Chapter Summaries

Wisdom Light Arhat suspected Princess Qian You of poisoning him, but Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva warned him against challenging someone of higher status and prepared to fight Great Emperor Nalan. On the day of the duel, Zhong Shan devised a plan to interrupt the battle, and he and Princess Qian You split up to carry it out.

• Wisdom Light Arhat accused Princess Qian You of poisoning him, but Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva cautioned him about Heaven's order and told him to leave.
• Wisdom Light Arhat left the hall and waited outside to protect Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva as the duel approached.
• Princess Qian You led Zhong Shan and the others to the Startling Wave Sea, where Great Emperor Nalan and Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva were due to fight.
• Zhong Shan suspected Yi Yan planned to frame the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty and proposed interrupting the duel by revealing the words “Don't be shameless! Take advantage of someone's peril!” if Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva began to lose.
• Princess Qian You, Zhong Shan, and their companions disguised themselves and escaped the viewing area through a tunnel beneath the sea.
• Princess Qian You and her companions split into two groups, with Zhong Shan and A Da heading off to carry out their part of the plan.

Zhong Shan entered the Heavenly Prison and found Wu Wanli dying after giving Lu Jianping a unique city diagram. He showed Lu Jianping that his family and fiancée had been endangered, then offered to save them in exchange for Lu Jianping serving him for one hundred years.

• Zhong Shan bribed Official Qian to enter the Heavenly Prison with A Da.
• Wu Wanli gave Lu Jianping a human-skin parchment containing a sacred city diagram, then destroyed his Nascent Soul and died.
• Zhong Shan asked Lu Jianping to collect Wu Wanli's remains and revealed that he knew Lu Jianping was Wu Wanli's disciple through his father.
• Zhong Shan showed Lu Jianping a Memory Crystal of Young Master Zhao threatening the Lu Family and Du Na preparing to sacrifice herself.
• Lu Jianping begged Zhong Shan to save his family and Du Na, and Zhong Shan demanded one hundred years of service in return.

Zhong Shan secured Lu Jianping’s cooperation and arranged for his clan’s safety before leaving the City in the Sky as Nalan Piaoxue departed to face the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva. At the Startling Wave Sea, the two leaders prepared for battle while Yi Yan realized Princess Qian You was no longer in her tent and ordered troops back to the city.

• Zhong Shan promised Lu Jianping’s clan a century of support, explained that he had moved them to safety, and told Lu Jianping where to find them.
• Zhong Shan and A Da left the City in the Sky as Nalan Piaoxue absorbed the city’s Qi Luck True Dragon and flew east.
• Zhong Shan and A Da reached their rendezvous point, where Zhong Shan waited for Princess Qian You to escape with the Myriad City Treasure Mirror.
• Nalan Piaoxue subdued the Startling Wave Sea with his presence, and the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva arrived to face him.
• Yi Yan questioned the ritual official guarding Princess Qian You’s tent, inferred that she had returned to the City in the Sky, and ordered Iron Blood to bring the troops back there.

After the Myriad City Treasure Mirror was stolen from the Great Deer King Residence, Yi Yan deduced that Princess Qian You’s group had taken it and helped organize a citywide search. Qian You split the group to draw off pursuers while Gu Lin and Mister Shui Jing carried the mirror north, and Zhong Shan led Qian You west under his plan to evade Yi Yan’s army.

• Wu An reported that the Great Deer Estate had been robbed and the Myriad City Treasure Mirror was missing, prompting the Great Deer King to return to the ruins.
• Yi Yan questioned the Great Deer King about Princess Qian You’s visit to the heavenly prison, and the Great Deer King concluded that her group had planned the theft.
• The Great Deer King activated Beacon Light, ordered cities across Great Yu into wartime readiness, and sent armies to search for the mirror and suspicious travelers.
• The prison historian confirmed Zhong Shan and Official Qian had entered the heavenly prison, while Yi Yan deduced that Qian You’s group was north of the City in the Sky.
• Qian You divided the group: she took A Da, A Er, and Zhong Shan west to draw pursuers away, while Gu Lin carried the Myriad City Treasure Mirror north with Mister Shui Jing.
• Zhong Shan told Qian You that Yi Yan’s caution would help them follow his plan and reach safety.

