Chapter Summaries

Hu Yijun gave Lu Zheng cultivation treasures and a pass to Dingfeng Mountain before leaving with Hu Zhou’s family. Lu Zheng helped Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying benefit from the gifts, then learned more about Hu Zhou and Dingfeng Mountain from Xin Zhanting.

• Hu Yijun stored ten jars of Wuliangye and gave Lu Zheng Jade Essence Pills, the Western Extremes Wind-Calling Spell, and a Dingfeng Mountain waist token.
• Hu Zhou’s family left Tong Yi Alley, and Old Man Liu recognized Hu Yijun’s immense Dao comprehension from the methods and annotations he had given Liu Qingyan and the others.
• Lu Zheng gave Liu Qingyan a Jade Essence Pill, which she said could provide ten years of Dao comprehension and would take months to digest fully.
• Liu Qingyan told Lu Zheng she had passed Hu Yijun’s cultivation methods on to Mother and Qing Quan without copying them down.
• Lu Zheng delivered a Jade Essence Pill to Shen Ying and asked Xin Zhanting about Dingfeng Mountain and Hu Zhou.
• Xin Zhanting said Hu Zhou had fought a Ghost General at Nightfall Mountain and joked that Hu Zhou might outlive his own ghost body.

Liu Qingyan, Lu Zheng, Shen Ying, and Liu Qingquan visited Five Beauties Manor and reunited with Hu Cainiang and the other women. Their conversation about Ji Zizhen was interrupted when he arrived outside with a master, accusing the manor’s residents of harming people.

• Liu Qingquan joined Liu Qingyan, Shen Ying, and Lu Zheng at the Hot Springs, where she praised her new swimsuit and teased Lu Zheng about his intentions.
• The group left Hundred Springs Valley and traveled to Five Beauties Manor to visit Hu Cainiang and learn the way.
• Hu Cainiang and the other four women welcomed the visitors, while Liu Qingquan quickly befriended Yu Mingxin and Bai Ting'er.
• Hu Cainiang explained that she had returned Ji Zizhen to his home, and Lin Jing'er revealed that he had mistakenly believed Hu Cainiang wanted to become his concubine.
• Ji Zizhen called out from beyond the manor with a master, claiming that several Female Demons who harmed people lived there.

Ji Zizhen brought an old monk to Five Beauties Manor to accuse Hu Cainiang, but the monk killed him instead. The monk revealed that he planned to capture the women to refine a magical realm and wanted Lu Zheng as his Buddhist slave.

• Ji Zizhen accused Hu Cainiang of draining his Yang Energy, and Hua Yixing offered him Essence-Stabilizing Pills to resolve the dispute.
• The old monk said he had not come to uphold justice for Ji Zizhen and claimed he was not Buddhist.
• The old monk pulled Ji Zizhen’s soul from his body and destroyed it, killing him.
• The old monk revealed that he intended to refine a Paradise Heavenly Maiden Soul-Bewitching Realm using the women of Five Beauties Manor.
• The old monk offered to make Lu Zheng his Buddhist slave.

Lu Zheng and the women confronted an arrogant Old Monk from the Southern Frontier, who trapped them in his Paradise Heavenly Maiden Soul-Bewitching Realm. Lu Zheng resisted the illusion, critiqued its design, and shattered it with the Transformation Divine Method, leaving the Old Monk’s attack broken.

• Lu Zheng questioned the Old Monk, who admitted he came from the Southern Frontier and boasted that he could capture everyone present.
• The Old Monk unleashed the Paradise Heavenly Maiden Soul-Bewitching Realm, engulfing Five Beauties Manor in an illusion designed to ensnare their minds.
• Lu Zheng remained composed in the illusion and advised the Old Monk on how to improve its temptations and conceal its spiritual attack.
• The Old Monk noticed that a woman in pink was resisting and grew wary of Lu Zheng’s ease, but he hesitated to retreat before the spell took hold.
• Lu Zheng activated the Transformation Divine Method and shattered the Paradise Heavenly Maiden Soul-Bewitching Realm, forcing its light back into the Old Monk’s palm.

Lu Zheng broke the old monk’s Soul-Bewitching Realm and defeated him with help from Shen Ying’s Peach Blossom Evil. He questioned the captured monk about southern frontier sects infiltrating the Central Plains, but the monk demanded to be released before sharing what he knew.

• Lu Zheng dispelled the old monk’s spell, and the monk mistook him for a disciple of a heterodox sect lineage.
• The old monk tried to leave after Lu Zheng’s Red Jade Sword and Shen Ying’s Peach Blossom Evil blocked him.
• Lu Zheng immobilized and wounded the old monk, then sealed his meridians and damaged his mind.
• The old monk surrendered and offered compensation to save his life.
• Lu Zheng asked about southern frontier sects infiltrating the Central Plains, and the old monk confirmed an alliance was working to disrupt Great Jing.
• The old monk agreed to provide information about the infiltrating sects only if Lu Zheng first released him.

