Recaps

Jiang Jingnian intervened in the Illusory Water Sect’s slaughter and rapidly killed their disciples, rescuing the surviving constables from further attacks. Constable Qian died from the effects of burning her vital blood, while the white-haired sect members remained in the fight.

• The white-haired Illusory Water Sect pair discussed their planned sweep and the attack on Frost-Snow Willow Brushing as they watched the slaughter below.
• Jiang Jingnian appeared beside Constable Qian, killed Senior Brother Yun with a palm, and began cutting down the Illusory Water Sect disciples.
• The disciples fled as Jiang Jingnian evaded the white-haired pair’s attacks and killed more of their companions, while his Inner Qi withstood a sneak attack.
• Constable Fan carried the collapsing Captain Qian into a nearby shop and gave her a healing pill, but her pulse stopped and he closed her eyes.

Jiang Jingnian slaughtered the Illusory Water Sect pair who attacked him, then pursued the badly injured Shen Shuqing toward the other sects’ gathering. In Stone Gate, martial experts assessed the ruined street while the Lotus Intent Sect prepared to kill Liu Qingzhi, and Shen Shuqing arrived at their base seeking help.

• Jiang Jingnian used Mind Plague to disrupt the white-haired pair’s joint attack, tore the white-haired woman apart, and sent Shen Shuqing fleeing.
• Xu Tianfang, Li Chun, Qian Yanzhen, and other local experts reached the devastated street, warned people away from the poisonous remains, and helped civilians emerge from hiding.
• He Jingran worried that the Illusory Water Sect’s attack might be linked to the intelligence he had given Frost-Snow Willow Brushing that morning.
• Shen Shuqing resolved to tell the Lotus Intent Sect that Frost-Snow Willow Brushing had sent help, hoping they would join him in killing Jiang Jingnian.
• Jiang Jingnian followed Shen Shuqing’s trail, refined a special item to strengthen himself, and continued toward Senior Sister Liu.
• At the Luo Household, Lin Wen explained that the Lotus Intent Sect needed to complete its blood sacrifice ritual before it could kill Liu Qingzhi, and the injured Shen Shuqing arrived at their gathering.

Jiang Jingnian stormed into the Luo Household estate and slaughtered the demonic-path disciples, including Shen Shuqing, Fan Yuxi, and Lin Wen, while the survivors fled toward the Holy Maiden. The chapter left the Luo Household’s leaders facing Jiang Jingnian as he smashed through their sealed wall in a towering, flaming form.

• Shen Shuqing warned the demonic disciples that a powerful enemy was coming, while Lotus Intent Sect members realized a spreading poison was contaminating them.
• Jiang Jingnian killed Shen Shuqing, Lin Wen, and Fan Yuxi, then smashed the corpse puppet and drove the demonic disciples into a panicked flight.
• The fleeing disciples reached the Luo Household estate, where Luo Rongqiu and his father assumed the local martial halls had attacked.
• Jiang Jingnian burst through the estate’s sealed wall as a towering flaming beast and slapped several demonic disciples to death.

Jiang Jingnian attacked the Luo Household and killed its head before joining Liu Qingzhi’s battle against seven demonic-path experts. With Liu Qingzhi holding off the other enemies, Jiang Jingnian dragged Jade Tree High Person into a one-on-one fight and overwhelmed him.

• Jiang Jingnian’s attack shattered the Luo Household’s courtyard, killed many fleeing martial artists, and left Luo Rongqiu’s father dead.
• Jiang Jingnian killed Luo Rongqiu after the young master fell into qi deviation, then charged into the rear courtyard.
• Jiang Jingnian ambushed Sleep Lotus High Person, and Liu Qingzhi’s sword attack helped finish her off.
• Liu Qingzhi held back the remaining demonic martial artists while Jiang Jingnian struck Jade Tree High Person and dragged him away from the group.
• Jiang Jingnian smashed Jade Tree High Person through the courtyard structures, suppressing the Mid Inner Qi Realm expert in their one-on-one fight.

