Recaps

Jiang Jingnian told Duan Xiaodie that the Jade Bracelet contained ancient blood infused with Baleful Intent and needed to be nurtured in her tears, while she insisted on helping despite the risk. Meanwhile, Liu Qingzhi’s divination warned that her dangerous advancement opportunity was tied to the Red Gauze Lotus.

• Duan Xiaodie told Jiang Jingnian she had broken through to become a Blood Tempering Stage Martial Master.
• Duan Xiaodie refused to be treated as fragile and asked Jiang Jingnian to let her help with the Jade Bracelet.
• Jiang Jingnian explained that the bracelet needed to be soaked in Duan Xiaodie’s tears for three days and warned her about the possible danger.
• Duan Xiaodie agreed to try, but said she could not cry while she was so happy about her breakthrough.
• Liu Qingzhi checked her divination slips and learned that her advancement carried extreme danger and that her opportunity lay with the Red Gauze Lotus.

Jiang Jingnian ignored the forces moving against him and used borrowed Merit Points and special items to approach perfect Marrow Tempering, developing embryonic Inner Qi. He devoured the purified Jade Bracelet, transforming the Jade Heart Method into a passive trait that strengthened his resistance to mental effects and poison while increasing his charm.

• Jiang Jingnian learned that Wenli Hall, the Wada Society, the Tang Household, the Jin Household, and the Yan Household were preparing to move against him, while the Red Gang had not yet implicated the Qu Household.
• Jiang Jingnian spent nearly seven hundred borrowed Merit Points and refined three special items, raising his Martial Master archetype to 97% Marrow Tempering.
• Jiang Jingnian developed embryonic Inner Qi that expelled Decline Venomous Worms and brought him close to the Leakless Realm.
• Jiang Jingnian decided to devour the Jade Bracelet after Duan Xiaodie's tears purified its killing intent, despite its value as a defensive secret treasure.
• Jiang Jingnian's Jade Heart Method transformed into the passive trait [The Nobleman Is Like Jade], which negated some mental impacts and contamination, purified or suppressed most poisons, and moderately increased his charm.

Jiang Jingnian gained the Wind-Shocking Shadow trait and discovered that The Nobleman Is Like Jade had transformed his appearance so much that Duan Xiaodie barely recognized him. Meanwhile, Liu Qingzhi investigated the clues to her advancement and suspected that Jiang Jingnian had an unusual constitution connected to repeated calamities.

• Jiang Jingnian devoured the Black Profound Court-Thundering Wood and gained the Wind-Shocking Shadow trait, which increased his overall speed and concealed his movements.
• Jiang Jingnian tested Wind-Shocking Shadow and concluded that it could let him suppress an ordinary Early Inner Qi Realm cultivator.
• Duan Xiaodie mistook the jade-skinned, handsome Jiang Jingnian for a stranger until she recognized his voice.
• Liu Qingzhi asked the Blazing Cloud Dao Lord about the divinatory phrase “Red Gauze Lotus” and learned that intelligence related to both clues came from Jiang Jingnian.
• Liu Qingzhi found reports of the Red-Gauze Spiral Maiden in the West Sand District and Lotus Intent Sect activity near Dongdi Lake, then suspected Jiang Jingnian might possess a Calamitous Constitution.

Liu Qingzhi went to Jiang Jingnian’s residence to question him, mistook his changed appearance for demonic deception, and attacked him. Elder Gongsun intervened and escorted her away to face punishment, leaving Jiang Jingnian wary of the sect.

• Liu Qingzhi searched for Jiang Jingnian using his registration photograph and found a handsome youth who did not match the image.
• Jiang Jingnian identified himself, but Liu Qingzhi accused him of lying and attacked him with Frost Inner Qi.
• Jiang Jingnian fought back with his techniques and struck Liu Qingzhi into the courtyard floor, but she recovered and prepared to use her Dao Armament Profound Blade.
• Elder Gongsun intervened, stopped Liu Qingzhi, and rebuked her for attacking a fellow disciple in the inner sect.
• Liu Qingzhi continued questioning whether Jiang Jingnian was truly himself, then Elder Gongsun led her away to accept punishment.

Jiang Jingnian abandoned his plan to kill Liu Qingzhi after she offered him Merit Points to apologize for their fight. Liu Qingzhi then asked him to help her pursue a divined opportunity called “Red Gauze Lotus,” offering to settle his troubles in Peace City, and he left the decision open until she paid him.

