Chapter Summaries

Lin Heng gave hairpins containing shared memories to his senior sisters, prompting laughter, embarrassment, and reflection on how their relationships began. Meng Yutong planned to leave in three days while keeping the Green Pavilion Sect’s troubles and the coming Heavenly Xuan Tournament in mind.

• Shen Yeting asked Meng Yutong about her plans, and Meng Yutong said she would leave in three days because she could not neglect Fairy Cloud Peak.
• Mu Liuxi watched memory images in her hairpin and laughed at Lin Heng’s foolish reaction in one scene.
• Lin Heng gave Duan Shuyun a hairpin and memory images, and she worried that his serious gesture meant he was near death before he reassured her.
• Yun Yao scolded Lin Heng over the embarrassing memories in her hairpin, then accepted it and remembered how she had once defended him against Ye Tian.
• Lin Heng kissed Yun Yao on the cheek, telling her he did not mind if others saw.

During the New Year reunion, Lin Heng gave Leng Qingqiu a gift and confessed that he liked her mischievous personality, while Leng Qingyun secretly watched and felt left out. He went to comfort his Little Senior Sister and revealed that he had saved her surprise for last.

• Dugu Song and Dugu Qiusheng watched Lin Heng kiss Yun Yao and assumed he had been beaten by Uncle Feng, unaware he had used his injuries as a smokescreen after visiting the Treasure Vault.
• Lin Heng gave Leng Qingqiu a gift containing memory images, then reassured her that he liked her personality and promised more mischief together.
• Leng Qingyun secretly watched Lin Heng and Leng Qingqiu kiss, became heartbroken, and tried to leave when Lin Heng found her.
• Lin Heng teased Leng Qingyun about her tears, then stopped when she nearly cried and told her he had saved her surprise for last.

Lin Heng gave Leng Qingyun a hairpin that showed their memories, but the scene of her being cuckolded by Leng Qingqiu upset her. As the group celebrated New Year's Eve, Ye Tian resolved to use the Heavenly Xuan Tournament and the Ye Family's enemies to bring down Ye Nantian's household.

• Lin Heng gave Leng Qingyun a warming hairpin containing memories, and she watched scenes from their past together.
• Leng Qingyun became upset when the memories showed Leng Qingqiu provoking her by appearing to cuckold her, and Lin Heng teased her before they returned to the others.
• Duan Shuyun warned that Meng Yutong had noticed the senior sisters' hairpins, and the group feared she might see the improper memories stored in them.
• Meng Yutong noticed the hairpins from a distance and resented that Lin Heng had not prepared one for her and Aunt.
• Ye Tian spent New Year's Eve alone at Ye Nantian's residence, recalled his time at Fairy Cloud Peak, and told Hua Qi he planned to bring down the Ye Family by making alliances with its enemies.

Mu Liuxi challenged Lin Heng to a sword spar so he could help her improve her Butterfly Chasing Sword. After he bested her and identified the flaw in her technique, she asked him to teach her, and the two went into the night together.

• Mu Liuxi drew her sword on Lin Heng and insisted they spar before entering the room.
• Lin Heng underestimated Mu Liuxi’s close-quarters attacks, lost his sword, and was knocked down and scolded.
• Lin Heng fought seriously, leaving Mu Liuxi exhausted and recognizing his superiority in the close-quarters technique.
• Lin Heng identified that Mu Liuxi had not yet reached the stage of breaking the cocoon in her Butterfly Chasing Sword.
• Mu Liuxi asked Lin Heng, “Please, husband, teach me,” and he carried her away to teach her.

Mu Liuxi and Duan Shuyun discussed Mu Liuxi’s new insights and practiced swordsmanship while Lin Heng cultivated the Five Elements Body with his spiritual treasures. After Meng Yutong returned from receiving medicine for her cultivation injuries, Lin Heng noticed her arrival and decided it might be time to give her the hairpin.

• Mu Liuxi left South Side Tower with Duan Shuyun, who teased her about her improved complexion and encouraged her to claim her share of Lin Heng’s attention.
• Mu Liuxi asked Duan Shuyun to practice swordsmanship with her, and Duan Shuyun agreed.
• Lin Heng examined his spiritual treasures, then began refining the Source of Azure Water to temper his Water Element Body.
• Meng Yutong returned with Shen Yeting after obtaining Three-Breath Vine to help repair her Dao-power injuries.
• Meng Yutong entered South Side Tower, and Lin Heng woke and considered giving her the hairpin.

Lin Heng caught Meng Yutong sneaking upstairs to prepare a restorative soup from Three-Breath Vine and teased her about her weakened cultivation and jealousy. The chapter left him suggesting that he had avoided giving Shen Yeting a hairpin because Dugu Feng might kill him.

