Chapter Summaries

Luo Tianci and the old woman suspected the Ringed Banyan Tree concealed a clue to the Luo Clan Fragment, but she warned him not to expose Uncle De. Meanwhile, Luo Tianfu questioned Jun Ziqian about the tree and learned Qin Chaose had consigned it, while Jun refused to disclose who consigned the Sect Token.

• Luo Tianci and the old woman concluded that the secret message to Luo Tianfu likely concerned the Luo Family's fragment and the Ringed Banyan Tree.
• The old woman stopped Luo Tianci from preparing to bid for the tree, warning that doing so could betray Uncle De and expose his spy.
• Luo Tianfu visited Jun Ziqian at a tavern and asked who had consigned the Ringed Banyan Tree and whether it hid anything.
• Jun Ziqian said Qin Chaose had brought in the tree, likely on Qin Tianliang's instructions, and that appraisers had found only a formation-inscription technique.
• Jun Ziqian refused to reveal who consigned the Sect Token, telling Luo Tianfu to assume it came from the Mystic Wind Scavenger, then changed the subject to the Chu Family's young miss.

Luo Tianfu and Jun Ziqian discussed their failed attempt to seize Chu Youwei and planned to pursue her again. Meanwhile, Sun Liuliu learned that rescuing Sun Chengnuo required obtaining the Ringed Banyan Tree at auction, and the Sun Family prepared to secure it.

• Luo Tianfu told Jun Ziqian that Chu Youwei had escaped after taking a drug, and he suspected street thugs had found her afterward.
• Luo Tianfu said he had agreed to a marriage alliance with the declining Chu Family only to get Chu Youwei, and offered to help Jun Ziqian obtain her if she had been defiled.
• Sun Liuliu received a ransom note demanding the Ringed Banyan Tree in exchange for Sun Chengnuo and learned that the item would be auctioned at the Law Division Building the next day.
• Sun Liuliu told the gathered Sun Family leaders that the Ringed Banyan Tree concerned the lost Ringed Inscription technique, while Grandfather Sun ordered them to secure it at auction.
• Sun Liuliu asked Grandfather Sun and the other family leaders for permission to use the Sun Family's resources without limit to obtain the item.

Lu Feng completed the hundred-question trial with Jiang Ruoyun, then learned that Red Scorpion’s mission was to assassinate Qin Tianliang for abusing women. After discussing a chance to approach Qin Bu’er at the Qin Family Banquet, Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun encountered her master, whom Red Scorpion called the Phoenix Lord.

• Lu Feng answered every question in the hundred-question trial and won a Peach Blossom Hairpin and flower wreath for Jiang Ruoyun.
• Red Scorpion explained that Love Tomb had assigned her to assassinate Qin Tianliang after learning he had abused and abandoned many women.
• Lu Feng admitted he had wrongly suspected Jiang Ruoyun’s motives, then explained Blazing Enchantress’s identity to her and Red Scorpion.
• Red Scorpion revealed that the Qin Family would hold a banquet for the Head Madam’s birthday, and Lu Feng considered asking Blazing Enchantress about attending.
• Red Scorpion recognized an approaching woman as the Phoenix Lord, and Jiang Ruoyun told Lu Feng that the woman was her master.

Qing Huang forced Jiang Ruoyun to return to the Three Yuan Inn and forbade her from seeing Lu Feng, insisting he was unworthy and that Jiang Ruoyun should focus on cultivating the Heartless Sutra. Red Scorpion tried to persuade Jiang Ruoyun to consider other young men, but Jiang Ruoyun declared that her heart already belonged to Lu Feng.

• Qing Huang interrupted Lu Feng before he could greet her and ordered Jiang Ruoyun to come back with her, while Red Scorpion secretly signaled Lu Feng to meet them at the Three Yuan Inn.
• Jiang Ruoyun pleaded to stay out for the Lantern Festival fireworks, but Qing Huang criticized Lu Feng and warned that his lack of strength made him unfit to protect her.
• Red Scorpion defended Lu Feng by mentioning his generosity and Qin Tianliang's claim that he was the Azure Mountain Sect Master, but Qing Huang dismissed the evidence and ordered Jiang Ruoyun to resume cultivating the Heartless Sutra.
• Qing Huang told Jiang Ruoyun she could not go out again until she had suppressed the chaotic aura within her body, then privately instructed Red Scorpion to counsel her.
• At the inn, Red Scorpion asked Jiang Ruoyun what she thought of the Jun Family Young Master and the young master of the Luo family, and Jiang Ruoyun said her heart already belonged to Lu Feng.

