Chapter Summaries

Taiqing Sect and Azure Feather Immortal Sect attacked Tianji Gate after exposing its plot against Taiqing Sect, and Zhou Qing found the weakness that let their forces break the sect’s powerful protective array. The battle turned into a rout, but as Zhou Qing fought Tianji Gate’s disciples, he sensed an imminent threat.

• Cao Zhengyang learned that the Hundred Battles Peak Lord and his forces were trapped inside Tianji Gate’s hidden array, so Zhou Qing used the Spider Emperor’s bloodline ability to find a flaw in the formation.
• Duanmu Shu confronted Tianji Gate’s Grand Elders over their schemes, while Si Kong Yan refused Tianji Gate’s request for aid and Golden Thunder Sect hesitated to send reinforcements.
• Zhou Qing marked the formation’s weakness, and Cao Zhengyang, Yun Jing, and the other cultivators attacked until Tianji Gate’s Sect Protecting Array shattered.
• Yu Hengzi rallied Tianji Gate’s disciples and coordinated an attempt to capture Zhou Qing, but Taiqing Sect and Azure Feather Immortal Sect’s combined forces overwhelmed the defenders.
• Zhou Qing joined the battle with his Tetanus Sword and killed dozens of Tianji Gate disciples before he sensed a sudden threat.

Yu Hengzi captured Zhou Qing inside a fragment of the Avici Karma Fire Mirror and used him to force Taiqing Sect and its allies to withdraw. Trapped within the mirror, Zhou Qing found a weak point and unleashed his Blood Phoenix power against it as Yu Hengzi discovered that he had vanished.

• Yu Hengzi used the mirror fragment to suppress Zhou Qing, forcing Mo Xingjian, Cao Zhengyang, and the others to halt their attack and retreat.
• Cao Zhengyang surrounded Tianji Gate while Lu Yaoyao worried over Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu was stopped from attempting a rescue.
• Yu Hengzi, Ling Xuzi, and Tian Shuzi struggled to maintain the energy-draining mirror fragment, and Yu Hengzi prepared a Spirit Gathering Array.
• Zhou Qing used his dual pupils to find weakened spatial folds inside the mirror, but his sword, Suanni lightning, and Golden Crow flames failed to break through.
• Zhou Qing summoned the Blood Phoenix and struck the folds with his Phoenix Dao Patterns as Yu Hengzi checked the mirror and realized Zhou Qing was gone.

Zhou Qing escaped the Avici Karma Fire Mirror after killing Yu Hengzi, then reunited with the Taiqing Sect forces as they launched their assault on Tianji Gate. He recovered, examined Yu Hengzi’s spoils, and watched Cao Zhengyang capture the remaining elders and begin questioning them.

• Yu Hengzi entered the mirror frame to investigate Zhou Qing’s disappearance, but Zhou Qing’s Blood Phoenix attack killed him and tore open the karma fire cage.
• Zhou Qing escaped the mirror frame, fought through Tianji Gate’s interceptors, and reached the Taiqing Sect forces, where Lu Yaoyao joyfully called him Dad.
• Cao Zhengyang ordered a full assault on Tianji Gate after Zhou Qing reported Yu Hengzi’s death, and the defenders fled or surrendered.
• Zhou Qing recovered aboard the flying ship, found spirit stones and other treasures in Yu Hengzi’s Storage Bag, and decided to search Ling Xuzi and Tian Shuzi’s souls for information about the mirror frame.
• Cao Zhengyang confronted the captured Ling Xuzi and Tian Shuzi about the dried corpse that had attacked Taiqing Sect’s mines, killed Ling Xuzi’s body, and sent his Primordial Spirit with Mo Xingjian to question separately from Tian Shuzi.

Tian Shuzi revealed Tianji Gate’s years-long conspiracy, including its plan to control the sects and the scheme that left Profound Abyss Immortal trapped by the Spirit Sealing Forbidden Art. After Taiqing Sect captured Tianji Gate, Zhou Qing returned to a sect whose victory had reshaped the Eastern Region, while Shen Yunzhou hinted at a use for the battlefield corpses.

