Recaps

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King unleashed the [Great Might Heavenly King Mantra] against the demons and Lu Chen, but the pagoda’s danger below forced him to restrain his power. As Lu Chen rapidly refined the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda, Black Baleful Devil Lord resorted to a secret art that sacrificed nearby demons to replenish himself.

• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King discovered the Hearthfire Seed protecting Lu Chen and realized the Kitchen God had bestowed it on him.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King used the [Great Might Heavenly King Mantra], obliterating several fiends and over a hundred demons while Lu Chen escaped two strikes using Black Baleful Devil Lord’s rune.
• Black Baleful Devil Lord warned the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King that destroying the pagoda could release the peerless demon lords sealed below, then survived a crushing blow with a cicada-shell death substitute.
• Black Baleful Devil Lord saw that Lu Chen had refined three-fifths of the strange treasure and urged him to hurry while the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King suppressed demonic poison in his sea of consciousness.
• Black Baleful Devil Lord pierced dozens of nearby great fiends and began draining their essences and demonic blood to activate his secret art.

Lu Chen poured his accumulated misfortune into the Destiny-Fixing Soul-Calming Lotus while Black Baleful Devil Lord held off the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, beginning to gain control of the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda. After Lu Chen turned the Scarlet Bird Spirit against the Stone Spirit and the Stone Spirit died, the Heavenly King and Black Baleful Devil Lord united to attack him.

• Black Baleful Devil Lord sacrificed the great fiends trapped in the pagoda to transform into a true devil and fought the poisoned Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.
• Lu Chen secretly poured his accumulated misfortune into the Destiny-Fixing Soul-Calming Lotus, forming a faint connection with the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda.
• The Scarlet Bird Spirit and Stone Spirit attacked Lu Chen, but Lu Chen used the Hearthfire Seed to immobilize and drain the Scarlet Bird Spirit.
• Lu Chen persuaded the weakened Scarlet Bird Spirit to attack the Stone Spirit, who was torn apart and killed.
• Lu Chen forced the Scarlet Bird Spirit to stay and guard him as the strange treasure neared completion.
• Black Baleful Devil Lord and the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King stopped fighting and turned together against Lu Chen.

Lu Chen used the Misfortune Seed to turn Black Baleful Devil Lord’s attack against him, then seized control of the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda and expelled the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. As the pagoda flew away, Nezha erupted in karmic fire and attacked his father.

• Black Baleful Devil Lord’s misfortune made his own blade slash decapitate him, while gray mist trapped his demonic soul.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s attack was disrupted by Lu Chen’s misfortune, and Lu Chen’s final refinement of the Destiny-Fixing Soul-Calming Lotus bound him to the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King sensed that Lu Chen had taken control of the pagoda, but its warning stopped him from killing Lu Chen.
• Lu Chen ordered the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King out, and the pagoda expelled him before flying away from Cloud Tower Palace.
• Nezha revealed his crimson eyes and unleashed Eight Desolations Karmic Fire, then charged the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King with his Fire-Tipped Spear.

Nezha broke free of the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda’s suppression and attacked the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, forcing several Star Lords to intervene. The Heavenly King pursued his runaway pagoda toward the Southern Heavenly Gate, but Nezha caught up and struck him with the Six-Ding Divine Fire as the chase continued.

• The Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda flew out of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s control, and Nezha attacked him with the Fire-Tipped Spear.
• Jin Zha and Mu Zha blocked Nezha’s thrust, but his Six-Ding Divine Fire badly damaged their innate spirit treasures.
• The Plague Emperor, Great Emperor Fengdu, and Star Lord of Water Virtue restrained Nezha long enough for the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to flee after the pagoda.
• Nezha unleashed his three-headed, six-armed Dharma form, destroyed Cloud Tower Palace, and broke through the Star Lords’ domain to pursue the Heavenly King.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King tried to reclaim the pagoda and cast out Lu Chen, but the pagoda resisted and sped toward the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• Nezha caught the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King at the Southern Heavenly Gate and scorched his shoulder with the Six-Ding Divine Fire.