Lu Zheng and the women learned that wicked cultivators from Southern Border were infiltrating Great Jing, then examined the Old Monk’s possessions and discovered the souls trapped in his Soul-Bewitching Realm. Shen Ying planned to offer the souls a choice between returning to heaven and earth or becoming peach blossom maidservants, while Lu Zheng disposed of the corpses.

• Lu Zheng explained that Southern Border’s sects had eased their conflicts, allowing evil cultivators to infiltrate Great Jing and cause trouble.
• Lu Zheng retrieved the Old Monk’s brass alms bowl and the orb containing the souls of women he had killed.
• Liu Qingyan said the trapped souls had lost themselves in depravity, while Shen Ying explained that their true spirits could still be restored.
• Shen Ying offered to let the souls choose whether to return to heaven and earth or become peach blossom maidservants who could cultivate through peach trees.
• Lu Zheng used the Earthwalk Technique to take Ji Zizhen’s and the Old Monk’s corpses underground.

After Lin Wan showed Lu Zheng how much her Martial Path Blood Qi had improved, he helped her practice controlling her new strength. Their training in the woods ended when they discovered a corpse in a black plastic bag.

• After leaving Five Beauties Manor, Shen Ying returned to Peach Blossom Glade, while Liu Qingyan took Hu Cainiang to Tonglin County for a visit.
• Lin Wan tested her Blood Qi on Lu Zheng, who subdued her and then teased her at home.
• Tony invited Lu Zheng and Lin Wan to Italy for National Day, and Lin Wan expected to have the holiday off.
• Lu Zheng took Lin Wan to a secluded woodland to practice her new strength, and she learned to leap between tree branches using qinggong.
• While Lu Zheng chased Lin Wan deeper into the woods, she spotted a black plastic bag, and Lu Zheng determined that it contained a corpse.

After Lu Zheng and Lin Wan discovered a corpse, Lu Zheng used aura tracking to identify the killer, and Lin Wan’s team solved the murder and uncovered a tax evasion case. The chapter ended with Lin Wan telling Lu Zheng they could travel together during the National Day holiday.

• Lin Wan stopped Lu Zheng from disturbing the crime scene, and he used the Qi Observation Art to trace a faint aura from the trash bag toward the northeast.
• Li Jinglin and the police team arrived, and Lin Wan gave a statement before joining their investigation while Lu Zheng followed the aura to Kanghui Tower.
• Lu Zheng identified Liu Weiming, a founding partner of Zhengtong Accounting Firm, as the killer and told Lin Wan.
• Lin Wan’s team traced the victim’s clients and solved the case, finding that Liu Weiming had strangled her after she blackmailed him with evidence of his tax evasion.
• Lin Wan told Lu Zheng she had earned vacation time, and they planned to visit ancient Rome and the Mediterranean during the National Day holiday.

Lu Zheng and Lin Wan began their trip to Italy, chatting about their itinerary and receiving travel advice from a middle-aged woman in the airport lounge. They boarded the same first-class flight as the woman and her companion, and Lu Zheng tried to make sense of their arrival times.

• Lu Zheng told Lin Wan they would visit Italy’s sights after spending two days on Tony’s private island, while Lin Wan wished they could see more of Europe.
• Lin Wan teased Lu Zheng about getting swept through the crowds at West Lake during National Day, and he recalled seeing little beyond other tourists.
• A middle-aged woman sitting nearby praised Italy and warned Lu Zheng and Lin Wan to stay in busy areas and avoid walking alone at night.
• Lu Zheng and Lin Wan joked that the woman had been trying to impress Lu Zheng, then discovered she and her companion were seated beside them in first class.
• Lu Zheng checked their flight schedule and wondered how a twenty-hour journey could still bring them to Rome at noon.

Lu Zheng and Lin Wan traveled to Italy as guests of Tony, who treated them to Rome’s sights and two days of luxury on his private island. When they said they were leaving, Tony suggested Lu Zheng should be ready to die without regret, leaving his intentions unclear.

• Lu Zheng and Lin Wan arrived in Rome, where Tony welcomed them with bodyguards and took them to a hotel.
• Tony described his private island, and Lu Zheng and Lin Wan visited Rome’s Pantheon and Colosseum before sailing to the island on his yacht.
• Tony showed Lu Zheng and Lin Wan the island’s castle and facilities, and they spent two days enjoying its activities.
• Lu Zheng told Tony that he and Lin Wan wanted to return to Rome because they had enjoyed the island and wanted to visit Milan.
• Tony said he had brought Lu Zheng to enjoy a level of service as repayment for saving his life, then asked whether Lu Zheng could die without regret.

