Chapter Summaries

Princess Qian You and her allies examined the political aims behind invitations from Yi Yan and the Great Deer King, then attended the Great Deer King's banquet. The gathering began with a toast to friendship among Great Yu, Great Luo, and Great Radiance, while Zhong Shan was served the rare dishes dragon liver and phoenix heart.

• Princess Qian You, Mister Shui Jing, and Zhong Shan discussed Yi Yan and his illness after he departed.
• Mister Shui Jing revealed that Yi Yan had invited envoys from the three dynasties at war with Great Luo, while the Great Deer King had invited Cold Abyss Crown Prince of Great Radiance.
• Princess Qian You sent Gu Lin and Mister Shui Jing to Yi Yan's banquet and chose to attend the Great Deer King's gathering with Zhong Shan, A Da, and A Er.
• The Great Deer King welcomed Princess Qian You and seated her party in the Great Deer Hall before Cold Abyss Crown Prince arrived.
• Princess Qian You had dragon liver and phoenix heart served to Zhong Shan after noticing his dishes were inferior to hers.
• The Great Deer King toasted Princess Qian You and Cold Abyss Crown Prince, wishing friendship among Great Yu, Great Luo, and Great Radiance.

At the Great Deer King's banquet, Zhong Shan recognized that the desert painting’s sand count could be calculated from the way its grains had been added over time. He gave Princess Qian You the answer, and she revealed that the Great Deer King had already supplied the information needed to calculate it, leaving him to scrutinize Zhong Shan.

• Zhong Shan savored the Dragon Liver and Phoenix Heart Silk, experiencing their powerful energies and sensations of heavenly unity and rebirth.
• The Great Deer King presented a desert painting as a spirit-bearing treasure and proposed that Princess Qian You and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince compete to count its grains of sand.
• While A Er and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince counted, Zhong Shan wrote 667969525 on a slip of paper and passed it to Princess Qian You.
• The Cold Abyss Crown Prince announced that he had finished counting, and Princess Qian You said she had an answer as well, though A Er was still counting.
• Princess Qian You explained that Zhong Shan had reminded her of the answer and that the Great Deer King had already given them the information needed to calculate the total.

Princess Qian You solved the Desire Gold Sand painting’s grain-count puzzle, causing its sand to form a bewitching woman who chose to reveal herself as Nian Youyou. The chapter ended with Nian Youyou greeting the Great Deer King while the hall remained under her enchantment.

• Princess Qian You calculated the painting’s grains of sand, and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince accepted her answer.
• The Great Deer King praised Zhong Shan, but Princess Qian You redirected attention to how the painting could be activated.
• Princess Qian You stated the grain count before the painting, and golden sand spilled from it and moved through the hall.
• The sand gathered into a beautiful woman whose appearance and dance stirred desire in the Great Deer King, the Cold Abyss Crown Prince, and others.
• Zhong Shan recognized the bewitching illusion, while Princess Qian You and several others regained their composure.
• The sand vanished, and the woman introduced herself to the Great Deer King as Nian Youyou.

Nian Youyou revealed that she could be freed from the Desire Gold Sand painting only if someone used its water to burn it, and that person would become her master. Zhong Shan realized he could accomplish the impossible task, but Cold Abyss Crown Prince claimed oil would work, and Nian Youyou rejected his explanation.

• Nian Youyou recognized Cold Abyss Crown Prince, his advisers, Princess Qian You, A Da, and A Er, then identified Zhong Shan as the man recommended by the Seven Stars Hall Elder.
• Great Deer King explained that Nian Youyou was the spirit of Desire Gold Sand and would gain a Qian Cauldron Body if she transformed into a True Person.
• Nian Youyou explained that the painting imprisoned her and that someone had to use its pool of water to burn it to free her and earn her service.
• Princess Qian You reasoned that ordinary water could not burn, and Zhong Shan silently confirmed that he knew a way to make it happen.
• Cold Abyss Crown Prince proposed adding oil and lighting it, but Nian Youyou pointed out that the oil, not the water, would burn.

Zhong Shan used electrolysis to turn the water beneath Nian Youyou’s painting into hydrogen and oxygen, then ignited the gases and burned the painting. The blast destroyed much of the Great Deer Hall, leaving the gathered officials stunned and the Great Deer King’s plan in jeopardy.

