Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai studied the Star-Slaying Three Swords and examined accounts of sword cultivators who had comprehended the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal’s inheritance, finding that its fourth stage was at the quasi-Dao-art level. After the Chu Emperor’s Birthday Celebration, he invited Bu Junfeng to a banquet and discussed the battle in the Hunting Realm.

• Lin Bai studied the Star-Slaying Three Swords for several days and began to grasp their fundamentals.
• Lin Bai read accounts of later sword cultivators’ insights into the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal’s inheritance and learned that the fourth stage was roughly at the quasi-Dao-art level.
• Lin Bai continued to ponder how the fourth stage worked, sensing he was close to understanding it but making no breakthrough.
• After the Chu Emperor’s Birthday Celebration, Lin Bai invited Bu Junfeng to dine at the Immortal Abode Restaurant.
• Bu Junfeng met Lin Bai and said that their battle in the Hunting Realm had nearly killed him.

Lin Bai hosted Bu Junfeng at a banquet and learned that Soul Refinement Sect had captured Leng Xingguang, Dongyu’s friend. Bu Junfeng said Leng Xingguang had already been secretly sent back to Mo Qin, leaving Dongyu with no way to rescue him in the imperial capital.

• Lin Bai and Bu Junfeng discussed their past battle, agreeing that neither had wanted to fight but pressure from Ascension Celestial Palace had made it unavoidable.
• Bu Junfeng asked whether Lin Bai had come to gather intelligence for the Chu royal family, and Lin Bai said he was only hosting him.
• Dongyu asked Bu Junfeng whether Soul Refinement Sect had captured Leng Xingguang, his friend from Wind and Snow Villa.
• Bu Junfeng admitted Soul Refinement Sect had captured Leng Xingguang and said the sect had secretly escorted him to Mo Qin.
• Dongyu revealed that Leng Xingguang was a member of the Heaven Swallowing Race and said he had once joined Eternal Devil Sect in Evil Moon Thousand Provinces.

Lin Bai met with Princess Chenxian and Prince Hong Estate’s former officials, who asked him to seek the Crown Prince’s help in restoring their status. He left after telling Princess Chenxian he would ask Emperor Chu to annul their engagement, while she struggled to hide her grief.

• Princess Chenxian kept Lin Bai standing and coldly ignored him as he entered the meeting hall.
• Chao Yushi explained that Prince Hong Estate hoped the Crown Prince would restore its status, though its old case had no injustice to overturn.
• Lin Bai agreed to remind the Crown Prince but said he was occupied with the sects visiting the imperial capital.
• Lin Bai said he would ask Emperor Chu to annul his engagement to Princess Chenxian, then left Prince Hong Estate.
• Princess Chenxian held back her tears until Lin Bai was gone, then went to the garden with Chao Yushi.

As the sects departed the imperial capital, Lin Bai struggled to understand Prince Liang's Estate's plans while the departing Holy Sons and Holy Maiden discussed the growing instability across Chu and the Eastern Region. The chapter left Nie Shang urging Chu Tinghan and Mo Nan to set aside their sects' grievances and cooperate as the political situation worsened.

• Lin Bai left Prince Hong Estate at dawn, worried about his entanglement with Princess Chenxian and the unresolved marriage politics involving Chu Tinghan and Prince Liang's Estate.
• Nie Shang saw Xu Chunhai and the Overturning Heavens Sect depart, then warned Chu Tinghan that the One Night Divine Sect might soon face upheaval and urged its factions to cooperate.
• Xu Chun advised Chu Tinghan to act cautiously and investigate the misunderstandings between the Worship Heaven Sect and the Overturning Heavens Sect.
• Nie Shang urged Mo Nan to consider setting aside the two sects' grievances, and Mo Nan agreed to give the proposal serious thought.
• Xu Chun and Mo Nan departed the imperial capital, while Nie Shang returned to the Heavenly Water Sect's temporary residence still concerned about the region's future.

As the sects departed the imperial capital, Lin Bai saw Qi Lingyu off and discussed the burdens of his position as Qi Tian Sect’s Saint. They parted after Lin Bai agreed to help arrange courtyards for Qi Lingyu if he ever retired and came to Chu.

