Chapter Summaries

Jiang Wang reached a temporary agreement with Jiang Yan and considered ways to remove the Underworld Candle or strengthen his soul. After reviewing Green Sheep Town’s recovery, he rewarded his subordinates and asked Zhu Biqiong about the Red Makeup Mirror, but she could not recall its origins.

• Jiang Wang agreed that Jiang Yan would stop interfering with his decisions and remain inside the Underworld Candle unless he had good reason to leave.
• Jiang Wang decided to avoid White Bone Sect arts and considered expelling the Underworld Candle or strengthening his soul with the Red Makeup Mirror.
• Jiang Wang summoned Xiang Qian, Zhu Biqiong, Zhang Hai, and Dugu Xiao, and Dugu Xiao reported that the Black Plague in Green Sheep Town was under control, with seventy-six infected people remaining.
• Jiang Wang rewarded his three Transcendent subordinates with twenty Dao Essence Stones each and promised to buy Dugu Xiao a Vein-Opening Pill if she built a solid foundation.
• Jiang Wang asked Zhu Biqiong about the Red Makeup Mirror; she recognized it but could not remember what she had heard about it, and agreed to keep it secret.

Jiang Wang temporarily blocked Jiang Yan’s perception so he could read private letters, then learned that Ye Qingyu was considering using a costly first-rank Vein-Opening Pill for Jiang An'an. He approved opening An'an’s meridians when the time was right and promised to repay Ye Qingyu someday.

• Jiang Wang gained Jiang Yan’s consent to block their connection and formed a Sea of Soul Flowers around the Underworld Candle in the Heaven-Connecting Palace.
• Jiang Wang read An’an’s letter and realized she hoped he would visit for her birthday in October, but he could not leave amid Chongxuan Sheng’s troubles and Yang State’s turmoil.
• Ye Qingyu told Jiang Wang she had found a first-rank Vein-Opening Pill and asked whether she could use it to open An’an’s meridians.
• Jiang Wang asked Chongxuan Sheng about pill prices and learned that a first-rank Vein-Opening Pill cost at least one hundred Ten-Thousand Origin Stones.
• Jiang Wang replied to Ye Qingyu, approving the treatment when the time was right and promising to repay her expenses someday.

Hu Shuanzi accepted that Dugu Xiao would never share his feelings, while Xiang Qian warned him that effort would not change their difference in status. In Zhaoheng, Yang Xuance returned to the palace to warn Yang State about the Black Plague, but after being repeatedly denied an audience, he confronted Liu Huai at Yangxin Hall.

• Hu Shuanzi asked Dugu Xiao whether she was happy, and she smiled without sharing the reason.
• Xiang Qian told Hu Shuanzi to give up pursuing Dugu Xiao, but Hu Shuanzi said he only wanted to look at her.
• Yang Xuance, the fifth son of Yang State’s ruler, returned to Zhaoheng after reading Jiang Wang’s warning about the Black Plague and possible White Bone Sect plans.
• After waiting for hours without seeing his father, Yang Xuance left the side hall and headed for Yangxin Hall.
• Liu Huai told Yang Xuance to return to his tea and wait, so Yang Xuance smashed his jade ornament and accused Liu Huai of preventing the royal family from meeting.

Yang Xuance's attempt to reach his father ended in rejection, while the Black Plague in Jia City's territory was contained and the Mo Family began withdrawing. Mo Zichu arrived at Green Sheep Town to settle his agreed fight with Jiang Wang, who faced him alone outside the North Gate.

• Yang Xuance gave Liu Huai a letter for Yang Jiande, but Liu Huai secretly destroyed it and reported that Xuance wanted an audience.
• Yang Jiande asked Liu Huai what Xuance was making a fuss about, and Liu Huai said Xuance had important business.
• The Mo Family helped contain the Black Plague in Jia City's territory, then began selling its holdings and withdrawing from the region.
• A Town Hall martial artist told Jiang Wang that Mo Zichu had come to Green Sheep Town and demanded a fight.
• Mo Zichu planted the Carp Pattern Red Flag outside the North Gate and declared that he had come to kill Jiang Wang.
• Jiang Wang stopped his companions from interfering and challenged Mo Zichu to come forward.