• The Great Deer King tried to send the Cold Abyss Crown Prince and Princess Qian You away to seek another way to free Nian Youyou, but Princess Qian You said Zhong Shan could turn water into fire.
• Zhong Shan asked Nian Youyou to use gold, copper, and iron rods to separate the gases produced by passing electricity through the pool water.
• Nian Youyou compressed the separated gases into two liquids, and Zhong Shan told her to bring them together with a flame.
• The gases ignited and exploded, sending flames through the Great Deer Hall, blowing off its roof, and scattering tables and dishes.
• The painting burned, while Nian Youyou watched in astonishment and the surviving officials stared at Zhong Shan.

Zhong Shan stunned the Great Deer King’s banquet with a technique that turned water into fire, and Nian Youyou declared herself his servant before exposing her strange powers. After Nian Youyou escaped, Princess Qian You revealed that she had a secret edict from The Emperor and wanted Zhong Shan’s help considering it.

• Zhong Shan set the Great Deer Hall ablaze with his water-to-fire technique, impressing Princess Qian You and astonishing the officials.
• Nian Youyou called Zhong Shan her master and followed him out of the hall, while a guard reported a thief at the Great Deer Estate.
• Princess Qian You asked the Great Deer King for permission to visit Great Luo criminals imprisoned in the City in the Sky, then left with her party after the banquet ended.
• At the plaza, Zhong Shan ordered A Da and A Er to seize Nian Youyou, but she transformed into golden sand and escaped after revealing herself as an Immortal Descendant with a Bloodline Inheritance ability.
• Princess Qian You told Zhong Shan that The Emperor had given her a secret edict, and she asked him to help deliberate over it once Gu Lin and Mister Shui Jing returned.

Yi Yan urged Emperor Nalan Piaoxue to assassinate Princess Qian You’s party and blame the Great Radiance Crown Prince, but Nalan rejected killing them within Great Yu. Qian You then revealed that her delegation had secretly come to rescue Wu Wanli and retrieve the Myriad City Treasure Mirror from the City in the Sky.

• Yi Yan praised Shui Jing’s talent, while the Great Deer King described how Zhong Shan had disrupted his scheme at the Great Deer Hall.
• Yi Yan connected Zhong Shan to events in Matchless City and said he would seek a chance to meet him.
• Yi Yan proposed killing Qian You’s party in the City in the Sky and framing the Cold Abyss Crown Prince, but the Great Deer King and Nalan Piaoxue opposed the plan.
• Yi Yan argued that Great Yu should join the other dynasties against Great Luo, but Nalan ordered him to abandon the assassination plan.
• Qian You told Gu Lin, Shui Jing, Zhong Shan, A Da, and A Er that their visit concealed a mission to rescue Wu Wanli and recover the Myriad City Treasure Mirror.

Princess Qian You’s group located the Myriad City Treasure Mirror inside the Great Deer King’s mountain and planned to seize it during Nalan Piaoxue’s fight with the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva. Meanwhile, Yi Yan ordered Iron Blood to gather the One Qi Battle Array so he could secretly move against Princess Qian You’s group, driven by his fear that the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty would fall after his death.

• Princess Qian You explained Wu Wanli’s role and revealed that she had sent a thief to investigate where the Great Deer King kept the Myriad City Treasure Mirror.
• Using A Er’s record of the guards’ movements, Princess Qian You and Mister Shui Jing concluded that the mirror was hidden inside the slope of a mountain in the Great Deer King’s residence.
• Princess Qian You rejected another theft attempt and planned to seize the mirror by force during Nalan Piaoxue’s fight with the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva.
• Yi Yan told Iron Blood that the Great Yu Emperor had refused his proposal, then ordered him to gather the soldiers of the One Qi Battle Array.
• Yi Yan explained that he was gravely ill and intended to eliminate Princess Qian You’s group and help destroy the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty before he died.
• Iron Blood accepted the order and left to gather the One Qi Battle Array while Yi Yan returned to feeding the fish.