• Tian Shuzi confessed that Tianji Gate had planned to provoke a war between Taiqing Sect and Golden Thunder Sect, manipulate Si Kong Yan, and arrange the deaths of Taiqing Sect’s peak masters.
• Tian Shuzi revealed that Tianji Gate had poisoned Profound Abyss Immortal, steered Azure Feather Immortal Sect into using the Spirit Sealing Forbidden Art, and kept an antidote in Yu Hengzi’s Storage Bag as leverage.
• Cao Zhengyang accepted Zhou Qing’s signal and asked where the antidote was, then ordered Tian Shuzi and Ling Xuzi taken to Taiqing Sect while the others secured Tianji Gate and its dried corpse.
• News spread that Taiqing Sect and Azure Feather Immortal Sect had conquered Tianji Gate, and Zhou Qing’s victory over Yu Hengzi made him the subject of renewed attention across the Eastern Region.
• Shen Yunzhou urged Zhou Qing to help Taiqing Sect dominate the Eastern Region, then revealed that the corpses from the battle might help him complete his artistic conception.

Zhou Qing searched Ling Xuzi’s soul, confirmed that Tianji Gate had mistaken the Avici Karma Fire Mirror fragment for an unusual magical treasure, and began refining it. Meanwhile, Jue Ming and Kong Chan reached Azure Feather Immortal Sect seeking Buddha’s Son, while Taiqing Sect prepared for their arrival and planned to keep Zhou Qing out of their hands.

• Zhou Qing asked Shen Yunzhou to wait while he sought permission to study the coffin corpses brought back by Golden Thunder Sect, then went to the rear-mountain detention grounds with Duanmu Shu and the other Grand Elders.
• Duanmu Shu and another Grand Elder suppressed Ling Xuzi while Zhou Qing searched his soul, discovering that Ling Xuzi and his companions had found the Avici Karma Fire Mirror fragment but had not recognized it as an Ultimate Weapon.
• Zhou Qing returned to Little Spirit Peak and began refining the mirror frame, resolving to use it only in a life-or-death crisis and never let an enemy escape after witnessing it.
• Jue Ming and Kong Chan arrived at Azure Feather Immortal Sect, where the Gatekeeper Elder turned them away; the two monks waited at the mountain gate while the elder alerted the sect.
• Cao Zhengyang gave Mo Xingjian several Five Elements Spirit Stones for Zhou Qing and warned him that Jue Ming and Kong Chan might be powerful monks seeking Buddha’s Son.
• Mo Xingjian returned to Taiqing Sect with Tong Min and a small group of disciples, while Cao Zhengyang told him to hide Zhou Qing so the monks would not abduct him and make him a monk.

After refining an Ultimate Weapon, Zhou Qing tested its power, then chose to give the life-extending antidote to the Azure Feather Immortal Sect’s dying Profound Abyss Immortal. Back at Taiqing Sect, he reunited with his friends and learned that Silent Abyss Temple was behind the monks’ three questions.

• Zhou Qing used the bronze mirror frame to destroy the First Sect Leader’s skeleton puppet in the Divine Ruins Heavenly Palace, though its two attacks drained nearly all his spiritual power.
• Mo Xingjian gave Zhou Qing Five Elements Spirit Stones from Cao Zhengyang and told him that the Profound Abyss Immortal was near death and Yun Jing’s group had come seeking help.
• Zhou Qing decided to give the Azure Feather Immortal Sect the antidote Ling Xuzi had revealed, and Yun Jing and the other women swore an oath to serve Taiqing Sect if it saved their Sect Master.
• Zhou Qing sent the women back with the pill rather than go along and risk making the Azure Feather Immortal Sect wary of Taiqing Sect’s intentions.
• Lu Yaoyao, Shen Yunzhou, and Yan Xiaohu visited Zhou Qing; after teasing Shen Yunzhou about his yellow hair, they asked him to assess the three questions posed by the monks at Golden Thunder Sect.
• Shen Yunzhou explained Silent Abyss Temple’s power and Jue Ming’s standing among its Ten Venerables, leaving Zhou Qing shocked that the two monks had come from the temple.

Zhou Qing accidentally manifested a perfected Demon Subduing Golden Bones before Jue Ming and Kong Chan, drawing Silent Abyss Temple’s attention. After he admitted learning it in a few breaths, Jue Ming became convinced Zhou Qing was the temple’s prophesied Buddha’s Son, though Zhou Qing denied it and challenged them to test his comprehension.

