Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai learned that Old Man Wuchuan had returned to the Imperial Capital and went to the Celestial Mystery Pavilion to seek answers about the God-Devil Calamity Poison and the princes’ deaths. Old Man Wuchuan’s chief disciple, Meng Ye, welcomed Lin Bai and led him to meet his master.

• Qiao Mo and Qin Yao told Lin Bai that Old Man Wuchuan had returned to the Imperial Capital and resumed his post as chief artificer of the Celestial Mystery Pavilion.
• Lin Bai decided to visit Old Man Wuchuan, hoping to learn what he knew about the princes’ deaths and the God-Devil Calamity Poison.
• The next morning, Lin Bai traveled with Qiao Mo and Qin Yao to the Celestial Mystery Pavilion, claiming he wanted a weapon refined.
• A messenger invited Lin Bai and his companions to the rear courtyard after notifying Old Man Wuchuan.
• Meng Ye greeted Lin Bai, recognized him as the Tianshui Sect’s Saint Child, and led him to his waiting master.

Lin Bai entered Old Man Wuchuan’s Yellow Gourd Grotto-Heaven Treasure and confronted the master in his volcanic workshop. Old Man Wuchuan revealed his hostility over Ren Xin’s death, then lowered his weapon after Lin Bai suggested he had returned to the imperial capital expecting their meeting.

• Meng Ye opened the Yellow Gourd and invited Lin Bai inside, while Qiao Mo and Qin Yao waited outside.
• Lin Bai was drawn into the Grotto-Heaven Treasure and found a world of ninety-nine volcanoes, where Old Man Wuchuan forged weapons.
• Old Man Wuchuan emerged from his workshop carrying a Grand Yi Divine Weapon hammer and greeted Lin Bai with hostility.
• Lin Bai asked whether Old Man Wuchuan knew Ren Xin, and Old Man Wuchuan accused him of killing Ren Xin before raising his hammer.
• Lin Bai suggested Old Man Wuchuan had returned to the imperial capital to wait for him, and Old Man Wuchuan sighed and dropped his hammer.

Lin Bai learned why Old Man Wuchuan had returned to the imperial capital and how the Chu Emperor had handled the princes’ deaths. Old Man Wuchuan’s account led Lin Bai to suspect that Prince Chen’s banishment had concealed a plan to protect him.

• Old Man Wuchuan said an imperial decree had forced him to return to the capital, and explained that the Chu Emperor cared more about the imperial clan’s inheritance than bringing the dead’s killers to justice.
• Old Man Wuchuan revealed that he had withheld what he knew because he expected the Chu Emperor not to investigate and feared the consequences of reporting it.
• Old Man Wuchuan explained that after the princes’ deaths, the Chu Emperor sent Prince Chen away, removed the Seventh Prince from the palace, and sent Chu Xi to the Tianshui Sect.
• Lin Bai suspected that Prince Chen’s banishment was a protective measure tied to a secret arrangement with the Chu Emperor.
• Old Man Wuchuan said he had known Prince Chen when he was the Seventh Prince, one of the six outstanding princes.

Old Man Wuchuan recounted Prince Chen’s childhood, his lack of interest in the throne, and what drove him to join the succession struggle. He confirmed that the First Prince and Second Prince had been killed by the God-Devil Calamity Poison, as Ren Xin had told Lin Bai.

• Old Man Wuchuan described Prince Chen as an exceptionally talented child who wanted a sword that could sever everything and a shield that could withstand every attack.
• Old Man Wuchuan explained that the First Prince and Second Prince had seemed like the likely successors because they had powerful backing, while Prince Chen showed little interest in the throne.
• After the First Prince and Second Prince died, their followers urged Prince Chen to compete for the throne, but he refused.
• Old Man Wuchuan said Prince Chen entered the succession struggle after the Twelfth Prince died in prison amid a royal scandal.
• Lin Bai told Old Man Wuchuan that Ren Xin had identified the God-Devil Calamity Poison as the cause of the First Prince and Second Prince’s deaths, and Old Man Wuchuan confirmed it.

Lin Bai learned from Old Man Wuchuan how he and Ren Xin discovered signs that the First Prince had died from the God-Devil Calamity Poison. Old Man Wuchuan began describing what they found when sealing the Second Prince’s coffin, leaving Lin Bai’s guess unanswered.

