Chapter Summaries

Li Musheng arranged for Zhao Muning to return to the Great Xuan Imperial Palace and become its emperor, with Wen Yue accompanying her. After Zhao Muning accepted the unexpected opportunity, Cang Yinyue asked Li Musheng how he had become so closely connected to the princess.

• Li Musheng told Zhao Muning that the Great Xuan Imperial Palace's ancestor supported her becoming emperor and instructed her to return with Wen Yue.
• Zhao Muning accepted Li Musheng's proposal, resolving to take the throne and use it to avenge her younger brother.
• Wen Yue greeted Zhao Muning and understood that Li Musheng wanted Moon-Inviting Palace to support her.
• Zhao Muning changed into palace robes and left the inn with Wen Yue and two elderly women.
• Cang Yinyue asked Li Musheng when he had developed such close ties with Zhao Muning.

Zhao Muning secured the Great Xuan throne with the Great Xuan Imperial Palace ancestor’s support while Li Musheng waited at the inn for Daoist Qingye. Big Black Cat secretly took one of Zhao Muning’s reports and headed to the palace, as Great Li’s Hidden Spy Bureau agents suspected Li Musheng was connected to the upheaval.

• Li Musheng reassured Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran that he was closer to them than to another woman, and Shen Anran asked him for martial arts guidance.
• The Great Xuan Imperial Palace stripped Zhao Kuang of his heir position and imprisoned him, while the ancestor subdued the two rival princes and brought them to the palace.
• Zhao Muning ascended the throne, and the ancestor suppressed opposition; Zhao Muning imprisoned many dissenting officials and executed those who plotted treason.
• Zhao Muning gradually took control of the palace, hidden guards, and army, while Li Musheng and his companions waited at the inn for Daoist Qingye.
• After Li Musheng refused to help Big Black Cat obtain a high-ranking post, it hid one of Zhao Muning’s reports beneath its belly and secretly went to the palace.
• Great Li Hidden Spy Bureau agents at the inn connected Li Musheng to Zhao Muning’s ascension and the disappearance of the three demonic sects.

The Hidden Spy Bureau agents debated whether to ask Li Musheng for help finding their missing Director, while Big Black Cat entered the Great Xuan Imperial Palace to seek an official post from Zhao Muning. Zhao Muning used the cat’s request to ask the Great Xuan Imperial Palace's old ancestor whether she could exercise imperial authority, leaving his answer unresolved.

• The Hidden Spy Bureau agents decided to wait before approaching Li Musheng, fearing he might refuse or punish them.
• Big Black Cat sneaked into the Great Xuan Imperial Palace with an official report and searched for Zhao Muning, but got lost in the palace.
• The Great Xuan Imperial Palace's old ancestor captured Big Black Cat, and Zhao Muning recognized it as Li Musheng's cat and asked him to release it.
• Big Black Cat showed Zhao Muning its official report and gestured for her to grant it an official post.
• Zhao Muning asked the Great Xuan Imperial Palace's old ancestor whether she could grant Big Black Cat a title, implicitly questioning when imperial authority would pass to her.

Zhao Muning appointed Big Black Cat as an official of Great Xuan and affirmed her willingness to yield the throne to the Eighth Prince if he wanted it. Meanwhile, the Great Xuan Imperial Palace patriarch visited the imprisoned chief of Great Li's Hidden Spy Bureau and continued pressing him for information.

• Zhao Muning appointed Big Black Cat as the Censorate's official cat and gave it an imperial decree bearing the Emperor's jade seal.
• After Big Black Cat left, Zhao Muning told her martial uncle that she trusted the Eighth Prince and would give him the throne if he wanted it, asking only that he treat Great Xuan's people well.
• Zhao Muning planned to withdraw Great Xuan's troops from the border and send envoys to form an alliance with Great Li.
• The Great Xuan Imperial Palace patriarch entered a secret chamber and confronted the imprisoned chief of Great Li's Hidden Spy Bureau, who remained loyal to Emperor Yuanwu and refused to speak.

The old patriarch of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace questioned the captured head of Great Li’s Hidden Spy Bureau about Emperor Yuanwu’s way into the Heavenly Martial Abyss. After confirming that the method existed, he released the spy chief and resolved to obtain it before Li Musheng.

• The old patriarch offered to free the head of Great Li’s Hidden Spy Bureau in exchange for confirmation about the Heavenly Martial Abyss.
• The spy chief confirmed that Emperor Yuanwu possessed a method to enter the abyss, known to only a few people in Great Li, and questioned how the old patriarch learned of it.
• The old patriarch suggested that Emperor Yuanwu himself might have spread the news, but the spy chief changed the subject and asked to be released.
• The old patriarch spared the spy chief because Great Li and Great Xuan were about to form an alliance, then carried him above the palace and hurled him beyond its walls.
• The old patriarch vowed to reach the Martial God realm and seek Emperor Yuanwu’s method before Li Musheng could obtain it.

