Chapter Summaries

After Emperor Chu offered only verbal praise for rescuing the Twenty-First Prince, Lin Bai prepared to attend the Northern Region’s challenges and answer invitations from the prince and Grand Princess Qingyue. He visited the prince first, warned him he would not spread the kidnapping story, and left to meet Qingyue, leaving the prince speechless.

• Emperor Chu promised to discuss Lin Bai’s reward after the birthday celebrations, while Lin Bai and Chen Yule and Yi Song planned to watch the Northern Region’s challenges at Moon Peak Pavilion.
• Lin Bai accepted invitations from the Twenty-First Prince and Grand Princess Qingyue, whose summons he knew he could not refuse.
• Lin Bai arrived at the Twenty-First Prince’s residence and found him drinking while Lady Yuewu danced for him.
• The Twenty-First Prince warned Lin Bai not to reveal his capture, and Lin Bai agreed but said he had no interest in the prince or his affairs.
• When the Twenty-First Prince tried to stop him from leaving, Lin Bai asked whether he was more important than Grand Princess Qingyue, leaving the prince furious and speechless.

Lin Bai refused the Twenty-First Prince’s demand to return the mysterious sword and urged him to stay out of the conflict between the Chu Kingdom and the Devil Realm. He then visited Grand Princess Qingyue, whose tragic past he had learned from Ancestor Pan Qing, and was introduced to her by the pool.

• Lin Bai told the Twenty-First Prince that the sword was safer with him and advised the prince to live quietly and avoid the imperial capital’s troubles.
• The Twenty-First Prince accepted that he would not get the sword back, forgave Lady Yuewu, and resumed the music and dancing at his residence.
• Lin Bai left for Grand Princess Qingyue’s estate and recalled that she had severed ties with Emperor Chu after he had her beloved, a man from the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, executed.
• A maid led Lin Bai to Grand Princess Qingyue, who sat beside a cold pool, and he introduced himself and paid his respects.

Lin Bai visited Grand Princess Qingyue at her secluded residence to explain the incident at Flower Fairy Garden. Their conversation ended with Lin Bai asking whether Qingyue had invited Li Guxian and He Qiyun, as the cold pool suddenly froze around them.

• Lin Bai met Grand Princess Qingyue at her mountain residence and accepted tea brewed from the Heavenly Fate Enlightenment Tree.
• Qingyue demanded an explanation for what happened at Flower Fairy Garden, which she owned as a secondary residence.
• Lin Bai recounted finding a Nine Underworlds Demon Palace Goddess and two Dao Children there, then sparing Yao Qian when he used Li Guxian and He Qiyun as leverage.
• Lin Bai asked Qingyue whether she had invited Li Guxian and He Qiyun to Flower Fairy Garden, and the cold around the pool suddenly intensified and formed ice crystals.

Lin Bai questioned Grand Princess Qingyue about Li Guxian and He Qiyun’s visit to Flower Fairy Garden, hoping to clarify the mystery without becoming further involved in the imperial capital’s affairs. Qingyue explained that she had once invited Li Guxian to seek her there, but as Lin Bai prepared to leave, she asked him to help with a matter of her own.

• Lin Bai told Grand Princess Qingyue he wanted to avoid the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace investigation, but asked about Li Guxian and He Qiyun because he felt indebted to Prince Chen and Chu Emperor.
• Grand Princess Qingyue said she had known Li Guxian’s parents for years and had told Li Guxian she could come to Flower Fairy Garden if she needed help.
• Qingyue explained that she moved back to her government office about half a year earlier and had not told Li Guxian or He Qiyun; only her maid Qingniao knew.
• Lin Bai concluded that Li Guxian and He Qiyun might genuinely have gone to Flower Fairy Garden believing Qingyue was still there, though the circumstances remained unresolved.
• As Lin Bai prepared to leave, Grand Princess Qingyue said she had a matter she wanted him to help with.

Grand Princess Qingyue asked Lin Bai to investigate whether Huang Xuan, her first friend, had truly belonged to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace. She suspected Emperor Chu had deliberately arranged his execution, and Lin Bai was left questioning why the emperor would target him.