• Lin Bai saw Qi Lingyu off as the Qi Tian Sect prepared to leave the imperial capital.
• Qi Lingyu admitted he wished he could stay in the bustling capital, but explained that being the Qi Tian Sect’s Saint meant carrying its responsibilities.
• Lin Bai said he understood why the Qi Tian Sect was drawing closer to the Eternal Devil Sect and hoped the alliance would benefit it.
• Qi Lingyu asked whether Lin Bai feared the Eternal Devil Sect would be caught between him and the Qi Tian Sect, and Lin Bai remained silent.
• Lin Bai promised to find Qi Lingyu two courtyards in the imperial capital if he retired and came to Chu, and Qi Lingyu accepted the offer.

Lin Bai warned Liu Fuyun that Qi Lingyu planned to support the Eternal Devil Sect in taking control of the Evil Moon Thousand Provinces, but that the alliance could bring great danger. After the Eternal Devil Sect chose to accept the support, Lin Bai was summoned to Prince Chen's residence by the Crown Prince.

• Lin Bai met Liu Fuyun and Jiang Xuansu at the city gates and learned that Qi Tian Sect had agreed to take Jiang Xuansu and other Eternal Devil Sect disciples as Core Disciples.
• Lin Bai told Liu Fuyun that Qi Lingyu intended to back the Eternal Devil Sect as the new hegemon of the Evil Moon Thousand Provinces, warning that the opportunity could also become a dead end.
• Liu Fuyun chose to accept Qi Lingyu's support, saying the Eternal Devil Sect had waited ten thousand years for such an opportunity.
• Lin Bai saw the Eternal Devil Sect off, and Jiang Xuansu quietly waved to him as he departed.
• At Tianshui Sect's traveling palace, Zhou Wang told Lin Bai that the Crown Prince had summoned him, and Lin Bai went with him to Prince Chen's residence.

Lin Bai arrived at Prince Chen’s residence and learned that Worship Heaven Sect’s Luo Daoguo had been attacked outside Dragon Mountain City, with its disciples slaughtered and Yun Zhou, its elders, and patriarch missing. The princes could not identify the attackers or confirm whether Jiang Yan was dead.

• Lin Bai entered the meeting hall, where Prince Chen and the Heavenly Guard Battalion were discussing a grave incident.
• The Third Prince reported that Worship Heaven Sect’s Luo Daoguo had been attacked two hours earlier outside Dragon Mountain City.
• Zhao Linbai and the imperial guards found the disciples dead but no bodies of Yun Zhou, the patriarch, or the elders.
• The Third Prince said no traces of the attackers had been found and suggested that Yun Zhou might be dead or missing.
• Nie Shang questioned how the Eighth Prince could conclude that Jiang Yan was dead, since Jiang Yan had left with Worship Heaven Sect’s disciples.

After Star Sect’s Northern Region was attacked and Mo Nan and several elders disappeared, Nie Shang and the princes considered who was behind the attacks. Nie Shang realized that Prince Chens and lineages leaving the Imperial Capital could also be targets, and rushed to warn them.

• The Crown Prince told Lin Bai that the Zhao Xing Office was searching for Nie Shang and the others, while the Eighth Prince named the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and the sects as suspects.
• Nie Shang questioned why the Four Gloom Demon Palace would attack Worship Heaven Sect’s Northern Region and considered that the attackers might have broader targets.
• A Zhao Linbai martial artist reported that Star Sect’s Northern Region had been attacked in White Horse City, where Mo Nan and several ancestors and elders had vanished.
• Nie Shang urged the Crown Prince and Eighth Prince to warn the Prince Chens and lineages who had left the Imperial Capital, especially those from powerful Northern Regions.
• Nie Shang realized the attackers might target other Prince Chens, then flew out of the Imperial Capital to find Meng Qinxian and the others.

Lin Bai raced after the sects leaving the imperial capital to check on the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters targeted in an attack, uncertain who was behind the plot. He caught up with the Qi Tian Sect’s cloudship, confirmed it was safe, and ordered its people to return to the imperial capital under the Chu Emperor’s and Crown Prince’s orders before flying on.

