Chapter Summaries

Wei He learned that the remaining six manuals of Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal were in the Yuchi residence and prepared to retrieve them. After breaking through Silkworm Silk Jin and speeding up his bone cultivation, he headed toward the coming night raid, while a Chijing Army meeting was underway at the residence.

• Wan Qingqing told Wei He that Yuchi Zhong had taken the six missing Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal manuals to the Yuchi residence, which was guarded by powerful fighters and Chijing Army soldiers.
• Wei He decided to raid the residence that night, and Wan Qingqing agreed that someone should accompany him, though he intended to keep the operation quiet.
• Wei He told Wan Qingqing to keep Yue Xiaodie imprisoned until Jinzhou sent a ransom, or otherwise force her to reveal her martial arts and secrets.
• Wei He used the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to complete Silkworm Silk Jin, then found that it made forming the Gathering Cloud Bone Structure much faster.
• At the Yuchi residence, Yuchi Yan presided over a Chijing Army meeting and warned that the army’s confrontation with rebels left them dependent on their own strength.

Wei He infiltrated Yuchi Manor to find the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal manuals and encountered a powerful woman connected to the Chaos God Cult. The search led Yuchi Qi to name Yuchi Yan as someone who knew where the manuals were.

• Xie Dong and You Jian discussed the plague’s spread, the quarantine of five counties, and the worsening pressure on Xuanjing City.
• Wei He slipped into Yuchi Manor and used medicine to learn where Yuchi Qi lived.
• Wei He entered Yuchi Qi’s courtyard and was confronted by a veiled woman who refused to summon the manor’s guards.
• The veiled woman attacked Wei He with force resembling the techniques of the Chaos God Cult, and he recognized her as an Organ Refining expert.
• Wei He asked for the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal manuals, and Yuchi Qi said Yuchi Yan would know where they were.

Wei He considered Yuchi Qi and Tang Huanhuan’s proposal to capture Yuchi Yan and reach the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal manuals, agreeing to help after they offered him valuable rewards. Meanwhile, Yuchi Yan questioned Deputy Commander Xie Dong about his past ties to Dragon Shadow Phoenix Nest and his interest in a rumored divine object.

• Yuchi Qi and Tang Huanhuan asked Wei He to help restrain three Bone Forging experts while they captured Yuchi Yan and forced him to reveal the secret vault’s location.
• Wei He negotiated for an advance reward, and Tang Huanhuan gave him Black Gold Marrow and an unused Mid-tier Exotic Seed.
• After the gathering, Yuchi Yan stopped Xie Dong and asked whether he had ties to Dragon Shadow Phoenix Nest.
• Xie Dong admitted he had once belonged to Dragon Shadow Phoenix Nest and inferred that Yuchi Yan wanted to ask about a rumor concerning a divine object.

Xie Dong told Yuchi Yan that the last vial of dragon blood had been taken from Dragon Shadow Phoenix Nest by a former Grand Commander, then left its whereabouts unknown. Later that night, Wei He killed Yuchi Yan during a diversion in Yuchi Qi’s courtyard and escaped with a note pointing to a secret vault.

• Xie Dong told Yuchi Yan that the last vial of dragon blood had been taken away by a former Grand Commander, and that only someone born with Dragon Bone could use it safely.
• Yuchi Qi asked Yuchi Yan to follow her to her courtyard for a private conversation, while River-Flipping Hand Li Quan, Seven-Named Sword Ou Kaiming, and Heavy Mountain Bow Li Ruying waited outside.
• Wei He ambushed the three guards, evaded their Blazing Sun Qi Blade-enhanced attacks, and drew them away from Yuchi Qi’s courtyard.
• Wei He snatched a slip of paper from the courtyard and escaped as Yuchi Qi cried out for Yuchi Yan.
• Li Quan, Ou Kaiming, and Li Ruying found Yuchi Yan dead, while Wei He read the note and headed toward the secret vault in the Inner Court.

Wei He infiltrated Yuchi Manor’s secret vault and took five separate volumes of the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal, but Yuchi Yuansha’s forces ambushed him as he escaped. He fought his way out of the pagoda and faced Yuchi Yuansha, who vowed that he would not escape Xuanjing City.

