Chapter Summaries

Li Musheng ordered Han Meiyan to search for the Qilin Sacred Sect and the Fire Qilin, then bound her with a Life-Death Seal. After Wei Bing arrived at the cave, Li Musheng subdued and sealed him as well, leaving Han Meiyan to recruit him while she took control of Floating Boat City.

• Li Musheng told Han Meiyan to investigate the Qilin Sacred Sect and find the Fire Qilin, then placed a Life-Death Seal in her body.
• Han Meiyan agreed to obey Li Musheng and asked permission to take control of Floating Boat City; he allowed it on the condition that she avoid demonic practices while working for him.
• Wei Bing rushed into the cave, where Li Musheng suppressed his power and placed a Life-Death Seal in his body.
• Li Musheng left the cave with Li Yuanling and told Han Meiyan that Wei Bing could be put to use.
• Han Meiyan told Wei Bing that Li Musheng was the Eighth Prince of Great Li and explained that the seal left him no choice but to work for him.

Li Musheng returned to the Heavenly Brocade Guard Headquarters after Li Yuanling promised to introduce him to a friend from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion who might know how to find the Fire Qilin. There, Fu Qiwen asked him to resist pressure to investigate Imperial Concubine Ji’s murder while the Heavenly Brocade Guard focused on Falling God Peak, and Li Musheng questioned Fu about the concubine’s alleged crimes.

• Li Yuanling offered to seek help from her close friend in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, who might know clues about the Fire Qilin, and Li Musheng agreed to wait for her return.
• Li Musheng learned that secret details of Imperial Concubine Ji’s death had leaked from the palace and were spreading through Shangyang City.
• Fu Qiwen told Li Musheng that the Right Chancellor and Third Prince had ordered the Heavenly Brocade Guard to find Imperial Concubine Ji’s killer, but asked him to resist their pressure for two days while the Guard dealt with Falling God Peak.
• Li Musheng agreed to prioritize the mission against Falling God Peak, then asked Fu Qiwen whether Imperial Concubine Ji deserved death for allegedly slaughtering women to fuel her demonic cultivation.
• Fu Qiwen said he could not verify the allegations but believed that, if they were true, the matter should be handled according to Great Li law.

Li Musheng enlisted Fu Qiwen to search for the Fire Qilin and the key to the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury. After Imperial Concubine Ji was murdered, Fu Yu and his colleagues linked her death to Marquis Cangyuan Mansion and decided to leak their suspected collusion to test Li Musheng’s capabilities.

• Li Musheng asked Fu Qiwen to have the Heavenly Brocade Guard search for the Fire Qilin and the key to the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury.
• After Imperial Concubine Ji’s murder became known, Shangyang City imposed martial law and the Imperial Secret Police began searching for her killer.
• Ji Feiyun told Fu Yu that the Fifth Prince wanted evidence of collusion between Marquis Cangyuan Mansion and Imperial Concubine Ji preserved and secretly delivered to him.
• Gong Lishan and Fu Yu suspected that the same group had killed Marquis Cangyuan and Imperial Concubine Ji, and Ji Feiyun revealed that the Hidden Kill Order was said to be with Li Musheng.
• Fu Yu proposed secretly spreading word of the collusion and using the matter to test Li Musheng’s capabilities.

Fu Yu planned to use the threat against Cang Yinyue to expose the Eighth Prince, while Guan Tianqian investigated Imperial Concubine Ji’s murder and wrestled with the killer’s possible motives. As Guan Tianqian returned to Six Fans Gate Headquarters, he spotted Cang Yinyue outside Heavenly Brocade Guard Headquarters.

• Fu Yu told Gong Lishan that he could protect Cang Yinyue and believed the Eighth Prince would abandon her when faced with pressure.
• The Queen learned that investigators had found no trace of Imperial Concubine Ji’s murderer in the palace and ordered the Imperial Secret Police and Hidden Spy Bureau chiefs to capture the killer before the Emperor left seclusion.
• Guan Tianqian hesitated to pursue the murderer, suspecting the young man with Cang Yinyue was connected to the deaths and recalling evidence of crimes at Marquis Cangyuan Mansion.
• Guan Tianqian reflected on how his years in officialdom had worn away his youthful chivalry as his carriage returned to Six Fans Gate Headquarters.
• Guan Tianqian spotted Cang Yinyue outside Heavenly Brocade Guard Headquarters.

Li Musheng refused pressure to make the Heavenly Brocade Guard pursue Imperial Concubine Ji’s murderer while it searched for the Fire Qilin. Cang Yinyue revealed her unveiled face to him, then brought news that Great Qi remnants had resurfaced and asked him to investigate with her.