After escaping the Great Xuan Imperial Palace, the Director of the Great Li Hidden Spy Bureau learned that Li Musheng had rescued Daoist Qingyu and helped Zhao Muning ascend the throne. He decided to meet Li Musheng and ordered an investigation into rumors that Li Musheng had fallen into the Demon Dao.

• The Director of the Great Li Hidden Spy Bureau took refuge in an inn and learned that the Great Xuan Emperor and nearly all his children had died, while Zhao Muning had become emperor.
• The innkeeper told the Director that Li Musheng was staying at the safehouse and that his presence made it the safest place in Great Xuan.
• The Director learned that Li Musheng had rescued Daoist Qingyu and helped place Zhao Muning on the throne, and realized this was likely why the Great Xuan Imperial Palace ancestor had spared him.
• The innkeeper reported unverified rumors that Li Musheng had used the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art to absorb the Demon Origin and kill leaders of the three great demon sects.
• The Director ordered the Hidden Spy Bureau to investigate the rumors and decided to meet Li Musheng before seeing Daoist Qingyu.

Li Musheng received the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury Key from the battered Daoist Qingye and restored the flow of his martial energy. With four of the seven keys in hand, he moved closer to opening Apocalypse Emperor's hidden treasury.

• The chief of the Hidden Spy Bureau thanked Li Musheng for his rescue and left after Li Musheng said they would be even once he received the treasury key.
• Big Black Cat secretly dreamed of gaining official posts in all five nations while Li Musheng studied the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art as a possible way to transcend martial cultivation.
• Several days later, Cao Gaoshan brought the injured Daoist Qingye to the inn, where Qingye gave Li Musheng a genuine Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury Key.
• Li Musheng cleared the residual martial energy from Daoist Qingye's body and confirmed their transaction was complete.

Li Musheng left Grand Profound City for White Emperor City after resolving the city’s affairs. Watching him depart, Zhao Muning warned Zhao Ji not to seek the Great Xuan throne unless she granted it to him, while promising to help him become emperor once he was ready.

• Li Musheng decided to travel to White Emperor City and departed Grand Profound City with Shen Anran and the others.
• Daoist Qingyu, Daoist Qingye, and the chief of the Hidden Spy Bureau saw Li Musheng off, and Qingyu thanked him before he left.
• Zhao Muning and Zhao Ji watched Li Musheng’s carriage leave and discussed how he had saved them from Zhao Kuang.
• Zhao Muning warned Zhao Ji that he must not provoke Li Musheng or seize the throne without her permission.
• Zhao Muning said she would help Zhao Ji become emperor when he was capable, and Zhao Ji agreed while concealing an unfathomable look.

As Li Musheng and his companions traveled toward White Emperor City, Cao Gaoshan reported that Great Chu planned to ally with Great Li through a marriage involving Princess Huarong. The news left Cao Gaoshan worried that Li Yuanling might be pressured into the match, while Li Musheng believed she would not accept it unwillingly.

• Cao Gaoshan gathered news that Great Li had lost eleven border cities to Great Zhou, though Great Xuan’s change of stance had improved its position.
• Cao Gaoshan told Li Musheng, Cang Yinyue, and Shen Anran that Great Chu also intended to form an alliance with Great Li.
• Cao Gaoshan explained that Great Chu had made the alliance conditional on a marriage between a prince and Princess Huarong, putting pressure on Great Li’s emperor.
• Li Musheng said Li Yuanling would have escaped if she opposed the marriage, but Cao Gaoshan worried she might be unable to flee or might sacrifice her happiness for Great Li.

Li Musheng continued toward White Emperor City while dismissing the rumors that he was a great demon and promising to help Li Yuanling if Great Chu pressed its marriage alliance. Meanwhile, experts from two ancient families arrived at Azure Profound Temple seeking Dream of a Thousand Autumns, but their attempt to identify its thief revealed only an unusual martial aura.

• Li Musheng told Cao Gaoshan he would visit Great Chu after finishing his business in White Emperor City if Emperor Yuanwu agreed to the marriage alliance.
• Li Musheng reflected on the rumors calling him a great demon and on demonic cultivators searching for him, then ordered Cao Gaoshan to continue toward White Emperor City.
• Cang Yinyue expressed confidence that Li Musheng would prevent anyone from forcing Li Yuanling to marry.
• Experts from two ancient families arrived at Grand Profound City, killed a Heavenly Human Realm expert who investigated them, and went to Azure Profound Temple to search for Dream of a Thousand Autumns.
• A young man used his innate divine ability to inspect the past at the pool and saw the person who took Dream of a Thousand Autumns, but could not identify their face or unusual martial aura.

