Recaps

Shen Chun sold Vast Heaven Holy Land’s Evil Shadow Continent intelligence to the major powers, leaving them dependent on his network and convinced that Xinghe had planned their involvement. The elders praised Xinghe’s strategy while he and the Holy Lord remained absent, and Gu Mingchao continued writing in Haotian Palace.

• Shen Chun established an intelligence network on the Evil Shadow Continent and sold timely information to the major powers at high prices.
• Zheng Yu realized Martial Emperor City had to buy Shen Chun’s intelligence to enter the Evil Shadow Continent, but doing so would let Vast Heaven Holy Land track its plans.
• Shen Chun delivered the resources he earned to the Civil Engineering Department, whose members greeted him with unusual hostility.
• Shen Chun reported his success to the elders at Spirit Crane Palace, where they discussed Xinghe’s strategy and noted that both Xinghe and the Holy Lord were absent.
• Holy Empress Ji Ya explained that Gu Mingchao was writing and should not be disturbed, while the Grand Elder said Xinghe should also be left alone as the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce prepared to open.
• Gu Mingchao sneezed in Haotian Palace and returned to writing, glad that the world was peaceful.

Chu Xinghe set the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s Evil Shadow Continent opening for three days later and scheduled the Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing for three days after that. As Rogue Cultivators celebrated, the Evil Lords gathered to discuss resisting the growing presence of the major factions, only to discover their intelligence networks had already spread across the continent.

• Qin Xiangqian and Ma Liang urged Chu Xinghe to delay the chamber opening and the drawing, but Chu Xinghe set both dates just three days apart and announced them on the Haotian Mirror.
• Rogue Cultivators across the Four Continents welcomed the confirmed dates, while those from the Three Continents assured the Evil Shadow Continent’s cultivators that Chu Xinghe’s announcements would not be changed.
• The Evil Lords gathered in the White Spirit Division, where the White Spirit Evil Lord proposed waiting until attention faded before using their home-ground advantages to drive out other factions’ businesses.
• The Evil Lords learned that Chu Xinghe’s efforts had helped the intelligence networks of the Vast Heaven Holy Land and the major factions penetrate the Evil Shadow Continent, frustrating their plans.

Chu Xinghe's Ten-Colored Spirit Stone maneuvers helped the major powers establish intelligence networks on the Evil Shadow Continent, strengthening their commercial footholds. The other Evil Lords avoided the White Spirit Evil Lord's proposed counterattack, but Bai Yu announced a separate plan against the Vast Heaven Holy Land, renewing his master's confidence.

• Chu Xinghe's maneuvers enabled the Vast Heaven Holy Land and the major powers to establish intelligence networks on the Evil Shadow Continent.
• The White Spirit Evil Lord claimed he had a plan to strike the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce at its weak spot.
• The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord left under the pretext of tending soup, and the other Evil Lords followed him to avoid hearing the White Spirit Evil Lord's plan.
• The other Evil Lords went into seclusion to study soup-making, leaving spies across the Four Continents puzzled over whether the soup was a code phrase.
• The White Spirit Evil Lord summoned Bai Yu to hear his plan, but Bai Yu declined to return because his own preparations had reached a crucial stage.
• Bai Yu promised that his separate plan would devastate the Vast Heaven Holy Land, and the White Spirit Evil Lord celebrated their two plans with renewed confidence.

The White Spirit Evil Lord set a secret plot against the Vast Heaven Holy Land in motion while Chu Xinghe oversaw the chaotic opening of the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce on the Evil Shadow Continent. Xie Yue entered a livestream determined to prove that no one could make him spend money, but a seven-colored spirit stone quickly turned his defiant fellow Evil Spirits into an orderly queue.

• The White Spirit Evil Lord secretly assigned his people tasks to begin a plot against the Vast Heaven Holy Land.
• Chu Xinghe arrived on the Evil Shadow Continent to oversee the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce as its branches prepared to open amid untrained staff and confusion.
• Xie Yue disguised himself, visited a branch, and started a livestream to prove he could leave without buying anything.
• When the chamber opened, staff asked Xie Yue and other customers to wait because the building had reached its capacity.
• As the waiting Evil Spirits grew angry and threatened to force their way inside, a guide offered Xie Yue a seven-colored spirit stone as an apology.
• The Evil Spirit who had declared that the Evil Spirit Clan never queued accepted a seven-colored spirit stone and began organizing everyone into a line.