• Wei He followed the directions to open the secret passage beneath the pagoda, endured its mechanisms, and entered the secret vault.
• Yuchi Yuansha learned that Wei He had supposedly killed Yuchi Yan and stolen a clue to the vault, then ordered the city sealed and the vault surrounded.
• Wei He found five separate volumes of the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal, noticed and neutralized smoke poison on them, and took the manuals and portable valuables.
• Armed forces ambushed Wei He as he exited the passage, attacking with crossbow bolts and horned-snake-hide nets.
• Wei He used an armored attacker as a shield, broke through the nets with corrosive black water, and landed atop the pagoda.
• Yuchi Yuansha confronted Wei He from below and declared that the army and the Three Great Families would prevent his escape.

Wei He survived Yuchi Yuansha’s attack and exposed that Yuchi Qi and Tang Huanhuan had framed him while destroying Xuanjing City’s official granaries. As Tang Huanhuan and Yuchi Qi fled, Wei He tracked them with Wang Shaojun and prepared to pursue them.

• Yuchi Yuansha ordered her forces to attack Wei He, who evaded sniper fire and tried to warn her that the real murderer had lured her troops away for another purpose.
• Yuchi Qi and Tang Huanhuan reached the official granaries, where undercover agents prepared to destroy the Chijing Army’s supplies.
• Wei He escaped Yuchi Yuansha’s siege just as explosions engulfed the granaries, then identified Yuchi Qi and Tang Huanhuan as the true culprits.
• Yuchi Yuansha ordered the citywide arrest of Yuchi Qi while her forces rushed to fight the granary fire.
• Tang Huanhuan and Yuchi Qi fled Xuanjing, unaware that Wei He had poisoned Yuchi Qi and tracked them.
• Wei He summoned Wang Shaojun and proposed pursuing the Chaos God Cult or Incense Gathering Cult agents responsible for the attack.

Tang Huanhuan and Yuchi Qi were ambushed at a roadside tea stall by the Myriad Poison Sect, and Tang Huanhuan was forced to flee alone. Surrounded and badly wounded, she faced a coordinated assault while Wei He and Wang Shaojun watched nearby, with Wang Shaojun joining the fight.

• Tang Huanhuan and Yuchi Qi stopped at a tea stall, where Tang Huanhuan discovered poison in the melon seeds and exposed the ambush.
• The tea-stall workers and caravan members attacked; Yuchi Qi fell, and Tang Huanhuan escaped into the forest after recognizing the Myriad Poison Sect’s involvement.
• Xie Yan and five Bone Forging experts surrounded Tang Huanhuan, while Wei He and Wang Shaojun observed from a tree.
• Wang Shaojun went to test Tang Huanhuan after Wei He told him not to push her too hard.
• Tang Huanhuan wounded two attackers and broke through the encirclement, but she was left bleeding and near exhaustion.

Tang Huanhuan fled while poisoned and gravely wounded, but Wang Shaojun and Wei He intercepted her near Moonlight Gorge. Wei He crippled her and sent her disciple Zhenjun plunging into the abyss before carrying her away.

• Tang Huanhuan neutralized the forces left in her wounds but could not stop the Myriad Poison Sect's poison from spreading.
• Wang Shaojun confronted Tang Huanhuan, shattered her right arm with Wind Rain Vigor, and let her escape after she used the Shao Ji secret art.
• Tang Huanhuan ran toward Moonlight Gorge but found Wei He blocking the chain bridge; he poisoned her again and struck her down.
• Zhenjun rushed to save Tang Huanhuan, but Wei He used her as a shield and struck Zhenjun toward the abyss.
• Wei He stomped on Zhenjun's hand, broke the chain bridge, and carried Tang Huanhuan away as Zhenjun fell.

Wei He resisted Wanfei Palace’s demand to release Tang Huanhuan and focused on strengthening Wanqing Sect while advancing his cultivation. Wushi Sect drove Wanfei Palace back at the border, giving Wei He time as fighting with Golden Jade Hall continued.