• Li Musheng told Yu Jin to reject demands from the palace and other powers, saying the Heavenly Brocade Guard was helping him search for the Fire Qilin.
• Cang Yinyue removed her veil for Li Musheng, who praised her beauty.
• Cang Yinyue reported that the Imperial Secret Police’s investigation into the Green Mountain Tower case had uncovered new activity by Great Qi remnants.
• Cang Yinyue asked Li Musheng to investigate the Great Qi remnants with her because the Imperial Secret Police was occupied and she was being watched.

Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue set out to search for the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury while Guan Tianqian followed them, suspecting Li Musheng's identity. In Shangyang City, the Queen left the investigation to the Third Prince and Right Chancellor Ji Song, who enlisted Mr. Youshan and the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to find the murderer.

• Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue left the Heavenly Brocade Guard Headquarters by carriage without escorts.
• Guan Tianqian saw their carriage depart and followed, suspecting Li Musheng was the Eighth Prince connected to the murders.
• The Queen learned that the Eighth Prince had defied her decree and decided not to pursue the matter, leaving the case to the Third Prince and Right Chancellor.
• Li Que and Li Zhu comforted Ji Song as they grieved the deaths of Imperial Concubine Ji and Lady Zhu.
• Mr. Youshan arrived to meet Ji Song and promised to mobilize the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's forces in Shangyang City to find the murderer.

Ji Song enlisted Li Que and Mr. Youshan to pursue the murderer of his daughters, but the Heavenly Brocade Guard refused to help, citing the Eighth Prince’s search for the Fire Qilin. Meanwhile, Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng reached Lock Dragon Well Ward to investigate the Great Qi remnants’ interest in the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, and an Imperial Secret Police spy came to meet them.

• Ji Song vowed to risk his reputation and position to avenge his daughters, and Li Que and Mr. Youshan promised to help capture the murderer.
• A servant reported that the Heavenly Brocade Guard had refused the order because the Eighth Prince had tasked them with finding the Fire Qilin; Ji Song suspected Fu Qiwen had allowed the refusal.
• Li Zhu set off to confront the Heavenly Brocade Guard, while Ji Song let him go and introduced Mr. Youshan to Li Que as the master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.
• Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue arrived in Lock Dragon Well Ward and discussed the Great Qi remnants’ pursuit of the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword.
• Cang Yinyue signaled an Imperial Secret Police spy inside a teahouse, and a servant slipped into their room to meet them.

Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng met A Bin, an Imperial Secret Police informant, who warned them that Green Mountain Tower had arrived and planned a major move. The tea house shopkeeper exposed A Bin and surrounded the room, leaving everyone poised for a fight.

• A Bin told Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng that Green Mountain Tower had secretly arrived and would make a major move that day.
• Cang Yinyue said she and Li Musheng were the only Imperial Secret Police agents present, and A Bin urged them to leave and return with reinforcements.
• The tea house shopkeeper entered with attendants and accused A Bin of being a traitor.
• A Bin tried to escape through a window, but a dagger-wielding figure blocked him while another attacker and armed attendants surrounded the room.
• The shopkeeper threatened to kill everyone who knew Green Mountain Tower's secret, as A Bin readied two silver throwing blades and Cang Yinyue hinted that Li Musheng was an expert.

Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue uncovered Green Mountain Tower’s hidden passage beneath a teahouse and confronted the Great Qi remnants guarding it. After Li Musheng forced A Bin to scout ahead, A Bin defeated the guards and invited them deeper underground.

• Cang Yinyue interrogated the teahouse shopkeeper while Li Musheng questioned A Bin, then A Bin agreed to lead them.
• Cang Yinyue explained that Green Mountain Tower had replaced the teahouse staff and secretly watched A Bin, who had infiltrated the tower as an Imperial Secret Police scout.
• A Bin led Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue to a concealed dry well connected to an underground passage and waterway beneath Longyuan Lake.
• Li Musheng said they needed to find the Great Qi remnants’ leadership and the key to the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury, then kicked A Bin down the well to scout ahead.
• A Bin killed the Great Qi remnants guarding the passage and invited Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue to follow him underground.

Li Musheng, Cang Yinyue, and A Bin followed an underground river toward Longyuan Lake and found a waterway blocked by corpses. A Bin discovered the bodies appeared to be a century old, then spotted one moving.

