Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi thwarted Zuo Lieyang’s attempt to plant a Crescent Moon Three Stars Seal on him and exposed the scheme to the assembled onlookers. He left Zuo and Xi Mengfan’s conspiracy publicly suspect but beyond effective punishment without proof.

• Zuo Lieyang used the lord’s decree to search Xu Yi, but the spatial sensing stone revealed nothing about the Four-Colored Seal.
• After returning the seal, Xu Yi invoked Zuo Lieyang’s promise and demanded to inspect Zhang Laoyang’s Starry Sky Ring.
• Zhang Laoyang produced a Crescent Moon Three Stars Seal, and Zuo Lieyang claimed the Night Walker guards had just taken it from a Dark Ghost.
• Xu Yi pointed out that the seal had appeared in Zhang Laoyang’s ring, exposing how the guards could have planted it in Xu Yi’s ring.
• The onlookers recognized that Xu Yi had avoided the trap, while he acknowledged that he had no proof strong enough to bring down Zuo Lieyang or Xi Mengfan.

After exposing Zhang Laoyang’s attempt to kill him, Xu Yi suspected the gathered guards were preparing to hunt Ghost Seven and tried to conceal his signal talisman from another inspection. He used the Four-Colored Seal to hide it, then rested in his tent, where his body-tempering vortex appeared as he worried it might disrupt his plan.

• Xu Yi realized Zhang Laoyang had tried to frame him, deliberately exposed his weakness, and forced an inspection that revealed the Crescent Moon Three Stars Seal.
• Xu Yi suspected the operation was connected to Ghost Seven’s warning about the teleportation formation opening at midnight, but remained with the group and set up a tent.
• Xu Yi activated the Four-Colored Seal inside the tent and waited until its Purple Domain Space was about to collapse before entering with the signal talisman.
• Xu Yi emerged from the collapsing space, put away the seal, and lay down while monitoring the group outside.
• Xu Yi’s vortex appeared after he slept, leaving him concerned it could surface during his plan.

Xu Yi joined Jizhou Territory's force as it launched a surprise attack on Ghost Seven's gathering at Wasp Valley. The two sides met in the valley, where the Night Walkers had surrounded Xuan Lengyan, Xiong Bei Ming, Gold Corpse Old Cao, Ning Wuque, and a gray-haired man.

• Xu Yi refined more than thirty wish beads as the vortex stayed outside his body for longer, and he worried that losing it would make refining less convenient.
• Xu Yi decided not to warn Ghost Seven because a warning could expose the Ancestral Court's spy and endanger Xuan Lengyan and the others' best chance to escape.
• Huo Zhongxing, Xi Mengfan, and Bing Yuan arrived with their forces, and Xi Mengfan assigned Xu Yi to the Dark Guards.
• The two flying ships reached Wasp Valley, where Huo Zhongxing's troops used a compass formation to halt the valley's disturbance.
• Xu Yi saw five Night Walkers surrounding Xuan Lengyan, Xiong Bei Ming, Gold Corpse Old Cao, Ning Wuque, and a gray-haired man.

Xu Yi watched as Ghost Seven and Huo Zhongxing clashed, while Huo’s Spirit Gun unit was nearly destroyed by Ghost Seven’s power. Xu Yi secretly helped break Huo’s formation with the Spirit Cannons, leaving Ghost Seven to praise Plum Blossom Seven and learn of Xu Yi’s disobedience.

• Huo Zhongxing revealed that his formation blocked messages and challenged Ghost Seven after Ghost Seven recognized him.
• Ghost Seven planned to hold off the Jizhou forces while Plum Blossom Seven protected their guests, but Xu Yi intercepted the plan and chose to act.
• Huo Zhongxing ordered more than fifty soldiers to fire their Spirit Guns at Ghost Seven, who absorbed the blast through a portal and sent its force back into the unit.
• Huo Zhongxing charged Ghost Seven as the blast’s shockwaves swept through the surrounding forces.
• Xu Yi fired more than ten Spirit Cannon blasts at Huo Zhongxing’s formation, shattering it and prompting Ghost Seven to praise Plum Blossom Seven.

