Chapter Summaries

Lin Heng teased Meng Yutong with his King's Token, but she beat him despite his claims of royal authority. He then clung to her leg and tried to bargain over their secrets, ending by admitting he had hugged her because of his leg fetish.

• Meng Yutong stopped Lin Heng as he tried to leave, and he joked that she had been looking forward to their encounter.
• Lin Heng claimed he wanted to repair their master-disciple relationship, but Meng Yutong saw through his attempt to kiss her and grabbed his mouth.
• Lin Heng used the King's Token to boast that he had royal authority and dared Meng Yutong to hit him, so she slapped him and chased him with the Soul-Striking Whip.
• Meng Yutong threatened to tell Uncle Prison about Lin Heng's boasts, and he panicked at the thought of his uncle beating him.
• Lin Heng clung to Meng Yutong's leg and tried to bargain over their secrets, then admitted he had done so because his leg addiction had acted up.

After absorbing the Thunder Origin and emerging from seclusion, Lin Heng reunited with Yun Yao and went out with her while his Senior Sisters were away. In the palace, Jiang Yan reported the Dynasty’s annual salary distribution, and Jiang Jingyi discussed Jiang Qian’s visit to see their elder brother.

• Mu Liuxi and Duan Shuyun waited through the night, but Lin Heng was not sent flying from Master’s room.
• Lin Heng absorbed the final drop of Thunder Origin in seclusion, then emerged as Yun Yao’s confinement ended.
• Yun Yao confronted Lin Heng at Prince Qi’s Mansion, learned the Senior Sisters had gone to the palace, and left with him for a stroll.
• Jiang Yan reported that the Eastern Continent’s annual salaries totaled thirty-three million Spirit Stones and that salaries for the other continents would be dispatched within fifteen days.
• Jiang Jingyi told Jiang Yan that Jiang Qian had come to see their elder brother, and Jiang Yan recalled the rumors surrounding the old King Le’s death.

Leng Qingqiu handled the distribution of official stipends while explaining to Leng Qingyun why their positions did not give them authority over the Pacification Offices. Later, Lin Heng strolled with Yun Yao before visiting Lady Zhao, where Yun Yao revealed that she knew about his sneaking into his master's bath.

• Leng Qingqiu reviewed the Dingyang officials' roster and ordered Commander Sun to distribute all stipends within three days.
• Leng Qingyun questioned why Leng Qingqiu had taken charge, and Leng Qingqiu explained that their posts in the Garrison Command did not let them interfere with the Pacification Offices.
• Lin Heng and Yun Yao walked through the city, bought lamb legs, and headed to the inn where Lady Zhao was staying.
• Qing Ya welcomed Lin Heng and Yun Yao and told them that Lady Zhao was bathing in the back garden.
• Yun Yao teased Lin Heng about helping Lady Zhao bathe and revealed that she had discovered his dog hole leading into his master's bath.

Lin Heng realized that Zhao Wanqing’s mother may have been taken from the inn under suspicious circumstances and promised to ask Prince Qi for information. After spotting Qing Ya eavesdropping, he left with Yun Yao, concerned that the servant was overstepping her place.

• Yun Yao teased Lin Heng about being a show-off and threatened to reveal it to Zhao Wanqing.
• Zhao Wanqing told Lin Heng and Yun Yao that Inner Guards had taken her mother and Steward Liu to the palace five days earlier, with no news since.
• Lin Heng explained that Inner Guards should not have brought Zhao Wanqing’s mother away directly, and suspected something was wrong.
• Lin Heng reassured Zhao Wanqing that he would ask Prince Qi about her mother and tell her if he learned anything.
• Lin Heng noticed Qing Ya listening outside the door and arranged for him and Yun Yao to leave.
• Lin Heng told Yun Yao that Zhao Wanqing should not get too close to servants who could forget the distinction between master and servant.

Lin Heng sought Yun Yao’s help with his plans to deal with Ye Tian and the Medical Clan, then asked Saint Ye how to dismantle Dingyang City’s powerful families. Saint Ye advised him to expose his threat without using it lightly and began telling a story from the Upper Realm.