• Jiang Jingnian plotted to kill Liu Qingzhi with bizarre poisons, while Qian Ningning urged him to seek reconciliation and Duan Xiaodie listened.
• Liu Qingzhi visited Jiang Jingnian to apologize and offered compensation, bargaining with him until they agreed on eight hundred and fifty Merit Points.
• Jiang Jingnian welcomed Liu Qingzhi inside and admitted to Qian Ningning that the compensation had changed his mind.
• Liu Qingzhi asked Jiang Jingnian about the “Red Gauze Lotus” opportunity and invited him to descend the mountain with her, offering to settle his troubles in Peace City.
• Jiang Jingnian told Liu Qingzhi to give him the promised Merit Points before they discussed her request.

Jiang Jingnian reached the limit of Marrow Tempering, simplified his advancement ritual to require a day and night at Tongda Escort Agency, and decided to descend the mountain with Liu Qingzhi. Liu Qingzhi warned that her divination showed misfortune ahead and suggested Jiang Jingnian might be burning Life Essence or carrying a Calamitous Constitution.

• Jiang Jingnian agreed to help Liu Qingzhi descend the mountain after accepting her Merit Points, and Liu Qingzhi insisted they leave within two days.
• Jiang Jingnian used special items to raise his Marrow Tempering progress to 120 percent and learned that ordinary martial artists needed a difficult Advancement Ritual to enter the Inner Qi Realm.
• Jiang Jingnian bought items with Flame Nature, Metal Nature, and Copper Essence, simplifying his ritual to spending one day and night at Tongda Escort Agency.
• Jiang Jingnian told Liu Qingzhi he had an opportunity to seek and planned to descend the mountain that night, while Duan Xiaodie accompanied them.
• Liu Qingzhi divined misfortune along Jiang Jingnian's intended route and warned that he might be burning Life Essence or have a Calamitous Constitution.

Jiang Jingnian rejected Liu Qingzhi’s warning about his dangerous Human Tribulations and insisted on descending the mountain to pursue his Inner Qi Realm advancement. Liu Qingzhi joined him to Peace City, where their journey ended with a fire breaking out near the Tongda Escort Agency.

• Liu Qingzhi warned Jiang Jingnian that his successive Human Tribulations made his planned journey dangerous and urged him to follow her itinerary.
• Jiang Jingnian insisted that he had to pursue his great opportunity immediately, and Duan Xiaodie silently supported him.
• Liu Qingzhi decided to travel with Jiang Jingnian, and they set out for Peace City after he prepared to leave.
• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi reached Miqiao District without encountering Demon Wraiths or an ambush.
• Jiang Jingnian heard cries for help and saw flames and smoke rising from a distant street.

Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi traveled toward Tongda Escort Agency as a fire burned nearby, while the Su Family celebrated a wedding and Tongda’s escorts were ambushed. The chapter ended as someone broke through the collapsed passage to reach the trapped survivors.

• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi discussed the danger posed by Mysterious Mountain Dao Lineage’s True Disciples as their carriage approached the burning area.
• At the Su Family wedding, Li Dashan and Yuchi Guang discussed Jiang Jingnian, the Chamber of Commerce, and their unsuccessful search for signs of Demon Wraiths.
• As Li Dashan and Yuchi Guang prepared to leave, poisoned arrows struck; Li Dashan deflected several, but one pierced Su Ming’s neck, and Su Wanzhi saw red-gauzed maids wielding concealed weapons.
• At Tongda Escort Agency, betrayed escorts described how the Thunderclap Gang and Dou'a Sect had attacked them and trapped them in a burning passage.
• Chai Li and the other survivors heard someone break through the collapsed passage and ask whether they were all right.

Jiang Jingnian rescued eleven Tongda Escort Agency members trapped in a smoke-filled secret passage and learned that the Qian and Wen Households had betrayed them during a raid involving the Thunderclap Gang and Dou'a Sect. After Liu Qingzhi pursued a Red-Gauze Spiral Maiden avatar, Jiang Jingnian stayed to fight the fire, where he revealed strength enough to send a terrifying Inner Qi Realm priest flying.

