Recaps

Chen Zhongshu recruited Yang Zhengshan to help raid Chunzai Hall as part of a coordinated operation against the force behind Nan Sheng. After learning that Yang Zhengshan was an Innate Martial Artist, Chen left him to prepare for the raid, while Yang resolved to arrange a way out for his family in case the emperor turned against him.

• Chen Zhongshu revealed that Emperor Yanping had ordered him to investigate Nan Sheng, whose hidden master remained unidentified.
• Chen asked Yang Zhengshan to lead an attack on Chunzai Hall, where Nan Sheng's allies and possibly Innate Martial Artists were concealed, and showed him Emperor Yanping's decree authorizing the operation.
• Chen explained that Marquis Nanyang would handle the Imperial Guard while other nobles dealt with targets elsewhere in the capital, and he realized Yang had reached the Innate Realm.
• Yang told Yu Qingyi that he would move the mansion's guards for the next day's operation and reassured her despite her worries.
• Yang considered the danger of the emperor eventually turning on him and decided to prepare an escape route for the Yang Family.

Yang Zhengshan prepared his guards for an operation in the Capital while Emperor Yanping exposed Nan Sheng’s betrayal and launched a purge across the Imperial City. Nan Sheng named the mysterious Red Monarch before the Blood Blade seized him, and Imperial forces moved to secure the city and target the Imperial Guard Division.

• Yang Zhengshan rallied his two hundred personal guards and one hundred guards, then prepared to lead them out after they ate.
• Emperor Yanping revealed that Black Blade and White Sword of the Blood Blade were present and confronted Nan Sheng about his treachery.
• Nan Sheng admitted that he had betrayed Emperor Yanping after being compromised over his greed and identified his contact as Red Monarch.
• Black Blade and White Sword broke Nan Sheng’s limbs, while Yulin Guard soldiers surrounded Taiji Hall and Imperial Personal Guard soldiers sealed other parts of the Imperial City.
• Chen Zhongshu, Wang Zhongzhi, and the four Regional Commanders of the Secret Martial Guard headed to the Imperial Guard Division to root out the people they called little rats.

Yang Zhengshan led the Yang Family guards to raid Chunzai Hall under an imperial decree, where they fought a group of armed martial artists. As Prince Dai watched the battle, an unkempt elder suddenly flew toward Chunzai Hall, where two figures were clashing above the main building.

• Lu Baishu assembled Imperial Guard officers at Zhengyang Gate while Chen Zhongshu's purge of the Imperial Guard Division proceeded smoothly.
• Yang Zhengshan arrived at Chunzai Hall with three hundred guards, showed Chen Zhongshu's imperial decree, and ordered the book studio sealed while his men searched it.
• Yang Zhengshan's guards fought more than thirty martial artists hidden in Chunzai Hall, surrounding a Ninth Layer expert who tried to escape across the rooftops.
• Prince Dai watched the fighting from a teahouse roof as Xiao Anzi tried to keep him safe, and he excitedly called out what he saw.
• An unkempt elder scolded Prince Dai, then suddenly flew toward Chunzai Hall and stopped nearby as two figures clashed above its main building.

Yang Zhengshan pursued an Innate Martial Artist fleeing from Chunzai Hall and fought him through the streets to Zhengyang Gate. The battle continued amid the gate tower’s collapse, while An Yuxing watched without intervening and noted that Yang Zhengshan’s cultivation seemed deeper than that of a newly advanced Innate Martial Artist.

• Yang Zhengshan discovered an Innate Martial Artist in Chunzai Hall’s Library Building and chased him across the rooftops, but the man’s Flame Blade knocked Yang Zhengshan through several walls.
• The fleeing martial artist headed for Zhengyang Gate, where Lu Baishu tried to stop him and was badly injured by a single punch.
• Yang Zhengshan caught up with the man at the gate tower and resumed fighting, trying to exhaust his opponent rather than defeat him quickly.
• The two Innate Martial Artists fought until the gate tower collapsed, while Imperial Guard soldiers and Lu Baishu watched from a safe distance.
• An Yuxing arrived and declined to intervene because Yang Zhengshan had not asked for help; he said Yang Zhengshan’s true qi did not resemble that of someone who had only recently entered the Innate Realm.

