Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao uncovered Huang Baoying’s likely scheme to seize the flood dragon and reported it to Meng Hongdao, who unexpectedly arranged for Huang Baoying to guard Sun Di. As the expedition crossed Six Plateaus Peak, a sudden threat erupted from beneath the snow.

• Huang Baoying asked Meng Zhao to secretly help the Huang Family get close to Sun Di, and Meng Zhao agreed only to relay the request to Meng Hongdao.
• Meng Zhao told Meng Hongdao he suspected the Huang Family planned to abduct Sun Di and take the flood dragon, and Meng Hongdao agreed the family had ulterior motives.
• Meng Hongdao arranged for Huang Baoying and two Huang Family disciples to guard Sun Di, while Meng Zhao quietly warned his own subordinates to stay alert.
• The expedition resumed its journey toward Six Plateaus Peak, where Cao Zhan warned the group about the Six-Winged Frost Centipede and Bloodthirsty Mad Bees.
• A roar of beating wings shook the mountains, and Cao Zhan shouted for everyone to watch their feet as a thirty-zhang cascade of snow surged upward.

A Six-Winged Frost Centipede and swarms of Bloodthirsty Mad Bees attacked the expedition on Cloud Mist Mountain, but Meng Zhao's Beast Repelling Pills held the bees back. Huang Baoying ambushed True Man Mingyang and Bai Shicheng and escaped with Sun Di, leaving the gathered martial artists in danger.

• A Six-Winged Frost Centipede appeared and its Killing Intent frightened three warriors to death.
• True Man Mingyang and Bai Shicheng moved toward Sun Di while the other Innate Masters faced the centipede.
• Bloodthirsty Mad Bees swarmed the group, and Meng Zhao ordered everyone to use Beast Repelling Pills and hold formation.
• The pills kept the bees at bay and unsettled the centipede, while the martial artists maintained their defense.
• Huang Baoying and two Huang Family warriors ambushed True Man Mingyang and Bai Shicheng, then fled with Sun Di as the bees began to break through.

Huang Baoying’s betrayal split the expedition as his hidden Innate Masters abducted Sun Di and attacked the group while Bloodthirsty Mad Bees swarmed them. Meng Zhao used the Dragon Seizing Hand’s force through his saber to break through the swarm and lead about twenty Meng Family Warriors to safety, while the others were left to fight their way out.

• Meng Zhao realized Huang Baoying had taken Sun Di and that two of Huang’s men were hidden Innate Masters who had wounded True Man Mingyang and Bai Shicheng.
• Meng Chuan reached Meng Zhao and relayed Meng Hongdao’s order to take the men away while Meng Hongdao dealt with the threat.
• Meng Zhao led the warriors toward the swarm’s perimeter, using the Dragon Seizing Hand’s force through his saber to cut a path through the bees.
• Meng Zhao and about twenty companions escaped the encirclement, while those left behind faced the swarm and tried to break out.

After escaping the Bloodthirsty Mad Bees, Meng Zhao questioned Meng Chuan about Meng Hongdao’s plans and learned the full details of his instructions. Meng Zhao concluded that Meng Hongdao might be using the chaos to leave the Meng Family alone in the hunt for the Flood Dragon Egg, and the group awaited the next chance to regroup.

• Cao Zhan led the group away from the bees and stopped in a rocky ravine after they fought off several Fierce Leopards.
• Meng Zhao privately asked Meng Chuan why Meng Hongdao had left Sun Di with Huang Baoying and ordered the group to flee without everyone else.
• Meng Chuan shared Meng Hongdao’s instructions, the meeting place at Immortal Platform Peak, the deadline, and the Flying Sky Thunder.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that Meng Hongdao’s apparent disregard for Sun Di and his planned regrouping suggested that the events remained under his control.
• Meng Zhao suspected Meng Hongdao intended to cut out the Fire Dragon Cave, the Zhao Family, and Qin Tao’s party so the Meng Family could claim the Flood Dragon Egg alone.