• Grand Princess Qingyue stopped Lin Bai and offered to help him against the Third Prince and prepare for his journey to the Tianquan Great World if he investigated Huang Xuan.
• Grand Princess Qingyue told Lin Bai that Huang Xuan had been executed ten thousand years earlier after being accused of belonging to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Grand Princess Qingyue explained that she had befriended Huang Xuan at the Moon Sacrifice Gathering because she longed to hear about the world beyond the palace, not because she loved him.
• Grand Princess Qingyue said Huang Xuan had been her first friend and that she wanted to know whether he had truly been a martial artist of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Grand Princess Qingyue revealed that she suspected Emperor Chu had deliberately wanted Huang Xuan killed, leaving Lin Bai astonished and asking why.

Grand Princess Qingyue explained why Emperor Chu may have killed Huang Xuan and asked Lin Bai to uncover the truth. She offered to help Lin Bai against the Third Prince and in the Tianquan Great World, leaving Lin Bai to question how she knew of his plans.

• Grand Princess Qingyue explained that imperial marriages were political and that Emperor Chu had once planned to marry her to the Celestial Immortal Sect's Holy Son.
• Lin Bai pieced together that Emperor Chu may have targeted Huang Xuan, a suspected Nine Underworlds Demon Palace remnant, to force Qingyue into the marriage.
• Qingyue said she wanted to know the truth about Huang Xuan's identity and death, and vowed to smash the Dragon Throne and slap Emperor Chu if he had been at fault.
• Qingyue offered to help Lin Bai deal with the Third Prince and support him in the Tianquan Great World.
• Qingyue revealed that Chu Junyou had told her about Lin Bai's plans when he returned to the Imperial City.

Grand Princess Qingyue offered Lin Bai intelligence about the Seven Realms of the Heavens in exchange for investigating Huang Xuan, and Lin Bai agreed. After he left, a watcher reported their meeting to Emperor Chu, who reacted with displeasure.

• Grand Princess Qingyue told Lin Bai that the Seven Realms of the Heavens held the secrets of the Heaven Swallowing Race and the Giant God Race, and offered him intelligence if he investigated Huang Xuan.
• Lin Bai weighed the danger of investigating a ten-thousand-year-old case that might implicate Emperor Chu, then agreed to do his best in exchange for payment even if he found nothing.
• Grand Princess Qingyue told Lin Bai that Chu Kingdom had executed Huang Xuan and the Zhao Xing Office had uprooted his entire family, leaving few people who remembered him.
• Lin Bai left Grand Princess Qingyue's office and returned to Tianshui Sect's palace, while a watcher carried news of the meeting to the imperial palace.
• Emperor Chu heard that Grand Princess Qingyue had secretly met Lin Bai for three hours and showed displeasure.

Emperor Chu learned that Grand Princess Qingyue had asked Lin Bai to investigate Huang Xuan’s fate ten thousand years ago, and ordered a secret investigation into Nine Underworlds Demon Palace agents within the imperial clan. Lin Bai returned to the Tianshui Sect’s traveling palace, but was summoned to hear a new imperial decree.

• Emperor Chu’s shadowy informant reported Lin Bai’s encounter with the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace in Flower Fairy Garden and his meeting with Grand Princess Qingyue.
• Emperor Chu concluded that Qingyue had asked Lin Bai to investigate Huang Xuan’s disappearance and ordered a secret warning for Lin Bai, Yi Song, and Chen Yule about the coming Northern Region challenge.
• Emperor Chu ordered a thorough investigation of the imperial clan for agents connected to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, including Li Guxian and He Qiyun.
• Lin Bai returned to the Tianshui Sect’s traveling palace and planned to wait for the Southern Border Insect Valley delegation and capture Xia Jingzhi.
• A maid summoned Lin Bai to the main hall to receive Emperor Chu’s decree, which Eunuch Gui delivered with an unusually solemn expression.

Eunuch Gui delivered the Chu Emperor’s warning to Lin Bai after Lin Bai met Grand Princess Qingyue. Lin Bai learned that Qingyue had asked him to investigate Huang Xuan, whose death was rumored to have been ordered by the Chu Emperor, and faced Ancestor Pan Qing’s urging to stop.