• Lin Bai explained what he had learned about the God-Devil Calamity Poison, and Old Man Wuchuan confirmed that the First Prince and Second Prince had died from it.
• Old Man Wuchuan recalled that he had inspected the First Prince’s residence and found its formations intact, proving the prince had died in a sealed secret chamber.
• While building the First Prince’s mausoleum with Ren Xin, Old Man Wuchuan saw black smoke rise from the corpse as its flesh rotted away, leaving a black skeleton.
• Old Man Wuchuan and Ren Xin kept their suspicions secret because they lacked proof and Ye Danyang had found no toxins in the First Prince’s body.
• After the Second Prince died in the same baffling manner, Old Man Wuchuan and Ren Xin built his mausoleum, and Lin Bai guessed that his body had also become a black skeleton.

Old Man Wuchuan told Lin Bai how he and Ren Xin traced the First and Second Princes’ deaths to the Southern Border Insect Valley’s God-Devil Calamity, which left their flesh as ash and their bones black. He also revealed Ye Danyang’s scandalous past, leaving Lin Bai uncertain whether the chief alchemist had discovered the poison and warning him that investigating the deaths could cost him his life.

• Old Man Wuchuan explained that he and Ren Xin found matching Black Bones on the First and Second Princes and identified the God-Devil Calamity as the poison that killed them.
• Old Man Wuchuan said he and Ren Xin confirmed the poison’s source in the Southern Border Insect Valley, where it was also known as Black Demon Asphyxiation.
• Lin Bai asked whether Ye Danyang had discovered the poison and concealed the truth, but Old Man Wuchuan said he did not know.
• Old Man Wuchuan recounted how Ye Danyang was expelled from the Danxia Sect after rumors linked him to his deceased master’s wife, then became the Celestial Mystery Pavilion’s chief alchemist.
• Old Man Wuchuan admitted he could not tell whether Ye Danyang had noticed the poison and warned Lin Bai to prepare to die if he pursued the investigation.

Lin Bai questioned Old Man Wuchuan about the First Prince and Second Prince’s deaths and learned why the Third Prince was suspected of orchestrating them. Old Man Wuchuan revealed that the deaths were likely tied to a poison thief named Xia Jingzhi, giving Lin Bai a new lead.

• Old Man Wuchuan warned Lin Bai that investigating the princes’ murders could provoke a deadly response.
• Old Man Wuchuan argued that the Third Prince was the likeliest culprit, noting that he alone remained safe while other princes were killed, demoted, or exiled.
• Old Man Wuchuan suspected that a hidden expert had helped the once-ordinary Third Prince rise to power and that Chu Emperor recalled Prince Chen because he distrusted the forces behind the Third Prince.
• Old Man Wuchuan revealed that the First Prince and Second Prince had died from God-Devil Calamity Poison, which only Southern Border Insect Valley Core Disciples could access.
• Old Man Wuchuan told Lin Bai that a Southern Border Insect Valley traitor had stolen records containing the poison’s cultivation method and named the fugitive Xia Jingzhi.

Lin Bai learned more about the God-Devil Calamity Poison and suspected Xia Jingzhi was behind its creation before being summoned to investigate a Holy Son’s murder. At the Zhao Xing Office, Prince Chen revealed that Zuo Feiyu of the Guiyi Sect had been killed inside the Bright Moon Pavilion.

• Old Man Wuchuan told Lin Bai that Xia Jingzhi might be hiding in the Third Prince’s Sun Moon Pavilion and planned to leave the Imperial City after the new emperor ascended.
• Lin Bai left the Celestial Mystery Pavilion with Qiao Mo and Qin Yao, reflecting that the poison’s creator might be the martial artist who betrayed the Southern Border Insect Valley.
• The Second Elder told Lin Bai that Prince Chen had repeatedly summoned him because a Holy Son had died in the Imperial City.
• Lin Bai hurried to the Zhao Xing Office, where Prince Chen and Imperial City officials had gathered to discuss the murder.
• Prince Chen told Lin Bai that Zuo Feiyu, the Guiyi Sect’s Holy Son, had been killed by a single sword strike in the Bright Moon Pavilion, and Courtesan Lanyue had found his body and a palace maid’s corpse.