Meng Zhao learned that Huang Baoying had betrayed the Meng Family and discovered that the ambushers included Lei Ming and a practitioner of the Hateful Grudge Demonic Blade. Zhu Guangxi explained the blade art’s risks and potential, leaving Meng Zhao wondering whether its practitioner belonged to the Demonic Path.

• Meng Zhao concluded that Huang Baoying had betrayed the Meng Family and sent Meng Chuan to recover before they continued to Immortal Platform Peak.
• Meng Zhao met Zhu Guangxi, who identified one of the ambushers as a practitioner of the Lei Family’s Thunder Cloud Hand, likely Lei Ming.
• Meng Zhao deduced that Lei Ming had staged the other factions’ defeat to lower the Meng Family’s guard and seize Sun Di.
• Zhu Guangxi identified the other ambusher’s art as the Hateful Grudge Demonic Blade and described its perilous path toward the Celestial Realm.
• Meng Zhao recognized that the blade practitioner could suppress his Demonic Thought and wondered whether he was a member of the Demonic Path.

Meng Zhao weighed the danger of Huang Baoying’s betrayal and rallied the weary Meng Family party to continue toward Immortal Platform Peak. He led them deeper into Cloud Mist Mountain, relying on Cao Zhan to guide them safely.

• Zhu Guangxi suspected that a Demonic Path faction had allied with the Lei Family and warned Meng Zhao that losing the living map left them at a disadvantage.
• Meng Zhao reassured the Meng Family Warriors and promised rewards to restore their morale.
• Lü Yue warned that Huang Baoying’s supplies might be dangerous and questioned whether the group could safely travel without him.
• Meng Zhao decided to trust the remaining Huang Family supplies and ordered the party to reach Immortal Platform Peak by the next sunset.
• Cao Zhan promised to guide the group, and Meng Zhao led them farther into Cloud Mist Mountain.

Meng Zhao spotted a distant campfire while keeping watch on Cloud Mist Mountain and went to investigate with Zhu Guangxi. They found Bai Shicheng gravely wounded beside the dead Qin Tao, and Bai feared the Marquis of Julu would punish him for failing to protect the young master.

• Meng Zhao left the sleeping camp and spotted firelight about a mountain peak away.
• Meng Zhao woke Zhu Guangxi, left Meng Chuan and Cao Zhan to guard the camp, and headed toward the fire with Zhu Guangxi.
• Bai Shicheng collapsed while traveling with two Qin Family guards, who urged him to find the People of the Meng Family and report Qin Tao's death.
• The guards laid down Qin Tao's body, revealing the fatal wound in his chest.
• Bai Shicheng worried that the Marquis of Julu would hold him responsible and that his wife and young daughter would be left unprotected.

Bai Shicheng reflected on his responsibility for Qin Tao’s death and considered how to explain it to the Marquis of Julu. When two Qin Family guards rejected his attempt to blame them, he condemned their failures, leaving the men openly hostile toward him.

• Bai Shicheng recalled how his injuries had kept him from protecting Qin Tao and judged that Qin Tao and his guards also bore responsibility for the death.
• Bai Shicheng asked the two Qin Family guards how they planned to account for Qin Tao’s death to the Marquis of Julu.
• One guard accused Bai Shicheng of trying to shift the blame onto them, and Bai Shicheng denounced the guards for fleeing instead of protecting Qin Tao.
• The second guard argued that Bai Shicheng, as an Innate Master, had been chiefly responsible for Qin Tao’s safety, and both guards refused to accept the blame.

After Qin Tao's death, Bai Shicheng clashed with two Qin Family guards over who would take responsibility, then nearly turned on them when they proposed blaming the Meng Family. Meng Zhao and Zhu Guangxi overheard the scheme, and Meng Zhao saw Bai Shicheng's desperate position as an opportunity to recruit him.