Xu Yi used Station Number Seven’s hidden forces and Spirit Cannons to help Ghost Seven’s side escape the ambush while drawing Xi Mengfan’s men away from Xuan Lengyan. The battle continued as Zuo Lieyang and Zhang Laoyang cornered Xu Yi, only to be battered by repeated cannon blasts.

• Xu Yi regained command after the Jingtian Dao Talisman Formation shattered and ordered Station Number Seven’s forces to strike.
• Huo Zhongxing and Bing Yuan pinned down Ghost Seven while Xi Mengfan pursued Xuan Lengyan and her escorts.
• Spirit Cannon volleys repeatedly stopped Xi Mengfan and helped the five Night Walkers lead Xuan Lengyan’s group toward safety.
• Xu Yi ran with Zuo Lieyang and Zhang Laoyang as the pursuit groups shifted around them.
• Zuo Lieyang and Zhang Laoyang tried to attack Xu Yi, but Spirit Cannon blasts knocked them down and left Zuo Lieyang severely wounded.

Xu Yi’s sabotage helped the Night Army reach the front lines, where Xi Mengfan’s forces clashed with them. As the Night Walkers held their formation against a renewed assault, Elder Xi prepared a powerful fire talisman.

• Xu Yi repeatedly exposed Zuo Lieyang and Zhang Laoyang to the Spirit Cannons, and both men were blasted to death.
• Xu Yi reached the Night Army’s formation behind Xi Mengfan, who demanded that the Night Walkers surrender.
• Chen Tieshou led the surviving fighters in an attack, but more than thirty Fire Phoenix Bows shattered their assault.
• Elder Xi and Chen Tieshou attacked again, while the Night Walkers used their Fire Phoenix Bows to hold them back.
• Elder Xi ordered his troops to retreat and revealed a second-tier fire talisman, alarming Xu Yi with its destructive power.

Xu Yi used the Four-Colored Seal to absorb Elder Xi’s fire talisman attack, then led the Night Walkers into Dragon Matriarch Hidden Mist to evade capture. Elder Xi rose above the mist and began drawing a talisman as the battle continued in confusion.

• Xu Yi transformed the Four-Colored Seal into a portal that absorbed the fire dragons unleashed by Elder Xi’s talisman.
• Chen Tieshou urged Elder Xi to join the fight and target Ghost Seven, but Xu Yi ordered the Night Walkers to activate their mist horns and flee southwest.
• The Night Walkers scattered into small squads in the mist, while Xu Yi repeatedly hit Elder Xi with his Fire Phoenix Bow.
• Elder Xi rose above the mist and began drawing a talisman, while Xuan Lengyan panicked amid the chaos.

Xuan Lengyan fled her pursuers and reunited with Xu Yi in a hidden hot spring cave, where their feelings for each other surfaced despite their master-disciple relationship. Xiong Bei Ming and Ning Wuque joined them, and Xuan Lengyan began recounting the hardships she had endured over the past two years.

• Xuan Lengyan escaped into a region of hot spring caves, but a bloodied man caught up with her.
• Xu Yi carried Xuan Lengyan through an underground hot spring passage, and she recognized him after they surfaced.
• Xuan Lengyan embraced Xu Yi, but both became embarrassed when voices outside interrupted them.
• Xiong Bei Ming and Ning Wuque emerged from the spring and greeted Xu Yi, who explained Old Cao was helping him with a task.
• Xuan Lengyan asked Xu Yi for food, ate pastries, and began telling the others about her past two years.

Xu Yi reunited with Xuan Lengyan and her companions, then urged them to seek safety with the Church. Elder Xi tracked them down and trapped Xu Yi with his Five Elements Cage, but Xu Yi escaped; Elder Xi abandoned the pursuit to hunt the wanted criminals before his tracking art expired.