Yang Zhengshan defeated an Innate opponent after unleashing a miraculous spear thrust that An Yuxing said may have touched the level of Entering the Dao. After An Yuxing explained the enemy’s blood-refining cultivation technique, he arranged to visit Yang Zhengshan for Hundred Herb Brew, while Yang Zhengshan left the damaged city gate to Lu Baishu and Shuntian Prefecture.

• Yang Zhengshan exhausted his opponent’s true qi, broke his arm, and pierced him through the chest with a lightning-fast spear thrust as he tried to escape.
• An Yuxing praised Yang Zhengshan’s spear strike as potentially reaching the level of Entering the Dao, while Yang Zhengshan struggled to recall how he had performed it.
• Yang Zhengshan killed the wounded opponent by destroying his dantian, and An Yuxing identified the resulting loss of vitality as a consequence of the Spirit-Continuing Blood-Refining Technique.
• An Yuxing explained that the technique absorbed martial artists’ blood qi to cultivate, then introduced himself to Yang Zhengshan.
• Yang Zhengshan invited An Yuxing to drink Hundred Herb Brew, and An Yuxing agreed to visit his residence the next day.
• Yang Zhengshan handed the corpse to Lu Baishu and left the damaged city gate tower for Shuntian Prefecture to handle.

After Yang Zhengshan helped suppress the attack at Chunzai Hall, he handed the captives and corpses to the Secret Martial Guard and reported to Emperor Yanping, who confirmed that the investigation would continue. The next day, Yang hosted An Yuxing and Lu Baishu at his residence, where An brought him a Drunken Immortal Grass that Yang planned to cultivate in the Spirit Spring Space.

• Yang Zhengshan learned that the Chunzai Hall battle had ended with twenty-eight attackers dead, eight captured, and twelve guards wounded, then ordered the scholars taken to the Secret Martial Guard.
• Yang Zhengshan and Liang Chu delivered the prisoners and corpses to the Secret Martial Guard before reporting to Emperor Yanping, who praised them and said the investigation was not over.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to his residence, checked on the injured guards, and rewarded them for their performance.
• An Yuxing and Lu Baishu visited Yang Zhengshan the next morning, and An gave him a fresh Drunken Immortal Grass as a gift.
• Yang Zhengshan planted the Drunken Immortal Grass in the Spirit Spring Space, then hosted the two guests with roast lamb and wine.

Yang Zhengshan learned about Da Rong’s Innate Martial Artists from An Yuxing, then registered with the Imperial Court and received an Innate Order. He declined to join Three Mountain Valley and left with access to the Imperial Library of Merit and a modest salary as a noble-born Innate Martial Artist.

• Yang Zhengshan hosted An Yuxing and Lu Baishu with wine and heard about Da Rong’s registered Innate Martial Artists and powerful factions beyond its borders.
• An Yuxing explained that Da Rong had thirty-eight registered Innate Martial Artists, including members of the nobility, Three Mountain Valley, and Dacheng Temple.
• Thunder Spear brought Yang Zhengshan to Fengxian Hall, where he received an Innate Order granting access to Three Mountain Valley and the Imperial Library of Merit.
• Thunder Spear explained the Court’s salaries and restrictions for Innate Martial Artists, and Yang Zhengshan declined to enter Three Mountain Valley.
• Thunder Spear completed Yang Zhengshan’s registration and told him he could leave.

Yang Zhengshan used his Innate Order to study cultivation methods and experiences at the Library of Merit, discovering that the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique had four additional volumes for post-Innate cultivation. He was summoned to morning court, where officials began reporting on Liaodong’s recovery from drought.