• Lin Bai left the imperial capital at full speed after the Zhao Xing Office and Imperial Guards let him pass on the Crown Prince’s authority.
• Lin Bai considered the possible motives behind the attacks on the top sects’ Holy Sons and Holy Daughters as he hurried toward Dragon Mountain City.
• After two days, Lin Bai caught up with the Qi Tian Sect’s cloudship and was relieved to find it unharmed.
• Qi Lingyu slowed the cloudship so Lin Bai could board, and Lin Bai asked whether anything had happened aboard it.
• Lin Bai told Qi Lingyu that the Chu Emperor and Crown Prince had ordered the Qi Tian Sect’s martial artists to return to the imperial capital, then departed before explaining further.

Lin Bai rushed to investigate the Overturning Heavens Sect’s wrecked cloud boat and learned that Seven Absolutes City had suffered the same attack. With the sects’ Holy Sons, Elders, and Ancestors missing and their other disciples dead, he feared the attacks would continue.

• The Qi Tian Sect Ancestor turned the cloud boat back toward the imperial capital and prevented Qi Lingyu from following Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai reached the Overturning Heavens Sect’s shattered cloud boat and found that Meng Qinxian and several Elders and Ancestors were missing while the other disciples had been killed.
• The Zhao Xing Office commander confirmed that the Overturning Heavens Sect’s attack resembled the earlier attack on the Worship Heaven Sect.
• The commander reported that Seven Absolutes City’s cloud boat had also been destroyed, with its Holy Son, Elders, and Ancestors missing and its other disciples dead.
• Lin Bai searched Seven Absolutes City’s wreckage but found no clues and worried about which sect would be attacked next.

Lin Bai investigated the slaughter aboard Seven Absolutes City's cloud boat in Dragon Mountain City and learned that the attacks had targeted Eastern Region lineages. He returned toward the Imperial Capital after speaking with Mountain Sea Sect's Holy Maiden Xing Si, who suspected the sect was hiding information.

• Lin Bai found that every living thing aboard Seven Absolutes City's cloud boat had been killed, then traveled to Dragon Mountain City to investigate.
• In Dragon Mountain City's East City, Lin Bai learned that the God-Devil Calamity Poison had killed the Little Prince and the Seventh Prince, and that only Eastern Region lineages had been targeted.
• Lin Bai encountered Mountain Sea Sect's Holy Maiden Xing Si, who questioned him about the seventeen King Poisons and the Imperial Guards' patrols; Lin Bai denied knowing what had happened.
• Xing Si told Lin Bai that she had detected Carefree Powder near an area guarded by Zhao Linbai and the Imperial Guards, but Lin Bai withheld what he knew and took his leave.
• After Lin Bai departed, Xing Si concluded that Jiang Yu had not told the truth, while Lin Bai headed back toward the Imperial Capital.

Lin Bai and Jiang Yu investigated the strange deaths aboard the Seven Absolutes City’s cloudship and identified Carefree Powder as the likely reason its victims could not resist. Lin Bai suspected that seven possible forces might have joined together, while Jiang Yu and the Great Purity Dao departed for the imperial capital.

• Lin Bai recalled that Carefree Powder could disable martial artists, explaining why the cloudships’ powerful guards had failed to resist.
• Jiang Yu described finding a Seven Absolutes City disciple dead in an otherwise undamaged corner of the split marquis, with no sign of a struggle.
• Lin Bai confirmed he had sensed Carefree Powder and warned that its use did not prove the Southern Border Insect Valley was responsible, since other forces could obtain its poisons.
• Jiang Yu listed possible suspects, including Northern Region martial artists, the Four Gloom Demon Palace, and forces interested in the Eastern Region and the cloudship Lineage.
• Lin Bai suggested that the seven possibilities might have joined forces, then reassured the departing Great Purity Dao that danger would come if they refused to leave.

