Chapter Summaries

Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi sneaked out of the Jieqing Sect and tried to join a field assignment, recruiting a white-robed girl to complete the team. The girl seized Lin Feiyan and forced her to her knees, then asked what she wanted.

• Lin Feiyan persuaded Gong Shaoqi to sneak down the mountain while their master was away.
• Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi approached Chen Yuan and Su Liu, revealed their cultivation, and offered to join their assignment.
• Lin Feiyan gave her own name as Gong Shaoqi, and Gong Shaoqi blurted out that he was Lin Feiyan.
• Chen Yuan agreed to take them along and said they needed one more person for the five-member team.
• Lin Feiyan grabbed for a passing white-robed girl, who caught her wrist, forced her to her knees, and asked what she wanted.

Jiang Yuechu joined Lin Feiyan and her companions for a sect training assignment after overpowering Lin Feiyan in a physical struggle. The group departed Jieqing Sect aboard a flying boat, where Chen Yuan proposed that they share their abilities so they could coordinate.

• Jiang Yuechu released Lin Feiyan’s wrist after Lin Feiyan explained that she was recruiting her for a training assignment, and Jiang Yuechu agreed to leave immediately.
• Lin Feiyan called Chen Yuan, Su Liu, and Gong Shaoqi over, and they introduced themselves before agreeing to set out.
• Chen Yuan guided the group’s flying boat while Jiang Yuechu rested and Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi admired the scenery.
• Chen Yuan suggested that everyone describe their abilities to help the group prepare for dangers and coordinate during the assignment.

Chen Yuan explained that the expedition was to investigate a demon attacking travelers near Huangshan City, though the Xu Family’s request for help seemed disproportionate to the demon’s reported strength. The group prepared to find out what threat had truly overwhelmed the powerful clan.

• Lin Feiyan introduced herself as a killing-arts specialist, while Lin Feiyan’s junior revealed his skill in formations and talismans.
• Jiang Yuechu said her specialty was killing enemies, and Chen Yuan introduced himself and Su Liu as cultivators with broad but shallow skills.
• Chen Yuan explained that the Xu Family of Huangshan City had requested aid after a demon near the marsh killed travelers and several Chessmaster Realm cultivators.
• Lin Feiyan dismissed the reported fourth-piece demon and said she would defeat it easily.
• Chen Yuan warned that the Xu Family’s five-piece patriarch and several powerful elders should have been able to handle a mere fourth-piece demon.

Lin Feiyan and Chen Yuan reached Huangshan City and found the Xu Family under the control of Xu Liunian, who had summoned the Jieqing Sect while taking revenge on Xu Chunnian for his mother’s murder. Lin Feiyan took the Xu Family’s seat of authority and demanded that everyone speak quickly.

• Chen Yuan warned Lin Feiyan and Su Liu that the Xu Family had likely understated the demon’s strength, but Lin Feiyan eagerly continued toward Huangshan City.
• Xu Liunian humiliated the Xu Family members in their ancestral hall and confronted the captured Xu Chunnian over his role in murdering Xu Liunian’s mother.
• Xu Liunian revealed that he had used the patriarch’s seal to request aid from the Jieqing Sect, then prepared to kill Xu Chunnian.
• Lin Feiyan, Chen Yuan, and their companions entered the ancestral hall, where the Xu Family members recognized the Jieqing Sect robes.
• Xu Liunian greeted Lin Feiyan, but she walked past him, sat in the Xu Family’s seat of authority, and demanded that everyone speak quickly.