Lu Feng visited Lin's Soy Milk to honor Lin Liyun, whose death he felt partly responsible for, and met a woman who looked like someone he had encountered before. He revealed that Lin Liyun had died in the Earth Profound Domain after tipping off Lu Feng's supposed master, and the woman demanded to know who had killed her brother.

• Lu Feng stopped at Lin's Soy Milk, remembering Lin Liyun's regret that he would never taste his sister's cooking again.
• Lu Feng ordered Lin's Signature Soy Milk, crispy meat, and Braised Broad Beans in Oil, startling the woman who ran the tea house.
• Lu Feng poured a second cup across from himself in remembrance of the dead, and the woman recognized the gesture as a sign connected to her brother.
• Lu Feng asked whether the woman was Lin Liyun's sister, then told her Lin Liyun had died in the Earth Profound Domain more than three years earlier.
• Lu Feng said Lin Liyun had been killed in retaliation for warning his master, and the woman demanded the killer's identity.

Lu Feng told Lin Xiaojin how her brother Lin Liyun died after risking his life to warn the Night Feather Sword Master of an ambush. Lin Xiaojin mourned him, then hid Lu Feng in the teahouse kitchen when someone called for her.

• Lu Feng told Lin Xiaojin that Lin Liyun’s killers had died in the Earth Profound Domain and explained that Lin Liyun had helped save his master, the Night Feather Sword Master.
• Lu Feng recounted how Sun Zeguang had betrayed Lin Liyun during a battle with a ferocious beast, prompting Lin Liyun to meet and admire the Night Feather Sword Master.
• Lu Feng explained that Lin Liyun had been gravely wounded while trying to warn the Night Feather Sword Master about the planned encirclement, and that he had been thinking of Lin Xiaojin and three dishes before he died.
• Lin Xiaojin broke down crying after hearing the details of her brother’s death.
• A woman called for Xiaojin, and Lin Xiaojin pulled Lu Feng into the kitchen and told him to stay quiet.

On Lantern Festival, Lin Xiaojin mourned her missing brother Li Yun while Chu Youwei tried to comfort her, and Lu Feng secretly listened before sharing a quiet meal with Lin Xiaojin. As Lu Feng left, Lin Xiaojin asked him to come again and resolved to rely on him for help with her family's troubles.

• Lu Feng hid behind a curtain and recognized Chu Youwei, who found Lin Xiaojin crying and asked whether Gongsun Che had caused trouble.
• Lin Xiaojin said she had stopped waiting for Li Yun, though she concealed her worries about her family and Chu Youwei's engagement.
• Chu Youwei invited Lin Xiaojin to watch the fireworks, but Lin Xiaojin stayed behind and assured her she could use the Resounding Whistle if she faced danger.
• After Chu Youwei left, Lu Feng ate the food Lin Xiaojin had prepared, and she watched him, reminded of her brother.
• Lu Feng washed the dishes and prepared to leave, but Lin Xiaojin asked whether he would come again.
• Lu Feng promised to help if she ran into any trouble, even if the Jun Family caused it, and Lin Xiaojin's resolve to rely on him grew firmer.

Lu Feng found Jiang Ruoyun at the Three Yuan Inn and reunited with her in private. She discovered that he had cut off the Mandarin Duck Union Array’s sensations to hide his injuries and asked him to vow never to conceal his pain from her again.

• Lu Feng used a tip to learn that Jiang Ruoyun and Red Scorpion were staying in adjoining rooms at the Three Yuan Inn.
• Lu Feng signaled through the wall, and Jiang Ruoyun recognized his Soul Consciousness; Red Scorpion left the room to give them privacy.
• Lu Feng entered Jiang Ruoyun’s room and embraced her, taking care not to go beyond their boundaries.
• Jiang Ruoyun asked why she had not sensed his past injuries through the Mandarin Duck Union Array.
• Lu Feng admitted he had secretly cut off the array’s sensations to spare Jiang Ruoyun worry, and she asked him to vow never to hide his pain from her again.

Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun reunited, but her unstable aura meant she had to return to the Love Tomb the next day. The Phoenix Lord summoned Lu Feng to a secluded pavilion and promised to stop opposing their relationship if he met her conditions, leaving Jiang Ruoyun and Red Scorpion worried about what those conditions might be.

• Lu Feng swore to Jiang Ruoyun and dispelled the barrier within the Union Formation, then reassured her that he wanted no partner but her.
• Jiang Ruoyun revealed that the Heartless Sutra had thrown her aura into disorder and that she would return to the Love Tomb the next day.
• Lu Feng warned Jiang Ruoyun not to take risks against Qin Tianliang, but she said Red Scorpion and her Master would support her.
• Red Scorpion told Lu Feng that the Phoenix Lord wanted to meet him at the Moon Stone Pavilion and would stop opposing the couple if he met her conditions.
• Jiang Ruoyun insisted that Lu Feng was every bit as worthy as Jun Zi Shuo or Luo Tianfu, while Red Scorpion feared the Phoenix Lord would set impossible terms.

Lu Feng met Qing Huang, who tested his resolve to protect Jiang Ruoyun and offered to betroth her to him if he fulfilled three conditions. The first two demanded extraordinary strength and a sect under his sole command, while Qing Huang hinted that the final condition concerned the dangerous aura within Jiang Ruoyun.

• Qing Huang struck Lu Feng to punish him for making Jiang Ruoyun cry, then challenged whether his feelings for her were sincere and whether he could protect her.
• Lu Feng vowed to protect Jiang Ruoyun even at the cost of his life, and Qing Huang agreed to betroth her to him if he met three conditions.
• Lu Feng suspected that Qing Huang was Jiang Ruoyun's mother and addressed her as Aunt Qing, but Qing Huang warned him not to curry favor with her.
• Qing Huang required Lu Feng to reach at least Heaven Soul Realm Nine Breaths within two years and to possess a first-rate One-Voice Hall Force sect.
• Lu Feng asked whether the final condition concerned the terrifying aura within Jiang Ruoyun, and Qing Huang praised his insight.

After Qing Huang gave Lu Feng a sealed brocade pouch and set conditions for helping Jiang Ruoyun, Lu Feng struggled with the demands and encountered a grieving Chu Youwei by the river. Chu Youwei suspected she recognized him, while Lu Feng concealed that he had saved her before; their conversation ended with her asking about his plans for the auction.

• Qing Huang gave Lu Feng a brocade pouch that he could open only after fulfilling her first two conditions, or if Yun Feng was in danger and he could not decide what to do.
• Lu Feng considered the difficulty of reaching Heaven Soul Realm Nine Breaths and building a first-rate force within two years.
• Lu Feng found Chu Youwei alone and apparently upset beside the Moon Mesh River, but she initially told him to mind his own business.
• Chu Youwei said Lu Feng looked familiar, and Lu Feng denied knowing her while hiding that he had saved her that night.
• Chu Youwei followed Lu Feng and questioned him about his origins and visit to Profound Gold City; he said he had come for the auction at the Law Division Building.
• Chu Youwei's suspicions wavered, and she asked Lu Feng what he wanted from the auction.

Lu Feng comforted Chu Youwei after she revealed that her family’s marriage arrangements had driven her to consider suicide, and gave her a reason to look forward to visiting the Snow Region. The chapter left Chu Youwei with renewed anticipation and a promise to cook Lu Feng an Ice Tail Fish dish.

• Lu Feng revealed his Azure Mountain Sword Sect identity, and Chu Youwei became less wary of him.
• Chu Youwei told Lu Feng that her family planned to marry her off despite her late father’s childhood betrothal, and admitted she had considered ending her life.
• Lu Feng urged Chu Youwei not to give up and suggested she find meaning beyond her family’s expectations.
• Lu Feng described the Snow Region, and Chu Youwei grew excited about its rare ingredients, including Ice Tail Fish.
• Lu Feng and Chu Youwei agreed to visit the Snow Region together someday so she could prepare him an Ice Tail Fish dish.

Lu Feng met Fan Linlin in the Fragrant Cedar Forest and learned that the Prison Enforcer investigation had uncovered a network testing the Breakthrough Fortune Pill on innocent people, including at Beast Taming Manor. Their clues pointed toward the Gongsun Family and the Secluded Scarlet Mountain Range, giving them a possible lead to pursue.