• Wang Shaojun told Wei He that Wanfei Palace wanted Tang Huanhuan released and threatened to intervene, but Wei He refused to yield.
• Wang Shaojun explained that Ming Gan involved tempering the five senses and described how experts specialized in one sense.
• Wei He ordered Wanqing Sect to charge Qingqi County a fair price for future medicinal supplies and to seize medicine from profiteers.
• Wei He trained in the Gathering Cloud Bone Structure and other martial arts, raising its cloud patterns to the fourth of eighteen by August.
• Wushi Sect fought Wanfei Palace at the border and drove its forces back, while Golden Jade Hall and Wanqing Sect continued fighting and suffering casualties.

Wei He organized his techniques into three cultivation systems and continued training, while the Chijing Army fought a desperate battle against the rebels at Dongwa Lake. The chapter left Zhou Xingtong charging into the fight and Taizhou’s leaders choosing Wang Zhihe to take charge of Xuanjing.

• Wei He combined his techniques into the Overturning Rain Vigor, Cloud Sea Codex, and Whale Flood Righteous Law Art, then continued cultivating the Gathering Cloud Bone Structure.
• Commander Yuchi Zhong led the Chijing Army against Li Tong and the Xiangqu Rebel Army at Dongwa Lake, despite the Chijing Army’s cut-off supplies.
• Zhou Xingtong ignored orders to withdraw and led a thousand Golden Punishment Department cavalrymen into battle.
• Three White Armor generals surrounded Zhou Xingtong, and he fought them with his full strength.
• Chen Taihe and Zhao Huanxian agreed to appoint Wang Zhihe to take over Xuanjing.

Wei He replaced the Flying Dragon Technique with the Golden Joy Five Elements Technique and trained in seclusion while the Wanqing Sect remained hidden on Black House Mountain. After news arrived that Commander Yuchi Zhong had died and the Chijing Army had been defeated, Wei He asked the sect leaders whether they should accept the Wang Family’s invitation to join its alliance.

• Wei He learned the Golden Joy Five Elements Technique from Wang Shaojun, dispersed the Flying Dragon Technique, and recovered its Primal Blood through Cloud Smoke Transformation.
• Wei He cultivated the new leg skill to Three Blood in just over ten days and advanced several of the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal’s branch arts to Second Blood.
• Wei He learned that the Chijing Army had suffered a crushing defeat and Commander Yuchi Zhong had died in battle.
• Wan Ling revealed that the captured Yuchi Qi was an impostor who had killed the real Yuchi Qi half a year earlier.
• Wei He told the Wanqing Sect leaders that the Wang Family had invited them to join its alliance and asked whether they should accept; Wan Ling, Xie Yan, and Du Han supported accepting.

Wei He discussed Wanqing Sect’s growing strength and marriage prospects before negotiating with Yue Xiaodie for Wanfei Palace intelligence. As Wanqing Sect rose to become Xuanjing’s fourth major power, the Incense Gathering Cult advanced to the city and faced the Taian Army near Black House Mountain.

• Xiao Qingyu reported that she was close to stabilizing her breakthrough into Organ Refining, while Xie Yan said Zhou Xingtong had escaped gravely wounded with his teacher’s corpse.
• Wan Ling proposed that Wei He form a marriage alliance with the Wang Family or meet Yue Xiaodie to discuss Wanfei Palace’s techniques.
• Yue Xiaodie offered to have her mother investigate the whereabouts of Shangguan Ji and his group in exchange for a future condition, then asked Wei He to have a child with her; he rejected that request and sent her token to Jinzhou.
• Wei He returned to cultivation as Zhou Xingtong reached Xuanjing and the Wang Family took over Yuchi Zhong’s remaining powers with help from Wanqing Sect.
• Wanqing Sect became Xuanjing’s fourth major power, Wei He’s Gathering Cloud Bone Structure reached its eighth cloud-mark, and the Incense Gathering Cult and Taian Army faced each other near Black House Mountain.

After the rebel forces withdrew, Wei He completed the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal and devoted himself to cultivating its unified true art while the Wanqing Sect settled into its new position in Xuanjing. At Wang Shaojun’s wedding, Wei He and Wan Qingqing faced a pointed question about their own marriage, and Wan Qingqing took Wei He’s hand.