Jiang Jingnian helped Liu Qingzhi defeat the demonic-path attackers, revealing an Impure Lotus phantom that convinced Xue Xiuxiu he belonged to the Lotus Homeland. The Lotus Saintess and the other demons fled, while Jiang Jingnian killed Yushu and turned his attention to looting the ruined Luo Household.

• Jiang Jingnian battered Yushu until the Lotus Saintess Xue Xiuxiu attacked him with her Heart-Intent Lotus sword intent, which his Impure Lotus phantom neutralized.
• Jiang Jingnian struck Xue Xiuxiu, and she realized his Impure Lotus marked him as someone recognized by the Lotus Homeland.
• Liu Qingzhi joined the fight against Xue Xiuxiu, whose peachwood sword broke under the Frost-Snow Sword's attacks.
• Xue Xiuxiu fled with serious injuries, and the remaining demonic-path experts scattered as Liu Qingzhi pursued one of them.
• Jiang Jingnian smashed Yushu through the Luo Household, killing the household members in his path and reducing the estate to ruins.
• Jiang Jingnian crushed Yushu to death, checked that most of his belongings had survived, and began searching the wreckage for spoils.

Liu Qingzhi pursued Qin Xiaofeng while Jiang Jingnian looted the ruined Luo Household and grew stronger. As the Lotus Intent Sect survivors fled Shimen City, Xue Xiuxiu concealed her suspicions about Jiang Jingnian and warned that he could become a great enemy.

• Liu Qingzhi caught up to Qin Xiaofeng after he consumed a blood-soaked embroidered shoe to flee faster, then pierced his shoulder with the Frost-Snow Sword.
• Jiang Jingnian gathered valuables from the Luo Household ruins and used two special items to raise his Early Inner Qi Realm progress to 45%.
• Jiang Jingnian took medicine, changed clothes, and left the ruins before Xu Tianfang, He Jingran, and Zhao Guangyuan arrived and saw the devastation.
• Xue Xiuxiu and the Northern Water Prefecture branch leader discussed their failed plot against Liu Qingzhi and the deaths of two Lotus Intent High Persons.
• Xue Xiuxiu suspected Jiang Jingnian was a powerful prodigy with a treasure that could mislead divinations, and warned the branch leader to treat him cautiously.

Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi killed a demonic fiend outside Shimen City, and Liu Qingzhi discovered that Jiang's cultivation was advancing rapidly despite his ominous Life Essence. After Liu tried to tempt him with her Waterlight Treasure Bag and Merit Points, the pair attended a banquet in Stone Gate, where local leaders hoped to persuade Jiang to settle there.

• Jiang Jingnian finished off the wounded Qin Xiaofeng while Liu Qingzhi examined Jiang's newly tangible Inner Qi and Martial Momentum.
• Liu Qingzhi tested Jiang's Life Essence with a divination jade slip, then explained that his fate remained perilous and difficult to read.
• Liu Qingzhi showed Jiang her Waterlight Treasure Bag and offered it, along with ten thousand Merit Points, to tempt him into becoming her live-in son-in-law, but Jiang said he would think it over.
• Stone Gate residents learned that Liu and Jiang had stopped the demonic fiends' attack, and the local magistrate hosted a banquet in their honor.
• The Stone Gate magistrate discussed offering Jiang a place in the city and even his unmarried daughters as concubines, while local wealthy households also hoped to attract him.
• A servant announced that Liu Qingzhi and Jiang Jingnian had arrived at the banquet gate.

Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi received an enthusiastic welcome from Stone Gate’s influential families and residents, while Zhao Guangyuan grew jealous of their status and Liu Qingzhi. Li Protector, who had returned to Stone Gate, bewitched Zhao Guangyuan with blue smoke and left him vulnerable to his influence.

• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi entered Stone Gate’s finest restaurant, where He Guanyan introduced them to local dignitaries and martial experts.
• Stone Gate’s young women and men admired Jiang Jingnian, while a female student refused her father’s suggestion that she approach him as a potential match.
• Zhao Guangyuan watched Liu Qingzhi from upstairs and felt overshadowed by Jiang Jingnian, prompting Yan Ruoyu to warn him against attracting trouble.
• Li Protector returned to Stone Gate and approached Zhao Guangyuan on the restaurant terrace, urging him to surpass Jiang Jingnian and win Liu Qingzhi.
• Li Protector released pale-blue smoke that bewildered Zhao Guangyuan and left his expression blank.

Li Guanglu returned to Stone Gate and tried to use Zhao Guangyuan and Yan Ruoyu to assassinate the magistrate and kill Jiang Jingnian, but Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi ambushed him. After the attack, the pair left Stone Gate and resumed their journey home toward Peace City.

• Li Guanglu used Illusory Golden Water Powder to enchant Zhao Guangyuan and Yan Ruoyu, then prepared to exploit the banquet to attack the magistrate and Jiang Jingnian.
• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi struck Li Guanglu from both sides; Li Guanglu weakened Jiang Jingnian’s fire techniques and severed his arm, but Jiang Jingnian reattached it and counterattacked.
• The Stone Gate magistrate evacuated the banquet guests, while a physician warned Xu Tianfang that Zhao Guangyuan and Yan Ruoyu had suffered possible lasting mental damage.
• Liu Qingzhi stopped Jiang Jingnian from pursuing the wounded Li Guanglu, and the two argued playfully about their supposed marriage agreement.
• The Stone Gate magistrate asked Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi to stay, but they declined; Jiang Jingnian shopped before they set out for Peace City near dusk.

Jiang Jingnian returned from Stone Gate with Liu Qingzhi, reflected on his growing ambitions, and resolved to advance toward becoming a Grandmaster. Meanwhile, Zeng Zhihong and Xu Baijing learned that their schemes against Liu Qingzhi had failed and shifted their focus to Jiang Jingnian.

• Liu Qingzhi and Jiang Jingnian boarded a local ferry back from Stone Gate as unrest continued to spread across the world.
• Jiang Jingnian told Liu Qingzhi he had enjoyed the respect he received in Stone Gate and felt conflicted about his growing ambitions; she urged him to endure hardship and keep advancing.
• Jiang Jingnian decided to pursue the Late Inner Qi Realm, condense a Martial Soul, and seek the path to becoming a Grandmaster.
• At Cloudpool Cliff, Zeng Zhihong complained that the schemes in Jingu had failed and that Liu Qingzhi had killed the Lotus Intent Sect's saintess.
• Xu Baijing said the Northern Lands were difficult to influence and proposed that the Mysterious Mountain Dao Lineage focus its resources on Jiang Jingnian as a new weak point.

Zeng Zhihong and Xu Baijing planned to use Jiang Jingnian’s True Disciple Ceremony to trap him and draw out greater targets. After returning from Jingu and completing their mission handover, Liu Qingzhi publicly announced that she and Jiang Jingnian would become Dao companions, leaving him and the gathered disciples stunned.

• Xu Baijing persuaded Zeng Zhihong to target Jiang Jingnian with the same schemes they had used against Liu Qingzhi, hoping to lure out other powerful figures.
• Liu Qingzhi and Jiang Jingnian returned from Jingu after slaying demonic-path experts, and Liu completed the mission handover at Phosphorfire Hall.
• Elder Sun told Liu Qingzhi that Jiang Jingnian’s True Disciple Ceremony would take place in three days and hinted that visitors might arrange sparring exchanges.
• Jiang Jingnian met Qian Ningning and her friends outside Phosphorfire Hall, where disciples gathered to congratulate and befriend him.
• Liu Qingzhi arrived, linked arms with Jiang Jingnian, and announced that they planned to become Dao companions and would hold a ceremony at Cloudpool Cliff.
• The gathered disciples reacted with disbelief, and Jiang Jingnian’s smile stiffened.