• Eunuch Gui warned Lin Bai that the Chu Emperor would punish him if he lost and advised him to keep a low profile.
• Lin Bai realized the Chu Emperor’s anger likely stemmed from his meeting with Grand Princess Qingyue and her request to investigate Huang Xuan.
• Ancestor Pan Qing confirmed that Qingyue had asked Lin Bai to investigate Huang Xuan and warned him not to pursue the matter.
• Ancestor Pan Qing recounted rumors that the Chu Emperor had framed Huang Xuan as a remnant of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and executed him and his family and friends.
• Ancestor Pan Qing urged Lin Bai to stop investigating so Tianshui Sect would not face renewed suppression from the Chu imperial clan.

Lin Bai joined the Eastern Domain’s martial artists to watch the Northland’s second challenge at Moon Peak Pavilion, while keeping his own edict from Chu Emperor in mind. When three masked figures finally answered Zhou Han’s taunts, their attire made Lin Bai, Chen Yule, and Yi Song suspect the Northland had staged a new trick.

• Lin Bai agreed to attend the second battle at Moon Peak Pavilion with Bai Yifei, Zhou Xinjin, Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, and the other Tianshui Sect disciples.
• At Chen Yule’s restaurant, Chen Yule and Yi Song asked Lin Bai about Chu Emperor’s edict, and Lin Bai apologized, saying the matter had begun because of him.
• Zhou Han arrived at Moon Peak Pavilion and repeatedly challenged the Eastern Domain’s Golden Martial Warriors, then mocked them when they did not appear.
• Lin Bai, Chen Yule, and Yi Song held back because they feared falling into the Northland martial artists’ scheme.
• Three black-robed figures wearing Golden Masks carved with sweet briar, rose, and narcissus patterns appeared atop Moon Peak Pavilion, prompting Chen Yule to suspect a new Northland trick.

The Northern Domain warriors used three masked South Mountain Clan members to impersonate Eastern Domain Golden Martial Warriors and challenge Zhou Han. Zhou Han defeated them decisively atop Moon Peak Pavilion, while the gathered Eastern Domain warriors believed the defeated fighters were their own.

• Bald Elder praised Dao Child Yao Qian's plan to disguise South Mountain Clan members as Eastern Domain Golden Martial Warriors, while Yao Qian warned that the Devil Palace's assistance was the clan's last chance.
• Lin Bai, Chen Yule, and Yi Song recognized the masked warriors as the Northern Domain's latest scheme, though they could not identify who was beneath the masks.
• Zhou Han challenged the three Golden Masked Warriors and declared that he would seek justice for the Northern Domain.
• The Rose Masked Warrior attacked Zhou Han, but Zhou Han struck him back with a single punch.
• The three masked warriors attacked together, but Zhou Han overwhelmed them, pinned them beneath his feet, and heard them beg for mercy.

Zhou Han forced three Golden Masked Warriors to kneel and beg for mercy, inflaming the Eastern Region and angering Emperor Chu. Lin Bai, Yi Song, and Chen Yule then put on their Golden Masks and set out to confront Zhou Han.

• Zhou Han made the three Golden Masked Warriors kowtow and promise never to oppose Northern Region warriors again, while warriors from both regions shouted and taunted each other.
• Emperor Chu watched the scene in the Golden Hall and rejected intervention, declaring that someone needed to defeat Zhou Han outright.
• Emperor Chu and the hidden figures watched Lin Bai, Chen Yule, Yi Song, and the other Saint Sons and Holy Daughters gathered before Moon Peak Pavilion.
• Lin Bai put on a rose-patterned Golden Mask, Yi Song put on a daffodil-patterned mask, and Chen Yule also donned a rose-patterned mask before vanishing from the room.
• Yi Heze and the others realized the masked warriors were Lin Bai, Chen Yule, and Yi Song, while Meng Qinxian complained that they had left him out and resolved to ask Lin Bai for a Golden Mask.

