Chapter Summaries

Yu Ci boarded the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat under the name Master Jiu Yan and settled into secluded quarters arranged by Zhu Baitu. After spending eight months refining his Inner Void, he called Steward Zhou Hu over to ask about the people living nearby.

• Yu Ci accepted Zhu Baitu’s arrangements and followed Zhou Hu to a private courtyard in the boat’s central section.
• Yu Ci recognized Zhou Hu as an old acquaintance from his time working at the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat dock, but chose not to reveal his identity.
• Yu Ci secluded himself to study and improve Chengqitian while balancing the three voids.
• Eight months passed as Yu Ci contemplated his cultivation, and he emerged to find two maidservants entertaining a little girl near the courtyard gate.
• Yu Ci ordered tea and pastries, summoned Zhou Hu, and asked him about the nearby residents.

Yu Ci spoke with Zhou Hu about his lodging, the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat, and Elder Zhu, then explored the ship’s upper gardens. He inadvertently approached another passenger’s courtyard and heard someone cry out to Second Niang to stop.

• Zhou Hu told Yu Ci that the courtyard had few neighbors and its defenses were linked to the boat’s main array.
• Yu Ci asked Zhou Hu about the ship’s passengers, route, and Da Tongxing’s business, learning that Elder Zhu had died.
• Yu Ci went to the upper decks and looked down on the tribulation clouds and the creatures living above them.
• Yu Ci followed a stream to a secluded hill and realized he had approached another passenger’s courtyard unnoticed.
• Yu Ci turned to leave after hearing someone speak to Younger Sister, then heard a gasp and the warning, “Second Niang, hold your hand!”

Yu Ci encountered Flower Lady and Lu Erniang in the garden after interrupting their private moment, then shared drinks with them before leaving. Flower Lady and Lu Erniang discussed Yu Ci’s unusual lack of human scent and the lingering deathly aura he carried from the Land of Eternal Damnation.

• Yu Ci saw Flower Lady across the waterfall garden, and she beckoned him over after the two exchanged glances.
• Flower Lady brought Yu Ci to the pavilion, where Lu Erniang had been interrupted while dressing after a private encounter beneath the cliff.
• Yu Ci and Lu Erniang exchanged greetings and drank together with Flower Lady, but Yu Ci soon took his leave after sensing Lu Erniang’s discomfort.
• Flower Lady told Lu Erniang that Bai Lian saw a karmic affinity in Yu Ci and described his strange lack of body heat and human scent.
• Flower Lady said Yu Ci’s body carried the lingering scent of death from the Land of Eternal Damnation.

Yu Ci’s journey stalled above Sky Horse City after Sword Discussion Pavilion detained the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat to search for a wanted criminal. As officials and passengers prepared for a confrontation, Flower Lady and Lu Erniang arrived to visit Yu Ci.

• Lu Erniang argued with Flower Lady about choosing a cultivation path, then left without resolving their disagreement.
• Yu Ci’s Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat waited above Sky Horse City because the transit grand array had not been activated, and rumors spread about the delay.
• Zhou Hu told Yu Ci that Sword Discussion Pavilion had detained the ship to search for a wanted criminal, prompting Yu Ci to suspect Gui Yan.
• General Manager Zhu Xing informed Yu Ci that Sword Discussion Pavilion had ordered all guests at the Returning Pill realm and above to gather, while its Gathering Immortals Bridge waited nearby with a sword array deployed.
• Flower Lady arrived at Yu Ci’s door accompanied by Erniang, surprising Zhu Xing and Zhou Hu.

Yu Ci agreed to let Flower Lady and the Yinan Troupe’s women stay in his courtyards after the Sword Discussion Pavilion’s inspection order forced them to relocate. The Sword Discussion Pavilion then raised its Flag Sword Heavenly Net over the ship, but Yu Ci doubted it was aimed at Gui Yan.

• Flower Lady confronted Zhu Xing and Zhou Hu over the troupe’s relocation, arguing that three courtyards could not house nearly a hundred people safely.
• Flower Lady asked Yu Ci to shelter Lu Erniang and the other women, and Yu Ci agreed while seeking to learn what the inspection was meant to accomplish.
• Flower Lady refused Zhu Xing’s offer of another courtyard and took Lu Erniang to arrange the troupe’s move into Yu Ci’s courtyards.
• Yu Ci saw the Sword Discussion Pavilion unfurl its Flag Sword Heavenly Net and noticed a rainbow bridge connecting to the ship.
• Yu Ci judged that the formation did not seem to be targeting Gui Yan, despite his earlier suspicion that Gui Yan had caused the trouble.

Yu Ci and his companions waited under Sword Discussion Pavilion’s detention while its sword array conducted an indefinite search for suspicious sword intent. During a drinking gathering, Flower Lady and Lu Erniang steered the conversation toward Bai Niangzi, leaving Jiu Yan to ask what had happened to her.