Chu Xinghe’s plan to maintain order at the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s opening gave every Evil Spirit who queued a seven-colored spirit stone. Xie Yue entered determined not to spend anything, but the free cultivation trial area left him stunned.

• Chu Xinghe rejected Qin Xiangqian’s plan to hand out snacks and gifts, ordering seven-colored spirit stones given to every Evil Spirit who queued.
• The Evil Spirits lined up peacefully to collect the stones, while Xie Yue assumed the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce was wasting its wealth.
• A saleswoman escorted Xie Yue inside, where he resolved to leave without buying anything despite the lavish surroundings.
• Xie Yue saw cultivators breaking through in the Nine Heavens Spirit Gathering Grand Formation and suspected the chamber was using it to sell spirit stones.
• The saleswoman offered Xie Yue a chance to try the cultivation area and told him it was free, leaving him speechless.

Xie Yue toured the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce, where free cultivation and generous spirit treasure deals left him astonished and tempted into buying a Jade Water Sword. When he discovered a flaw in the sword, the saleswoman invoked the store’s rule that customers bore no responsibility for any problem with goods after purchase.

• Xie Yue saw Evil Spirit Rogue Cultivators using the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s Nine Heavens Spirit Gathering Formation for free and accepted free spirit stones from the saleswoman.
• Xie Yue visited the spirit treasure section and learned that a flawless Jade Water Sword cost less than his own, came with a refund guarantee, and could be tried for a month.
• Xie Yue bought the Jade Water Sword and discovered that its spiritual power faltered when it reached its limit.
• Xie Yue demanded a replacement, but the saleswoman explained that the store’s rule meant customers bore no responsibility for problems with purchased goods and the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce assumed all responsibility.

Xie Yue tried to expose the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce after finding a flaw in a Jade Water Sword, but the shop paid him a thousandfold compensation and replaced it with a superior sword. His identity was revealed, and the crowd rushed to buy from the chamber of commerce as Xie Yue watched his attempt to cause trouble backfire.

• Xie Yue found a flaw in the Jade Water Sword he was buying and demanded a return or exchange from the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce.
• A master artifact refiner confirmed the flaw, and the chamber of commerce compensated Xie Yue with a thousand times the price and a demigod artifact-grade Jade Cloud Sword.
• The Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce explained that its guarantee covered goods as soon as customers began purchasing them and promised quick compensation for future defects.
• Evil Spirit Rogue Cultivators recognized Xie Yue and argued over whether he was a plant or had defected, while Xie Yue angrily denied both accusations.
• The manager invited customers to search for defective goods, prompting the crowd to start buying while Xie Yue realized his attempt to smear the chamber of commerce had failed.

Xie Yue’s livestream of the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s opening showed him receiving enormous compensation for a defective item, convincing Evil Spirits to trust the shop and buy its goods. The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord’s divination confirmed Xie Yue had not defected, leaving him baffled by Xie Yue’s sudden role as the chamber’s top promoter.

• Xie Yue’s livestream drew a huge audience after his identity was revealed, and he received thousandfold compensation for a defective purchase at the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce.
• Evil Spirits watched Xie Yue’s experience and decided he was unlikely to be a defector, so they began buying goods from the chamber.
• Evil Spirits discovered the chamber offered generous guarantees, compensation, and credit, and its branches across the Evil Shadow Continent saw sales surge.
• Spies sent by the Evil Lords reported that Xie Yue had unintentionally boosted the chamber’s business instead of helping them discredit it.
• The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord used the Heavenly Secrets Secret Art and learned that Xie Yue had not defected, but remained baffled by his promotion of the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce.

The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord’s scheme and Xie Yue’s defection made Xie Yue the Four Continents’ most talked-about figure, attracting mockery and endorsement offers. Though Xie Yue felt betrayed when his master accepted them all, the Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord persuaded him to embrace the money, leaving Xie Yue famous and the impoverished division newly profitable.

