Chapter Summaries

Qin Yang left Han Anming’s interrogation, but Zhang Weiyin attacked him and seized his token, prompting Han Anming to recognize it as an imperial command token and move against Zhang. The token sent a pillar of light into the heavens, while Qin Yang dramatically claimed Zhang had destroyed his Spirit Platform and demanded to die.

• Han Anming concluded Qin Yang knew nothing useful about the Thief Sect and allowed him to leave the dungeon.
• Zhang Weiyin confronted Qin Yang outside the prefectural office, attacked him, seized his token, and had him shackled and dragged toward the dungeon.
• Han Anming recognized Qin Yang’s token as one personally bestowed by the Great Emperor and realized the consequences of Zhang’s actions.
• Han Anming accused Zhang Weiyin of numerous crimes and tried to arrest him, but the token released a pillar of light into the heavens.
• Qin Yang claimed Zhang had destroyed his Forty-Fifth Level Spirit Platform and attempted to ram his head into a pillar.

Qin Yang’s Flying Luan Token brought Purple Phoenix and Azure Phoenix to the government office, where they punished Zhang Weiyin and rescued Qin Yang. After he woke, Azure Phoenix pressed him for the identity and whereabouts of the woman who had given him the token.

• Han Anming recognized Qin Yang’s token and realized it had been issued by the Great Emperor Princess.
• Purple Phoenix and Azure Phoenix arrived, paid respects to the token, and used a silver mirror to review what had happened.
• Azure Phoenix bound Zhang Weiyin in her fire and declared his attack on Qin Yang a capital crime.
• Azure Phoenix healed Qin Yang, carried him away with the token, and left Han Anming to flee the government office.
• The Ru Yang Marquis arrived with eight hundred soldiers, learned the Patrol Envoys had rescued Qin Yang, and found Zhang Weiyin burning among the ruins.
• Qin Yang woke in a room and thanked Azure Phoenix, who restrained him and asked who gave him the Flying Luan Token and where she was now.

Qin Yang told Qingluan how he had rescued Wedding Dress and used her Flying Luan Token to escape the Heavenly Order Guard, then returned safely to Qian Yu Province. After Han Anming was ordered to apologize and search for Wedding Dress, Qin Yang reunited with Le Qi Yi and Ru Yang Marquis, who began explaining the Great Emperor Princess’s history.

• Qingluan reassured Qin Yang that the Patrol Envoys would protect him and demand an explanation from the Heavenly Order Guard.
• Han Anming reported the incident to his master, who ordered him to publicize Zhang Weiyin’s crimes, search for Wedding Dress beyond the Divine Dynasty, and give Qin Yang Snowy Region Royal Jelly as an apology.
• Xu Wencheng intercepted Qin Yang, sought reassurance that he would not be blamed for the dispute, and celebrated discovering Qin Yang’s connection to the Great Emperor Princess.
• Le Qi Yi brought Qin Yang back to the Secluded Residence, where Ru Yang Marquis explained that he had trusted the Patrol Envoys to keep Qin Yang safe.
• Qin Yang recounted his rescue of Wedding Dress and asked Ru Yang Marquis what had happened to the Great Emperor Princess and why she had disappeared.

Ru Yang Marquis explained that the Flying Luan Token tied Qin Yang to Great Emperor Princess and made him a prize in the divine dynasty’s looming power struggle. Qin Yang set out for Five Elements Mountain under a false identity, while Azure Phoenix learned he had vanished and realized he had not actually left the dynasty.