• Jiang Jingnian heard Master Wan's voice beneath the bluestone paving, smashed through the collapsed secret passage, and rescued eleven Tongda Escort Agency escorts and runners.
• Liu Qingzhi gave Jiang Jingnian Ice Clarity Pills, which he used to revive the survivors, and Wan Hongxin explained that the Qian Household and Wen Household had lured the agency into a betrayal and raid.
• Jiang Jingnian questioned Liu Qingzhi about the Dou'a Sect's involvement, but she demanded evidence before blaming the sect and warned him against acting recklessly.
• Liu Qingzhi and Jiang Jingnian attacked a Red-Gauze Spiral Maiden near the woods, learned that it was an avatar, and watched Liu Qingzhi leave after sensing a clue tied to her advancement.
• Jiang Jingnian and the survivors began fighting the fire, but a Dou'a Sect priest attacked two escorts; Jiang Jingnian struck the priest flying, leaving Wan Hongxin stunned by his strength.

Jiang Jingnian drove off a middle-aged Daoist from the Dou'a Sect and an unseen ambusher, then entered the burning ruins of Tongda Escort Agency to begin his Advancement Ritual. As flames coiled around him, he contemplated his path and began gathering his flame force and fist intent.

• Jiang Jingnian fought the middle-aged Daoist, whose Cold-Iron Zombie form and Rain-Evil Demon Claw could not overcome his healing and Blazing Sun Inner Qi.
• Jiang Jingnian tore off the Daoist's arms and battered him, but an unseen attacker used poisonous smoke and a petal-shaped secret treasure to help the Daoist escape.
• Jiang Jingnian neutralized the toxins and chose not to pursue the attackers, deciding instead to complete his simplified Advancement Ritual.
• Jiang Jingnian entered Tongda Escort Agency's burning ruins despite Wan Hongxin's warning and walked through the wreckage to the training ground.
• Jiang Jingnian sat amid the flames, reflected on his Martial Dao, and began his Advancement Ritual as ordinary fire appeared to gather into a flame serpent.

Su Ze killed Yuchi Guang after revealing he had arranged the Su Family massacre to raise Demon Wraiths, while Liu Qingzhi arrived to confront him with the Frost-Snow Sword. Elsewhere, conspirators celebrated their trap for Liu Qingzhi, and Red Gang forces assembled to ambush Jiang Jingnian.

• Yuchi Guang chose to return to help the Chief Escort, but Su Ze ambushed him, revived the Red-Gauze Spiral Maiden, and killed him with a secret-treasure dagger.
• Liu Qingzhi arrived and used her Frost-Snow Sword to shatter the red gauze, while Su Ze recognized the weapon and its wielder.
• At Cloudpool Cliff, Zeng Zhihong and his senior brother discussed their scheme to trap Liu Qingzhi and weaken the Burning Cloud Dao Lineage, while planning to use Jiang Jingnian as a pawn.
• Li Dashan met with Jade Tree High Person and other conspirators in the ruined Su residence, while Su Wanzhi struggled to understand the massacre and her father's betrayal.
• Li Tiankun gathered Red Gang allies and two Inner Qi Realm experts, then ordered them to move out and kill Jiang Jingnian while erasing all evidence.

After Tongda Escort Agency was devastated by an attack, Jiang Jingnian warned the survivors to leave and stayed behind to cultivate. Yan Huanjun and a group of martial experts arrived searching for Jiang Jingnian, mistook him for a possible demonic fiend, and left at first, but returned to confront him.

• Wan Hongxin, Chai Li, and the surviving escorts mourned their dead and blamed the Qian Household and Wen Family for luring them into the attack.
• Jiang Jingnian told Chai Li to gather the survivors and leave, warning that the attack might also threaten the agency's other leaders.
• Wan Hongxin led the remaining survivors away while Jiang Jingnian stayed behind to cultivate a martial secret art.
• Yan Huanjun and nearly twenty others arrived at the ruined escort agency searching for Jiang Jingnian, but they did not recognize him and left without attacking.
• Yan Huanjun returned with the group, convinced something was wrong about the youth in the ruins, and Jiang Jingnian realized a fight might be unavoidable.

Jiang Jingnian launched a savage attack on Mister Yan and the Stockade forces, enduring their combined assault with his regenerative strength. After killing Mister Yan, he turned on the remaining fighters, leaving the battle raging.