• The rebel forces withdrew after failing to overcome the Taian Army, and the Wang Family-led coalition became the main power in Xuanjing under the Taian Army’s influence.
• A Wanfei Palace envoy delivered the Cold Charm Art, completing Wei He’s Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal, and Wei He released Yue Xiaodie as promised.
• Wei He opened the complete Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal to senior members and cultivated its unified art, while the Wanqing Sect returned to the Thousand Bat Water Pavilion and recruited disciples.
• Zhen Qi and Wei Ying announced their marriage, and Wang Shaojun held a grand wedding attended by Wei He and Wan Qingqing.
• Wei He gave Wang Shaojun a medicine to help his wife withstand the physical gap between them, then Wang Shaojun asked when Wei He and Wan Qingqing would marry.
• Wan Qingqing blushed and took Wei He’s hand as he began to answer Wang Shaojun’s question.

Wei He accepted Wan Qingqing’s feelings and proposed that they get engaged, while the Lishan Sect suffered a series of attacks that left Yu Guangyan searching for the culprits. Wang Shaojun warned Wei He that someone might be targeting Taizhou’s martial forces, and Wei He began to suspect a connection to the Heavenly Seal Sect’s past.

• Wei He clasped Wan Qingqing’s hand at the Wang Family wedding banquet, and on the way back he proposed they get engaged; she agreed.
• Wei He carried Wan Qingqing to a cliff on Black House Mountain, ate an Ice Seal Flower, and left its mark on her brow as a token of love.
• Gray giants killed a Lishan Sect squad, and Yu Guangyan arrived afterward to find the bodies and rage at the repeated attacks.
• Yu Guangyan’s investigation recalled months of losses for the Lishan Sect, including five Bone Forging experts, while Yu Qingyan remained secluded after returning from an expedition.
• Wei He told Wang Shaojun about the Lishan Sect’s troubles, and Wang Shaojun said someone appeared to be targeting Taizhou’s martial forces as they had once targeted the Heavenly Seal Sect.

Wang Shaojun warned Wei He that Taizhou faced political upheaval and urged him to join the provincial government, while Wei He considered how to prepare for the future. After Wei Ying and Zhen Qi planned to search for their family in Yunzhou, Wei He learned that Old Man Nine Shadows had collapsed while treating the Qingqi County plague and visited him.

• Wang Shaojun told Wei He that an organization might be targeting the Wushi Sect and argued that coming wars made it safer to serve the provincial government.
• Wei He reflected on the difficulty of advancing in martial arts, then resumed training and progressed the Nine Felling of Heavenly Seal branches toward Three Blood.
• Wei Ying and Zhen Qi told Wei He they planned to travel to Yunzhou to search for his parents and Eldest Sister, and Wei He arranged for escorts.
• Half a month later, Wei He learned that Old Man Nine Shadows had fallen unconscious while treating the plague, which had killed more than half of Qingqi County's population.
• Wei He visited Old Man Nine Shadows after he awoke, and the old man asked permission to teach the Righteous Law Art before introducing his new disciple, Yuanbao.

Jiuying gave Wei He a plague treatment and a clue to the Whale Breath State before parting from him, while Wei He and his allies joined the Taian Army camp through the Wang Family. A government order then tasked the Wang Family with purging Taizhou’s small and medium-sized sects within a year, leaving Wei He and Wang Shaojun to consider the danger and political opportunity.

• Jiuying gave Wei He his plague treatment to preserve and share, asked him to help Yuanbao, and revealed that the Moonlit Whale Chart might contain the Whale Breath State.
• Wei He and the others chose to tie themselves to the Wang Family and join the Taian Army camp to avoid another Chijing Army pursuit.
• A middle-aged man met his elder sister from the Xie Family and explained that Xunri and Liuye would help impose reforms in Taizhou, prompting her to disown him over his plans to purge the sects.
• A messenger delivered the Prefectural Governor’s order for Wang Zhihe to purge all small and medium-sized sects within a year and eliminate or recruit martial groups as directed.
• Wang Shaojun told Wei He that the purge order explained earlier attacks on sects and that the Wang Family’s success could raise its standing, then asked for Wei He’s help.

