Chapter Summaries

Tsi Qing escaped prison with the help of Wu Xin and a Buddhist funeral procession, then took refuge in a temple. Wu Xin risked being hunted to save her and reflected on his former life as a Fangshi and his family’s crimes.

• Wu Xin pulled Tsi Qing over the prison wall as guards raised the alarm, then hid them beneath a coffin in a funeral procession.
• The monks carried Tsi Qing and Wu Xin to a temple, where Wu Xin introduced himself as a man who had abandoned his former name.
• Wu Xin told the abbot that he would take Tsi Qing to another hiding place once she had recovered, despite the danger of being recognized and wanted.
• Wu Xin examined his old Bureau of Military Affairs token and remembered his time as a Fangshi, his hatred of Xia Fan, and his efforts to atone for his family’s harm.

Jinxia’s fleet attacked Tsushima Prefecture with its superior artillery as part of its campaign to thwart the Seven Stars and strengthen the Yama Queen’s position. The defenders’ counterattack failed, and Lord Kido decided to flee as the city’s western wall crumbled.

• Li warned Xia Fan that Tsushima Prefecture’s garrison had spotted the fleet, but the Jinxia ships were already in position to bombard the city.
• Ning Wanjun ordered the fleet to open fire, and its Electromagnetic Cannons tore through Tsushima Prefecture’s walls.
• A Qi Sense User tried to stop the fleet by raising a wall of water, but a dragon’s roar subdued the waves and the Baisha Ship’s weapons destroyed his boat.
• A guard told Lord Kido that the western wall was failing and the General Might of the Sea had fallen.
• Lord Kido resolved to escape Tsushima Prefecture rather than risk the Kido family’s lives.

After Jinxia’s forces defeated Tsushima’s defenders, the Jinxia Princess entered the city and demanded grain from its officials. She revealed that the grain was intended for Tsushima’s people, while Sainiya prepared Noah’s landing force to come ashore.

• Pang Ting and Sainiya watched Tsushima’s defeat, and Sainiya reflected on Jinxia’s welcome of the Elves and their growing role in its army.
• Sainiya ordered Noah’s landing force to prepare to dock at Yama Island.
• The Jinxia Princess arrived at Tsushima Prefecture’s government residence and said Jinxia was an enemy of the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs and an ally of Great Miko Wuyue.
• Egawa Keiichiro and the other ministers pledged loyalty to the Jinxia Princess after Lord Kido abandoned the city.
• The Jinxia Princess demanded a large grain supply, then told Egawa that it was meant for the people of Tsushima rather than the Jinxia Army.

The princess revealed her plan to provide Tsushima Prefecture with affordable grain and ordered its officials to seize the grain reserves of fleeing nobles. Egawa Keiichiro agreed to lead the effort and asked to become an official of Jinxia, leaving his future dependent on how well he performed.

• The princess proposed a Grain Equalization Plan, but Egawa Keiichiro warned that Tsushima Prefecture lacked enough grain to support it.
• The princess had Lord Kido brought in as a captive and explained that Jinxia forces had also caught fleeing nobles with substantial grain stores.
• The princess assigned Tsushima’s officials to locate and confiscate the nobles’ grain and property, warning Egawa that refusal would bring his family assets into the plan.
• Egawa asked to travel to Qi State with the princess and serve as a Jinxia official.
• The princess said Egawa could earn the opportunity by performing well, and he pledged to devote himself to her.

Wuyue Yao met Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun in Tsushima Prefecture to ask for help rescuing Tsi Qing, who may have escaped from prison. Xia Fan agreed to act and demanded that Wuyue become the new Yama Queen; she accepted, then revealed that Seven Stars and King Dong Sheng’s forces were converging on Moonshadow Temple in Sunrise Mountain.

• Tsi Hong and Wuyue Yao arrived in Tsushima Prefecture and were surprised to find the city lively despite its recent change of hands.
• Wuyue Yao told Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun that an escape from prison might mean Tsi Qing was free, and Xia Fan promised to handle the rescue personally.
• Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun told Wuyue Yao that Jinxia’s support required her to become the new Yama Queen, and Tsi Hong urged her to accept.
• Wuyue Yao agreed to become queen, knowing that her relationship with Queen Chiba could not return to what it had been.
• Wuyue Yao reported that Seven Stars’ forces had reached Moonshadow Temple in Sunrise Mountain and that King Dong Sheng had sent another force toward the same region.

Xia Fan learned that Seven Stars had occupied the ancient Moonshadow Temple and prepared to join the forces gathering around it. At Bumi Temple, the abbot faced a deadline to surrender Wu Xin and seemed ready to sacrifice him, until an unseen presence entered the grounds.