Princess Qian You and her companions visited the Great Luo prisoners in the Great Yu Heavenly Prison and met Wu Wanli, who had secretly recognized her message about a future rescue. Wu Wanli revealed that returning home would expose his family to execution under the dynasty’s laws, leaving him unwilling to escape.

• Princess Qian You, Zhong Shan, and their companions entered the Heavenly Prison after Lu Jianping challenged their identities and then apologized.
• Lu Jianping guided the group through the prison and introduced the six prisoners from the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty.
• Wu Wanli initially dismissed Princess Qian You as another deception, but Lu Jianping secretly prompted him to recognize her and he knelt to greet her.
• Princess Qian You promised to seek Wu Wanli’s release during the Great Yu Emperor’s upcoming birthday amnesty, and the group continued visiting the prisoners.
• That evening, Lu Jianping called Wu Wanli his master, and Wu Wanli explained that the promised amnesty meant the Great Luo would forcibly rescue him.
• Wu Wanli told Lu Jianping he could not return because the Great Yu would reveal evidence against him, causing his family to be punished under the law.

Zhong Shan and the others investigated Lu Jianping’s suspicious history, then accepted an invitation to meet the Cold Abyss Crown Prince at Mist Lake. As they headed toward the West Gate, Zhong Shan’s omen of great calamity made him reach for Princess Qian You, leaving the group startled and Gu Lin furious.

• Princess Qian You and Mister Shui Jing considered whether Lu Jianping had secretly protected Wu Wanli, but judged the possibility unlikely.
• Princess Qian You received an invitation to meet the Cold Abyss Crown Prince at Mist Lake three days later, and Zhong Shan warned that the meeting might be a trap.
• The Cold Abyss Crown Prince received a forged invitation to Ten Thousand Peach Forest, while Yi Yan revealed that he had arranged both invitations to lure them out.
• Three days later, Princess Qian You led Zhong Shan, Gu Lin, Mister Shui Jing, A Da, and A Er toward the West Gate to attend the meeting.
• Zhong Shan’s Red Phoenix Pink Lotus turned dark blue, and he instinctively put his hand on Princess Qian You’s shoulder before apologizing, prompting Gu Lin to shout at him.

Zhong Shan persuaded Princess Qian You to avoid the deadly trap at Mist Lake and instead investigate the Great Deer King and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince. The group returned to West Garden Palace, while Yi Yan’s plot to kill them at Mist Lake and frame the Cold Abyss Crown Prince remained underway.

• After Gu Lin raged over Zhong Shan touching Princess Qian You’s shoulder, Zhong Shan warned that Mist Lake was a killing trap, and Princess Qian You agreed to trust his counsel.
• Zhong Shan told the group to slip back into the city, invite the Great Deer King to West Garden Palace, and send A Er to investigate the Cold Abyss Crown Prince; Princess Qian You ordered everyone to remain inside.
• Princess Qian You rebuked Gu Lin over their dissolved engagement, while Zhong Shan promised to keep his distance from her.
• Yi Yan learned that Princess Qian You’s group and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince had left by different gates, then explained his plan to use the One Qi Battle Array at Mist Lake and frame the Crown Prince.
• A Er reported that the Cold Abyss Crown Prince had gone out, and A Da said the Great Deer King would come; Princess Qian You ordered a banquet prepared.

Princess Qian You and Zhong Shan used a staged invitation to send Great Deer King's death warriors to Mist Lake, while Yi Yan's forces ambushed the real Cold Abyss Crown Prince and Princess Qian You's group at Ten Thousand Peach Forest. Yi Yan believed the princess and her companions had died, but a suspicious detail about their clothes made him fear the deception had failed.

• Princess Qian You showed Great Deer King Cold Abyss Crown Prince's alliance invitation and persuaded him to send death warriors disguised as her party to Mist Lake.
• Zhong Shan supplied the death warriors with clothes, and they left to investigate while the others waited for their return.
• Cold Abyss Crown Prince returned gravely wounded and accused Princess Qian You of ambushing him at Ten Thousand Peach Forest, claiming she had died in a volcanic eruption.
• General Iron Blood told Yi Yan that Cold Abyss Crown Prince had been wounded and that Princess Qian You's group had supposedly died at Mist Lake.
• Yi Yan questioned Iron Blood about the six people's identical outfits, realized the clothes might expose the deception, and resigned himself to fate.