• Jiang Jingnian abandoned hopes of avoiding a fight and attacked Mister Yan with Wind-Shocking Shadow and Psychic Whip.
• The Stockade experts and armed martial artists struck Jiang Jingnian with their techniques and enchanted bullets, but he seized Mister Yan and began pounding him into the ground.
• Jiang Jingnian killed Mister Yan with a final blow that shattered his skull, despite the surrounding experts’ attempts to rescue him.
• Jiang Jingnian knocked Guan Huichang away, took his staff, and began swinging it wildly at the fighters.
• Jiang Jingnian’s staff blows killed several Marrow Tempering Stage martial artists as the remaining experts faced his assault.

Jiang Jingnian fought the Inner Qi Realm experts and their allies at the Tongda Escort Agency, killing several while enduring catastrophic injuries. The survivors fled, leaving Jiang Jingnian alone among the ruins, still alive but badly mangled.

• Jiang Jingnian slaughtered the Marrow Tempering Stage fighters, and Li Tiankun ordered them to retreat from the ruins.
• Jiang Jingnian smashed Guan Huichang with his own body and crushed both Guan Huichang and Li Tiankun beneath a series of blows.
• Jiang Jingnian killed three Inner Qi Realm experts in the battle while the remaining fighters failed to bring him down.
• A Stockade Black Warrior fled, and the other surviving Inner Qi Realm experts abandoned the fight and escaped.
• Jiang Jingnian fell to one knee among the corpses, stuffed his exposed intestines back into his belly, and laughed through his ruined throat.

Jiang Jingnian survived the deadly Advancement Ritual and woke as an Early Inner Qi Realm expert after more than thirty hours unconscious. As Wan Hongxin explained how he and Chai Li had cared for him, Jiang Jingnian began to suspect that the Dou'a Sect was not behind the escort agency massacre.

• Jiang Jingnian exhausted his Blazing Sun Inner Qi, collapsed, and fell into a deep coma after fighting off the attackers.
• Jiang Jingnian woke in the cleaned-up training ground and discovered that the Simplification Ritual had advanced him to the Early Inner Qi Realm.
• Wan Hongxin brought Jiang Jingnian food and clothes, then recounted how he and Chai Li had found him and carefully treated his wounds.
• Jiang Jingnian thanked Wan Hongxin and learned that the escort agency’s casualties had been found among the ruins after the attack.
• Jiang Jingnian told Wan Hongxin that the mastermind behind the massacre might not be the Dou'a Sect.

Jiang Jingnian questioned Wan Hongxin about the chief’s token and concluded that the Tongda Escort Agency had been betrayed from within or that the chief himself had ordered the attack. After warning Chai Li to flee, Jiang Jingnian set out to find his senior sister, fearing she was in danger.

• Jiang Jingnian asked Wan Hongxin how the Qian and Wen households had obtained the chief’s token and information about the escort masters.
• Jiang Jingnian proposed that the token might have carried genuine orders and that either the chief or the Head Escort Chief had helped the enemy.
• Wan Hongxin reluctantly considered the Head Escort Chief as a likely traitor, and Jiang Jingnian warned that either possibility could devastate the Tongda Escort Agency.
• Jiang Jingnian finished eating, changed clothes, and advised Chai Li to leave Peace City and not return.
• Jiang Jingnian said he was going to find his senior sister because she had not returned after tracking a Demon Wraith.

Jiang Jingnian called Phosphorfire Hall, then set out to help Liu Qingzhi after deciding the Su Family was likely behind the Red-Gauze Spiral Maiden. At the Su Family residence, the Lotus Intent Sect prepared to corrupt the trapped Liu Qingzhi, until Jiang Jingnian broke through the gates and confronted the conspirators.

• Jiang Jingnian borrowed silver and qi-and-blood pills from Wan Hongxin, then called Phosphorfire Hall from a public telephone.
• A crowd of women surrounded Jiang Jingnian because of his charm, and he fled before they could close in.
• Jiang Jingnian decided to prioritize helping Liu Qingzhi subdue the Red-Gauze Spiral Maiden and suspected the Su Family was involved.
• Su Wanzhi and Mother Su hid in the residence as blood-sacrifice patterns formed outside and Liu Qingzhi's sword chimes grew weaker.
• The Lotus Intent Sect revealed its plan to turn Liu Qingzhi into a Lotus Saintess, while Su Ze and the other High Persons watched her weaken in the Lotus Blood Formation.
• Jiang Jingnian smashed through the Su Family's outer gates, accused the family of colluding with the Lotus Intent Sect, and entered the compound.

