Chapter Summaries

Heavenly King Flute arrived in East Lake to settle an old matter with Si Kongye, while Fang Che's team interrogated Azure Dragon Gang captives and uncovered the gang's headquarters. The chapter ended with Heavenly King Flute speaking to the unseen Si Kongye on a mountain, trying to persuade him to hand over something and help restore their sect.

• Heavenly King Flute fought Bu Chou, then left after declaring that he wanted to settle a personal matter with Night Emperor without fighting the Guardians.
• Bu Chou told Dongfang Sansan that Heavenly King Flute had arrived, and Dongfang Sansan explained that he had promised Yan Nan no one on the Cloud Top Weapon Compendium would attack him.
• Si Kongye followed Heavenly King Flute and decided to test him, though he acknowledged that he had not fully recovered.
• Fang Che suppressed the Five Elements Spirit Gu in the Azure Dragon Gang prisoners, allowing Dong Yunyu to torture confessions from them and learn the gang's headquarters.
• Fang Che and Night Dream spent their first night together in the Inspectorate Hall after Fang Che set up Soundproof Barriers.
• Heavenly King Flute called out to the hidden Si Kongye and offered to help stabilize the Underground World and make him Night Emperor if he handed over what Heavenly King Flute wanted.

Heavenly King Flute confronted Night Emperor over their sect’s inheritance and learned that Night Emperor still sought answers about his master’s death. Meanwhile, Fang Che reported his victory over Feng Yun to the higher-ups and left the fate of the Azure Dragon Gang’s leaders to Yan Nan.

• Heavenly King Flute admitted he had attacked Night Emperor while he was poisoned, then demanded the Nightmare Divine Art, Dragon God Halberd, and Sky Void Sword inheritance.
• Night Emperor realized Zheng Yuandong might have injured his master while avenging Grandmaster, and he attacked Heavenly King Flute in anger.
• Night Emperor agreed to spar with Heavenly King Flute once he recovered, while Heavenly King Flute promised to wait for him each night.
• Fang Che reported that he had cornered the Azure Dragon Gang and asked his superiors to decide whether to finish them off, after defeating Feng Yun.
• Yin Shen Gong praised Fang Che’s restraint and forwarded his report to Yan Nan, who appreciated Night Demon’s victory and his decision to leave Feng Yun room to maneuver.

Yan Nan ordered the Three Realms formation to proceed while Fang Che’s forces destroyed the Azure Dragon Gang and seized its resources. Fang Che and his team went to investigate Azure Cloud Manor and found that everyone there was dead.

• Yan Nan told Yin Shen Gong to let Night Demon keep fighting Feng Yun in the Southeast, then ordered the Three Realms formation to operate at full power despite its unexplained failure to connect to one realm.
• Fang Che received Yan Nan’s message and joined Zhao Shanhe’s force in attacking the Azure Dragon Gang’s hidden valley, while Feng Yun learned that the gang’s leaders had acted without authorization.
• Feng Yun abandoned the Azure Dragon Gang to its destruction, and Zhao Shanhe’s forces returned with a vast haul of seized goods.
• Fang Che and his team discussed Azure Cloud Manor’s suspicious purchases of children and decided to visit it openly the next morning.
• Fang Che and the seven others reached Azure Cloud Manor and smelled corpses; the empty entrance revealed that everyone there had died.

Fang Che and the Guardians discovered that everyone in Azure Cloud Manor had died mysteriously, and the evidence led them to suspect the Dream Demon. Fang Che knew the Dream Demon was not responsible, but the investigation uncovered no clear culprit and ended with a vast network of unexplained tunnels beneath the manor.

• Fang Che, Xue Wanren, and the others entered Azure Cloud Manor and found its residents, workers, and animals dead in peaceful poses, with no signs of fighting or theft.
• The group suspected the Dream Demon, and Fang Che messaged Zhao Shanhe and secretly told Yin Shen Gong that the Dream Demon might be responsible.
• Yin Shen Gong relayed Fang Che's report to Yan Nan, who ordered the Heavenly King Flute to find the Dream Demon at Azure Cloud Manor.
• Zhao Shanhe arrived with investigators and a coroner, who found no poison or traces of the Five Elements Spirit Gu and noted that similar mass deaths had occurred throughout history.
• The audit found no evidence of child trafficking, but investigators discovered bloodied tunnels beneath Azure Cloud Manor and confiscated its immense wealth.
• Fang Che concluded that the Dream Demon was innocent and searched the forest outside the manor for the clue he felt he had nearly grasped.