• Ru Yang Marquis told Qin Yang how Great Emperor Princess rose to power, disappeared with her wedding escort, and left behind loyal followers who still searched for her.
• Ru Yang Marquis warned Qin Yang that the Flying Luan Token could let him command the old Flying Luan Three Guards, making him a dangerous target while Great Emperor Princess remained missing and the Great Emperor weakened.
• Qin Yang claimed he was leaving to find Great Emperor Princess, then secretly sent a disguised clone south while his true body slipped east and traveled toward Five Elements Mountain.
• After months of hard travel, Qin Yang adopted the name Ji Wudao and arrived in the eastern region of the Great Ying Divine Dynasty to seek admission to Five Elements Mountain.
• Ru Yang Marquis told Xu Wencheng that Qin Yang had returned to the South Barbarian Land, but Azure Phoenix confronted him and revealed that Qin Yang’s clone had misled her followers before vanishing underground.

Qin Yang traveled toward Five Elements Mountain as Ji Wudao, where he met the unlucky Jia Fude and uncovered evidence that white-robed cultivators were harming ordinary villagers. After killing two of them, he fled when Jia Fude appeared, while their accomplices used a silver mirror to investigate and suffered a mysterious backlash.

• Qin Yang left the Great Ying Divine Dynasty’s political turmoil behind and traveled toward Five Elements Mountain while tempering his body as Ji Wudao.
• Jia Fude avenged villagers by pursuing a white-robed Daoist, whose death freed an evil skull that Qin Yang destroyed before surviving a collapsing cliff and collecting a heavy iron ore boulder.
• Qin Yang tried to escape Jia Fude, then investigated funerals in a village and learned from a dead woman’s memories that organized white-robed cultivators had been harming villagers and pregnant women.
• Two white-robed cultivators warned Qin Yang away from the area, but he killed them after learning they belonged to the group he sought, then fled when Jia Fude approached.
• The white-robed cultivators’ accomplices reviewed the deaths with a silver mirror, which continued tracing events into the past and trapped one man until his companion severed his arm.

Qin Yang redirected Jia Fude toward the White Robe Daoist Temple, where Jia Fude’s presence and a chain of accidents devastated the temple while an unborn infant transformed into a strange child. As Qin Yang continued toward Five Elements Mountain, he encountered that child riding a Demon Wolf.

• The white-robed cultivators blamed Qin Yang for their dead comrades and ordered an attack, while Qin Yang persuaded Jia Fude to seek out the White Robe Daoist Temple and stop following him.
• Jia Fude found the temple and waited outside as its master and chief alchemist died in separate accidents, while an iron-blue infant survived beneath the ashes and absorbed resentment and Spirit Incense.
• The infant emerged from the ashes, grew rapidly, and traveled with a Demon Wolf, while Jia Fude began pursuing people connected to the temple and Qin Yang’s rumors drew investigators toward its crimes.
• Qin Yang learned that the Heavenly Order Guard was investigating the killings and continued toward Five Elements Mountain in Yin Tai Province.
• Qin Yang spotted a five- or six-year-old child riding a Demon Wolf and teased the child about spying on him.

Qin Yang encountered a Human Demon child in Yin Tai Province, survived the child’s fear-inducing attack, and chose not to kill him after learning he had not hunted humans. He continued to Five Elements Mountain and presented a letter for Senior Shan Qian, whose disciple let him enter.

• The little brat used a strange power to overwhelm Qin Yang’s mind, but Qin Yang recovered, broke the Demon Wolf’s face with a punch, and caught the child.
• Qin Yang discovered the little brat was a Human Demon with no divine soul, then collected a wisp of his resentment aura and realized someone had created him through the deaths of many infants.
• Qin Yang warned the little brat through the Demon Wolf not to hunt humans, then left without pursuing him; the child escaped by hiding inside the wolf and decided to avoid Qin Yang and remain in Gao Qi Province.
• Qin Yang traveled toward Five Elements Mountain with Hua Luo, learned that its millennial ceremony drew body refiners to seek admission, and told Hua Luo he had come to visit relatives instead.
• At Five Elements Mountain’s gate, Qin Yang presented a letter addressed to Old Ghost Shan Qian, and a red-haired disciple recognized its significance and invited him inside.