• Sword Discussion Pavilion kept the cultivators confined and announced a search based on detecting sword intent, prompting widespread complaints.
• Yu Ci gathered with Flower Lady, Lu Erniang, Zhou Hu, and performers from Yinan Troupe to drink Da Tongxing’s Immortal’s Intoxication.
• Flower Lady and Lu Erniang teased Jiu Yan about his relations with Yao Niang and Dong Niangzi, while Zhou Hu pretended to pass out.
• Yao Niang said Lu Erniang tormented the sickly Bai Niangzi, and Flower Lady urged Jiu Yan to ask about her.
• Jiu Yan asked what was wrong with Bai Niangzi.

Yu Ci agreed to help Flower Lady and Lu Erniang make Cloud Born Incense for the gravely ill Madam Bai, though he suspected their request concealed something. After examining Madam Bai and sensing that her illness was unusual, he was interrupted by a visit from Fairy Ling Jiao of the Sword Discussion Pavilion.

• Flower Lady explained that Madam Bai’s frail constitution required Cloud Born Incense, and Lu Erniang asked Yu Ci to make it.
• Yu Ci recognized that the incense required fresh Floating Flower Dew gathered in the dangerous Azure Sky Domain, making the task difficult amid the Sword Discussion Pavilion’s blockade.
• Flower Lady said they had prepared the other materials in Rain Master City and asked Yu Ci for help because Madam Bai’s condition had worsened.
• Yu Ci agreed to help and asked to examine Madam Bai, who was bedridden in his courtyard.
• Yu Ci found that Madam Bai had orthodox Xuanmen cultivation and sensed her illness was not simple.
• Fairy Ling Jiao of the Sword Discussion Pavilion arrived to visit Yu Ci.

Ling Jiao examined Bai Niangzi and judged that her body was sound but her spirit was weak, then said she would report the matter to her martial uncles without promising to activate the sword formation. She invited Jiu Yan to bring incense-making materials and come with her to seek their decision.

• Ling Jiao examined Bai Niangzi and concluded that a soul-seizing art may have weakened her spirit and disrupted her meridians.
• Ling Jiao said she would report Bai Niangzi’s condition to her martial uncles but could not promise anything about the sword formation.
• Ling Jiao warned Flower Lady that the request to activate the formation must remain secret and explained that Sword Discussion Pavilion trusted its own efforts to identify its target.
• Yu Ci suggested revealing the formation’s purpose to help identify the target, but Ling Jiao rejected the idea and said her martial uncles preferred to catch whoever they could.
• Ling Jiao called Jiu Yan to bring incense-making materials and accompany her to ask her martial uncles for a decision.

Yu Ci passed Sword Discussion Pavilion’s inspection and left the Flag Sword Heavenly Net with Ling Jiao, who escorted him as an example for the other passengers. He gathered Floating Flower Dew and refined it into Cloud Born Incense, then felt an inexplicable stir while watching Ling Jiao.

• Ling Jiao reported to her elders, then told Yu Ci that the Demon Slaying Sword and Pure Heart Bell had not reacted to him and let him leave.
• Ling Jiao escorted Yu Ci out of the sword formation because Martial Uncle Lu wanted the others to see that he had been properly released.
• Yu Ci claimed his concealed aura came from a cultivation method that would help him cross tribulation, and Ling Jiao teased him about his explanation.
• Yu Ci found floating flowers, gathered their dew, and used his Heart Refining Dharma Fire to make seven or eight pellets of Cloud Born Incense.
• Ling Jiao praised Yu Ci’s clean work and flew downward with him, while Yu Ci felt a strange sensation as he watched her.

Yu Ci and Ling Jiao were diverted from the sword formation when a powerful force struck the tribulation clouds, and they returned to treat Madam Bai with Cloud Born Incense. The chapter left Yu Ci studying the incense’s transformation as Lu Erniang checked Madam Bai’s condition.

• Ling Jiao played around the sword formation’s banners while Yu Ci admired her swordsmanship and lively nature.
• A guide told Ling Jiao and Yu Ci to head east, and the sword formation turned away from them as the tribulation clouds southwest began to change.
• A distant force suppressed the tribulation clouds, which darkened as wind and snow spread across the sky; the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat carried them about a hundred li east before they returned inside the formation.
• Yu Ci returned to Flower Lady and Lu Erniang with a Cloud-Born Incense Pellet and ignited it in the prepared censer.
• Flower Lady diluted the incense mist with water from a willow branch, filling the room with cloudlike vapor, while Lu Erniang checked Madam Bai and Yu Ci studied the incense’s properties.