Chapter Summary: “How? I Can’t Interfere?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Jiang Yuechu assertively takes the seat of honor in the Xu Family hall, everyone is stunned by her domineering attitude.
• The Xu Family head, Xu Chunnian, attempts to appeal to her for protection against Xu Liunian, hoping the Jieqing Sect envoy will intervene in the family’s internal conflict.
• Before Xu Chunnian can explain himself, Xu Liunian severely punches him in the abdomen, preventing him from speaking.
• Xu Liunian politely tries to dismiss Jiang Yuechu and the others, claiming that the Xu Family must resolve its own internal affairs.
• When Jiang Yuechu refuses to leave, Xu Liunian invokes the Dao Sects’ traditional rule against interfering in the internal power struggles of vassal families.
• Jiang Yuechu responds that the Jieqing Sect’s rules have nothing to do with her, causing Xu Liunian and the others to suspect that she may not actually belong to the sect.
• Chen Yuan realizes that Jiang Yuechu never formally identified herself and wonders whether Gong Shaoqi may have casually recruited an outsider to join their trial group.
• Jiang Yuechu finally reveals a green-jade Dao Tablet and declares that she is a guest elder of the Jieqing Sect, asking, with genuine confusion, why she cannot interfere.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Demonstrates overwhelming confidence, authority, and disregard for conventional etiquette. Her calm dominance initially suggests either extreme arrogance or a status beyond that of an ordinary disciple. Her reveal as a guest elder explains her confidence and establishes that she possesses legitimate authority within the Jieqing Sect.
• Xu Chunnian: Becomes desperate and fearful as he tries to use Jiang Yuechu’s presence to save himself. His inability to speak after Xu Liunian’s attack leaves him helpless.
• Xu Liunian: Shows himself to be controlling and ruthless, violently silencing Xu Chunnian while maintaining a polite exterior toward the Jieqing Sect representatives. His confidence falters once Jiang Yuechu refuses to obey him and questions his assumptions.
• Chen Yuan: Becomes increasingly anxious and confused about Jiang Yuechu’s identity. He recognizes the political danger of her actions and worries that she may cause the Jieqing Sect to be accused of meddling.
• Gong Shaoqi and Lin Feiyan: Gong is awed by Jiang Yuechu’s extravagant bearing, while Lin Feiyan remains silent and difficult to read. Their confusion reinforces that Jiang Yuechu’s true status was unknown even to her companions.

Significant Themes

• Authority versus convention: Jiang Yuechu’s conduct challenges the accepted boundary that Dao Sects should not interfere in vassal-family disputes.
• Appearance and hidden status: Jiang initially appears to be an unusually arrogant outsider, but her concealed identity as a guest elder completely changes the interpretation of her actions.
• Power and intimidation: Xu Liunian relies on violence and political rules to maintain control, while Jiang Yuechu exerts authority effortlessly through confidence and status.
• Institutional ambiguity: The chapter explores the difference between formal rules and the privileges of individuals who may stand outside or above those rules.
• Comedic misunderstanding: The characters on both sides assume the others understand Jiang Yuechu’s identity, creating confusion and ironic tension.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and Xu Liunian: Their confrontation drives the chapter. Xu Liunian attempts to control the situation through courtesy and appeals to sect regulations, but Jiang Yuechu calmly ignores both.
• Xu Liunian and Xu Chunnian: Their interaction reveals the family’s internal power struggle, with Xu Liunian physically suppressing the former family head.
• Chen Yuan and the Jieqing Sect disciples: Chen worries about the consequences of Jiang Yuechu’s intervention, while Gong Shaoqi is fascinated by her imposing manner.
• Jiang Yuechu and Chen Yuan: Her final question is directed at Chen Yuan, turning his uncertainty into the chapter’s closing revelation: she has legitimate standing as a guest elder and therefore believes she has every right to interfere.