Tony revealed that he had lured Lu Zheng and Lin Wan to his island because he coveted Lin Wan, and he ordered his guards to seize them. Lu Zheng disarmed Tony and the gunmen with the Red Jade Sword, leaving its point at Tony’s forehead.

• Tony admitted that he planned to imprison Lin Wan in his private palace and eventually dispose of her and Lu Zheng.
• At Tony’s command, eight bodyguards attacked, but Lin Wan swiftly knocked them down while Lu Zheng remained seated.
• Tony brought in four armed men and pointed a pistol at Lu Zheng, demanding that he and Lin Wan surrender.
• Lu Zheng summoned the Red Jade Sword, which cut apart the guns and stopped an inch from Tony’s forehead.

Lu Zheng used his flying sword to kill Tony’s bodyguards and revealed that he had no intention of sparing Tony. After Lin Wan agreed to go with him, Lu Zheng prepared to continue killing everyone involved in the castle’s crimes.

• Lin Wan accepted Lu Zheng’s supernatural abilities after seeing his flying sword, while Tony and his bodyguards panicked.
• Lu Zheng killed four bodyguards, sealed the restaurant door, and forced Tony to apologize and offer his money and the Mushang Group.
• Lu Zheng told Tony he had kept him alive only to make him suffer, then killed ten more people and placed Curse Seals on him.
• Lin Wan questioned whether the waiters deserved to die, but Lu Zheng reminded her of the enslaved people in the castle basement.
• Lin Wan hardened her resolve and agreed to accompany Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng and Lin Wan wiped out Tony’s forces on his private island, freed the imprisoned women, and destroyed the estate with Tony inside. After reaching Rome, they watched the scandal break on television and planned to deliver the evidence to the police that night.

• Lin Wan joined Lu Zheng in killing Tony’s bodyguards and security team, while Lu Zheng killed the island’s staff and Anthony.
• Lu Zheng and Lin Wan found the underground palace and used its broadcast system to tell the captive women they were free; the women escaped by yacht.
• Lu Zheng erased their traces and planted explosives and gasoline around the estate as Lin Wan collected Tony’s crime ledgers for the Italian government.
• Lu Zheng and Lin Wan set the island ablaze, with Tony inside the dining room, and escaped by motorboat.
• In Rome, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan watched news coverage of the fire and the rescued women, then decided to deliver the evidence to the Rome police that night.

After returning from Italy, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan stopped an assassin from poisoning a passenger on their flight to Sea City. They learned the intended victim was an officer in the Hua Country branch of the International Criminal Police, while Lin Wan’s unusual martial arts left him astonished.

• Lu Zheng and Lin Wan finished their Italy trip and flew back to Sea City, joking about the dangers they had encountered abroad.
• As passengers disembarked, Lin Wan caught a blue-clad man trying to stab a black-clad passenger with a poisoned needle hidden in his ring.
• Lin Wan used her blood qi to weaken the assassin and subdue him before he could attack.
• The black-clad man revealed that he worked in the operations unit of the Hua Country branch of the International Criminal Police and could not discuss his case.
• Airport police took custody of the assassin, and Lu Zheng and Lin Wan left after giving their statements.

After two peaceful months, Shen Ying brought Lu Zheng to meet the Eighteen Peach Blossom Heavenly Maidens, having broken through the Bewildering God Realm and restored the spirits of its captives. The chapter left Lu Zheng bewildered by the maidens’ intense affection after he treated them with respect.

• Lu Zheng spent two peaceful months between his two lives, while Lin Wan returned from training in Northern Capital ranked first in her class.
• Shen Ying led Lu Zheng into Peach Blossom Manor, where she introduced her eighteen subordinate gods, the Eighteen Peach Blossom Heavenly Maidens.
• Shen Ying explained that she had broken through the Bewildering God Realm, restored the women’s memories, and watched nine of the twenty-seven spirits choose to return to heaven and earth.
• The Heavenly Maidens thanked Lu Zheng for killing the old monk and writing the poem “Peach Blossoms,” which had helped them follow the Incense God path.
• Lu Zheng refused to treat the women as goods, and Shen Ying kissed him while the Heavenly Maidens looked at him with growing affection.

Lu Zheng reunited with Shen Ying and the Eighteen Heavenly Women, whose memories of their time in the Bewildering God Realm remained intact. After Lu Zheng urged them to overcome those memories through their own resolve, he and Shen Ying shared an intimate moment before sensing that someone at Peach Blossom Shrine was testing Shen Ying’s strength.