Lu Chen escaped toward the Southern Heavenly Gate inside the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda while the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King was battered by Nezha outside. The destruction triggered a mass mobilization across the Heavenly Court, and Her Ladyship chose to let the upheaval continue a little longer.

• Lu Chen piloted the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda toward the Southern Heavenly Gate as the demons trapped inside failed to harm him and Lan'er explained that he could not use the pagoda’s power of suppression.
• Nezha pursued and wounded the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King while their chase destroyed palaces around the Southern Heavenly Gate, shocking the arriving immortals and terrifying Broom Star.
• The Azure Thunder General reported the upheaval to the Nine-Heavens Thunderbolt Universalizing Heavenly Venerable, who rushed to the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• Dipper Mother, Primordial Sovereign departed the Great Brahma Heavenly Palace, while Zhao Gongming suspected Lu Chen was involved and set out to join the commotion.
• The Orthodox Gods of the Heavenly Court’s Eight Departments mobilized toward the Southern Heavenly Gate, as Her Ladyship took her medicine and said to let it grow a little longer.

Lu Chen defended himself before the Eight Departments and concealed the Heavenly Edict while Venus Star shielded him from their probing. The Grand Heavenly Venerable issued punishments for those involved, but Lu Chen was appointed Horse-Fodder Registrar at the Imperial Horse Office instead of being sent to prison, leaving the gathered immortals stunned.

• Lu Chen challenged the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to confess to violating Heavenly Law, then recounted how he escaped the pagoda while hiding the Heavenly Edict.
• Dipper Mother, Primordial Sovereign questioned Lu Chen’s account, but Venus Star pushed away the gods’ divine senses to protect him.
• Venus Star announced that the Military Department would repair the Southern Heavenly Gate at Lu Chen and his father’s expense, while the others involved would await sentencing by the Northern Pole Exorcism Office.
• Venus Star revealed that Lu Chen’s punishment was a post as Horse-Fodder Registrar in the Imperial Horse Office, stunning Lu Chen and the Eight Departments.

Lu Chen and Lan'er escaped the Heavenly Court in the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda, but Venus Star stopped them and subdued Nezha. After Lu Chen captured the Black Baleful Devil Lord in his Plague Emperor Banner, Venus Star brought him before ten mighty Heavenly Court figures, who began questioning him.

• Lu Chen and Lan'er broke through the ambush at the Southern Heavenly Gate when Nezha destroyed the Four Heavenly Kings’ formation and blasted down part of the gate.
• Venus Star caught the pagoda, subdued Nezha, and offered Lu Chen and Lan'er protective immortal qi.
• Lu Chen absorbed the Black Baleful Devil Lord’s shell into the Plague Emperor Banner, strengthening the banner’s plague ghosts.
• Lu Chen emerged from the pagoda and greeted Venus Star and the assembled immortals, while onlookers speculated about his fate.
• The Orthodox Gods of the Eight Divisions appeared, and Venus Star transported Lu Chen and the assembled powers to his grotto-heaven for a discussion.
• One of the gathered figures demanded that Lu Chen confess everything truthfully.

Venus Star shielded Lu Chen from the Heavenly Court gods’ attempts to expose his secret and announced the Great Heavenly Venerable’s revised decree. Lu Chen expected severe punishment, but the chapter ended with his appointment as Registrar of Horse Fodder at the Imperial Horse Office.

• Lu Chen recounted how he had reached the third floor of the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda but concealed the Heavenly Edict, crediting Black Baleful Devil Lord for summoning Broom Star.
• Dipper Mother, Primordial Sovereign questioned Lu Chen’s account, and several gods tried to probe him with divine sense before Venus Star stopped them.
• Venus Star announced that the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and his son had to pay to repair the Southern Heavenly Gate, while the king and his allies would face judgment by the Northern Pole Exorcism Office.
• Venus Star revealed that Lu Chen would receive a living punishment, then announced the Great Heavenly Venerable had appointed him Registrar of Horse Fodder at the Imperial Horse Office.
• Lu Chen and the Orthodox Gods of the Eight Departments were stunned as Venus Star presented Lu Chen with the official jade register and command token.