• Yang Zhengshan visited the Library of Merit, where Wang Shu showed him the eight volumes of the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique and explained its post-Innate teachings and cultivation records.
• Yang Zhengshan spent the next several days reading and copying cultivation experiences, including records for the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique and the Breath Concealment Technique.
• Wu Hai told Yang Zhengshan that an Imperial Attendant Eunuch had summoned him to court, and Yang Zhengshan prepared to attend the following morning.
• Yang Zhengshan met Marquis Changping before court and learned that Liang Chu could not introduce him to his grandfather because the old man was away in Wanshan Ridge.
• Emperor Yanping approved requests for grain relief and tax exemptions for Liaodong after Sun Wenjian reported that the drought had eased and refugees had returned.

At court, Yang Zhengshan maneuvered the debate over the Imperial Merchant Bureau so the civil officials argued among themselves, then Emperor Yanping summoned him to hear the Secret Martial Guard’s findings on Nan Sheng’s rebellion. The investigation identified the Shenyang Sect as the mastermind and revealed its long history, covert network, and use of a blood-refining technique to strengthen its members.

• Emperor Yanping heard the Silla Jin Clan’s offer of annual tribute in exchange for investiture and sent the matter to the Grand Secretariat for discussion.
• Yang Zhengshan shifted his stance on the Imperial Merchant Bureau, prompting officials to divide into opposing factions and debate whether the court should control glass production.
• Emperor Yanping dismissed court and summoned Yang Zhengshan to the Imperial Study, where Wang Zhongzhi reported that the Shenyang Sect had masterminded Nan Sheng’s rebellion.
• Wang Zhongzhi explained that the Shenyang Sect had operated in the capital for ten years, recruited officials and guards through threats and inducements, and forced Nan Sheng to submit.
• Wang Zhongzhi identified Red Monarch, whom Yang Zhengshan had killed, as a Shenyang Sect leader who practiced the Spirit-Continuing Blood-Refining Technique, raising fears that the sect could produce many powerful martial artists.

The court debated how to counter the revived Shenyang Sect after its attack crippled the Secret Martial Guard’s intelligence network. Emperor Yanping asked Yang Zhengshan to remain in service and teach Prince An and Prince Dai, and Yang Zhengshan later drafted proposals for a new system to regulate the jianghu.

• Wang Zhongzhi reported that investigators had found no widespread disappearances of martial artists, while the Shenyang Sect’s attack had exposed and compromised much of the Secret Martial Guard’s network.
• Zhou Mao proposed strengthening existing agencies or creating a new yamen to control the jianghu, and Emperor Yanping asked the ministers to submit further proposals.
• Emperor Yanping asked Yang Zhengshan to stay in service and accept Prince Dai and Prince An as disciples, telling him he intended to make Prince An Crown Prince after two years.
• Yang Zhengshan considered the threat posed by martial artists and drafted a memorial proposing sect rankings, government-run Martial Dao academies, and a supervisory agency established across the provinces and prefectures.

Yang Zhengshan submitted proposals to bring jianghu sects under Imperial Court supervision, then accepted Prince An and Prince Dai as disciples. He visited Three Mountain Valley and realized the Three-Yellow Plum had likely shaped Da Rong’s history and the capital’s location.

• Yang Zhengshan submitted a memorial proposing sect rankings, Martial Dao academies, and a warrior supervision agency, despite their enormous cost.
• Prince An and Prince Dai visited Yang Zhengshan with apprenticeship gifts and formally became his disciples.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged lessons for Prince An every five days and invited Prince Dai to train at his estate with the Elite Guard Battalion.
• Yang Zhengshan tested both princes’ martial skills, gave them guidance, and sent them home with jars of Hundred Herb Brew.
• Yang Zhengshan entered Three Mountain Valley through the Wuxiang Guard camp and saw the towering Three-Yellow Plum tree.
• Yang Zhengshan concluded that the Great Ancestor had likely placed the capital beside the spirit plant because it could provide an unending supply of Innate Martial Artists.