• The Evil Lords mocked the Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord over Xie Yue’s defection and his supposed role in making Xie Yue the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s brand ambassador.
• Xie Yue returned to the Heavenly Secrets Evil Spirits Division, upset by the public ridicule, and the Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord comforted him by insisting that he understood.
• The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord revealed that he had accepted more than two hundred endorsement offers for Xie Yue and planned to use the fees to support their division.
• Xie Yue objected to endorsing businesses that were mocking them, but the Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord convinced him they might as well profit while people cursed them anyway.
• Xie Yue’s endorsements and trending appearances multiplied as the Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord turned the ridicule into a lucrative source of income.

The Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce became highly profitable on the Evil Shadow Continent despite its costly promotions, while Chu Xinghe fumed over Xie Yue's unexpected help. With one day remaining before the Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing, Chu Xinghe ordered Shen Chun to spread rumors that the drawing was rigged, intending to use the gossip to his advantage.

• Xie Yue's endorsements and the Chamber of Commerce's reliable, low-priced services drew customers and sellers, turning its initial losses into growing profits and driving spies away.
• Shen Chun warned Chu Xinghe that rumors claimed the Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing might be rigged, and offered to help debunk them.
• Chu Xinghe excitedly asked Shen Chun to spread the rigging rumors more widely, leaving Shen Chun baffled but willing to obey.
• The White Spirit Evil Lord revealed that he had arranged for people to spread the rumors, believing gossip would sway people's hearts.
• Bai Yu told Erlüzi, Sanpao, Si Bangchui, Wu Quezi, and Lao Liu that his group would use the rumors to undermine Chu Xinghe at the crucial moment.

Shen Chun and the White Spirit Evil Lord spread rumors across the Four Continents while Gu Mingchao urged the Vast Heaven Holy Land to trust Chu Xinghe and wait. Three days later, the much-anticipated Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing began under Old Master Wuyang’s supervision.

• Shen Chun ordered Vast Heaven Holy Land spies to spread the rumors Chu Xinghe had requested, after Gu Mingchao advised the elders to watch and wait.
• Gu Mingchao defended his hands-off leadership, saying he trusted Xinghe and was proud of the disciples who thrived under him.
• The Vast Heaven Holy Land chose to leave the situation to Xinghe, while Shen Chun’s spies and the White Spirit Evil Lord’s forces spread rumors across the Four Continents.
• After three days, the Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing began, with Old Master Wuyang overseeing it for the Vast Heaven Holy Land.

Chu Xinghe began the Vast Heaven Holy Land’s Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing before a Four Continents audience, while Bai Yu prepared a scheme with Vice Leader Erlüzi and the Evil Lords anticipated trouble. The drawing selected its winners, and the chapter ended as the disappointed losers faced the White Spirit Evil Lord’s expectation that the real show was about to begin.

• Chu Xinghe invited Old Master Wuyang to supervise the drawing, planning to use the supervisor’s credibility to intensify the backlash if rumors of unfairness spread.
• Bai Yu compared himself with the newly chosen Evil Shadow Continent Holy Sons and confirmed with Vice Leader Erlüzi that their preparations were complete.
• Chu Xinghe addressed the crowd at the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce branch and announced that he would draw winners from Rogue Cultivators with numbered receipts.
• The Haotian Mirror broadcast as Chu Xinghe drew number after number, bringing excitement to the selected winners and disappointment to those who lost.
• The White Spirit Evil Lord watched the drawing end and smiled, believing the real show was about to begin.

After Chu Xinghe’s Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing sparked accusations of rigging, he urged the Vast Heaven Holy Land to amplify the backlash, hoping it would damage his reputation. The Xinghe Haters’ Group’s ten professional haters were then all revealed to have won the drawing and publicly cleared Chu Xinghe’s name.

• People across the Four Continents accused Chu Xinghe of rigging the drawing, and the White Spirit Evil Lord pushed the allegations further.
• Cheng Xiaotian and Shen Chun worried about the rumors, but Chu Xinghe told Shen Chun to have Vast Heaven Holy Land members join the criticism.
• The White Spirit Evil Lord seized on the spreading outrage and ordered the Evil Lords to intensify their attacks on Chu Xinghe’s reputation.
• Bai Yu sent the Xinghe Haters’ Group’s ten Heavenly Kings to attack Chu Xinghe, but We're Innocent posted to clear his name after discovering he had won the drawing.
• The other nine Heavenly Kings also posted in Chu Xinghe’s defense because they had all won, leaving Bai Yu stunned and Chu Xinghe wondering whether the drawing had somehow been rigged.