Qin Yang endured Shan Qian’s test, joined Five Elements Mountain as his final disciple, and began studying the Five Body Treasure Scripture. While he remained hidden, Duke Xian of State and Mu Ruxin framed him as the culprit behind a series of crimes, and Qin Yang discovered he had become a wanted man blamed for trying to save the Great Emperor Princess.

• Qin Yang reached Five Elements Mountain, withstood Shan Qian’s crushing pressure, and was judged exceptionally suited to the Five Body Treasure Scripture.
• Shan Qian recognized Qin Yang’s Ghost God Token, accepted him as his final disciple, and concluded he was likely the Young Master of the Li Tribe.
• Qin Yang settled at Five Elements Mountain and studied the Five Body Treasure Scripture while the Human Demon moved on from a depleted battlefield.
• Mu Ruxin persuaded Duke Xian of State to divert suspicion by spreading rumors that Qin Yang had committed the crimes to extend the Great Emperor Princess’s life.
• Qin Yang found his own wanted notice, publicly denounced his alleged crimes, and learned that rumors had turned him into a notorious villain romantically devoted to the Great Emperor Princess.
• Qin Yang returned to Five Elements Mountain and ordered his subordinates to investigate who had framed him and spread the rumors.

After learning that Duke Xian of State had likely framed him and that the Yin Tai Province Governor was involved, Qin Yang left Five Elements Mountain to enlist a Human Demon in exposing their scheme. He persuaded the wary youth to pursue revenge without indiscriminate killing, while Qin Yang planned to go after Duke Xian of State himself.

• Qin Yang learned from Meng Yi that Duke Xian of State likely framed him and that Zhang Zhengyi was staying at the Yellow Springs Demon Sect.
• Qin Yang left Five Elements Mountain and traced Duke Xian of State’s local connections to the Yin Tai Province Governor.
• Qin Yang followed a compass guided by vengeful qi to a cemetery in Gaoqi Province, where he found the Human Demon youth and a giant Demon Wolf.
• Qin Yang trapped the youth with the Starfall Array Disk and convinced him that the Yin Tai Province Governor and Duke Xian of State were enemies they shared.
• The youth agreed to follow Qin Yang’s arrangements, and Qin Yang planned to use him to expose the plot while he went to kill Duke Xian of State.

Qin Yang guided the little Human Demon through Gao Qi Province as he hunted down the people responsible for the infants’ deaths, then led him toward the Yin Tai Province Governor. After the Human Demon killed Prefect Wu, Heavenly Order Guard investigator Han Anming reconstructed the murder and realized the killer was a Human Demon claiming to uphold justice on Heaven’s behalf.

• Qin Yang took the little Human Demon to the ruins of the White Robe Daoist Temple, where the Human Demon followed his resentment to locate his targets and learned to describe his vengeance as upholding justice on Heaven’s behalf.
• The little Human Demon killed seven former White Robe Daoist Temple subordinates in a city, then spent three months killing more than a thousand accomplices while growing stronger and weakening his obsession.
• Sun Mao learned that the people on his list were being killed and that Prefect Wu had been murdered, so he ordered his aides to stay in the Governor’s Residence and secretly escaped through a passage using a ceramic Doppelganger in his place.
• Han Anming used a silver mirror to replay Prefect Wu’s murder and saw the little Human Demon terrify the prefect before turning him to ash.
• Han Anming regretted accepting the assignment when he read the little Human Demon’s claim that he had come to uphold justice on Heaven’s behalf.

Qin Yang guided the Little Human Demon to kill Yin Tai Province Governor Sun Mao and pressured Han Anming to let the revenge proceed, exposing a conspiracy tied to Duke Xian of State. After the Heavenly Order Guard arrested Sun Mao’s accomplices, Qin Yang prepared the Little Human Demon to attack them during their escort to Li Capital.