The Mount Qi group suspected Li Musheng had taken the Dream Clan’s supreme treasure, Dream of a Thousand Autumns, and left Azure Profound Temple to investigate him through the distinctive Big Black Cat. In Shangyang City, Great Li remained trapped in a stalemate with internal and foreign enemies until Great Xuan withdrew its troops from the border and allied with Great Li.

• The young man told the Mount Qi group he could not see the face of the person who took Dream of a Thousand Autumns but had seen a distinctive Big Black Cat nearby.
• The group connected reports about Li Musheng to the theft and decided to investigate whether the Big Black Cat was with him.
• The white-robed middle-aged man and the others agreed they had to reclaim the treasure even if Li Musheng possessed it, then departed from Azure Profound Temple.
• Great Li’s court mobilized its secret forces and troops as it fought the three major sects internally and Great Zhou at the border.
• Great Xuan withdrew its troops from the Great Li border and formed an alliance with Great Li, surprising the other three nations and relieving Great Li’s isolation.

Great Li formally allied with Great Xuan, and Emperor Yuanwu freed Li Zhi from the Heavenly Prison to destroy one of the three great martial sects within three months. Meanwhile, Li Musheng's group crossed the Western Desert toward White Emperor City and approached a town where signs of blood hinted at danger.

• Emperor Yuanwu accepted Great Xuan's alliance offer, and the two nations signed a pact promising mutual support and nonaggression.
• Li Tianyi delivered Emperor Yuanwu's edict to Li Zhi, freeing him and tasking him with taking down one of the three great martial sects within three months in exchange for restored status and a royal title.
• Li Zhi accepted the edict and resolved to make use of his freedom, though he remained uncertain of Emperor Yuanwu's true intentions.
• Li Musheng, Cao Gaoshan, Cang Yinyue, and Big Black Cat traveled west across the desert toward White Emperor City and planned to find a local guide in a nearby town.
• As the group neared the town at sunset, Cao Gaoshan spotted camels on the road and detected a faint trace of blood.

Li Musheng and his companions entered a sinister, deserted town, where Cao Gaoshan killed a dwarf attacker and revealed his Heavenly Human Realm strength. At the town’s only inn, the girl running it refused them lodging, insisting that even a Heavenly Human master could not break the town’s rules.

• Cao Gaoshan drove the carriage through a bloodstained area and into a silent town watched by unseen observers.
• A childlike dwarf attacked Cao Gaoshan, who killed the attacker with a palm blade and startled the hidden onlookers by revealing his Heavenly Human Realm cultivation.
• Cao Gaoshan took Li Musheng and the others to the town’s only inn and asked the sleeping girl at the counter for four superior rooms.
• Big Black Cat tried to swipe at the girl, but she dodged with flickering afterimages and angrily explained that she had refused them lodging.
• The girl said only people with the right background could stay at the inn, then rejected Cao Gaoshan’s claim that his Heavenly Human Realm status qualified.

Cao Gaoshan and the others learned that outsiders without ties to the Western Desert’s six great powers were at risk, but Li Musheng showed little concern. After the innkeeper mistook him for a famous White Emperor City prodigy, Li Musheng and his companions vanished from the inn.

• The innkeeper refused Cao Gaoshan’s group a place to stay and explained that the Western Desert was ruled by two cities, one tower, and three markets.
• Shen Anran identified the six powers, and the innkeeper warned the group that outsiders could be attacked or killed without restraint.
• Big Black Cat tried to claw the innkeeper, but she dodged and ordered the group to leave.
• Li Musheng asked about a renowned young genius, and the innkeeper described the prodigy in White Emperor City without realizing she was speaking about him.
• The innkeeper attempted to block Li Musheng, but her vision shifted and she found herself behind the counter as he and the others disappeared.

A girl and a dwarf discussed the newcomers at the inn and planned to leave for White Emperor City the next day. After waiting through a quiet night for the town’s villains to attack the group, the girl discovered that the notorious Heavenly Human expert Yin Wind Old Monster had died mysteriously.

• The girl told the dwarf that the newcomers had entered the inn, and he judged that its occupants would likely be attacked because they lacked backing.
• The girl said her clan would depart for White Emperor City the next day and retrieve an important item in Yellow Springs City along the way.
• After Dream of a Thousand Autumns used an illusion to send the girl away, Li Musheng’s group settled into the inn and Cao Gaoshan paid for their stay.
• The girl waited overnight for the town’s villains to attack Li Musheng’s group, but nothing happened.
• At dawn, the girl found Yin Wind Old Monster dead atop a nearby earthen building, with no visible wounds or signs of poison.