Yang Zhengshan visited An Yuxing in Three Mountain Valley and asked him for guidance on cultivating Innate True Qi. After An Yuxing demonstrated Qi Control and refused to take Yang Zhengshan as a disciple, they agreed to exchange grandsons as apprentices.

• Lin Kuanguang welcomed Yang Zhengshan into Three Mountain Valley and led him to An Yuxing's courtyard.
• Yang Zhengshan offered An Yuxing two jars of Hundred Herb Brew and asked for cultivation guidance.
• An Yuxing demonstrated how to control Innate True Qi with extreme precision and use it to move objects from a distance.
• Yang Zhengshan asked An Yuxing to take him as a disciple, but An Yuxing refused because Yang Zhengshan was already an Innate Martial Artist and followed a different cultivation path.
• Yang Zhengshan praised his grandsons' talents, and An Yuxing agreed to take one as his disciple in exchange for Yang Zhengshan teaching his great-grandson An Chenhui.

Yang Zhengshan arranged apprenticeships for An Chenhui and Yang Chengmou, then the Imperial Court approved the establishment of the Imperial Merchant Bureau. The Ministry of Personnel subsequently drafted regulations allowing merchants to serve as its directors.

• An Yuxing introduced An Chenhui to Yang Zhengshan, and Yang Zhengshan reassured the anxious young man that he could continue living with An Yuxing while learning from him.
• An Yuxing chose Yang Chengmou as his disciple, and Yang Chengmou and An Chenhui completed their apprenticeship ceremonies at Yang Zhengshan's residence.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged for An Chenhui to study alongside Prince An and Prince Dai, while Yang Chengmou was to visit An Yuxing once every three days.
• Sun Wenjian argued in court that the Imperial Merchant Bureau was necessary to address the Ministry of Revenue's financial crisis, and Emperor Yanping approved its establishment and set its profit-sharing terms.
• The Ministry of Personnel drafted regulations for the Imperial Merchant Bureau, including permission for merchants to serve as directors.

Yang Zhengshan learned that Luo Shang had been abducted and confronted the nobleman trying to seize the Luo Family’s glass business. The chapter ended with the young man’s private room surrounded by Yang Family guards as Yang Zhengshan entered.

• Luo Shang visited Yang Zhengshan to ask about becoming a Director of the Imperial Merchant Bureau, and Yang advised him to wait while submitting a memorial to protect Chongshan Town’s glass profits.
• Four martial artists took Luo Shang to Chunman Pavilion, where a young noble in a python robe demanded the Luo Family’s glass shops and staff in Longnan, Nanyun Province, and Jiangnan.
• Luo Shang invoked Yang Zhengshan, but the young noble said he would deal with the Marquis himself and insisted that Luo hand over the shops.
• Ding Qiu and Yang Family guards surrounded the private room and restrained the young noble’s men.
• Yang Zhengshan arrived, paid the brothel’s madam to serve wine to the guests, and entered the room while the madam sent for Chunman Pavilion’s backer.

Yang Zhengshan rescued Luo Shang from Prince Ning at Chunman Pavilion and decided to petition for the prince to be sent to his fief. Emperor Yanping approved Yang Zhengshan’s request and ordered Prince Ning to leave the Capital after three months of house arrest.

• Yang Zhengshan confronted Prince Ning, dismissed his guards, and made him stay while the music and dancing continued at Chunman Pavilion.
• Yang Zhengshan warned Prince Ning that he would petition to have him sent to his fief, then left with Luo Shang and advised him to stay home for a few days.
• Yang Zhengshan encountered Wang Zheng of Duke Shou Mansion as their carriages passed, and Wang Zheng turned back after learning Yang Zhengshan had already left.
• Yang Zhengshan wrote a memorial recounting the incident and requesting that Prince Ning be sent to his fief, then sent it to the Imperial City.
• Emperor Yanping discussed the request with Chen Zhongshu and ordered Prince Ning to serve three months of house arrest before leaving the Capital for his fief.

