Chapter Summaries

The prince questioned Chu Tinghan about Prince Hong Estate’s downfall five thousand years earlier, after Zhu Mo revealed that Prince Liang’s Estate had supposedly exposed Prince Hong’s consort as a Four Gloom Demon Palace Darkhold. Chu Tinghan denied that version and hinted that the evidence had come from someone unexpected, while Zhu Mo agreed to seek permission to retrieve the classified files.

• Zhu Mo said Prince Liang’s Estate had exposed Prince Hong’s consort as a Four Gloom Demon Palace Darkhold, leading to Prince Hong’s death and Princess Chenxian’s punishment.
• The prince asked Chu Tinghan how Prince Liang’s Estate had learned the truth and whether the story that Chu Tinghan had acted to seize military power was accurate.
• Chu Tinghan said Prince Liang’s Estate had not discovered the consort’s identity and suggested someone had voluntarily delivered the evidence.
• Chu Tinghan asked the prince to guess who had provided the evidence, but the prince could not identify them.
• Zhu Mo said he needed Emperor Chu’s permission to retrieve the classified files, and Chu Tinghan urged him to obtain approval quickly.

Lin Bai questioned how Prince Liang had learned that Prince Hong's Princess Consort was a hidden agent, and suspected Chu Di had been behind the old case. Liang Wang and Prince Hong organized a new investigation into the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, with the Blood Dragon Legion placed under Liang Wang's command.

• Lin Bai recalled that the records of the Prince Hong Estate case never explained how Prince Liang had uncovered the Princess Consort's identity.
• Prince Hong said he had never considered Prince Hong Estate a threat, while Huang Nan urged Lin Bai to ask Chu Di about the source of the old information.
• Prince Hong proposed retrieving the files on the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and investigating the imperial family, four great clans, and one sect.
• Huang Nan led Lin Bai and the Tianshui Sect to meet the nine commanders of the Blood Dragon Legion, who confirmed that the legion would serve under Lin Bai's command.
• Liang Wang and Prince Hong assigned troops to seal the city, search for Demon Palace remnants, and pressure them into revealing their safe locations.

Lin Bai questioned the nine Blood Dragon Legion commanders about the force he had been ordered to lead. After learning that their soldiers had extraordinary strength and were already scattered through the imperial capital, he began considering how to use them.

• Lin Bai introduced the nine commanders to the Marquis, then left them under the Marquis’s command and departed.
• The Marquis asked about the legion’s numbers and learned that each commander led ten thousand soldiers, while only the nine commanders were currently in the imperial capital.
• The commanders explained that Blood Dragon Legion soldiers gained strength through a different path than ordinary cultivation, but refused to reveal the secret behind it.
• The commanders said the legion’s soldiers had scattered throughout the imperial capital and could assemble whenever the Marquis gave an order.
• The nine commanders said they had abandoned their original identities and invited the Marquis to address them by serial numbers.
• The Marquis asked how to contact them, and the commanders pointed him to the Sword-Bearer Envoy token; he then ordered them to change out of their robes and follow him.

Lin Bai and his companions examined Zhao Xing Office dossiers revealing deep Nine Underworlds Demon Palace infiltration among the Chu State’s Five Great Families and Seven Sects, including the Tianshui Sect. The chapter ended with Zhu Mo defending the dossiers’ authenticity and warning that the Chu State could destroy the Tianshui Sect without resorting to fabricated charges.

• Prince Liang and the Zhao Xing Office obtained imperial permission and gathered dossiers on Nine Underworlds Demon Palace agents for Lin Bai and the others to review.
• Zhu Mo explained that the Zhao Xing Office secretly monitored suspected agents rather than arresting them, both to avoid alerting the Demon Palace and to respect the political understanding with the Five Great Families and Seven Sects.
• Lin Bai pointed out that the Zhao Xing Office’s extensive surveillance violated that understanding, and Zhu Mo urged everyone not to expose the unspoken arrangement.
• Bai Yifei found Tianshui Sect disciple Tang Wei listed as an agent, then discovered that several senior Tianshui Sect elders were listed as well.
• Lin Bai questioned whether the dossiers were genuine, and Zhu Mo insisted the Chu State had no need to fabricate evidence because it could simply wipe out the Tianshui Sect.

Lin Bai and Prince Liang examined the Zhao Xing Office’s list of suspected Nine Underworlds Demon Palace agents and identified suspicious connections involving Tianshui Sect disciple Tang Wei and Princess Li Guxian. Li Guxian became one of their main targets for investigation, though the evidence did not prove she was an agent.

