Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai considered asking Chao Yushi and Zhang Linghu for help investigating the Third Prince, despite his hostility toward Zhang Linghu. At Hongtian Tavern, Chao Yushi inferred that Lin Bai was troubled by the Third Prince and explained why Lin Bai had avoided escalating past conflicts; Lin Bai then asked him to guess what else was bothering him.

• Lin Bai argued with Zhang Linghu after Zhang reprimanded him for going to Bright Moon Pavilion, and Chao Yushi stopped Zhang from acting rashly.
• Chao Yushi offered Lin Bai help from their imperial capital connections, and Lin Bai decided their local knowledge could help him investigate the Third Prince.
• The three met over tea in a private room at Hongtian Tavern, where Lin Bai stayed silent as Zhang Linghu glared at him.
• Chao Yushi guessed that Lin Bai wanted to deal with the Third Prince, who had hidden himself and restrained his forces.
• Chao Yushi explained that Lin Bai had urged Pan Qing not to pursue Zhang Linghu's ambush because a public feud would harm Prince Chen's position, and Lin Bai asked him to guess what else troubled him.

Lin Bai consulted Chao Yushi about his search for a way to expose the Third Prince, and Chao Yushi warned that any apparent weakness could be a trap. The discussion turned to Xia Jingzhi, whose identity and connection to the Third Prince Chao Yushi had uncovered through Prince Hong Estate’s surviving intelligence network.

• Lin Bai realized Chao Yushi knew private details about Tianshui Sect and suspected that spies operated within its temporary palace.
• Chao Yushi revealed that Old Man Wuchuan had secretly returned to the Celestial Mystery Pavilion, then recognized Lin Bai was investigating the Third Prince.
• Lin Bai admitted he could find no breakthrough against the Third Prince, and Chao Yushi warned that a revealed weakness might be bait designed to exploit Lin Bai and Prince Chen’s urgency.
• Chao Yushi advised Lin Bai either not to strike or to make a decisive strike, explaining that even a known trap could be worth entering if the target justified it.
• Chao Yushi identified Xia Jingzhi as a Superior-Grade Great Purity Dao Fruit expert in the Third Prince’s Sun Moon Pavilion and a former disciple of the Southern Border Insect Valley.
• Chao Yushi said Prince Hong Estate’s former retainers had kept their imperial-capital intelligence network active and had investigated Xia Jingzhi after he killed Ren Xin.

Lin Bai learned from Chao Yushi that Xia Jingzhi was tied to the Third Prince and the deaths of the First Prince and Second Prince, but his whereabouts remained unknown. Chao Yushi proposed baiting the Third Prince by letting it appear that Lin Bai had evidence about the deaths, and Lin Bai decided to proceed.

• Chao Yushi told Lin Bai that Xia Jingzhi had vanished after the Zhao Xing Office tried to capture him fifteen hundred years earlier, and that he had found new traces only after Ren Xin's death.
• Lin Bai deduced that the Third Prince had rescued Xia Jingzhi and later used him to refine the God-Devil Calamity Poison and shadow Lin Bai's investigation.
• Chao Yushi said the Third Prince's involvement in the First Prince and Second Prince's deaths was leverage Lin Bai could use, even though he lacked evidence.
• Chao Yushi advised Lin Bai to spread word that he had evidence and was investigating the matter, hoping to make the Third Prince panic and act.
• Lin Bai accepted the plan and said he was ready for the Third Prince to come after him.

Lin Bai learned that Chao Yushi would help publicize his matter and revealed Prince Hong's Estate's far-reaching influence. Chao Yushi explained that the estate supported Lin Bai because of his marriage contract with Fallen Immortal and because they shared suspicions about Prince Liang's Estate, though they had no evidence yet.

• Chao Yushi offered to spread Lin Bai's matter throughout Chu, preventing the Third Prince from quietly suppressing it.
• Chao Yushi said Prince Hong's Estate would help Lin Bai because he was engaged to Fallen Immortal and could seek their aid in the imperial capital.
• Chao Yushi disclosed that Prince Hong's Estate could intervene in almost any matter within Chu, depending on the cost.
• Chao Yushi identified Prince Liang's Estate as a common enemy of Prince Hong's Estate and Prince Chen and the Third Prince.
• Chao Yushi said Prince Hong's Estate suspected Prince Liang's Estate but lacked evidence, so he could not yet explain their reasons.