• A Bin guided Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue through the cavern and dealt with the Great Qi remnants guarding the way.
• At an underground river fork, Cang Yinyue chose the passage she believed led toward Longyuan Lake.
• A Bin noticed Li Musheng walked over the water without ripples or any trace of martial true qi.
• The group found the waterway blocked by densely packed corpses, and Li Musheng used true qi to send A Bin forward to inspect them.
• A Bin reported that the undecayed bodies wore clothing from the Great Qi era and had likely remained there for a century.
• A Bin cried out that one of the corpses had moved.

Li Musheng destroyed the corpses attacking him and A Bin in the underground waterway, then pursued a strange aura deeper into the cavern. There, he encountered a gray stone pearl that burst from the water amid the sound of countless whispers.

• Cang Yinyue realized the strange corpses might indicate that she and the others had taken the wrong underground passage.
• The corpses turned toward Li Musheng and A Bin, then leaped from the water and attacked as the rest began thrashing across the river.
• Li Musheng instantly melted every corpse into corpse fluid, freeing A Bin from his true-qi restraint.
• Li Musheng told Cang Yinyue to wait and headed deeper into the tunnel while she sensed an ominous aura ahead.
• Li Musheng heard indistinct whispers, and the water a hundred zhang away exploded as a dim gray stone pearl flew into the air.

Li Musheng seized a Dragon Pearl in Dragon-Locking River, then learned that Azure Dragon Elder controlled the corpses he had encountered. After Li Musheng struck Azure Dragon Elder away, a colossal Azure Dragon phantom attacked him.

• An Azure Dragon phantom tried to swallow the stone pearl, but Li Musheng snatched it and sensed power like Qilin Blood within it.
• Azure Dragon Elder appeared and demanded that Li Musheng return the Dragon Pearl, while Li Musheng questioned him about the risen corpses.
• Bu Chengyang arrived, warned Li Musheng not to attack Azure Dragon Elder, and explained that the old man controlled corpses with a secret technique.
• Li Musheng struck Azure Dragon Elder through the air, sending him flying into the darkness.
• A terrifying aura shook the cave, and the Azure Dragon phantom grew to over a hundred feet before diving at Li Musheng.

Li Musheng effortlessly defeated the Azure Dragon Elder, but the Elder began activating ancient mechanisms beneath Lock Dragon Well Ward to keep him from leaving. Bu Chengyang warned that triggering the mechanisms could bury the ward’s tens of thousands of residents, and Li Musheng faced the Elder as the underground structure began to rise.

• Bu Chengyang retreated as Li Musheng summoned a gigantic golden claw that erased the Azure Dragon phantom.
• The Azure Dragon Elder admitted that he was no match for Li Musheng, then demanded the Dragon Pearl and threatened that Li Musheng could not leave.
• Li Musheng tossed the Dragon Pearl into the air and challenged the Elder to stop him.
• The Azure Dragon Elder triggered mechanisms beneath the cavern, causing the waterway and surrounding rock to tremble.
• Bu Chengyang warned Li Musheng that the mechanisms could trap them underground and bury the people living in Lock Dragon Well Ward.
• The Azure Dragon Elder demanded the pearl again, and Li Musheng replied that he had not yet shown all his abilities.

Li Musheng sealed the underground space, prevented Azure Dragon Elder from summoning the buried mechanisms, and killed him. He then appeared beside Bu Chengyang, who remained wary of his unfathomable power.

• Li Musheng sealed off the heaven-and-earth true qi throughout the underground space, leaving Bu Chengyang unable to draw upon it.
• Azure Dragon Elder tried to summon the underground mechanisms and threatened to bury everyone, but Li Musheng's seal stopped them from responding.
• Li Musheng's power pinned Azure Dragon Elder in place and melted him into the underground river.
• Li Musheng took the stone pearl and appeared beside Bu Chengyang, whose sword intent flared before he cautiously relaxed.

Li Musheng learned that the Dragon Pearl contained Azure Dragon true qi and that Azure Dragon Elder used the Azure Dragon Firmament Scripture to absorb it. After Li Musheng tested the qi and felt little effect, Bu Chengyang suggested Azure Dragon Elder might have left behind the technique.

• Bu Chengyang explained that the Dragon Pearl formed from Azure Dragon true qi leaking into underground rocks and that Azure Dragon Elder sought it to cultivate his scripture.
• Bu Chengyang revealed that he came from the Great Yan Sword Sect and sought Great Li's Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, which was forged using Azure Dragon true qi.
• Li Musheng crushed the Dragon Pearl and absorbed a faint wisp of Azure Dragon true qi, but felt little effect.
• Li Musheng wondered whether cultivating the Azure Dragon Firmament Scripture would let him absorb the qi more effectively.
• Bu Chengyang suggested Azure Dragon Elder might have left the scripture behind at Lock Dragon Well.