Chapter Summary: “Is There Even a Main Course?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu reveals that she is an honorary elder of the Jieqing Sect, shocking Chen Yuan, Lin Feiyan, and Xu Liunian. Her position gives her authority to intervene in the Xu Family’s affairs and places her above ordinary sect restrictions.
• Xu Liunian’s original plan is exposed: he fabricated reports of demonic activity to lure Jieqing Sect disciples into the city, intending to kill them and absorb their blood essence through his evil cultivation technique.
• When Xu Liunian attempts to kill Xu Chunnian and silence him, Jiang Yuechu effortlessly suppresses him with a star-filled river of spiritual power, forcing him to his knees.
• Xu Chunnian explains that Xu Liunian is an illegitimate descendant who returned to the family after learning a demonic blood-draining art. Xu Liunian allegedly killed his father and several elders, then staged the demon crisis to attract powerful cultivators.
• The Jieqing disciples realize they nearly walked into a trap. Chen Yuan and Lin Feiyan become furious and prepare to deal with Xu Liunian.
• Jiang Yuechu, however, is disappointed when Xu Chunnian confirms that there are probably no actual demons involved. She had hoped the trial would allow her to fight powerful demons and improve her cultivation, so she loses interest and tells the disciples to handle the Xu Family themselves.
• Xu Liunian suddenly reveals that he has not been acting alone. He activates a powerful blood-energy technique, summons a massive blood-colored demon palace above Huangshan City, and releases four blood-red Dao Chess pieces.
• A terrifying demon howl approaches from outside the city, suggesting that Xu Liunian has summoned or allied himself with a powerful demon.
• Chen Yuan orders everyone to suppress Xu Liunian before he can coordinate with the approaching demon. Lin Feiyan also prepares to fight.
• Instead of attacking, Jiang Yuechu abruptly becomes interested and excited. She sits upright and tells the others not to rush, wanting to see what will happen.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Her identity as a Jieqing Sect honorary elder is confirmed, demonstrating her extraordinary authority and overwhelming strength. She easily suppresses Xu Liunian, but her motivation remains unusual: she is more disappointed by the absence of demons than concerned about the family dispute. Her excitement at the arrival of a powerful demon reveals her eagerness for a challenging battle and possible cultivation gains.
• Xu Liunian: His facade collapses completely. He is exposed as a ruthless cultivator who uses blood-draining demonic arts and manipulates both his family and the Jieqing Sect disciples. After being cornered, he reveals a larger and more dangerous plan involving a blood palace and a powerful demon ally.
• Xu Chunnian: Initially terrified and nearly killed, he abandons his fear of Xu Liunian once Jiang Yuechu intervenes. He confesses the truth about Xu Liunian and becomes the source of the group’s understanding of the conspiracy.
• Chen Yuan: He shifts from confusion to relief after the truth is uncovered, then becomes vigilant when Xu Liunian summons external help. He assumes command by ordering the group to suppress Xu Liunian.
• Lin Feiyan: Her anger grows after realizing she was deliberately lured into a trap. She prepares eagerly for combat, especially once the demon’s powerful presence becomes apparent.

Significant Themes

• Hidden authority and social hierarchy: Jiang Yuechu’s honorary elder status radically changes the balance of power and demonstrates how institutional rank can override ordinary rules.
• Deception and manipulation: Xu Liunian fabricates a demon crisis and exploits both his family and the sect’s sense of duty to create an opportunity for murder.
• Misaligned expectations: The disciples expect a routine investigation, while Jiang Yuechu hopes for a dangerous demon battle. Her disappointment adds humor and highlights her unconventional priorities.
• Power and control: Jiang Yuechu’s effortless suppression of Xu Liunian contrasts sharply with his violent schemes, showing the vast difference between their abilities.
• Escalation beneath apparent resolution: Just as the conspiracy seems solved, Xu Liunian reveals a far greater threat, transforming a family conflict into a supernatural confrontation.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and the Xu Family: She dominates the ancestral hall through her status and strength, interrogating Xu Chunnian while casually suppressing Xu Liunian.
• Jiang Yuechu and the Jieqing disciples: The disciples respect her authority but are bewildered by her lack of interest in resolving the family matter. Her sudden excitement over the demon leaves Chen Yuan and Lin Feiyan confused.
• Xu Liunian and Xu Chunnian: Their relationship is revealed as deeply hostile. Xu Liunian seeks to kill Xu Chunnian, while Xu Chunnian exposes his crimes once Jiang Yuechu protects him.
• Xu Liunian and the Jieqing Sect disciples: Xu Liunian intentionally lures them into the city as potential victims, making them direct targets of his blood cultivation.
• Chen Yuan and Lin Feiyan: Both react with anger and prepare to fight Xu Liunian, with Chen Yuan taking the lead when the approaching demon signals a larger battle.