Yu Ci discovered that Lu Erniang’s strange armlet might disturb Madam Bai, then overheard Lu Erniang and Flower Lady criticizing the amount of Cloud Born Incense he had provided. He reclaimed the remaining pills and invoked Lu Erniang’s banquet promise before leaving to meet Gao Yunbo, while Lu Erniang decided to dress and comb her hair.

• Yu Ci noticed Lu Erniang’s demonic-looking armlet and advised her to remove it because it could unsettle Madam Bai’s weak spirit.
• After leaving, Yu Ci overheard Lu Erniang and Flower Lady discussing the incense pills and complaining that he had returned only one.
• Yu Ci entered with the remaining seven pills, then took them back after hearing their complaints and reminded Lu Erniang of her promise to help him.
• Lu Erniang agreed to visit Yu Ci that night, but Zhou Hu arrived to announce that Gao Yunbo had requested an audience.
• After Yu Ci left to meet Gao Yunbo, Lu Erniang asked Flower Lady to help her dress and comb her hair.

Lu Erniang resisted Flower Lady’s attempts to reconcile her with Jiu Yan, while the Sword Discussion Pavilion’s actions and the spectacle in the southern heavens heightened tensions aboard the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat. Flower Lady arranged for Yao Niang and the others to visit Jiu Yan, then returned to find Madam Bai awake.

• Flower Lady told Lu Erniang that Jiu Yan had not agreed to join Gao Yunbo’s proposed alliance, while the banquet guests named Ghost Weariness and others as suspects.
• Flower Lady urged Lu Erniang not to let her anger toward Jiu Yan damage her future, but Lu Erniang said he would have to prove he could overcome her if he wanted her.
• Flower Lady observed the stable, self-contained world of wind and snow created in the southern heavens and saw Jiu Yan watching it from the courtyard.
• Flower Lady persuaded Lu Erniang to leave with Yao Niang and the other dancers, who soon visited Jiu Yan as music began to play.
• Flower Lady returned to the bedside of the sleeping Madam Bai and remarked on Lu Erniang’s feelings, whereupon Madam Bai opened her eyes.

Flower Lady helped Lu Suhua conceal her old injuries with Cloud Born Incense, and the two discussed the Sword Discussion Pavilion’s investigation and the Demonic Sect’s involvement. Lu Suhua recognized Jiu Yan as Yu Ci and suspected he was heading toward them, while Flower Lady recounted how Jiu Yan had been brought in to treat her.

• Flower Lady used Cloud Born Incense and Lord Rakshasa’s illusionary abilities to hide Lu Suhua’s old injuries and mask her appearance from the Sword Discussion Pavilion.
• Lu Suhua revealed that she had sensed a woman using Demonic Sect methods when someone examined her chest injury, and Flower Lady realized the visitor impersonating Ling Jiao likely had the Sword Discussion Pavilion’s permission.
• Lu Suhua concluded that the Demonic Sect woman wanted to exploit pressure from the Sword Discussion Pavilion to negotiate with them.
• Flower Lady explained that they had invited Jiu Yan after Lu Suhua’s old injuries flared up and became difficult to conceal.
• Lu Suhua recognized Jiu Yan as Yu Ci, whose identities had included the Soul Chaser and Lu Dun, and suspected he was making his way toward them.

Flower Lady and Lu Suhua discussed Yu Ci’s hidden power and the growing complications surrounding them before Ghost Annoyance abruptly appeared in their room. The chapter ended with him overpowering Flower Lady and moving to assault both women.

• Flower Lady told Lu Suhua that Lu Erniang had been cornered into accepting an appointment and that she suspected Yu Ci had ulterior motives.
• Lu Suhua sensed that an unseen barrier concealed the room where Yu Ci was staying and connected it to the Northern Wastelands battle.
• Lu Suhua and Flower Lady detected an unknown visitor, but Flower Lady could not sense the newcomer’s identity or intentions.
• Ghost Annoyance entered the room, recognized both women, and declared that he intended to spend the night with them.
• Ghost Annoyance used his power to paralyze Flower Lady, stripped away her outer garment, and threw her onto the bed beside Lu Suhua.

Guiyan overpowered Flower Lady and threatened the sickly Lu Suhua, while Flower Lady recognized his uncanny power over the roots of form and spirit. As Guiyan forced himself toward Lu Suhua, a sudden, icy attack surged up from his crotch.

• Guiyan subdued Flower Lady with a bizarre power that disrupted her thoughts and left her unable to resist.
• Flower Lady realized Guiyan’s power reached the roots of form and spirit, and she warned him that the Sword Discussion Pavilion had set a formation to capture him.
• Guiyan dismissed Flower Lady’s warning, pinned her down, and taunted her about Lu Suhua’s frail condition.
• Guiyan reached through the curtains to touch Lu Suhua, then leaned in to kiss her.
• As Guiyan moved closer to Lu Suhua, a trace of chilliness surged upward from his crotch and made his eyes fly wide open.