After discovering evidence linking the mysterious Divine Ferret Sect to Azure Cloud Manor’s destruction, Fang Che learned that the Guardians had concealed the sect’s existence and suspected it might consist of demons. He sent a carefully distorted report to the Sole True Sect, prompting Yan Nan to summon the Vice Head Sect Leaders to discuss the threat.

• Fang Che suspected the Divine Ferret Sect had used its burrowing tunnels at Azure Cloud Manor, while Zhao Shanhe and An Ruoxing publicly blamed Dream Demon for the slaughter.
• Heavenly King Flute investigated the burned manor, concluded Dream Demon was responsible, and searched the surrounding area without finding him.
• Zhao Shanhe and An Ruoxing told Fang Che the Guardians had secretly investigated the Divine Ferret Sect, which had killed Sole True Sect members and once saved Guardians from two heart-eating fiends.
• Fang Che proposed that the Divine Ferret Sect might be demons, but the Chief Commanders warned him to keep the theory secret and leave the investigation to higher-ups.
• Fang Che sent Yin Shen Gong a report mixing the Guardians’ secret information with fabricated claims that the Divine Ferret Sect threatened the Sole True Sect.
• Yin Shen Gong forwarded Fang Che’s report to Yan Nan, who summoned the Vice Head Sect Leaders to discuss it.

Yan Nan convened the Sole True Sect’s leaders after Ye Mo’s message revealed the secretive Divine Ferret Sect and ordered an investigation and deployment to the southeast. She then summoned Sun Wutian, told him that a young Southeast Warden wielded the Hate Heaven Saber, and confronted him over secretly passing down his techniques; Sun Wutian admitted he was wrong.

• Duan Xiyang stabbed Bi Changhong in the thigh after the two argued over whether their meeting summons was a prank.
• Yan Nan briefed the Vice Head Sect Leaders on Ye Mo’s information, and Chen Gu outlined how the Divine Ferret Sect’s secrecy, power, and civilian killings threatened the Sole True Sect.
• Yan Nan ordered the sect to investigate the southeast, sent Duan Xiyang to capture or kill a Divine Ferret Sect member, assigned Chen Gu to organize intelligence, and directed Sun Wutian and others to support the region.
• Yan Nan warned Duan Xiyang to return quickly after capturing someone, suspecting the Faceless Tower would exploit the sect’s mobilization.
• Yan Nan summoned Sun Wutian and revealed that a young Southeast Warden had mastered the Hate Heaven Saber, then accused Sun Wutian of secretly passing down his techniques.
• Yan Nan demanded Sun Wutian acknowledge the sect’s rules, and he admitted that he had been wrong.

Yan Nan reconciled with Sun Wutian, explained that Fang Che was both Sun Wutian’s inheritor and a high-ranking undercover agent, and sent him to the Southeast with orders to protect Fang Che. Fang Che trained with Night Emperor, who brought him to meet Heavenly King Flute, where he introduced Fang Che as his disciple and urged him to ask for a meeting gift.

• Yan Nan scolded Sun Wutian for secretly passing down his inheritance, then explained Fang Che’s roles as a Guardians Inspector and an undercover agent for the Sole True Sect.
• Yan Nan instructed Sun Wutian to protect Fang Che, avoid killing too many people, and leave Yin Shen Gong alive for now; Sun Wutian departed for the Southeast.
• Fang Che returned to the Inspectorate Hall, learned that Dong Yunyu and the others had taken the trainees out for practical training, and joked with Night Dream about whether Zhao Yinger would become her deputy.
• Night Emperor visited Fang Che, praised his progress in halberd training, and invited him to spend ten days sparring before a scheduled battle with Heavenly King Flute.
• Fang Che disguised himself as Ouyang Tianchou and accompanied Night Emperor to meet Heavenly King Flute, whom Night Emperor introduced as Fang Che’s martial uncle.
• Night Emperor urged Fang Che to request a meeting gift, leaving Heavenly King Flute surprised by the sudden introduction of a disciple.

Fang Che watched Si Kongye and Heavenly King Flute fight, received a sliver of Divine Metal, and learned that Heavenly King Flute already possessed half of their Grandmaster’s inheritance. After Si Kongye sensed a hidden observer, Fang Laoliu escaped and continued toward Azure Wave City to secretly meet his wife.