• Lu Zheng lost a game of Go to Shen Ying while the Eighteen Heavenly Women teased him about his past conduct in the Bewildering God Realm.
• Shen Ying explained that the Heavenly Women retained their memories so they could overcome their painful experiences without sealed memories becoming inner demons.
• Lu Zheng advised the women to treat their dark memories as nourishment for cultivation and to separate their recollections of him from his influence on them.
• Shen Ying dismissed the Heavenly Women and took Lu Zheng to her bedroom, then walked with him through the Peach Blossom Forest.
• Shen Ying told Lu Zheng that incense offerings and her divine power were increasing, then sensed an extraordinary individual probing her strength inside Peach Blossom Shrine.

Shen Ying and Lu Zheng discovered a man secretly investigating the Peach Blossom Shrine and followed him to learn his identity. After confronting him, they failed to stop him from escaping with peach talismans and a substitution technique.

• Shen Ying sensed a human with an aura resembling hers probing the Peach Blossom Shrine, so she and Lu Zheng went to investigate.
• The man examined the shrine’s Incense Luck and Peach Blossom Fairy statue before leaving, while Shen Ying and Lu Zheng secretly followed him.
• After leading them to a deserted path, the man recognized Shen Ying but refused to explain why he had spied on her.
• Shen Ying attacked the man, who used a peach talisman to release poisonous miasma and fled as smoke.
• Shen Ying caught up and restrained the man, but he summoned a giant peach tree and escaped through its roots using a substitution technique.

Lu Zheng and Shen Ying discussed the peach-tree cultivator who had fled and the Millennium Peach Tree Spirit targeting Shen Ying, then returned to Tonglin County. Shen Ying gave Lu Zheng a paired peachwood pendant for emergencies and described her new array before they joined Liu Qingyan for dinner, where the three stayed together as night deepened.

• Lu Zheng and Shen Ying concluded that the escaped man served a Millennium Peach Tree Spirit whose true body could not reach Tonglin County, though it could send subordinates after Shen Ying.
• Shen Ying reassured Lu Zheng that the spirit’s followers had limited inheritances, and Lu Zheng agreed to return with her to Tonglin County.
• Shen Ying gave Lu Zheng one of a pair of peachwood pendants that would alert each of them when the other infused it with true qi within a hundred li.
• Shen Ying told Lu Zheng that Peach Blossom Manor’s Eighteen Heavenly Women were nearing a hundred years of Dao Comprehension and could use her new Peach Blossom Riot Heavenly Maiden Array.
• Lu Zheng and Shen Ying met Liu Qingyan and Old Man Liu, then returned home with Liu Qingyan for dinner and stayed together as the night grew late.

Lu Zheng learned that Lin Wan had been transferred to the Hai City Liaison Office and strengthened her martial arts with a Jade Essence Pill, while considering how to help her cultivate for longevity. Back in ancient times, he learned that all five Female Demons from Five Beauties Manor had arrived and went to join them for dinner.

• Lu Zheng found no intelligence about the force behind the mysterious man and remained on guard while Shen Ying urged the Eighteen Heavenly Women to cultivate.
• Lin Wan told Lu Zheng she had been transferred to the Hai City Liaison Office of the Hua Country branch of International Criminal Police and would sometimes travel on business.
• Lu Zheng gave Lin Wan a Jade Essence Pill, which doubled her cultivation and left most of its medicinal power to take effect gradually over the next year.
• Lu Zheng considered Lin Wan's future cultivation path and decided to continue teaching her the Mountain Carrying Eighteen Forms while planning to visit the Jinhua Sect for a Daoist method.
• Lu Zheng returned to ancient times, learned that all five Female Demons from Five Beauties Manor had arrived, and took fruit wine next door to join them for dinner.

Lu Zheng welcomed Duan Changzai and Yuan Jing to dinner at the Liu residence, where Hua Yixing and her sisters presented Bi Luo Fruit in gratitude for his help. After sharing the Spirit Fruit and catching up, the guests departed, with Yuan Jing reminding Lu Zheng to visit White Cloud Temple during the New Year festivities.

• Lu Zheng invited Duan Changzai and Yuan Jing to join the dinner at the Liu residence and introduced them to Hua Yixing and the other women from Five Beauties Manor.
• Hua Yixing explained that the Bi Luo Fruit had ripened and gave a basket to Lu Zheng, Shen Ying, and Qing Yan's family in thanks for his help against the monk.
• Hu Cainiang handed out one Bi Luo Fruit to each person, and Lu Zheng and the others tasted the Spirit Fruit's cultivation-boosting energy.
• Duan Changzai told Lu Zheng he had come to eliminate an Extraordinary who killed people to refine souls, while Yuan Jing said he had returned from conducting a ritual in Dingshan County.
• Duan Changzai and Yuan Jing left after dinner, and Yuan Jing urged Lu Zheng to visit Jizhou White Cloud Temple during the New Year festivities.
• The women from Five Beauties Manor stayed overnight at Lu Zheng's home because the Liu residence lacked enough room.