Lu Chen returned from the Heavenly Court to Rongcheng, got City Lord Huang to stamp his completed S-rank task, and set off for Jiangdu with Lan'er. Meanwhile, Venus Star urged the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to befriend Lu Chen, and the Plague Emperor gathered four immortals to discuss the suspicious coincidences surrounding him.

• After Lu Chen departed, Nezha threatened the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, who sent Jin Zha and Mu Zha to escort him to Layered Tower Hall.
• Venus Star brought Lu Chen and Lan'er down to Rongcheng, where Lu Chen marveled at the modern mortal world and hurried to the City Lord's Manor.
• Venus Star advised the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to make peace with Lu Chen and seek his help with the altered Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda.
• Lu Chen reunited with City Lord Huang, explained his two-month disappearance, produced the Realm Pivot, and received the stamp for his S-rank task.
• Lu Chen called Lan'er over and flew away with her, while City Lord Huang sensed that Lu Chen had advanced to mid-stage Rank Four.
• At the Nine Dragon Palace, the Plague Emperor sealed the hall and asked Great Emperor Fengdu, Star Lord of Water Virtue, Lord God of Wealth, and the Kitchen God whether Lu Chen's recent troubles had been suspiciously coincidental.

The immortals at the Nine Dragon Palace speculated about Lu Chen’s mysterious origins and decided not to investigate further, while Plague Lord wondered which department would enter the game next. Lu Chen returned home with Lan’er and reunited with his grieving family, leaving his parents overwhelmed with relief and anger.

• Great Emperor Fengdu suggested that Lu Chen’s powers and unusual achievements pointed to extraordinary origins, and the immortals discussed the signs surrounding him.
• Plague Lord ended the discussion, and Great Emperor Fengdu and the other immortals departed; Plague Lord wondered who would enter the game next.
• Lu Jianming and Mother Lu mourned Lu Chen’s disappearance while Lu Wan insisted that her brother would return.
• Lu Chen and Lan’er arrived at the deserted residential compound and hurried to his family’s home.
• Lu Chen entered and reunited with Lu Wan, then saw how much his parents had aged.
• Mother Lu slapped Lu Chen, scolded him for disappearing, and embraced him as he told her he was back.

Lu Chen returned safely from the secret realm with Lan'er, reuniting with his family and learning how deeply Sun Yourong had grieved for him. As he celebrated with them, Sun Qingcang warned that the Zhao, Qin, and Wu families had joined forces against the Lu Clan Temple.

• Lu Chen reunited with his parents and introduced Lan'er, the flood-dragon guardian who had helped him escape the secret realm.
• Lu Jianming told Lu Chen that Sun Yourong had waited outside the secret realm for a month and helped his family after they believed he was dead.
• Lu Chen called Sun Yourong, revealed he was alive, and reunited with her and Sun Qingcang at his home.
• Lu Chen showed Sun Qingcang the secret realm's Realm Pivot and gave him ten fifth- and sixth-grade medicinal herbs.
• Lu Chen remembered his promise to give ten heavenly treasures to the Rongcheng Land Lord, and Lan'er offered to deliver them.
• Sun Qingcang told Lu Chen that the Zhao, Qin, and Wu families had joined forces and were targeting the Lu Clan Temple.

Zhao Wanliang, Qin Guangshan, and Wu Jingzhi plotted to exploit the Lu family and force the Rakshasa remnants to reveal the Plague Pill formula. Lu Chen revealed that he commanded more than three hundred fourth-rank plague ghosts, then prepared to secure a Cinnabar Iron Pardon and retaliate.