• Lin Heng told Yun Yao that Ye Tian was in Dingyang City and explained his plan to use Ye Tian’s name to pressure the Medical Clan.
• After they returned to Prince Qi’s Mansion, Meng Yutong stopped Yun Yao from visiting Lin Heng and sent her to change the pond water.
• Lin Heng showed Saint Ye his Earth Vein Relations Map and explained the families’ power and the authority he held.
• Saint Ye warned Lin Heng that the families’ alliance of interests would be difficult to break and advised him to show his knife but leave the killing to the Dynasty’s people.
• Saint Ye began a story from the Upper Realm to help Lin Heng consider how to weaken the families’ alliance.

Lin Heng listened as Saint Ye explained how a Northern Immortal Dynasty sovereign used suspicion to break her rivals’ alliance. In the Western Continent, Fang Qingxin discovered signs of the supposedly destroyed Blood Moon Cult, while Jiang Caiyan finished suppressing her killing aura and called Jie and Black Robe inside.

• Saint Ye told Lin Heng how the Northern Female Sovereign destabilized the Southern Immortal Dynasty by planting suspicion among its three leaders.
• At the Wei family compound in Meishan Town, Fang Qingxin recognized crescent-shaped wounds as traces of the Blood Moon Cult’s Blood Wheel Blade-Cutting Art.
• Wei Guan arrived and learned that all seventy-three people in the compound, including Old Mister Wei, had been killed and mutilated.
• Fang Qingxin confronted Wei Guan about the Blood Moon Cult’s survival and wondered whether Jiang Caiyan had escaped execution.
• Jiang Caiyan suppressed the baleful aura from her cultivation after two and a half days, then invited Jie and Black Robe into her room.

Jiang Caiyan told Black Robe that she had inherited the Demonic Path and planned to travel north to hunt demon creatures. She left Black Robe responsible for guarding the Blood Moon Cult while she pursued the opportunity to grow stronger.

• Jie thanked Jiang Caiyan for destroying his enemies, and she explained that the Wei Family Compound had threatened the Blood Moon Cult’s secrecy.
• Jiang Caiyan questioned Black Robe about why the old head of the Wei Family Compound had recognized and feared him, and Black Robe claimed he had killed the man because he did not want to hear his nonsense.
• Black Robe asked about Jiang Caiyan’s power to drain life essence, and she revealed that she had accepted the Demonic Path inheritance.
• Black Robe agreed to support Jiang Caiyan but worried that the Demonic Path might make her cold-blooded; she admitted Jie might know about her inheritance.
• Jiang Caiyan told Black Robe she planned to head north to hunt demon creatures and seek a chance to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, and he agreed to watch over the Blood Moon Cult.

Lin Heng and Yun Yao went to the Wei Yan Residence to find Zhao Wanqing and arrived as Wei Yan Changliang punished his eldest son, Wei Yan Xiuping, for making poisons and trading with the Black Market. Xiuping claimed he had turned to crime to protect his siblings and build a force after his father divided the family estate, leaving the family conflict unresolved as he collapsed at the hall’s doorway.

• Lin Heng and Yun Yao learned Zhao Wanqing had gone to the Wei Yan Residence and followed her there with Sun Hao.
• They discovered Wei Yan Changliang had driven his family out while he dealt with his returned eldest son, Wei Yan Xiuping.
• Lin Heng entered the hall and found Wei Yan Changliang whipping Xiuping, who admitted to making poisons and conducting Black Market trades.
• Wei Yan Xiuping accused his father of dividing the family estate and said he had committed those crimes to protect his siblings and establish a new force.
• Wei Yan Xiuping tried to leave but collapsed at the doorway, prompting Lin Heng to realize the family dispute was more complicated than expected.

Lin Heng pressured Wei Yan Xiuping to explain why he had defied his father, warning that Wei Yan's Family faced punishment. Wei Yan Xiuping revealed that his uncle Wei Yan Dongning had plotted with the Cao Family to seize control of the family and remove Wei Yan Changliang and his seven children.

