Recaps

Li Yunxin found the survivors after Bai Yunxin’s attack and tried to save the badly wounded Qiao Duanhong. He waited with Liu Laodao and Qiao Jiaxin for a cart, while arranging to hide his identity and stay at Liu Laodao’s place.

• Li Yunxin discovered that Bai Yunxin had killed the swordsmen and escort guards, then found Liu Laodao hiding in the grass.
• Liu Laodao told Li Yunxin that Qiao Duanhong was still alive, and Li Yunxin found him gravely wounded with ruined legs.
• Li Yunxin stopped Qiao Duanhong’s bleeding and bandaged him with strips torn from Liu Laodao’s clothes.
• Li Yunxin and Liu Laodao carried Qiao Duanhong to a crossroads and waited for a cart to take them to Weicheng.
• Li Yunxin told Liu Laodao to conceal his identity and the night’s events, and offered to teach him The Night Journey in Splendid Robes.

Li Yunxin dreamed that the Black-and-White Yamas recognized him as a being outside reincarnation and fled, then woke to find the mysterious Yu Meng holding his hand. Yu Meng introduced himself as the current Dragon Head of the Escort-Bureau Guild of the Great Qing Dynasty.

• Liu Laodao mistook Li Yunxin for a Daoist master pursuing transcendence while Li Yunxin considered how to preserve Qiao Jiaxin's corpse.
• Li Yunxin saw the Black-and-White Yamas in a dream, and they discovered he was a heartless man-eating demon outside the six paths of reincarnation.
• The Black-and-White Yamas fled and warned each other not to take souls connected to Li Yunxin.
• Li Yunxin woke beside the road to find Yu Meng holding his hand while Liu Laodao and Qiao Jiaxin rested on the cart.
• Yu Meng introduced himself as the current Dragon Head of the Escort-Bureau Guild of the Great Qing Dynasty.

Li Yunxin met Yu Meng, the eccentric Guild Head of the Escort-Bureau Guild, who agreed to help find the missing Qiao Duanhong and Qiao Jiaxin. As they traveled toward Weicheng, Li Yunxin grew concerned that the little cat demon’s strange wound and his recent dream were connected to the real Netherworld.

• Yu Meng explained that he had followed Guiding Incense and claimed beasts had attacked the escort party, accepting Li Yunxin’s confirmation of his deduction.
• Li Yunxin told Yu Meng that Qiao Duanhong and his daughter Qiao Jiaxin were missing, and Yu Meng pledged to help them return to Weicheng.
• Liu Laodao told Li Yunxin that Yu Meng’s wealthy family had funded the Escort-Bureau Guild, though its members did little beyond accepting the Yu Household’s money.
• Li Yunxin found that the little cat demon’s wound had turned white and rubbery, neither healing nor decaying.
• Li Yunxin recalled the Black-and-White Yamas’ warning in his dream and concluded that the Netherworld and its rulers truly existed.

Li Yunxin reflected on the Black-and-White Yamas and wondered whether their appearance in his dream had left Qiao Jiaxin’s soul stranded in the Living Realm. After reaching Weicheng, he saw how the city’s soldiers treated Yu Meng, the young master of a powerful household.

• Li Yunxin considered the legends of the Black-and-White Yamas and questioned whether they had come to seize Qiao Jiaxin’s soul.
• Li Yunxin wondered who had fought into the Hall of Senluo two thousand years earlier, but his thoughts were interrupted when the group reached Weicheng.
• Liu Laodao warned Li Yunxin about Weicheng’s sect stations and powerful households as they traveled into the city.
• Weicheng’s gate guards recognized Yu Meng, cleared the road, and loudly offered to seize whoever had wounded his people.
• Yu Meng told the guards to leave and tossed them fifteen taels of silver, while Li Yunxin realized they had deliberately provoked him for a reward.

After helping the Qiao Household, Li Yunxin settled into Dragon King Temple and sensed spirituality in its Dragon King statue. He then hurried back to the Qiao Household when Qiao Jiaxin began shouting about Three-Flower Madam.

• Yu Meng left ten ingots of silver for the Qiao Household and departed after bidding farewell to Li Yunxin.
• Li Yunxin entered Dragon King Temple and reflected on the Dragon King’s spiritual presence and the power of Votive Power.
• Li Yunxin touched the Dragon King statue and sensed a familiar aura, confirming that the statue possessed spirituality.
• Liu Laodao rushed back to the temple and told Li Yunxin that Qiao Jiaxin was making a commotion about Three-Flower Madam.
• Li Yunxin followed Liu Laodao to the Qiao Household and heard Qiao Jiaxin demand sacrificial animals and meat while asking why she was eating grass.