The Imperial Merchant Bureau was established, and Zhen Yang Shi became Da Rong’s first female outer-court civil official. The court finalized plans for a Martial Temple and Martial Arts Pavilion, but Yang Zhengshan declined the Martial Temple leadership and chose to head the Pavilion, leaving the Temple Minister’s appointment unresolved.

• Emperor Yanping appointed Li Changxiao bureau director and named the Six Major Agents, including Zhen Yang Shi, as directors of the Imperial Merchant Bureau.
• Zhen Yang Shi thanked Yang Zhengshan for his support, and he urged the directors to earn silver for the emperor while helping Chongshan Town repay its debts.
• Yang Zhengshan and the court settled plans to establish the Martial Temple and Martial Arts Pavilion, with the Pavilion covering martial arts, military strategy, troop training, equipment, and medicine.
• Emperor Yanping offered Yang Zhengshan the post of Martial Temple Minister, but Yang Zhengshan requested the lower-ranking post of Martial Administrator of the Martial Arts Pavilion instead.
• Zhou Mao proposed Marquis Wuding, Guo Ying, as Martial Temple Minister, but Duan Rui objected that Guo Ying could not be transferred from Yunling Town.

Yang Zhengshan received an imperial appointment as Junior Tutor and Martial Administrator of the Martial Arts Pavilion, along with a valuable suit of Bright Light Armor. The chapter left him admiring the armor and hoping to wear it on a future battlefield.

• Emperor Yanping and his officials agreed to ask Marquis Jianchang to oversee the Martial Temple and assigned other senior posts.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi discussed Wang Mingzhe's marriage and planned for Jiang He to serve as Registrar of the Martial Arts Pavilion.
• Eunuch Chen delivered an imperial decree appointing Yang Zhengshan Junior Tutor and Martial Administrator, rewarding his work settling refugees.
• Chen Zhongshu presented Yang Zhengshan with a Flowing Gold Bright Light Armor, which Yang Zhengshan tried on and praised.
• Yang Zhengshan placed the decree in the ancestral hall and had the armor put away.

Yang Zhengshan organized the first staff and preparations for the Martial Arts Pavilion while the Imperial Court began establishing the Martial Temple and its divisions. He then learned that Yang Chengye’s wife had given birth to a healthy boy, and the Yang Family held a third-day washing ceremony attended by relatives and an imperial emissary.

• The Imperial Court granted the Martial Arts Pavilion an estate in the Royal Hunting Ground, and Yang Zhengshan arranged its staff, selected its first instructors, and assigned officials to prepare the site and recruit disciples.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to the Marquis Mansion and learned that Yu Qingyi had given birth to a boy, then held the newborn and checked that he was healthy.
• The Yang Family announced the birth and held a third-day washing ceremony, where relatives from the Marquis of Dongping Mansion added gifts to the basin.
• The Empress’s female official brought gifts and added a gold ingot to the basin, delighting the birth attendant who presided over the ceremony.

After Yang Zhengshan named Yang Chengye and Yu Qingyi’s newborn son Yang Qinyuan, the Imperial Court issued the Martial Promotion Decree, forcing sects across Da Rong to decide how to respond. The chapter leaves the Nanshan Sect divided over whether to submit to the court or resist despite the danger of destruction.

• Yang Zhengshan named Yang Chengye and Yu Qingyi’s son Yang Qinyuan after the washing-three ceremony.
• The Imperial Court promulgated the Martial Promotion Decree, and copies spread throughout Da Rong, shaking the jianghu.
• Ji Hai brought the decree to Ji Zhen, who ordered him to go to the Capital and seek guidance from the Marquis of Jing'an.
• Li Zhen discussed the decree with Li Zhongzhen and his disciples, then ordered Zhang Qingyu and Lu Zhihua to take thirty disciples to the Capital and serve Marquis Jianchang, Zhang Luan.
• Fu Ting rejected the decree at the Nanshan Sect, while its elders warned that resisting the Imperial Court could lead to the sect’s extermination.