• Han Anming ordered the Heavenly Order Guard to investigate Prefect Wu’s associates and reported the Human Demon, while Qin Yang coached the Little Human Demon to pursue revenge publicly and selectively.
• The Little Human Demon confronted Sun Mao outside the provincial capital, and Qin Yang revealed that he had come to kill him as a Human Demon acting on Heaven’s behalf.
• Sun Mao used his provincial seal to summon the Divine Dynasty’s power, but the Little Human Demon overwhelmed his consciousness and killed him as Qin Yang stopped Han Anming from intervening.
• Qin Yang persuaded Han Anming that rescuing Sun Mao would make the Heavenly Order Guard appear complicit, and Han Anming allowed the Human Demon and Ji Wudao to leave.
• Han Anming arrested Sun Mao’s associates, and a porcelain puppet revealed that Duke Xian of State had masterminded the crimes and left evidence behind.
• As the Heavenly Order Guard escorted the prisoners toward Li Capital, Qin Yang told the Little Human Demon to attack them and promised to handle the remaining enemies there himself.

Qin Yang trapped Han Anming’s flying boat in a formation, then kept him occupied with wine while the little Human Demon infiltrated the cabin and killed every prisoner. Han Anming realized Qin Yang had created the opening but let him go, and Qin Yang warned the little Human Demon to stay far away from Han in the future.

• Qin Yang activated a formation around Han Anming’s flying boat, broke its protective barrier, and pretended the Heavenly Order Guard had blundered into his array.
• Qin Yang invited Han Anming to drink and persuaded him to reconcile, keeping him on the deck while the little Human Demon slipped into the cabin.
• The little Human Demon knocked out the guards and killed all the prisoners being transported on the flying boat.
• Han Anming discovered the dead prisoners and realized Qin Yang had helped the little Human Demon, but he decided to report the deaths truthfully and let Qin Yang go.
• Qin Yang explained to the little Human Demon that Han Anming had deliberately let the matter slide and warned him to avoid Han in the future.

Qin Yang left the little Human Demon in the Black Forest Sea, then entered Li Capital disguised as Ji Wudao to accuse Duke Xian of State. He struck the Ministry of Justice’s court drum eight times with Lowly Tian Xiao at his side, leaving the city braced for the consequences.

• Qin Yang left the little Human Demon in a dangerous part of the Black Forest Sea under the Demon Wolf’s protection, then returned to the Great Ying Divine Dynasty’s territory.
• Han Anming’s master told him that the Heavenly Order Guard would not pursue Qin Yang or the Human Demon, and Han Anming believed Qin Yang had already left the Divine Dynasty.
• Qin Yang entered Li Capital using his Five Elements Mountain token and delivered Chang Qiuyu’s letter to Lowly Tian Xiao at Hiding Fragrance Pavilion.
• Lowly Tian Xiao insisted on accompanying Qin Yang after learning he planned to accuse Duke Xian of State, despite Qin Yang warning him about the danger.
• Qin Yang struck the Ministry of Justice’s drum eight times and publicly accused Duke Xian of State of atrocities that had created the Human Demon.
• Qin Yang praised Lowly Tian Xiao for standing by him, while the accusation threatened to force Li Capital’s authorities to confront Duke Xian’s crimes.

After accusing Duke Xian of State at the Ministry of Justice, Qin Yang survived an ambush by masked dead men and a powerful Body Refiner, then used a Black Ball to erase the evidence. While recovering, he discovered that the person who issued the assassination mission was not one of Duke Xian of State’s men.

• Qin Yang struck the Heaven-Shaking Drum and submitted a detailed indictment accusing Duke Xian of State, prompting the Ministry of Justice to accept the case and refer it for a Three Departments Joint Trial.
• After Qin Yang left the Ministry of Justice, masked attackers trapped him in a sealed space and used formations, artifacts, and chains to suppress him.
• Qin Yang defeated the attackers, including a peak Divine Gate Body Refiner, with the Radiant Sun Treasure Bell, then killed the formation cultivator as the space collapsed.
• Lowly Tian Xiao arrived, used a Black Ball to erase the traces, and took Qin Yang away after accusing the Ministry of Justice of failing to protect him.
• While recovering at the brothel, Qin Yang examined Skill Books taken from the dead men and learned that the mission to kill Ji Wudao had been issued by someone who was not Duke Xian of State’s subordinate.