• Xia Fan suspected Moonshadow Temple was an ancient magical artifact and decided to pursue Seven Stars with Wuyue Yao’s forces.
• Wuyue Yao offered four or five thousand soldiers to coordinate with Jinxia’s army as the rival forces converged on the mountains.
• Yuanjiu Shidi’s envoy gave Bumi Temple one final shichen to hand over the missing medical monk or face an assault.
• The abbot learned Wu Xin was still hiding with the injured Green-faced Ghost and decided to have Wu Xin brought under control.
• The abbot noticed a distortion as an invisible presence entered the temple grounds.

Xia Fan infiltrated the temple to rescue Tsi Qing and fought off the monks before Wu Xin recognized him as the Great Miko’s companion. After confirming Tsi Qing was safe, Xia Fan and his petite companion escaped with her on a gigantic Dragon.

• The abbot attacked Xia Fan, but Xia Fan’s camouflage and resilience thwarted the blow.
• The abbot and five Dharma protectors used the Infinite Radiance Formation and Vajra Technique to attack Xia Fan, but he defeated them with his speed and shattered the barrier with Heavenly Thunder.
• Wu Xin stopped the abbot and identified Xia Fan as the Great Miko’s companion, then offered to help him rescue Tsi Qing.
• The abbot had Tsi Qing brought to Xia Fan, who confirmed she was conscious and prepared to leave before the city lord’s people arrived.
• Xia Fan whistled for his petite companion, and the three escaped on a gigantic Dragon that flew into the night.

Chi returned from rescuing the Green-faced Ghost and told Kong Xuanzi that Xia Fan had ridden on her tail, which she regarded as an intimate sign of trust and affection. Kong Xuanzi suggested she test Xia Fan’s feelings in human form, but Chi postponed it until after their mission against Seven Stars and sent him out of their shared room.

• The abbot let Yuanjiu Shidi's people search Bumi Temple and told Wu Xin to disguise himself, while Wu Xin denied that the departing stranger was an old friend.
• Chi returned to her quarters and told Kong Xuanzi that Xia Fan had held onto her tail during their flight back.
• Kong Xuanzi explained that letting someone approach a dragon’s body signified trust, but worried Xia Fan might not understand the Penglai tradition.
• Chi insisted Xia Fan should remember her earlier refusal to let him climb onto her, though she began to doubt whether he understood her invitation.
• Kong Xuanzi advised Chi to test Xia Fan’s feelings by getting close to him in human form, but Chi said she would wait until after dealing with Seven Stars and swept him out of the room.

Luo Qingqing dreamed of an Evil Spirit destroying a city and killing Xia Fan and their companions, then woke convinced the vision might be a warning about the coming conflict on Yama Island. She asked Thought Control whether humans could foresee the future.

• Luo Qingqing reached a white door in a dying wilderness and saw a burning city under attack by an enormous Evil Spirit.
• Luo Qingqing found Xia Fan and their companions gravely wounded, and watched the Evil Spirit tear Xia Fan apart as he urged her to run.
• Luo Qingqing woke from the vivid dream and recognized the city as resembling an island nation, connecting the vision to Jinxia First Division's journey to Yama Island and the looming war with Seven Stars.
• Luo Qingqing went to speak with Thought Control and asked whether humans could foresee the future.

Luo Qingqing learned from Thought Control that her visions might be omens sent by a conscious being called Heavenly Dao, then resolved to go to Yama Island to help Xia Fan and the others. She left at dawn carrying a Panoramic Recorder, determined to prevent the disaster she had foreseen.

• Thought Control explained that the future could be predicted when someone had enough information, and said Heavenly Dao might be a conscious existence that selected Listeners and sent them Immortal Art.
• Luo Qingqing told Thought Control that Xia Fan and the others would likely face enormous trouble, possibly involving an unusually powerful Chaos entity.
• Thought Control urged Luo Qingqing to notify Jinxia First Division and have Omega prepare, but Luo Qingqing insisted on going to Yama Island.
• Luo Qingqing summoned Dragon Scale and vowed to slay any enemy that threatened order and Xia Fan's safety.
• Thought Control gave Luo Qingqing a Panoramic Recorder to document what she encountered, and Luo Qingqing left as dawn broke.

The Kaiyang Envoy led his companions to Moonshadow Temple to investigate records claiming the ruined temple was an immortal artifact that could lead anywhere. After Sentinel Dai detected a sealed space underground, the search ended in confusion when three days of digging revealed nothing.

• The Kaiyang Envoy rebuked his companions for mocking the local legends as the guide led them to Moonshadow Temple.
• At the temple, the Kaiyang Envoy explained that the temple itself was believed to be an immortal artifact and ordered Sentinel Dai to investigate.
• Sentinel Dai used his Kun Technique and detected an isolated space beneath the temple that his probe could not penetrate.
• The Kaiyang Envoy ordered General Blade to send a hundred soldiers to dig down and five hundred soldiers each to occupy the northern and southern peaks.
• After three days, the shafts passed deeper than the detected space but contained only soil and broken stones.