• Zhao Wanliang urged Wu Jingzhi to kill imprisoned Rakshasa remnants to pressure Wang Zhidong into revealing the Plague Pill formula, while Qin Guangshan backed the plan to take the Lu Clan Temple if Wu failed.
• Sun Qingcang told Lu Chen how the Zhao, Qin, and Wu families had turned against the Lu Clan Temple, but Lu Chen said they were no longer strong enough to anger him.
• Lu Chen summoned seven fourth-rank plague ghosts and revealed that he had more than three hundred like them, astonishing Sun Qingcang and Sun Yourong.
• Lu Chen called Zeng Rou, learned that the Wu family had framed Wang Zhidong and imprisoned him, and ordered her to have the factory workers wear Rakshasa Cult robes.
• Lu Chen said he would visit the City Lord's residence to exchange for a Cinnabar Iron Pardon, then announced that he would unleash a massacre.

Lu Chen returned from the secret realm and confronted the Zhao, Wu, and Qin families for targeting the Lu Clan Temple and his allies. He unleashed hundreds of Fourth Rank plague ghosts at the Zhao family villa, while Hu Sanniang warned Li City God that Lu Chen had returned and was attacking Young Master.

• Sun Qingcang, Lan'er, and Lu Chen's family persuaded Lu Chen not to massacre the three families, and Lu Chen decided to confront the Zhao family first.
• Sun Qingcang gave Lu Chen the Fifth Rank aerial movement divine ability Crane's Return to the Nine Heavens Step, then flew with Lu Chen and Lan'er to the Zhao family villa.
• Lu Chen confronted Zhao Wanliang, Wu Jingzhi, and Qin Guangshan over their schemes against the Lu Clan Temple, his businesses, and the Hall of Benevolent Aid.
• After Qin Guangshan attacked and Sun Qingcang blocked him, Lu Chen summoned hundreds of Fourth Rank plague ghosts, which surrounded the three patriarchs and attacked Qin Guangshan.
• Hu Sanniang rushed to Li City God's hall and told him that Lu Chen had returned and was attacking Young Master at the Zhao family.

Matchmaker God learned that His Majesty had not addressed his long-awaited reward after the ninety-ninth marriage, then heard how Lu Chen stole the Exquisite Pagoda and was appointed to the Imperial Horse Office. In Jiangdu, Lu Chen forced Qin Guangshan and Wu Jingzhi to yield while Zhao Wanliang remained defiant, until a fiery figure arrived.

• Matchmaker God gave Fire Phoenix the birth details for the marriage intended by His Majesty's mortal incarnation and learned His Majesty had not answered his request to fulfill an old promise.
• Fire Phoenix and Azure Luan told Matchmaker God that Lu Chen had twice summoned Heavenly King Li's Exquisite Pagoda, while Nezha had smashed the Southern Heavenly Gate and His Majesty had appointed Lu Chen a Registrar of Horse Fodder.
• Matchmaker God wondered whether Lu Chen was the incarnation of a powerful being, then summoned the birth details of Zhao Wanliang and Sun Yourong.
• At the Zhao family villa, Lu Chen defeated Zhao Wanliang, Qin Guangshan, and Wu Jingzhi with hundreds of plague ghosts and demanded that they make amends.
• Qin Guangshan agreed to satisfy Lu Chen, and Wu Jingzhi promised to withdraw the lawsuit and release Elder Wang, while Zhao Wanliang refused to yield.
• As Lu Chen prepared to summon more plague ghosts against Zhao Wanliang, a streak of fire landed and a figure emerged.

Yu Feng arrived in time to stop Lu Chen from killing the three family heads, then brought him to the City Lord's Mansion and learned about the secret realm he had acquired. Lu Chen calculated that he now had 110,000 military merit, while Yu Feng urged him to develop the realm with the court to gain protection and support.