Li Yunxin and Liu Laodao visited the Qiao Household, where Qiao Jiaxin meekly clung to Li Yunxin while Qiao Jiaming accused him of ruining her reputation. Li Yunxin left Jiaxin with her family for now and went to arrange lodging, planning to let the Qiao family handle her until they needed his help.

• Li Yunxin found Qiao Jiaxin sitting on a table in a demonic trance, and she hurried to his side when he called her.
• Qiao Jiaming punched at Li Yunxin over his closeness with Qiao Jiaxin, but Li Yunxin dodged and sent him crashing into the table.
• Qiao Jiaming accused Li Yunxin of seducing Qiao Jiaxin and causing her condition, while Liu Laodao defended himself and his master against Qiao Jiaming's insults.
• Li Yunxin told the Qiao women that bandits and demons had attacked them, then left Qiao Jiaxin in their care and warned her to behave.
• Liu Laodao apologized as he and Li Yunxin departed, and Li Yunxin asked him to help arrange lodging.

After Li Yunxin and Liu Laodao left, Qiao Jiaming and the two Qiao women discussed taking advantage of Qiao Duanhong’s uncertain condition and scheming against Liu Laodao. The chapter ended with Qiao Jiaming hinting that Qiao Duanhong might never wake up.

• Qiao Jiaxin quietly watched a feather duster while Qiao Wangshi scolded Qiao Jiaming and Qiao Liushi hurried him out of the room.
• Qiao Jiaming swaggered through the grounds, snapped off a peony, and claimed the Qiao Household would eventually belong to him.
• Qiao Jiaming speculated that Yu Meng had taken an interest in Qiao Jiaxin, while Qiao Liushi warned him not to set his sights on her.
• Qiao Jiaming urged Qiao Wangshi and Qiao Liushi to bribe the prefect into convicting Liu Laodao of colluding with bandits and seizing Dragon King Temple.
• Qiao Jiaming mocked Liu Laodao’s reputation and said Qiao Duanhong’s recovery depended on whether he woke up at all.

Li Yunxin studied how to undo the restriction on the Snow Mountain Qi Sea and decided to use Votive Power. He replaced the Dragon King statue with a painting of Jia Wen and Xiwana, whose completed spirit connected to a distant source of power.

• Li Yunxin taught Liu Laodao Watercloud Force while studying the Tongming Jade Slip for a way to lift the restriction on his Snow Mountain Qi Sea.
• Li Yunxin inferred that Votive Power might counter the restriction and decided to replace the Dragon King statue at the temple.
• Liu Laodao explained that the statue was believed to bear the Wei River Dragon King's spiritual energy, but agreed to have it dismantled after Li Yunxin promised to put something else in its place.
• Li Yunxin painted Jia Wen and Xiwana on a scroll and described their powers to Liu Laodao.
• Liu Laodao added a finishing stroke to Jia Wen's spear, causing the painting to tremble as spiritual power flowed toward a distant existence.

Li Yunxin used his own spiritual energy to paint a divine portrait, hoping to gather Incense and Fire Prayer Power to break through the restriction on his Snow Mountain Qi Sea. The portrait drew crowds to Liu Laodao’s temple, while Li Yunxin entered a dangerous cultivation state and ordered Liu not to disturb him.

• Li Yunxin explained that the portrait carried his own spiritual energy, and Liu Laodao hurried to display it at the Dragon King Temple.
• Liu Laodao announced that the temple would enshrine the Spirit Treasure Crown Prince and his Attendant Dragon Maiden, prompting the gathered neighbors to jeer at him.
• Liu Laodao revealed Li Yunxin’s portrait, whose aura soothed the crowd and convinced many people to kneel and worship.
• Neighbors flocked to the temple to burn incense and donate coins, while Liu Laodao delighted in the crowd and went to tell Li Yunxin.
• Li Yunxin shouted for Liu Laodao to stay out, claiming his cultivation had reached a critical point, and sat in the room listening to the renewed incense offerings with his teeth clenched.

Li Yunxin endured the pain of Votive Power as it struck the restriction on his Snow Mountain Qi Sea, then learned to absorb some of it into his spiritual foundation. The worshippers dispersed, but Liu Laodao later saw a faceless woman in white clinging upside down outside Li Yunxin’s window and fainted.

• Li Yunxin endured Votive Power from more than a hundred worshippers as it painfully battered the restriction throughout his body.
• After the worshippers left, Li Yunxin figured out how to mix Votive Power into his Snow Mountain Qi Sea and let some spiritual power seep out.
• Liu Laodao returned to the temple with soy-braised beef and noticed someone outside Li Yunxin’s window.
• Liu Laodao saw a faceless woman in white clinging upside down to the window and fainted.