Lin Feiyan faced the Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon but struggled to fight it, while Xu Liunian absorbed blood energy and turned the Xu Family against Chen Yuan and Su Liu. Jiang Yuechu then reappeared and crushed Xu Liunian with a staff, leaving him pinned in the ancestral hall.

• The Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon crashed outside the Xu Family ancestral hall and challenged those inside.
• Lin Feiyan stepped forward to fight the demon, but her attacks failed and she fled as it pursued her.
• Xu Liunian drained a Xu Family member, raised his cultivation, and used blood energy to make the family surround Chen Yuan, Su Liu, and their frightened companion.
• Jiang Yuechu vanished from her seat, then struck Xu Liunian into the floor and pinned him with her green staff.

Jiang Yuechu crushed Xu Liunian but kept him alive in hopes of drawing out his accomplices, while Lin Feiyan was rescued from the Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon by a white-robed girl. The demon halted his attack when a battered sword appeared, leaving its wielder’s identity unclear.

• Jiang Yuechu used the Ten Directions Mountains-and-Rivers Staff to smash Xu Liunian back into the pit and chose not to kill him so she could lure out his accomplices.
• The Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon pressed Lin Feiyan with another water attack as she panicked and struggled to remember her spells.
• Lin Feiyan instinctively cast the Clean Clothes Incantation, and Chen Yuan realized she had used an everyday spell instead of a combat technique.
• A white-robed girl stepped in front of Lin Feiyan and dissolved the water dragon with her robes.
• The Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon swung at the white-robed girl, then recoiled when a battered long sword appeared and released terrifying sword intent.

Jiang Yuechu revealed overwhelming power against the Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon, driving it back and preventing its escape. She killed the demon and received a prompt to record it.

• Lin Feiyan urged Jiang Yuechu to retreat while she held off the Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon, but Jiang Yuechu told her to stay with the Xu Family man.
• Jiang Yuechu unleashed her power and struck the demon with her staff, sending its enormous body crashing aside.
• Lin Feiyan and the others watched in shock as Jiang Yuechu badly injured the demon, and Lin Feiyan withdrew toward the sect hall.
• The Jadewater Golden-Eyed Demon tried to flee into the Great Marsh, but Jiang Yuechu pursued it with Six-Turn Heavenly River while the broken sword blocked its path.
• Jiang Yuechu struck the demon again and killed it, gaining 1,953,200 years of Dao Cultivation and a prompt to record the unrecorded demon.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu decisively kills the powerful Great Demon, shocking everyone present. Although she appears to possess only the aura of a low-level Chessmaster, her combat ability is revealed to be vastly superior.
• Chen Yuan, Su Liu, and Gong Shaoqi immediately apologize and show her great respect after realizing that she is likely an extraordinarily powerful Dao Sect guest elder.
• Xu Chunnian and the surviving members of the Xu Family thank Jiang Yuechu for saving them from annihilation. Xu Chunnian vows to punish Xu Liunian, who caused the disaster by summoning demons, murdering his relatives, and attacking Jieqing Sect disciples.
• Jiang Yuechu approaches the severely injured Xu Liunian, intending to question him about possible accomplices. Xu Liunian, believing everything is lost, refuses to reveal anything and accepts his fate.
• After quietly speaking with him, Jiang Yuechu becomes furious, claiming that Xu Liunian insulted the Jieqing Sect. She then kills him with her Ten Directions Mountains-and-Rivers Staff.
• The system confirms that Xu Liunian’s death grants Jiang Yuechu 1,977 years of Dao cultivation.
• Lin Feiyan, who could not hear any conversation between Jiang Yuechu and Xu Liunian, becomes suspicious and worries that they must have communicated through voice transmission about something important.

2. Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Her overwhelming strength and mysterious status become even clearer. She remains outwardly calm and indifferent, but reacts fiercely when the Jieqing Sect is insulted. Her casual words are repeatedly misunderstood as profound or benevolent guidance.
• Chen Yuan, Su Liu, and Gong Shaoqi: Their earlier confidence turns into fear and reverence after witnessing Jiang Yuechu kill the Great Demon effortlessly. They now treat her as an untouchable senior.
• Xu Chunnian: Grateful and frightened, he desperately distances the Xu Family from Xu Liunian’s actions. He becomes eager to prove loyalty and avoid being punished alongside the disgraced family member.
• Xu Liunian: Having failed in his long-term attempt to overturn the Xu Family’s established order, he becomes resigned to defeat and death. His reflections reveal bitterness, regret, and a belief that his failure was inevitable.
• Lin Feiyan: Her observational and suspicious nature becomes prominent. She notices that Jiang Yuechu and Xu Liunian apparently exchanged words she could not hear, leading her to worry about the hidden significance of their interaction.

3. Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and concealed identity: Jiang Yuechu’s modest appearance and apparent cultivation conceal extraordinary strength, causing others to constantly misjudge her.
• Respect born from fear: The characters’ attitudes shift immediately once Jiang Yuechu demonstrates her power, showing the harsh hierarchy of the cultivation world.
• Family betrayal and ruthless justice: Xu Liunian’s crimes against his own family are treated with extreme severity, emphasizing that lineage conflicts leave little room for mercy.
• Misunderstanding and dramatic irony: Jiang Yuechu’s casual remarks are interpreted as deep wisdom, while her private exchange with Xu Liunian becomes a mystery to everyone else.
• Failure, regret, and inevitability: Xu Liunian reflects on his unsuccessful rebellion and concludes that some mistakes and failures cannot be escaped, even with another chance.

4. Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and the Jieqing Sect disciples: After her victory, the disciples apologize and submit respectfully, recognizing the enormous gap between them.
• Jiang Yuechu and Xu Chunnian: Xu Chunnian repeatedly thanks her and tries to interpret her words favorably, while Jiang Yuechu remains indifferent to his emotional response.
• Jiang Yuechu and Xu Liunian: Their brief, private exchange is the chapter’s central mystery. Xu Liunian appears startled by what she says, and Jiang Yuechu kills him immediately afterward.
• Xu Chunnian and Xu Liunian: Xu Chunnian openly condemns and threatens Xu Liunian, prioritizing the survival and reputation of the Xu Family over familial loyalty.
• Lin Feiyan and Jiang Yuechu: Lin Feiyan observes Jiang Yuechu closely and becomes increasingly concerned that the powerful guest elder is concealing an important secret.

Jiang Yuechu accepted a ten-thousand-year ice soul from the Xu Family as thanks for defeating the Seven-Son Great Demon and agreed to stay in Huangshan City for one night. During the banquet, Chen Yuan suggested that the unfamiliar demon might be connected to the Southern Immortal Palace.

• After the Seven-Son Great Demon was killed, Xu Chunnian offered Jiang Yuechu a Dao-Union Relic in gratitude for saving the Xu Family.
• Jiang Yuechu learned the relic was a ten-thousand-year ice soul containing water-element essence and agreed to stay one night.
• At the Xu Family banquet, Xu Chunnian gave Jiang Yuechu the ice soul and presented spiritual materials and magical treasures to Chen Yuan, Lin Feiyan, Gong Shaoqi, and Su Liu.
• Jiang Yuechu asked whether anyone knew where the demon had come from, and Xu Chunnian said he had never seen or heard of it.
• Chen Yuan noted the demon's surrounding water vapor and pure demonic power, then suggested it might be connected to the Southern Immortal Palace.