Zhou Han humiliated three Golden Martial Warriors into kowtowing and pledging to retreat whenever they met Northern Region warriors. Three ornate-masked warriors then appeared, challenged the spectacle as a staged farce, and one stepped forward to attack the defeated trio.

• Zhou Han accepted the three Golden Martial Warriors’ hundred kowtows, spared them, and threatened them against offending the Northern Region again.
• The defeated warriors praised Zhou Han and promised to kneel and retreat from Northern Region warriors in the future, angering the Eastern Region crowd.
• Three warriors wearing ornate Golden Masks appeared above Moon Peak Pavilion, and Dao Child Yao Qian suspected they were the true Golden Martial Warriors.
• Dao Child Yao Qian questioned whether Zhou Han could defeat them, while Emperor Chu demanded that Lin Bai and the others win without disgracing the Eastern Region.
• The Rose Masked Warrior applauded Zhou Han’s performance, and the Daffodil Masked Warrior accused him of staging the farce with disguised Northern Region warriors.
• The three defeated warriors defended Zhou Han, and the Daffodil Masked Warrior stepped forward to grind them to dust as the other two stood aside.

Yi Song revealed himself as the Celestial Immortal Sect's Saint Son and used Purple Firmament Divine Lightning to kill three Northern Region warriors disguised as Golden Masked Warriors. Chen Yule stopped Yi Song from striking Zhou Han and claimed Zhou Han for himself.

• Yi Song summoned the Celestial Immortal Sect's Purple Firmament Divine Lightning against the three Golden Masked Warriors, revealing his identity as the sect's Saint Son.
• The three warriors unleashed Northern Region mystic arts and Dao arts, exposing their disguises as Northern Region warriors.
• Yi Song's lightning broke through their defenses, killed them, and devastated the area around Moon Peak Pavilion.
• Yi Song sent lightning toward Zhou Han, but Chen Yule shattered it and asked Yi Song to leave Zhou Han to him.
• Yi Song agreed after Chen Yule offered him one hundred jars of Dragon Blood Wine, and Chen Yule landed before Zhou Han while Lin Bai remained silent.

Chen Yule confronted Zhou Han atop Moon Peak Pavilion and promised to spare him if he could withstand one sword. Chen Yule unleashed his self-created sword art, Great River Eastward, leaving Zhou Han’s defenses and life-preserving talisman untested as the sword light closed in.

• After Yi Song accepted a hundred jars of Dragon Blood Wine from Chen Yule, he handed Zhou Han over to him.
• Chen Yule challenged Zhou Han to withstand one sword, while Zhou Han angrily prepared to fight with his ice-and-snow arts.
• Zhou Han sent nine ice dragons charging at Chen Yule, who vanished and cut them apart with a sword light.
• Zhou Han retreated and deployed defensive treasures, but judged the weakening sword light insufficient to require his life-preserving jade talisman.
• Emperor Chu and others watching through a jade mirror identified Chen Yule’s attack as Great River Eastward and noted that it had become nearly half a Dao Art.

Chen Yule revealed his identity by unleashing his famed sword art, Great River Eastward, and killed Zhou Han on Moon Peak Pavilion. Sword experts recognized the strike’s extraordinary power, while Luo Qiu concluded that its arrogant Sword Dao belonged to Chen Yule, not Lin Bai.

• The Chen Family's Ancestors and elders recognized the masked swordsman as Chen Yule and discussed how to distance their Holy Son from Zhou Han’s death.
• The Celestial Immortal Sect's Ancestors and elders identified Chen Yule’s Great River Eastward and feared Zhou Han could not survive it.
• Chen Yule’s sword strike surged through Zhou Han’s defenses and pierced his skull before he could use a life-preserving jade talisman.
• The remaining Sword Qi cleaved the streets before Moon Peak Pavilion and was stopped by the imperial palace’s defensive formation.
• Lu Qingjun and Yi Heze praised Chen Yule’s sword art, while Luo Qiu judged that its arrogant style did not match Lin Bai’s Sword Dao.
• Luo Qiu concluded that the masked swordsman was Chen Yule and called the strike his Sword Dao.