Qin Yang uncovered that Ye Jianzhong had arranged the ambush at the Ministry of Justice’s gates while making it look like Duke Xian of State’s doing, then studied the attackers’ techniques and copied a book for Lowly Tian Xiao. As Qin Yang hid on Auspicious Street, Han Anming investigated the attack and learned that Hai Guanlan had also vanished and his soul lamp had gone out.

• Qin Yang concluded that Ye Jianzhong’s deathsworn had attacked him to frame Duke Xian of State and reviewed the Skill Books and Ministry of Justice treasures recovered from the corpses.
• Qin Yang copied and annotated a book titled Eighteen Famous Instruments, signed it Zhang Zhengyi, and gave it to Lowly Tian Xiao.
• Lowly Tian Xiao assured Qin Yang that Auspicious Street was safe and teased him about the girls there before leaving with the book.
• Qin Yang stayed hidden on Auspicious Street while the ambush outside the Ministry of Justice provoked an investigation.
• Han Anming examined the scene and found that the deathsworn’s magical treasures belonged to the Ministry of Justice, making the evidence appear to implicate Ye Jianzhong.
• Han Anming learned that Hai Guanlan, a City Guard Army captain recommended by Duke Xian of State, had disappeared and that his soul lamp had gone out.

Ye Jianzhong turned Hai Guanlan’s death into a way to draw the Illusory Sea Clan against Duke Xian of State, while Qin Yang denied killing Guan Lan and warned that he might be caught in a plot. A disguised Illusory Sea Clan young master investigated Qin Yang, concluded that he was likely telling the truth, and suspected someone had used Guan Lan and his clan.

• Han Anming inspected the ambush scene, suspected Duke Xian of State’s involvement, and reported the evidence without arresting anyone from the Ministry of Justice.
• Ye Jianzhong rejected his original plan and ordered word of Hai Guanlan’s death to reach the Illusory Sea Clan, hoping it would turn against Duke Xian of State.
• Lowly Tian Xiao warned Qin Yang that the Illusory Sea Clan might target him, and Qin Yang denied ever meeting or killing Hai Guanlan.
• After leaving Hiding Fragrance Pavilion, Lowly Tian Xiao vanished from his room, while a disguised young master departed Auspicious Street in a Jade Carriage.
• The young master told his maid that Qin Yang’s depleted vital blood and surprised reaction seemed genuine, and suspected someone had killed Hai Guanlan and was trying to manipulate the Illusory Sea Clan.

Qin Yang learned that Ye Jianzhong was secretly helping him bring down Duke Xian of State, while the Illusory Sea Clan investigated Hai Guanlan’s death and used illusion arts to approach him. Realizing he could become Ye Jianzhong’s next target, Qin Yang began planning how to warn Duke Xian of State that Ye Jianzhong had staged the ambush.

• An Illusory Sea Clan illusionist questioned the gate knocker at Duke Xian of State Residence and confirmed that Duke Xian of State had sent Hai Guanlan on an unknown errand.
• Duke Xian of State and his advisers searched for the person plotting against him, while Mu Ruxin urged him to placate Ye Jianzhong and the Illusory Sea Clan.
• Ye Jianzhong read Duke Xian of State’s apologetic letter, dismissed it, and summoned Qin Yang to revise his complaint before the Three Departments Joint Trial.
• Qin Yang realized Ye Jianzhong had staged the ambush to conceal his role in bringing down Duke Xian of State and had made Qin Yang his vanguard.
• Lowly Tian Xiao and Qin Yang discovered that an Illusory Sea Clan member had visited under illusion, prompting Qin Yang to reconsider his plans and identities.
• Qin Yang decided to find a way to convince Duke Xian of State that Ye Jianzhong had arranged the earlier ambush.