• Xuan Lengyan and her companions recounted how they had been captured and brought to the area, and Xu Yi shared his recent experiences while concealing his identities.
• Xu Yi advised the group to go to the Church and hand over Xuan Lengyan's bone-flute technique, then sensed Elder Xi approaching and told them to move deeper inside.
• Elder Xi attacked Xu Yi with a yellow dragon, but Xu Yi's sorrow-based True Spirit Sword cut it apart.
• Elder Xi used the Five Elements Cage to pierce Xu Yi, but Xu Yi manifested his Wrathful Chi Ape aspect and tore his way out through the final gap.
• Xu Yi fled through the forest while taking spirit liquid, and Elder Xi failed to catch him despite pursuing at full speed.
• Elder Xi turned southwest to pursue Xuan Lengyan and the others before his tracking secret art expired.

Xu Yi delayed Xi Mengfan’s pursuit of the fugitives until Xi Mengfan unleashed the Divine Embryo and blasted them both in a devastating attack. Xi Mengfan left believing Xu Yi was dead, but Xu Yi’s body began to regenerate beneath the river.

• Xu Yi used his transformed Sky-Covering Baboon and repeated attacks to keep Xi Mengfan from catching the fleeing criminals.
• When his connection to the fugitives was severed, Xi Mengfan summoned his Divine Embryo and launched a blazing attack at Xu Yi.
• Xu Yi turned into a small black monkey and raised a vast river into a vortex, which collided with the Divine Embryo’s attack and devastated the surrounding landscape.
• Xi Mengfan survived the blast badly injured, received Huo Zhongxing’s message that Bing Yuan had died and Ghost Seven needed to be surrounded, and replied that he could not fight.
• Xi Mengfan left the lakeshore believing Xu Yi was dead and planning to return for his Sumeru Ring, while Xu Yi regenerated underwater, recovered the ring, and drank spiritual liquid from a Sheep Fat Jade Pure Bottle.

Xu Yi survived his battle with Xi Mengfan, secured the Four-Colored Seal, and helped Ghost Seven evacuate Xuan Lengyan and the others. After escaping, he returned to Cangyou Peak, leaving Xi Mengfan baffled and furious that he was still alive.

• Xu Yi recovered from his injuries, dismissed the surviving Night Walkers, and reunited with Xuan Lengyan and the others near the hot spring cavern.
• Gold Corpse Old Cao returned the Four-Colored Seal, which he had taken after the light gate vanished, and Xu Yi gave the four companions wish beads and instructions for their journey to the Church.
• Ghost Seven arrived, praised Xu Yi's arrangements, and used a glowing formation to take Xuan Lengyan and the others away.
• Xu Yi fled through the river as flying ships searched the area, then returned to Cangyou Peak.
• After learning that Xu Yi had returned, Xi Mengfan ordered a subordinate to investigate him closely and wondered what had emboldened him.

Xu Yi visited Xi Mengfan on Duoluo Mountain and revealed that he had recorded Xi pursuing him over a personal grudge. Xi recognized the evidence could expose him, but he challenged Xu Yi to submit it, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• After days of fruitless reports, the purple-robed middle-aged man told Xi Mengfan that Xu Yi had arrived, and Xi hurried to receive him.
• Xu Yi admired Duoluo Mountain’s scenery before entering the Illusory Moon Pavilion, where Xi had cleared everyone else from the mountain.
• Xi accused Xu Yi of spying for the sect master, but Xu Yi turned to leave and then destroyed several Ruyi Pearls that Xi had planted to record their conversation.
• Xi realized Xu Yi had detected his scheme and had come with evidence, then asked to see what Xu Yi had captured.
• Xu Yi showed a recording of Xi pursuing him during the incident involving Xuan Lengyan, then explained that he had scattered Ruyi Pearls before their battle.
• Xi dismissed the recording as a bluff and dared Xu Yi to submit it.