After Zuo Feiyu, the Guiyi Sect's Holy Son, was murdered at the Weaving Cloud Palace, Prince Chen ordered Zhu Mo and Lin Bai to solve the case within half a month. Lin Bai went to examine the body, where the furious Grand Yi Elder Ning Hong confronted the Zhao Xing Office over the death.

• Prince Chen told Lin Bai that Zuo Feiyu had been found dead alongside a maidservant at the Weaving Cloud Palace, while the other guests who stayed there were unharmed.
• Prince Chen assigned Zhu Mo to lead the investigation with Lin Bai's assistance and ordered the Zhao Xing Office to catch the murderer within half a month.
• Zhu Mo told Lin Bai that Guiyi Sect's master and hundreds of experts were rushing toward the Imperial Capital, and that the Chu imperial family's reputation was at stake.
• Zhu Mo led Lin Bai, Qiao Mo, and Qin Yao to the Zhao Xing Office's rear hall to see Zuo Feiyu's body.
• Ning Hong, the Guiyi Sect's Grand Yi Elder, angrily rejected Zhu Mo's condolences and condemned Chu for failing to protect Zuo Feiyu.

Lin Bai examined Zuo Feiyu’s body and concluded he had been killed by a single sword thrust, but found no evidence identifying the killer. Elder Ning blamed Lu Qingjun of Seven Absolutes City, leaving Lin Bai worried that the accusation would draw Lu into the case.

• Lin Bai examined Zuo Feiyu’s corpse and confirmed that one sword had pierced his heart, while Zhu Mo said the body showed no poison and contained a high concentration of Dragon Blood Wine.
• Lin Bai reasoned that Zuo Feiyu’s killer was either someone he trusted or a swordsman too fast for him to react to.
• Ning Hong accused Lu Qingjun of killing Zuo Feiyu with Seven Absolutes City’s Divine Light Swordplay and demanded that the Zhao Xing Office arrest him.
• Lin Bai and Zhu Mo refused to arrest Lu Qingjun without evidence, angering Ning Hong, who accused them of protecting Seven Absolutes City.
• Lin Bai left the Zhao Xing Office for the Moon Palace, worrying that Lu Qingjun had been dragged into trouble.

Lin Bai found little evidence in Zuo Feiyu’s murder investigation and heard that the Guiyi Sect suspected Lu Qingjun of using Seven Absolutes City’s Divine Light Swordplay. He trusted Lu Qingjun’s character and went with Qiao Mo and Qin Yao to Moon Palace to inspect Weaving Cloud Palace, where they met Miss Qiong Yi at the ferry dock.

• Lin Bai told Qiao Mo and Qin Yao that Zuo Feiyu had died from a powerful sword strike and that the Guiyi Sect suspected Lu Qingjun because the wound resembled Seven Absolutes City’s Divine Light Swordplay.
• Lin Bai said he did not believe Lu Qingjun had committed the murder, reasoning that Lu Qingjun would have openly admitted it if he had.
• Lin Bai took Qiao Mo and Qin Yao through Bright Moon Pavilion and then by ferry to Moon Palace, intending to inspect Weaving Cloud Palace.
• Miss Qiong Yi welcomed Lin Bai at Moon Palace’s dock, and Qiao Mo and Qin Yao were struck by her beauty and bearing.

Lin Bai visited Moon Palace to investigate Zuo Feiyu’s murder and received a guest register from Qiong Yi before heading to the sealed Weaving Cloud Palace. There, he sensed a powerful sword intent left behind by an unknown sword cultivator, who seemed to be challenging him.

• Qiong Yi gave Lin Bai a detailed register of Moon Palace’s guests from the past half-month and offered the Zhao Xing Office her full cooperation.
• Qiong Yi led Lin Bai, Qiao Mo, and Qin Yao to Weaving Cloud Palace, where Courtesan Lanyue and the palace maids remained under investigation.
• Lin Bai entered Weaving Cloud Palace with permission from the Zhao Xing Office guards and asked to meet Courtesan Lanyue.
• Lin Bai sensed blood aura and Baleful Intent, then saw a vision of a sword cultivator’s attack that forced him to retreat.
• Lin Bai concluded that an extraordinary sword cultivator had deliberately left the sword intent behind to provoke him.