• Yu Feng intervened as Lu Chen defeated Qin Guangshan, Wu Jingzhi, and Zhao Wanliang, and persuaded him to spare their lives in exchange for a future explanation.
• Lu Chen recalled his plague ghosts and warned the three family heads that they would still be punished, while Yu Feng asked onlookers not to record or post the incident.
• Yu Feng took Lu Chen to the City Lord's Mansion, where he praised Lu Chen and explained that he had been protecting the Lu family from the three families' attempts to seize its territory.
• Lu Chen described being trapped in a secret realm and showed Yu Feng the Realm Pivot, which let him control the realm's core.
• Yu Feng explained the court's priority in developing secret realms and offered to seek favorable terms for Lu Chen, who calculated that he had reached 110,000 military merit.
• Yu Feng advised Lu Chen to develop the secret realm with the court so he could gain resources and protection from powerful families coveting it.

Lu Chen learned how temple-breaking could let a family replace a great clan, then welcomed the battered Rakshasa Cult members home. At the Zhao family villa, Zhao Wanliang was visited by his grandfather, Li City God.

• Yu Feng explained that a temple-breaking challenge pitted the gods of rival family temples against each other and described how the Wu family had risen by exploiting the Ao family's lost divine protection.
• Lu Chen learned that challenging multiple great clans could earn imperial court support and might eventually let his family advance to the rank of a great house.
• Lu Chen gave Yu Feng five Scarlet Radiance Fruits and left to reunite with the Rakshasa Cult members released from South City Prison.
• Lu Chen comforted the wounded Wang Zhidong and led the cult members home, prompting them to shout their relief and joy.
• Zhao Jiutang learned that Zhao Wanliang needed at least a month to recover, but Wanliang warned him against attacking Lu Chen and asked to be left alone.
• Li City God emerged in Zhao Wanliang's room, and Wanliang addressed him as his grandfather.

Lu Chen returned to his temple, where he planned its growth and considered recruiting Broom Star as a guardian deity. The Lord God of Wealth told him that the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had visited and that Lu Chen would soon receive another Heavenly Court military office.

• Li City God told Zhao Wanliang to recover, keep a low profile, and wait until the prefectural office was settled before seeking revenge on Lu Chen.
• Lu Chen and Zeng Rou returned to the Lu Clan Temple, where Lu Chen reassured the staff and handed out red envelopes.
• Lu Chen instructed Zeng Rou to establish a service evaluation system and considered making Broom Star the guardian deity of his Plague-Wielding Young Lord position.
• Lu Chen offered incense in the Lord God of Wealth Hall and learned that the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had visited.
• The Lord God of Wealth predicted that Lu Chen would soon receive a new, powerful divine office in the Heavenly Court's Military Department.

Lu Chen learned the value of controlling the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda and the lasting authority of his Horse-Fodder Registrar post while thanking Lord God of Wealth for helping him at the Heavenly Court. The chapter ended with Lord God of Wealth warning that the Northern Pole Exorcism Office would cut off their contact for up to several years.

• Lord God of Wealth explained that controlling the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda gave Lu Chen leverage over the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, who feared Nezha's retaliation if he lost it.
• Lu Chen offered his collected heavenly treasures to Lord God of Wealth, who took a portion for Star Lord of Water Virtue and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions and asked Lu Chen to seek out moneywort for him.
• Lord God of Wealth explained that Lu Chen's Horse-Fodder Registrar post was a permanent entry in the immortal registry, unlike his revocable divine offices, and could be promoted through merit.
• Lord God of Wealth explained that Lu Chen could incorporate divine offices into his immortal registry through promotion or cultivate an immortal fruition, though divine-office incarnations had fixed limits.
• Lord God of Wealth told Lu Chen that the Northern Pole Exorcism Office would bar them from contacting each other for six months to two or three years and urged him to avoid further trouble.

Lord God of Wealth explained to Lu Chen how the Northern Pole Exorcism Office gained authority over celestial law through a thousand-year contest between the Thunder and Dipper Departments. After Lord God of Wealth departed, Lu Chen went to the Plague Lord Hall to speak with Broom Star and his master, hoping to secure a post for Broom Star and investigate the spiritual energy that might help him become a saint.