• Shen Yunzhou guessed that Jueming Honored One had come to find a disciple, while Yan Xiaohu joked about becoming a monk.
• Zhou Qing’s Demon Subduing Golden Bones activated when he pressed his palms together, summoning a vast Buddha phantom over Little Spirit Peak.
• Jueming Honored One and Kong Chan arrived, and Jue Ming asked Zhou Qing how he had learned Silent Abyss Temple’s secret art.
• Zhou Qing claimed he had bought the technique at a street stall, then admitted he had mastered it after only a few breaths.
• Kong Chan confirmed Zhou Qing was telling the truth, and Jue Ming concluded that Zhou Qing was the Buddha’s Son.
• Zhou Qing denied being the Buddha’s Son and challenged Jue Ming to give him another Buddhist cultivation method to test his comprehension.

Zhou Qing rejected Jue Ming’s attempts to recruit him to Silent Abyss Temple, but Li Niang arrived with her young son, whose Buddhist signs revealed him as the temple’s long-sought Buddha’s Son. The child recognized Zhou Qing as his Godfather, and Zhou Qing accepted him before beginning to ask him three questions.

• Zhou Qing tested Jue Ming’s Bodhi Beads, which showed no response, and declined to join Silent Abyss Temple despite Jue Ming’s promises about its teachings and Female Bodhisattvas.
• Jue Ming gave Zhou Qing a Limitless Guidance Token, and Elder Wuzhu reported that Li Niang and a young monk had come to see him.
• Li Niang’s son caught the flying Bodhi Beads, triggering the Thousand Buddha Lotus Platform omen, and Jue Ming recognized him as the Buddha’s Son.
• The child knelt before Zhou Qing and called him Godfather, explaining their bond and the Wood Attribute Spirit Stone’s role in saving Li Niang from childbirth pain.
• Li Niang thanked Zhou Qing, while Shen Yunzhou tried to claim the role of Second Godfather and accidentally opened a box that stank.
• Zhou Qing accepted the child as his Godson, learned he had no name, and offered him a stroke of fortune if he answered three questions.

Zhou Qing helped Jue Ming confirm that Li Niang’s son was Buddha’s Son, became the child’s Godfather, and entrusted the Old Hen to him while the family departed for Silent Abyss Temple. After returning to cultivation, Zhou Qing comprehended a fourth Phoenix Dao Pattern and received a scarce Wood Attribute Spirit Stone from Zhang Wanbao.

• Buddha’s Son answered Jue Ming’s three Buddhist questions, and Jue Ming recognized his extraordinary wisdom.
• Zhou Qing agreed to let Jue Ming take Li Niang and her son to Silent Abyss Temple, and Buddha’s Son offered to care for the Old Hen.
• Jue Ming departed through a Spatial Rift with Li Niang, Buddha’s Son, and Kong Chan, while Shen Yunzhou stayed behind.
• Mo Xingjian warned Zhou Qing that the conflict involving Si Kong Yan and Azure Flame Dao Palace remained dangerous, then returned with the sect’s disciples to Tianji Gate.
• Zhou Qing spent a month and ten days comprehending a fourth Phoenix Dao Pattern, and Yan Xiaohu told him the sect had taken control of Tianji Gate.
• Fu Kui delivered Zhou Qing one Top-Grade Wood Attribute Spirit Stone from Zhang Wanbao, and Zhou Qing thanked them and paid for it.

Zhou Qing completed the fifth Phoenix Dao Pattern and planned to hunt demon beasts at the border to gather Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystals, while Yan Sen and Yan Weiyi discovered a Six-Colored Array hiding a secret realm. After emerging from seclusion, Zhou Qing learned Profound Abyss Immortal had visited to thank him and announced he would travel to the border and Vast Expanse Prefecture.

• Cao Zhengyang gave Zhou Qing spirit stones, and Zhou Qing offered most of his own stones to help fund the sect and his Three-Colored Array project.
• Zhou Qing began secluded cultivation to refine the Zhou Tian Star Dou Great Array, while Cao Zhengyang postponed Shen Yunzhou’s request until the sect’s situation improved.
• Profound Abyss Immortal arrived at Taiqing Sect with gifts to thank Zhou Qing, but he remained in seclusion as Mo Xingjian received her group.
• Zhou Qing used the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree to condense his fifth Phoenix Dao Pattern and resolved to seek demon beasts at the border for Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystals.
• Yan Sen brought Yan Weiyi to an island and revealed a Six-Colored Array; Yan Weiyi tried to decipher it while the Qing Luo Beast watched from the lake.
• After Zhou Qing left seclusion, Mo Xingjian told him about Profound Abyss Immortal’s visit, and Zhou Qing planned a trip to the border and Vast Expanse Prefecture.