Liu Qingzhi publicly declared that she wanted to become Dao companions with Jiang Jingnian, and he led her away after her Frost-and-Snow Sword Intent frightened Qian Ningning. Back at his residence, Jiang told Duan Xiaodie he might marry Liu Qingzhi, leaving Xiaodie uneasy about her place as his concubine.

• Liu Qingzhi announced her wish to become Dao companions with Jiang Jingnian before the gathered sect members.
• Qian Ningning supported the match under Liu Qingzhi's icy pressure, and Jiang took Liu Qingzhi away while telling Qian to reserve a room at Bamboo Grove Lodge.
• Qian Ningning left in tears, while Lu Linrong reflected with their friends on how children born to concubines in aristocratic families could not control their futures.
• Jiang told Duan Xiaodie that he might soon become Dao companions with Liu Qingzhi and clasped her hand when she trembled.
• Duan Xiaodie accepted that Jiang might marry Liu Qingzhi as his principal wife and urged him to prepare suitable betrothal gifts.

Jiang Jingnian learned how the Liu Family’s prejudice shaped his prospects with Liu Qingzhi, while reassuring Duan Xiaodie that she remained first in his heart. As his lavish True Disciple Ceremony approached, gossip and political maneuvering surrounded him, and he left with Liu Qingzhi while Duan Xiaodie stayed behind under guard.

• Jiang Jingnian told Duan Xiaodie that the Liu Family had looked down on him for his humble origins, then reassured her that she would always hold first place in his heart.
• Xie Wuchen discussed his recent advance, the dangers of pursuing greater power, and preparations for Jiang Jingnian’s True Disciple Ceremony with Xie Shanhai and the Phosphorfire elders.
• Over the next three days, Jiang Jingnian’s reputation spread through the Mountain Cloud School and Peace City, while the school planned an unusually grand ceremony and newspapers circulated sensational rumors about him.
• Jiang Jingnian identified the Zeng Family’s Timely Mirror News as a source of the gossip and suspected that the ceremony’s unusually high profile had another purpose.
• When Liu Qingzhi came to fetch him, Jiang Jingnian left Duan Xiaodie at home with protective measures in place and went to the True Disciple Ceremony with Liu Qingzhi.

Jiang Jingnian became a Dao-Lineage True Disciple of the Mountain Cloud School, drawing attention from the sect and Peace City’s great families. The ceremony ended with Hong Shangyi of Severing Blade Dock challenging him to exchange moves.

• Xie Shanhai and the gathered disciples watched Jiang Jingnian arrive at the ceremony with Liu Qingzhi beside him.
• Xie Miao realized Senior Brother Zeng had smeared her reputation and was using her as an expendable pawn against Jiang Jingnian.
• Liu Qingzhi publicly declared that she and Jiang Jingnian were Dao companions, angering her Liu Family relatives, while Liu Mingzhe chose not to confront her.
• Sect Master Xie Wuchen ordered Liu Qingzhi off the White Jade Platform, and Jiang Jingnian completed the ceremony to become the sect’s ninth True Disciple.
• Jiang Jingnian suspected the ceremony’s prominence was meant to make him a target, then Hong Shangyi stepped forward and challenged him.

At Jiang Jingnian’s True Disciple Ceremony, Hong Shangyi challenged him to a spar, prompting Liu Qingzhi to defend him and expose the power gap between them. Jiang Jingnian negotiated a wager of antique secret treasures, and the chapter ended as Hong Shangyi launched his Flame Wolf killing move and Jiang Jingnian’s hands took on a gray-black sheen.

• Hong Shangyi stepped forward to challenge Jiang Jingnian, while Hong Yufang objected to his aggressive behavior.
• Liu Qingzhi shielded Jiang Jingnian and offered to fight Hong Shangyi herself, but Jiang Jingnian pulled her aside and answered Hong Shangyi’s taunts.
• Hong Shangyi put aside his Formfire Mystic Blade and accepted Jiang Jingnian’s wager: each would provide five antique secret treasures if he lost.
• Zeng Zhihong and Senior Brother Xu privately plotted to exploit the growing tensions among the younger generation.
• Hong Shangyi attacked with his Flame Wolf killing move, and Jiang Jingnian’s hands turned gray-black as he prepared to respond.