• After leaving Chu Youwei, Lu Feng went to the Fragrant Cedar Forest and met Fan Linlin, who had disguised herself for the Lantern Festival.
• Fan Linlin gave Lu Feng pill formulas and reported that the Grand Prison had destroyed a village where people had been used to test the Breakthrough Fortune Pill.
• Lu Feng told Fan Linlin that Beast Taming Manor had also been controlled and used for experiments, and warned her that the force behind the scheme was too dangerous for her to confront.
• Lu Feng and Fan Linlin concluded that the evidence might let righteous sects unite against the hidden force, but that they needed more proof before seeking the Grand Prison's intervention.
• Fan Linlin revealed that an experimental formula used Praying Sheep Grass, which grew only in the Secluded Scarlet Mountain Range.
• Fan Linlin showed Lu Feng a Gongsun Family herb shop ledger recording regular harvests of Praying Sheep Grass but no shipments or prescriptions, raising suspicion about the family's activities.

Lu Feng and Fan Linlin hid in a tree and pretended to be lovers when Gongsun Che passed beneath them. After recognizing him as a suspect in the plot against Lu Feng’s students, Lu Feng stopped Fan Linlin from using herself to approach the Gongsun Family and offered to investigate instead.

• Lu Feng and Fan Linlin were embarrassed when a couple chose the tree below them for a tryst, and the sounds stirred Fan Linlin’s memories of her dream with Lu Feng.
• Gongsun Che approached with two women, and Fan Linlin clung to Lu Feng so Gongsun Che would mistake them for lovers.
• Lu Feng hid Fan Linlin from Gongsun Che when he looked back, then apologized for pressing her down.
• Fan Linlin identified Gongsun Che as a member of the Gongsun Family and explained that she had been investigating the family through him.
• Lu Feng recognized Gongsun Che as one of the people behind the plot against his students and told Fan Linlin to stop approaching him, offering to investigate the Gongsun Family himself.
• Fan Linlin agreed and said she would leave Profound Gold City the next day to investigate remote villages.

Lu Feng reunited with Jiang Ruoyun at Three Yuan Inn and told her the Phoenix Lord had agreed to their betrothal, though he needed to reach Heaven Soul Realm, Ninth Breath to earn her approval. As dawn approached, they exchanged matching robes and shared a tender farewell before Jiang Ruoyun had to leave.

• Lu Feng returned to Three Yuan Inn and told Jiang Ruoyun that the Phoenix Lord had agreed to betroth her to him if he reached Heaven Soul Realm, Ninth Breath.
• Jiang Ruoyun worried the Phoenix Lord might change her mind and promised to flee with Lu Feng if they were kept apart, and Lu Feng agreed.
• Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun became intimate, but stopped when they remembered the Phoenix Lord and Red Scorpion were nearby and Jiang Ruoyun would soon have to leave.
• Jiang Ruoyun gave Lu Feng matching robes she had chosen for them, and they changed into the coordinated outfits.
• Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun teased and embraced each other as they savored their last time together before parting.

Lu Feng learned that the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins had appeared near the border of the Sacred Domain and Profound Domain, but declined Yin Xiaolou’s advice to rush there alone because he intended to bring the Azure Mountain Sword Sect. After Yin Xiaolou and Tang Jing departed, Jun Zi Shuo arrived and asked whether Lu Feng knew the two women, leaving Lu Feng suspicious of his interest in them.

• Lu Feng confirmed with Huang Helou and Bi Kongjing that his arrangements had been carried out, then learned Yin Xiaolou and Tang Jing were returning to their sword sect.
• Yin Xiaolou told Lu Feng that the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins had appeared and urged him to seize the opportunity, believing he was connected to the Night Feather Sword Master.
• Lu Feng learned that the Sword Ruins had appeared above a town on the Sacred Domain–Profound Domain border, where nearby forces were in a tense standoff after spatial turbulence destroyed the town.
• Yin Xiaolou urged Lu Feng to enter the Sword Ruins before stronger sect forces arrived, but he declined because he wanted the Azure Mountain Sword Sect to share in the opportunity.
• Jun Zi Shuo hurried after Yin Xiaolou and Tang Jing, then told Lu Feng that he had mistaken one of them for a longtime friend and asked whether Lu Feng knew them.