• Si Kongye pressured Heavenly King Flute into giving Fang Che a meeting gift, and Fang Che accepted a small piece of Divine Metal for a Flying Dagger.
• Heavenly King Flute fought Si Kongye while Fang Che observed, and Heavenly King Flute noticed that Si Kongye’s innate foundation seemed to have improved.
• Si Kongye explained that their Grandmaster had divided his inheritance between two Jade Pendants, leaving Heavenly King Flute unaware that he already held half of it.
• Si Kongye sensed someone watching and attacked, but the hidden observer escaped; Heavenly King Flute returned to investigate before leaving again.
• Fang Laoliu revealed that he had been watching Fang Che, then traveled toward Azure Wave City and prepared to appear before his wife as a weakened, weathered man.

Fang Yunzheng reunited with Fang Qianyi after twenty years, explaining that he had been trapped in a coma and discovering that they had a son, Fang Che. Fang Zhenghang confronted him and remained wary, though Fang Yunzheng offered Profound Ice Marrow as proof and said he was close to reaching the Saint level.

• Fang Laoliu, using the name Fang Xiao, visited the Fang Family to ask for Fang Qianyi, but the gatekeeper turned him away.
• Fang Yunzheng sneaked into the Fang Family at night and found Fang Qianyi in Fang Che’s room; after recalling private details from their past, he convinced her he was real.
• Fang Qianyi learned that Fang Yunzheng had returned and broke down over his twenty-year absence before he embraced her.
• Fang Zhenghang and the Fang Family waited outside, and Fang Zhenghang confronted Fang Yunzheng when he and Fang Qianyi emerged.
• Fang Yunzheng explained that he had been frozen in suspended animation, offered Profound Ice Marrow as proof, and said he was nearing the Saint level, softening Fang Zhenghang’s hostility.

Fang Yunzheng revealed how he and Fang Qianyi had met, but Fang Zhenghang insisted he wait for Fang Che to approve their marriage. Meanwhile, Fang Che learned that his father had appeared in Azure Wave City and refused to return, as the Sole True Sect investigated Fang Yunzheng’s background.

• Fang Yunzheng told Fang Zhenghang that Fang Qianyi had saved him after he was gravely wounded, and that Su Xian'er had drugged Fang Qianyi before she and Fang Yunzheng became lovers.
• Fang Yunzheng explained that he had been frozen after returning to his family and had not known Fang Qianyi was pregnant; Fang Zhenghang learned the Su Family had already been wiped out.
• Fang Zhenghang and Fang Qianyi made Fang Yunzheng stay at the Fang Family as a guest until Fang Che returned and accepted him, and Fang Yunzheng moved into the guest room.
• Yin Shen Gong told Fang Che that Fang Yunzheng had arrived in Azure Wave City, and Fang Che angrily refused to go home to meet him.
• Yan Nan ordered Yin Shen Gong to investigate further, and the Sole True Sect’s records and witnesses supported the account of Fang Xiao’s past, though his identity was false.

Fang Che's father, Fang Xiao, appeared after twenty years, and the revelation stirred gossip and investigations across the martial world. As Fang Che struggled with his resentment and confusion, Ren Dong's longing for her missing parents left him facing the difference between his own family reunion and others' loss.

• Yin Shen Gong's investigation confirmed Fang Xiao's history, while the Fang families and several sects secretly probed his reputation and possible connections.
• Yin Shen Gong, Mu Linyuan, and Qian Sanjiang joked about Fang Che's refusal to accept his father, then Yan Nan ordered Yin Shen Gong to keep reporting on the matter.
• Fang Che's colleagues and the two Chief Commanders urged him to return to Azure Wave City, and Zhao Shanhe and An Ruoxing arranged to accompany him.
• Fang Che admitted to Night Dream that he wanted his mother to be happy but resented Fang Xiao for appearing before they had searched for him themselves.
• Ren Dong told Fang Che that she and Ren Chun would be overjoyed to find their parents, then broke down crying because she missed them.

Fang Che understood why he had resisted acknowledging his father, but he delayed returning home so he could watch Night Emperor and Heavenly King Flute spar. As Fang Che’s family and allies worried over his absence, he planned to keep his parents waiting for several more days while his father prepared to make amends.

• Dong Yunyu bluntly pointed out that Fang Che wanted to acknowledge his father but was acting coy, and Fang Che beat him before admitting the criticism had struck home.
• Mo Ganyun, Rain Song, and the others were stunned by Fang Che’s overwhelming strength, then took turns stepping on Dong Yunyu until he bit Qiu Yunshang’s buttock.
• Fang Che told Night Dream he would return in ten days and stayed to watch Night Emperor and Heavenly King Flute spar; he also refused An Ruoxing’s request to leave sooner.
• Fang Che told Yin Shen Gong he would delay his return for several more days so his father could experience waiting, and he sent his master a poem about the commotion in Azure Wave City.
• Fang Qianyi worried that Fang Che’s absence meant he was angry, while Fang Yunzheng resolved to prepare a proper gift and patiently make up for the years he had missed.