Princess Qian You and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince discovered that impostors and forged invitations had drawn them into a deadly confrontation at Ten Thousand Peach Forest. After the Crown Prince decided to leave Great Yu, Yi Yan invited Zhong Shan to visit him the next day.

• The Cold Abyss Crown Prince accused Princess Qian You of luring him to Ten Thousand Peach Forest, but the Great Deer King confirmed that she and her companions had attended a banquet at West Garden Palace.
• Princess Qian You and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince compared invitations, then learned that the ritual officials who delivered them had disappeared.
• The Great Deer King's investigator reported that Mist Lake had vanished and six people were likely dead; the Cold Abyss Crown Prince admitted that he had drawn out the Earth Yang Energy and killed his attackers.
• The Great Deer King explained that Zhong Shan had supplied clothes for his men to impersonate Princess Qian You's party, and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince decided to return to Great Radiance.
• Yi Yan invited Zhong Shan to visit him the next day and arranged for Iron Blood to escort him.

Yi Yan met Zhong Shan at the pond and tried to recruit him as Grand Commandant of the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty, but Zhong Shan refused out of loyalty to Princess Qian You. After learning that Yi Yan was dying from Soul Dissolving Powder, Zhong Shan reported the meeting to Princess Qian You.

• Yi Yan used the pond and its feeding fish to describe how powerful factions fought over profit, and Zhong Shan recognized that Yi Yan had set the traps involving Princess Qian You and the Cold Abyss Crown Prince.
• Yi Yan praised Zhong Shan’s strategic talent and offered him the post of Grand Commandant of the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty, but Zhong Shan declined, citing his debt of loyalty to Princess Qian You.
• Yi Yan explained that Soul Dissolving Powder had afflicted him after someone sabotaged his breakthrough, and he avoided naming who had harmed him.
• At dusk, Zhong Shan told Princess Qian You about Yi Yan’s offer, and she thanked him for refusing it.

Princess Qian You explained that Gu Lin’s diminished intelligence came from his ongoing struggle against an Emperor Realm expert inside his Niwan Palace, and she asked Zhong Shan to scout a safe withdrawal route through the City in the Sky. Meanwhile, Yi Yan defended his failed attempt to attack Qian You’s group and ordered Iron Blood to monitor Zhong Shan and A Da after they left the city.

• Princess Qian You told Zhong Shan about Gu Lin’s past brilliance, the expert occupying his body, and her reasons for dissolving their betrothal while still feeling indebted to him.
• Princess Qian You asked Zhong Shan to find a safe withdrawal route through the City in the Sky, and Zhong Shan agreed to go with A Da.
• Nalan Piaoxue confronted Yi Yan for secretly mobilizing troops against Princess Qian You’s group, but Yi Yan maintained that his actions had served Great Yu despite his failure.
• Yi Yan coughed up blood during the meeting, and Nalan Piaoxue postponed their meetings to once every fifteen days as his seclusion became more important.
• Iron Blood reported that Zhong Shan and A Da had left the city, and Yi Yan ordered him to track their route, stops, and contacts.

Zhong Shan reached Qi Li Town and found the Lu Manor, where Young Master Zhao was trying to seize Lu Jianping’s fiancée, Du Na. As the Lu Family prepared to fight, Du Na chose to take her own life rather than bring disaster upon them.

• Zhong Shan and A Da evaded their pursuers, and Yi Yan eventually ordered everyone to stop following them.
• Zhong Shan learned that Lu Jianping had vanished ten years earlier and directed A Da to take him to Lu Jianping’s hometown, Qi Li Town.
• A guide told Zhong Shan that the Zhao Family planned to seize Du Na, who had waited ten years for Lu Jianping and was protected by the Lu Family.
• Zhong Shan arrived at the Lu Manor and recorded Young Master Zhao threatening Master Lu and the Lu Family.
• Master Lu refused to surrender Du Na, and she said she considered herself Lu Jianping’s wife before putting a sword to her throat.