• Lin Bai concluded that the names on the list were likely genuine because Chu had enough military strength to attack the sects directly.
• Lin Bai and Prince Liang prioritized Tianshui Sect disciples with Imperial Capital residences where unfamiliar martial artists had stayed, including Tang Wei.
• The group narrowed the suspects among Chu’s Five Great Families and Seven Sects to roughly two hundred people.
• Zhu Mo presented the imperial clan’s list, and Lin Bai noticed that Princess Li Guxian was included.
• Zhu Mo explained that many people who visited Li Guxian had ties to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, making her a major target despite the lack of proof that she was an agent.

Prince Liang insisted that Li Guxian be investigated as a priority, arguing that her spotless history and influence in Ke Province could conceal a connection to the Four Gloom Demon Palace. Lin Bai defended her, while the Marquis and Zhu Mo debated the investigation, leaving Lin Bai troubled by the suspicion against someone he trusted.

• Prince Liang named Li Guxian one of the most important targets for investigation.
• Lin Bai recalled Li Guxian's imperial lineage, her persecution by the Blood God Sect, and her role in helping destroy it, and rejected the idea that she was a hidden agent.
• Zhu Mo noted the Marquis's close history with Lin Baixian and asked about the Chu Emperor's view of her, while the Marquis said her background appeared spotless.
• Prince Liang argued that Lin Baixian's clean record and her ability to rally Ke Province made her suspicious, and warned that the province might already be under the Four Gloom Demon Palace's influence.
• The Marquis told Zhu Mo to stop investigating him and said Li Guxian would not be satisfied whatever the investigation found.
• Lin Bai remained unwilling to believe Lin Baixian was a hidden agent and worried that investigating her would hurt the Marquis.

Lin Bai took three Chen Family martial artists into custody under an order backed by the Zhao Xing Office, then led them to a private residence as he pursued suspected remnants of the Four Gloom Demon Palace. Chen Baixin realized the order came from the Chen Family and warned his clan to keep out of trouble.

• Chen Yule summoned Chen Baixin, Chen Yuanshan, and Chen Hai to meet Lin Bai, who identified them by name.
• Lin Bai ordered the Blood Dragon Legion commanders to escort the three away, and Chen Baixin stopped resisting after realizing the Chen Family had authorized the order.
• Lin Bai said the three were unlikely to return, while Chen Baixin inferred they were suspected of ties to the Four Gloom Demon Palace.
• Lin Bai ordered Yi Rongyi to take him to the private residence, and Yi Rongyi led him there with the three captives.
• A middle-aged woman warned the Chen Family to behave themselves, saying Yi Rong could not protect them if they caused a major disaster.

Lin Bai and the Blood Dragon Legion raided a private residence suspected of sheltering Nine Underworlds Demon Palace martial artists. They captured four outsiders and sent them to the Zhao Xing Office's Inferno Prison, while their search found no hidden Holy Sons or Holy Maidens.

• Lin Bai surrounded Chen Baixin's residence with the Blood Dragon Legion and ordered Chen Baixin to open the gate.
• The four residents claimed they came from the One Night Divine Sect's territory to celebrate the Chu Emperor's birthday and denied ties to the Four Gloom Demon Palace.
• When Lin Bai mentioned the Zhao Xing Office, the four tried to flee, but the Blood Dragon Legion captured and beat them into serious injuries.
• Lin Bai ordered the four and Chen Yuanshan taken to the Zhao Xing Office's Inferno Prison for questioning.
• The Blood Dragon Legion searched the residence but found no letters, hidden chambers, or other martial artists.

The Zhao Xing Office completed its first searches for the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, capturing several suspects but finding no trace of the Holy Son or Holy Maiden. Lin Bai was exposed as a Palace disciple and sent to purgatory, while Princess Leping, Tang Weixian remained under surveillance.

• Tang Wei revealed that she had grown up in the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and used a secret technique to disguise herself as a child before entering the Tianshui Sect.
• Bai Yifei explained that the Zhao Xing Office had evidence against some suspects but only suspected Princess Leping, Tang Weixian, and was monitoring her estate.
• Li Gu and his team searched Lin Bai's private estate, captured several remnants, and found no clues about the Holy Son or Holy Maiden.
• Lin Bai refused to reveal anything about the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, and Huo Xia ordered Chu Tinghan's soldiers to take her to purgatory.
• The investigators exchanged their lists and concluded that the first round of searches had yielded no useful information about the Palace's leadership or headquarters.

Lin Bai and Dongyu helped Emperor Chu and the Eighth Prince prepare to blame the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and Prince Chen for abducting the Holy Son and Holy Daughter. The State of Chu planned to announce the confessions alongside Prince Chen’s border actions, while Lin Bai continued searching suspects’ residences.