Jiang Yuechu tested the Chess Beast Command gift she gained from the Azurewater Golden-Crystal Beast and used it to improve her Dao Chess. After combining it with several wetland Great Demons, she successfully forged an Immortal-Grade Dao Chess.

• Jiang Yuechu learned that the demon she had encountered was connected to the Southern Immortal Palace, then withdrew to a quiet courtyard with her companions.
• Jiang Yuechu examined the costly new Chess Beast Command gift and traveled outside Huangshan City to test it with a ten-thousand-year ice soul.
• Jiang Yuechu formed a Spirit-Grade Dao Chess and merged the Azurewater Golden-Crystal Beast into it, but the result fell short of Immortal-Grade.
• Jiang Yuechu extracted the Guanlan Immortal Lord, Blackwater Immortal Lord, Jade-Armored Giant Crab, and Red-Tailed Water Ape demon bodies and forced them into the Dao Chess.
• Jiang Yuechu’s Dao Chess absorbed the Great Demons’ reserves and transformed into an Immortal-Grade Dao Chess amid a vast celestial phenomenon.

After leaving Huangshan City, Lin Feiyan decided to continue demon-hunting rather than return to the Jieqing Sect and invited Jiang Yuechu to travel with her and Chen Yuan. She persuaded Jiang Yuechu by revealing that a dangerous demon lair held a valuable Dao-Union Relic.

• Xu Chunnian and the others arrived at the mountaintop after an Immortal-Grade Dao Chess phenomenon, and Gong Shaoqi wondered if Guest Elder Jiang had caused it.
• The next morning, Jiang Yuechu and the disciples left Huangshan City aboard a flying boat while Xu Chunnian thanked them for their help.
• After they traveled beyond the Fifty-Thousand-Li Great Marsh, Lin Feiyan announced that she and her junior brother would part ways with Chen Yuan and the others to continue tempering their Dao hearts.
• Lin Feiyan invited Jiang Yuechu to accompany her and Chen Yuan on their travels, offering to help with her tasks.
• Lin Feiyan revealed that a dangerous demon lair south of the Jieqing Sect contained a valuable Dao-Union Relic, and Jiang Yuechu asked her to explain further.

Lin Feiyan and Jiang Yuechu watched demons seize an old man in Immortal-Sojourn Valley, and Lin Feiyan realized how dangerous the demons were. Jiang Yuechu decided they should follow the demons to find out more.

• An old dog demon brought a captured old man to a secluded valley and asked the Gray Wolf Demon to let it serve the second young master.
• The Gray Wolf Demon dismissed the old dog's request, and the Jackal Demon took the old man away.
• After the demons left, the old dog cursed them for taking the credit and ignoring its efforts.
• Lin Feiyan and Jiang Yuechu watched from above the valley with a third concealed figure, and Lin Feiyan admitted she had not expected to encounter such powerful demons.
• Jiang Yuechu told Lin Feiyan they should follow the demons.

Jiang Yuechu captured the old black dog and questioned it about the two wolf demons, learning they served the Second Young Master of the Southern Immortal Palace. Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi recognized the name and realized their trip had led them into another dangerous encounter.

• Lin Feiyan urged Jiang Yuechu to pursue the weaker old black dog instead of following the two wolf demons, and Gong Shaoqi agreed.
• Jiang Yuechu descended into the valley and slammed the old black dog into the ground before pinning it with a broken sword.
• Jiang Yuechu demanded to know where the two demons had come from, and the old dog said they guarded the Second Young Master deep within Immortal-Sojourn Valley.
• Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi recognized the Second Young Master of the Southern Immortal Palace and worried that they had stumbled into another dangerous situation.

Dark Nether Patriarch was thrown into a cell in Immortal-Sojourn Valley, where he reunited with the captured Xuan Yang. The two learned they had both been taken as boundary-crossing cultivators for a mysterious Second Young Master and despaired over their fall from power.