Chen Yule killed Zhou Han in their life-and-death battle, and Lin Bai stopped a South Mountain Clan elder from retaliating as more than twenty Grand Luo Dao Fruit Realm martial artists intervened. Lin Bai and his companions returned to the inn, while fighting broke out between Eastern Region and Northern Region martial artists and the Zhao Xing Office moved to suppress it.

• Chen Yule slew Zhou Han, prompting the bald South Mountain Clan elder to attack Moon Peak Pavilion.
• Lin Bai blocked the elder’s strike, and more than twenty Grand Luo Dao Fruit Realm martial artists suppressed him; Dao Child Yao Qian vanished before they intervened.
• Lin Bai declared that Zhou Han’s death resulted from the South Mountain Clan’s own life-and-death challenge, then left with Chen Yule and Yi Song.
• Lin Bai, Chen Yule, and Yi Song returned to the inn, where Meng Qinxian asked for a mask and Lin Bai explained that the Celestial Mystery Pavilion had forged theirs by imperial command.
• Eastern Region and Northern Region martial artists clashed beneath Moon Peak Pavilion, and the Zhao Xing Office rushed in to quell the disturbance.

Lin Bai and the others left Moon Peak Pavilion after the Zhao Xing Office suppressed the fighting, then gathered at Immortal Abode Restaurant to discuss troubles across the Devil Realm Eastern Region. The chapter ended with Lu Qingjun revealing that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s stronghold was likely hidden in Qi Tian Sect’s territory.

• Lin Bai led everyone away from Moon Peak Pavilion as the Zhao Xing Office quickly stopped the battle between Eastern and Northern Region martial artists.
• At Immortal Abode Restaurant, Nie Shang told the group that Northern Region forces had approached the border and might target Chu or Seven Nights Divine Sect.
• Yi Heze said that forbidden figures in the territory of Ten Thousand Saints Mountain were beginning to stir.
• Lu Qingjun said Qi Tian Sect’s territory faced a threat more troublesome than forbidden figures: the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s stronghold was likely there.

Lu Qingjun argued that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace's hidden stronghold was most likely in the Qi Tian Sect's territory, where unusual calm suggested its influence ran deep. The gathered Holy Sons and Holy Daughters concluded the Demon Palace was nearing its return and vowed to confront it in their generation.

• Lu Qingjun explained why the Chu Kingdom and Ten Thousand Saints Mountain were unlikely locations for the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace's stronghold, leaving the Seven Nights Divine Sect and Qi Tian Sect as the likely possibilities.
• Lu Qingjun argued that the Qi Tian Sect's territory was more suspicious than the Seven Nights Divine Sect's because it remained unusually peaceful amid turmoil elsewhere.
• Lu Qingjun suggested that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had infiltrated sects in the Qi Tian Sect's territory and helped stir chaos across the Chu Kingdom, Ten Thousand Saints Mountain, and the Seven Nights Divine Sect.
• Huang Qingyun warned that the Demon Palace's return would bring disaster, while Lu Qingjun said it was close to being reborn.
• Meng Qinxian declared that their generation should fight the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace so their descendants would not have to.

The Holy Sons and Holy Daughters formed an alliance to confront the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, threats beneath Ten Thousand Saints Mountain, and other dangers in the Devil Realm Eastern Region. At Prince Hong Estate, Chao Yushi warned Chen Yule that killing Zhou Han could worsen conflicts and that some people were more useful alive.

• Yi Heze and Lu Qingjun pledged to help each other, and Lin Bai, Chen Yule, Yi Song, Nie Shang, Huang Qingyun, Mo Nan, Li Xuanqiu, and Shui Mo Dan offered their support against threats to the Eastern Region.
• Meng Qinxian proposed an alliance among the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, and everyone agreed and sealed it by draining their cups.
• After the banquet, Chao Yushi met Lin Bai, Chen Yule, and Yi Song and escorted them to Prince Hong Estate while ordering his people to quiet their pursuers.
• Fallen Immortal received the visitors, and Chen Yule asked whether Zhou Han's death would calm the Northern Region.
• Chao Yushi said a Holy Son's death could intensify hatred and told Chen Yule that some matters required a person to remain alive.