Chapter Summaries

Li Qingjun reflected on Li Wuxian’s reincarnation and the remarkable state of Great Qian before reaching Dragon Abyss City. After spotting a demon-tainted horse racing through the sky, she reunited with Qin Yi and chose to avoid Hidden Dragon Temple for now.

• Li Duanxuan told Li Qingjun that Li Wuxian was herself in this life, regardless of what memories she might later recover.
• On her way to Dragon Abyss City, Li Qingjun considered Li Wuxian’s achievements and felt her own old desire for mortal accomplishments return.
• Near the city, Li Qingjun spotted a demon-tainted horse flash across the sky and failed to catch it.
• Li Qingjun met Qin Yi on a street and asked him not to go to Hidden Dragon Temple so they could observe from a distance.
• Qin Yi led Li Qingjun into a tavern and called out to the sleeping fat man behind the counter.

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun learned from Humble Origins that Li Wuxian had united much of the realm by opposing immortal sect interference. Humble Origins described the northwest as the final obstacle to unification, and the chapter left Qin Yi and Li Qingjun stunned by the meaning of Li Wuxian’s name and cause.

• Humble Origins teased Qin Yi about the rumor that he was the Demon Empress and discussed his slow cultivation progress.
• Qin Yi promised to keep an eye out for the Innate Thunder Pool so Humble Origins could receive a bloodline-cleansing opportunity.
• Humble Origins told Qin Yi and Li Qingjun that the Liang King’s northwest forces posed the final major military challenge to Da Qian.
• Humble Origins explained that Li Wuxian had rallied mortal powers with her demand that immortal sects stay out of the mortal world.
• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun realized the significance of Li Wuxian’s name as Humble Origins wondered who had given it to her.

Humble Origins explained to Qin Yi and Li Qingjun how national fortune and karmic backlash had contributed to Great Joy Temple’s destruction. He warned that the Witch God Sect’s growing control over Wu Xian was evident in its guards, a new altar, and her planned expedition, and Qin Yi and Li Qingjun rushed to the military camp after learning she would lead the army herself.

• Humble Origins explained that Great Joy Temple’s fall stemmed from its entanglement with Da Qian Kingdom’s fate and fortune, and that Taiyi Sect would risk its own destruction by openly assassinating Wu Xian.
• Humble Origins warned Qin Yi and Li Qingjun that the Witch God Sect’s powerful guards might be surveilling Wu Xian and that she could be losing control of herself.
• Humble Origins reported that an altar bearing the marks of the Witch God Sect’s Tribal Witchcraft was being built north of the city, and that Wu Xian had announced an Imperial Expedition to the northwest.
• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun overheard officials say Wu Xian would swear an oath before the army and personally lead the expedition, while the National Teacher had not stopped her.
• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun left the tavern and raced to the military camp.

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun watched Li Wuxian lead her army toward the decisive war against Western Liang and saw how much she had grown into a formidable ruler. They discovered that she was privately cooperating with the Witch God Sect while hiding her true intentions behind a childish smile.

• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun secretly watched Li Wuxian deliver a rousing oath, declare that she feared no immortals or gods, and announce her personal expedition against Western Liang.
• Li Wuxian set out with the central army as nearly four hundred thousand troops prepared for the decisive campaign, while Qin Yi and Li Qingjun followed unseen.
• Qin Yi spotted a peak Tengyun Witch God Sect Witcher accompanying Li Wuxian in the carriage and realized the sect was trying to influence her.
• The Witcher praised Li Wuxian's speech, and Li Wuxian explained that she understood the power gap because she studied immortal arts under National Teacher Lingxu.
• The Witcher asked whether the expedition would interfere with the North City Altar, and Li Wuxian assured her that Lingxu was overseeing it.
• The Witcher said the Sect Master might take Li Wuxian as a disciple if their undertaking succeeded, and Li Wuxian agreed eagerly before giving a faint sneer once the Witcher resumed meditating.

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun followed Li Wuxian’s army northwest and watched the young Human Emperor endure the hardships of the march before she faced Western Liang’s attack. When a Qian Yuan Daoist tried to bring down her city, Li Wuxian used the Founding Sword and the power of the people’s wishes to stop him and protect the city.

• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun watched Li Wuxian struggle with the lack of baths on the march, while the soldiers showed her deep reverence as their Human Emperor.
• After more than a month, Li Wuxian’s army reached the northwest in late autumn and faced Western Liang’s fierce assault.
• Li Wuxian stayed atop the city wall despite a guard’s warnings, explaining that her presence would force the enemy to make mistakes.
• A Qian Yuan Daoist used sand to form a model of the city and began collapsing its walls, but Li Wuxian drew the Founding Sword and stopped the attack with the power of the people’s wishes.
• The Nanming Lihuo Army struck the battlefield as Li Wuxian warned the Daoist that the mortal world’s mountains and rivers had nothing to do with people like him.

Li Wuxian revealed that her fortune could break Qing Wei’s spell, then challenged his claim that she was not yet emperor. Qing Wei proposed settling their interference in mortal affairs through a duel between immortals, and the Witch God Sect’s Mount Mang Venerable appeared to accept; Li Wuxian’s plan had trapped Qing Wei into bearing the karmic burden of the fight.

• Qing Wei realized Li Wuxian’s sword had broken his spell through the power of National Luck, and worried that she was an unprecedented cultivator and Human Emperor.
• Li Wuxian had the Great Qian soldiers kneel and proclaim her emperor, then taunted Qing Wei that Western Liang would soon fall without his interference.
• Qing Wei argued that Li Wuxian and Taiyi Sect had both disrupted Heaven’s mandate, then proposed a duel between Qianyuan cultivators to decide who would withdraw from mortal affairs.
• Mount Mang Venerable appeared from the Witch God Sect and challenged Qing Wei, while Qin Yi and Li Qingjun recognized him as the Western Wilderness Old Ancestor.
• Qin Yi realized Li Wuxian and the Witch God Sect had deliberately lured Qing Wei into proposing the duel so that he would bear the karmic burden of intervening.

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun discovered that the Witch God Sect was using Qing Wei to summon Taotie through a Heaven-Severing Door, while Li Wuxian revealed how Da Qian's national fortune supported the plan. As Qing Xuanzi confronted Zuo Qingtian over the sacrifice and altar, Xi Yue intervened with the Lihuo Divine Skill.

• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun found Witchers opening a Heaven-Severing Door with the battlefield's gathered energy, and saw Qing Wei thrown through it as a sacrifice.
• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun returned to the city and found Li Wuxian watching the Da Qian Army attack the Western Liang camp.
• Qing Xuanzi questioned Li Wuxian about the danger of summoning a No Form ferocious soul, and she told him Zuo Qingtian planned to use Da Qian's National Luck to control the outcome.
• Qing Xuanzi hurried to Dragon Abyss City, where Zuo Qingtian guarded the completed altar and threatened to kill him if he interfered.
• Zuo Qingtian attacked Qing Xuanzi, but Xi Yue pierced the blood-colored hand with the Lihuo Divine Skill and revealed herself as the master of Minghe and mistress of the Celestial Pivot Divine Palace First Hall.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The "mother-in-law" who separated Qin Yi and Minghe is revealed to be a beautiful laywoman, not an old Daoist Nun, who disregards the form of the Daoist Robe.
• Xiyue, a No Form cultivator from Celestial Pivot Divine Palace, arrives to prevent Zuo Qingtian from performing the Sacrificial Rite.
• Zuo Qingtian and Xiyue engage in a battle in the sky, leaving Qing Xuanzi to attack the altar in Dragon Abyss City.
• Li Duanxuan, wielding the Demon-Slaying Heavenly Sword, appears to defend the Human Emperor.

Character Developments

• Zuo Qingtian: Shows his strategic prowess and carefree attitude, revealing that he has planned for the backlash against Taiyi Sect.
• Xiyue: Demonstrates her analytical skills and knowledge of the situation, hinting at a deeper understanding of the Human Emperor's lineage.
• Li Duanxuan: Makes a surprise appearance, showing his concern for his disciple and the Human Emperor.