• The two Qin Family guards blamed Bai Shicheng for Qin Tao's death, provoking his anger and killing intent.
• One guard proposed shifting the blame for Qin Tao's death onto the Meng Family, and the other supported the plan.
• Meng Zhao and Zhu Guangxi emerged from hiding after overhearing the guards' scheme.
• Meng Zhao assessed Bai Shicheng's fear of the Qin Family and precarious situation, and considered recruiting him to serve the Meng Family.

Meng Zhao convinced the injured Bai Shicheng that the Marquis of Julu would blame him for Qin Tao’s death and urged him to eliminate the two guards who planned to betray him. After Bai Shicheng killed them, Zhu Guangxi suggested Meng Zhao could help rescue Bai Shicheng’s family so he would not have to return to the Marquis of Julu’s Estate.

• Meng Zhao warned Bai Shicheng that the two guards had invented their story to save themselves and that the Marquis of Julu would still hold him responsible for Qin Tao’s death.
• Meng Zhao advised Bai Shicheng to kill the two Qin Family guards, and Bai Shicheng beheaded them with one saber strike as they tried to flee.
• Meng Zhao asked Bai Shicheng whether returning to the Qin Family would be safe, and Bai Shicheng explained that the Marquis of Julu would kill him and might torment his wife and daughter.
• Zhu Guangxi told Bai Shicheng that Meng Zhao might be able to rescue his family, allowing him to avoid returning to the Marquis of Julu’s Estate.

Meng Zhao persuaded Bai Shicheng to pledge loyalty by revealing connections and leverage that could help rescue Bai Shicheng’s wife and daughter from Juluxian County. Bai Shicheng accepted, while Meng Zhao planned to use Hu Baiwan’s ledger and keep the family’s rescue as a way to secure his new follower.

• Bai Shicheng agreed to serve Meng Zhao if he could rescue his wife and daughter from Juluxian County.
• Meng Zhao promised to arrange the rescue after matters at Cloud Mist Mountain were concluded and explained that delaying the Marquis of Julu’s discovery of Qin Tao’s death was crucial.
• Meng Zhao named six connections in Juluxian City, including Luo Zhen, and revealed secret details about the steward’s hidden valuables at Fude Workshop.
• Bai Shicheng recognized that Meng Zhao’s information was credible and knelt to ask him to take him in.
• Meng Zhao helped Bai Shicheng up, promised to rescue his family, and privately credited Hu Baiwan’s ledger for providing the connections and leverage.

Meng Zhao learned from Bai Shicheng how the Six-Winged Frost Centipede attacked the scattered group and how Huang Baoying and Sun Di fled together. With the Flood Dragon Egg still at stake and their allies scattered, Meng Zhao urged the others to regroup at Immortal Platform Peak before deciding what to do next.

• Meng Zhao asked Bai Shicheng what happened after he led people through the bee swarm, and Bai Shicheng explained that the Six-Winged Frost Centipede had overwhelmed the fighters while Qin Tao and others died.
• Bai Shicheng said he had not seen Huang Baoying or Sun Di afterward, but knew they had fled southeast together, and he suspected the two Innate Realm Warriors with them came from the Demonic Path.
• Zhu Guangxi and Meng Zhao told Bai Shicheng their suspicions about the Lei Family and the Demonic Path, leaving Bai Shicheng worried that they might seize the Flood Dragon Egg first.
• Meng Zhao proposed that they meet his third uncle at Immortal Platform Peak before tomorrow night, then follow his uncle's plan or return to town with Cao Zhan if the reunion failed.

Meng Zhao’s party reached Immortal Platform Peak, where Meng Zhao reunited with Meng Hongdao’s group and explained why he had recruited Bai Shicheng. Meng Hongdao accepted Meng Zhao’s reasoning, leaving Bai Shicheng as Meng Zhao’s chosen retainer.