Jiang Jingnian defeated Hong Shangyi in a public spar by enduring his Formfire blade attacks, learning the Martial Momentum’s nature, and exploiting its restraint with his own fire momentum and Chifeng Toxin. The ceremony ended with Jiang’s reputation spreading through Dongjiang Prefecture, while Liu Qingzhi resolved to help conceal his fate as his cultivation advanced.

• Xie Shanhai contained the spar’s stray force while the Severing Blade Dock elder watched tensely over Hong Shangyi.
• Jiang Jingnian dodged Hong Shangyi’s twin flame blades and studied his Formfire Martial Momentum as observers misjudged the fight.
• Jiang Jingnian countered with Scorching Fire Martial Momentum, restrained Hong Shangyi’s flames, and struck him with Chifeng Toxin until he lost.
• Hong Shangyi conceded, promised Jiang five secret treasures from the wager, and left with the Severing Blade Dock disciples.
• Observers suspected Jiang Jingnian of cultivating a dangerous poison art, while Liu Qingzhi resolved to conceal his fate and advance alongside him.
• Jiang Jingnian’s victory at his True Disciple ceremony spread his name across Peace City and Dongjiang Prefecture, bringing him closer to the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking.

Jiang Jingnian argued with Liu Qingzhi over Duan Xiaodie and their differences in values, then decided to rescue Li Mincheng and retaliate against the Mysterious Mountain Dao Lineage. After collecting special items from Hong Shangyi and his new residence, he headed to the training room to strengthen himself.

• Liu Qingzhi offered to accept Jiang Jingnian as a disciple on her master's behalf and proposed that he take her six former maidservants as chambermaids, but Jiang Jingnian rejected her demands regarding Duan Xiaodie.
• Liu Qingzhi left after Jiang Jingnian angrily struck the table, and Qian Ningning explained how their different upbringings contributed to their conflicts.
• Jiang Jingnian learned from Qian Ningning that Li Mincheng was imprisoned near Phosphorfire Sea Crag and resolved to rescue him and the other implicated sect members, then strike back at the Mysterious Mountain Dao Lineage.
• Qian Ningning promised to help Jiang Jingnian arrange Li Mincheng's rescue despite worrying that his plan was rash.
• Jiang Jingnian returned to his True Disciple residence with five special items from Hong Shangyi, told Duan Xiaodie not to wait for him at lunch, and went to the training room to cultivate.

Jiang Jingnian used the Magma Medicinal Bath and four special items to strengthen his cultivation, then refined his fire-aspect Martial Momentum. He left the pool planning to study more techniques and examine the rare trait-bearing item he had saved.

• Jiang Jingnian reflected on the resources he could have gained by yielding to Senior Sister Liu, but reaffirmed that he would not betray his principles.
• Jiang Jingnian devoured and refined four special items, bringing his Inner Qi Realm cultivation to 83% of the Early Stage.
• Jiang Jingnian entered the hottest part of the Magma Medicinal Bath and used its heat to merge his Scorching Fire Martial Momentum with his Inner Qi.
• Jiang Jingnian spent more than an hour purifying his Martial Momentum, stabilizing his rapid growth as a half-solid fire python formed around him.
• Jiang Jingnian left the pool intending to study the later portions of the Giant Ayeli Technique and try the Burning Cloud Solar-Yang True Art, then picked up the remaining rare special item that possessed a trait.

Jiang Jingnian devoured the damaged Scale Serpent Tremor-Pattern Garment and gained the incomplete Hanging Needle Black Scale trait, while witnessing another strange phantom tied to the Taotie trait. He discussed Duan Xiaodie’s cultivation prospects and sparred with Liu Qingzhi, who proposed cultivating the Waterborne Fire Method together as Jiang Jingnian weighed which Martial Soul to pursue.