Jiang Wang defeated and killed Mo Zichu in Green Sheep Town, then reflected on the fight and his use of the Red Makeup Mirror. Xiao Xiao interrupted his cultivation to report that the Four Seas Merchant Alliance was suddenly fleeing.

• Mo Zichu attacked Jiang Wang with East King Valley’s needles, but Jiang Wang countered with the Sea of Flame Flowers and used the Red Makeup Mirror to ambush him.
• Jiang Wang froze Mo Zichu with Tiger Binding and ran his sword through his heart, then took the Carp Pattern Red Flag and ordered that Mo Zichu be buried properly.
• Jiang Wang understood that Mo Zichu had come alone to die, hoping his death would help atone for his family’s role in the Black Plague and secure a future for the Mo family.
• Jiang Wang reviewed the fight and concluded that the Red Makeup Mirror remained mainly a support item because its inner world left the mirror itself vulnerable.
• Xiao Xiao told Jiang Wang that the Four Seas Merchant Alliance was suddenly fleeing without taking its belongings.

The City Lord of Yue City had Qin Nianmin’s head paraded and his name blackened, then learned that the Black Plague could kill Transcendent cultivators. In Green Sheep Town, Jiang Wang heard that the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s manager had fled to Qi State as the plague’s threat spread beyond ordinary people.

• The City Lord of Yue City received Qin Nianmin’s preserved head and ordered a false proclamation accusing him of colluding with Heterodox Path fiends and causing the Black Plague.
• The City Lord had Qin Nianmin’s head paraded through the city, then learned that a Transcendent cultivator who had buried Li Yang and the others died of the Black Plague within three hours.
• Dugu Xiao reported that the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s guards were removing their belongings, and Jiang Wang went to stop them from leaving Green Sheep Town.
• The bald guard commander told Jiang Wang that the Black Plague had mutated to harm Transcendent cultivators and that Manager Qian had probably returned to Qi State.
• Jiang Wang considered whether the plague’s evolution was the White Bone Sect’s true trump card and feared it could threaten more than Yang State.

Jiang Wang learned that the Black Plague could infect transcendent cultivators, but chose to stay in Green Sheep Town and organize its defenses while allowing those who wished to leave to do so. News from Yue City's territory showed how devastating the mutation was: after three transcendent cultivators died, the City Lord's death sent the region into chaos.

• Jiang Wang let the Four Seas Merchant Alliance guards return to Qi after they all refused to stay in Green Sheep Town.
• Jiang Wang read Chongxuan Sheng's warning that the Black Plague could now kill transcendent cultivators and decided to remain in Yang State to protect Green Sheep Town.
• Jiang Wang learned that twenty-three patients remained; the older medical cultivator chose to stay and treat them, while his disciple left for Qi.
• Dugu Xiao, Xiang Qian, Zhu Biqiong, and Zhang Hai chose to remain with Jiang Wang, who ordered the villages evacuated into Green Sheep Town and the countryside abandoned.
• Jiang Wang confirmed that the Black Plague was killing transcendent cultivators, and Yue City's territory collapsed into panic after the City Lord died of the disease.

Zhang Linchuan and Lu Yan argued over the White Bone Sect’s failures and the prematurely triggered Black Plague while Dragon Mask considered how to respond. The Holy Lord ended their debate by announcing that time was up.

• Lu Yan blamed Zhang Linchuan for mishandling the Black Plague and trusting Snake Masked One with the Plague Bell, while Zhang Linchuan blamed Lu Yan’s schemes for weakening the sect.
• Lu Yan asked Dragon Mask to take a side, and Dragon Mask suggested killing Du Ruhui, whose Inch-to-Horizon power made him difficult to trap.
• Zhang Linchuan and Lu Yan argued over who was responsible for the Black Plague’s failure to become the Source of Calamity incarnation the Holy Lord had planned.
• Dragon Mask asked Rabbit Mask and Monkey Mask whether they mourned Pig Mask, and Monkey Mask replied that only three of the twelve remained.
• The Holy Lord spoke from the throne and said that time was up.