Xu Yi used Xi Mengfan’s disastrous failed operation to pressure him into making peace, and the two agreed to become allies. Xu Yi then began discussing his Night Walker identity, leaving Xi Mengfan astonished by what he was about to say.

• Xu Yi warned Xi Mengfan that turning in the Ruyi Pearl could expose his private vendetta and worsen his position after the failed mission.
• Xi Mengfan abandoned his hostility toward Xu Yi and proposed putting their grudge behind them.
• Xu Yi accepted Xi Mengfan’s offer of friendship, and they toasted their reconciliation with tea.
• Xi Mengfan asked Xu Yi to help him escape his crisis, and Xu Yi asked what he thought of Night Walkers.
• Xi Mengfan admitted he saw Night Walkers as fellow cultivators and dismissed the Church–Ancestral Court conflict as a struggle over resources.
• Xu Yi agreed with Xi Mengfan and began saying he would not have taken on the Night Walker identity if he had a choice, leaving Xi Mengfan staring at him in astonishment.

Xu Yi formed an alliance with Xi Mengfan, who explained the Divine Embryo Realm and agreed to Xu Yi’s request. As Xu Yi headed to Cangyou Peak after receiving merit points for his Black-level mission, Director Zhu intercepted him and brought him to the Staff Department’s administrative hall.

• Xu Yi admitted that he no longer believed in the Patriarch’s cause, and he and Xi Mengfan agreed to cooperate for their mutual benefit.
• Xu Yi gave Xi Mengfan message tokens and Crescent Moon Three Stars Seals taken from fallen Night Walkers.
• Xi Mengfan explained the Divine Embryo Realm, the formation of the Chaotic Dao Body, and the path toward Earth Immortality.
• Xu Yi made a request that alarmed Xi Mengfan, who reluctantly agreed to carry it out.
• Xu Yi received merit points for completing his Black-level mission, but Director Zhu and four staff members intercepted him and escorted him to the administrative hall.

Xu Yi was summoned by the Staff Department and asked to leave, but a surprise appointment made him chief strategist to Xi Mengfan. After settling into his new role, he collected his rewards and focused on the Sun Radiance Token, which Zhu Shisan had linked to a hidden treasure trove.

• Vice Dean Yang and the Staff Department asked Xu Yi to leave, and Xu reassured them that he already had a new assignment.
• An envoy delivered Xu Yi’s appointment order naming him chief strategist to Elder Xi Mengfan of the Dark Guard.
• Xu Yi took up the post, learned how much authority it carried, and delegated its affairs without changing established practices.
• Xu Yi visited Clear Garden to collect a Heavenly Heart Pill and two thousand wish beads bought with his merit points.
• Xu Yi remembered that the Sun Radiance Token could earn him an exceptional reward and lead him to the former prefectural magistrate’s hidden treasures.

Xu Yi broke through to the Mortal Transformation Fourth Realm and traveled to Fengle City to visit his old friend Cheng Yan. After enjoying several days of country life with Cheng Yan’s family, he prepared to leave for his investigation into the late Fanyang Prefecture magistrate’s legacy.

• Xu Yi left Duoluo Mountain and, after flying deep into a forest, spent three days refining wish pearls to reach the Mortal Transformation Fourth Realm.
• Xu Yi sensed Heaven’s pressure on him and recalled Elder Xi’s warning that maintaining the pressure was essential to someday reaching the Divine Embryo Realm.
• Xu Yi traveled to Fengle City to visit Cheng Yan, where he met Cheng Yan’s wife Xueli Mei and their baby.
• Xu Yi shared a home-cooked feast with Cheng Yan and stayed with his family at a country estate for several days.
• Xu Yi took his leave, and Cheng Yan told him he had arranged a farewell banquet in Fengle City’s Immortal Quarter.

Xu Yi joined Cheng Yan and Xueli Mei for a farewell dinner, where he punished Niu Dagang for insulting them and learned that the balance of power in Dongshan Prefecture had shifted. Niu Dagang returned with officials and renewed his threat against Xueli Mei as Xu Yi attacked him with a barrage of chopsticks.