Zhong Shan saved the Lu Family, learned that Lu Jianping had gone to aid his master, and arranged for the family to leave Qi Li Town once Jianping returned. After eliminating the Zhao Family and arranging wolf escorts, Zhong Shan continued to the City in the Sky, where he had one month before the Great Yu Emperor’s birthday celebration.

• Zhong Shan stopped Du Na from killing herself, then killed Young Master Zhao with a single palm and drove his men away.
• Zhong Shan gave Master Lu a Restriction Breaking Pill, and Master Lu broke through to the next cultivation realm.
• Zhong Shan learned that Lu Jianping had left ten years earlier to help his master and warned that both Jianping and the Lu Family could face punishment.
• Zhong Shan gave the Lu Family pills and storage treasures, told them to prepare to leave in four months, and arranged for wolves to escort them to a distant valley.
• Zhong Shan eliminated the Zhao Family, then left Qi Li Town with A Da and returned to the City in the Sky.

Zhong Shan and his companions anticipated that the approaching battle between Nalan Piaoxue and Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva would invite schemes, while Yi Yan proposed using their deaths to ignite a war against Great Luo. Nalan Piaoxue rejected the plan to protect his chance to fight at full strength, and Yi Yan later arranged a banquet for Princess Qian You and Wisdom Light Arhat.

• Zhong Shan warned that the arrival of Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva could attract plots, and Mister Shui Jing advised the group to stay cautious until they left the City in the Sky.
• Yi Yan proposed killing Princess Qian You's group and blaming Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva to provoke a war against Great Luo, but Nalan Piaoxue refused to disrupt their planned battle.
• Yi Yan argued with Nalan Piaoxue over Great Yu's security and his pursuit of immortality, then spat blood and left after Great Deer King reproached him.
• Great Deer King warned Nalan Piaoxue that Yi Yan might still target Princess Qian You, so Nalan Piaoxue ordered guards to protect her group and entered seclusion.
• After three days of watching fish in his pavilion, Yi Yan told General Iron Blood to prepare a grand banquet for Princess Qian You and Wisdom Light Arhat.

Yi Yan hosted Princess Qian You, Wisdom Light Arhat, and Great Deer King at a banquet as part of a plan to frame his guests, though Zhong Shan and Mister Shui Jing only realized something was wrong after leaving. The chapter ended with Yi Yan and Iron Blood inspecting the cooked divine dragon left on the banquet table, while the danger of Yi Yan’s scheme remained unclear.

• Yi Yan told Iron Blood that he would let Wisdom Light Arhat and Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva kill each other through another deathtrap, despite the Emperor’s order.
• Princess Qian You accepted Yi Yan’s banquet invitation and decided to bring Great Deer King for protection; Zhong Shan warned that Yi Yan’s danger might lie before or after the banquet.
• Yi Yan hosted Princess Qian You’s group, Wisdom Light Arhat, and Great Deer King, serving them a cooked divine dragon and ensuring that no servants attended.
• After the guests departed, Zhong Shan and Mister Shui Jing noticed the unusual timing and lack of attendants, and Zhong Shan concluded that Yi Yan had framed them during the banquet.
• Great Deer King escorted Wisdom Light Arhat away from the city, then returned after confirming that he had completed the Emperor’s instructions.
• Yi Yan and Iron Blood watched the remains of the cooked divine dragon on the banquet table.

Yi Yan revealed that he had poisoned Wisdom Light Arhat with Great Luo Cloud Mist to provoke conflict between the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty. Zhong Shan asked A Da to protect him while he tried to advance, and Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva identified the poison as Great Luo Cloud Mist.

• Yi Yan told General Iron Blood that he had hidden Great Luo Cloud Mist in the Violet Void Young Dragon’s claw and expected Wisdom Light Arhat to eat it.
• Yi Yan explained how the poisoning could implicate Princess Qian You or weaken Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva before his fight with Nalan Piaoxue.
• General Iron Blood described Zhong Shan taking the dragon pearl from the feast, and Yi Yan praised his willingness to ask for what would help him grow.
• Zhong Shan asked Princess Qian You to let A Da guard him while he tried to break through using the dragon meat and pearl.
• Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva purged Wisdom Light Arhat’s poisoned blood, then identified the poison as Great Luo Cloud Mist.