Wei He and Wang Shaojun joined Seek Sun’s purge of Night Hawk Tower, where Zhu Chen displayed overwhelming strength and the tower’s forces were destroyed. Wei He helped kill the tower master’s children, and the purge left Xuanjing shaken.

• Wei He became engaged to Wan Qingqing in a small ceremony attended by Wang Shaojun, Wang Yehe, and a few friends.
• A thief known as the Meteor Bandit stole True Skill manuals, while the Incense Gathering Cult’s forces were suppressed.
• Zhu Chen led the first purge operation against Night Hawk Tower and killed its Organ Refining tower master with one saber slash.
• Wei He, Xie Yan, and Xiao Qingyu pursued fleeing Night Hawk Tower members and found three young relatives of the old tower master surrounded by soldiers.
• Wei He ordered his soldiers to shoot the three captives, and Night Hawk Tower’s remaining experts were killed as news of its destruction spread through Xuanjing.

As the Wang Family and Chijing Army crushed smaller factions, Wei He grew troubled by the innocent people killed during the purges. He encountered his former sect friend Yang Guo as her family faced ruin, and stopped to hear her plight.

• The Wang Family and Chijing Army eliminated gangs and clans, while Wei He collected martial arts manuals and completed twelve of his eighteen cloud patterns.
• After witnessing Zhu Chen order the deaths of innocent people, including children, Wei He disguised himself and went to a chess house to find peace.
• Wei He heard that the Zhang Family was being punished because Zhang Second Young Master had offended Wang Shuyi, and went to see the family’s estate.
• Wei He recognized Yang Guo at the Zhang Mansion but left without speaking to her, believing she had not shared the Heavenly Seal Sect’s hardships.
• Yang Guo caught up with Wei He and asked him for help because the Zhang Family’s adult men were imprisoned; Wei He stopped and asked what had happened.

Wei He agreed to ask Wang Shaojun to spare the Zhang Family’s chief culprit and offered poison to help capture the Meteor Bandits. After Wang Shuyi treated him as a dependent of the Wang Family, Wei He left considering how to make the Wanqing Sect less reliant on their influence.

• Yang Guo asked Wei He to intercede for the Zhang Family, and he agreed to speak on their behalf.
• Zhang Yunji urged Yang Guo to seduce Wei He so their family could gain his support, leaving her devastated.
• Wei He asked Wang Shaojun to spare the Zhang Family’s chief culprit, and Wang Shaojun agreed while asking him to provide a poison net for the Meteor Bandits.
• Wei He agreed to provide the poison net but said he could not join the operation.
• Wang Shuyi rebuked Wei He for relying on her family’s connections, and he left reflecting on the Wanqing Sect’s dependence on the Wang Family.

Wei He strengthened his martial arts while enforcing Zhu Chen’s order to capture martial masters, growing increasingly afraid that the Wanqing Sect would be discarded once it was no longer useful. As he returned to Thousand Bat Water Pavilion, he noticed a mysterious musician connected to the long-lost piece Ink Forest Snow Rhyme and ordered an investigation.

• Wei He returned the poison net to Wang Shaojun, then spent two months cultivating and searching for the Moonlit Whale Chart as his Golden Joy Five Elements Technique entered the Vigor stage.
• Zhu Chen ordered Wang Zhihe to send captured Vigor-stage martial masters and above to the Prefectural City, and Wang Zhihe reluctantly agreed.
• Wei He and Wan Qingqing captured a bald martial master, while Wei He explained that Zhu Chen demanded at least ten captives each month and that he feared the Wanqing Sect could be targeted next.
• Wei He led his men back toward Thousand Bat Water Pavilion and told a disciple to prepare for the sect’s people to move to Black House Mountain.
• Wei He noticed a woman in a Shuyun Workshop carriage and ordered his men to investigate her identity and background because she might be connected to Ink Forest Snow Rhyme.
• Wei He told a guard not to admit the young madam of the Zhang Family and ordered him to explain their past connection to Wan Qingqing.