Chapter Summaries

Lei Chiyan accused Zhang Kuangxing and his associates of secretly colluding with Old Demon Kongxu and ordered the Catching Thieves Division to investigate them. Zhang Bao'er was appointed a first-rank guest official, leaving Zhang Kuangxing to suspect Lei Chiyan did not truly intend to harm his family.

• Zhang Bao'er told Lei Chiyan that Old Demon Kongxu had escaped and explained their three-year chess match pact over Huaiyu Mountain.
• Lei Chiyan claimed Old Demon Kongxu's visit had been a pretext to meet Zhang Kuangxing and other local powers tied to the Golden Roc Demon King's ceremony.
• Zhang Kuangxing protested his innocence, but Lei Chiyan summoned armored soldiers and ordered Zhang Kuangxing, his brothers, Liu Zhengshou, and Liu Chuanshan to accompany him for investigation.
• Zhang Kuangxing agreed to go with Lei Chiyan and asked him to preserve the Zhang family's dignity.
• Xu Yi appointed Zhang Bao'er a first-rank guest official of the Catching Thieves Division for identifying Old Demon Kongxu and reporting his whereabouts.

After the Zhang Family’s main-branch leaders were taken away, Zhang Bao'er accepted responsibility for leading the clan and began redistributing its power. She won the family’s support by appointing new leaders and relying on the Yin Court’s backing.

• Zhang Kuangxing urged Zhang Bao'er to serve the Yin Court and left her in charge while he was away.
• Zhang Bao'er resolved to seize the chance to improve her cultivation and protect those she cared about, inspired by Xu’s efforts on her behalf.
• Nearly a hundred Black Spirit Guard soldiers arrived on Lei Chiyan’s orders and pledged to serve Zhang Bao'er.
• Zhang Bao'er declared that she would temporarily act as Patriarch, and the Ninth Uncle Ancestor challenged her authority.
• Zhang Bao'er appointed Zhang Wenyuan to lead the Enforcement Hall and offered another uncle control of the Internal Affairs Hall, prompting the family to accept her reshuffling of power.

Xu Yi dealt with the fallout from Zhang Bao'er’s takeover of the Zhang family, then withdrew to refine Star Spirit Essence. After six essences consumed all his Incense Beads without lighting his main Dragon Body, he sought Desolate Charm’s help and faced the ancient spirit’s pent-up anger.

• Zhang Kuangxing and his brothers were convicted of colluding with Old Demon Kongxu, whipped in the Netherworld Prison, and killed as Lei Chiyan strengthened the Catching Thieves Division’s reputation.
• Xu Yi ignored an invitation from the Western Underworld Lord and retreated to a newly built alchemy chamber to cultivate.
• Xu Yi began refining nine Star Spirit Essences, but after using six, he had spent all his Incense Beads without lighting his main Dragon Body.
• Xu Yi called on Desolate Charm for an explanation, and Desolate Charm finally answered by accusing him of treating their friendship as ownership.

After failing to advance to the Third Realm, Xu Yi learned that refining Star Spirit Essences required far more resources than he had expected. He asked Xia Sibo how to approach Fengdu City's major merchant guilds for a loan, despite Xia Sibo's warnings about the danger of getting involved with them.

• Xu Yi argued with the Desolate Charm over their relationship, then the Desolate Charm explained why Xu Yi's six Star Spirit Essences had not lit a Dragon of Stars and warned that advancement would take many resources.
• Xu Yi decided to continue pursuing rapid cultivation and planned to enter the Scripture Depository Cave even though he had failed to reach the Third Realm.
• Xu Yi visited Xia Sibo and asked how to obtain ten Star Spirit Essences and a hundred thousand Incense Beads.
• Xia Sibo warned Xu Yi that Fengdu City's top merchant guilds had powerful connections and that antagonizing them could ruin them both.
• Xu Yi clarified that he wanted to borrow the resources and asked Xia Sibo whether he could contact the guild leaders.