The Kaiyang Envoy searched Moonshadow Temple for the hidden immortal artifact after digging beneath it revealed nothing. He investigated a rumor about birds behaving strangely during storms and ended the chapter by making Dai the Sentinel stop sideways in midair beside a platform.

• The Kaiyang Envoy ordered two more holes dug and questioned a local guide about Moonshadow Temple and the vanished village.
• The guide described a rumor that birds clung sideways to temple pillars during thunderstorms and later appeared dead and flattened.
• The Kaiyang Envoy ordered the sorcerers back to the temple by midnight and had a tall wooden platform built.
• The Kaiyang Envoy climbed the platform with Dai the Sentinel and stirred up the surrounding birds and animals.
• The Kaiyang Envoy bound Dai the Sentinel with sorcery and shoved him from the platform, where Dai stopped in midair against its side.

The Kaiyang Envoy and Dai Sentinel discovered the true Moonshadow Temple in a hidden domain beneath the ordinary ground and opened its gate by feeding it qi from a torture ritual. The Kaiyang Envoy entered and found a vast, empty void beyond the stairs, convinced that the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs had found an Immortal Artifact.

• Dai Sentinel saw a new temple beneath the ground, and the Kaiyang Envoy followed him into the hidden domain by leaning over the platform.
• The Kaiyang Envoy explained that the true Moonshadow Temple appeared when someone stood between the temple and the moon, and warned that anyone trapped inside after moonset could be crushed by the earth.
• The Kaiyang Envoy ordered Dai Sentinel to bring Qi Sense Users as a medicinal catalyst after the temple gate resisted their attempts to open it.
• The Kaiyang Envoy tormented more than twenty bound Qi Sense Users until purple qi filled the gate's patterns, then pushed the gate open.
• The Kaiyang Envoy entered the temple and found only a staircase suspended in endless darkness, then declared that the Seven Stars Bureau of Military Affairs had obtained an Immortal Artifact.

The Kaiyang Envoy learned how Moonshadow Temple’s Immortal Artifact worked and recognized its potential to transport an army across vast distances. As the Seven Stars prepared to use it, an army of the King Dong Sheng Alliance gathered nearby, and the envoy decided to confront it before the Jinxia Army arrived.

• The Kaiyang Envoy explained that the Seven Stars planned to activate Moonshadow Temple’s Immortal Artifact by using qi and souls from the An Clan and Yao.
• After three days of research, the Seven Stars reported that people could enter Moonshadow Temple only between the hour before dawn and daybreak, and that the temple remained safe inside for twelve double-hours.
• Ang Ziqi successfully used the artifact to send a cage of monkeys near the temple, and the report described how greater distances required more qi while an opened passage could carry an entire army.
• The Kaiyang Envoy considered the artifact’s military potential and regretted that it could not take him to King Yong’s true mausoleum without a detailed description of the destination.
• A Fangshi reported that more than thirty thousand troops from the King Dong Sheng Alliance had gathered north of the mountain, while the Jinxia Army was two days away.
• The Kaiyang Envoy decided to meet King Dong Sheng’s forces before the Jinxia Army arrived.

King Dong Sheng's forces surrounded the Seven Stars Army at Sunrise Mountain while Anshi Ming prepared Great Desolation Evil Night to trap them. The plan faltered when surprise attacks broke out across the feudal lords' camps, and a messenger reported that monsters were among the enemy.

• Dong Sheng Xiangri discussed the encirclement with Anshi Ming and Mage Zhang, who explained how the feudal lords' scattered forces had concealed their movements.
• Anshi Ming planted eight Soul-Calming Stakes and prepared to cast Great Desolation Evil Night at dusk.
• Watchtower horns sounded as the Seven Stars Army began an attack, but Dong Sheng Xiangri ordered Anshi Ming to continue the spell.
• A messenger reported that nearby feudal lords' forces had not answered their signals and that fires were burning in the camps of Lord Jingtian and Lord Sai.
• Another messenger requested reinforcements and warned Dong Sheng Xiangri that monsters were fighting among the enemy.

Monster beasts attacked King Dong Sheng’s main camp, but Marshal Domoto and Mind's-Eye One-Blade helped the Imperial Guard drive them back. The beasts then halted to make way for Gongcang Shunzi and an unknown man in an immaculate azure robe.