• Lu Chen questioned Lord God of Wealth about the Northern Pole Exorcism Office’s legal basis, and Lord God of Wealth explained that the Fengdu Ghost Code had been replaced by the Northern Emperor Black Book Code after Great Emperor Fengdu became an independent ruler.
• Lord God of Wealth told Lu Chen that Erlang God Yang Jian had once held celestial-law authority, but his refusal to attend to Heavenly Court affairs led the Thunder and Dipper Departments to compete for enforcement power.
• Lord God of Wealth explained that the Northern Pole Exorcism Office won the thousand-year struggle and joined the Thunder Department, forming the structure of one prefecture, two courts, and three bureaus.
• Lu Chen carelessly criticized the intermingling of Heavenly Court departments, and Lord God of Wealth urgently warned him to guard his words as a registered immortal.
• Lu Chen promised to find indirect ways to keep in contact with Lord God of Wealth and asked him to invite Star Lord of Water Virtue and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions to reside in the Lu Clan Temple; Lord God of Wealth agreed.
• After Lord God of Wealth left, Lu Chen headed to the Plague Lord Hall to arrange a post for Broom Star and tell his master that spiritual energy from a matured strange treasure had raised his cultivation.

Lu Chen visited the Plague Lord, Kitchen God, and Hall of Yama, then returned to Cloudtop Manor and summoned the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. The Heavenly King offered him a military post and the authority to command the Four Heavenly Kings and Giant Spirit God, leaving Lu Chen to decide whether to accept.

• Lu Chen offered treasures to the Plague Lord, secured approval for Broom Star to enter the Plague Department, and learned that the exotic treasure’s connection to sanctifying the flesh remained a secret until he found a method to sanctify his body.
• The Plague Lord praised Lu Chen’s escape from the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda and advised him to stay out of trouble, while Lu Chen resolved to wait for the Third Prince.
• The Kitchen God returned Lu Chen’s treasures and invited him to visit Samadhi True Fire Heaven to absorb more true fire; Lu Chen then summoned Xie Qingyi and Fan Rusong and told them about becoming guardian deities.
• Lu Chen hosted a banquet for his followers and neighbors, then carved a statue of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and summoned him at Cloudtop Manor.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King proposed becoming sworn brothers with Lu Chen and offered him command over the Four Heavenly Kings and Giant Spirit God in the Military Department.

Lu Chen rejected the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King's hollow offer of a divine office and bargained for practical rewards instead. The Heavenly King refused to teach him Fleshly Body Attaining Sainthood or instantly raise his cultivation, so Lu Chen seized on the offer of a magical treasure and asked about the Demon-Revealing Mirror and Binding Demon Rope.

• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King offered Lu Chen the Pagoda-Subduing Heavenly King office, but Lu Chen declined because he already held the Plague-Wielding Young Lord position.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King invited Lu Chen to name another request, and Lu Chen asked to learn Fleshly Body Attaining Sainthood.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King said Lu Chen could not cultivate the method and offered to help him advance gradually instead.
• Lu Chen asked the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to raise him directly to the eighth or ninth rank, but the Heavenly King warned that forcing divine power into him could kill him.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King offered to teach Lu Chen an offensive divine ability, but Lu Chen rejected the long training period and asked for a magical treasure.
• Lu Chen named the Demon-Revealing Mirror and Binding Demon Rope as the treasures he wanted, leaving the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King speechless.

Lu Chen secured the Pagoda-Subduing Heavenly King’s favor and the Binding Demon Rope while learning more about the Heavenly King’s feud with Nezha. As Lu Chen prepared to make Broom Star’s divine statue, Li City God schemed to avoid meeting him while sending Hu Sanniang to win his goodwill.