Mo Xingjian responded to the extermination of six sects by Golden Thunder Sect by sending Taiqing Sect disciples to protect sects that had paid for protection. Zhou Qing investigated Yiyang Sect, killed a hostile Tianji Gate disciple, and then continued to the next crime scene with Shen Yunzhou and Lu Yaoyao, while Yan Sen learned about Zhou Qing and Taiqing Sect from Jiang Pojun.

• Ling Yuexiao and Ruan Mingsiu showed Mo Xingjian evidence that six sects had been exterminated, and the leaders suspected Golden Thunder Sect was responsible.
• Mo Xingjian ordered Taiqing Sect disciples to camp outside the sects that had paid for protection, while Zhou Qing worried that Lei Wuji was using the slaughter to advance his cultivation.
• Zhou Qing, Shen Yunzhou, and Lu Yaoyao traveled to Yiyang Sect, where Zhou Qing recognized a hostile Tianji Gate disciple and killed him.
• Shen Yunzhou absorbed the foul aura at Yiyang Sect for two days to comprehend an artistic conception, while Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao waited outside.
• Yan Sen searched Jiang Pojun's soul and learned of Zhou Qing, Taiqing Sect, and the Eastern Region before Xuan Yuan Shuo found the injured Jiang Pojun and took him away.
• After Shen Yunzhou emerged from Yiyang Sect, Zhou Qing led him and Lu Yaoyao toward the next exterminated sect.

Lu Yaoyao resolved to develop her Filial Piety Conception by recording her time with Zhou Qing, while Shen Yunzhou continued tempering his conception among the ruins of massacred sects. Yan Sen confronted Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao about the Six-Colored Array, attacked them, and forced Zhou Qing to offer to let him enter it.

• Lu Yaoyao showed Zhou Qing her sketchbook and explained how their shared memories could help her cultivate a Filial Piety Conception, which she imagined using to summon him and Shen Yunzhou to fight for her.
• Shen Yunzhou absorbed the corruption at successive massacre sites, and he believed the experience would let him challenge the Great Perfection of the Spirit Transformation Stage.
• Yan Sen appeared at the final sect ruins and questioned Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao about how they had entered the locked Six-Colored Array and where they had gone afterward.
• Yan Sen struck Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao, then tried twice to search Zhou Qing's memories, but an unknown force tore apart his Spiritual Sense each time.
• Yan Sen crushed Lu Yaoyao's Ice Lotus, seized her by the neck, and threatened her while Zhou Qing watched helplessly.
• Zhou Qing offered to let Yan Sen enter the Six-Colored Array, and Yan Sen released Lu Yaoyao.

Yan Sen forced Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao to accompany him to the Kun Peng Palace, where Zhou Qing claimed he could enter the Six-Colored Array but could not open it. After Yan Weiyi and Yan Sen tried to alter the array and were blasted away by its backlash, Zhou Qing seized the chance to use a post from the Strange Post Record.

• Yan Sen learned that Zhou Qing had inherited the Old Peng King's methods and the Emperor Radiance Scripture, then took Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao aboard his flying vessel.
• Shen Yunzhou used Blood Illumination to discover that Yan Sen had abducted his friends and pursued them toward the border.
• Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao reached the island with Yan Sen, where Yan Weiyi demanded that Zhou Qing open the Six-Colored Array.
• Zhou Qing explained that he could enter the array only if its time runes were altered, and Yan Weiyi began modifying them with Yan Sen.
• Qing Luo Beast recognized Lu Yaoyao from an earlier encounter and secretly sent water droplets to observe the island.
• The array backlashed and blasted Yan Sen and Yan Weiyi away, giving Zhou Qing an opening to drive his Misfortune Post into the rubble.

Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao entered the ancient ruins of Kun Peng Palace, where Zhou used the Misfortune Post to track Yan Sen and Yan Weiyi and let the palace’s dangers wear them down. By the third day, Zhou found Yan Sen badly injured inside a Four Color Array, but he hesitated to attack and began appraising the array instead.