Lin Bai, the Crown Prince, and the Third Prince investigated the disappearance of Eastern Region sect heirs and learned that Carefree Powder might be involved. They left to pursue separate leads as the Crown Prince ordered an interrogation of Mountain Sea Sect.

• Lin Bai told the Crown Prince and Third Prince that Jiang Yu had smelled Carefree Powder at the imperial capital, and the princes considered who else could have refined it.
• Lin Bai suspected Meng Qinxian had been a covert agent of Southern Border Insect Valley, while the Third Prince denied involvement and warned that the Four Gloom Demon Palace might be responsible.
• The Crown Prince ordered Zhao Qiuwei to interrogate Mountain Sea Sect and obtain Jiang Yu's memories and information about the incident.
• The Crown Prince warned the Third Prince that the imperial family would not protect him if the investigation implicated him, then directed him to question spies from the Four Gloom Demon Palace.
• Lin Bai left Prince Chen's Residence with the Third Prince, while the Crown Prince headed to report the matter to the Emperor.

The Third Prince and Eighth Prince explained to Lin Bai how Chu’s royal ancestors controlled the dynasty and shaped the succession struggle. The Eighth Prince revealed that Smiling Marquis had been the worthy assistant who helped the current Bailu defeat Cangsheng, leaving Lin Bai to consider the hidden power behind Chu and the price of supporting its ruler.

• The Third Prince explained that former Chu Emperors who survived their cultivation breakthroughs became royal ancestors who ruled from behind the scenes.
• The Eighth Prince said Chu’s royal ancestors approved of a brutal succession struggle in which princes competed to become Bailu, and they would take control if all the princes died.
• The ancestor asked why the royal family nurtured princes through such a deadly contest, and the Eighth Prince explained that only those who survived it were worthy of ruling.
• The Eighth Prince revealed that Smiling Marquis had supported the current Bailu against Cangsheng, even though Cangsheng had been the prince better suited to inherit the throne.
• The Eighth Prince said Cangsheng had the strength to rebel but was waiting for an opportunity, while the royal ancestors’ support for the current Bailu kept him from acting.

Emperor Chu ordered the remaining sects and lineages in the Imperial Authority Fourteen Provinces to return to the Imperial Capital for Wolf Jiang Yu’s wedding, while King Chai Ning led the army into the provinces. The ruse drew several powerful groups back, including Rong Yunxin’s Southern Region and Southern Border Insect Valley, as Mountain Sea Sect also chose to return and explain itself.

• Emperor Chu decided to invite back the sects and lineages still in Chu Kingdom’s territory and ordered King Chai Ning to lead the army into the Imperial Authority Eighteen Provinces.
• Saint Chu Emperor explained that Zhao Xing Office had used news of Wolf Jiang Yu’s wedding to keep the remaining groups under surveillance and draw them toward the Imperial Capital.
• Rong Yunxin and her Ancestor concluded that Southern Border Insect Valley had to return to the Imperial Capital, while the Western Region dynasties hurried out of Chu Kingdom’s territory.
• Mountain Sea Sect told Saint Jiang Yu that it had decided to return to the Imperial Capital and give an explanation to Zhao Xing Office.
• Rong Yunxin’s Southern Region and Southern Border Insect Valley’s Southern Region returned to the Imperial Capital at the same time.

Lin Bai learned from visiting Holy Sons and Holy Maidens that the Chu Emperor had arranged his marriage to Fallen Immortal, though he had never been told. The unexpected wedding announcement left Tianshui Sect scrambling to explain why it had not invited the other great families and sects.

• Chen Yule and Yi Song congratulated Lin Bai on his betrothal to Fallen Immortal, and Lin Bai said he had known nothing about it.
• Huang Qingyun explained that the Chen Family had received word that the wedding banquet would take place in the coming days and had been invited to attend.
• Qian Hen and Huang Qingyun said their families and sects had received the same news but no invitations from Tianshui Sect.
• The Sect Master told the visitors he had only just learned about his own marriage, leaving Chen Yule and Yi Song astonished.
• Shui Mo Dan congratulated the Sect Master, then revealed that an elder had sent her to ask why the Celestial Immortal Sect had not received an invitation.