After absorbing prayer power, Li Yunxin encountered a bloodied Faceless Ghost and recognized her as Qiao Jiaxin, whose soul had apparently escaped the usual rules of reincarnation. She fled toward distant firelights, leaving Li Yunxin wondering whether she would return.

• Li Yunxin finished absorbing the prayer power, changed into Liu Laodao's robes, and spotted a ghost scratching at his window.
• Li Yunxin found Liu Laodao unconscious in the courtyard and discovered that he had brought Li Yunxin braised beef.
• Li Yunxin prepared to restrain the ghost, then recognized the red mark on her forehead and realized she was Qiao Jiaxin.
• Qiao Jiaxin looked toward the north and crawled away behind the house before Li Yunxin could stop her.
• Li Yunxin climbed onto the roof and saw faint firelights beyond the city in the direction Qiao Jiaxin had fled.

Li Yunxin weighed the dangers surrounding the Tongming Jade Slip and resolved to prepare for the powerful enemies who might pursue him. Across the street, Master Meng kept vigil over the unconscious Qiao Duanhong while the rest of the Qiao Household neglected him.

• Li Yunxin feared that Ninth Young Master, Bai Yunxin, or cultivators seeking the Tongming Jade Slip might come after him, and he considered the heartlessness demanded by high cultivation.
• Li Yunxin reminded himself that only he could open the Tongming Jade Slip, then went out to make preparations using resources his enemies did not know about.
• Master Meng checked Qiao Duanhong, who remained unconscious with a fever, and found that the young servants had not prepared his medicine.
• Master Meng recognized that Qiao Jiaming and the women in the Qiao Household had abandoned Qiao Duanhong, while his daughter remained locked away in the rear courtyard.
• Master Meng recalled that he had watched Qiao Duanhong grow up and had once taken wounds protecting the old chief escort master.

Meng E discovered that Qiao Wangshi, Qiao Jiaming, and Qiao Liushi were plotting to take over the Qiao Household while Qiao Duanhong lay dying. After finding Qiao Duanhong cold and believing the prefect and Qing'an relatives could not be relied upon, Meng E killed two attendants and revealed his former identity as Murder Ghost, Meng E.

• Meng E heard Qiao Jiaming and Qiao Liushi boast about using jade to curry favor with the prefect and mock his efforts to protect the Qiao Household.
• Meng E found Qiao Wangshi drinking while Qiao Jiaming and Qiao Liushi behaved intimately, then collapsed after coughing blood.
• Meng E woke beside Qiao Duanhong, found the young master cold and apparently dead, and resolved that neither the unsent letter nor the prefect could help.
• Two attendants tried to stop Meng E from leaving, shoved him, and mocked him when he returned to the room.
• Meng E came back wielding Qiao Duanhong's great ring blade, killed both attendants, and identified himself as Murder Ghost, Meng E.

Meng E unleashed the Seven Kills Blade against the Qiao Household but collapsed before he could kill them, and Qiao Wangshi and Qiao Jiaming plotted to frame him and Liu Laodao. Seven days later, Li Yunxin had grown more accustomed to drawing in incense power at the Dragon King Temple when Liu Laodao arrived with news of trouble.

• Meng E killed a maid and attacked Qiao Jiaming, Qiao Liushi, and Qiao Wangshi, but his life-burning power failed and he collapsed.
• Qiao Wangshi persuaded Qiao Jiaming to accuse Meng E and Liu Laodao of colluding with bandits so Prefect Li could seize the Dragon King Temple.
• Li Yunxin spent the next seven days practicing with incense power, observing Weicheng’s residents, and refusing a matchmaker’s proposal.
• On the seventh morning, Liu Laodao came to the temple, saw Li Yunxin, and said that something had happened.

Liu Laodao told Li Yunxin that his old friend, the Qiao Household servant Lao Meng, had been arrested for murder, and Li Yunxin suspected the case concealed a plot targeting him. Li Yunxin dismissed Miss Yin with a Mind-Loss Talisman and agreed to hear Liu Laodao’s full account, though by nightfall Liu Laodao’s relief had disappeared.

• Liu Laodao begged Li Yunxin to help Lao Meng, who had been arrested after the Qiao Household accused him of killing three people and attempting to murder the mistress.
• Miss Yin offered to ask her uncle, a constable at the prefectural office, for help, but learned that Prefect Li had personally ordered Lao Meng’s arrest.
• Li Yunxin questioned Liu Laodao and realized that the newly publicized case had been kept secret and might be part of a scheme aimed at him.
• Li Yunxin drew on Miss Yin’s palm and used a Mind-Loss Talisman to make her forget what had happened, then sent her away.
• Li Yunxin told Liu Laodao to close the temple gate and explain the case, while Liu Laodao felt reassured that Li Yunxin intended to help.
• By nightfall, Liu Laodao’s peace of mind had vanished.