• Yan Weiyi and Yan Sen sent Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao through the Six-Colored Array, then followed them into the ruins and began searching for treasure.
• Yan Sen fled an Azure Fire Mysterious Turtle, and Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao hid while the Misfortune Post reported Yan Sen’s escalating disasters.
• Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao decided to follow the uncle and nephew, hoping to use the ruins’ dangers to create a chance to kill them.
• Zhou Qing tracked Yan Weiyi and Yan Sen to a tilted floating platform, where vengeful souls forced the pair to flee.
• On the second and third days, Zhou Qing followed repeated Misfortune Post reports as Yan Sen suffered further injuries and Yan Weiyi eventually left him behind.
• Zhou Qing found Yan Sen barely alive inside a Four Color Array, but after Lu Yaoyao urged him to attack, he began appraising the array.

Zhou Qing lured Yan Sen out of the Mystic Armor Reversion Array, trapped him in the Avici Karma Fire Mirror, and killed him with his Blood Phoenix divine power. After recovering from the battle, Zhou Qing began absorbing Yan Sen’s Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystals to try to reach the Late Stage Transformation Spirit Realm before the fifth day.

• Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao planned to exploit Yan Sen’s bad luck by pretending Zhou Qing was blind, wounded, and near death so Yan Sen would leave the Four Color Array.
• Yan Sen fell for Zhou Qing’s act, exited the array to loot the scattered belongings, and was stabbed with the Rusty Nail before Zhou Qing drove him away from the ruins.
• Zhou Qing trapped Yan Sen in the Avici Karma Fire Mirror, entered the mirror to fight him, and struck him down with his Inscription-Level Divine Power, the Blood Phoenix Treasure Technique.
• Zhou Qing collected three Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystals and Yan Sen’s Storage Bag, then collapsed after escaping the mirror; Lu Yaoyao hid the mirror and helped him recover.
• Zhou Qing woke on the fourth day, told Lu Yaoyao that Yan Sen was dead, and began absorbing a Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystal while Lu Yaoyao recovered.

Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao ambushed Yan Weiyi after escaping the Kun Peng Secret Realm, using a powerful talisman and their own abilities to destroy his remnant Primordial Spirit. They left the island before the aftermath drew danger, while Lu Yaoyao wondered whether she had inherited her unusual traits from her mother.

• Zhou Qing absorbed the Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystal, broke through to become the strongest beneath the Severing Spirit Realm, and retrieved Yan Sen’s Four Color Array.
• Zhou Qing found a Blood Soul Spirit Slaying Talisman in Yan Sen’s Storage Bag and devised a trap with Lu Yaoyao for Yan Weiyi.
• After the secret realm expelled them, Yan Weiyi approached the disguised Zhou Qing, who struck him with the talisman while Lu Yaoyao restrained him with an ice wall.
• Zhou Qing discovered Yan Weiyi had survived as a hidden fragment of Primordial Spirit and used the talisman’s final attack to destroy him completely.
• Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao fled the island aboard a flying boat, and Lu Yaoyao wondered whether she took after her mother.

Lu Yaoyao and Zhou Qing returned to Taiqing Sect after surviving the Kun Peng Secret Realm, while Shen Yunzhou warned them that Yan Sen and Yan Weiyi’s deaths could bring trouble. As Zhou Qing began refining a new sect-protection array, Gao Xuan learned that Wu Sha had sent him an Image Stone and was summoned by Cao Zhengyang.

• Lu Yaoyao developed a faint Intent Realm Rudiment through painting her adventures with Zhou Qing, and Shen Yunzhou found them and warned that Yan Sen and Yan Weiyi’s deaths could provoke the powerful Yan lineage.
• Shen Yunzhou hurried away to investigate and conceal the matter, while Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao returned to Taiqing Sect and kept the deaths secret.
• Mo Xingjian told Zhou Qing that Gao Xuan had emerged from seclusion and warned him against confronting Si Kong Yan; Zhou Qing revealed his Late Stage Transformation Spirit cultivation but agreed not to go to Azure Flame Dao Palace alone.
• Cao Zhengyang delivered the materials for the Three-Colored Sect Protection Array, and Zhou Qing began refining it while Lu Yaoyao promised to focus on comprehending artistic conception.
• Gao Xuan learned that Qi Sheng had once handed Mo Xingjian an Image Stone meant for him, identified its messenger as Wu Sha, and went to Divine Peak after Cao Zhengyang summoned him.