Ten professional haters from the Xinghe Haters' Group won Ten-Colored Spirit Stones and defended Chu Xinghe against accusations that the draw was rigged. Shen Chun's people then joined them, and Chu Xinghe was left baffled by Shen Chun's claim that the sudden reversal had been part of his plan.

• All ten professional haters arranged by Bai Yu drew Ten-Colored Spirit Stones and decided not to accuse Chu Xinghe of rigging the draw.
• The ten haters used their expertise to defend Chu Xinghe, arguing that the draw was fair so they could keep their winnings.
• Chu Xinghe watched the Haotian Mirror descend into arguments between the winners and the other haters.
• As the ten winners began to be overwhelmed, Shen Chun's people switched sides and argued that the haters' winning proved the draw was fair.
• Shen Chun praised Chu Xinghe for supposedly planning the switch, while Chu Xinghe silently rejected the idea.

Shen Chun’s agents turned the rumors that Chu Xinghe had rigged the drawing against their instigators, but Old Master Wuyang’s Fair-Minded Scale seemed to settle the matter by judging Chu Xinghe completely fair. Chu Xinghe questioned the result and learned that Old Master Wuyang had deliberately adjusted the scale to favor him.

• Shen Chun’s agents infiltrated the Xinghe Haters' Group and used their credibility as haters to suppress claims that Chu Xinghe had predetermined the winners.
• Chu Xinghe noticed that his Misfortune Compass was still spinning and concluded that the rumors had caused some damage to his reputation.
• Old Master Wuyang presented the Fair-Minded Scale and asked it to judge whether Chu Xinghe’s drawing had been unfair.
• The Fair-Minded Scale remained perfectly level above Chu Xinghe, convincing the crowd that the drawing had been fair.
• Chu Xinghe challenged the scale’s verdict, and Old Master Wuyang admitted that he had adjusted it to favor Chu Xinghe.

Old Master Wuyang used the Fair-Minded Scale to clear Chu Xinghe’s drawing of wrongdoing, then explained that fairness depended on judgment and circumstances rather than absolute rules. Chu Xinghe accepted the lesson, while the Evil Lords turned their anger toward White Spirit Evil Lord over Bai Yu’s success at turning haters into supporters.

• Old Master Wuyang revealed that he had adjusted the Fair-Minded Scale, which declared Chu Xinghe’s Ten-Colored Spirit Stone drawing fair, impartial, and open.
• The Grand Elder explained that the powerful figures knew the scale could be adjusted, and Old Master Wuyang argued that absolute fairness could itself cause injustice by rewarding utterly wicked people.
• Old Master Wuyang urged Chu Xinghe to examine his intentions, and Chu Xinghe thanked him for the guidance.
• Old Master Wuyang asked the Grand Elder to pay him the promised Ten-Colored Spirit Stones, puncturing the solemn moment.
• The Evil Lords discussed why they could not expose Old Master Wuyang’s adjustments, then blamed White Spirit Evil Lord because Bai Yu had turned the haters into supporters of Chu Xinghe.

The Evil Lords blamed Bai Yu’s defection and the Xinghe Haters’ Group’s support of Chu Xinghe for their latest failure, while Bai Yu’s followers declared themselves allies of the Vast Heaven Holy Land. At a celebratory banquet, Chu Xinghe asked for peace and quiet as the Evil Lords began examining a change in the Evil Shadow Continent’s earth veins.

• The Heavenly Secrets Evil Lord and the other Evil Lords challenged the White Spirit Evil Lord’s claim that his ideas were not responsible for their losses, citing Bai Yu’s leadership of the Xinghe Whitewashers’ Group.
• The White Spirit Evil Lord admitted Bai Yu had been acting like a defector but urged him to stop competing with Yuan Ying as Chu Xinghe’s top bootlicker.
• Bai Yu’s Xinghe Haters’ Group elites concluded that they had become allies of the Vast Heaven Holy Land and chanted “Heaven bless Vast Heaven” until Bai Yu was moved to tears.
• Bai Yu went into seclusion to plan his next move, while Chu Xinghe attended a banquet at the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce’s Evil Shadow Continent branch and asked Ma Liang for peace and quiet.
• The Evil Lords gathered in the Evil Shadow Continent, where the Earth Sha Evil Lord revealed that a change in its earth veins had occurred.