• Meng Zhao’s party reached Immortal Platform Peak, established a base camp, and prepared food while scouting for signs of others.
• Meng Zhao reunited with Meng Hongdao, who had arrived with the seven Innate Masters and six Meng Family Warriors.
• Meng Hongdao questioned Meng Zhao about Bai Shicheng joining the party and learned that Qin Tao had died during the battle with the Six-Winged Frost Centipede.
• Meng Zhao explained that Bai Shicheng had pledged loyalty in exchange for help rescuing his wife and daughter, and argued that he could be trusted.
• Meng Hongdao warned that Bai Shicheng might betray Meng Zhao, but Meng Zhao defended his choice, and Meng Hongdao acknowledged his explanation.

Meng Hongdao revealed that the Meng Family planned to seize the Flood Dragon Egg and explained that they needed Green Anaconda Gall to lure the mother flood dragon from its nest. Meng Zhao agreed to lend Cao Zhan for the task, while Meng Hongdao privately reconsidered whether Meng Zhao should be entrusted with something so important.

• Meng Zhao asked whether Meng Hongdao had arranged Huang Baoying's abduction of Sun Di to conceal the Meng Family's plan to steal the Flood Dragon Egg, and Meng Hongdao confirmed it.
• Meng Zhao warned that Lei Ming and a Demonic Path Innate Master had disrupted the balance on Cloud Mist Mountain, but Meng Hongdao said the plan was nearly ready and the family expected to leave in two days.
• Meng Hongdao explained that the Meng Family needed Green Anaconda Gall mixed with the Huang Family's Detoxification Pills to lure the mother flood dragon from its nest.
• Meng Hongdao assured Meng Zhao that the Detoxification Pills were prepared before Huang Baoying's betrayal and had nothing to do with him.
• Meng Hongdao asked to borrow Cao Zhan to obtain the Green Anaconda Gall, and Meng Zhao agreed while urging him to keep Cao Zhan safe.
• Meng Hongdao recalled that Meng Zhao's help had greatly advanced the preparations and wondered whether Meng Zhao, rather than Meng Chuan, should be entrusted with the flood dragon plan.

Meng Zhao cultivated while Meng Hongdao prepared the party to steal the Flood Dragon Egg, dividing their forces and guiding them deep into Cloud Mist Mountain. They reached a mountain overlooking the flood dragon’s valley, where Meng Zhao concealed his dragon aura and wondered how Sun Di had ever reached the place and escaped.

• Meng Zhao continued cultivating and incorporated insights from demonic-path and Daoist martial arts into the Crimson Dragon Heavenly Capital Secret Canon.
• Meng Hongdao’s hunters returned with green anaconda gall, which he prepared into a foul-smelling crystal for their plan.
• After eating, Meng Hongdao led the party into Cloud Mist Mountain and split the Meng Family Warriors, leaving three Innate Masters to guard the route.
• Meng Hongdao guided the remaining group past fierce beasts and through the mountains until they reached a peak overlooking a mist-filled valley.
• The flood dragon’s overwhelming aura affected Meng Zhao and the Innate Masters, while Meng Zhao suppressed his Purple Origin Dragon Body’s aura.
• Meng Zhao wondered how Sun Di had reached the flood dragon’s valley while gathering medicine and returned safely.

Meng Hongdao’s party lured the Flood Dragon away from its lair and entered the valley to steal its egg, but they discovered the valley floor was teeming with deadly snakes. The group was left clinging to the cliff, with Meng Hongdao uncertain how they could proceed or retreat.

• Meng Hongdao sent Wang Tianlei and Yang Jiu ahead with a gray bundle, then ordered everyone to conceal their auras and wait in ambush.
• The Flood Dragon was drawn away by the bait, and Meng Hongdao ordered the group to enter the valley according to plan.
• Meng Zhao and the others descended into the bowl-shaped valley and saw countless snakes, pythons, and poisonous Snake Balls around the Flood Dragon Pool.
• A Meng Family Warrior lost his footing and fell into a Snake Ball, where the snakes devoured him instantly.
• Meng Hongdao and the other Innate Masters realized they could neither safely reach the valley floor nor find the Flood Dragon Egg among the serpents.