Lu Suhua attacked Ghost Weariness with her sword and Three Yuan Hammers Fist Intent, but he survived by manipulating space and then raised the Purple Dust Red Dust Lamp. The lamp warped distance around him, leaving Lu Suhua unable to reach him with her next strike.

• Lu Suhua freed Flower Lady from Ghost Weariness’s restraint and struck him, but his Nine Hidden Demonic Body let him endure the first sword blow.
• Lu Suhua trapped Ghost Weariness within her domain and pierced the void he created to evade her second strike.
• Ghost Weariness disrupted Lu Suhua’s Rainbow Shadow Sword, but her Fist Intent forced him out of the void.
• Ghost Weariness summoned the Purple Dust Red Dust Lamp, drawing Lu Suhua and Flower Lady’s attention with its visions of heaven and earth.
• Lu Suhua’s sword slowed across an immense distorted distance before it could reach Ghost Weariness.

Guiyan fought Lu Suhua aboard the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat, but she broke away from close combat and trapped him in a sword formation. As Guiyan’s shout drew reinforcements, Lu Suhua and Flower Lady changed course to escape.

• Guiyan used the Purple Dust Red Dust Lamp to hold off Lu Suhua, while Flower Lady anticipated Lu Suhua’s plan to widen the distance.
• Lu Suhua blasted Guiyan out of the room with her fist, destroying much of the courtyard as Flower Lady sounded the alarm across the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat.
• The Flag Sword Heavenly Net sword formation attacked Guiyan, and bell chimes interfered with his demonic arts, preventing him from escaping easily.
• Guiyan shouted a taunt that drew seven or eight True Person sword cultivators from the Gathering Immortals Bridge.
• Lu Suhua and Flower Lady concealed themselves with the Rakshasa Illusory Power and Cloud Born Incense, then Lu Suhua led Flower Lady toward the surviving half of the courtyard.

Flower Lady and Lu Suhua tried to escape Yu Ci’s residence while Gui Yan’s assault threw the Gathering Immortals Bridge and Sword Discussion Pavilion into chaos. Gui Yan’s spiritual attack unsettled everyone, and false kill orders triggered successive waves of flight as the sword formation faltered.

• Flower Lady and Lu Suhua judged that the confusion around Gui Yan gave them their best chance to break away, while Lu Suhua resolved to strike despite lingering uncertainties about Yu Ci.
• Flower Lady realized Gui Yan’s laughter was already disrupting people’s minds and warned herself not to be drawn into it.
• Gui Yan plunged down through the sword formation, whose delayed response sent sword qi tearing through the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat and its rooms.
• An unknown voice shouted accusations and kill orders against the Ten Fiends of the East Sea, prompting cultivators to flee in successive waves.
• Elder Gao Yunbo questioned how the shouted orders matched the banquet’s list, while the formation’s officers struggled to control a sword formation thrown into turmoil.

Gui Yan exploited flaws in the Flag Sword Heavenly Net formation to break through it and reach the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat. Lu Qinghua caught the falling Reverse Five Elements Banner, but Gui Yan vanished before the sword cultivators could retaliate.

• Some sword cultivators fell for the feint and turned their swords toward fleeing figures, creating flaws in the formation.
• Gui Yan adjusted his attacks to exploit those flaws while the chief and deputy stewards struggled to keep the formation intact.
• The demonic sect cultivator withdrew as Gui Yan launched his decisive strike and used the Nine Hidden Demonic Body to evade the formation.
• Gui Yan’s demonic thoughts threw nearly a hundred sword cultivators into chaos, and three stewards were injured when he broke their efforts to restore the formation.
• Gui Yan pierced through the Flag Sword Heavenly Net and reached the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat as the Reverse Five Elements Banner toppled.
• Lu Qinghua caught the banner and vowed to fight Gui Yan again, but Gui Yan had already vanished.

Chaos erupted aboard the Mountain-Moving Cloud Boat as fleeing villains slaughtered their way through the ship. Lu Suhua reached Yu Ci’s room and beheaded Lu Erniang, while Guiyan captured Flower Lady and revealed that he and Yu Ci had laid a trap.

• The Ten Fiends of the East Sea, Blood Butcher, Night Roaming God, Li Mingquan, and other villains rampaged through the ship, weakening Sword Discussion Pavilion’s control.
• Flower Lady realized Yu Ci might have attended the Tianhe Sect gathering and followed Lu Suhua toward his room.
• Lu Suhua took back the Rainbow Shadow Sword and burst into the room, while Guiyan appeared behind Flower Lady and rendered her helpless.
• Guiyan carried Flower Lady away, and she concluded that he and Yu Ci had baited her and Lu Suhua with the list.
• Lu Suhua found Yu Ci holding Lu Erniang, cut through Lu Erniang’s neck, and told Yu Ci there was no time for unnecessary talk.