• Cheng Yan invited Xu Yi to a farewell meal at Eight Treasures Restaurant and revealed that the feast had cost three wish pearls.
• Niu Dagang barged in, insulted Xueli Mei, and threatened to send her back to Chaohua Workshop, so Xu Yi pierced his mouth with chopsticks and threw him out.
• Xu Yi asked about Dongshan Prefecture, and Cheng Yan explained that Xi Yangchun and the new prefect, Lei Dongshan, had reshuffled the government and scattered Xu Yi's former allies.
• Xueli Mei told Xu Yi that Niu Dagang served under Zhong Wu, was valued by him, and had repeatedly insulted Cheng Yan.
• Niu Dagang returned with a young man in white robes and a middle-aged man in dark robes, threatened Xueli Mei again, and Xu Yi sent more than a dozen chopsticks flying toward him.

Xu Yi defended Cheng Yan and Xueli Mei from Niu Dagang and refused to be intimidated by Guan Quan and Leng Qianli. Zhong Wu arrived and recognized Xu Yi, but Guan Quan used their past connection to provoke him as the officials prepared to leave.

• Xu Yi used flying chopsticks to defeat Niu Dagang and ignored Guan Quan's demand that he identify himself.
• Cheng Yan privately warned Xu Yi that Guan Quan was an influential official, while Xu Yi urged Cheng Yan and Xueli Mei to keep eating.
• Leng Qianli identified himself as a Dark Guard Division official and accused Xu Yi of being an evil-cult remnant, but Xu Yi remained seated.
• Niu Dagang called for help, and Zhong Wu entered, recognized Xu Yi, and ordered Niu Dagang to apologize.
• Zhong Wu tried to leave with Guan Quan and Leng Qianli, but Guan Quan mocked his former ties to Xu Yi, prompting Zhong Wu to rebuke him.

Guan Quan and Leng Qianli pressured Zhong Wu to act against Xu Yi, forcing Zhong Wu to choose between loyalty and protecting his position. Zhong Wu gouged out his own eye to publicly sever his ties with Xu Yi, who accepted the break and poured out his wine.

• Guan Quan accused Zhong Wu of neglecting his duty and threatened to involve the Dongshan Prefectural Commander.
• Leng Qianli sided with Guan Quan and warned Xu Yi that the Secret Guards could seize him by force.
• Niu Dagang pleaded with Zhong Wu to stand up for him, while Cheng Yan reminded Zhong Wu of Xu Yi's past help.
• Zhong Wu denounced Cheng Yan, told Xu Yi he considered his debt repaid, and gouged out his left eye to prove they were even.
• Xu Yi poured out his wine and accepted Zhong Wu's decision as Zhong Wu withdrew from the dispute.

Xu Yi attacked Dark Guard officials who tried to arrest him, then refused to apologize to Dongshan Prefecture governor Guang Jianfeng and maimed Guan Quan when he disrupted the meal. The chapter ended with Xu Yi speaking to Uncle Yang over Xiao Tao’s Ruyi Pearl.

• When Guan Quan tried to take Xu Yi away, Xu Yi pierced his cheeks with steel forks and sent him crashing through the doorway.
• Leng Qianli contacted Captain Shi for support, but Captain Shi shattered his Ruyi Pearl after hearing that Xu Yi was responsible.
• Xu Yi reassured Cheng Yan and Xueli Mei, then ordered a fresh feast while the officials gathered outside the Quiet Pavilion.
• Guang Jianfeng asked Xu Yi to apologize and let the matter go, but Xu Yi waved him aside and severed Guan Quan’s arm when he grabbed a serving girl.
• Xiao Tao contacted Uncle Yang and passed the Ruyi Pearl to Xu Yi, who greeted him as Old Yang and asked whether he objected to Xu Yi coming down the mountain for a meal.