Jiang Jingnian stormed the Su Family Ancestral Residence and found Liu Qingzhi trapped in the Lotus Intent Sect’s blood array. He fought through the sect’s experts to reach her, but Li Dashan and another attacker wounded him as the battle continued.

• Jiang Jingnian recognized hallucinogenic smoke around the Su Family Ancestral Residence as proof of the Su Family’s collusion with the Lotus Intent Sect, then smashed through the gates.
• Azure Rain High Person ordered the gathered experts to kill Jiang Jingnian before he could reach Liu Qingzhi, while Sleep Lotus High Person and Yushu argued over what to do with him.
• Jiang Jingnian saw Liu Qingzhi resisting the Lotus Homeland’s corruption and charged toward the formation’s core after the blood mist strengthened the array.
• Jiang Jingnian struck Su Ze with a Psychic Whip and sent him flying, then used another Psychic Whip to stun Li Dashan and crack his skull with a blow.
• Jade Tree High Person cut Jiang Jingnian’s back with a poisoned Rose Whip, leaving a deep wound that bled corrosive black liquid.

Jiang Jingnian endured the Lotus Intent Sect experts’ attacks and freed Liu Qingzhi, who answered with the Frost-Snow Sword’s devastating killing move. Her sword swept through the courtyard, leaving the attackers facing a sudden winter and Azure Rain High Person cut in half.

• Jiang Jingnian survived several fatal wounds, and the experts realized his recovery surpassed the Giant Ayeli Technique’s healing.
• Sleep Lotus High Person cast the Flower-Slaughter Snow Net while Jade Tree High Person and Li Dashan held Jiang Jingnian back.
• Jiang Jingnian released Copper-Flame Body and shoved Liu Qingzhi out of the blood formation before the net trapped his right foot.
• Liu Qingzhi recovered with a treasure medicine and unleashed Frost and Snow for a Thousand Years with the Frost-Snow Sword.
• Liu Qingzhi’s sword filled the Su Family Ancestral Residence with frost and snow, and Azure Rain High Person was split in half and frozen.

Liu Qingzhi defeated the Lotus Intent Sect’s attackers at the Su residence and rescued Jiang Jingnian, who devoured the Pure Lotus Projection and fused its power into a new trait. After learning that the Lotus Intent Sect had infiltrated powerful families and plotted to provoke a war, they decided to travel together to the Liu Family before returning to their sect.

• Liu Qingzhi’s Frost-Snow Millennium wounded the Inner Qi Realm fighters and killed Azure Rain High Person, forcing her enemies to abandon pursuit as she escaped with Jiang Jingnian.
• Liu Qingzhi gave Jiang Jingnian a jade-pearl pill while he resisted the lotus aura, and Jiang Jingnian devoured the Pure Lotus Projection with his trait ability.
• Jiang Jingnian fused the lotus power with Mind Lash, creating Mind Plague, a gaze-based ability that could corrupt and hinder multiple targets.
• Jiang Jingnian told Liu Qingzhi that the Tongda Escort Agency, the Su Family, and other wealthy households had colluded with the Lotus Intent Sect to frame the Dou'a Sect and provoke conflict.
• Liu Qingzhi said she would contact her Lineage and the Sect Master, then insisted Jiang Jingnian accompany her to the Liu Family because the lotus aura could make them targets.

Liu Shiwen sparred at the Liu Family residence before learning that Liu Qingzhi had returned with Jiang Jingnian. While the family assumed Jiang was her lover and questioned his background, Jiang clarified they were fellow disciples, prompting Fourth Granduncle and Liu Shiwen to react with anger and contempt.

• Liu Shiwen trained with Master Chen, comparing local martial arts with the Western secret arts he had learned abroad.
• A servant told Liu Shiwen that Liu Qingzhi had returned from the mountain with a handsome young man, and Liu Shiwen went to meet them.
• Jiang Jingnian waited in the Liu Family reception room while Liu Ruohua and Fourth Granduncle questioned him about his lineage, age, and relationship with Liu Qingzhi.
• Jiang Jingnian said he came from an ordinary commoner family, had a concubine, and was only Liu Qingzhi's fellow disciple.
• Fourth Granduncle denounced Liu Qingzhi's supposed lover, and Liu Shiwen entered and called Jiang a mud-legged outsider.