Xu Yi sought a large loan from Tong Fengliu to obtain resources for improving his cultivation before entering Immortal King City. Tong offered the loan in exchange for a weapon spirit, and Xu Yi balked at the demand as he prepared to leave.

• Xia Sibo brought Xu Yi to meet Tong Fengliu, the master of Tianyu Pavilion.
• Tong Fengliu said he could provide ten Star Spirit Essence beads but lacked the ten thousand Incense Beads Xu Yi wanted to borrow.
• Xu Yi offered to sign a witnessed loan contract, using his official positions and reputation as credit.
• Tong Fengliu proposed that Xu Yi repay the loan with a weapon spirit instead of returning the Star Spirit Essence beads.
• Xu Yi rejected the demand, saying weapon spirits were precious and difficult to obtain, and questioned how Tong knew about his plans.
• Tong Fengliu explained that he was betting on Xu Yi's upcoming exploration of Immortal King City, where weapon spirits were famous treasures.

Xu Yi negotiated with Tong Fengliu over ten pieces of Star Spirit Essence in exchange for a spirit weapon from Immortal King City. Tong Fengliu offered the essence as a gift in return for one spirit weapon if Xu Yi found any, and they formalized the deal before Xu Yi’s upcoming expedition.

• Xia Sibo eased tensions between Xu Yi and Tong Fengliu, and Tong Fengliu served them his rare Beauty's Tongue tea.
• Xu Yi joked his way into taking the remaining tea, lightening the mood before negotiations resumed.
• Tong Fengliu offered Xu Yi ten pieces of Star Spirit Essence without requiring repayment if he found no spirit weapons, asking only for one if Xu Yi obtained any.
• Xu Yi accepted Tong Fengliu's offer and acknowledged that finding a spirit weapon in Immortal King City was uncertain.
• Xu Yi, Tong Fengliu, and Xia Sibo signed a written agreement and recorded it with a Shadow-Sound Pearl.

Xu Yi secured Tianyu Pavilion’s support for his trip to Immortal King City and searched its vault for useful resources. He discovered a box of rare Ghost Mother Puppets that Huang Mei recognized as unusually powerful and durable.

• Tong Fengliu gave Xu Yi ten Star Spirit Essences and agreed to let him borrow resources from Tianyu Pavilion’s highest-grade storeroom.
• Tong Fengliu told Steward Fang that he had wagered on Xu Yi because of his remarkable winning streak and hoped to build a connection with him.
• Dai Chunfeng guided Xu Yi through the vault and offered to provide whatever resources he needed on credit.
• Huang Mei urged Xu Yi to take a square Ghost Mother box containing twelve Azure Wood Puppets, and Xu Yi found the faint marks that confirmed their origin.
• Huang Mei explained that the puppets could draw in Azure Wood energy to sustain themselves and were likely more powerful than First Realm Ghost Immortals.

Xu Yi bought a treasure and two thunder-attribute black cards from Tianyu Pavilion, then returned to prepare for his upcoming trip to Immortal King City. After mastering the Ghost Mother Puppet, he began refining the black cards outside the Four-Colored Seal Space when his first attempts failed.

• Xu Yi ignored Dai Chunfeng's advice and bought a treasure he had chosen, asking him to record the price for a promissory note.
• Dai Chunfeng showed Xu Yi a recording of a black card releasing enough stored energy to level a small mountain, and Xu Yi bought both thunder-attribute cards on credit.
• Xu Yi returned to the Catching Thieves Division, handled official business for two days, and then mastered the Ghost Mother Puppet with Huang Mei's guidance.
• Xu Yi rested for a day before attempting to charge the black cards inside the Four-Colored Seal Space, but abandoned the approach after two failures.
• Xu Yi used the Refinement Method Dai Chunfeng had provided and his experience from the failed attempts to begin refining the black cards outside the seal.

Xu Yi refined the black card, survived its explosive first attempt, and successfully sealed it before claiming his reward at the Scripture Depository Cave. After surveying its forty-nine caves, he faced the deadline without choosing which one to enter.