Chen Yong and his guards fled Yang State for Qi, but the Qi Army sealed the border and detained them because of the Black Plague outbreak. When Chen Yong was brought to identify Manager Qian, he found the merchant kneeling at a checkpoint, stripped of his topknot and bearing.

• Chen Yong led his guard squad out of Yang State and reached the outskirts of Baichuan City.
• Qi soldiers stopped the squad, checked their Four Seas Merchant Alliance badges, and escorted them to a camp under guard.
• Chen Yong guessed that the border closure was meant to contain the Black Plague and reassured his uneasy men that their detention would be temporary.
• On the second day in camp, a soldier summoned Chen Yong to identify someone.
• Chen Yong saw Manager Qian kneeling at the checkpoint, and wondered how the man who had fled a day earlier had arrived after him.

Manager Qian tried to return to Qi after fleeing Jia City with his ill-gotten wealth, but soldiers barred him from entering and sent him away. He later discovered that Autumn Kill had surrounded all of Yang State, leaving the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s plans and fate uncertain.

• Manager Qian reached a Qi border pass, where soldiers detained him after he concealed his identity and tried to bribe them, then confiscated most of his valuables.
• Chen Yong identified Manager Qian, but soldiers refused to let either man enter Baichuan City without an order from the Military Department.
• Manager Qian left with Chen Yong’s friend and searched for another route back to Qi, only to find Yang State surrounded by a vast army.
• Manager Qian learned that Autumn Kill, one of Qi’s Nine Legions, was sealing off Yang State.
• At the end of the seventh month, Autumn Kill had arrived as autumn began.

Chongxuan Sheng ordered Baichuan City’s forces to seal Yang’s borders and seize the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s assets. In Green Sheep Town, Jiang Wang gathered the population and rationed supplies to prepare for disorder as the mutated Black Plague threatened Yang’s stability.

• Chongxuan Sheng relayed Chongxuan Chuliang’s orders to detain Qi citizens for plague checks, bar foreigners from leaving, and seize the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s money and goods.
• Chongxuan Sheng told Shi Si that he hoped Jiang Wang would vent his anger at Manager Qian, then rose from his chair on Baichuan City’s wall and complained that it was too small.
• Jiang Wang gathered everyone in Green Sheep Town and confiscated supplies to ration food among them.
• Jiang Wang prepared for possible riots and the collapse of order, believing the mutated Black Plague could overwhelm Yang before help arrived.
• Jiang Wang concluded that Green Sheep Town might become a banner for rebuilding Yang if he could protect it.

Jiang Wang strengthened Green Sheep Town’s defenses while expecting danger, as Yang State faced a mutated plague and encirclement by Qi. In court, the Crown Prince demanded that Yang Jiande admit his failings, and Yang Jiande acknowledged responsibility for Yang State losing its own calendar and written language.

• Jiang Wang had Zhu Biqiong cover the roads into Green Sheep Town with illusion arrays while Xiang Qian offered a sword formation in case of danger.
• Yang Jiande attended court as ministers struggled to agree on a response to the plague and Qi State’s encircling army.
• The Crown Prince called for Yang Jiande to issue an edict of self-reproach and seek the people’s forgiveness.
• The Crown Prince accused Yang Jiande’s reign of leaving Yang State without its own calendar or written language.
• Yang Jiande admitted that those losses had occurred during his reign and called them his crimes.

Yang Jiande rejected Yang Xuanji’s plan to take the throne and make peace with Qi by ceding land, then killed his son in court. He revealed his use of a demonic art and ordered his other children brought to the palace to complete it, declaring he would bear the Yang State’s ruin alone.