• Wei Yan Changliang left Lin Heng alone with Wei Yan Xiuping and gave Lin Heng the Gold-Shaking Staff to punish him if necessary.
• Wei Yan Xiuping rejected Lin Heng's questions until Lin Heng warned that Prince Qi's purge list included all of Wei Yan's Family and that his siblings could be imprisoned and executed.
• Lin Heng persuaded Wei Yan Xiuping that his father's family could be spared if he disclosed what he knew about Wei Yan Dongning.
• Wei Yan Xiuping explained that Wei Yan Dongning had pushed to divide the family and had secretly negotiated with Cao Family members in Linping City.
• Wei Yan Xiuping revealed that Wei Yan Dongning's plan was to use Wei Yan Changliang's trust to establish a separate residence, conduct shameful dealings under the Wei Yan name, and expose the family to bring about its takeover.

After Lin Heng learned Zhao Wanqing’s mother had been abducted, he warned Zhao Wanqing to stay cautious and then approached Murong Ziyan and Jiang Jingyi to seek their help. Jiang Jingyi let him into their private room and overheard his thoughts about Murong Ziyan’s age and whether she had a match, while concealing that she was over a thousand years old.

• Lin Heng told Wei Yan Changliang’s family that Wei Yan Xiuping should recover before Prince Qi decided whether to imprison him.
• Lin Heng warned Zhao Wanqing that her mother had likely been abducted because of her and urged her to stay alert.
• Yun Yao accompanied Zhao Wanqing home, leaving Lin Heng to head back toward Prince Qi.
• Lin Heng spotted Murong Ziyan and Jiang Jingyi at Gathering Worthies Manor and repeatedly passed their private room to attract their attention.
• Jiang Jingyi told Murong Ziyan to invite Lin Heng inside, where she overheard his thoughts about Murong Ziyan’s age and romantic prospects.

Lin Heng told Jiang Jingyi and Murong Ziyan that his aunt had been taken by people posing as Inner Guards, and they promised to report the kidnapping to the Female Emperor. During a lavish meal, Lin Heng learned about the rare Spirit Clams and Dragonfish, while Jiang Jingyi misunderstood his thoughts about his Master.

• Lin Heng asked whether Murong Ziyan and Jiang Jingyi could meet the Female Emperor, then questioned them about how the Inner Guard received orders.
• Lin Heng explained that people dressed as Inner Guards had tricked his aunt into leaving, and Jiang Jingyi recognized the people he meant.
• Jiang Jingyi and Murong Ziyan promised to report the kidnapping to the Female Emperor after court affairs were finished.
• Murong Ziyan served Lin Heng Spirit Clams and Dragonfish, and Jiang Jingyi explained their valuable spiritual properties.
• Lin Heng thought about his Master's refusal to let him eat her clam, and Jiang Jingyi misinterpreted his thoughts as a subtle expression of filial devotion.

After sharing a meal with Jiang Jingyi, Lin Heng tried to pressure the Murong Family into helping him investigate the Medical Clan by claiming they appeared on Prince Qi’s death roster. Jiang Jingyi left after he grabbed her hand, while Lin Heng remained oblivious to how close he had come to being struck down.

• Lin Heng noticed his lifespan had been replenished after drinking the pearl clam’s liquid, and Jiang Jingyi observed that he had reached Late Golden Core.
• Lin Heng asked Jiang Jingyi to provide Messenger Guard support for his investigation into the Medical Clan, but Murong Ziyan sharply refused on the grounds that the Guard answered to the Female Emperor.
• Lin Heng claimed the Murong Family appeared on Prince Qi’s death roster, prompting Jiang Jingyi to pretend that she had not known the Female Emperor might target her family.
• Lin Heng insulted the Female Emperor while arguing that Jiang Jingyi had no choice but to cooperate, and Jiang Jingyi recognized his claim as an opportunity to test him.
• Lin Heng placed his hand over Jiang Jingyi’s, and she pulled away, ended the meeting, and told him to take the remaining clams back to his Master.