Li Yunxin learned that Meng E had been wronged by the Qiao women and set out to investigate the prefectural yamen. He discovered the street before it was filled with Faceless Ghosts and turned back rather than risk revealing himself.

• Li Yunxin told Liu Laodao that Meng E had killed someone but that the Qiao women had murdered Qiao Duanhong and plotted to seize the family property.
• Li Yunxin said he would visit the prefectural magistrate, then asked Liu Laodao for directions and left to investigate.
• Li Yunxin crossed Weicheng at night and noticed the city was more open and lively than he had expected.
• Near the yamen, Li Yunxin saw Faceless Ghosts surround and inspect a servant without the servant noticing them.
• Li Yunxin sensed a Yin Spirit Grand Formation around the yamen, decided not to enter, and watched the servant return without the ghosts following him.

Li Yunxin investigated why Prefect Li and the Qiao Household wanted Liu Laodao’s courtyard and learned that Prefect Li was seeking protection from a powerful enemy. He returned to the temple and proposed killing Prefect Li to save Liu Laodao’s old companion.

• Li Yunxin questioned servant Aze near the prefectural residence and learned about the newly established Yin Spirit Array and the residence’s strange chill.
• Li Yunxin deduced that the Qiao Household and Prefect Li wanted Liu Laodao’s property for money, while Prefect Li had angered a powerful person and feared for his life.
• Li Yunxin returned to the temple, ate the meal Liu Laodao had prepared, and told him what he had learned.
• Liu Laodao worried about his old companion, and Li Yunxin suggested that killing Prefect Li would resolve the threat to it.

Li Yunxin decided that killing Prefect Li was the best way to prevent trouble for himself and Liu Laodao, and he began investigating the prefect’s habits and history. As rumors of arrests and inconclusive evidence spread, Li Yunxin reconsidered how the authorities handled accusations.

• Li Yunxin told Liu Laodao that they should kill Prefect Li before the prefect’s actions forced them to flee or reveal themselves.
• Li Yunxin declared that his divine art was called Heartslaying, leaving Liu Laodao frightened by the malice he sensed in him.
• Li Yunxin gathered details about Prefect Li’s health, family history, habits, and recent behavior from Aze.
• Li Yunxin examined the information, took down the sword Bai Yunxin had given him, and said he hated the feeling he was experiencing.
• Over the next few days, fewer people visited the temple, and Li Yunxin heard rumors that arrests were coming but the evidence against an old servant remained inconclusive.

Li Yunxin and Liu Laodao investigated Qiao Jiaming’s past while Prefect Li delayed their case, and Li Yunxin grew intrigued by the unfamiliar idea of “procedural justice.” At the yamen, Prefect Li’s unexplained unease grew as he decided it was time to conclude the case.

• Qiao Jiaming threatened Li Yunxin and Liu Laodao at the temple, but Li Yunxin traded insults with him until he left in frustration.
• Liu Laodao was surprised by Li Yunxin’s behavior, while Li Yunxin wondered how the predecessor had introduced “procedural justice” into this world.
• Li Yunxin and Liu Laodao roamed the streets asking about Qiao Jiaming’s past, and Qiao Jiaming took pleasure in watching them search for help.
• After three more days, Prefect Li Yaosi brooded over the stubborn old servant and his own mounting unease.
• Prefect Li Yaosi set down his teacup and decided it was time to bring the case to an end.

Aze’s daily meetings with Li Yunxin allowed Li Yunxin to manipulate him into carrying a message to Prefect Li, whose strange behavior after a lightning-struck hall revealed what he was guarding against. Li Yunxin then met Miss Yin at a tailor’s shop, where she brought him the ash-blue, fish-scale-patterned inner robe he had requested.

• Aze confided his troubles to Li Yunxin, who told him to ask his master, while dining, whether he was satisfied with the taste.
• Li Yunxin watched Aze leave in a daze and reflected on how he had used the servant to investigate Prefect Li.
• Li Yunxin learned from Aze that voices, blood, and dying embers had been found in the lightning-struck main hall, after which Prefect Li sought help from the Pure High Alchemy Sect and the Voidsoar Sword Sect.
• Li Yunxin went to the tailor’s shop, where Miss Yin waited with the ash-blue, fish-scale-patterned inner robe she had found for him.