• Yang Jiande admitted responsibility for the Yang State’s lost calendar and abandoned writing, while Yang Xuanji urged him to surrender, cede land to Qi, and leave the throne.
• Yang Xuanji promised to strengthen the state, ally with Jing and Mu, and avenge the national disgrace, but Yang Jiande challenged his resolve and condemned his plan to shift the shame onto his father.
• Yang Jiande killed Yang Xuanji with a single strike, and Liu Huai beheaded a general who charged toward the throne.
• An old minister recognized Yang Jiande’s Blood Demon Canon of Extinguishing Emotion and Desire, and Yang Jiande ordered Liu Huai to summon all his children.
• Yang Jiande dismissed the kneeling ministers’ pleas and vowed to bear the nation’s shame, the loss of its ancestral temples, and the ruin of its people and household alone.

Jiang Wang negotiated the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s entry into locked-down Green Sheep Town in exchange for Dao Essence Stones and supplies. Manager Qian’s desperate arrival left Jiang Wang wondering whether he could keep the town safe as Yang State descended into turmoil.

• Jiang Wang refused to let Manager Qian’s party enter Green Sheep Town until Manager Qian clarified that he was offering manpower and supplies.
• Jiang Wang dismissed the Alliance’s five extraordinary cultivators as too weak to threaten him, prompting Manager Qian to ask what it would take to be admitted.
• Jiang Wang pressed Manager Qian for resources, and Manager Qian agreed to return five hundred Dao Essence Stones.
• Manager Qian promised to move daily necessities from the Alliance’s Jia City operations into Green Sheep Town, and Jiang Wang arranged lodging for his party.
• As Manager Qian entered town, Jiang Wang worried that Yang State’s worsening crisis might overwhelm Green Sheep Town’s defenses.

Jiang Wang realized Chongxuan Sheng had sent Manager Qian to alert him and entrust him with protecting Green Sheep Town as Qi’s army surrounded Yang State. In Zhaoheng City, Yang Jiande prepared to surrender to Chongxuan Chuliang and challenge whether the Slaughterer could still wield a sword.

• Jiang Wang learned that Qi’s Autumn Killing Army had surrounded Yang State and suspected Chongxuan Sheng was with the forces advancing into the country.
• Jiang Wang deduced that Manager Qian’s return was Chongxuan Sheng’s way of informing him that he was nearby and needed Green Sheep Town protected.
• Jiang Wang took command of Manager Qian and his people, intending to use the Four Seas Merchant Alliance’s supplies to defend the town and surrounding lands.
• The last two Black Plague victims in Green Sheep Town’s territory died and recovered on the same day.
• Yang Jiande asked Liu Huai to preserve the fragments left by a royal family member and acknowledged the Yang Clan’s desperate situation.
• Yang Jiande ordered a surrender letter sent to Chongxuan Chuliang and invited him to the palace, saying he wanted to see whether the Slaughterer could still hold a sword.

Chongxuan Chuliang used Qi’s concern for the Black Plague as justification to seal off the Yang State, leaving it isolated as the plague spread. After rejecting the Yang envoy’s surrender, he exposed General Tian’s apparent ties to Yang Jiande and forced him to kneel.

• The chapter recounted how Chongxuan Chuliang once defied Yang Jiande’s retreat order and earned the name “Slaughterer” by invading the Xia Kingdom’s rear.
• The Yang State envoy delivered a surrender letter, but Chongxuan Chuliang said Qi’s army would only contain the Black Plague and would not enter Yang territory.
• The envoy realized Chongxuan Chuliang intended to seal the Yang State’s borders, leaving its people trapped with the spreading plague.
• General Tian argued that Chongxuan Chuliang should accept Yang’s surrender, but Chongxuan Chuliang asked how much Yang Jiande had promised him.
• General Tian denied colluding with Yang and knelt to insist on his loyalty.

Chongxuan Chuliang rejected Tian Antai’s suggestion to accept Yang State’s surrender, warning that Yang Jiande could be dangerous and that a deep military advance could become a trap. In Chiwei Prefecture, the Holy Lord of the White Bone Sect emerged through a White Bone Gate and sent his followers to sow chaos while he prepared to refine an incarnation of the Source of Calamity.