Jiang Jingnian visited the Liu Family with Liu Qingzhi on official business, but Liu Shiwen and other relatives mistook him for her lover and looked down on his background. The chapter left Liu Shiwen attacking Jiang Jingnian after Jiang denied having any interest in his sister.

• Jiang Jingnian coldly warned Liu Shiwen not to insult him again, while Liu Ruohua persuaded Fourth Great-Uncle to leave and cleared the reception hall.
• Liu Shiwen used Spirit Sight to examine Jiang Jingnian and judged him a low-born commoner who had advanced by relying on Liu Qingzhi.
• Liu Shiwen claimed Jiang Jingnian was unfit to marry into the Liu Family and urged him to abandon his supposed relationship with Liu Qingzhi.
• Jiang Jingnian explained that he and Liu Qingzhi had come to seek help against demonic sect fiends and contact their sect, then said he already loved someone else.
• Liu Shiwen ignored Jiang Jingnian's explanation, grew angry at his denial of interest in Liu Qingzhi, and attacked him.

Jiang Jingnian repelled Liu Shiwen’s attack and negotiated compensation from Liu Qingzhi, who arranged protection before their return to the sect. As Liu Qingzhi reflected on her interrupted advancement and Jiang Jingnian’s new Inner Qi Realm, she considered whether their contrasting frost and fire might offer her a new path to power.

• Liu Shiwen attacked Jiang Jingnian, who blasted him across the reception hall with his Inner Qi and burned his arm.
• Liu Qingzhi arrived, stopped the Liu Family experts, rebuked Liu Shiwen, and had her injured brother carried out.
• Jiang Jingnian demanded compensation for the attack, and he and Liu Qingzhi agreed on 150 Merit Points to be paid next month.
• Liu Qingzhi said a family elder would arrive within an hour to escort them back to the sect.
• Jiang Jingnian confirmed that he had entered the Inner Qi Realm and condensed Martial Momentum, while Liu Qingzhi reflected on the cost of her interrupted advancement.
• Liu Qingzhi wondered whether combining her frost-and-snow sword intent with Jiang Jingnian’s fire-like Martial Momentum could lead to a Waterborne Fire Martial Soul.

Liu Qingzhi reconsidered her advancement path and offered to help Jiang Jingnian cultivate the Waterborne Fire Martial Soul, but he declined. After the Tongda Escort Agency conspiracy came to light, Li Mincheng admitted that he had known his father’s plans but had stayed silent because he could not bring himself to betray his family.

• Liu Qingzhi rejected the corrupting Ultimate Yin Snow path and considered condensing the Waterborne Fire Martial Soul instead.
• Liu Qingzhi offered to teach Jiang Jingnian a secret art to harmonize water and fire, but he insisted on following his own martial path.
• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi returned to Cloudpool Cliff, where the Demon Sect’s infiltration and the Tongda Escort Agency’s destruction caused an uproar.
• At Phosphorfire Hall, Elder Lan considered using the Tongda Escort Agency affair to implicate Jiang Jingnian and the Duan Household.
• During questioning, Li Mincheng admitted he had known his father would attack the escort agency, explaining that he had neither joined the plot nor reported his father because family members hid one another.

Li Mincheng defended his silence about his father’s crimes as kin concealing for kin, while Mysterious Mountain elders accused Jiang Jingnian of being entangled with the Tongda Escort Agency’s schemes. Elder Lan linked Jiang Jingnian’s presence at several demonic incidents and his rapid advancement to a startling suspicion that he was the Lotus Intent Sect’s Holy Son.

• Li Mincheng said he had known something of Li Dashan’s intentions but had stayed silent rather than join his crimes or betray his father.
• Mysterious Mountain elders suggested Li Mincheng had remained on the mountain to cover for hidden accomplices, then turned their accusations toward Jiang Jingnian.
• Elder Lan argued that Jiang Jingnian’s ties to the Duan Household, rapid rise in strength, and survival at Dongdi Lake made him suspicious.
• Elder Lan connected Jiang Jingnian to the Red-Gauze Spiral Maiden, the Tongda Escort Agency’s burning, the Su Family blood sacrifice, and other demonic incidents.
• Elder Lan conjectured that Jiang Jingnian was a collaborator of the fiends and might even be the Lotus Intent Sect’s Holy Son, shocking everyone in the side hall.