Significant Themes

• The importance of form and no form in cultivation.
• The consequences of interfering in the mortal world.
• The complex relationships and karma between cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Zuo Qingtian and Xiyue: Show familiarity and casualness, engaging in a battle of wits and power.
• Zuo Qingtian and Qing Xuanzi: Indirectly face off, with Qing Xuanzi attacking the altar while Zuo Qingtian defends it.
• Li Duanxuan and the Human Emperor: Li Duanxuan's appearance shows his protective stance towards the Human Emperor, hinting at a potential alliance or connection.

Li Wuxian’s gamble to stop Witch God Sect’s summoning succeeded when Xi Yue and Li Duanxuan destroyed the Dragon Abyss altar, severing its link to Da Qian’s national fortune. As Li Wuxian sensed the victory from the Western Liang border, the distant Red Door began to shake, signaling that Taowu’s summoning had gone wrong.

• Li Duanxuan shattered the Four Symbols Formation and Protective Barrier, then destroyed the altar with three sword strikes before fleeing Zuo Qingtian’s attack.
• Xi Yue confronted Zuo Qingtian, who withdrew after warning that someone would eventually obtain the Four Fiends’ souls and that Xi Yue herself might become a sacrifice.
• Li Duanxuan recalled seeing Xi Yue a thousand years earlier and wondered whether she had foreseen the events unfolding in Southern Li.
• At the Western Liang border, Li Wuxian sensed the altar’s destruction and reflected on how she had summoned Celestial Pivot Divine Palace to counter Taiyi Sect and Witch God Sect.
• The distant Red Door shook, and Li Wuxian’s earlier strike on Qing Wei’s sword was revealed to have given him fortune.

Qing Wei was captured for the Witch God Sect’s ritual to create Blood-Chilling Nether Marrow and summon Taotie, while Qin Yi waited for a chance to intervene. After Li Duanxuan shattered the altar and Qin Yi drew the Witchers’ attention, Qing Wei broke his seals and unleashed the Blood Nether monster, throwing the ritual into chaos.

• Qing Wei swallowed a Blood Nether Vermilion Fruit after Zuo Qingtian threw him into the Red Door, but the Witch God Sect captured him and brought him to the altar as a sacrifice.
• The Witch God Sect summoned a peak-Qianyuan Blood Nether monster and refined its essence into new Blood-Chilling Nether Marrow while Qing Wei silently worked to break his seals.
• Qin Yi, who had been hiding near the altar, attracted the Witchers’ attention when the defective Blood-Chilling Nether Marrow in his ring absorbed some of the monster’s essence.
• Qin Yi escaped the Witchers’ blood sea by shattering its realm with the Wolf Tooth Club, then hid underground by transforming into a Blood Nether monster.
• As the Witchers searched for Qin Yi, Qing Wei broke his seals, restored the monster’s strength, and overlaid the blood array with a taiji phantom.
• The monster shattered the sacrificial array before the Witch God Sect could begin summoning Taotie.

Qing Wei and Qin Yi tried to escape the Witch God Sect’s altar as chaos erupted, but Liusu activated the Taotie summoning. Xi Yue and Zuo Qingtian intervened, leaving the Witch God Sect’s plan thwarted and Xi Yue furious at Qin Yi for summoning Taotie himself.

• Qing Wei used Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers to confuse the Witchers while Qin Yi attacked from underground, and Liusu activated the Taotie summoning at the statue.
• Qing Wei struck the Witcher guarding the Red Door with Yin Yang Unification as Qin Yi followed with a sneak attack, allowing them to escape through the door.
• Zuo Qingtian arrived and suppressed the Blood Nether monster, allowing the Witchers to finish refining it, but he could not stop Taotie from emerging.
• Xi Yue pulled Qin Yi and Qing Wei clear of Zuo Qingtian’s attack and warned him that Taotie had to be suppressed.
• Zuo Qingtian refused to fight Taotie and said his sect would withdraw, leaving Xi Yue to deal with the summoned fierce soul.
• Xi Yue realized Qin Yi had summoned Taotie instead of stopping the ritual and demanded an explanation before he could see Minghe.

Qin Yi wagered with Zuo Qingtian that he could handle the summoned Taotie himself, with the Witch God Sect’s interference in Great Qian ending if he succeeded. He used the Other Shore Flower to lure Taotie out of its seal early, weakening it, then struck its head with his staff.