• Jiang Jingnian devoured the Scale Serpent Tremor-Pattern Garment, saw a black python phantom, and gained the Hanging Needle Black Scale (Incomplete) trait, which could rebound and pierce a portion of incoming force.
• Jiang Jingnian offered to help Duan Xiaodie join the inner sect and learn a stronger body-tempering art, but she said she was too old to change cultivation methods easily.
• Jiang Jingnian sparred with Liu Qingzhi, who noted that his Scorching Fire Martial Momentum had improved and that her Inner Qi had developed resistance to his poison.
• Liu Qingzhi explained that she was adapting her sword intent through their exchanges and said Jiang Jingnian’s true yang qi could help her cultivate the Waterborne Fire Method.
• Jiang Jingnian agreed to cooperate after reaching the Mid Inner Qi Realm and considered whether to choose the Waterborne Fire Martial Soul or pursue another option.

Jiang Jingnian learned about the risks of combining unrelated True Arts, then fused the latter half of the Giant Ayeli Technique into his cultivation art and perfected it. As his strength increased, Li Mincheng was unexpectedly told he could leave his prison cell.

• Liu Qingzhi explained that Snow-Covered Prefecture's higher-ranked martial arts could restrain the Giant Ayeli Technique and warned Jiang Jingnian against deeply contemplating an unrelated True Art.
• Jiang Jingnian studied the latter half of the Giant Ayeli Technique and learned about the perilous Great Vow required to become a Grandmaster.
• Jiang Jingnian used Copper Essence, Metal Nature, and Flame Nature to fuse the technique, creating the perfected Unyielding · Transforming Splendor Ultimate Bronze Scripture.
• Jiang Jingnian realized the perfected technique strengthened his foundation and raised his combat power, then left the Transmission Hall.
• A Phosphorfire steward told the gaunt Li Mincheng that he was free to leave prison.

Jiang Jingnian freed Li Mincheng and eight other prisoners, then heard Xu Baijing’s proposal to join an expedition against the Lotus Intent Sect’s Bai Xuerou while suspecting a hidden scheme. As Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi prepared to descend the mountain amid rumors of peerless martial arts at Baobai Mountain, Liu Qingzhi’s divination showed eight auspicious signs, which left Jiang Jingnian unnerved.

• Jiang Jingnian presented the sect’s decree and released Li Mincheng and eight others from Phosphorfire Sea Crag, giving Li medicine for his injuries.
• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi encountered Xu Baijing, who invited them to help surround and suppress the Lotus Intent Sect’s Bai Xuerou.
• Liu Qingzhi revealed that Bai Xuerou had once been her childhood classmate, Gu Xuerou, and that they had fought before she entered the Inner Qi Realm.
• Jiang Jingnian declined to commit to Xu Baijing’s proposal and later suspected the Lotus Intent Sect campaign was a cover for a larger move connected to the Baobai Mountain ruins.
• Liu Qingzhi cast a divination about their fortune after descending the mountain, and the jade slip displayed eight auspicious signs that alarmed Jiang Jingnian.

Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi avoided Xu Baijing’s dangerous invitation while Jiang built his reputation by teaching disciples and repaying loans. As the Mountain Cloud School prepared to enter the Baobai Mountain Ruins, Xu Baijing vanished in the Blackwind Mountains, and Jiang’s cultivation neared the Mid Inner Qi Realm.