Li Musheng found and memorized the Azure Dragon Firmament Scripture, then learned from Bu Chengyang that the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword might help extract the Azure Dragon true qi sealed beneath Lock Dragon Well Ward. Bu Chengyang agreed to cooperate with Li Musheng, but Li demanded both the sword and the true qi, leaving Bu Chengyang unable to object.

• Li Musheng found the Azure Dragon Firmament Scripture in a stone cave, memorized it, and destroyed the book.
• Bu Chengyang explained that Azure Dragon true qi was sealed beneath Lock Dragon Well Ward and proposed using the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword to draw it out.
• Li Musheng realized Bu Chengyang had planned to work with the Azure Dragon Elder to obtain the sword and the sealed true qi.
• Bu Chengyang proposed continuing that cooperation with Li Musheng, who agreed but demanded both the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword and the Azure Dragon true qi.
• Bu Chengyang asked Li Musheng to give the sword to the Great Yan Sword Sect, but Li refused and Bu Chengyang fell silent.

Li Musheng joined Bu Chengyang and the others on their way to Longyuan Lake, where Great Qi remnants and Great Li Imperial Guards were fighting over the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword. After Bu Chengyang cleared the attackers from their path, the group entered the Bronze Palace and found a vast green pool at its center.

• Bu Chengyang agreed to help Li Musheng use the Azure Dragon true qi without triggering the mechanisms beneath the Lock Dragon Well Ward.
• Li Musheng returned to Cang Yinyue and A Bin, then discovered that A Bin was Bu Chengyang’s martial nephew and a spy working to seize the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword.
• A Bin led Li Musheng, Cang Yinyue, and Bu Chengyang through the waterways toward Longyuan Lake, where they passed corpses and heard a battle near the Bronze Palace.
• Bu Chengyang explained that the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword was likely inside the palace, and Li Musheng led the group toward its half-open gates.
• Bu Chengyang repelled the fighters who rushed at them, and the four entered the Bronze Palace, finding a large green pool in the center of its hall.

Li Musheng, Cang Yinyue, Bu Chengyang, and A Bin reached the pool where Great Li eunuchs and Green Mountain Tower fighters battled over the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword. As the two sides remained locked in combat, Li Musheng tore the sword free with an unseen force, shocking everyone present.

• Bu Chengyang followed Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue into the pool with A Bin, warning him not to cause trouble or try to seize the sword.
• The four found two Great Li eunuchs defending the chained Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword against nine remnants of Great Qi.
• A purple-robed Green Mountain Tower elder asked Li Musheng's group to help defeat the eunuchs, but Bu Chengyang proposed waiting until both sides were weakened.
• Li Musheng questioned the sword's immense size and bronze appearance, while Bu Chengyang admitted he had never seen the legendary weapon before.
• Li Musheng pulled the colossal sword from its foundation with an invisible force, snapping its nine bronze chains and startling both sides.

Li Musheng pulled the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword from the pool, and the sword flew to his side as Green Mountain Tower’s experts and Great Li’s eunuchs tried to seize it. Bu Chengyang challenged them to try taking it, leaving both sides facing off over the sword.

• Li Musheng freed the bronze greatsword, whose movement shattered the surrounding chains and stirred up the pool.
• The old man in purple mistook Bu Chengyang for the one who had taken the sword and attacked him, but Bu Chengyang blocked the strike with his sword qi.
• Green Mountain Tower’s experts and the two elderly eunuchs rushed to capture the greatsword, but it sped past them and stopped beside Li Musheng.
• Li Musheng declared that the sword belonged to him and pointed it at the crowd, prompting the old man in purple to ask his identity.
• Bu Chengyang berated Green Mountain Tower’s group and dared them to try taking the sword.

Li Musheng claimed the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, prompting the Great Li eunuchs and Green Mountain Tower experts to join forces against him. Their strongest attacks vanished into his body without harming him, leaving his opponents stunned.

• Bu Chengyang spoke up for Li Musheng, making the Green Mountain Tower group hesitate over whether to challenge him.
• The Great Li eunuchs and Green Mountain Tower argued over who owned the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, and Li Musheng declared that it belonged to him.
• After Li Musheng questioned the sword’s enormous size, the two eunuchs attacked him, and the purple-robed elder ordered Green Mountain Tower to join them.
• Five Heavenly Humans sealed off the surrounding heaven and earth true qi while eleven experts unleashed their strongest attacks on Li Musheng.
• Li Musheng stood unharmed as the attacks’ martial true qi disappeared into his body without leaving a ripple.