Lin Bai investigated Zuo Feiyu’s murder at the Weaving Cloud Palace and found evidence that an exceptionally powerful sword cultivator had broken into the protected side hall. He left knowing the formation was a common Dragon Guard Formation, while the killer’s identity remained unknown.

• A hidden sword intent left in the Weaving Cloud Palace revived when Lin Bai arrived, and Lin Bai realized it had been left specifically for him.
• Lady Lanyue greeted Lin Bai and led him, Qin Yao, and Qiao Mo to the side hall where Zuo Feiyu and a palace maid had been found dead.
• Lin Bai inspected the room and found that the protective formation at its entrance had been cleaved apart with a single sword strike.
• Lin Bai concluded that the killer was an exceptionally powerful sword cultivator, at least comparable in strength to a great sect’s Saint Son.
• Lady Lanyue explained that the shattered formation was the common Dragon Guard Formation, used throughout the imperial capital.

Lin Bai investigated the sword marks at the Weaving Cloud Palace and suspected they had been made by a woman, then learned that Fallen Immortal had visited around the time Zuo Feiyu was attacked. After Lin Bai left, Lanyue revealed that she had orchestrated the crime and planned to mislead the investigation toward Seven Absolutes City and Fallen Immortal before fleeing the imperial capital of Chu.

• Lin Bai examined the sword marks and judged that their soft quality suggested a woman had wielded the sword.
• Lanyue explained that Zhao Xiantu had invited Fallen Immortal to the banquet shortly before Zuo Feiyu was taken away to rest.
• Lanyue told Lin Bai that Fallen Immortal was a powerful sword cultivator, and Lin Bai said he would report the lead to the Zhao Xingt Office.
• After Lin Bai, Qiao Mo, and Qin Yao left, Lanyue admitted to a maid that she had killed Zuo Feiyu and that Lin Bai had nearly identified her.
• Lanyue planned to direct suspicion toward Seven Absolutes City and Fallen Immortal, then finish her next step and leave the imperial capital of Chu.

After questioning Lanyue at Weaving Cloud Palace, Lin Bai decided to visit Fallen Immortal, one of the prime suspects in Zuo Feiyu’s murder. Qiong Yi led Lin Bai, Qiao Mo, and Qin Yao toward Fallen Immortal’s residence, Jade Terrace, but warned that Fallen Immortal might refuse to see them.

• Lin Bai concluded that Fallen Immortal and Lu Qingjun were the prime suspects, based on their connections to the night Zuo Feiyu died.
• Qiao Mo and Qin Yao accompanied Lin Bai to investigate Fallen Immortal, despite Qiao Mo suspecting he wanted to meet the Emperor Capital’s Number One Beauty.
• Qiong Yi agreed to lead the three to Fallen Immortal but cautioned that she could not make Fallen Immortal receive them.
• Qiong Yi explained that Jade Terrace housed Moon Palace’s top Courtesans and that the Courtesans’ pasts were kept private.

Lin Bai visited Moon Palace to ask Lady Fallen Immortal about her past, and she agreed to meet him alone in Yaotai. He found her planting flowers in the mountains, where their conversation began with him accidentally crushing one of them.

• Qiong Yi told Lin Bai that winning the courtesans' hearts might persuade them to share their past, then carried his request to Lady Fallen Immortal.
• Lady Fallen Immortal invited Lin Bai into Yaotai but told Qiao Mo and Qin Yao to wait outside; Qiong Yi led them to the reception hall.
• Qiong Yi revealed that Lady Fallen Immortal had last received a guest a thousand years earlier, when Prince Chen visited before leaving the Imperial Capital.
• Lin Bai entered Yaotai alone and saw Lady Fallen Immortal planting flowers in the mountains.
• Lady Fallen Immortal questioned Lin Bai's interest in people, then reproached him for stepping on a flower.
• Lin Bai offered spirit liquid to save the crushed flower, but Lady Fallen Immortal said it might have been destined to suffer that calamity.

Lin Bai questioned Fallen Immortal about Saint Son Zuo Feiyu’s death and her attendance at Zhao Xiantu’s banquet, but she denied involvement and revealed little. He left the Jade Platform without learning why she had attended, while she warned that the Zhao Xing Office could frame a heretical faction if it failed to find the real culprit.