• Lin Heng struggled to refine even one drop of the Source of Azure Water after more than two days of work.
• Meng Yutong secretly brought out the Three-Breath Vine Shen Yeting had given her and planned to ask Qiu to make it into medicinal soup.
• Lin Heng surprised Meng Yutong, embraced her, and realized she intended to use the vine to restore her cultivation.
• Lin Heng teased Meng Yutong about recovering her cultivation and her resentful looks when he gave gifts to his Senior Sisters.
• Meng Yutong complained that Lin Heng had not bought Shen Yeting a hairpin, and Lin Heng replied that Dugu Feng might kill him if he had.

Lin Heng gave Meng Yutong a hairpin containing memories of their time together, then pressured her to fulfill a promise involving a cultivation method and his monthly reward. Shen Yeting interrupted them briefly, but Lin Heng finished placing the hairpin in Meng Yutong’s hair and prepared to claim his reward.

• Lin Heng told Meng Yutong that his granduncle’s hairpin could only be given to someone he fancied and showed her the memories stored inside it.
• Meng Yutong laughed at the memories until she saw herself being made to feed Lin Heng, then demanded that he erase the seven days he had recorded.
• After Meng Yutong slapped him, Lin Heng demanded his promised monthly reward and used the threat of revealing their relationship to press her to fulfill another promise.
• Shen Yeting entered with Spiritual Aid, found Lin Heng combing Meng Yutong’s hair, and left without discovering their private situation.
• Lin Heng finished Meng Yutong’s Flying Sky Bun, put the hairpin in it, and anticipated eating again after a month.

Lin Heng and Meng Yutong’s secret intimacy was discovered by Yun Yao before Lin Heng finally emerged from seclusion. As Lin Heng and the senior sisters prepared to leave the Ten Directions Hall, Dugu Feng gave him a Soul Protection Talisman and warned him about the dangers ahead.

• Shen Yeting realized Xiao Heng had given Yutong a hairpin, then dismissed her suspicion that the two were involved.
• Yun Yao snuck into the South Side Tower and overheard Lin Heng and Meng Yutong speaking intimately, then fled in shock when Meng Yutong noticed her.
• Lin Heng came out of seclusion and told Saint Ye that he had not used the Yin-Yang Harmony Art.
• Meng Yutong and Lin Heng said goodbye to Dugu Feng and Shen Yeting before leaving aboard the Cloud Boat with the senior sisters.
• Dugu Feng warned Lin Heng about dangers on the road south and gave him a Soul Protection Talisman.

As the Cloud Boat traveled south toward Dingyang, Meng Yutong refined the opportunity using a method from the Yin-Yang Harmony Art and recovered to Nascent Soul Early Stage. She decided to put off confronting Lin Heng and focus on Yun Yao instead.

• Lin Heng continued refining the Source of Azure Water while his senior sisters rested on the Cloud Boat.
• Yun Yao squeezed onto Leng Qingyun’s double chair, and Leng Qingyun asked where Meng Yutong had gone.
• Meng Yutong refined the opportunity in the cabin and used the Yin-Yang Harmony Art’s extra step to improve its effect.
• Meng Yutong repaired a damaged meridian and regained control of her divine infant, restoring her cultivation to Nascent Soul Early Stage.
• Meng Yutong decided to set Lin Heng aside and make Yun Yao her next target.

Meng Yutong warned Yun Yao to keep quiet about what she had witnessed, then revealed that her cultivation had recovered and recruited her to help trap Lin Heng. Three days later, Lin Heng and his group reached Dingyang City, where Prince Qi’s guards escorted them and summoned them to the mansion.

• Meng Yutong caught Yun Yao and Leng Qingyun gossiping, then took Yun Yao to the cabin alone.
• Yun Yao admitted she had overheard Meng Yutong and Lin Heng, and Meng Yutong ordered her not to reveal what she had witnessed.
• Meng Yutong told Yun Yao that her cultivation had recovered to the Nascent Soul Realm and asked her to help lure Lin Heng into a trap.
• Three days later, Lin Heng and his companions arrived in Dingyang City aboard Prince Qi’s Cloud Boat.
• Wu Chen presented Prince Qi’s King’s Token, escorted Lin Heng’s group into the city, and asked them to visit Prince Qi’s Mansion after sightseeing.

Meng Yutong taught Lin Heng and her disciples how to navigate political factions in Dingyang without giving away their loyalties. At the Secret Pavilion, Lin Heng argued that the Imperial Strategy Bureau was the safest faction to favor because it could retreat, while the Female Emperor and Prince Qi’s side could only press forward.