Lin Bai agreed to consider Chao Yushi’s plan to draw out the Third Prince after consulting Prince Chen, who approved and placed fifty Heavenly Guard Battalion martial artists under Lin Bai’s command. As the imperial capital prepared for the arrival of the Flourishing Sects before Chu Emperor’s Birthday Celebration, Lin Bai headed to Immortal Abode Restaurant to gather with his friends and fellow sect disciples.

• Lin Bai told Chao Yushi he would discuss their plan with Prince Chen before making a decision, and Chao Yushi tied their interests to Prince Hong Estate.
• Lin Bai informed Prince Chen of the plan to reveal that he was investigating the First Prince and Second Prince’s deaths and had evidence, hoping to provoke the Third Prince into acting.
• Prince Chen approved the plan despite its risks and gave Lin Bai Voice Transmission Tokens to command fifty Heavenly Guard Battalion martial artists.
• Prince Chen warned that holy sons and old ancestors from the Flourishing Sects would soon arrive, and said he was preparing to suppress trouble in the imperial capital.
• Lin Bai went to Immortal Abode Restaurant for a gathering with Tianshui Sect disciples and holy sons and Holy Daughters from Chu’s factions and foreign sects.

Pan Qing asked Emperor Chu whether he truly intended to arrange Lin Bai’s marriage to Fallen Immortal, and Emperor Chu confirmed that the marriage was part of his plan. He explained the political maneuvering behind the Southern Sky Hunting Garden and left the succession open to either Prince Chen or the Third Prince.

• Pan Qing visited Emperor Chu to ask whether the marriage between Lin Bai and Fallen Immortal was genuine or merely a way to keep Lin Bai from Prince Chen and the Third Prince.
• Emperor Chu explained that an alliance with Prince Hong Estate would benefit Tianshui Sect and confirmed that he truly intended to grant Lin Bai and Princess Chenxian a marriage decree.
• Emperor Chu revealed that he had planned to announce the marriage after Lin Bai’s performance at the Southern Sky Hunting Garden, but Prince Liang’s intervention disrupted the plan.
• Emperor Chu said Prince Liang had used the Undying Holy Sect to force Lin Bai into the hunt, then pressured him alongside the Third Prince to arrange a marriage for Lin Bai.
• Emperor Chu clarified that the marriage did not mean he supported Prince Chen’s succession, and said either Prince Chen or the Third Prince could inherit the throne.

Pan Qing confirmed that the Chu Emperor had postponed arranging Lin Bai and Fallen Immortal’s marriage until after the hunt, while the Emperor revealed his plans to abdicate after the Birthday Celebration. In private, the Chu Emperor and a hidden man discussed their faltering schemes, the princes’ rivalry, and how to keep Prince Hong Estate’s former retainers from disrupting plans concerning Liang Wang.

• Pan Qing confirmed that the Chu Emperor would wait until after the hunt to arrange Lin Bai and Fallen Immortal’s marriage, then left after learning the Emperor planned to abdicate after the Birthday Celebration.
• The Chu Emperor told the hidden man that Lin Bai’s investigation into the First Prince and Second Prince’s deaths had become an uncontrollable variable that could damage the Third Prince.
• The hidden man said arrangements concerning Liang Wang were nearly complete, and the Chu Emperor warned him not to provoke Liang Wang or alert Prince Hong Estate’s former retainers.
• The hidden man suggested meeting Lin Bai to help handle Prince Hong Estate’s retainers, and the Chu Emperor agreed to provide Prince Chen with covert assistance in the Imperial Capital.
• The hidden man backed Prince Chen over the Third Prince, warning that the Third Prince could start a war in the Eastern Region, especially an Immortal War, while the Chu Emperor returned to reading in troubled silence.

Lin Bai hosted an extravagant banquet at Immortal Abode Restaurant for friends and fellow sect disciples, worrying over the cost and whether the Tianshui Sect would reimburse him. The guests began arriving, and Lin Bai and Chen Yule hinted at making further arrangements for the evening.