Fang Che learned from Night Emperor and Heaven King Flute’s nightly battles while secretly preparing to return to Azure Wave City before Heaven King Flute could target him. After Night Emperor recovered his full strength, he traded the complete Night Demon Divine Art for the truth about the Grandmaster’s inheritance, leaving Heaven King Flute to realize it had been in his possession all along.

• Fang Che refined Ming Shi and Ming Jun, studied the nightly battles, and alarmed Heaven King Flute with his rapid progress.
• Heaven King Flute suspected Night Emperor had obtained the Grandmaster’s inheritance, and Night Emperor let him keep believing it.
• Fang Che returned toward Azure Wave City with Night Dream and An Ruoxing while Night Emperor went alone to meet Heaven King Flute.
• Night Emperor broke through his final shackles and restored his full strength, then demanded the complete Night Demon Divine Art in exchange for the inheritance’s location.
• Heaven King Flute handed over an Inheritance Jade Pendant, and Night Emperor revealed that the Grandmaster had given identical inheritance pendants to both their masters.
• Night Emperor escaped after telling Heaven King Flute that the inheritance had always been in his own possession, leaving him stunned that neither he nor his master had opened the pendant.

Heavenly King Flute left Si Kongye with his blood and asked him to burn it at Grandmaster’s grave. Meanwhile, Fang Che traveled toward Azure Wave City with An Ruoxing and the others, but a mysterious gray-clad man incapacitated the group and challenged Fang Che to survive one hundred moves.

• Heavenly King Flute coughed blood onto white silk, left it with Spirit Crystals, and asked Si Kongye to burn it before Grandmaster’s grave.
• Fang Che left East Lake Continent with An Ruoxing, Old Man Shen, and their escort as townspeople urged him to handle his family troubles carefully.
• A gray-clad man used Bewitching Mist to knock out everyone in Fang Che’s party except Fang Che, then stole his Communication Jade.
• The gray-clad man told Fang Che that he would release the unconscious people in stages if Fang Che endured one hundred moves, and Fang Che accepted.
• The gray-clad man repelled Fang Che’s Great Sun Sword with one saber strike, but Fang Che recovered and attacked with the Supporting Heaven Saber.
• Fang Che and the gray-clad man exchanged saber strikes, and Fang Che countered a downward slash with a thrust toward the man’s chest.

Fang Che endured Sun Wutian’s saber trial, using the pressure to master the Hate Heaven Saber and break through to ninth-grade Emperor rank. After Fang Che survived 177 moves, Sun Wutian revealed his identity as the Hate Heaven Saber’s grandmaster and asked how Fang Che had learned the technique.

• The gray-clad Sun Wutian battered Fang Che with saber strikes, while Fang Che defended himself with the Heaven Lifting Saber Technique and learned that it was incomplete.
• Fang Che identified his opponent as Sun Wutian and unleashed the Hate Heaven Saber, then fought through all thirteen moves and continued adapting them under pressure.
• Fang Che broke through to ninth-grade Emperor rank during the battle and eventually surpassed the hundred-move trial, exchanging 177 moves with Sun Wutian.
• Sun Wutian told Fang Che that An Ruoxing, Night Dream, and the others had only been knocked unconscious, then revealed Fang Che was inside a strange space with him.
• Sun Wutian identified Fang Che as Night Demon and asked who had taught him the Hate Heaven Saber.
• Fang Che explained that Flying Saber King Sun Yuan had first taught him martial arts and recounted Sun Yuan’s death at the hands of the Sole True Sect’s aristocratic families, provoking Sun Wutian’s savage fury.

Fang Che told Sun Wutian about Sun Yuan’s death and his own hardships, then gained the Old Devil’s guidance and promise of support. After leaving Fang Che and the others unconscious to conceal their meeting, Sun Wutian went to the Sole True Sect Southeast Headquarters and demanded records of families linked to deaths in the Gu Cultivation to God Plan.

• Fang Che recounted Sun Yuan’s death, his revenge, and the Sun Lineage’s history, and Sun Wutian promised to leave some enemies for him.
• Fang Che pleaded with Sun Wutian about his difficult circumstances, and Sun Wutian comforted him and promised to teach him the true Hate Heaven Saber and gather resources.
• Sun Wutian arranged for Fang Che’s group to appear unconscious, knocked them out, and watched as they woke and continued toward Azure Wave City.
• Sun Wutian headed to the Sole True Sect Southeast Headquarters, where Feng Yun welcomed him.
• Sun Wutian ordered Feng Yun to compile records on seven families whose members had died in the Gu Cultivation to God Plan, then mocked Feng Yun’s youth and Saint King cultivation.