• Lu Chen persuaded the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to give him the Binding Demon Rope and warned that Nezha might seek him out.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King cautioned Lu Chen about contacting gods who attained sainthood in the flesh, then returned to the Heavenly Court.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King ordered Giant Spirit God to pass the Binding Demon Rope to Lu Chen and warned the assembled gods not to offend him.
• The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King sensed a strange estrangement from the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda and wondered whether he had been led into a trap.
• Hu Sanniang advised Li City God to pretend he was in seclusion and send gifts to Lu Chen, and Li City God ordered her to visit him immediately.

Lu Chen received a midnight visit from Hu Sanniang, who warned him not to help Li City God compete for the prefectural post. She revealed that the apparent Li City God was actually Zhao Wuya, the Zhao family’s supposedly deceased patriarch, who had killed the real Li City God and stolen his identity.

• Lu Chen put away the Evil-Repelling Bell so Hu Sanniang could enter his home.
• Hu Sanniang brought Lu Chen a basket of treasures and claimed Li City God had entered seclusion to break through the Mystic Gate.
• Hu Sanniang probed whether Lu Chen planned to help Li City God secure the prefectural post, then urged him not to do so.
• Hu Sanniang revealed that the current Li City God was Zhao Wuya, who had used an evil art to kill and impersonate the real Li Qingyuan.
• Hu Sanniang said Zhao Wuya had been to Xiangnan.

Hu Sanniang revealed that Zhao Wuya had assassinated Li City God with help from his Xiangnan fellow disciples and used a secret art to steal his divine rank. She explained how Zhao Wuya sacrificed Zhao Wanliang’s lifespan to complete the scheme, leaving Lu Chen asking whom he had bribed in the Netherworld.

• Hu Sanniang told Lu Chen that Zhao Jiutang was adopted and that Zhao Wuya changed after his only son, Zhao Jindu, died.
• Hu Sanniang recounted how Zhao Wuya and three fellow disciples from Xiangnan plotted to assassinate Li City God, with Qiu Qianluo helping restrain him.
• Hu Sanniang said Zhao Wuya devoured Li City God’s divine power, took his identity, and used a soul restriction to force her cooperation.
• Hu Sanniang explained that Zhao Wuya faked his death to deceive heaven, then sacrificed at least sixty years of Zhao Wanliang’s lifespan to secure the divine rank and prepare him to become a Ghost Immortal.
• Hu Sanniang said Zhao Wuya repeatedly descended into the Netherworld to alter Zhao Wanliang’s lifespan in the master Book of Life and Death, and Lu Chen asked whether he had bribed King Yama or Judge Cui.

Lu Chen learned from Hu Sanniang that Zhao Wuya had orchestrated Rebirth Academy and Five Hells Ascension while secretly helping Zhao Wanliang eliminate Jiangdu’s rivals. Hu Sanniang sought Lu Chen’s protection and a chance to reincarnate, and Lu Chen agreed to let her atone while keeping his plans against Zhao Wuya hidden.

• Hu Sanniang explained that Zhao Wuya had learned secret arts in Xiangnan and used them to murder Li City God, though Xiangnan’s hidden realms were said to be beyond the Heavenly Court’s reach.
• Lu Chen concluded that Zhao Wuya had manipulated Five Hells Ascension to secure the City God post and planned to control the fates of Qiu Qianluo, Zhao Wanliang, and the Ma family.
• Hu Sanniang revealed that Zhao Wuya had watched Jiangdu’s powers and helped Zhao Wanliang eliminate anyone who threatened the Zhao family, including people on Zhao Wanliang’s observation list.
• Hu Sanniang confessed that she had served Zhao Wuya under coercion, sought revenge for Li City God, and hoped to earn a chance to reincarnate; Lu Chen promised she could atone through merit.
• Lu Chen told Hu Sanniang to continue spying on Zhao Wuya and planned to wait another month before acting, using the time to draw out the old schemer.
• Hu Sanniang revealed that Zhao Wuya had sent her to please Lu Chen with her body, warning him to hide their conversation if Zhao Wuya visited.