• Xu Yi tried refining the black card in a remote mountain, but it exploded after he fed it too much energy, destroying the surrounding landscape.
• Xu Yi refined the card again, stopped when it turned red, and sealed it successfully.
• After resting, Xu Yi traveled to White Cloud Mountain with his token to claim three months of study in the Scripture Depository Cave.
• Xu Yi examined all forty-nine caves and discovered records of supernatural abilities, cultivation methods, fragments, and mysterious deductions.
• Xu Yi spent seven days unable to choose a cave, then sat cross-legged as the caves began fading and the deadline approached.

Xu Yi entered a cave containing the Thirty-Six Questions Bewildering Method, hoping its mathematical riddles would help him understand how mathematics related to cultivation. After solving all thirty-six questions, he found an enigmatic message and was left wondering whether the work had any deeper meaning.

• Xu Yi chose the cave with a withered corpse and a white jade wall, then recognized the wall as the Thirty-Six Questions Bewildering Method.
• Xu Yi rested overnight before entering the jade wall with his consciousness, while Huang Mei stood by in case he needed to be awakened.
• Xu Yi solved one question and used the patterns in its numbers to sort the remaining traces into clusters and equations.
• Xu Yi worked through the riddles day after day, solving all thirty-six and arranging their equations in order.
• Xu Yi read the message about seeking the self beyond the self, but felt bewildered and questioned what solving the riddles had accomplished.

Xu Yi solved the Thirty-Six Questions Bewildering Method and learned the Way of Harmony from the dried-corpse senior, whose spirit then passed on. With only one day left in the Scripture Depository Cave, Xu Yi received White Wolf’s urgent messages warning that he could lose his post if he did not return to the Golden Roc Demon King's Mansion.

• Xu Yi transformed the square of thirty-six lines into a circle, revealing pi and unlocking the mathematical treatises within the jade wall.
• Xu Yi devoured the new knowledge, nearly disintegrated from exhaustion, and restored his body with Wish Pearls and Incense Spirit Essence.
• Xu Yi bowed three times to the dried-corpse senior after glimpsing how mathematical principles could combine with the Spirit Endowment Supernatural Ability.
• Desolate Charm identified the corpse as a Spirit-Concealing Corpse, and the senior's spirit departed after leaving Xu Yi a final message about the Way of Harmony.
• Xu Yi checked his Time Jade and heard White Wolf urge him to return, warning that the Great King might strip him of his Donghua Hall Policy Advisor post.

After escaping the cave maze, Xu Yi returned to Fubo Mountain and encountered Niu Ganghuo, the newly appointed Policy Advisor of Yinan Hall, who challenged and seriously injured him. White Wolf treated the attack as an attempted murder, while Xu Yi survived and learned how dangerous Niu Ganghuo was.

• Xu Yi crushed the White Cloud Mountain jade token, returned to the Catching Thieves Division, notified Long Wenzhang, and hurried to Fubo Mountain.
• At Gong'an Hall, White Wolf told Xu Yi to wait outside while he discussed official business with Niu Ganghuo and Master Mo.
• Niu Ganghuo and Master Mo taunted Xu Yi, but Xu Yi answered their insults with shameless flattery and defiance.
• Niu Ganghuo attacked Xu Yi with his True Gang Mysterious Wave, and Xu Yi used a thunder pearl before the blow sent him flying and spitting blood.
• White Wolf confronted Niu Ganghuo, who claimed they had merely sparred and left with Master Mo.
• White Wolf offered Xu Yi medicine and warned him about Niu Ganghuo's strength and Kui Ox Demon abilities.

Xu Yi helped White Wolf understand how to handle Niu Ganghuo’s challenge while preserving the Great King’s room to maneuver. As Xu Yi prepared for Immortal King City, White Wolf agreed to provide him with a hundred thousand Incense Beads and the secret method for an incense talisman field.