• Chongxuan Chuliang questioned Tian Antai about Yang Jiande and explained the dangers of accepting Yang State’s surrender by force or alone.
• Chongxuan Chuliang abruptly left his command tent after sensing that someone had arrived from the direction of Yang State.
• The Holy Lord of the White Bone Sect opened a White Bone Gate in Chiwei Prefecture and emerged with Lu Yan and several Bone Masks.
• The Holy Lord ordered his followers to sow chaos and buy him time to refine an incarnation of the Source of Calamity.
• The Dragon Bone Masked One ordered the Rabbit Mask to lead him and the Monkey Mask to where the Pig Mask had died.
• The Holy Lord instructed Zhang Linchuan to guard the underground palace, then walked into Yang State as the Black Plague’s Calamity Qi spread.

Jiang Wang refused Rizhao Prefecture Governor Song Guang’s demand to surrender Green Sheep Town’s food stores, which were needed to feed its residents. Jia City Lord Shi Jing then led an overwhelming force to the town, determined to seize its supplies and establish his authority.

• After Manager Qian fled, Four Seas Merchant Alliance warehouses continued supplying the region, and Green Sheep Town had enough food for at least three months.
• Jia City Lord Shi Jing took control of supplies across his territory, arrested most remaining Alliance personnel, and ordered their wealth investigated.
• Qi State sealed Yang State’s border, while Yang’s weakened army and Yang Jiande’s desperate strategy left the country in a precarious position.
• Song Guang requisitioned supplies and imposed a so-called National Salvation Tax, and Jiang Wang tore up the order to surrender Green Sheep Town’s stores.
• Shi Jing marched on Green Sheep Town with five thousand elite City Guards and two peak Soaring Dragon Realm experts, intending to seize the supplies and capture the fugitive Manager Qian.

Shi Jing led Jia City's five-thousand-man army to attack Green Sheep Town, where Jiang Wang and three hundred defenders stood against the Yin Yang Wandering Kill Formation. Jiang Wang disrupted the formation and struck back, but its power restored it after knocking him away; he then used Manager Qian to open a path and launched another attack.

• Shi Jing demanded that Jiang Wang surrender Green Sheep Town's supplies and valuables, while Jiang raised Jia City's Carp Pattern Red Flag to strengthen the defenders and unsettle the City Guard.
• Shi Jing ordered the army to form the Yin Yang Wandering Kill Formation, and its black and white giant fish broke through the town's illusion formations.
• Jiang Wang challenged the soldiers for attacking their own people instead of the Qi Army, causing the formation to falter before he used the flag and his Sea of Flame Flowers to strike at it.
• Jiang Wang's sword blows nearly shattered the white fish, but the black fish knocked him away and restored the formation by producing another fish.
• Jiang Wang hurled Manager Qian at the black fish, and Manager Qian used his golden ingot technique to make it yield a path as Jiang charged the white fish again.

Jiang Wang fought through the Yin Yang Wandering Kill Formation to protect Green Sheep Town and began an early breakthrough into the Soaring Dragon Realm. He uprooted his Heaven and Earth Gate with his Divine Soul and brought it crashing down on Shi Jing.

• Jiang Wang and Manager Qian broke through the formation’s giant fish, but the fish recovered and attacked them; Manager Qian’s Life-Buying Coin saved him from the white fish’s strike.
• The formation unleashed its full power against Jiang Wang, who summoned his Heaven and Earth Gate and decided to break through ahead of schedule.
• Shi Jing ordered the army to suppress the chaotic energy and attacked Jiang Wang as he approached the gate.
• Jiang Wang charged back into the formation, bringing the Heaven and Earth Gate with him, and fought through the Soldier Sha toward Shi Jing.
• Jiang Wang uprooted the Heaven and Earth Gate from the void with his Divine Soul and slammed it down toward Shi Jing.