• Lin Bai ordered a thousand-immortal-jade banquet with Dragon Blood Wine and Clear Wind Brew at Immortal Abode Restaurant.
• Bai Yifei, Zhou Xinjin, Yi Zien, Li Juenian, Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, Fang Yuanshu, Ye Guyu, and other Tianshui Sect disciples arrived and marveled at the lavish private room.
• Lin Bai asked Bai Yifei about getting the banquet reimbursed, then proposed requesting extra funds and splitting what remained.
• Chen Yule arrived with Chen Family martial artists and Chen Yun, teased Lin Bai about the expense, and agreed to handle other arrangements that night.
• Chen Yun reproached Lin Bai and Chen Yule for setting a poor example with their suggestive plans.

Lin Bai and Chen Yule hosted a banquet for the Devil Realm’s sect prodigies, while Meng Qinxian’s jokes about the Moon Palace and pills repeatedly embarrassed them. The gathering continued as more Holy Sons, Holy Daughters, and their disciples arrived and took their seats.

• Chen Yun reprimanded Chen Yule, who obediently sat beside her while Lin Bai noticed Qiao Mo and Qin Yao watching him.
• Meng Qinxian arrived with Overturning Heavens Sect prodigies and joked that Chen Yule should arrange a trip to the Moon Palace after Lin Bai paid for the banquet.
• Qian Hen arrived with Qian Family prodigies and offered to arrange the outing, mistaking the men’s awkwardness for embarrassment in front of their juniors.
• Shui Mo Dan and Huang Qingyun arrived together, and Meng Qinxian joked that Chen Yule needed pills to improve his abilities, prompting Chen Yun to scrutinize her nephew.
• Yi Song arrived with Celestial Immortal Sect prodigies, who saluted the gathered Holy Sons and Holy Daughters before Lin Bai seated them.

Lin Bai hosted a banquet for the gathered prodigies of the Devil Realm Eastern Region, welcoming Mo Nan, Li Xuanqiu, Yi Heze, Lu Qingjun, and their companions. The gathering began with friendly conversation and laughter as more guests arrived.

• Yi Song questioned Qian Hen about why the others had been laughing, but Chen Yule changed the subject.
• Lin Bai explained which invited guests had yet to arrive, and Mo Nan and Li Xuanqiu entered the banquet hall together.
• Mo Nan confirmed that the Star Sect disciples rescued from danger had recovered and thanked Lin Bai, Meng Qinxian, Lu Qingjun, and the others for their help.
• Yi Heze and Lu Qingjun arrived with prodigies from the Pacifying Heaven Sword Sect and Seven Absolutes City, including Lu Lingjun.
• Lin Bai welcomed the additional guests, and everyone joked about the banquet's cost as the gathering officially began.

At Lin Bai’s banquet, Chen Yule explained the history of Heaven Mountain Snow Deer and the guests praised the dish. Qian Hen revealed that his family raised several million snow deer at Night’s Rest Manor, leaving Lin Bai and the other guests stunned by the Qian Family’s wealth.

• Lin Bai had the Immortal Abode Restaurant serve the banquet, including its signature Heaven Mountain Snow Deer meat.
• Chen Yule described how hunting nearly drove the snow deer to extinction and how the Chu royal family reserved them for royal consumption.
• Lin Bai and the other guests tasted the venison, while Qian Hen praised Mount Qiyun’s cooking and offered to host them at Night’s Rest Manor.
• Qian Hen revealed that the Qian Family raised several million snow deer in the Night’s Rest Mountains and that the banquet’s venison came from there.
• Lin Bai silently reconsidered the Qian Family’s immense wealth and accumulated power.

Lin Bai treated the gathered Holy Sons, Holy Daughters, and disciples to the Immortal Abode Restaurant’s signature dishes, including rare deer and Flood Dragon meat. The meal’s cost stunned the guests, who eventually began feasting after Lin Bai invited them to eat.