• White Wolf explained that Niu Ganghuo had targeted Xu Yi to announce his break with White Wolf and seize the position of the Golden Roc Demon King’s Mansion’s second-in-command.
• White Wolf described the Mansion’s expanded territory and explained why the Great King was constrained from openly supporting him against Niu Ganghuo.
• Xu Yi advised White Wolf to keep responding to Niu Ganghuo’s provocations so the Great King could preserve his authority and choose how to intervene.
• White Wolf accepted Xu Yi’s reasoning and asked whether he needed help before entering Immortal King City.
• Xu Yi requested a hundred thousand Incense Beads to refine Star Spirit Essence, and White Wolf promised to send him the secret method for an incense talisman field.

Xu Yi borrowed Incense Beads from White Wolf, completed his new official duties, and entered seclusion to cultivate. Niu Ganghuo and Master Mo plotted to kill him on the way to Immortal King City, while Xu Yi completed the Dragon Body refinement and entered the Third Realm.

• Xu Yi borrowed ten thousand Incense Beads and received a manual for constructing an Incense Talisman Field from White Wolf.
• Xu Yi collected his official seal, met the Donghua Guards and Heavenly Machine Pavilion chief, then informed White Wolf and entered seclusion.
• Niu Ganghuo and Master Mo discussed building their faction and decided to eliminate Xu Yi, planning to lure him outside the mansion during his trip to Immortal King City.
• Xu Yi built an Incense Talisman Field in three days and used Incense Beads and Star Spirit Essence to illuminate his Dragons of Stars and Dragon Body.
• Xu Yi finished using eighteen Star Spirit Essences, found his Dragons of Stars could now move through his body, and entered the Third Realm.

Xu Yi agreed to travel with Niu Ganghuo to Immortal King City despite White Wolf’s concerns and Niu’s plan to kill him. After Niu Ganghuo had two maids killed to force Xu Yi into his cabin, Xu Yi tried to persuade him that he would stay out of the conflict with White Wolf.

• White Wolf told Xu Yi that Golden Roc Demon King had ordered him to accompany Niu Ganghuo to Immortal King City, and offered to help him avoid the trip.
• Xu Yi refused White Wolf’s help and chose to go, while Niu Ganghuo and Master Mo planned to trap and kill him in Immortal King City.
• On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Xu Yi left Fubo Mountain aboard Niu Ganghuo’s airship, with White Wolf seeing him off.
• When Xu Yi declined Niu Ganghuo’s invitation to the cabin, Niu Ganghuo had the two maids who delivered it beheaded, forcing Xu Yi to go inside.
• Xu Yi told Niu Ganghuo he would not interfere in his struggle with White Wolf and had only joined Golden Roc Demon King to seek a high post.

Xu Yi tried to win Niu Ganghuo’s trust, but Niu Ganghuo and Master Mo decided to kill him anyway. They arrived at Immortal King City, where a report that Ice Cloud Fairy had appeared sent Niu Ganghuo rushing to Yun Jin Palace.

• Xu Yi wrote a pledge against White Wolf for Niu Ganghuo, who recorded it with a Ruyi Pearl and burned the paper.
• Master Mo urged Niu Ganghuo to kill Xu Yi in Immortal King City, and Niu Ganghuo agreed despite being won over at times by Xu Yi’s flattery.
• Niu Ganghuo, Master Mo, and Xu Yi reached Immortal King City and entered its central Floating Island with Niu Ganghuo’s golden jade token.
• Niu Ganghuo took Xu Yi and Master Mo to a restaurant on Immortal Feather Island.
• A message announced that Ice Cloud Fairy had arrived at Yun Jin Palace, and Niu Ganghuo sprang up in excitement.

Niu Ganghuo, Xu Yi, and Master Mo went to Yun Jin Palace after learning that Ice Cloud Fairy had arrived, and Niu Ganghuo revealed his obsessive admiration for her. As the crowd gathered and entry was restricted, Xie Xuanting subdued the hecklers, and Dragon Grandson appeared, leaving Niu Ganghuo wondering whether he had already met Ice Cloud Fairy.