Li Yunxin learned that he would be questioned over the case and rejected Yin Pingzhi’s offer to blame Liu Laodao, while Yin Pingzhi revealed that his investigation had given Li Yunxin a false identity. Li Yunxin entered the prefectural yamen, where he sensed powerful restrictions but prepared to rely on his skills rather than spells.

• Miss Yin gave Li Yunxin the scale-patterned undershirt and warned him that a hearing could lead to detention and prison.
• Yin Pingzhi escorted Li Yunxin toward the yamen and advised him to confess while blaming Liu Laodao, promising to help him avoid punishment.
• Li Yunxin refused to betray Liu Laodao or accept Yin Pingzhi’s plan, explaining that he did not want to become Miss Yin’s live-in son-in-law.
• Yin Pingzhi claimed his investigation showed that Li Yunxin was really Li Xiao, a youth from the Ye Kingdom, and warned that the yamen’s restrictions would prevent him from using magic.
• Li Yunxin entered the yamen without drawing a reaction from the Faceless Ghosts and sensed the restrictions, but intended to rely on his skills.

Li Yunxin entered Prefect Li’s court and killed Li Yaosi in front of the assembled witnesses, though the two cultivators guarding him sensed no spiritual power. He threatened the Qiao Household, and Yin Pingzhi realized that speaking against Li Yunxin could cost him his life.

• Li Yunxin arrived at the prefectural yamen with Liu Laodao and saw Prefect Li, the two cultivators Congyunzi and Punanzi, and the Qiao Household gathered for the hearing.
• Prefect Li grew increasingly agitated, shouted at Li Yunxin, and threw a container of tally sticks at him.
• Li Yunxin told Qiao Jiaming he would kill him, then knelt before Prefect Li and recalled an encounter with the Qiao escort agency.
• Prefect Li collapsed and died while Congyunzi and Punanzi detected no demon or spiritual power.
• Li Yunxin announced that he had killed Prefect Li and threatened the three members of the Qiao Household.
• Punanzi killed Qiao Liushi when she accused Li Yunxin of using demon arts, and Yin Pingzhi recognized the danger of speaking against him.

After Li Yunxin killed Qiao Liushi, the two cultivators failed to detect his action and drove everyone from the yamen. Li Yunxin admitted the murder to Yin Pingzhi and challenged him to watch what happened next as proof of his abilities.

• Punanzi and Congyunzi ordered Yin Pingzhi to clear the yamen and threatened anyone who continued to raise the case.
• Yin Pingzhi escorted Li Yunxin and Liu Laodao out of the yamen while Qiao Jiaming and Qiao Wangshi were driven away by bailiffs.
• Li Yunxin told Yin Pingzhi that he had killed Qiao Liushi and explained that the cultivators would not believe an accusation against him.
• Li Yunxin warned Yin Pingzhi that Qiao Jiaming and Qiao Wangshi were as good as dead and asked him to keep them from approaching or pleading for mercy.

Li Yunxin threatened Yin Pingzhi into protecting Meng E, then explained to Liu Laodao that killing the prefectural governor had been an experiment involving consciousness and the subconscious. He began describing how suggestions could bring hidden memories into awareness.

• Li Yunxin warned Yin Pingzhi to keep Meng E alive and clear his name, then Yin ordered the Qiao Household prisoners taken away and ran to the prison.
• Li Yunxin invited Liu Laodao to Munan Residence, where Liu asked whether Li Yunxin had killed the prefectural governor and how he had done it.
• Li Yunxin said the killing had been an experiment and explained consciousness and the subconscious through everyday examples.
• Li Yunxin compared the subconscious to the submerged bulk of an iceberg and said suggestions could bring forgotten memories back into awareness.

Li Yunxin explained to Liu Laodao how he used suggestion and hallucination to manipulate Li Yaosi’s hidden memories and cause his death. He left Liu understanding that knowledge of someone’s mind could place their life and death in his hands.

• Li Yunxin described how prompts could draw forgotten memories and feelings out of the subconscious, and Liu Laodao listened closely.
• Li Yunxin revealed that Ninth Young Master had visited Li Yaosi during a thunderstorm and eaten his two concubines, then explained how Aze helped him uncover the details.
• Li Yunxin used a tabletop knock and his story about a crossbowman to make Liu hallucinate an attack, then explained how he had guided Liu into that vision.
• Li Yunxin said he had spent days reinforcing Li Yaosi’s buried fear through Aze, then triggered the memory in court with references to a campfire and the taste of food.
• Li Yunxin explained that Li Yaosi’s intense fear had caused his hereditary heart condition to kill him, making the death appear natural.