Qin Yang’s ruse with Hai Guanlan’s remains convinced Duke Xian of State that Ye Jianzhong had betrayed him, setting the two powerful men against each other. As their conflict stalled, Mu Ruxin was caught between them and ended up at Hiding Fragrance Pavilion, where Qin Yang was still waiting for the Three Departments Joint Trial.

• Qin Yang sent a caravan toward Five Elements Mountain carrying a letter and a Spirit Vein, while his actor incarnation used Hai Guanlan’s appearance to deliver a warning to Duke Xian of State before the city wall’s runes destroyed it.
• Duke Xian of State believed Hai Guanlan’s warning and accused Ye Jianzhong of orchestrating the ambush and framing him; Ye Jianzhong concluded that Duke Xian of State had uncovered his scheme and began reconsidering his plans.
• Qin Yang learned that the Three Departments Joint Trial had been delayed by the dispute, then settled in to watch the powerful factions fight while he stayed on Auspicious Street.
• Duke Xian of State’s guards removed informants from his residence, and Mu Ruxin’s attempt to contact Ye Jianzhong’s network led Ye Jianzhong to summon her and send her to investigate Hai Guanlan’s death.
• Duke Xian of State secretly recruited Mu Ruxin as a double agent, but she later found herself sold to Auspicious Street; she relayed Ye Jianzhong’s assignment, and Duke Xian of State dismissed it as a deception.
• Three months later, Qin Yang had earned the nicknames “Perfect Tonic Virgin Chicken” and “Guiding the Lost”; Mu Ruxin arrived at Hiding Fragrance Pavilion as a Pure Courtesan.

Qin Yang remained trapped in Li Capital while the political case stalled, and Ruxin’s despair over her past and present drove her into cultivation deviation. After Qin Yang comforted her and urged her to hold on to hope, Ruxin finally let herself cry.

• Qin Yang quit the mahjong game and reflected on how Duke Xian of State and Ye Jianzhong’s conflict had delayed his trial for months.
• Ruxin brooded over her life as a double agent and her lack of freedom, while Ting Xue spoke hopefully about the future.
• Ruxin’s emotions spiraled out of control, causing her True Essence to rage and sending her into deviation.
• Lowly Tian Xiao calmed Ruxin’s True Essence, and after she awoke, she asked Ting Xue to summon Qin Yang and Lowly Tian Xiao.
• Qin Yang visited Ruxin, stopped her from revealing her past, and urged her to hold on to hope before hurriedly leaving.
• Ruxin looked in the mirror and finally wept openly.

Ruxin deceived her handlers to protect Ji Wudao, while Illusory Sea Setsuna investigated Hai Guanlan’s death and retrieved his remains. Months later, Setsuna revealed himself to Qin Yang at Hiding Fragrance Pavilion and said he planned to settle matters with Ye Jianzhong and Duke Xian of State.

• Ruxin told agents from Ye Jianzhong and Duke Xian of State that Ji Wudao had killed the dead soldiers and never met Hai Guanlan, hiding what she knew to keep Ji out of their conflict.
• Illusory Sea Setsuna collected Hai Guanlan’s Glass Bone from Duke Xian of State Residence and suspected Ye Jianzhong had arranged Guanlan’s death to draw on Illusory Sea’s power.
• Setsuna found a Mirage Dragon Pearl protecting the Ministry of Justice and laughed that Ye Jianzhong’s precautions would not stop Illusory Sea.
• Qin Yang noticed that a redeemed Pure Courtesan was an illusion and realized the handsome guest he had seen at Hiding Fragrance Pavilion was likely from Illusory Sea.
• Illusory Sea Setsuna introduced himself to Qin Yang, said he had found what he came for, and announced he would deal with Ye Jianzhong and Duke Xian of State.