The Evil Lords excluded the White Spirit Evil Lord and put the Earth Sha Evil Lord in charge of a plan based on the changing earth veins. Hoping to escape the Vast Heaven Holy Land’s surprises, Chu Xinghe took Ma Liang to the Blazing Sun Continent, where someone mistook them for impersonators and offered to hire them for three hundred spirit stones.

• The Evil Lords gathered without the White Spirit Evil Lord, and the Earth Sha Evil Lord revealed his prediction about the changing earth veins and proposed a plan against the Vast Heaven Holy Land.
• Chu Xinghe decided to delay returning to the Vast Heaven Holy Land so he could avoid more surprises, and he reluctantly brought Ma Liang along after hearing Ma Liang planned to make changes while he was away.
• The grand elder allowed Chu Xinghe to travel as long as he returned before the year-end festival, and Chu Xinghe set off with Ma Liang without the Dark Moon Clan accompanying them.
• Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang reached the Blazing Sun Continent and enjoyed several peaceful days together.
• In Tuyang, a stranger asked whether Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang were impersonators and offered to hire them for three hundred spirit stones.

Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang traveled to Tuyang Town amid a war that was devastating the Great Liang Kingdom, while Ma Liang explained how war could end oppressive rule and Chu Xinghe reflected on the limits of intervention. At the town gate, a fan offered Ma Liang a commission and told Chu Xinghe she would pay him only five spirit stones because he was a poor impersonator.

• Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang traveled through the Four Continents, where people mistook them for a convincing Ma Liang impersonator and an unconvincing Chu Xinghe impersonator.
• Chu Xinghe entered Tuyang Town in the Great Liang Kingdom and learned that Great Chang had seized nearly half its territory while internal strife pushed Great Liang toward collapse.
• Ma Liang told Chu Xinghe that war could destroy lives but also end an oppressive order, recalling how Tian Qingquan's descendants had controlled the Great Moon Kingdom and crushed its people.
• Chu Xinghe considered how the Vast Heaven Holy Land's refusal to interfere in kingdoms reflected the natural rise and fall of dynasties.
• A girl stopped Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang in Tuyang, offered Ma Liang three hundred spirit stones for a commission, and said Chu Xinghe was worth only five.

Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang met a girl who offered to hire Ma Liang for three hundred spirit stones while dismissing Chu Xinghe as a poor impersonator. Chu Xinghe accepted the job out of outrage, but the girl hired Ma Liang alone, leaving them to set off together with her admiration for him undiminished.

• A girl offered Ma Liang two hundred and ninety-five spirit stones and Chu Xinghe only five, explaining that she was a devoted Ma Liang fan.
• The girl criticized Chu Xinghe’s clothes, pendant, boots, and bearing, insisting that his imitation of Chu Xinghe was too superficial.
• Chu Xinghe claimed he was the real Chu Xinghe and summoned Thunder Shadow from the Haotian Sword Casket, but the girl praised the imitation’s effects instead.
• Chu Xinghe accepted the employment offer, but the girl said she was hiring Ma Liang and asked him to decide for himself.
• Ma Liang accepted the offer, and the girl shyly gazed at him while Chu Xinghe wondered what was wrong with her.

Yue Ling hired Ma Liang and Chu Xinghe to escort her to the capital of the Great Liang Kingdom, believing they were impersonators whose resemblance to famous cultivators might deter her enemies. Chu Xinghe endured her dismissive treatment and unequal payments, while Ma Liang enjoyed his frustration and agreed to cover their travel meals.

• Yue Ling rejected Chu Xinghe's claim to his real identity, while Ma Liang pretended to be a Fifth Rank cultivator.
• Yue Ling explained that she needed an escort to the capital of the Great Liang Kingdom and warned that powerful enemies might attack along the way.
• Yue Ling gambled that Ma Liang's appearance would frighten her pursuers after her previous escorts had died or fled.
• Yue Ling paid Ma Liang 295 spirit stones and Chu Xinghe five, then promised them respective arrival bonuses of 5,000 and three spirit stones.
• Yue Ling ordered a meal at the Tuyang Inn but asked Chu Xinghe to return three spirit stones when she realized she could not pay.
• Ma Liang paid the bill and offered to cover food and drink for the journey, earning Yue Ling's gratitude and further frustrating Chu Xinghe.

