Dao Lord called out from a dark room, accused the hidden figure of killing four Venerables, and warned the gathered scholars to stay out of their grudge.
• A scholar shot an arrow into the room, but Dao Lord sent it back through the window and killed him.
• Dao Lord called the names Dongfang Shuo, Zhang Xuezhou, Wu Jin, Tolkien, and Kunlun Holy Son with the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book, but only the last talisman flew west.
• Dao Lord called to the hidden figure again and asked whether the fellow Daoist dared to answer.

Zhang Xuezhou and the New Emperor confronted the Dao Lord, whose Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book threatened them with a deadly curse. After Tian Fen answered the Dao Lord’s call and was struck down by a mysterious swordsman, the New Emperor fought the Dao Lord’s Yang Corporeal Soul incarnation, and another attacker arrived as the Dao Lord began to flee.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the Incantation Avoidance Instruction to resist the Dao Lord’s curses while he and the New Emperor stayed hidden.
• Tian Fen answered the Dao Lord’s call, prompting a blood-red Sword-Ray to strike the Dao Lord’s Yang Corporeal Soul incarnation and silence Tian Fen.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the New Emperor rushed into the side room, where the New Emperor attacked the Dao Lord with his short sword.
• The Dao Lord pinned a bright feathered-arrow curse to the New Emperor’s forehead and identified him as possibly the emperor of the Han Kingdom.
• The Dao Lord’s Yang Corporeal Soul began dispersing to escape, but Zhang Xuezhou prepared to pursue him as a gray shadow entered and struck with Southern Brightness Fire.

Zhang Xuezhou pursued Dao Lord after Gongsun Hong’s Southern Brightness Fire burned through Dao Lord’s Yang Corporeal Soul, then pelted the wounded cultivator with stones from a distance. Holy Mother Wudang arrived and revealed that Dao Lord had used the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book on the Han emperor, leaving Zhang Xuezhou poised to continue killing him while Dao Lord suffered the consequences of cursing an emperor who cultivated the Fortune Technique.

• Gongsun Hong’s Southern Brightness Fire struck Dao Lord’s Yang Corporeal Soul and triggered a blaze that spread through the side room.
• Zhang Xuezhou used his Jade Wings and Wind Avoidance Instruction to pursue the Southern Brightness Fire to Dao Lord’s original body.
• Dao Lord returned his spirit to his body and failed to kill Zhang Xuezhou with a flying dagger, leaving himself too weak to evade stones.
• Zhang Xuezhou threw stones and a large rock at Dao Lord, steadily worsening his injuries while keeping his distance.
• Holy Mother Wudang arrived, and Zhang Xuezhou warned her that Dao Lord had used the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book on the Han emperor.
• Holy Mother Wudang explained that cursing an emperor who cultivated the Fortune Technique brought terrible misfortune, and Dao Lord began vomiting as his condition deteriorated.

Zhang Xuezhou continued stoning the weakened Dao Lord, who was suffering from three Incantation Technique backlashes. Holy Mother Wudang warned of the trouble Dao Lord's death could bring, but Zhang Xuezhou refused to stop and left Dao Lord facing an undignified end.

• Dao Lord realized that three Incantation Technique backlashes had left him close to death, and he challenged Zhang Xuezhou to kill him.
• Holy Mother Wudang warned Zhang Xuezhou that killing Dao Lord could earn him hostility from Kunlun and the Immortal Court.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he could have someone else kill Dao Lord and deny responsibility, so Holy Mother Wudang stopped trying to intervene.
• Holy Mother Wudang asked Dao Lord whether he could withdraw the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book, but he said the curse could not be recalled.
• Dao Lord struggled to stand as Zhang Xuezhou pelted him with increasingly large stones, then asked Holy Mother Wudang to witness his death and wondered what his killer's name was.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Dao Lord not to use his remaining Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book to curse him.

Holy Mother Wudang tried to mediate between Zhang Xuezhou and the weakened Dao Lord, whose Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book curse threatened the New Emperor. With neither side willing to yield and Holy Mother Wudang blocking Zhang Xuezhou’s attacks, the Dao Lord searched for a flaw in his Incantation Technique that might give him a chance to survive.

• Holy Mother Wudang questioned the Dao Lord about lifting the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book curse, but he insisted its arrow could not be recalled and that the New Emperor would die within seven days.
• Zhang Xuezhou argued that the Dao Lord had started the conflict and resumed throwing stones, but Holy Mother Wudang stopped a stone from hitting him.
• Holy Mother Wudang warned Zhang Xuezhou that cultivators would pursue him to avenge the Dao Lord, while the Dao Lord suggested she would become a target if she died and could not expose their secrets.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried to frighten Holy Mother Wudang with Celestial Venerable Yuanshi’s jade tablet, but she recognized it as a Heavenly Gate Token and exposed his bluff.
• The Dao Lord failed to recover because Yin fire afflicted his body, then identified a flaw in his Incantation Technique that might give him a sliver of breathing room.