Meng Zhao learned that the Flood Dragon Egg had likely hatched, leaving a young flood dragon hidden among the snakes below. Believing his transformed body might let him subdue it, he sent the others to safety and prepared to search the valley.

• Meng Chuan and the other martial artists urged Meng Hongdao to abandon the search because the snake-filled valley was too dangerous to enter.
• Meng Hongdao told Meng Zhao that the young flood dragon appeared to have hatched early and was likely protected by the mother flood dragon among the snakes.
• Meng Zhao asked how to subdue the young flood dragon, and Meng Hongdao explained the method for taking one as a guardian spirit beast.
• Meng Zhao told Meng Hongdao to lead everyone to the cliff top while he searched for the young flood dragon.
• After the others withdrew, Meng Zhao produced a genuine Flood Dragon Scale that radiated a fierce, tyrannical pressure.

Meng Zhao used a Flood Dragon Scale to draw a young flood dragon out of the valley’s sea of snakes and won its trust with the Crimson Dragon Breathing Method. He planted a soul imprint in the creature, leaving their new bond seemingly established.

• Meng Zhao used the Flood Dragon Scale to frighten the snakes and pythons away from the cliff beneath him.
• A small black snake climbed toward Meng Zhao, and he recognized it as a young flood dragon.
• Meng Zhao used the Crimson Dragon Breathing Method, causing the young flood dragon to approach and coil around his arm.
• Meng Zhao climbed onto a stone platform and placed a drop of his blood between the young flood dragon’s horns.
• Meng Zhao planted a soul imprint through his blood, and the young flood dragon’s frantic behavior eased as a genuine connection formed between them.

Meng Zhao successfully subdued the young flood dragon and escaped the snake-filled valley. He returned to the others with the dragon concealed around his waist, then revealed it and stunned the group.

• Meng Zhao realized that his dragon blood and Special Physique had made it possible to form a soul imprint with the young flood dragon.
• Meng Zhao calmed the young flood dragon, ordered it to coil around his waist, and climbed back up the cliff using his martial arts.
• Lü Yue hurried to check that Meng Zhao was unharmed, while Meng Hongdao and Meng Chuan asked whether he had found the young flood dragon.
• Meng Zhao revealed the young flood dragon on his arm, and it released a fierce aura that made the others retreat.
• Bai Shicheng exclaimed that Meng Zhao seemed like a heavenly being after seeing him subdue the dragon so quickly.

Meng Zhao subdued the young flood dragon, and Meng Hongdao ordered the witnesses to keep it secret before the group fled as its mother approached. After the party found evidence of a Lei Family attack, Meng Hongdao sent Meng Zhao and his followers down a separate route while he stayed behind to face the danger.

• Bai Shicheng and Cao Zhan accepted Meng Zhao’s leadership after witnessing him subdue the young flood dragon, while Meng Hongdao struggled with his disappointment that Meng Zhao had claimed it.
• Meng Hongdao warned everyone to conceal the flood dragon’s capture and promised rewards, and Zhu Guangxi agreed not to report it to the Plainclothes Alliance.
• Meng Zhao urged the group to leave before the mother flood dragon returned, and its piercing howl sent them racing down the mountain as Meng Hongdao burned away attacking beasts.
• The group found the remains of a battle and several dead Meng Family Warriors, and Meng Hongdao identified the Lei Family’s Thunder Cloud Hand and suspected Huang Baoying and the two Innate Masters who had abducted Sun Di.
• Meng Hongdao sent Meng Zhao, Meng Chuan, and Cao Zhan’s group down a separate route, telling them to kill anyone who blocked them while he stayed behind to deal with the threats.