Star Moon Sect's Seven Star Hall struggled with the consequences of the Martial Promotion Decree, while a mysterious young man planned to provoke conflict between the Imperial Court and the jianghu. In the capital, Yang Zhengshan advised visiting martial powers to cooperate with the court, mourned Lu Songhe's death, and welcomed Li and Yang Wanying as the Yang Family prepared for Yang Chengmou's wedding.

• Cui Kai and his advisers worried that the Martial Promotion Decree would end Seven Star Hall's wealth-gathering operations and leave it with no reason to exist.
• A young man told Yan Huichun to release news about Cuixian Valley, hoping to make the Imperial Court and the jianghu clash and buy his side three years.
• Yang Zhengshan noticed the rain and the world around him seemed newly wondrous, then learned Lu Songhe had died and sent Yang Mingcheng to Anning County.
• Yang Zhengshan advised Ji Hai, Shang Mingde, and Hua Jinqiu to follow the Imperial Court's plans for the Martial Temple and its offices, and recommended Ji Hai and Shang Mingde to Marquis Jianchang.
• Li arrived in the capital with Yang Wanying, who told Yang Zhengshan about seeing a whale and asked him to catch it for her.

Yang Zhengshan learned that Snow Spirit Palace wanted to trade with the Yang Family for precious medicines and spirit fruits, while the Martial Arts Pavilion opened and the Martial Temple stirred controversy by naming eight first-class sects. The chapter ended with Yang Zhengshan investigating a report that a Star Origin Fruit Tree grew near Cuixia Valley.

• Yang Zhengshan read Yang Mingzhi’s letter about Fuzhou’s growth and Snow Spirit Palace’s wish to deepen trade with the Yang Family, then asked them to come to the Capital to discuss it.
• Yang Zhengshan hosted Yang Chengmou’s wedding, welcomed guests including Liang Chu, Prince An, Prince Dai, and Liu Zhe, and saw the family celebrate the marriage.
• The Martial Arts Pavilion recruited more than three hundred disciples, and Yang Zhengshan supplied its wells with Spirit Spring Water to aid their cultivation.
• The Martial Temple named eight sects first-class, prompting widespread objections among jianghu forces, while Yang Zhengshan observed that the Hengdao Sect would face particular scrutiny.
• Wu Zheng told Yang Zhengshan that a Star Origin Fruit Tree might grow near Cuixia Valley in Wanshan Ridge, and Yang Zhengshan consulted a book about spiritual fruits.

Yang Zhengshan learned that the Star Origin Fruit Tree in Cuixia Valley was real and that its fruit could be used to make True Origin Pills, drawing the Imperial Court’s attention to the coming harvest. He warned Emperor Yanping that the rumor might be a plot to undermine the Martial Promotion Decree, then proposed paying every Innate Martial Artist an annual salary of one Three-Yellow Plum and one True Origin Pill.

• Yang Zhengshan found records describing the Star Origin Fruit Tree and sent Wu Zheng to search Cuixia Valley for it.
• Yang Zhengshan met Marquis Jianchang Zhang Luan outside Taiji Hall and agreed to give him three jars of Hundred Herb Brew and two jars of Peach Blossom Brew.
• Emperor Yanping told Yang Zhengshan and Zhang Luan that the Secret Martial Guard had found a newly fruiting Star Origin Fruit Tree in Cuixia Valley, and that the Imperial Hospital could refine True Origin Pills from its fruit.
• Yang Zhengshan suspected that someone had deliberately exposed the tree to provoke a battle among Innate Martial Artists and damage the Imperial Court’s authority and the Martial Promotion Decree.
• Yang Zhengshan proposed that the Imperial Court use the opportunity to bring Innate Martial Artists under its influence by giving each one a Three-Yellow Plum and a True Origin Pill every year.