• Lin Bai sent Bai Yifei and the nine commanders to search the private residences again and went to Prince Chen’s Residence.
• Emperor Chu told the Eighth Prince that captured Nine Underworlds Demon Palace branch leaders and elders had confessed to abducting the Holy Son and Holy Daughter.
• Dongyu reviewed the confessions and found them convincing, though they did not explain why the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and Prince Chen had joined forces.
• Dongyu urged Emperor Chu to announce the abduction and implicate the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and Prince Chen, turning suspicion away from the State of Chu.
• Emperor Chu agreed to recommend announcing the border incident, and he said the Emperor would reveal the abduction’s details at noon.
• Lin Bai exchanged search lists with Chu Tinghan and began another round of investigations with Bai Yifei and the nine commanders.

After Chu publicly blamed the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and Northern Region martial artists for abducting the Holy Son and Holy Daughter, news of the Demon Palace spread across the imperial capital. Xing Sixian realized that Chu’s announcement had changed their plans and feared the capital was no longer safe.

• Lin Bai heard that the Chu royal family had announced the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s involvement in the abduction, and the news was spreading through the marketplace.
• He Qiyun rushed to Princess Leping’s Residence and told Xing Sixian that Chu had exposed the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s existence.
• Xing Sixian realized Chu had deliberately dragged the hidden Demon Palace into the open and warned that the capital was no longer safe.
• He Qiyun proposed informing the Devil Palace and leaving the capital, but Xing Sixian decided to take charge and change their plans.
• Xing Sixian reflected that Chu’s announcement had revealed a secret long concealed by the empire’s four great powers, leaving the Demon Palace’s response uncertain.

Lin Bai monitored Princess Leping's estate office after He Qiyun visited, suspecting Li Guxian might be connected to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and hiding abducted Holy Sons or Holy Daughters. When servants from the estate office were caught contacting Demon Palace warriors, Prince Liang ordered Li Guxian taken into custody.

• Lin Bai reviewed He Qiyun's file, ordered her watched rather than arrested, and told his men to follow servants leaving the estate office.
• Lin Bai reasoned that Emperor Chu's public announcement about the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace might have prompted He Qiyun to report to Li Guxian, and continued watching the estate office.
• A Blood Dragon Legion commander reported that all fifteen servants had gone to residences hiding Demon Palace warriors, including one in the Chen Family's residence; Zhao Xing Office warriors captured them.
• The commander said nine servants had killed themselves and the others were being interrogated, while Prince Liang ordered Li Guxian taken into custody.

Lin Bai negotiated three hours to speak with Li Guxian before Chu Tinghan’s forces attacked her estate. Li Guxian suspected their plan had been exposed and prepared to kill Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang if needed.

• The Blood Dragon Legion commander relayed Prince Liang’s order to secure Li Guxian, and Lin Bai agreed despite fearing an attack might make the hidden Holy Sons and Holy Daughters fight back.
• Chu Tinghan and Chu Tingxue met Lin Bai, and he explained that he wanted to prevent Li Guxian’s group from acting out of desperation.
• Lin Bai asked for three hours to speak with Li Guxian, and Chu Tinghan agreed to attack the estate when the time ran out.
• Lin Bai arrived alone at Princess Leping’s estate and asked a servant to tell Li Guxian that an old acquaintance from Ke Province had come to visit.
• Li Guxian suspected Lin Bai had come because their plan was exposed, then told those hiding by the lake to prepare to kill Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang.

Lin Bai visited Princess Leping’s residence under the pretext of checking on Li Guxian, while secretly investigating her suspected ties to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace. At Koi Lake, he exposed a powerful formation and confronted Li Guxian about her connection to the Demon Palace.

• Lin Bai met Li Guxian and explained that he had come to investigate the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s remnants in the Imperial Capital.
• Li Guxian denied any connection to the Demon Palace and spoke of her family’s blood feud with it.
• Lin Bai asked Li Guxian to show him around her residence and noticed she avoided the lake at its center.
• Lin Bai found a powerful formation beneath Koi Lake and told Li Guxian he knew she was connected to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.

Lin Bai confronted Li Guxian about her ties to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, and she revealed how her family history and a stolen list made her its Goddess. She explained her past role in Ke Province and left Lin Bai with the truth that the Demon Palace was divided by internal struggles.

• Lin Bai noticed the lake's unusual defensive formation and challenged Li Guxian about her connection to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Li Guxian admitted her father was a secretly cultivated prodigy of the Demon Palace and explained that her mother had compiled a list of its agents in Ke Province.
• Li Guxian said her parents died during a struggle over the list, which she kept to negotiate with the Demon Palace and become its Goddess.
• Li Guxian explained that she had opposed the Blood God Sect, fled Ke Province with He Qiyun, and later used the list and her connection to Prince Chen to secure the Demon Palace's support.
• Li Guxian told Lin Bai that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace was divided by rivalries and grievances among its members.