• Two gray-furred wolf demons carried Dark Nether Patriarch into a warded cell and threw him inside.
• Dark Nether Patriarch discovered Xuan Yang in the cell, and the two recognized each other.
• Xuan Yang explained that demons had captured him on his way to the Jieqing Sect after he entered the Cloud-Dream Realm.
• Dark Nether Patriarch said an Old Dog Demon had defeated and captured him shortly after his arrival.
• Xuan Yang suspected that the Second Young Master was targeting outsiders who had crossed the boundary, and Dark Nether Patriarch realized they could do nothing against such a powerful enemy.
• The two former Supreme Seats mourned their helplessness and wondered whether they should have stayed in their own world.

The Second Young Master learned that his sister had been confined after their father moved against her and her carp-spirit husband. When his agent Azurewater Golden-Eye went missing, he ordered an investigation and revealed that he was gathering world-breakers to reach another world and claim the Dao Painting.

• The Second Young Master emerged from the wetlands after advancing his cultivation, and the old turtle congratulated him.
• The Second Young Master learned that his father had taken his sister back to the Southern Immortal Palace and confined her after conspiring to eliminate her husband.
• The Second Young Master asked about the Xu Family girl’s assignment, and the old turtle reported that they had lost contact with Azurewater Golden-Eye.
• The old turtle speculated that Azurewater Golden-Eye might have defected, been distracted in Huangshan City, or been killed, angering the Second Young Master.
• The Second Young Master ordered the old turtle to find Azurewater Golden-Eye alive or dead and threatened him with death if he failed.
• The Second Young Master reflected that gathering more world-breakers would open a gate to another world and help him obtain the Dao Painting before challenging Eldest Brother.

Jiang Yuechu learned that the Southern Immortal Palace was searching for unusual human cultivators, including a captured Supreme Seat of the Dark Nether Lineage, and suspected the targets might be people from her world. Despite Lin Feiyan's warnings, Jiang Yuechu pursued the demons, and Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi followed her.

• Lin Feiyan warned Jiang Yuechu that the Southern Immortal Palace's Second Young Master was powerful and urged her to avoid provoking him.
• Jiang Yuechu questioned the old dog, who revealed that the Second Young Master had ordered demons to capture special human cultivators, including a man called the Supreme Seat of the Dark Nether Lineage.
• Jiang Yuechu suspected the Southern Immortal Palace was targeting cultivators who had crossed over from her world, and worried about the threat to Great Tang.
• Jiang Yuechu killed the old dog and stored its corpse, then headed after the two Eight-Piece Chessmaster Realm demons.
• Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi hesitated, but Lin Feiyan decided they would follow Jiang Yuechu into the miasma.

The Gray Wolf Demon and Jackal Demon discussed the newly appeared Immortal-God Cave Abode and their loyalty to the second young master. Their plans were interrupted when a white-robed girl arrived on the Azurewater Golden-Crystal Beast, whose Immortal-Grade Dao Chess piece suppressed their attacks.

• The Jackal Demon told the Gray Wolf Demon that the Cloud-Dream Palace had sealed off the area around the newly appeared Immortal-God Cave Abode.
• The Gray Wolf Demon urged the Jackal Demon to guard their captives and support the second young master, who hoped to obtain the Dao Painting.
• The Gray Wolf Demon sensed an intruder, and the two demons confronted a white-robed girl riding the Azurewater Golden-Crystal Beast.
• The Jackal Demon accused the beast of betraying the second young master, and the beast answered with a torrent of cold from its horn.
• The two demons summoned their Demon Palaces and sent sixteen Dao Chess pieces toward the girl.
• The Azurewater Golden-Crystal Beast unleashed purple-gold radiance that stopped and weakened the Dao Chess pieces, revealing an Immortal-Grade Dao Chess piece.