Dao Lord revealed that the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book could be overcome if the New Emperor entered the True Self Realm within seven days, and asked Holy Mother Wudang to help provide the resources for a breakthrough. Holy Mother Wudang agreed to gamble on saving the New Emperor in exchange for Dao Lord’s holdings at the Yedie River Holy Land, and the parties signed a contract.

• Dao Lord explained that the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book could no longer kill a True Self Realm cultivator, but the New Emperor had to break through within seven days for its effects to fade.
• Holy Mother Wudang learned that the New Emperor had defeated Dao Lord twice and considered the threat his rise posed to the balance among the Three Realms.
• Dao Lord admitted that the New Emperor’s previous failed breakthrough made another attempt difficult, then offered Holy Mother Wudang his holdings at the Yedie River Holy Land for helping him survive.
• Holy Mother Wudang accepted the gamble and wrote a contract, which Dao Lord signed with a blood snake.
• Zhang Xuezhou signed the contract as “Shuo Immortal,” while Dao Lord reflected that a small mistake had led to repeated defeats and left his life at risk.

Zhang Xuezhou told the New Emperor that Dao Lord’s Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book would kill him unless he reached the True Self Realm within seven days. With the empress dowager’s breathing method as guidance, the New Emperor began preparing to force a breakthrough, though his curse made the attempt perilous.

• Zhang Xuezhou returned to Weiyang Palace and explained that the New Emperor had seven days to reach the True Self Realm and escape Dao Lord’s Incantation Technique.
• The New Emperor learned that his earlier attempts to break through had failed and worried that he could not reach the True Self Realm in time.
• The empress dowager taught the New Emperor the syllables “xu, he, hu, si, chui, xi” to help regulate his Qi and Blood.
• The New Emperor began trying the breathing method, but the curse made his body shake with pain.
• The New Emperor and Zhang Xuezhou agreed there was no harm in seeking help from Dao Lord, while the New Emperor recognized that Tian Fen’s different symptoms confirmed the Incantation could not affect someone in the True Self Realm.

Zhang Xuezhou and the New Emperor traveled with Holy Mother Wudang to the Dao Lord’s underground palace, where she promised to help the emperor with swordsmanship. They arrived to find four sword formation diagrams and a glowing sword pellet prepared in the quiet chamber.

• Zhang Xuezhou waited with the New Emperor in Old Tree Alley, carrying his unpredictable Spirit Wood Staff as they considered the risks of their agreement.
• Holy Mother Wudang arrived in a modified bronze carriage and took them underground, where its oppressive passage briefly left the New Emperor unable to breathe.
• Holy Mother Wudang explained that she could offer the New Emperor sword guidance inherited from her master, while Zhang Xuezhou confirmed that the New Emperor had brought pills and talismans.
• After nearly half an hour of travel, Zhang Xuezhou and the others reached the underground palace and saw four sword formation diagrams and a glowing sword pellet in the quiet chamber.

While waiting for the New Emperor to attempt a breakthrough to the True Self Realm, Zhang Xuezhou questioned Holy Mother Wudang about her past and the great cultivators of the Three Realms. He eventually forced her to reveal where Dao Lord was recovering from his injuries in the underground palace.

• Holy Mother Wudang explained that the four sword formation diagrams could help sword cultivators gain insight, but said her own breakthrough had come through bitter cultivation and her talented fellow disciples were all dead.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Holy Mother Wudang about her past and learned that she had survived by fleeing her pursuers until they stopped hunting her.
• Holy Mother Wudang grew wary after Zhang Xuezhou admitted he had killed weak cultivators from Xiong State, and she eventually refused to discuss her past further.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked where Dao Lord was recovering, and warned Holy Mother Wudang not to deceive him about the underground palace.
• Dao Lord spoke from behind a wall, telling Holy Mother Wudang that Zhang Xuezhou had seen through her and that she would have to comply.
• Holy Mother Wudang opened a hidden stone wall, revealing Dao Lord healing his injuries, and Dao Lord regarded Zhang Xuezhou with greater trepidation.

The Dao Lord admitted that Zhang Xuezhou had defeated him and offered him his flying dagger to secure a chance to leave alive. Zhang Xuezhou then demanded to inherit the Dao Lord’s Flying Dagger Technique so he could understand the threat before the seven-day agreement ended.

• The Dao Lord recognized that his injuries and the Yin Fire Technique had left him defeated and unable to restore his body.
• The Dao Lord showed Zhang Xuezhou his flying dagger, broke it apart with a breath, restored it with Law Power, and offered it to Holy Mother Wudang.
• The Dao Lord explained that he wanted to leave and try to save himself, while Zhang Xuezhou rejected his attempt to sow discord about the Sacred Land.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked to inherit the Dao Lord’s Technique Methods, and the Dao Lord reluctantly agreed to try passing on his Flying Dagger Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou planned to learn the Dao Lord’s techniques before the seven-day agreement expired, while the New Emperor and the Dao Lord each tried to save themselves.