Zhong Shan’s escape plan depended on Gu Lin and Shui Jing lighting a signal fire, but Gu Lin refused so Qian You would be forced to witness Zhong Shan’s death. Yi Yan divided his forces to pursue the fugitives, and after soldiers discovered Zhong Shan’s group, Qian You refused to leave him behind as they prepared another disguise.

• Zhong Shan explained how signal fires would draw soldiers away from safe escape routes, and A Da went to light one.
• Gu Lin revealed that he had defeated the consciousness controlling his body and ordered Shui Jing not to light a fire, hoping Qian You would stay with Zhong Shan.
• Yi Yan deduced that the fugitives had split up, sent the Great Deer King after Qian You’s group, and led another pursuit himself.
• Zhong Shan’s group encountered soldiers from the twelve o’clock direction after Gu Lin’s group failed to light its signal fire.
• Zhong Shan urged Qian You to escape while he hid, but she refused to abandon him, so he proposed that they disguise themselves again.

Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You tried to escape the Great Yu Emperor Dynasty’s search, but an alert soldier exposed them and the army surrounded them. Great Deer King and Wisdom Light Arhat arrived, and Wisdom Light attacked Princess Qian You while Great Deer King demanded they return with him.

• Zhong Shan led Princess Qian You, A Da, and A Er toward Wan City, evading searches by pretending to be merchants and then changing into soldiers’ uniforms.
• A soldier recognized the disguised group near the sea and raised an alarm before A Da defeated him and the archers.
• The Great Yu army attacked with Armor Piercing Arrows, forcing A Da to shield the group as the encirclement closed around them.
• Great Deer King and Wisdom Light Arhat arrived, and Princess Qian You revealed her identity after they recognized her.
• Great Deer King demanded the Myriad City Treasure Mirror and said the Grand Commandant wanted Zhong Shan, while Princess Qian You tried to dissuade him.
• Wisdom Light Arhat blamed Princess Qian You for the Bodhisattva’s injuries and attacked her.

Wisdom Light Arhat poisoned Princess Qian You with a God Defiling Golden Silkworm, then left as the Great Deer King moved to capture her and blame the Arhat. With Fish General trapped only briefly in Princess Qian You’s God Binding Orb, Zhong Shan refused to abandon her and prepared to wield her sword with her power.

• A Da and the Great Deer King clashed with Wisdom Light Arhat’s allies as Princess Qian You carried Zhong Shan into the sea, pursued by Wisdom Light Arhat and Fish General.
• Zhong Shan warned Wisdom Light Arhat that the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva might be safe, but Wisdom Light Arhat struck Princess Qian You with the God Defiling Golden Silkworm poison.
• Wisdom Light Arhat left, and the Great Deer King ordered Fish General to capture Princess Qian You and claim that the Arhat had poisoned her to death.
• Princess Qian You trapped Fish General in her God Binding Orb and urged Zhong Shan to flee, saying she could summon a powerful tiger but had little strength left.
• Zhong Shan stopped Princess Qian You from summoning the tiger, took her hand around her sword, and asked her to trust him as he prepared to strike Fish General.

Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You defeated Fish General with a sword strike that split the sea, then escaped the Great Deer King and Wu An. Zhong Shan began using his World Cleansing Snow Lotus to cure Qian You, while Wisdom Light Arhat realized the purification had also destroyed the paired poison afflicting Great Emperor Nalan.

• Zhong Shan guided Princess Qian You's sword strike, which split the God Binding Orb and killed Fish General's body, and A Da extinguished his fleeing Primordial Spirit.
• Zhong Shan warned the Great Deer King that Great Emperor Nalan was in danger and might die, persuading him and Wu An to return toward the City in the Sky.
• Princess Qian You ordered A Da and A Er to obey Zhong Shan while she was unconscious, and Zhong Shan led them west to a concealed Miasma Forest.
• Zhong Shan placed Princess Qian You in a bridal sedan and used his World Cleansing Snow Lotus to slowly purge the God Defiling Golden Silkworm's poison.
• Wisdom Light Arhat discovered that purifying Princess Qian You's paired God Defiling Golden Silkworm had also caused the other silkworm to disperse, threatening the poison's effect on Great Emperor Nalan.