Fang Che returned to Azure Wave City with An Ruoxing and Night Dream, earning his uncle Chief Fang public recognition and glory. He reunited peacefully with his mother and father, though Fang Qianyi and Night Dream remained tense as the family went inside to talk.

• Sun Wutian asked Feng Yun to prepare large quantities of top-grade cultivation resources and praised his talent after their exchange.
• Chief Fang went out to greet Fang Che, and An Ruoxing publicly praised the Fang Family and celebrated Chief Fang's years of care for his relatives.
• Fang Che introduced An Ruoxing and Old Man Shen to Chief Fang, then entered Azure Wave City with them as onlookers admired his uncle's newfound glory.
• An Ruoxing chose to stay at the Fang residence for wedding wine, while Fang Che reassured his nervous mother that he would not make things too difficult for his father.
• Fang Che and Fang Yunzheng met at the courtyard and exchanged calm greetings before agreeing to talk inside, leaving Fang Qianyi and Night Dream stunned.

Fang Che reunited with Fang Yunzheng, who revealed his history as a Guardian spy and explained why he had stayed hidden. Their conversation ended with Fang Yunzheng discovering that Dongfang Sansan had tricked him into giving Fang Che spirit medicines he had already brought back from the Yin Yang Realm.

• Fang Yunzheng privately assured Fang Che that the tea room was soundproof, then proved he knew Fang Che's secrets about Night Dream and Moon Shadow.
• Fang Yunzheng revealed that he had been a Guardian spy known as Sixth Brother, survived a heavenly lightning strike, and awakened two months earlier before seeking out his son.
• Fang Yunzheng explained that he had reached the second grade of the Saint Martial Artist level and needed about two years and seven months to recover, while concealing his identity as Fang Xiao.
• Fang Yunzheng described the dangers of Fang Che's mission and said he planned to protect the family and keep his own identity hidden.
• Fang Yunzheng gave Fang Che three spirit medicines from the Yin Yang Realm, then learned Fang Che had brought them back himself and angrily cursed Dongfang Sansan for tricking him.

Fang Che and Fang Xiao privately reconciled, then performed a strained father-son relationship at the banquet while the city watched and speculated. As the family planned a small wedding ceremony, Fang Che met his master Yin Shen Gong at Fragrant Tea and admitted that he still could not feel close to his biological father.

• Fang Qianyi anxiously waited with Night Dream until Fang Che and Fang Xiao emerged reconciled, then the family agreed that Fang Che would keep up appearances in public.
• Fang Che and Fang Xiao attended the banquet with the family, but Fang Che's awkward laughter made guests suspect their reconciliation was incomplete.
• Yin Shen Gong complained with Mu Linyuan and Qian Sanjiang about people gossiping over the Fang family's troubles, then decided to visit Fang Che despite fearing An Ruoxing.
• The Fang family chose to hold a small wedding ceremony for Fang Xiao and Fang Qianyi three days later, while Crimson Flame City dispatched a delegation to attend.
• Yin Shen Gong met Fang Che at Fragrant Tea, where Fang Che said his father's return felt real but he still struggled to feel close to him.

Fang Che asked Yin Shen Gong to discreetly investigate whether Fang Laosan belonged to a dangerous third faction, then received valuable pills and opportunities from the Sole True Sect. As An Ruoxing approached Fragrant Tea with Jiang Shangou, he unexpectedly encountered Yin Shen Gong and recognized him as his little brother.

• Fang Che asked Yin Shen Gong to investigate Fang Laosan's allegiance, and Yin Shen Gong agreed.
• Yin Shen Gong told Fang Che that Yan Vice Head Sect Leader had awarded him two bottles of Five-Colored Dan Yun Divine Pills and places in the Three Realms and the Lord-level Gu Cultivation to God Plan.
• Fang Che offered to share his pills with Yin Shen Gong, Mu Linyuan, and Qian Sanjiang, but Yin Shen Gong declined because he already had supplies.
• Yin Shen Gong gave Fang Che an Inheritance Jade Pendant containing the Blood River Swordplay, then fled with Mu Linyuan and Qian Sanjiang after learning An Ruoxing was coming.
• An Ruoxing met Jiang Shangou and Old Man Shen, learned Jiang Shangou had come to bring Fang Che a wedding gift, and led them toward Fragrant Tea.
• An Ruoxing and his companions nearly collided with Yin Shen Gong and the others in an alley, and An Ruoxing recognized Yin Shen Gong as his little brother.