Jiang Jingyi spared Lin Heng despite his insults and ordered Murong Ziyan to assist and watch him as he dealt with the Medical Clan. Lin Heng returned to Prince Qi’s Mansion and unexpectedly ran into Mu Li.

• Lin Heng pocketed the two spiritual clams Murong Ziyan had left for him to deliver to his master.
• Murong Ziyan urged Jiang Jingyi to punish Lin Heng, but Jiang Jingyi decided to tolerate his behavior because he might be talented.
• Jiang Jingyi recalled executing a great talent years earlier for a poem that insulted her, then ordered Murong Ziyan to follow Lin Heng and assist him.
• Jiang Jingyi said that if Lin Heng proved useless, she would make him a eunuch and enjoy seeing his reaction when he learned her identity.
• Lin Heng returned to Prince Qi’s Mansion, where Mu Li greeted him and teased him; he pushed her away nervously, afraid his master would find them.

Mu Li told Lin Heng that she was monitoring the Wei Family and arranged to meet him that night to share information. Meng Yutong grew jealous of their closeness, then beat Lin Heng after realizing his thousand-year-old clams were a teasing reference to her and Mu Li’s bet; the chapter ended with two bickering senior sisters returning.

• Mu Li told Lin Heng she had been monitoring the Medical Path Wei Family and arranged to meet him at Yue Family Old Shop that night.
• Meng Yutong confronted Lin Heng about hugging Mu Li, and he explained that Mu Li had come on Dynasty business for the Joyful Union Sect.
• Lin Heng showed Meng Yutong two thousand-year-old clams and joked that he liked eating immortal clams, especially the seven-hundred-year-old kind.
• Meng Yutong understood the reference to her bet with Mu Li, became furious, and chased Lin Heng while Leng Qingqiu teased her younger sister.
• Two similar-looking senior sisters returned and argued over which of them was the dummy.

Lin Heng struggled to distinguish Leng Qingqiu from Leng Qingyun, but identified them by their reactions to being tickled. After hearing that the sisters had received their annual salary from Prince Qi, he accepted five gemstones from Leng Qingyun and urged her to guard her wealth.

• Leng Qingqiu and Leng Qingyun each insisted that the other was impersonating her and demanded that Lin Heng identify the real one.
• Lin Heng pinched both women’s waists and recognized the one who dodged as Leng Qingyun, leaving Leng Qingqiu free to tease her about impersonating her in the future.
• Lin Heng escorted Leng Qingyun toward the south Attic as she complained that Leng Qingqiu had beaten her after her breakthrough.
• Leng Qingyun told Lin Heng that Prince Qi had summoned the sisters to verify their annual salary and paid them Spirit Stones and gemstones.
• Leng Qingyun gave Lin Heng five gemstones, and he stopped her from offering him half her savings before advising her to protect her wealth.

Lin Heng went to Yue Family Old Shop to meet Mu Li, while Meng Yutong and Mu Liuxi followed him and misunderstood his visit. Mu Li teased Lin Heng before revealing the Longevity Immortal Feather Flower as the subject of their meeting.

• After Little Senior Sister broke through to the Golden Core Realm, Xiao Lan became her prey and playmate, while Lin Heng wondered why he had not seen First Senior Sister.
• Meng Yutong watched Lin Heng leave and brought Mu Liuxi along, suspecting he was going to meet an improper older woman.
• Lin Heng arrived at Yue Family Old Shop and followed a Golden Core Shop Assistant to the innermost Heavenly Room.
• Mu Li used charm arts to tease Lin Heng, but he resisted and asked her to speak with him normally.
• Mu Li changed into a red dress, showed Lin Heng an unfamiliar flower, and identified it as the Longevity Immortal Feather Flower before asking whether he knew of the Longevity Dao Fruit.

Lin Heng learned the secret origins and dangers of the Eternal Dao Fruit and the Silent Parasol from Mu Li, who had found a dead seedling in the Wei Family’s secret flower garden. As Lin Heng prepared to leave their meeting, Mu Li warned him that Meng Yutong was waiting at the front door to catch him.