The Great Deer King persuaded Nalan Piaoxue to search for Princess Qian You and seize the Myriad City Treasure Mirror, while Yi Yan resigned in protest. Meanwhile, Wisdom Light Arhat was cast out by the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva, and Princess Qian You awoke to find Zhong Shan using the World Cleansing Snow Lotus to treat her.

• Wisdom Light Arhat told the Great Deer King that Princess Qian You’s lingering poison made her easy to track, and Yi Yan reported that Mister Shui Jing and Gu Lin had escaped with the Myriad City Treasure Mirror.
• The Great Deer King exposed Yi Yan’s disobedience to Nalan Piaoxue and urged him to capture Princess Qian You in exchange for the treasure and the World Cleansing Snow Lotus.
• Nalan Piaoxue approved the search, rejected Yi Yan’s warning, and accepted Yi Yan’s resignation as Grand Commandant.
• The Great Might Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva condemned Wisdom Light Arhat for poisoning Princess Qian You and sent him away, but Wisdom Light Arhat left insisting he did not regret it.
• Three days later, Princess Qian You woke in the bridal sedan and recognized the World Cleansing Snow Lotus in Zhong Shan’s hand.

Zhong Shan continued helping Princess Qian You recover while the Great Deer King ordered a widespread search and put a bounty on Zhong Shan. With the Great Yu army closing in, Zhong Shan decided to bring the Lu Family Clan along as they fled, despite A Da and A Er’s doubts.

• Princess Qian You questioned Zhong Shan about the World Cleansing Snow Lotus and his powerful sword strike, then learned she was recovering in a bridal sedan prepared for Tian Ling'er.
• Wu An told the Great Deer King that the Lu Family Clan had disappeared, and the king ordered his forces to find Princess Qian You, the Lu family, and Zhong Shan.
• The Great Deer King ordered Zhong Shan killed and offered five hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones as a reward.
• Five days later, A Da told Zhong Shan that the Great Yu army was searching everywhere for them and that Zhong Shan had a bounty on his head.
• Zhong Shan deduced that Yi Yan had been dismissed and learned that the Lu Family Clan was in a nearby valley.
• Zhong Shan said they would take the Lu Family Clan with them, leaving A Da and A Er astonished.

Zhong Shan led Princess Qian You and the Lu Family out of the valley while drawing the Great Yu Army’s pursuit westward. He kept the group moving through gaps in the search, leaving the Great Deer King furious and unable to find them.

• Zhong Shan gained Princess Qian You’s approval to take the Lu Family with them and led everyone from the valley.
• Lu Jianping told Zhong Shan that Great Yu soldiers had found them, so Zhong Shan sent a captured soldier to tell the Great Deer King that Yi Yan had recommended him for Grand Commandant.
• The Great Deer King confirmed the recommendation with General Iron Blood and offered one million High-Grade Spirit Stones for Zhong Shan’s death.
• Zhong Shan led the group on a winding route for five days, while the Great Yu troops searched all around them without finding them.
• Wu An told the Great Deer King that Princess Qian You’s group seemed to know the army’s search patterns and repeatedly slipped through its gaps.

Zhong Shan repeatedly evaded the Great Deer King's eight million troops by sending A Er and then A Da away as decoys, leaving the searchers baffled. As the group neared Great Radiance Territory, Zhong Shan sent A Da to draw the pursuers off again and arranged for Lu Jianping's experts to carry the bridal sedan toward Wolf Valley.

• Zhong Shan kept his group hidden by using dried rations and navigating through gaps in the Great Deer King's search lines.
• The Great Deer King added four million troops, bringing the force pursuing Princess Qian You's group to eight million.
• Zhong Shan sent A Er northeast to lure the army away, then led the group onward while the Great Deer King chased A Er for three days and eventually lost him.
• After nearly a month and a half of travel without encountering soldiers, Zhong Shan warned A Da that pursuers were closing in again.
• Zhong Shan sent A Da to draw the pursuers away and told Lu Jianping to have four innate experts carry the bridal sedan toward Wolf Valley.