• Liu Qingzhi warned Jiang Jingnian that her divination had been disturbed, and they agreed to avoid both the Lotus Intent Sect branch and the Baobai Mountain Ruins unless the sect forced them to go.
• Jiang refused Xu Baijing’s invitation to join the hunt for Bai Xuerou and later guided Zhang Zhiwei in body-tempering arts to earn Merit Points.
• Jiang repaid Junior Brother Sun’s principal and interest at Life Bloom Hall, reassuring the other lenders and strengthening his credit.
• The Mountain Cloud School continued its costly campaign against the Lotus Intent Sect branch while preparing to contest the Baobai Mountain Ruins against rival powers, especially the Dou’a Sect.
• Jiang learned that Xu Baijing had disappeared in the Blackwind Mountains while tracking Bai Xuerou, and he suspected the circumstances were suspicious.
• Jiang refined a special item and examined his cultivation, which had reached Early Inner Qi Realm 97% as an Inner Qi Crystal formed in his Mudball Palace.

Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi were ordered to investigate Bi Fang's Fire near Peace City as the Mountain Cloud School dispatched its people to handle several crises. After meeting Duan Deshun in Qingtian County, Jiang Jingnian planned to begin the mission with the Li Family and pressed his master to stop delaying his wedding banquet with Duan Xiaodie, prompting Liu Qingzhi to react jealously.

• Jiang Jingnian reflected on Liu Qingzhi's Inner Qi and Martial Soul, then welcomed her to his cave abode while keeping Duan Xiaodie from being left alone with her.
• Liu Qingzhi told Jiang Jingnian that the deputy hall master had summoned them, and they discussed the sect's deployments and Jiang Jingnian's support for Burning Cloud Dao Lineage disciples.
• At Phosphorfire Hall, the deputy hall master explained the campaign against the Lotus Intent Sect and assigned the gathered elders and True Disciples to missions amid several ongoing threats.
• Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi received orders to investigate Bi Fang's Fire near Peace City, while Hong Yufang was assigned to garrison the outskirts of the Baobai Mountain Ruins.
• In Qingtian County, Jiang Jingnian met Duan Deshun and said they would leave with the Li Family once it arrived; he also urged his master not to delay his wedding banquet with Duan Xiaodie, and Liu Qingzhi pinched his waist.

Jiang Jingnian suspected that a hidden demonic cultivator was directing Bi Fang's Fire against the Burning Cloud Lineage, but found the sect and Liu Family offered little support. The chapter ended when an Inner Disciple reported that something had happened to Junior Sister Qian and urged Jiang Jingnian to go to the Qian Family.

• A Li Family member told Jiang Jingnian that Bi Fang's Fire had caused casualties among several households and the Qian Family.
• Jiang Jingnian proposed that either the Burning Cloud Lineage had angered Bi Fang's Fire or a demonic cultivator was controlling it.
• Jiang Jingnian reassured the gathered allies that he and Liu Qingzhi could handle the danger, while Liu Qingzhi offered to seek help from her family.
• The Liu Family declined to send powerful reinforcements and supplied only secret medicines and talismans.
• Jiang Jingnian considered asking the Qian Family for support, but an Inner Disciple arrived and said something had happened to Junior Sister Qian.

Jiang Jingnian uncovered signs that Bi Fang's Fire was infecting members of the Burning Cloud Lineage and suspected that demonic cultivators and people within the sect were involved. After leaving his injured junior brother in Yuan Qi's care, he went to the Qian Household and found Qian Ningning being beaten by her cousin Qian Xuan.

• Hou Yanzhu arrived contaminated by Bi Fang's Fire and could not remember what had happened to Protector Gao and the others; Jiang Jingnian and Liu Qingzhi suppressed the pollution and left him unconscious.
• Jiang Jingnian suspected that demonic cultivators, the foreign-run Asylum, and people within the sect were connected to Bi Fang's Fire, then sent Yuan Qi to guard Hou Yanzhu while he went out alone.
• Qian Ningning was beaten and humiliated by Qian Xuan, who had been urged by Mountain Cloud School disciples to injure her and was using the confrontation to repay a favor from the Mysterious Mountain Dao Lineage.
• Jiang Jingnian arrived at the Qian Household seeking help with Bi Fang's Fire and saw Qian Xuan strike Qian Ningning again; he vanished from beside the steward, and Qian Xuan suddenly cried out in pain.