Li Guxian explained the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s three factions and confirmed that she and the Northern Region’s martial artists had abducted the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters. She revealed that Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang were being held beneath the pool, while the rest of the prisoners had been sent to the Soul Refinement Sect or elsewhere.

• Li Guxian told Lin Bai that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace had Warmonger, Pacifist, and Non-Interventionist factions, and identified herself as a Warmonger and the Blood God Sect as Pacifists.
• Li Guxian explained that the Non-Interventionists sought the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace’s lost treasures rather than its restoration.
• Li Guxian confirmed that she and Northern Region martial artists had joined forces to abduct the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, but refused to explain their purpose.
• Li Guxian said some captives had been sent to the Soul Refinement Sect and others were held beneath the pool, including Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang.
• Li Guxian revealed that the captives were meant to be publicly executed after the sect leaders arrived in the imperial capital, but Lin Bai had discovered the plan ahead of schedule.

Lin Bai deduced that the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and the Northern Region were behind the chaos in Chu’s imperial capital, but Li Guxian revealed that the plot had been coordinated by her faction and the capital branch. She and Lin Bai were both incapacitated by Carefree Powder, and Yao Qian took Lin Bai away as the group began to withdraw.

• Li Guxian asked Lin Bai how Chu had uncovered the plan, and he traced the clues to the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and the Northern Region.
• Lin Bai explained that the abductions and attacks served no clear purpose for the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace, suggesting other forces were involved.
• Lin Baixian revealed that she, Goddess, and the imperial capital branch head had jointly planned the events, and said the Zhao Xing Office had captured the branch head.
• Lin Baixian ordered her people to withdraw, but the figures hiding beneath the lake emerged after she and Lin Bai were affected by Carefree Powder.
• Yao Qian carried the powerless Lin Bai into the water while Lin Baixian remained behind.

Yao Qian took Lin Bai, whom the narration calls Sect Master and Wolf Marquis, to a hidden Underground Palace belonging to the Four Gloom Demon Palace and had Dragon Binding Spikes driven into him. Lin Bai remained conscious despite the Carefree Powder and the spikes, leaving the palace’s captors wary of his strength.

• Yao Qian carried the paralyzed Lin Bai into the lake and opened a concealed door to the Underground Palace.
• Yao Qian brought Lin Bai before Dragon Binding Spike, a steward of the Four Gloom Demon Palace’s main headquarters.
• Dragon Binding Spike explained that the spikes could seal spiritual power, meridians, and the divine soul, while Yao Qian drove nine of them into Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai spoke despite the Carefree Powder and the spikes, startling Dragon Binding Spike and prompting Yao Qian to keep him imprisoned.

Xing Sixian learned that the Princess's Estate was surrounded and sought a way to escape by using Nie Shang, whom she held captive. Nie Shang offered to help her leave if she released Zhang Lun and the Wolf Marquis and took him hostage, but Xing Sixian remained wary of the other prisoners and the encirclement.

• A servant reported that Meng Qinxian and forces from the Zhao Xing Office and Imperial Guards had surrounded the Princess's Estate, so Li Guxian ordered Water Wraith to begin evacuating.
• Xing Sixian learned that Nie Shang had been subdued with Dragon Binding Spikes and went to question him in the dungeon.
• Nie Shang told Xing Sixian to release Zhang Lun and the Wolf Marquis, take him hostage, and use him to leave the estate safely.
• Xing Sixian pointed out that she also held Yi Heze and Lu Qingjun and asked whether Zhao Linbai would let them escape.
• Dao Child Yao Qian agreed to follow Xing Sixian's orders as the time Nie Shang had arranged with Meng Qinxian ran short.

Lin Bai tried to persuade Li Guxian to take him hostage and leave the Imperial Capital, arguing that he was her only chance to survive and that he needed to rescue Lu Qingjun and Yi Heze. Li Guxian recognized his motives but left to consider his proposal, giving herself an hour to decide.

• Li Guxian deduced that Lin Bai had entered the Princess's manor to rescue Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang, and that he also hoped to reach Lu Qingjun and Yi Heze.
• Lin Bai insisted that he was Li Guxian's only path to survival and that he wanted to save her as well as his friends.
• Mu Cang challenged Lin Bai, but Li Guxian ordered him to stand down, and he obeyed despite his anger.
• Li Guxian refused to release Meng Qinxian and Nie Shang, so Lin Bai warned that he would signal Chu Tinghan unless Li Guxian let them go and took him hostage with his cooperation.
• Li Guxian said she would consider Lin Bai's proposal and give him an answer in an hour, then left the dungeon with Yao Qian and Mu Cang.