• Niu Ganghuo rushed to Yun Jin Palace with Xu Yi and Master Mo after learning that Dragon Grandson and Xie Xuanting were heading there to see Ice Cloud Fairy.
• Niu Ganghuo described Ice Cloud Fairy as a peerless beauty and dismissed Master Mo's suggestion that her influence came from a Charm Technique.
• A green-robed man announced that Yun Jin Palace would admit only those at or above the Second Realm of Ghost Immortals, prompting an uproar among the crowd.
• Xie Xuanting silenced the crowd by conjuring a gigantic, chilling palm and threatening anyone who spoke out of turn.
• The guests gathered in a lakeside hall and praised Ice Cloud Fairy until Dragon Grandson emerged from behind the curtain, making Niu Ganghuo anxious that he had already met her.

Xu Yi watched Dragon Grandson and Xie Xuanting compete for the Ice Cloud Fairy’s attention, while Huang Mei urged him to take his own chance. Xie Xuanting’s poem captivated the Ice Cloud Fairy’s attendant, leaving him hopeful that it would reach his intended audience.

• Huang Mei explained Dragon Grandson’s and Xie Xuanting’s standing and wondered what kind of man could win the Ice Cloud Fairy’s favor.
• Dragon Grandson told the gathered visitors that the Ice Cloud Fairy would not meet outsiders, and he and Xie Xuanting argued over who had the right to approach her.
• The Ice Cloud Fairy’s attendant returned Dragon Grandson’s copy of Random Garden Poetry Talks and brought him pastries from Jade Ji Palace as thanks.
• Dragon Grandson accepted the pastries and invited the Ice Cloud Fairy to a future gathering.
• Xie Xuanting asked the attendant to pass along his poem, which he had selected from works composed by paid scholars.
• The attendant stopped, spellbound by Xie Xuanting’s poem, and he privately celebrated that his plan had worked.

Xu Yi challenged Xie Xuanting’s poem at the gathering, questioning whether its longing matched his relationship with Ice Cloud Fairy. He urged Niu Ganghuo to step forward, and Niu rose as Xie mocked his reputation.

• Xu Yi laughed at Xie Xuanting’s poem and challenged him for trying to silence criticism.
• Dragon Grandson backed Xu Yi and suggested Xie might have a reason to fear scrutiny.
• Xu Yi argued that the poem’s lines about waiting in the night dew seemed forced unless Ice Cloud Fairy had actually made Xie wait.
• Xie defended his poem by saying poetry could not be judged by speculating about the poet’s feelings.
• Xu Yi praised Niu Ganghuo’s ability to judge the poem and privately urged him to compete for Ice Cloud Fairy’s favor.
• Niu Ganghuo stood up, and Xie mocked him as a savage known for torturing beautiful women.

Xu Yi prompted Niu Ganghuo to challenge Xie Xuanting with a poem Xu Yi had written, and Niu Ganghuo claimed it as his own to win Ice Cloud Fairy’s favor. After Ice Cloud Fairy’s maid left impressed, Niu Ganghuo turned his attention to Dragon Grandson, emboldened by his apparent victory.

• Xu Yi urged Niu Ganghuo not to back down from Xie Xuanting, reminding him of the Golden Roc Demon Mansion’s growing power and his own status.
• Niu Ganghuo recited Xu Yi’s poem about devotion to one beloved, silencing the hall and leaving Xie Xuanting stunned.
• Niu Ganghuo asked Xu Yi where the poem came from, and Xu Yi admitted he had written it; Niu Ganghuo claimed it as his own and ordered Xu Yi to keep quiet.
• Master Mo warned Niu Ganghuo not to claim authorship or provoke a feud, but Niu Ganghuo insisted he would win everyone over and declared his love for Ice Cloud Fairy.
• Xie Xuanting shouted that Niu Ganghuo could not have written the poem, but Niu Ganghuo defended his claim; Ice Cloud Fairy’s maid looked at him before disappearing behind the curtain.
• Niu Ganghuo noticed Dragon Grandson shaking his head and, newly confident, grew angry at him.