Yang Zhengshan proposed granting stipends and the title of Imperial Venerable to Innate Martial Artists, and Emperor Yanping approved the plan and assigned troops to guard Cuixia Valley. As martial artists flocked to the valley and the Secret Martial Guard secured the Star Origin Fruit Tree, Yang Zhengshan learned that Luo Jinsong had reached the Half-Step Innate Realm.

• Yang Zhengshan proposed reducing the Three-Yellow Plum stipends for Three Mountain Valley's seniors, providing pills to other Innate Martial Artists, and naming them Imperial Venerables; Emperor Yanping approved and put him in charge.
• Emperor Yanping ordered the Yaowu Camp and Lianwu Camp to garrison Cuixia Valley while Yang Zhengshan asked for support from senior martial artists.
• Wu Zheng arrived at Cuixia Valley, met Pei Du of the Xilou Sword Sect, and learned that the Star Origin Fruit Tree lay about ten li inside the valley.
• Wu Zheng's guards found that the Secret Martial Guard had secured the tree with over a thousand Ti Cavalry, and Wu Zheng entered the valley to see the gathering martial artists.
• After Wu Zheng reported that dozens of groups had gathered around the tree, Yang Zhengshan summoned Luo Jinsong, who revealed that he had condensed Innate True Qi and reached the Half-Step Innate Realm.

Yang Zhengshan sent Luo Jinsong to Cuixia Valley to reinforce Wu Zheng, then negotiated with visitors from the Snow Spirit Palace over Ice Heart Fruits and the Jade Bone Ice Heart Pill recipe. The visitors agreed to trade, and Yang Zhengshan warned them not to interfere with Da Rong’s Star Origin Fruit Tree as they stayed at the Yang residence.

• Yang Zhengshan congratulated Luo Jinsong on condensing Innate True Qi and ordered him to take the Yang Family Guard Battalion to Cuixia Valley with the Marquis Seal.
• Lu Shou reported that Xue Qiao'er, Xue Zhongjin, an elderly woman, and four young women from the Snow Spirit Palace had come to visit Yang Zhengshan.
• Xue Zhongjin presented an Ice Heart Fruit, and Xue Qiao'er explained its value as an ingredient in the Jade Bone Ice Heart Pill.
• Yang Zhengshan agreed to help gather the Snow Spirit Palace’s listed medicines after Xue Qiao'er gave him the pill recipe and offered Ice Heart Fruits in exchange for precious medicines.
• Xue Qiao'er said the visitors planned to inspect the Spirit Plant, and Yang Zhengshan warned them not to interfere because it belonged to Da Rong.
• The elderly woman accepted Yang Zhengshan’s warning, and Wu Hai arranged a guest courtyard for the visitors at the Yang residence.

Yang Zhengshan advanced toward Cuixia Valley as thousands of martial artists gathered around the Star Origin Fruit Tree, while the Star Moon Sect ordered its agents to destroy it. The chapter ended as Yan Bo faced a hostile crowd whose insults and threats pushed the Secret Martial Guard camp toward a clash.

• Yang Zhengshan ordered Xue Ou to lead five thousand cavalry ahead toward Cuixia Valley while Lv Shizhi brought up the rear, fearing that delay could bring unforeseen changes.
• At the Tianquan Star Hall, Deng Maoqi proposed exploiting tensions between the jianghu and the Secret Martial Guard, but Qu Fusheng arrived and ordered Cui Kai and the others to destroy the Star Origin Fruit Tree on the Sect Master's command.
• Cui Kai reluctantly accepted the order and told Deng Maoqi and the others to prepare to go to Cuixia Valley the next day.
• Zhang Ye told Daoist Xuan Zhen that the Emperor would grant all Innate Martial Artists the title of Imperial Venerable, along with a yearly stipend of a Three-Yellow Plum and a True Origin Pill.
• A burly martial artist challenged the Secret Martial Guard's blockade, and Yan Bo's attempt to restore order was met with a growing crowd's insults and threats.