• Jade Origin Vine explained that the Eternal Dao Fruit came from the Eternal Mulberry, also known as the Silent Parasol.
• Mu Li explained that the Eternal Dao Fruit could grow into a Silent Parasol, whose power to bring all things to silence made it a potential source of catastrophe.
• Mu Li revealed that the Dynasty was investigating the Wei Family’s breeding stock after finding a dead flower seedling in its secret garden, and Lin Heng discussed using it to make a move against the family.
• Meng Yutong waited outside the inn with Mu Liuxi, having followed Lin Heng after Mu Li arranged a secret midnight meeting to provoke her.
• As Lin Heng prepared to leave, Mu Li told him to use the back door because Meng Yutong was blocking the front entrance.

Lin Heng met Mu Li at the inn, where she manipulated him into fleeing through the back door and left Meng Yutong waiting outside all night. Mu Li taunted Meng Yutong after Lin Heng escaped, while Meng Yutong left determined to question him.

• Mu Li warned Lin Heng that Meng Yutong was waiting outside and threatened to reveal their private meeting if he refused to cooperate.
• Lin Heng told Mu Li that Meng Yutong was jealous of their contact and might sever their master-disciple relationship, then declined Mu Li's offer to join the Joyful Union Sect.
• Lin Heng left the inn through the back door while Mu Li laughed that Meng Yutong had lost their bet.
• Meng Yutong and Mu Liuxi waited outside the inn through the night, fearing Lin Heng had been seduced by Mu Li.
• Mu Li came out in the morning, told Meng Yutong that Lin Heng had left through the back door, and taunted her about his closeness with Mu Liuxi and Yun'er.
• Meng Yutong left angrily, while Mu Li declared that she had won the bet and suspected something was happening between Meng Yutong and Lin Heng.

Lin Heng realized Mu Li had baited him into fleeing Meng Yutong, then met Murong Ziyan to set a plan in motion against the Medical Clan and its allies. After Wei Yan Dongning was reported dead, Lin Heng changed course and ordered Wei Yan Changliang and his family arrested.

• Lin Heng concluded that Mu Li and Meng Yutong had staged a trap that made his escape look guilty, then went to the West City Inn.
• Two messengers brought Lin Heng to Murong Ziyan, who agreed to help him with his plan.
• Lin Heng instructed Murong Ziyan to bring Wei Yan Dongning to her, invite Cao Yun for tea, and watch the Wei Family without directly attacking them.
• Lin Heng stayed at an inn and watched Zhao Wanqing's residence for two days while he waited for events to unfold.
• Murong Ziyan reported that Wei Yan Dongning had died before her people could arrest him, and Lin Heng ordered her to continue with the Cao Yun meeting and arrest Wei Yan Changliang's entire family.

Lin Heng arranged for the Patrol Guard Office to detain Wei Yan's Family, using Wei Yan Xiuping's crimes to justify the arrests after Wei Yan Dongning's death ended the investigation. Sun Hao confronted Lin Heng, learned he was sacrificing the family to complete his mission, and was arrested too; Lin Heng then used the turmoil to stay away from Master's side.

• Murong Ziyan questioned Lin Heng's plan to arrest Wei Yan's Family, and he explained that the move was only one part of his scheme.
• Murong Ziyan and the Patrol Guard Office surrounded the Wei Yan Residence and detained Wei Yan Changliang and the other family members.
• Sun Hao and Wei Yanxianlan returned to find the residence surrounded, and officers tried to arrest them as well.
• Lin Heng told Sun Hao that Wei Yan's Family had to answer for Wei Yan Xiuping's crimes because Wei Yan Dongning was dead and the trail had gone cold.
• Sun Hao punched Lin Heng after learning that he wanted the arrests to complete his mission, but officers subdued and shackled him.
• The Wei Yan Residence was sealed, news of the arrests spread through Dingyang City, and Lin Heng used the commotion to avoid the storm around Master's side.