• King Dong Sheng asked Master Zhang what to do as retreating soldiers flooded the main camp, and Master Zhang urged him to hold the line.
• Deformed, multi-legged beasts charged the Imperial Guard, killing soldiers and sweeping at them with weapons.
• Marshal Domoto used his Six Paths Avatar to stop a beast, tear off its arms, and impale it with its own lance.
• Mind's-Eye One-Blade cut down two charging beasts with his demon blade, Shiranui, helping restore the army’s morale.
• A whistle made the beasts retreat, and Mind's-Eye One-Blade wondered why Gongcang Shunzi had not appeared.
• The beasts formed two columns to make way as Gongcang Shunzi arrived beside an unknown man dressed in an immaculate azure robe.

Luo Yunzheng, head of the Feng State Bureau of Military Affairs and Mizar of the Seven Stars, defeated Dong Sheng’s forces with overwhelming power. He left Mind’s-Eye One-Blade stunned after shattering the swordsman’s ultimate attack and revealing his identity.

• King Dong Sheng learned that Hirota and hundreds of soldiers had been killed, and his messenger identified the man in blue as the monster who had defeated them.
• Luo Yunzheng revealed Gongcang Shunzi’s mangled corpse and dismissed Dōmoto Yūjirō’s demand to identify himself.
• Dōmoto attacked Luo with his six Phantoms, but Luo crushed him beneath an invisible force until he became a pool of flesh and blood.
• Mind’s-Eye One-Blade attacked Luo with Blossoms in Disarray, breaking through his transparent shields and striking him in the forehead.
• Luo’s body shattered Mind’s-Eye One-Blade’s demon sword, and Luo introduced himself as the head of the Feng State Bureau of Military Affairs and Mizar of the Seven Stars.

Luo Yunzheng routed Dong Sheng’s army, killed King Dong Sheng, and discovered that Sorcerer Zhang was linked to the Bureau of Military Affairs before Zhang blew himself up with Zhentian Thunder. Although Luo Yunzheng ordered the ritual destroyed, strange dark clouds remained overhead, leaving the Great Desolation Evil Night suspended between arrival and retreat.

• Luo Yunzheng’s advance sent Dong Sheng’s soldiers fleeing, and he beheaded King Dong Sheng and the surrounding guards.
• Luo Yunzheng confronted Sorcerer Zhang and suspected that he was connected to the Bureau of Military Affairs.
• Sorcerer Zhang’s Zhentian Thunder exploded, killing him, but Luo Yunzheng emerged unharmed and recovered his damaged brass mask.
• Luo Yunzheng ordered his forces to destroy the altar and wooden stakes, pursue the An Family, and bring surrendered prisoners up the mountain.
• Luo Yunzheng learned that dark clouds still gathered after the ritual was destroyed, signaling a strange, incomplete Great Desolation Evil Night.

Luo Yunzheng examined the dead Anshi Ming and suspected a hidden force was active on Sunrise Mountain, but ordered the Seven Stars to continue their mission to seize the immortal artifact. Elsewhere, Fei Nian revealed that he had guided the destruction of the Dong Sheng Army and urged Ning Qianshi to trust him as they sought to awaken the Tianshu Envoy.

• Luo Yunzheng learned that Azure Blade had killed Anshi Ming, the An Clan head and Dong Sheng Kingdom's State Preceptor.
• Luo Yunzheng noticed Anshi Ming's terror and wondered whether a third party was hiding on Sunrise Mountain.
• Luo Yunzheng ordered Sentinel Dai to return to the temple and declared that the Seven Stars would seize the immortal artifact.
• Ning Qianshi met Fei Nian in a thatched hut after Fei Nian said the Dong Sheng Army was finished.
• Fei Nian reminded Ning Qianshi that he had come seeking help to awaken the Tianshu Envoy and argued that the Seven Stars had caused her suffering.

Ning Qianshi recalled accepting King Yong’s offer to preserve the Tianshu Envoy’s soul and help gather qi for a plan at Sunrise Mountain. As the Jinxia Army entered the region, Xia Fan’s group prepared for battle, then saw a blue pillar of light rise from the mountain.

• Ning Qianshi remembered how Fei Nian used soul arts to merge the Tianshu Envoy’s soul with him, leaving him dependent on Chaos and facing death within a year or two unless he entered the Heavenly Court.
• Ning Qianshi questioned Fei Nian about Moonshadow Temple, and Fei Nian said the Jinxia Army’s expedition was not part of his plan and hinted that he intended to shatter the world’s cycle and grant true deliverance.
• The Jinxia Army entered the Sunrise Mountain region, and Xia Fan told Wuyue Yao and Ning Wanjun about the Dong Sheng Army’s defeat and the powerful blue-clad Fangshi who had routed its vanguard.
• Xia Fan warned the troops not to face the Kaiyang Envoy alone and ordered them to prepare fortifications near Moonshadow Temple because the dark clouds might signal the Great Desolation Evil Night.
• Shanhui rushed into the command tent to report a change on the mountain, and Xia Fan saw a pale blue pillar of light rising from a ravine.