Yue Ling, Chu Xinghe, and Ma Liang traveled north to Hundred Herbs City, where Meng Er and Black Sha tried to poison them with wine. The trio drank the wine without harm, and Yue Ling found it nourishing, leaving their pursuers baffled.

• Chu Xinghe learned that impersonating Ma Liang required more talent than impersonating him as the trio left Tuyang Town for the capital.
• Black Sha's men tracked the trio with a crystal ball, mistook the real Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang for impersonators, and pursued them north.
• Yue Ling brought Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang to Hundred Herbs City to rest, then booked two superior rooms and one inferior room to conserve resources.
• Black Sha reminded Meng Er that the cult leader had helped him become head of the Meng Lineage, and Meng Er ordered a waiter to deliver poisoned wine to Yue Ling's table.
• Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang drank the wine, and Yue Ling followed; none of them collapsed, and Yue Ling said the wine made her feel full of vigor.
• Meng Er and Black Sha waited for the poison to take effect, but Yue Ling called the wine nourishing, leaving both men stunned.

Meng Er repeatedly tried to poison Yue Ling and her companions, but they mistook his poisoned wine for an extraordinarily powerful tonic. The chapter ended with Chu Xinghe suggesting that the restaurant serve the medicine without mixing it with wine.

• Yue Ling praised the first pot of medicinal wine for restoring her energy and ordered another pot, while Meng Er and Black Sha wondered why their poison had not harmed anyone.
• Meng Er blamed a possible mutation in his poison and dismissed Black Sha’s suspicion that the man posing as Ma Liang might be the real Ma Liang.
• Meng Er added two poison pills to another pot, but Yue Ling, Ma Liang, and Chu Xinghe drank it and Yue Ling said it was even more nourishing.
• Black Sha accused Meng Er of secretly helping Yue Ling, while Meng Er insisted he was an expert at poisoning people and prepared a pot filled with all the poisons he carried.
• The waiter delivered the thick, undrinkable mixture as medicinal wine, and Chu Xinghe suggested that Meng Er simply serve the medicine without wine.

Yue Ling, Chu Xinghe, and Ma Liang drank Meng Er’s poisoned tonic and mistook its effects for a cultivation breakthrough, while Meng Er died after tasting his own mixture. Black Sha fled and was blamed for the death, leaving both the Meng Lineage and his superiors convinced he had killed Meng Er.

• Yue Ling, Chu Xinghe, and Ma Liang ate the thick tonic, and Yue Ling broke through from the Subordinate Second Rank to the Third Rank.
• Meng Er mistook the tonic’s effect for a breakthrough pill, prepared another batch with the same poisons, and died after eating it.
• The waiter accused Black Sha of murdering Meng Er, so Black Sha fled while the Meng Lineage sealed off the restaurant.
• Meng Er’s attendant identified Black Sha as the killer, and Meng San reported the accusation to their superiors.
• Meng San vowed to avenge Meng Er, while Black Sha’s superiors accused him of killing Meng Er and dismissed his claim that Meng Er had poisoned himself.

Black Sha regrouped his subordinates to attack Yue Ling, Ma Liang, and Chu Xinghe as they left Hundred Herbs City. Their ambush struck Meng Er’s funeral procession instead, and the Meng Lineage accused Black Sha of killing their patriarch.

• Black Sha convinced himself Meng Er had staged his own death to frame him, then promised his lord he would complete the mission to kill the targets.
• Black Sha ordered his subordinates to ambush the targets outside the restaurant the next morning, while Ma Liang sent a ghost to guard Yue Ling’s room.
• Yue Ling slept peacefully, then left the restaurant with Ma Liang and Chu Xinghe at dawn to head for the north gate.
• Yue Ling spotted armed figures in the morning mist and tried to flee, but Chu Xinghe said they might not be enemies.
• A saber attack veered away from the trio and split Meng Er’s coffin and corpse as the Meng Lineage carried them in a funeral procession.
• A member of the Meng Lineage accused Black Sha of killing their patriarch, and the funeral procession erupted into chaos.