• Qian Hen explained that his family had restored the Heaven Mountain Snow Deer population through breeding and cultivation, though most were raised for food.
• Chen Yule identified the thinly sliced meat as Flying Cloud Flood Dragon, and Qian Hen described how the Qian Family had preserved the species from overhunting.
• Chen Yule named the restaurant’s other signature dishes and revealed that Lin Bai’s banquet would cost at least two thousand immortal jades.
• Lin Bai said his earnings from the Southern Sky Hunting Garden had let him afford the meal, and the gathered disciples thanked him for the hospitality.
• After the server confirmed that the wine and dishes had arrived, Lin Bai invited everyone to eat, and the guests eagerly began feasting.

Lin Bai hosted a banquet for the martial artists who had accompanied him to the Southern Sky Hunting Garden, divided the imperial reward among them, and celebrated with the gathered Holy Sons, Holy Daughters, and disciples. As the feast wound down, Chen Yule reflected on their coming departures, while his companions promised to reunite for his wedding.

• Lin Bai split the million immortal jades awarded by His Majesty among the six participants, giving each person 166,666 immortal jades, and realized his own share might let him attempt a breakthrough.
• Lin Bai and the others drank and talked while Mo Nan covered the drunken Li Xuanqiu and urged her to restrain her seductive aura.
• The gathered disciples from different sects and lineages shared food, stories, and rumors, and Lin Bai grew curious about the territory of Ten Thousand Saints Mountain.
• Meng Qinxian lost a drinking contest to Lin Bai, Chen Yule, Yi Heze, and the others, and the group laughed together after stopping.
• Chen Yule lamented that the guests would soon leave the imperial capital, and Meng Qinxian and Yi Heze promised to attend his wedding.

Lin Bai’s banquet turned into a round of teasing about his supposed future marriage to Fallen Immortal. Fallen Immortal arrived after receiving no invitation, leaving Lin Bai embarrassed as Meng Qinxian urged him to comfort her.

• Lu Qingjun and the other guests joked about their future weddings, and Chen Yule redirected the teasing toward Lin Bai and Fallen Immortal.
• An attendant announced that Lin Bai had a guest, and Lin Bai allowed the unknown visitor into the private room.
• The veiled visitor revealed herself as Fallen Immortal and asked why Lin Bai had not invited her to his banquet.
• Meng Qinxian joked that Fallen Immortal had caught Lin Bai drinking outside, then tried to reassure her that Lin Bai had not flirted with anyone.
• Fallen Immortal blushed and said she did not care what Lin Bai was doing, while Meng Qinxian urged him to comfort her.

Fallen Immortal joined Lin Bai’s banquet and explained that Liang Wang had engineered the events at Southern Sky Hunting Garden to pull him into Prince Liang’s camp. Lin Bai learned that breaking the emperor’s marriage decree could endanger him and Tianshui Sect, leaving him to search for a way out of the engagement.

• Lin Bai welcomed Fallen Immortal to his banquet after she arrived unexpectedly and sat beside him.
• Fallen Immortal revealed that Liang Wang had bribed the Undying Holy Sect to force Lin Bai into the hunt and had used a marriage proposal to draw him toward Prince Liang’s Estate.
• Lin Bai thanked Fallen Immortal and said he would ask the emperor to dissolve their marriage, explaining that he already had a family.
• Fallen Immortal warned that breaking the publicly announced engagement would insult the imperial clan and put Lin Bai and Tianshui Sect at risk.
• Fallen Immortal said she had no right to reject the emperor’s choice, and Lin Bai considered how to escape the engagement.

Lin Bai and Fallen Immortal agreed to maintain the appearance of a devoted engaged couple until Chu Emperor’s Birthday Celebration, while postponing any attempt to break off their engagement. Their banquet was interrupted by the arrival of the Princess and Young Lord of Prince Liang’s Estate.

• Lin Bai considered breaking off his engagement, but Fallen Immortal warned that doing so before the Birthday Celebration would endanger him and shame the royal family.
• Lin Bai and Fallen Immortal agreed that he would cooperate with the royal family’s plan and not mention breaking off the engagement for now.
• Meng Qinxian invited Fallen Immortal to let Lin Bai join the others for wine, and the group drank together.
• An attendant announced another guest, and the Princess and Young Lord of Prince Liang’s Estate entered Lin Bai’s private room.