Lin Bai and Tianshui Sect discovered that neither had known about his impending marriage to Fallen Immortal, despite the news spreading through the Imperial Capital. The visitors suspected the Imperial Clan had arranged the match, while Tianshui Sect’s leaders remained unable to explain it.

• Lin Bai told Qian Hen, Shui Mo Dan, and Huang Qingyun that he had only just learned he was getting married.
• Bai Yifei confirmed that Tianshui Sect had not arranged the marriage and explained that the sect was focused on reclaiming resources and territories seized by Heaven and Earth Gate.
• Qian Hen suggested that the Imperial Clan must have directly ordered the marriage, since neither Lin Bai nor Tianshui Sect knew about it.
• Bai Yifei and the other visitors realized that many Imperial Capital families and sects had come to congratulate Lin Bai, believing Tianshui Sect was pushing the wedding forward.
• The Sect Master admitted that he had no explanation, and Lin Bai asked for Old Ancestor Li Yetian to come so they could question him.

Lin Bai and Dan Fang revealed that the Chu imperial clan was concealing a major incident in the imperial capital while arranging Lin Bai’s marriage to Fallen Immortal without his knowledge. Qian Hen and Chen Yule began investigating the hidden circumstances as Dan Fang left for the Prince Hong Estate.

• Qian Hen questioned Lin Bai about the suppressed news from the imperial capital, but Lin Bai refused to reveal what he knew.
• Lin Bai urged the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters of Chu’s Five Great Families and Seven Sects to report the truth and investigate through their own connections.
• Dan Fang told Qian Hen that Lin Bai and Tianshui Sect had not known about the marriage arrangement, then advised the Qian Hen Estate to investigate what had happened in the capital.
• Chen Yule arrived at the traveling palace, learned that Lin Bai did not know of his wedding to Fallen Immortal, and angrily confronted Dan Fang.
• Dan Fang left for the Prince Hong Estate, while Qian Hen ordered Chen Yule to use the Qian Hen Estate’s influence to investigate.

Liang Wang denied arranging the marriage rumors and said the imperial clan had acted privately, leaving Chao Yushi and Fallen Immortal to suspect a hidden crisis in the capital. Chu Tingxue was tasked with investigating, while Liang Wang admitted the matter might involve both the Northern Region martial artists and Four Gloom Demon Palace.

• Chu Tinghan reported that Lin Bai and Tianshui Sect also knew nothing of the marriage rumors, and that Lin Bai had urged her to investigate the capital using Prince Liang's Estate.
• Liang Wang ordered Chu Tingxue to investigate the matter thoroughly, and Chu Tinghan asked her to share anything she uncovered.
• Liang Wang went to Hongqing Royal Estate, where Chu Tinghan confronted him about the rumors before Chao Yushi ushered him inside to explain.
• Liang Wang told Fallen Immortal that neither he nor Tianshui Sect had spread the news and that the imperial clan had acted privately.
• Chao Yushi asked whether the matter involved Prince Hong Estate, the Northern Region martial artists, or Four Gloom Demon Palace, and Liang Wang said it might involve both of the latter groups.

Lin Bai refused to reveal why the imperial clan had announced his marriage to Fallen Immortal, warning that the truth could plunge the world into chaos. Prince Hong Estate and Marquis's Estate learned that the imperial clan was using the wedding to distract attention from the mysterious abduction of the Eastern Region's top prodigies and ancestors, and they began investigating.

• Zhang Linghu pressed Lin Bai to explain, but Lin Bai said the matter was too dangerous to discuss openly.
• Fallen Immortal ordered Chao Yushi to investigate what had happened, and spies from Chu's powerful factions sprang into action.
• Fallen Immortal and Chao Yushi discussed how the announced marriage could conceal the abductions and asked Prince Hong Estate to investigate discreetly.
• Marquis told his father that Lin Bai had left the Imperial Capital in a hurry before the wedding announcement, suggesting the abducted figures might already be gone.
• Chu Tingxue realized the wedding could be intended to make others believe the missing prodigies and ancestors were still in the Imperial Capital.