• Meng Yutong warned Lin Heng that accepting favors from Prince Qi and the Dynasty could leave him owing a dangerous debt.
• Meng Yutong explained the three major political forces in the Dynasty and asked her disciples which faction they would choose.
• First Senior Sister favored the Imperial Strategy Bureau, Leng Qingqiu and Mu Liuxi leaned toward the Female Emperor and Prince Qi, and Yun Yao preferred to follow whichever side seemed likely to win.
• Lin Heng chose the Imperial Strategy Bureau, reasoning that it could retreat or negotiate, whereas the Royal Clan had to keep pressing forward.
• Meng Yutong agreed with Lin Heng and First Senior Sister, then led the group into the Secret Pavilion to see the light of the Eastern Continent.

Lin Heng and Saint Ye explored the Secret Pavilion while Meng Yutong found the Black Wasteland and planned to investigate the Southern Continent. At the imperial palace, Jiang Jingyi revealed that Clear Moon Long Song had been under surveillance for decades and was connected to the Red Demon Society, then asked whether Jiang Yan and Mu Li remembered Hundred Flowers Valley.

• Lin Heng told Saint Ye that he intended to use the Dynasty's power to aid his cultivation, and they entered a secret realm together.
• Meng Yutong found the Black Wasteland in the Secret Pavilion and resolved to investigate it and the Kingdom-Destroying Secret Realm after restoring her cultivation.
• Mu Li visited Jiang Jingyi at Nourishing Harmony Hall and questioned why Clear Moon Long Song had not been punished for colluding with the Heavenly Secret Sect.
• Jiang Yan explained that Clear Moon Long Song blamed the deceased Zhao Yue of the Green Pavilion Sect and that the true Heavenly Secret Sect culprit had disappeared.
• Jiang Jingyi said Clear Moon Long Song had been under surveillance for decades because of its connection to the Red Demon Society, then asked whether Jiang Yan and Mu Li remembered Hundred Flowers Valley.

Jiang Yan questioned Mu Li about the forces behind Hundred Flowers Valley’s destruction, then ordered him and Jiang Yan to investigate threats in Dingyang. At Prince Qi’s Mansion, Jiang Yan questioned Lin Heng about the Zhao family and Medicine King Valley, and Lin Heng admitted that he had led the assault that destroyed it.

• Jiang Jingyi suggested that Clear Moon Long Song might have helped the Red Demon Society destroy Hundred Flowers Valley, and Jiang Yan tasked Mu Li with probing the Wei Family’s plans in Dingyang.
• Jiang Yan sent Jiang Yan to watch over the Zhao mother and daughter because hidden guards had reported that a group was targeting them.
• Lin Heng and his companions visited Prince Qi’s Mansion, where Jiang Yan summoned Lin Heng to discuss the Zhao family and the Dynasty’s investigation into the Dream-Enhancing Pill.
• Jiang Yan asked Lin Heng about the Medical Ancestor’s Legacy and Medicine King Valley’s destruction, and Lin Heng confessed that he had led the destruction of Medicine King Valley.

Lin Heng recounted the battle against the Death Spirit to Jiang Yan, who warned him that the Zhao mother and daughter faced danger in the Imperial Capital. While Meng Yutong hid her recovered cultivation and plotted to control Lin Heng, he cultivated until Yun Yao came to visit.

• Lin Heng told Jiang Yan that he had spent his lifespan defeating the Death Spirit, and Jiang Yan condemned Medicine King Valley for its role in the crisis.
• Jiang Yan warned Lin Heng that people in the Imperial Capital were targeting the Zhao mother and daughter, then vanished before explaining the threat further.
• Lin Heng returned to his residence and learned that Meng Yutong had forbidden the maid from revealing where she was staying.
• Meng Yutong told Duan Shuyun that she had recovered to the Nascent Soul Realm and warned her to keep it secret, while claiming she had only temporarily submitted to Lin Heng.
• Lin Heng spent two days cultivating his Water Element Body before catching Yun Yao sneaking into his room.
• Yun Yao tried to provoke Lin Heng, but he saw through her scheme and reminded her that his senior sisters had warned him not to agree to her requests that month.

Yun Yao was caught visiting Lin Heng after revealing that Meng Yutong had regained her Nascent Soul cultivation and planned to use law enforcement against him. Meanwhile, Zhao Wanqing returned to Dingyang under watch, and Lin Heng learned of the Zhao Clan’s return that night.

• Yun Yao told Lin Heng that Meng Yutong had recovered to the Nascent Soul Realm and intended to catch him breaking the rules.
• Duan Shuyun, Leng Qingqiu, and Mu Liuxi caught Yun Yao with Lin Heng and carried her away to punish her, despite Lin Heng’s protests.
• Zhao Wanqing met Chen Changqin in Dingyang, while hidden watchers monitored her and Chen Changqin considered attacking her but held back.
• A black-clad man ordered his followers not to act against Zhao Wanqing directly and called Chen Changqin a useful card to pressure.
• That night, Duan Shuyun delivered Lin Heng news that the Zhao Clan had returned to Dingyang.