Zhong Shan used the wolf clan’s help to evade Great Yu’s army and brought Princess Qian You and Lu Jianping’s people into Great Radiance territory. He separated the Lu Family across several towns and instructed them to wait ten years for his agents, while Great Radiance’s Grand Commandant prepared for a possible attack by Great Yu and Great Luo.

• Zhong Shan directed the wolf pack carrying Princess Qian You away from Great Yu soldiers, explaining that the Wolf Token and pills had secured the wolves’ help.
• Great Deer King berated his general for losing Princess Qian You’s trail and ordered the army to keep searching west toward Great Radiance.
• Great Radiance’s Grand Commandant warned his generals not to underestimate Great Yu and prepared troops for a possible conflict, while treating Great Yu and Great Luo’s intentions as uncertain.
• Zhong Shan told Lu Jianping that the Lu Family had been settled safely across several Great Radiance towns and instructed them to wait ten years for his people to find them.
• Zhong Shan gave Lu Jianping the password “Zheng” for future contact and warned him not to reveal the knowledge Wu Wanli had taught him.

Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You entered Great Radiance Territory while the Great Deer King’s army pursued them and Xiao Wang ordered a search of his own. As Qian You’s recovery neared completion, Zhong Shan sensed a supreme calamity and hid with her in a Miasma Forest, where an unidentified yellow light approached the abandoned carriage.

• Zhong Shan parted from Lu Jianping’s caravan after escorting Princess Qian You into Within Great Radiance, and Qian You said she needed about forty days to recover fully.
• The Great Deer King ordered his eight million soldiers to keep searching inside Great Radiance Territory while avoiding the Great Radiance Army.
• Xiao Wang learned that Qian You was poisoned and weakened, then ordered his forces to find and capture her before the Great Deer King could.
• Zhong Shan and Qian You discussed reports of ghosts and continued toward a Miasma Forest as Qian You neared the Golden Core Stage.
• When Zhong Shan’s Red Phoenix Pink Lotus warned of supreme calamity, he carried Qian You into the forest and concealed them with the Mist Obscuring Divine Array.
• A yellow light flew toward the carriage they had left behind while Zhong Shan and Qian You waited in hiding.

Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You watched a man in a white Dao robe capture and refine a Feng Shui Fish while his followers guarded him. A Great Yu Army force arrived seeking Princess Qian You and Zhong Shan, clashed with the cultivators guarding the formation, and attacked it; as the general’s saber struck, a fair hand emerged and seized its Saber Qi.

• A man in a white Dao robe captured the Feng Shui Fish and began refining it inside a protective flag formation.
• A Gray Robe Guide led a general and three hundred Great Yu soldiers to the carriage, and the general demanded that the formation’s occupants surrender Princess Qian You and Zhong Shan.
• The general ordered his soldiers to fire, and the attack killed three cultivators outside the sword formation while the sword formation killed more than twenty soldiers and the Gray Robe Guide.
• The forty-nine remaining cultivators formed their sword formation and fought the soldiers as the general led flying troops toward the flag formation.
• The general swung his saber at the flag formation, but a fair hand reached out and seized the Saber Qi.

After the Dao Robe Man slaughtered the soldiers who had killed his disciples, he tracked down Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You and prepared to kill them. Zhong Shan warned that killing them would expose the Dao Robe Man’s sect and lineage, leaving the man and his disciples uncertain.

• The Dao Robe Man killed the fleeing soldiers and the last surviving soldier after learning they had mistakenly attacked his disciples.
• The Dao Robe Man sent his disciples to search the Miasma Forest, where they found Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You.
• Zhong Shan stepped out of the banner formation and stopped Princess Qian You from trying to flee as the Dao Robe Man readied his sword.
• Zhong Shan warned that Great Radiance and Great Luo would avenge Princess Qian You and explained that Great Yu’s Yi Yan was dead, making the coming struggle over Great Yu’s territory inevitable.
• Zhong Shan argued that the Dao Robe Man’s disciples could be tempted by rewards or forced to reveal what happened, so killing the pair would endanger the man’s entire sect and lineage.

Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You were buried with their True Essence sealed after the Dao Robe Man spared them and left them near the Great Yu Army’s corpses. As they waited for rescue, Zhong Shan secretly gathered dew on leaves and fed it to a thirsty Princess Qian You, whose heart was touched by his care.

• The Dao Robe Man sealed Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You’s True Essence, buried them with only their heads exposed, and left them behind with a flag formation around them.
• Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You discussed the danger of the Great Yu Army returning and waited for someone to remove a formation flag.
• Zhong Shan caught and saved fallen leaves while they endured the heat, and Princess Qian You fell asleep after night brought relief.
• Princess Qian You awoke thirsty, and Zhong Shan offered her a leaf holding dew he had gathered throughout the day.
• Princess Qian You was moved by Zhong Shan’s thoughtfulness as he poured the dew into her mouth.

Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You met the ghost Ru Yan, who freed them from the flags and asked Zhong Shan to find her husband, Xiao Bing Yi. Ru Yan brought them to the Xiao Mansion and began telling them about her husband’s life and struggles to cultivate.

• Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You heard Ru Yan singing near the Miasma Forest and learned she had been searching for Xiao Bing Yi for a thousand years.
• Zhong Shan promised to help Ru Yan find her husband, and Ru Yan pulled out a flag to free him and Princess Qian You.
• Princess Qian You gave Zhong Shan a lotus seed that restored his ability to move, and the three traveled to the Xiao Mansion.
• Ru Yan explained that the mansion was an illusion she had recreated and said the village had become ruins since she returned on Returning Soul Night.
• Ru Yan told Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You that Xiao Bing Yi was a capable merchant with poor Root Bone who struggled to cultivate and had been shunned by the local Aristocratic Clans.

Ru Yan recounted how Xiao Bing Yi spent his life seeking a Restriction Breaking Pill, then died with her, only for his remains to disappear while his Eternal Lamp stayed lit. Zhong Shan agreed to investigate whether Xiao Bing Yi’s adopted sons knew what had happened and set out with Ru Yan for the Azure Cloud Sect.

• Ru Yan told Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You how Xiao Bing Yi’s adopted sons joined the Immortal Sect without seeking a Restriction Breaking Pill for him.
• Ru Yan showed them Xiao Bing Yi’s portrait and led them to the tomb chamber, where his remains were missing but the Eternal Lamp still burned.
• Ru Yan explained that she and Xiao Bing Yi had swallowed cinnabar together, and that his lit lamp meant his soul remained in the mortal world.
• Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You considered whether Xiao Bing Yi’s adopted sons had returned, despite Ru Yan’s belief that they had abandoned him.
• Ru Yan identified the adopted sons’ sect as the Azure Cloud Sect, and Zhong Shan agreed to go there with her to investigate.

Zhong Shan, Princess Qian You, and Ru Yan traveled toward Azure Cloud Sect while Great Yu and Great Radiance forces searched for them. Zhong Shan’s planted letters drew Great Radiance troops toward Forget Worry City, and both dynasties’ armies moved to capture the fugitives there.

• At Azure Cloud Sect, the Dao Robe Man ordered his disciples to keep silent about burying Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You, then led them into the sect’s array.
• Yi Yan told Iron Blood to stop pursuing Zhong Shan, while Great Deer King and Wu An continued organizing the search.
• Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You traveled with Ru Yan toward Azure Cloud Sect, and Zhong Shan arranged for Ru Yan to plant letters on Great Yu soldiers.
• Princess Qian You questioned Zhong Shan’s urgency to reach Azure Cloud Sect, and Zhong Shan said he sought answers for both Ru Yan and himself.
• A Great Radiance general ordered troops toward Forget Worry City after finding the planted letters, unwilling to risk losing the city.
• A Great Yu general also ordered an immediate advance toward Forget Worry City to capture Zhong Shan and Princess Qian You.