• Zuo Qingtian forced Xi Yue to choose between protecting Qin Yi from him and fighting Taotie, but Qin Yi volunteered to handle Taotie himself.
• Qin Yi wagered that if he defeated Taotie, Zuo Qingtian would leave Great Qian and stop involving himself in the mortal world; Zuo Qingtian accepted.
• Qin Yi entered the Red Door and approached Taotie with the Other Shore Flower, which the ancient records described as bait that could make Taotie break free of its seal prematurely.
• Taotie lunged for the flower with energy no greater than the early Qianyuan stage, and Qin Yi struck its head with his staff.

Qin Yi weakened Gluttony with soul arts, Red Lotus Tribulation Fire, and the Demon Slaying Sword, leaving both of them badly injured. As Qin Yi and Gluttony struggled to recover, Gluttony offered to bargain for the Other Shore Flower, and its proposal stunned Qin Yi and the onlookers.

• Gluttony attacked the Other Shore Flower, but Qin Yi stored it away and struck Gluttony's soul with the Wolf Tooth Club, weakening it.
• Gluttony trapped Qin Yi in a sea of blood, and Qin Yi used Demon Sky Descends and Dark Sky Prison to hold it in place while Red Lotus Tribulation Fire burned it.
• Qin Yi unleashed the Demon Slaying Sword and Joyful Buddhist Beads against Gluttony, but he collapsed before he could finish it off.
• Zuo Qingtian expected Gluttony to recover faster than Qin Yi, while Xi Yue considered intervening to save her disciple.
• Gluttony asked Qin Yi what it would take to let it eat the Other Shore Flower, then offered to wear women's clothes after Qin Yi said he would only discuss a deal if Gluttony were female.

Qin Yi defeated Taotie’s half-sealed body, unaware that a remnant soul had slipped into his ring to steal the Other Shore Flower, where Liusu caught it. Zuo Qingtian withdrew after learning that Celestial Pivot Divine Palace reinforcements had arrived, then ordered his followers to watch Li Wuxian and consider how to deal with her past-life identity.

• Qin Yi rejected Taotie’s offers of immortality, a Taotie Soul Crystal, and women, then sprang up and struck its vulnerable statue form, scattering its remaining breath.
• Taotie secretly attached a remnant soul to Qin Yi and entered his ring, intending to steal the Other Shore Flower, but Liusu found and beat the tiny black furball.
• Qin Yi emerged from the Heaven-Severing Door to find Xi Yue, Zuo Qingtian, and the others gone, and wondered why the Witch God Sect had left so easily.
• Zuo Qingtian told Mang Mountain that Celestial Pivot Divine Palace reinforcements had arrived and revealed that Taotie’s remnant soul was hidden on Qin Yi, giving the sect a chance to claim it later and summon Qiongqi with the saved Blood-Chilling Nether Marrow.
• Zuo Qingtian ordered someone to record Li Wuxian’s every move, saying they would kill her if she had been an enemy in her past life or try to restore her if she had been a friend; Mang Mountain volunteered to go.

Xi Yue reflected on Qin Yi’s rapid rise and the mysterious forces surrounding him, while Qin Yi recognized Li Wuxian’s success in driving the immortal factions out of the war. The chapter ended with Li Qingjun confronting Wuxian about a horse that had served as her messenger.

• Xi Yue wondered how Qin Yi had reached the second level of Huiyang so quickly and considered whether he possessed a fragment of the Stone Stool.
• Xi Yue sensed that Qin Yi and those connected to him, including Li Wuxian, were difficult and dangerous to divine.
• Qin Yi recognized that Li Wuxian had outmaneuvered the Taiyi Sect, the Witch God Sect, and the Celestial Pivot Divine Palace, leaving the Great Qian war to mortals.
• Li Qingjun returned to the city wall and sternly asked Li Wuxian whether the horse had been her messenger.

Li Wuxian confessed that she had arranged Southern Li’s fall to free Li Qingjun from her obligations and pursue a greater future, then explained how she had begun planning to seize power in Da Qian. After conquering Western Liang, she founded the state of Li and ascended the throne, fulfilling the Late King’s ambition.