Lu Feng rejected Jun Zi Shuo’s invitation and advised the Azure Mountain Sword Sect to prepare cautiously for the newly appeared Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins. He then took Huang Helou to the Luo Family to secure entry qualifications for the Law Division Building, leaving Huang Helou wondering how Lu Feng planned to meet its financial requirements.

• Lu Feng declined Jun Zi Shuo’s invitation to the Small Garden, wary of his interest in Yin Xiaolou or Tang Jing and unwilling to appear aligned with the Jun Family.
• Lu Feng told Huang Helou and Bi Kongjing about the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins, and Bi Kongjing offered to return to the sect to organize preparations.
• Lu Feng ordered Bi Kongjing to prepare two ten-person teams, one of top combatants and another of Earth Soul Realm members, while the sect waited for reports about the Sword Ruins’ potentially unstable interior.
• Bi Kongjing left to arrange the teams and reminded Huang Helou to protect Lu Feng.
• Lu Feng took Huang Helou to the Luo Family to obtain entry qualifications for that night’s Law Division Building, and Huang Helou wondered how they would satisfy its Verification of Funds requirement.

Luo Tianci’s elders debated whether the Luo Family should give Lu Feng the promised Source Stones, while Luo Guangde secretly gave his grandson nearly three hundred stones of his own. Luo Tianci then met Lu Feng and offered part of the payment, as their cordial exchange exposed lingering tension over Luo Tianfu’s interference.

• Luo Tianci told the Three Elders that Lu Feng had become the Azure Mountain Sword Sect’s Sect Leader and asked to handle repaying him himself.
• Luo Xuanqiu postponed the decision until the Five Elders could deliberate, while Luo Guangde secretly gave Luo Tianci nearly three hundred High-Grade Source Stones.
• Lu Feng and Huang Helou realized Luo Tianfu had revealed the debt to the elders and suspected Luo Tianci would emerge from the meeting with their approval.
• Luo Tianci arrived to meet Lu Feng, apologized for Luo Tianfu’s behavior, and insisted his brother did not represent the Luo Family.
• Luo Tianci offered Lu Feng part of the promised Source Stones, and Lu Feng reacted with confusion to the partial payment.

Lu Feng and Huang Helou visited the Luo Family Villa to claim Luo Tianci’s debt of 250 High-Grade Source Stones, while Luo Tianfu welcomed them and hoped the dispute would benefit his bid to become family head. The Three Executive Elders questioned Luo Tianci about the debt and learned it came from Lu Feng rescuing him from Huai Ziyou, but they demanded testimony before accepting his account.

• Lu Feng and Huang Helou arrived at the Luo Family Villa seeking Luo Tianci, but Luo Tianfu intercepted them and mocked the Azure Mountain Sword Sect.
• Lu Feng demanded that Luo Tianci repay 250 High-Grade Source Stones, and Luo Tianfu invited them inside after realizing the debt could cause a spectacle.
• Lu Feng and Huang Helou waited in a side hall while Luo Tianci met with three of the Luo Family’s Executive Elders.
• Luo Tianci explained that Huai Ziyou had tried to assassinate him and that Lu Feng had saved his life in exchange for 250 High-Grade Source Stones.
• Luo Xuanqiu asked whether anyone could testify to Luo Tianci’s account.

Lu Feng negotiated with Luo Tianci to acquire a Sect Token for a Private School and warned him against trusting rumors about a Luo Clan Fragment. After Lu Feng left, Luo Tianci ordered an elder to watch him, then learned that Xiao Xi had gone out to buy clothes despite her approaching wedding.

• Luo Tianci gave Lu Feng one hundred High-Grade Source Stones and agreed to acquire the auctioned Sect Token on his behalf, while Lu Feng said he would use it to establish a Private School.
• Luo Tianci admitted he was preparing to bid on a possible Luo Clan Fragment, and Lu Feng cautioned him that the rumor might be a trap.
• Luo Tianci explained that the fragments could restore his clan's ancestral bloodline, and Lu Feng was moved by his account.
• Lu Feng declined Luo Tianci's invitation to dine and left with Huang Helou to attend to Sun Liuliu's invitation.
• Luo Tianci summoned an elderly woman and ordered her to watch Lu Feng because he suspected him of taking the fragment.
• Luo Tianci learned that Xiao Xi had gone out to buy clothes and ordered the maid to send her to his study when she returned.