Lin Heng told Duan Shuyun that Meng Yutong’s cultivation had recovered and that she had planned to trap him, prompting Duan Shuyun to report it to her Master. Duan Shuyun proposed a counterplan to mislead Lin Heng, while secretly preparing to turn the scheme to her advantage.

• Lin Heng told Duan Shuyun that Meng Yutong had regained her Nascent Soul Realm cultivation and wanted to trap him.
• Duan Shuyun admitted Lin Heng’s warning to Meng Yutong, who grew furious that Yun Yao had revealed her plans.
• Duan Shuyun won Meng Yutong’s trust by proposing that they pretend Yun Yao’s warning was a smokescreen and keep baiting Lin Heng.
• Meng Yutong accepted the plan, unaware that Duan Shuyun’s private intentions suggested she might make her Master beg for mercy instead.

Lin Heng visited Yun Yao and discovered that Leng Qingyun had accidentally sealed her own mouth while demonstrating the restriction meant to punish Yun Yao if she kept stealing kisses. After Lin Heng freed Leng Qingyun, he promised to find a way for Yun Yao to see him openly during her half-year restriction.

• Lin Heng arrived at Yun Yao's residence and found her despairing over a warning that she would be sealed for half a year if she stole kisses again.
• Leng Qingyun demonstrated the mouth-sealing technique, then discovered she could not undo the seal she had placed on herself.
• Lin Heng comforted Yun Yao, who complained that the others were unfairly targeting her and that she had not actually been sealed.
• Lin Heng suggested that he could visit Yun Yao himself, avoiding the ban on her seeking him out in private, and she happily agreed.
• Yun Yao noticed Leng Qingyun could not speak, and Lin Heng realized she had sealed her own mouth by mistake.
• Lin Heng worked for a quarter hour to undo the seal, and Leng Qingyun protested when they teased her about it.

Zhao Wanqing tried to buy herbs for Su Lian'er, but Imperial Capital medicine shops refused to serve her as Lin Heng secretly followed her. Jiang Jingyi, traveling incognito as an ordinary young lady, noticed Lin Heng and turned her attention toward investigating the Medical Clans.

• Zhao Wanqing accepted baked biscuits from Uncle Chen, who warned Lin Heng that she had the Gongsun Family’s backing.
• Lin Heng asked Uncle Chen about Zhao Wanqing and learned that people in the medical trade resented her.
• Several herb shops refused to serve Zhao Wanqing, so she headed toward West City to search among individual peddlers.
• Lin Heng hid nearby and watched Zhao Wanqing, while Jiang Jingyi and Murong Ziyan observed him from a restaurant.
• Jiang Jingyi dismissed Lin Heng’s suspicious behavior and said she would investigate the Cao Clan, Dongfang Clan, and Medical Clans over the trouble in River East.

Jiang Jingyi and Murong Ziyan considered the suspicious King's Token and the conspiracy surrounding the Zhao family, while Zhao Wanqing unexpectedly reunited with Lin Heng in Dingyang City. Lin Heng accompanied her to the inn to hear why she and Xin Shao had been brought to the Imperial Capital, drawing the attention of watchers in the shadows.

• Jiang Jingyi and Murong Ziyan discussed how their investigation into the Hedong scourge had led to Yan King Jiang Ziyou and the suspicious ambush of Zhao Wanqing.
• Zhao Wanqing searched for rare jade bamboo but was still short of the amount she needed.
• Lin Heng caught Zhao Wanqing's windblown umbrella, and the two embraced after recognizing each other.
• Lin Heng explained that he had come to Dingyang City with his master and senior sister, partly to find Zhao Wanqing.
• Zhao Wanqing invited Lin Heng to the inn to explain why she and Xin Shao had been brought to the Imperial Capital.
• Hidden watchers noticed Lin Heng with Zhao Wanqing, and one went to report the meeting to his lord.

Lin Heng reunited with Zhao Wanqing and her family in Dingyang City, where he joked with Liu Feng and demonstrated his strength by breaking his saber. He then revealed that he had brought papers from Medicine King Valley containing the Medical Ancestor’s admonitions, leaving the others waiting to hear more.

• Zhao Wanqing brought Lin Heng to her courtyard and introduced him to Qing Ya, a maid who had studied at the Medical Academy.
• Liu Feng suddenly drew his saber at Lin Heng, but Lin Heng stopped him and teased him about his age and their past bet.
• When Liu Feng drew his blade again, Lin Heng snapped the blade and sheath with two fingers, startling Liu Feng with his strength.
• Zhao Wanqing invited Lin Heng inside, where Xin Shao warmly welcomed him and the group caught up.
• Lin Heng showed the group yellow papers from Medicine King Valley that contained the Medical Ancestor’s admonitions.