Gao Xuan and the Taiqing Sect’s elders discovered that the desiccated corpses could spread a terrifying Corpse Poison, and they began preparing for Lei Wuji’s possible scheme. Meanwhile, Flood Dragon Emperor Xuan Qiu sought help amid the deaths of powerful demon emperors, while Lei Lie weighed whether to follow the Corpse Scripture’s dangerous path to Severing Spirit.

• Cao Zhengyang soul-searched Ling Xuzi, learned that only Yu Hengzi knew how to awaken the erased memories about Si Kong Yan’s Heart Essence Blood, and killed Ling Xuzi before the elders confronted Tian Shuzi and killed him as well.
• Cao Zhengyang tested two captured Tianji Gate disciples with the desiccated corpse, confirmed that its bites rapidly transformed victims into corpse-like creatures, and ordered the Taiqing Sect’s cultivators to travel in groups while spies investigated the Golden Thunder Sect.
• Gao Xuan tried to ask Cao Zhengyang and Mo Xingjian about the Image Stone, but both left on separate errands without telling him what it contained.
• Flood Dragon Emperor Xuan Qiu told the Old Ape that several Severing Spirit experts had recently died and asked him to warn the Peng Emperor, but the Old Ape concealed that the Peng Emperor had not returned from his last departure.
• Lei Lie watched the corpse activity in the Golden Thunder Sect’s Thunder Pool and considered whether the Corpse Scripture’s method of refining Corpse Evil Qi could help him Sever Spirit.

Lei Luo discovered that Lei Wuji had become a corpse-like monster and was killed by him, while Si Kong Yan pursued a secret plan to revive a little girl. Taiqing Sect debated its forbidden zone and struggled to respond to Lei Wuji’s escalating massacres, until a powerful delegation from the Saint Martial Dynasty arrived at its gates.

• Lei Lie obeyed Lei Wuji’s demand to prepare more blood food, while Lei Luo secretly recorded the Sect Master’s monstrous appearance and tried to escape.
• Lei Wuji caught Lei Luo, killed him, and devoured his Nascent Soul despite a brief moment of clarity.
• Si Kong Yan reviewed recordings of Lei Wuji’s activities and continued using Corpse Puppets and a formation in an attempt to save a little girl, while white-clad Lin Jin questioned his motives.
• Taiqing Sect’s elders debated whether to let Lu Yuanzhi and Lu Yuanjiu enter the sect’s secret realm, while Cao Zhengyang and Mo Xingjian connected Lei Wuji’s unseen movements to a possible Teleportation Array.
• Over the following year, Lei Wuji’s suspected attacks destroyed twenty more sects, and Cao Zhengyang and Mo Xingjian hesitated to start a war against Golden Thunder Sect.
• A flying vessel arrived at Taiqing Sect carrying Zhong Yao, Xiao Ji, a palace-robed woman, and five powerful elders, and Cao Zhengyang greeted the county officials.

Consort Ying and the Liu Family sought the Eastern Region sects’ help in finding Fifth Prince Xuan Yuan Fengtai’s killer, but secretly planned to frame Seventh Prince Xuan Yuan Yi Chen. After Taiqing Sect learned of the scheme and prepared for trouble, Consort Ying returned to confront the sect, only to find Cao Zhengyang in seclusion and Elder Wuzhu openly defying her.

• Consort Ying asked Cao Zhengyang to investigate Xuan Yuan Fengtai’s death and offered a thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones; Cao reluctantly accepted the portraits but told Wu Zhu to handle the matter perfunctorily.
• Aboard the flying vessel, Liu Xuanfeng and the Liu elders decided to fabricate a case against Xuan Yuan Yi Chen because they feared he would punish their family if he became crown prince.
• Cao Zhengyang ordered the Taiqing Sect to seal its restricted zone before two Severing Spirit Realm seniors arrived for Zhou Qing, while Mo Xingjian noticed Lu Yaoyao had formed an Intent Realm Rudiment.
• Profound Abyss Immortal warned Cao Zhengyang that Consort Ying was showing sects Xuan Yuan Yi Chen’s portrait to implicate him, and an anonymous jade slip later supplied further details of her plan.
• Half a month later, Consort Ying returned to Taiqing Sect with the Liu elders; Elder Wuzhu claimed Cao Zhengyang was in seclusion and openly challenged her accusation that the sect was targeting her.