Chu Tingxue, Chu Tinghan, and Chu Zimo of Prince Liang's Estate arrived at Lin Bai's banquet with wine, where Chu Tinghan provoked Fallen Immortal and Lin Bai defended her. Lin Bai repelled Chu Tinghan and ordered the visitors to either join the banquet as guests or leave, and Chu Tingxue led her siblings out.

• Chu Tingxue, Chu Tinghan, and Chu Zimo entered Lin Bai's private room uninvited and presented two jars of fine wine as a congratulatory gift.
• Chu Tinghan recognized Fallen Immortal and taunted her about surviving the destruction of Prince Hong's Estate.
• Chu Tinghan unleashed sword intent at Fallen Immortal, but Lin Bai stepped in and blocked the attack.
• Lin Bai struck Chu Tinghan with his sword intent, shattered her defenses, and knocked her against the wall.
• Chu Tingxue apologized for her sister, and Lin Bai told the group to sit as guests or leave; Chu Tingxue then led Chu Tinghan and Chu Zimo out.

After Prince Liang's Estate warned Lin Bai to join them, Lin Bai reaffirmed his loyalty to Prince Chen and used a banquet to draw Chen Family and Sacred Lotus Palace into the investigation of the First Prince and Second Prince's deaths. He left Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun wondering whether he had uncovered a clue.

• Prince Liang's Estate sent Chu Tingxue and two others to warn Lin Bai to recognize the times and join their side, but Lin Bai refused to waver from supporting Prince Chen.
• Fallen Immortal thanked Lin Bai for defending her, and Lin Bai said he expected Prince Liang's Estate to become their enemy.
• Lin Bai recalled Chao Yushi's advice that he needed to provoke the Third Prince into exposing a flaw, and planned to use the banquet to recruit Chen Family and Sacred Lotus Palace to Prince Chen's cause.
• After drinking with Chen Yule, Huang Qingyun, and the others, Lin Bai asked whether they had found clues about the First Prince and Second Prince's deaths.
• Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun sobered and watched Lin Bai closely, suspecting he had finally found a clue.

Lin Bai revealed that the First Prince and Second Prince had been murdered with the Southern Border Insect Valley’s God-Devil Calamity Poison, though he said the valley itself was not involved. He traced the poison to a fugitive who stole its refinement method and eventually reached the Chu Empire’s imperial capital.

• Lin Bai told Chen Yule, Huang Qingyun, Yi Song, and the others that the First Prince and Second Prince had not died sudden deaths but had been murdered.
• Lin Bai explained that the God-Devil Calamity Poison was a colorless, odorless King Poison from the Southern Border Insect Valley that could leave no clear evidence after killing its victim.
• Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun recognized that the poison’s effects matched the princes’ case files, while Lin Bai invited them to verify its origins in the Southern Region.
• Lin Bai said the Southern Border Insect Valley had not interfered in the Chu Empire’s affairs and that a traitor had stolen a secret scroll detailing how to refine the poison.
• Lin Bai explained that the traitor fled east after the valley issued a Demon Realm Assassination Order and eventually arrived in the imperial capital.

Lin Bai revealed to Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun that Xia Jingzhi, a Southern Border Insect Valley traitor tied to the Third Prince, had likely created the God-Devil Calamity Poison, then pretended to have drunkenly let the secret slip. After the banquet, Lin Bai and Fallen Immortal headed to Prince Hong Estate to meet Chao Yushi and continue their plan.

• Lin Bai told Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun that Xia Jingzhi had vanished after the Zhao Xing Office pursued him and was likely protected by the Third Prince.
• Lin Bai linked Xia Jingzhi’s poison-making method to the deaths of the First Prince and Second Prince and claimed he knew Xia Jingzhi’s whereabouts.
• Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun promised to inform only powerful elders in their family and sect and offered help capturing Xia Jingzhi.
• Lin Bai pretended to regret revealing the information while dismissing the banquet, then paid the bill and escorted Fallen Immortal through the night market.
• Fallen Immortal realized Lin Bai’s disclosure was part of his plan with Chao Yushi and suggested meeting at Prince Hong Estate instead of Hongtian Tavern.
• Lin Bai agreed, and he and Fallen Immortal set out for Prince Hong Estate.