• Li Wuxian admitted that she had sent the horse to Xiao King and explained that she wanted to free Li Qingjun from Southern Li’s restraints and set herself on a greater path.
• Li Wuxian told Li Qingjun and Qin Yi that she had chosen to go to Da Qian because turmoil might let her gain power while others underestimated her.
• Li Wuxian led her army against Western Liang, overcame interference from the immortal sects, and pacified the kingdom within ten days.
• Li Wuxian returned in triumph, abandoned the Da Qian title, founded the state of Li, and ascended the throne as emperor.
• Li Wuxian honored the former rulers, appointed Lingxu Deputy National Teacher, and named Qin Yi the hidden Southern Li National Teacher.

Qin Yi confronted Li Wuxian over her ruthless expansion of Southern Li, explaining how she had misunderstood her father’s legacy and endangered her aunt. Li Wuxian agreed to apologize to Li Qingjun and revealed that she saw Qin Yi as the closest thing she had to a father.

• Li Wuxian waited alone in the snowy Imperial Garden and asked Qin Yi why he and Li Qingjun had distanced themselves from her.
• Qin Yi told Li Wuxian that she had copied the form of her father’s ambitions but missed his devotion to the people and homeland he was responsible for protecting.
• Li Wuxian defended her risky methods by arguing that her father had also acted without considering his family, but Qin Yi asked whether she had been happy about his choices.
• Qin Yi urged Li Wuxian to apologize to Li Qingjun for endangering her, and Li Wuxian reluctantly agreed.
• Li Wuxian told Qin Yi that his care and protection made him the closest thing she had to a father, adding that a master could also be a father.

Qin Yi recognized Li Wuxian’s need for a fatherly master and guided her to atone for the deaths caused by her actions as Emperor. He agreed to stay in the palace with Li Qingjun, while Taotie revealed how it had ended up inside Qin Yi’s ring.

• Qin Yi told Li Wuxian that he wanted her to acknowledge the Nanli people who died because of her, and she accepted his punishment.
• After considering how to discipline an Emperor, Qin Yi told Li Wuxian to kneel before memorial tablets for the victims and gave her a flying treasure and a Storage Ring.
• Li Wuxian said Qin Yi had finally become her true master and asked him to stay; Qin Yi agreed that he and Li Qingjun would remain for a while.
• Li Qingjun told Qin Yi that she approved of what he had done but needed a few days before speaking with Li Wuxian.
• Qin Yi pulled the Black Fur Ball from his ring and learned it was Taotie, who regretted coming to steal flowers to eat.

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun examined the weakened Taotie, and Liusu agreed to let it stay after binding it with the Wrath Soul Curse. The Taotie joined their household as Tao Tao, though its desire for the Other Shore Flower remained, leaving Qin Yi with another troublesome companion to watch.

• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun questioned the Taotie about its identity and learned from Liusu that it was a weakened split soul with Taotie abilities.
• Qin Yi considered roasting the Taotie, but Liusu said it could be useful and placed the Wrath Soul Curse on it to prevent betrayal.
• Qin Yi allowed the Taotie to stay on the condition that it could not attack anyone without his permission.
• Qin Yi proposed naming the Taotie Heifu, but Liusu and Li Qingjun chose Tao Tao instead.
• Liusu explained that the Other Shore Flower was rare and could not alone free the Taotie from its seal, while the Taotie admitted it still coveted the flower.
• The Taotie challenged Liusu’s criticism of its greed, and Liusu knocked it as they chased each other around the room.

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun watched Li Wuxian pray and realized how deeply she longed for guidance and care. The next morning, Qin Yi reassured her and praised her achievements, and she admitted that his approval had given meaning to the years she spent conquering the realm.

• Qin Yi and Li Qingjun secretly observed Li Wuxian sincerely conducting rites at the palace shrine and saw how much she resembled Li Qingjun.
• Li Qingjun offered to keep watch over Li Wuxian, but Qin Yi persuaded her to rest and said he would take responsibility for teaching his disciple.
• Li Wuxian came to see Qin Yi the next morning to pay her respects and apologize to her aunt.
• Qin Yi showed Li Wuxian a portrait of her as a child and apologized for leaving her to face Da Qian's court and the realm alone.
• Li Wuxian explained that she had learned from books after her early tutors were no longer available, then admitted she had never been especially interested in governing.
• Li Wuxian told Qin Yi that his praise had given meaning to her years of conquering the realm.