The girl discovered that more than a dozen people, including several powerful experts and the guide Zhang Asan, had died mysteriously around the inn overnight. Li Musheng realized his illusory killing traps had killed them, and the group considered hiring the girl to guide them to White Emperor City, leaving the price to be negotiated.

• The girl found Poison Widow and more than a dozen other corpses near the inn, all apparently dead without wounds or signs of poison.
• Cao Gaoshan, Cang Yinyue, Shen Anran, Li Musheng, and Big Black Cat waited for their hired guide, Zhang Asan, but he did not arrive.
• The girl told Cao Gaoshan that Zhang Asan had died among the people killed nearby the previous night.
• Cao Gaoshan inspected Zhang Asan's corpse and realized Li Musheng had killed the people outside the inn with his traps.
• The girl offered to guide the group to White Emperor City for payment, and Li Musheng asked how much she wanted.

Li Musheng’s group crossed the desert with a veiled girl as their guide and reached Yellow Springs City, where she used her Mirage Tower token to bring them inside. The group planned to rest there before continuing toward White Emperor City, while the girl considered using Li Musheng’s strength to help her take an item from the Yellow Springs Tribe.

• The girl offered to guide Li Musheng’s group to White Emperor City in exchange for protection, and Li Musheng accepted on the condition that she stay with them.
• The girl found five camels, and she guided Li Musheng, Cao Gaoshan, Cang Yinyue, Shen Anran, and Big Black Cat through the desert while avoiding sandstorms.
• The group spotted Yellow Springs City, and Li Musheng agreed to stop there so they could rest before continuing their journey.
• The girl privately decided that Li Musheng could be useful when she tried to take an item from the Yellow Springs Tribe.
• The girl showed the city guards her Mirage Tower token, and they let her and Li Musheng’s group pass through the gate.

Li Musheng and his companions reached Yellow Springs City, where they noticed a scarred blind man whose killing intent surpassed that of a Kill Saint. A Xiu explained that the Hidden Kill Pavilion was subordinate to the White Tiger Divine Hall in White Emperor City, leaving the group wondering how the Hall held such power.

• A Xiu led Li Musheng and the others through Yellow Springs City to an inn, where she drank heavily and invited them to explore the city.
• Li Musheng noticed a disheveled blind man in the inn, and the man’s scarred face and hidden killing intent alarmed the group.
• A Xiu guessed the blind man might belong to the Hidden Kill Pavilion, and Li Musheng asked her what she knew about the organization.
• A Xiu explained that the White Tiger Divine Hall controlled White Emperor City and that the Hidden Kill Pavilion had to bow beneath it.
• Cao Gaoshan questioned how the White Tiger Divine Hall could suppress the Hidden Kill Pavilion, and the others waited for A Xiu’s answer.

A blind man entered an inn in Yellow Springs City and demanded to know where he could find Young Master Jin Chuan, killing two members of the Yellow Springs Tribe when they resisted. A Xiu saw an opportunity in the disturbance and waited to see how events unfolded, while Li Musheng stayed to finish his meal.

• A Xiu told Li Musheng and the others that the White Tiger Divine Hall held the highest status in White Emperor City, then went to seek a room.
• A blind man asked members of the Yellow Springs Tribe if they knew Young Master Jin Chuan and caught a chopstick thrown at him.
• The blind man killed the red-scarfed attacker and another tribesman, then learned that Jin Chuan was the son of the Rakshasa Holy Lord.
• The blind man ordered the remaining men to bring Jin Chuan to the inn within half an incense stick's time, while one went to fetch him and two remained trapped.
• A Xiu decided to wait for the Yellow Springs Tribe's response, and Li Musheng said he would stay seated and finish the food.

A Xiu warned Li Musheng that the Yellow Springs Tribe would kill anyone who provoked them, while the blind bounty hunter declared that he wanted Jin Chuan’s life. Yellow Springs Tribe fighters arrived at the inn, but Jin Chuan was not among them.

• A Xiu warned Li Musheng that the Yellow Springs Tribe’s five Sacred Lords were too powerful to challenge, while Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran urged A Xiu to stay beside Li Musheng if danger came.
• A Xiu asked the blind man whether he held a grudge against Jin Chuan, and he said he wanted Jin Chuan dead because someone had paid for his life.
• The blind man told A Xiu that he liked killing and did not care much about money, and A Xiu guessed he was at least a Grade A bounty hunter.
• A group of Yellow Springs Tribe fighters entered the inn with a young man in green robes, a woman in red, and an old man.
• The blind man asked where Jin Chuan was, and the man who had reported the killing said Jin Chuan had not come.