Chapter Summary: Lin Feiyan’s Dilemma

Key Plot Points and Events

• Inside the karst cave, Jiang Yuechu’s sixteen Dao Chess pieces—revealed to be Immortal-Grade—hover on the verge of collapse while emitting purple-gold radiance.
• The Gray Wolf Demon and Jackal Demon are shocked that a cultivator with only Two-Piece Chessmaster cultivation possesses Immortal-Grade Dao Chess. They suspect she must have an extraordinary and mysterious background.
• The Gray Wolf Demon attempts to negotiate by invoking the authority of the Southern Immortal Palace’s Second Young Master, offering Jiang Yuechu protection and status while subtly threatening her.
• Jiang Yuechu ignores the warning and launches an even more powerful attack: a heavenly river filled with falling stars descends upon the demons.
• Realizing their Dao Chess are suppressed by Jiang Yuechu’s higher-grade pieces, the demons absorb their eight Dao Chess pieces into their bodies and fight through their physical demonic strength.
• Their clash destroys the cave and shatters the surrounding mountain, creating a massive shockwave.
• Lin Feiyan and Gong Shaoqi arrive near the battlefield and witness the purple-gold phenomenon, confirming that Jiang Yuechu—the mysterious Attendant Jiang—was the person who had previously condensed Immortal-Grade Dao Chess near Huangshan City.
• Gong Shaoqi is frightened and suggests caution, but Lin Feiyan decides to approach the battle alone. She equips herself with a Bronze Heartguard Mirror and two protective talismans before charging into the destruction.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Demonstrates overwhelming confidence and ruthlessness. She refuses to be intimidated by the Southern Immortal Palace and responds to negotiation with a stronger attack, establishing her as a powerful and unpredictable figure despite her seemingly low cultivation realm.
• Gray Wolf Demon and Jackal Demon: Shift from arrogant enforcers to cautious negotiators, then back to desperate combatants when Jiang Yuechu refuses to retreat. Their decision to abandon Dao Chess techniques and rely on their demonic bodies shows their adaptability and desperation.
• Lin Feiyan: Struggles between fear and responsibility. Although she recognizes that entering the battle may be extremely dangerous, she overcomes her hesitation and chooses to protect or investigate Jiang Yuechu rather than hide. Her decision marks a moment of courage and personal growth.
• Gong Shaoqi: Reveals his cautious, non-combat-oriented nature. He recognizes the danger more realistically than Lin Feiyan and is unwilling to approach the battlefield, highlighting the contrast between his pragmatism and Lin Feiyan’s sense of duty.

Significant Themes

• Power beyond conventional cultivation: Jiang Yuechu’s Immortal-Grade Dao Chess allows her to challenge opponents with much higher combat experience or physical strength, questioning the usual assumptions about realm superiority.
• Mystery and hidden identity: Jiang Yuechu’s ability to possess such rare Dao Chess without attracting attention suggests an extraordinary origin or concealed background.
• Courage versus self-preservation: Lin Feiyan must decide whether to protect herself or fulfill her responsibility as a disciple and senior figure. Her choice emphasizes courage born from conviction rather than lack of fear.
• Authority and intimidation: The demons attempt to use the Southern Immortal Palace’s reputation to control Jiang Yuechu, but their threat fails, showing that established power cannot always suppress unknown or rising forces.
• Duty and responsibility: Lin Feiyan feels obligated not to abandon a newly arrived Attendant to danger, even though doing so could cost her life.

Character Interactions

• The Gray Wolf Demon tries to persuade Jiang Yuechu to withdraw by praising her talent and invoking the Southern Immortal Palace, but she answers with a devastating attack instead of words.
• The two demons coordinate closely, absorbing their Dao Chess and attacking Jiang Yuechu together.
• Gong Shaoqi questions Lin Feiyan’s decision to enter the battlefield, expressing fear for her safety.
• Lin Feiyan responds defensively to his doubt, then sends him to hide while preparing herself to intervene.
• The chapter ends with Lin Feiyan charging into the ruined battlefield, setting up a confrontation involving herself, Jiang Yuechu, and the two demons.