• Lin Bai met Fallen Immortal at the Jade Platform and asked about her relationship with Prince Chen.
• Lin Bai told Fallen Immortal that Zuo Feiyu had been killed in Weaving Cloud Palace and asked why she had attended Zhao Xiantu’s banquet.
• Fallen Immortal denied killing Zuo Feiyu and said she did not know who he was, but admitted she had attended the banquet because she had no choice.
• Fallen Immortal explained that the Zhao Xing Office could blame a heretical sect or demonic faction if it failed to solve the case within half a month.
• Lin Bai urged Fallen Immortal to share anything that might help protect Prince Chen, but she insisted her banquet attendance was unrelated to the murder.
• Lin Bai failed to obtain useful information and left the Jade Platform.

Lin Bai visited Fallen Immortal but learned nothing before a Black-Robed Old Man attacked him and warned him to stay away from her. After waking from three days unconscious, Lin Bai stopped the Tianshui Sect elders from escalating the matter and remained curious about Fallen Immortal’s past.

• Lin Bai left the Jade Terrace with Qiao Mo and Qin Yao, admitting he had gained no useful information from Fallen Immortal.
• At Bright Moon Pavilion’s ferry crossing, a Black-Robed Old Man unleashed a water dragon that severely wounded Lin Bai with one strike.
• The Black-Robed Old Man warned Lin Bai to stay away from Fallen Immortal, then vanished before the Zhao Xing Office martial artists could stop him.
• Lin Bai lost consciousness and woke three days later in the Tianshui Sect’s traveling palace, with Qiao Mo and Qin Yao watching over him.
• The Second Elder vowed to seek the Chu Emperor’s help, but Lin Bai stopped him to avoid causing more trouble for Prince Chen and acknowledged his own recklessness.
• Lin Bai wondered what past had led Fallen Immortal to be guarded by a Great Luo Dao Fruit Realm warrior and punished into the world of pleasure.

Lin Bai asked Prince Chen about Fallen Immortal after a Grand Luo Dao Fruit Realm martial artist attacked him for visiting her. Prince Chen revealed Fallen Immortal was Prince Hong’s daughter and explained the events that led to her punishment at the Moon Palace.

• The Second Elder told Lin Bai that Ancestor Pan Qing was coming to the imperial capital after learning Lin Bai had been injured.
• Prince Chen visited Lin Bai and asked who had attacked him, then Lin Bai sent their companions away to discuss Fallen Immortal privately.
• Lin Bai told Prince Chen that a Grand Luo Dao Fruit Realm martial artist had warned him not to provoke Fallen Immortal after he visited her at the Weaving Cloud Palace.
• Prince Chen said Fallen Immortal was a member of the imperial family and that he should address her as an elder sister.
• Prince Chen explained that Prince Hong had taken his own life after evidence showed his consort had colluded with the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Prince Chen said the Chu Emperor had ordered the Prince Hong Estate destroyed, executed Fallen Immortal’s mother, and sent Fallen Immortal to the Moon Palace as punishment.

Prince Chen explained that the attacker who ambushed Lin Bai was likely one of Prince Hong's Old Guard, who still served Fallen Immortal, and warned Lin Bai not to provoke her. At the Moon Palace, Fallen Immortal learned that Uncle Tiger had attacked Lin Bai and punished him by ordering him to find ten pots of unique flowers.

• Prince Chen told Lin Bai that Prince Hong's Old Guard had attacked him and revealed that dozens of powerful martial artists still served Fallen Immortal.
• Prince Chen explained that the imperial family avoided confronting the Old Guard because they could hide or retaliate, and warned Lin Bai not to provoke Fallen Immortal.
• Prince Chen promised to investigate Zuo Feiyu's death and tell Fallen Immortal that Lin Bai had meant no harm before leaving Lin Bai with pills.
• Fallen Immortal questioned six elders about Lin Bai's ambush, and Uncle Tiger admitted that he had ordered it to protect her.
• Fallen Immortal punished Uncle Tiger by requiring him to bring her ten pots of flowers, none of which could duplicate flowers on Yaotai Mountain.