Chapter Summaries

Li Yunxin accepted the cat demon’s possession of Qiao Jiaxin’s corpse and laid down rules for her as they prepared to go to Weicheng. Their plans were interrupted by Huainanzi, a Voidsoar Sword Sect disciple who arrived intending to kill Li Yunxin.

• The cat demon possessed Qiao Jiaxin’s corpse and ran into Li Yunxin, who agreed to help her and explained the rules she had to follow among humans.
• Li Yunxin told the cat demon not to take human lives or marry humans, and urged her to keep her three views proper.
• Li Yunxin said they would go to Weicheng and help the people from the escort agency, with the cat demon following him.
• Huainanzi emerged from the forest and introduced himself as a cultivator of the Heavenly Heart Orthodox Law.
• Huainanzi admitted he had killed people on his way and declared that he would kill Li Yunxin as revenge for his two dead junior brothers and as a death tribulation.

Huainanzi attacked Li Yunxin and killed the cat demon possessing Qiao Jiaxin, then threatened Li Yunxin until he stalled for time. A young lady and her maid arrived, and the maid challenged Huainanzi’s claim that demons deserved to die.

• Huainanzi summoned a flying sword and repeatedly stabbed Qiao Jiaxin, revealing that she was possessed by a weakened cat demon.
• Huainanzi threatened to kill Li Yunxin, and Li Yunxin tried to reach Ninth Young Master before Huainanzi cut his arm and warned him not to move.
• Li Yunxin pretended to prepare to beg for mercy, stalling Huainanzi with excuses and questions.
• Li Yunxin asked why Huainanzi killed demons, prompting Huainanzi to form a new sword gesture as copper bells approached.
• A maid emerged from the grass with a black donkey carrying a young lady, then asked Huainanzi what was wrong with demons and why he killed them.

Li Yunxin drew Bai Yunxin into his confrontation with Huainanzi, and she revealed herself and her maid to be demons. The maid killed Huainanzi, leaving Li Yunxin free to continue toward Weicheng with Bai Yunxin.

• Huainanzi questioned Bai Yunxin, but she ignored him and approached Li Yunxin on her donkey.
• Bai Yunxin sniffed Li Yunxin, said she liked him, and agreed to go with him to Weicheng.
• Li Yunxin asked Bai Yunxin to kill Huainanzi, and she turned her attention to the swordsman.
• Huainanzi recognized Bai Yunxin and her maid as demons and prepared to fight them.
• The maid swallowed Huainanzi's head and three flying swords, then complained that he had no seasoning.

Li Yunxin escaped an encounter with the powerful demon Bai Yunxin, who gave him a sword and promised to seek him out after finding the Ninth Young Master. After Bai Yunxin and her maid departed, the Tongming Jade Slip began glowing and displayed a line of writing that left Li Yunxin stunned.

• Bai Yunxin and her maid reacted with excitement when Li Yunxin said he had seen the Ninth Young Master in Qinghe County, then Bai Yunxin gave him a sword and said she would find him after locating Little Nine.
• Bai Yunxin, her maid, and the black donkey vanished into the sky, and Li Yunxin waited before burying the sword in the ground.
• Li Yunxin called Three-Flower Madam out, and she resumed control of Qiao Jiaxin's badly wounded corpse.
• Three-Flower Madam noticed Li Yunxin's chest glowing, and he pulled out the luminous Tongming Jade Slip and saw a line of writing appear on it.

Li Yunxin discovered that demonic power had awakened the Tongming Jade Slip, which contained knowledge that could help him master the Painting Dao. He decided to flee with the cat demon and investigate his parents’ secrets, but found that Bai Yunxin’s sword had somehow returned to his waist.

• Li Yunxin opened the Tongming Jade Slip after tapping its characters and realized it held precious Painting Dao knowledge left by the Painting Saint.
• Li Yunxin concluded that demons had awakened the jade slip and planned to find a continuing source of demonic power so he could study it.
• Li Yunxin decided not to take Bai Yunxin’s sword to Weicheng, and instead chose to leave with the cat demon while investigating why his parents had gone into seclusion and why he was being hunted.
• The cat demon followed Li Yunxin out of the forest and playfully patted his waist, where Bai Yunxin’s supposedly buried sword had reappeared.

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.